The "World of Heroes" DC RPG Season IV

[wiegeabo]

Superman sees the discharge, and in another moment is hovering above the Daily Planet, looking down on Sinestro.

"Good to see you up and about, Sinestro. Something I can help you with?"

"Yes. Where the hell are the others, especially Marvel?"

That's when the pain, the exhaustion I've been holding back since my ring failed, catches up to me. I look down at my ring, then back up to Superman.

"Dammit to hells..."

I collapse on the roof.

[LibrarianThorne]

"Yes. Where the hell are the others, especially Marvel?"

That's when the pain, the exhaustion I've been holding back since my ring failed, catches up to me. I look down at my ring, then back up to Superman.

"Dammit to hells..."

I collapse on the roof.

Before Sinestro falls down, Superman swoops down and catches the ex-villain. He frowned at Sinestro, hearing the alien's heartbeat become erratic.

He flew then to S.T.A.R Labs, where Emil Hamilton was still standing outside. Superman landed with the still unconscious Sinestro in his arms. "Well, I was going to stop and ask how Sinestro and the Manhunter are doing, but Sinestro answered part of my question already. How's J'onn?"

"He is fine, Superman," said Hamilton. Then, he began to change and morph, his skin becoming a deep jade and his body became cloaked in a blue cape. Superman couldn't help but smile.

"Shapeshifting will never get old with you, will it J'onn?"
"I would sincerely hope not, Kal. If you don't mind?" he said, reaching out with both hands. Superman obliged him, and put Sinestro into the hands of the Martians.
"I will see to it that he recieves the proper care, Superman. I believe your city still needs you?"

Superman nodded and took off. He was heading to Metropolis General Hospital, but along the way he put out three high-rise fires and stopped another four muggings.

[MST3K 4ever]

Marvel begins going through the city helping clean-up efforts where he can. He looks in the distance and notices something...HOLY MOLEY!!!! He takes to the sky and discovers that WKLS has been wiped out.

All that is left of the once giant tower and broadcast center is a pile of rubble. I gotta see if anyone is alive. He begins clearing the rubble as quick as he can only to discover....bodies...lots of dead bodies. Co-workers and others are gone...I can't...I just can't believe it.

He sits on the ground with tears welling up in his eyes he screams, "NOOOO!!!!!!" He then begins to turn the masive piles of rubble into dust.

Finally he stops and sees a crowd gathering around him. Someone asks, "What's wrong Cap?" He replies, "I had friends here...I never thought I'd see something like this." Then Solomon speaks to him saying, "Marvel there are others who need you. You must move on now...don't forget them but honor their memories by moving forward and continuing to make a difference."

Marvel says to the crowd, "Fellow Citizens of Metropolis it's time for us to get back to work. It's not going to be easy but together we can make a difference." The crowd nods in agreement and someone asks, "Where should we get started?" Marvel replies, "Right here is as good a spot as any."

The crowd and Marvel begin cleaning up the buildings and the street.

[twylight]

After all this time he heard the voice. And after all this time a woman had dare opposed their power. One thing he was not afraid of was her. He was going to teach her something about fear. He slammed down the handle of the his scythe to get everyone's attention.

"I am the master of fear" he said in a sinister voice. He voice got quiet "No more games I am going to kill you tonight"

"No way I'm going to waste her". With out saying anything or looking Scarecrow pushed Scarface to the ground smashing his head open.

"Mr. Scarface" the Ventriloquist screamed and dropped to his knees. He looked back up at Scarecrow "You..you murderer". Ignoring him he jumps off the platform and lifts his scythe.

"I'm going to teach you what fear is about"

"Get rid of that mask I want to know who I have been dealing with"

The woman flipped the staff around her body.

“You’ll have to keep me after class.” She said, snapping the staff in front of her and crouching ready to spring.

“Do you fear the unknown? I thought you thrived on fear. Or is it others and not your own?”

[Watchman]

The woman flipped the staff around her body.

“You’ll have to keep me after class.” She said, snapping the staff in front of her and crouching ready to spring.

“Do you fear the unknown? I thought you thrived on fear. Or is it others and not your own?”

"I fear nothing!" he shouts. "Especially not you" he holds the scythe in a attack position. He had enough run in with Batman to pick up some moves. "Enough useless banter I'm going to rip that mask off and make you scream" he raises his scythe and charges.

[twylight]

"I fear nothing!" he shouts. "Especially not you" he holds the scythe in a attack position. He had enough run in with Batman to pick up some moves. "Enough useless banter I'm going to rip that mask off and make you scream" he raises his scythe and charges.

The woman brings her Bo Staff up blocking the attack, the metal of the scythes blade clashing against her metal staff.

She ducks and swings her leg around, trying to to take his legs out from under him.

[wiegeabo]

Before Sinestro falls down, Superman swoops down and catches the ex-villain. He frowned at Sinestro, hearing the alien's heartbeat become erratic.

He flew then to S.T.A.R Labs, where Emil Hamilton was still standing outside. Superman landed with the still unconscious Sinestro in his arms. "Well, I was going to stop and ask how Sinestro and the Manhunter are doing, but Sinestro answered part of my question already. How's J'onn?"

"He is fine, Superman," said Hamilton. Then, he began to change and morph, his skin becoming a deep jade and his body became cloaked in a blue cape. Superman couldn't help but smile.

"Shapeshifting will never get old with you, will it J'onn?"
"I would sincerely hope not, Kal. If you don't mind?" he said, reaching out with both hands. Superman obliged him, and put Sinestro into the hands of the Martians.
"I will see to it that he recieves the proper care, Superman. I believe your city still needs you?"

Superman nodded and took off. He was heading to Metropolis General Hospital, but along the way he put out three high-rise fires and stopped another four muggings.

My eyes open and I see the Martian Manhunter standing in my room. Damn, I'm back. I do not try to sit up, my body aches too much for that. But I stare at him.

"Do not concern yourself, I have not invaded the privacy of your mind."

"You tried, didn't you."

"Yes. But your ring obviously still carries some sort of charge. It is blocking my efforts. Something you programmed into it?"

"Of course." I try not to act surprised, keep my face neutral. My ring still has a charge? I check, it's empty...no, wait. I probe deeper. There is something still there. It's minor. No wonder I didn't notice it. And it's strange. As if it doesn't feel right. Marvel. Whatever he did to me during the Qwardian attack, it's affected my ring.

I force myself to situp. The Manhunter steps up to push me back down. "I need to recharge my ring. With it, I can heal my body." Again, it's something I had never been able to do before...until Marvel's recharge.

"That's what Professor Hamilton said you tried to do before leaving."

"The energy the humans use for power is inefficient. Low grade and weak. My ring cannot make much use out of it. I need a lantern. I need a Green Lantern."

"I know where one currently is."

I put my legs over the bed and will myself to stand, and keep standing. "Then take me there."

...

In just a few minutes, we're at another hospital. The Martian and I walk into a room where Kyle Rayner lays in his bed.

I walk up to him. "Since you do not appear to be dead, I am assuming you can do something about this?" I say, holding up my ring hand.

[Watchman]

The woman brings her Bo Staff up blocking the attack, the metal of the scythes blade clashing against her metal staff.

She ducks and swings her leg around, trying to to take his legs out from under him.

He jumps over her leg. Despite having only some fighting skill he was surprisingly agile. He swings his scythe again and it connects with her staff making sparks. They stare each other in face.

"Most impressive but nothing compared to the Bat"

[twylight]

He jumps over her leg. Despite having only some fighting skill he was surprisingly agile. He swings his scythe again and it connects with her staff making sparks. They stare each other in face.

"Most impressive but nothing compared to the Bat"


The woman glared at him leaping back she brought her right hand up to her cheek, fanning out silver slivers of throwing stars. She arced her arm out, letting them fly towards him.

"I'm nothing like the Bat."

[Watchman]

The woman glared at him leaping back she brought her right hand up to her cheek, fanning out silver slivers of throwing stars. She arced her arm out, letting them fly towards him.

"I'm nothing like the Bat."

He dives out of the way. A star scraps across his arm and another cuts his leg. He crashes and blood and straw drop on the ground. He picks himself up and reaches in his pocket.

"Finally something we agree on...he's better." Scarecrow smiles underneath his mask he knows that he getting to her. He pulls out a small skull out of his pocket. "Here catch" he throws the skull towards her as gas pours out of it.

[twylight]

He dives out of the way. A star scraps across his arm and another cuts his leg. He crashes and blood and straw drop on the ground. He picks himself up and reaches in his pocket.

"Finally something we agree on...he's better." Scarecrow smiles underneath his mask he knows that he getting to her. He pulls out a small skull out of his pocket. "Here catch" he throws the skull towards her as gas pours out of it.

She ducks, the skull crashing against the wall behind her, and slowly rises.

"Then it's a good thing he's not wasting his time on you." She said levelly as she twirled her staff clearing the air around her. She let the staff slide to the end of her hand and swung it at him.

[Watchman]

She ducks, the skull crashing against the wall behind her, and slowly rises.

"Then it's a good thing he's not wasting his time on you." She said levelly as she twirled her staff clearing the air around her. She let the staff slide to the end of her hand and swung it at him.

The staff hits him knocking him down. He drops his scythe and rolls to his side. He gives her a kick to the stomach knocking her back. Right next to him is the body of Zsasz and his large knife. He grabs it and gets back up. He leaps crashing into her knocking her to the ground. He pins her and raises the knife. He brings his head close to hers and whispers to her in a grim voice.

"Hush little baby don't say a word Scarecrow's going to shed your blood" he started to bring the knife down.

[twylight]

The staff hits him knocking him down. He drops his scythe and rolls to his side. He gives her a kick to the stomach knocking her back. Right next to him is the body of Zsasz and his large knife. He grabs it and gets back up. He leaps crashing into her knocking her to the ground. He pins he rand raises the knife. He brings his head close to hers and whispers to her in a grim voice.

"Hush little baby don't say a word Scarecrow's going to shed your blood" he started to bring the knife down.

She gasps as the foot hits her in the midsection, pushing all her air out and catching her off balence. Her staff flies out of her hand and clanges against the floor

The woman curses herself for letting her guard down. His voice muffled through the mask he raises the knife, slipping a hand away from his grasp she brings up her own sai, blocking his knife as it swings towards her.

Bringing her feet up she kicks him away, rolling behind a mess hall table, slipping the other sai out she twirls them. Her chest heaves with heavy breathing.

"Do you bleed or is it all stuffing?" She asks.

[Watchman]

She gasps as the foot hits her in the midsection, pushing all her air out and catching her off balence. Her staff flies out of her hand and clanges against the floor

The woman curses herself for letting her guard down. His voice muffled through the mask he raises the knife, slipping a hand away from his grasp she brings up her own sai, blocking his knife as it swings towards her.

Bringing her feet up she kicks him away, rolling behind a mess hall table, slipping the other sai out she twirls them. Her chest heaves with heavy breathing.

"Do you bleed or is it all stuffing?" She asks.

He falls behind the table and rolls into the platform. He looks up and sees the Ventriloquist now has made a sock puppet and is talking to it. He picks up the tommy gun and jumps onto the table.

"BOO! Scared yet?" he points down and pulls the trigger.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK...no ammo

"Oh dear" Scarecrow says under his breath

[twylight]

He falls behind the table and rolls into the platform. He looks up and sees the Ventriloquist now has made a sock puppet and is talking to it. He picks up the tommy gun and jumps onto the table.

"BOO! Scared yet?" he points down and pulls the trigger.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK...no ammo

"Oh dear" Scarecrow says under his breath


The woman takes the opportunity, throwing two more stars at him, she leaps across the table and kicks him in the stomach sending him sprawling on the floor.

She seathes her sais as she walks towards him, pulling out an arrow and aiming at him.

[Watchman]

The woman takes the opportunity, throwing two more stars at him, she leaps across the table and kicks him in the stomach sending him sprawling on the floor.

She seethes her Sais as she walks towards him, pulling out an arrow and aiming at him.

He lands on the floor hard. He rips off his mask and coughs off some blood. He pulls out a star from shoulder. He looks up and sees her walking toward him. He begins to back up and smacks up againsts the wall.

"Please" he screams "Don't kill me I...I can help"

[TheCorpulent1]

"My thoughts exactly. There are simply too many threats, too many villains in this world for us to fight alone. We need organization. We need to work together."

Superman peered into the distance, seeing something only he could see, and he smiled that one smile that let you know he wasn't really from here. "After I clean up Metropolis, I'm going to find Batman. Gotham needs his help but right now that is a city full of vipers and I know something's happened to him. While I take care of things here, I want you to scout out Gotham as best you can. Before we can do anything, we need to know exactly what's happened, and I think only you can do that. When you think you've got enough information, contact me with your Justice League signal device. I kept mine, and you can reach me on the usual frequency."

He floated up into the sky, then looked down on Wally and smiled. "Good luck, Flash, and god speed."
I look up at Superman as he flies off with admiration. Even after all he's been through he knows exactly what to do to galvanize and inspire everyone. Barry was the same. If I've grown to be half the hero either of them are, I'll consider myself the luckiest man alive.

But enough sentimentalism. I've got a job from the man up top himself, and I'm gonna get it done. I speed off and I'm out of Metropolis in moments. Next stop: Gotham City.

[MaskedManJRK]

Arsenal heard voices as he left the second unconscious Ubu. Sounds like Bats and Q. Bout damned time... He ran towards the voices. "Boy, am I glad to see you two! Ra's took out Ted and Ollie... I tried to follow the rat as he ran off but I lost him."

"Boy?" Odd, I've never even heard that from the more simple times during the JSA...in the fourties.

I was about to tell Roy my plan when even more ninjas swarmed in. I counted 36 when I decided it was "a hell of a lot."

"Hope you're not tired, Aresenal."

I roar out as I charge towards the nearest ninja.

[batnkevlar]

DEO agents everywhere. Can't actually let them into the Tower (the new UN regulations on the Tower prohibits any government entity on the inner grounds without prior approval from the UN), so I drag Gemini's body outside after slappin one of Cyborg's inhibitor collars on her.

Agent Madd came with a helisquadron. Damn, sometimes I hate big parades.

"Gemini, I see," says Madd.

"Yeah. Keep care of your prisoners. I have a date," I said.

"Will do. A cape?" asked Madd.

"Sorta," I replied.

* * *

I walk into this italian restaraunt. I'm wearing my black and white tux with a bowtie. It seems to work well with my green skin. Sometimes the stares get to me. But I figure, if i had normal skin, girls would still stare at me. 'Tis my gift, 'tis my curse. Why do I have to be so good looking?

I talk with the guy in the front and slip him a benjamin and a toothpick. There was something in his teeth, so I figured I'd be a nice guy. He led me to one of the best seats in the house. It was there that I played the waiting game.

It wasn't too long after that a leggy blonde wearing a red dress appeared a the entrance and was escorted to the seat at my table.

"How's it going Bette?" I asked, pulling her seat out.

"I'm doing fine. How are you Gar?" she asked me. I smiled.

"Same old, same old. Defeated an egotistical super baddie. Calls herself Gemini. You know her," I said. She nodded.

"Yeah, last time," she answered. "Oh, sorry I'm late, it's just there was a burglary on the Star City border, and I had to get Green Arrow's a-okay to enter the city. You know how the Arrows are, especially with Star being Queen's city now."

"Yeah. So why are we in an italian restaraunt in Coast?" I asked her.

"Well, you can fly. I can't, so I figured me going all the way out to San Fran would be a bad idea," she explained.

"I have a moped now," I added.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Uh, a moped. I had to sell my cars in order to pay for some damages to the Tower," I explained.

"Oh."

We chatted for a long time, until we finished our food and the restaraunt closed.

"What should we do now?" I asked her, winking.

"I have an idea," she answered, smiling.

Man, the back of the T-Car's a pain to sleep in. It's 5:00 in the morning, as my animal senses tell me exactly what time it is. That, and the LCD time display in the car. I'm careful not to wake Bette up, and I leave the Tower garage for some early morning target practice.

* * *

"Quick, before the sun rises!" said a big made man with a ski mask. He held a bat and motioned to a skinny lanky guy with pantyhose over his head. And I thought MY Doom Patrol mask was crap, but this guy looks hilarious.

"'K, but Harry, I don't have the keys to the back door!" said the lanky guy.

"Larry, you don't need to keys for this line of work. Just bust out the window," said Harry.

Larry (or was it Harry?) took out his crowbar and threw it through the window, the glass shattering into a million pieces.

I could see the action at Star Electronics from my perch on a nearby windowsill. I was a cetain red-breasted bird. Just call me Robin- uh, then again, think that's taken. Damn. So many Robin breast jokes, so little time.

I fly off my perch and turn into a hummingbird, and fly between the two crooks. I then proceed to morph back to human.

"Harry and Larry? Shouldn't there be some rule about this sorta funny name games?" I asked, my hands on my hips, in an intimidating fashion.

"It's the Martian!" screamed the skinny Larry. Harry pushed him out of the way as he swung around his baseball bat.

"No you idiots," I muttered, shaking my head. I turned into a rhinoceros.

"It is the Martian! He's them shiftshapers!" yelled Harry.

"I'm not the martian," I said.

"Are too," said Larry.

"No, I'm not," I replied.

"Are too," Harry chimed in.

"Am not," I confirmed.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am too."

"Are not," said Larry.

"Exactly!" I roared, triumphant.

"Aw damn," said Harry. I turned into a grizzly bear.

"He's a shipshapter Harry," whispered Larry in fear.

"Shapeshifter," I corrected. "I'm a shapeshifter. You know what? I AM the martian. Don't move, or I'll explode your brains yadda yadda yadda, and just drop your weapons bla bla bla, and get down on the ground."

They dropped to the ground in fear as the police came around the corner.

"Nice work boy," said the police, while cuffing the idiots, "but you got some stuff on your face."

"I do?" I asked, wiping around my mouth.

"No, not there, all over. Face paint or something, kiddo."

I stared at him. "Face paint?"

"Green face paint. Lucky you singlehandedly caught these perpretrators, without any weapons or anything. Good thing you were here kid. Now get off to school, get an education, get a good job."

"Will... do... officer," I agreed, puzzled, and I ran off into an alleyway.

"Hahaha, martian? face paint? You're more fun than a barrel of monkeys," said a girl's voice behind me. I turned around to find myself face to face with Flamebird- er, Bette.

"Oh, fancy meeting you here. You're in costume?"

"So are you."

"I needed to get out for a while."

"You left early."

"It's not like we slept together."

"I know, making out in the T-Car's always fun-"

"Oh, don't tell Cyborg."

"I know, anyway, it's always fun, but I kinda expected you to be there when I woke up."

"I have a job, Bette."

"So do I, Gar, though it's more of a recreation than a profession, if you catch my drift."

"I'm a working man."

"Even though you're name's Beast BOY?"

"It's been that way since the Patrol."

"Doom Patrol, yeah. Gar, do you even like me?"

"Yeah, of course I do," I said, leaning up against the brick wall behind me. I'll tell you one thing, Star City is not famous for it's comfy alleyways.

"Then why do you run away everytime you get close to me?"

"Not only you," I added.

"What?"

"Nothing. Talk to you later, Bette. Stay safe."

I then turned into a falcon and flew away.

"You're a piece of work, Garfield Logan. A piece of work."

[LibrarianThorne]

He landed gently, and opened the doors softly. His wife, black hair cascading down her shoulders, jumped up from the couch as he walked in.

It had been five hours since Doomsday had been incinerated. He had been a blur of motion, energy, and power all over Metropolis. Even now, most news sources were only beginning to pick up what had happened in Metropolis, and the enormity of the disaster.

A talking head on CNN droned on in the background about the return of the heroes, but he could have cared less. His city, if just for a moment, was safe again. He and Lois embraced each other deeply, passionately. After a few long moments, their lips parted.

"I was so worried, Clark."
"I know, Lois. But it's done, and I'm back."

His voice, his whole demeanor changed. He became relaxed, and allowed himself to smile his real smile.

"I was going to stop by the Planet, but before I do I've got to know. How did you cover for me, Lois?"

She bit her lip, looking almost embarassed. "I, um, didn't."

Superman furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean, you didn't?"

She sat down at the desk where her laptop was, taking a moment to send another article in to the Planet. "When you were arrested, Perry took me into his office. He knew, Clark."
"About me?"
"Yes. He told me 'Lois, I don't pry into my reporters' personal lives. But what happened to Kent was despicable and I know it's a frame job. So, you tell Kent that when he gets out, his job will still be there for him.' I was surprised of course, and tried to act like I didn't know what he was talking about. But he wouldn't have any of it. He said, 'Lois, I know that Clark Kent is Superman. You don't get to be my age and editor of the best damn newspaper in the world and miss the clues. The days he'd forget to brush his hair back, the days he stood straighter than others. He has a presence that no one else has, save for Superman, and I couldn't consider myself a news hound if I didn't pick up on the clues. I don't mention it or talk about it because Kent deserves the same treatment as everyone else that works for me. It's the story of the century, sure enough, but everyone has their secrets, and the difference between a good reporter and the best reporter is knowing what secrets to keep.' So, Clark, he knows. And maybe that isn't a bad thing."
Floored by Lois' announcement, Superman sat down on their couch. "Does anyone else know, Lois?"
"I don't think so. Perry is probably the best deductive thinker in the Planet, but I know that he hasn't told anyone else. He's too good a man to do something like that to you, Clark. Not to mention, he doesn't want to lose one of his Pulitzer Prize winning reporters," she said with a smile as she walked over to him. She sat next to him, and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know what you did today, Clark?"
"What?"
"You showed everyone just a little part of why I love you."

Exhausted but happy, Superman quickly changed into Clark Kent and joined Lois again on the couch. The couple sat there, together, for hours relishing each other's company and the love they shared for each other.

[twylight]

He lands on the floor hard. He rips off his mask and coughs off some blood. He pulls out a star from shoulder. He looks up and sees her walking toward him. He begins to back up and smacks up againsts the wall.

"Please" he screams "Don't kill me I...I can help"


The woman stared at him for a few seconds before dropping her arrow and bow to her side and grabbing his collar with one hand, pulling him near her.

“What is Joker planning?” She asked hoarsely.

[Watchman]

The woman stared at him for a few seconds before dropping her arrow and bow to her side and grabbing his collar with one hand, pulling him near her.

“What is Joker planning?” She asked hoarsely.

"You stepped into something far deeper then me controlling the Asylam or a Black Mask and Two-Face gang war. We belong to a group that has one common goal the complete destruction of the heroes. You see now that we control Gotham we can easily defeat the Bat and any of his partners but we can change that...you can control Gotham" he forced himself to smile.

[Green Lantern]

"Boy?" Odd, I've never even heard that from the more simple times during the JSA...in the fourties.

I was about to tell Roy my plan when even more ninjas swarmed in. I counted 36 when I decided it was "a hell of a lot."

"Hope you're not tired, Aresenal."

I roar out as I charge towards the nearest ninja."Me? Tired? Pfft. Can't say the same for Ollie and Ted though. Should I go get them and maybe we can take out the virus while you two do what you need to do?"

[Spider-Man9X17]

My eyes open and I see the Martian Manhunter standing in my room. Damn, I'm back. I do not try to sit up, my body aches too much for that. But I stare at him.

"Do not concern yourself, I have not invaded the privacy of your mind."

"You tried, didn't you."

"Yes. But your ring obviously still carries some sort of charge. It is blocking my efforts. Something you programmed into it?"

"Of course." I try not to act surprised, keep my face neutral. My ring still has a charge? I check, it's empty...no, wait. I probe deeper. There is something still there. It's minor. No wonder I didn't notice it. And it's strange. As if it doesn't feel right. Marvel. Whatever he did to me during the Qwardian attack, it's affected my ring.

I force myself to situp. The Manhunter steps up to push me back down. "I need to recharge my ring. With it, I can heal my body." Again, it's something I had never been able to do before...until Marvel's recharge.

"That's what Professor Hamilton said you tried to do before leaving."

"The energy the humans use for power is inefficient. Low grade and weak. My ring cannot make much use out of it. I need a lantern. I need a Green Lantern."

"I know where one currently is."

I put my legs over the bed and will myself to stand, and keep standing. "Then take me there."

...

In just a few minutes, we're at another hospital. The Martian and I walk into a room where Kyle Rayner lays in his bed.

I walk up to him. "Since you do not appear to be dead, I am assuming you can do something about this?" I say, holding up my ring hand.


"Oh, thank God. This place is horrible. You know all those jokes about the hot nurses? They're not true. I got some guy with "SweetHeart" tatooed on his arm taking care of me."

Kyle rolled out of bed, still in his Lantern uniform. He called for his battery, and the very essence of time and space ripped apart in his hospital room. He gave himself a full charge, and then held it out for Sinestro.

"Hurry up, it's almost feeding time, and I don't much care for a three hundred pound man trying to spoon feed me."

[wiegeabo]

"Oh, thank God. This place is horrible. You know all those jokes about the hot nurses? They're not true. I got some guy with "SweetHeart" tatooed on his arm taking care of me."

Kyle rolled out of bed, still in his Lantern uniform. He called for his battery, and the very essence of time and space ripped apart in his hospital room. He gave himself a full charge, and then held it out for Sinestro.

"Hurry up, it's almost feeding time, and I don't much care for a three hundred pound man trying to spoon feed me."


It's almost tempting to wait and see that happen to Rayner. But we have more important things to be concerned with.

I put my ring to the lantern. Soon my ring is at full charge again. It feels so good. I will the energy to begin healing my body and can already feel the difference. It will still take some time, but the process is accelerated.

Then I notice that my ring isn't just full. It's beyond full. The current charge is 105% of maximum. How can this be? Marvel again. It must be Marvel. I keep this fact from the others. Whatever changes that are occurring, I will deal with them myself.

"Now what?" I say, enjoying the feeling of my powered ring.

The Martian speaks up. "Superman has taken care of the situation, bringing sanity back to the city. There is still quite a lot of damage to repair, but I suggest we continue with our current mission: To reunite the League."

"So, you will offically rejoin after all?"

"...Yes."

"Good. Then let's find Superman and get started."

"I know where he is. Although we might be disturbing him..."

"After what we all just went through. Let him be disturbed. Lead the way." I look at Rayner. "I assume you're joining us?"

[MaskedManJRK]

"Me? Tired? Pfft. Can't say the same for Ollie and Ted though. Should I go get them and maybe we can take out the virus while you two do what you need to do?"

"No, take them to the Bug, me and Question will go for the virus. When you get back, just follow the broken bodies."

Just as Roy starts to go, I stop him.

"One more thing, you'll see a small child in the Bug already. If he's up--DON'T LET HIM OUT. I'll explain when we get out."

[twylight]

"You stepped into something far deeper then me controlling the Asylam or a Black Mask and Two-Face gang war. We belong to a group that has one common goal the complete destruction of the heroes. You see now that we control Gotham we can easily defeat the Bat and any of his partners but we can change that...you can control Gotham" he forced himself to smile.

Her visible eye changed to a slit.

"Who's the 'we' here?" SHe said.

Her goals were simple, bring Gotham back to it's feet. She didn't want to control it..only to...

"Who's the group?"

[The Question]

36.

Heavily armed.

Ninjas.

Oh ****.

"Bats. Running would be a VERY good idea right now."

[Green Lantern]

... A small child? Bruce, you playa! Here I thought it was up to Ollie and me to have all the kids in the male superhero front, or is this just a new recruit for Robin. Joker beat another one dead?"

Before waiting for a response, Arsenal threw a smoke bomb to conceal him on the way out of the hallway that was getting crowded. He ran down the hallway hiding in shadows and taking out lone ninjas as they ran past.

Jesus what were we thinking? This is f**king insane!

He got to the room that was now empty other than the two fallen heroes. He noticed Ted unconscious on the floor and Ollie was off to the side of the room.

"The s**ts hit the fan, Ollie, we gotta grab Ted and get the f**k outta dodge!"

[Watchman]

Her visible eye changed to a slit.

"Who's the 'we' here?" SHe said.

Her goals were simple, bring Gotham back to it's feet. She didn't want to control it..only to...

"Who's the group?"

"The Joker runs the show here in Gotham along with Black Mask and Two-Face but the man that's has been funding our operation... well knowing that information could get somebody in trouble" she gets an angered look in her eyes and starts to pull out the sai.

"Alright...alright it's Lex Luthor" he says quickly

[Nightwing]

... A small child? Bruce, you playa! Here I thought it was up to Ollie and me to have all the kids in the male superhero front, or is this just a new recruit for Robin. Joker beat another one dead?"

Before waiting for a response, Arsenal threw a smoke bomb to conceal him on the way out of the hallway that was getting crowded. He ran down the hallway hiding in shadows and taking out lone ninjas as they ran past.

Jesus what were we thinking? This is f**king insane!

He got to the room that was now empty other than the two fallen heroes. He noticed Ted unconscious on the floor and Ollie was off to the side of the room.

"The s**ts hit the fan, Ollie, we gotta grab Ted and get the f**k outta dodge!"

"Thanks for the hand, kiddo. Ra's really did a number on me, I can hardly walk but I think I'll manage. You grab Ted, and we'll have to make our way toward that virus. The more time we waste, the less chance we have of stopping it from being deployed."

All I had was my crossbow, since Ra's destroyed my other bow earlier. I loaded the crossbow and started walking as fast as I could. Damn, when all this is over I'm going to need a wheelchair....I started walking down the hall, with Roy right behind me.

[MaskedManJRK]

...Did Roy just figure it out already? Even if I could ask, he runs away before I can.

36.

Heavily armed.

Ninjas.

Oh ****.

"Bats. Running would be a VERY good idea right now."

"...When you're right, you're right."

I take a stun grenade from my ultility belt and throw it at the ninjas.

As Question and I start to run, the grenade explodes, taking out, from what I can see, a dozen or so out.

"You have any more bright ideas?"

[Green Lantern]

"Thanks for the hand, kiddo. Ra's really did a number on me, I can hardly walk but I think I'll manage. You grab Ted, and we'll have to make our way toward that virus. The more time we waste, the less chance we have of stopping it from being deployed."

All I had was my crossbow, since Ra's destroyed my other bow earlier. I loaded the crossbow and started walking as fast as I could. Damn, when all this is over I'm going to need a wheelchair....I started walking down the hall, with Roy right behind me. Arsenal grabbed Beetle and went down the other hallway.

"Ollie! This way, Bats and Faceless are gonna crack the virus, he told me to get you two to the bug."

[twylight]

"The Joker runs the show here in Gotham along with Black Mask and Two-Face but the man that's has been funding our operation... well knowing that information could get somebody in trouble" she gets an angered look in her eyes and starts to pull out the sai.

"Alright...alright it's Lex Luthor" he says quickly


She drops him on the floor unceremoniously, he lands in a heap at her feet.

So Luthor was calling the shots. She fought the urge to go after him now, that could wait. What mattered was Gotham. The Gotham that everyone on a state and even country level seemed to write off as a forgivable loss.

The woman gave the mass at her feet a little shove with her foot.

"Get up. You're going to help me."

She took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

[Nightwing]

Arsenal grabbed Beetle and went down the other hallway.

"Ollie! This way, Bats and Faceless are gonna crack the virus, he told me to get you two to the bug."

I turn around and look at Roy.

"That's a better idea, I'd be useless anyway. Here, take my crossbow and I'll take Ted back to the bug. You better head back and help out Bruce and Vic, with that virus. We'll be wating for the three of you so we can get the hell of of here"

I hand Roy my crossbow and than lower myself on my knee so that I can carry Ted over my shoulder, instead of my already damaged back.

[Green Lantern]

I turn around and look at Roy.

"That's a better idea, I'd be useless anyway. Here, take my crossbow and I'll take Ted back to the bug. You better head back and help out Bruce and Vic, with that virus. We'll be wating for the three of you so we can get the hell of of here"

I hand Roy my crossbow and than lower myself on my knee so that I can carry Ted over my shoulder, instead of my already damaged back."Be careful Ollie. I'm not ready to tell Lian that both you and Auntie Dinah are gone. It would kill my poor baby."

Roy ran back down the deserted hallway, cocking his dual pistols as he went.

Bout half loaded in both of em... hope its enough...

As he continued down the hall he could see the silhouettes of Batman and the Question up ahead along with several still standing ninjas. He looked up, and saw that right above his head was a gas pipe...

Hmmm....

"BATMAN! QUESTION! RUN!!! I GOT AN IDEA!"

[Watchman]

She drops him on the floor unceremoniously, he lands in a heap at her feet.

So Luthor was calling the shots. She fought the urge to go after him now, that could wait. What mattered was Gotham. The Gotham that everyone on a state and even country level seemed to write off as a forgivable loss.

The woman gave the mass at her feet a little shove with her foot.

"Get up. You're going to help me."

She took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

Gotham Docks, he hated this place. It had a disgusting smell and looked even worst. He stood wind blowing his straw. He looked off into the distance and saw what could be gangs running around or people fleeing in terror. He like to think it was the latter. Gotham has gone to hell and he liked it.

"Well my pretty what are we doing here?"

[twylight]

Gotham Docks, he hated this place. It had a disgusting smell and looked even worst. He stood wind blowing his straw. He looked off into the distance and saw what could be gangs running around or people fleeing in terror. He like to think it was the latter. Gotham has gone to hell and he liked it.

"Well my pretty what are we doing here?"


The woman kept her back to him, her dark form blending with the dark waters of the ocean in the distance.

“We’re meeting someone.” She said lowly, her voice barely perceptible over the soft wash of the waves against the docks. She ignored his calling her ‘my pretty’ but a visible check mark went up next to his name in her head.

Her bow replaced over her body and her guns in their holsters under her arms.

“Well, nice night for a jaunt.”

The voice came from the shadows as Ricky stepped out. He stopped seeing the Scarecrow.

“What’s he doing here?”

The woman turned to Ricky, allowing the Scarecrow a glimpse of her profile. She pulled off her mask, the fabric bunching around her neck. She took a few unhindered breathes of the salt water air, the cool air rushing into her body was refreshing. Her hair covered one half of her face.

“Dr. Crane is helping us.” She said. “Did you bring it?”

Ricky nodded and walked towards her handing her a box.

“You went through it quickly.”

The woman nods placing the box on a crate as she pulled out her guns, one at a time and set them next to it. She opened the box to reveal rows of gun clips. She slipped them into her guns and holstered them before putting the rest in her belt.

“How is everything?” she asked

Ricky put his hands in his trench coat pockets.
“We’ve confiscated three shipments from Penguin. They’re spread throughout Gotham and I’ve got an outside buyer lined up. Checked him out, no ties to Gotham City at all.”

“Terrorists?”

Ricky was silent and gave her a weird look.

She looked up from what she was doing.
“Are they connected to terrorists?”

“No.”

She nodded and Ricky continued.

“I brought the figures you asked for as well.”

He handed her some papers and she flipped through them. She made a low grunt sound and Scarecrow came up behind her to peek over her shoulder. She stopped reading and looked sideways at the man leaning over her shoulder. He slowly turned his head and met her gaze before stepping back into a huddle in the shadows.

“As expected.”

Ricky nodded.

“Wayne Enterprises stock has gone way down. It’s not good. The company has holdings in other places but for the subsidiaries in Gotham it’s not good.”

“Looks like LexCorp is benefiting from it.”

Ricky said nothing as she finished flipping through the pages of stock sales. She flipped them all beck and handed him the sheets of paper.

“Buy up the Wayne Enterprises stock.”

Ricky took the papers.
“How much?”

“As much as you can.”

Ricky thought for a moment.
“If we use the money in the account…we could by up over half.”

“Do it.”

He folded the papers up and put them in his coat.
“Anything else?” He asked noting her lack of leaving.

“Where is Harvey Dent?”

“Court House,” The woman turned to leave.
“You’re not..?”

She half turned towards him and pulled her mask back up and over her face, cutting off the crisp air.

“You’re not suffering from guilt are you? Perhaps your loyalty isn’t as strong as I thought.”

Ricky shook his head.

“No, just…he’s not all bad.”

She smiled under her mask.
“I’m only going after the part that is”

[The Question]

"Be careful Ollie. I'm not ready to tell Lian that both you and Auntie Dinah are gone. It would kill my poor baby."

Roy ran back down the deserted hallway, cocking his dual pistols as he went.

Bout half loaded in both of em... hope its enough...

As he continued down the hall he could see the silhouettes of Batman and the Question up ahead along with several still standing ninjas. He looked up, and saw that right above his head was a gas pipe...

Hmmm....

"BATMAN! QUESTION! RUN!!! I GOT AN IDEA!"



And who says that the drugs fried his brains?

"C'mon, Casinova!"

I grab Bruce by his cape and run down the hall. The grunts start chasing after us.

[MaskedManJRK]

And who says that the drugs fried his brains?

"C'mon, Casinova!"

I grab Bruce by his cape and run down the hall. The grunts start chasing after us.

...Sage grabbed me by the cape. As we run in the hall, he still has the cape in his hand.

"Sage, if you want to keep that hand GET OFF OF MY CAPE."

By the time I get to "of," his drops the cape.

Note to self: Make cape electric like my mask.

[The Question]

Woah.


Touchy.


As we run, I fire the shotgun off at the ninjas behind us. I'm not even trying to grab for the rocksalt shells. Just anything I get my hands on. Luckily, my shots seem to have more of an effect than their's. The ones that have guns don't it us. Not that I can blame them. Moving targets aren't easy to hit. But a shotgun's got a wide spread. Hard to miss with it.

"DAMMIT ROY! WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA DO, DO IT NOW!!!!"

[Nightwing]

"Be careful Ollie. I'm not ready to tell Lian that both you and Auntie Dinah are gone. It would kill my poor baby."

Roy ran back down the deserted hallway, cocking his dual pistols as he went.

Bout half loaded in both of em... hope its enough...

As he continued down the hall he could see the silhouettes of Batman and the Question up ahead along with several still standing ninjas. He looked up, and saw that right above his head was a gas pipe...

Hmmm....

"BATMAN! QUESTION! RUN!!! I GOT AN IDEA!"


Dammit. In the situation I was in now, the least thing I wanted was to have Dinah on my mind.

"I've been in situations like this before, Roy. Even before I took YOU under my wing, you know that. And for some reason I always made it out alive with not the greatest estimate of arrows in my quiver, I'm sure this time it won't be any different. When this is over, tell little Lian her Uncle Ollie loves her. Now get back to Bruce and Vic, and get a hold of that virus."

I watch as Roy runs back down the hall and hold on to Ted as I slowly pick up my pace toward the Bug, jeez he ways a ton. I can hear the voices of some ninjas echoing behind me, I keep moving as I start seeing these metal legs. We made it, and the back of the bug opens. I walk in and adjust the front seat so that Ted can lay there and rest, I put him down gently.

"....Hmm."

I look at the controls beside me, and then sit at the pilot's seat. I should try and start this heep up that way Bruce and the others could just climb in and we can get the hell out of hear.

"I know you can't hear me now, Ted, but I've got to get this thing started. So if by any chance I damage it within in the next 2 minutes, I promise to buy you a new one like the new bike I owe Roy ok?"

I put one hand on the steering wheel, and I hear the engine roar as the bug came alive. Now all I could do was just sit here and wait.

[batnkevlar]

Edit

[Green Lantern]

Woah.


Touchy.


As we run, I fire the shotgun off at the ninjas behind us. I'm not even trying to grab for the rocksalt shells. Just anything I get my hands on. Luckily, my shots seem to have more of an effect than their's. The ones that have guns don't it us. Not that I can blame them. Moving targets aren't easy to hit. But a shotgun's got a wide spread. Hard to miss with it.

"DAMMIT ROY! WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA DO, DO IT NOW!!!!""Already on it Q! Keep your pants on!"

Roy pulled a crossbow bolt out of his quiver and launched it into the gas main above the pursuing ninjas. Fuel sprayed out like a sprinkler on a hot summer day, showering the ninjas with the highly flammable liquid.

"Like I said, you two, HAUL Balls! I'll find another way out!"

With that he pulled one of the only trick arrows he still used out of his quiver, and launched the self igniting arrow at the source of the leak. Flames erupted and engulfed the hallway, putting a barricade up between Roy and the other heroes, and Roy turned back the way he had come.

That should buy them enough time to get to the bug. Now I guess I should make my way there too.

[Batman]

This Is Taking Too Damned Long!
Calm Down. I'm Sure There's A Logical Explainatio-
DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, DENT! We've Waited DAYS. That Clown Hasn't Given Us Anything To Do. He Hasn't Even Given Us What We Wanted Yet!
What 'We' Want? What The Hell Are You Talking About?
For Too Damned Long, I've Been Looking Over My Shoulder. We Both Have. It's Time We Put Someone NEW On The Stand. It's Time We Prosecuted Someone I Always Wanted To.
Will You Cut The Damned Vagueness? WHO?
BATMAN!

Two-Face sat behind the Judge's podium, flipping his coin as he usually did. Every time it landed, it landed on a different side. It was what was powering his internal conversation, right now.

Truth was, Batman hadn't been seen for weeks. In his abscence, Gotham City had been taken control by his worst enemies, and even the officials were now familiar rogues that he had fought against, over the years. But it wasn't enough, for Two-Face. He wanted to make the man suffer. He wanted to give him the death penalty for years. But Batman still wasn't here. And it was making Two-Face impatient, as time went by.

HE'S The One Who Should Be Given The Death Penalty... Not Some Second Rate Judge! Hell, Why Not Give Him Something Worse? Life In Arkham!
Is Batman Really That Horrible To You?
What The Hell Kind Of Question Is That? Of COURSE He Is!
I Just Think You Need To Get Your Mind Off Of Him. That's All. We Have More Imporant Matters-
THE HELL WE DO! Batman Is Our Number One Priority! For All The Times He's Interfered In Our Buisness, I-

Two-Face's eye widened, visibly.

...Why Are You Defending Him, Anyway?
What? I'm Not Defending-
BULL****. You're Defending Him! Why?! Have You Forgotten What He's Done To You?!
He Tried To HELP Me.
You Know DAMN WELL That Isn't True! He Threw You In JAIL, For Cryin' Out Loud.
He Threw YOU In Jail To Help ME.
What, Now You're Turning Against Me?! I've Done Nothing But Help You, Goddamn It! The Bat Is The One That-

Two-Faced paused, letting the coin fall into his hand.

...You KNOW Something.
Now You're Just Being Paranoid.
Me Paranoid? You're The One Defending The Guy Who's Put Me In Jail Countless Times. Now What The Hell Is It That You Know?!
Oh, For The Love Of... I Don't 'Know' Anything.

Two-Face snarls, taking out another magnum from his jacket pocket.

...What Are You Doing?
I Know You, Harvey. Hell, I AM Half Of You. You Can't Lie To Your Own Concience. So I'm Gonna Make It Easy For Ya...

Two-Face holds the gun to his forehead.

You Tell Me What You Know, And I Won't Blow Both Of Our Brains To Kingdom Come.
You're CRAZY!
I'm Giving You To The Count Of TWO.
You Sadistic Son Of A B-
ONE.
I Don't Know Anything... For The Love Of God, Put The Gun Down...
TW-
ALRIGHT! You Want To Know What I Know? Huh?! Batman... He's BRUCE WAYNE!

Two-Face's eye widens as the gun clicks, revealing itself to be empty, in actuality. His finger slipped on the trigger, with this newest revealation.

Bruce... Wayne? He's Batman?
I... I don't... I... Yes. He's... He's Batman.
...AND YOU KNEW THIS?!
... I...Yes.


Two-Face's teeth grit. He's almost ready to beat himself to a pulp, as he stands up, and throws the Judge's gavel across the room, breaking it against the far wall.

...YOU DISGUST ME.

[Keyser Soze]

Jervis made his way towards the large building in his slow ambling manor. The little girl...she always was there, whispering things in his ear, but everytime he turned she darted into the shadows....she never left him alone. Never...

But it didn't matter, he had to show the device to the...who was it again? Oh yes the Mayor..he had heard Osward talking to him...and he figured the Mayor would want to see his device. Besides, who better then the Mayor to help him find Alice? A Mayor was almost as good as a Hatter.

Jervis pulled his large trenchcoat around himself as he entered the large establisment. Almost immeadiatley two big men converged upon him. They wore bright clothes, red and black mostly.

"Do you work for the Queen?" Jervis asked tenitively.
One of the big men laughed nastily, "no shorty, we work for the Mayor, what buisness do you have round here?"

"Machine," Jervis muttered, showing the men the small box, "Penguin...had me build it, I figured the Mayor might want to look at it. Do you like tea?"

One of the men raised his eyebrow, he turned to his companion and whipsered a few quick words...
"seems crazy..."
"don't look too dangerous..."
"boss could be mad if it's somthin he wants..."

Finally they turned and faced Jervis again.
"Down the hall, first door on the right."

Jervis nodded, then walked forward. He noticed many of the walls were scratched, and seeme to have paint smeared over them in a haphazard manor. One even had the words Ha Ha Ha smeared on it in an ugly brownish color.

"hmm...odd...strange taste many have..."

Jervis found the named room, and was momentarily startled by the odd assorments of numerous toys and brightly colored posters plastered over the wall, along with many other unusual items. Jervis stared for so long he forgot what he was here for, so he was momentairy startled when a man sitting in a large chair opposite him spoke up.

"Can I help you my short friend?"

Jervis jumped a bit, then turned towards the man, who was just as unusual as the room he resided in. His face was pearly white, whith dark green hair, and a purple suit to top it off. But what caught Jervis were the eyes....his eyes....there was...something...something there, something Jervis new. Something Jervis new very well, because he had been living with it every day of his life the past few weeks.....

Jerivs walked forward quickly, staring directly into the odd man's eyes. The last remaining humane part of Jervis Tetch that still resided in the Hatter's body stirred, recognizing the pain and loss, and insanity in the other's eyes, the same feelings that Jervis had been consumed by.

"You....you're there....you're there too aren't you?" Jervis muttered quickly....

"You....you've lost someone too....that's why you're there....there in Wonderland....it's where we all go when we loose.....when...when..." Jervis trailed off, the breif moment of revalation passed. The tall man simply stared coldly back at him, Jervis had no way of knowing that most would be simply killed by this individual if they talked to him this way, but it probably wouldn't have made any difference if he had.

Looking around, he noticed a small stuffed rabit with it's head partially ripped off seated at a small table, seating himself opposite of it, Jervis pulled out his small china cups, and began an avid conversation with the toy.

"Well, if it isn't the Mad Hatter! Our mutual friend Mr. Cobblepot mentioned that you were working for him. Please, make yourself at home."

The Joker had no idea what Mad Hatter was blabbering about. He really had little time for crazy people. Unless, of course, they were his kind of crazy.

"I'll deal with you in one moment. Right now, I'm about to make a public service announcement. HA HA!"

The Joker swivelled around on his chair, until he was facing the camera set up in his office. One of The Joker's goons counted down from 3 to 1 with his fingers, and then motioned to show that he was on the air.

In televisions all over the city, and on the giant television screen in Gotham Square, The Joker's grinning face leered at Gotham's citizens.

"People of Gotham! As you all know, I am The Joker, your esteemed Mayor. And as The Mayor of Gotham City, it is my duty to protect this city and it's people from harm. And so far, I'd say I've done a damn good job! HA HA! Batman is gone, and for a while, criminals were free to go about their business without living in fear."

The Joker's grin vanished. He took on a more sombre tone.

"But not anymore. A new vigilante has emerged to menace the streets. Many have fallen victim to the wrath of this mysterious figure, including my dear, beloved Harley Quinn. Of course, I realise now that she is expendable, but for about 3 minutes I was...oh, inconsolable!"

The Joker engaged in some theatrical sobbing, before his grin suddenly returned. He continued:

"And so, I've decided that we need a dashing, white-skinned superhero to save the day. But sadly, I'm busy with paperwork. Instead, I want to make a plea to the man they call Lobo. I know you are paying a visit to our glorous city. Well, we need your help. You will be paid generously for your heroic duty, I assue you. For more information, pop by The Mayor's office. The Mad Hatter is here as well. We can all have a cup of tea. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The camera flicked off, ending the live broadcast. Once the lackey had taken the camera away, The Joker turned to Mad Matter.

"Oh, cup of tea, HA HA, what a hoot," he giggled, "Now, tell me, Jarvis, what's going on in that demented little mind of yours?"

[Infinity9999x]

"Well, if it isn't the Mad Hatter! Our mutual friend Mr. Cobblepot mentioned that you were working for him. Please, make yourself at home."

The Joker had no idea what Mad Hatter was blabbering about. He really had little time for crazy people. Unless, of course, they were his kind of crazy.

"I'll deal with you in one moment. Right now, I'm about to make a public service announcement. HA HA!"

The Joker swivelled around on his chair, until he was facing the camera set up in his office. One of The Joker's goons counted down from 3 to 1 with his fingers, and then motioned to show that he was on the air.

In televisions all over the city, and on the giant television screen in Gotham Square, The Joker's grinning face leered at Gotham's citizens.

"People of Gotham! As you all know, I am The Joker, your esteemed Mayor. And as The Mayor of Gotham City, it is my duty to protect this city and it's people from harm. And so far, I'd say I've done a damn good job! HA HA! Batman is gone, and for a while, criminals were free to go about their business without living in fear."

The Joker's grin vanished. He took on a more sombre tone.

"But not anymore. A new vigilante has emerged to menace the streets. Many have fallen victim to the wrath of this mysterious figure, including my dear, beloved Harley Quinn. Of course, I realise now that she is expendable, but for about 3 minutes I was...oh, inconsolable!"

The Joker engaged in some theatrical sobbing, before his grin suddenly returned. He continued:

"And so, I've decided that we need a dashing, white-skinned superhero to save the day. But sadly, I'm busy with paperwork. Instead, I want to make a plea to the man they call Lobo. I know you are paying a visit to our glorous city. Well, we need your help. You will be paid generously for your heroic duty, I assue you. For more information, pop by The Mayor's office. The Mad Hatter is here as well. We can all have a cup of tea. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The camera flicked off, ending the live broadcast. Once the lackey had taken the camera away, The Joker turned to Mad Matter.

"Oh, cup of tea, HA HA, what a hoot," he giggled, "Now, tell me, Jarvis, what's going on in that demented little mind of yours?"

Jervis looked up from the toy, then paused staring at the face of the Joker once again. Wordlessly he picked up his device and held it at arms length to the clown.

"Mr....Cobblepot....he said you might like this." The Joker gave him a blank look, so Jervis decided to demonstrate. He saw one of the big guards at the door, and turned the machine on. He didn't bother to tell the Joker to cover his ears, because Jervis knew...instictivley that this man was very simmilar to him.

The high pitched whine of the machine filled the room, and the large bodyguard by the door stiffened immediatley, then with an earsplitting shriek he fell to the floor, his hands clawing at his eyes. Blood began to pour from the man's face, and his screams filled the air as he tried to stop himself. He slowly dragged himself to his feet and began bashing his head against the wall, until finally he stopped an lay still.

Jervis turned back towards the Joker, "it...emits a high frequency that causes a violent reaction in the brain...in normal individuals anyway. In a sense the pitch drives them insane and they inflict pain upon themselves until they eventually kill themselves....for some reason....people...certain ones....are uneffected by the pitch...."

Jervis halted....looking back at the mangled corpse at his feet. What had he done? Good lord...but the little girl was there again. She stood infront of the corpse, shaking her head back and forth. Yes....yes she was right...there was no one there...must have been his imagination....

He turned back to the Joker, "I can build more for you.....," he said jesturing to the machine, "and then...maybe you could help...me find Alice..."

Something caught the Hatter's eye, a ripped newspaper causually lying in a stack of magazines on the floor. He rushed to it....It was Alice! She was on the cover! On the cover with him! He held up the old newspaper and pointed to the picture.

"ALICE!" He said excitedly, "do...do you know where she is?" Unfortunatley Jervis did not read the captioned words under the picture.

Jervis Tetch depicted with his daughter Alice, who was murdered in what is believed to be a robbery. Tetch is missing and is presumed to be deceased.

[Watchman]

Scarecrow stood in the shadows as his mystery partner now spoke with a new mystery man. They went on talking about Two-Face and the courthouse. An interesting thought came to mind. He walked out of the shadows.

"So Dent's your next target" he walked right next to the two "Two minds inhabiting one body. Now I asked the question what would happen if each or an even, the more difficult task, one side of the mind was put under an intense situation of fear." a smile appeared underneath his mask. "You would get a very interesting reaction"

He turns to the man who is just staring at him.

"Boo!" he turns to his partner "Once you have finish off Two-Face's gang let me explore Dent's mind"

[MaskedManJRK]

"Already on it Q! Keep your pants on!"

Roy pulled a crossbow bolt out of his quiver and launched it into the gas main above the pursuing ninjas. Fuel sprayed out like a sprinkler on a hot summer day, showering the ninjas with the highly flammable liquid.

"Like I said, you two, HAUL Balls! I'll find another way out!"

With that he pulled one of the only trick arrows he still used out of his quiver, and launched the self igniting arrow at the source of the leak. Flames erupted and engulfed the hallway, putting a barricade up between Roy and the other heroes, and Roy turned back the way he had come.

That should buy them enough time to get to the bug. Now I guess I should make my way there too.


I look behind at the fire wall and barely saw Roy through the flames. I take my comm and put it to his frequency.

I'm not going to allow the first Outsiders mission to end with one of our own dead.

"Arsenal, get yourself killed on your own time. I'm sending you our cordences, meet up with us, or it's your ass."

I change the frequency over to Ollies.

"Green Arrow, what's your status? Have you found Blue Beetle?"

[Green Lantern]

I look behind at the fire wall and barely saw Roy through the flames. I take my comm and put it to his frequency.

I'm not going to allow the first Outsiders mission to end with one of our own dead.

"Arsenal, get yourself killed on your own time. I'm sending you our cordences, meet up with us, or it's your ass."

I change the frequency over to Ollies.

"Green Arrow, what's your status? Have you found Blue Beetle?"Whats with everyone having bugs up their...

"Calm down Bats, I'm fine, just wanted to give you and Q a little diversion to get yourselves outta here. I'm heading back the way Ollie took Ted, with any luck I'll find them before getting into too much more trouble."

Roy ran as fast as he could from the spreading wall of fire. He got to the room he'd left Ollie and Ted in, and found a right and left exit. He chose to run down the right one, and in the distance he could see light.

[MaskedManJRK]

Whats with everyone having bugs up their...


"Calm down Bats, I'm fine, just wanted to give you and Q a little diversion to get yourselves outta here. I'm heading back the way Ollie took Ted, with any luck I'll find them before getting into too much more trouble."

Roy ran as fast as he could from the spreading wall of fire. He got to the room he'd left Ollie and Ted in, and found a right and left exit. He chose to run down the right one, and in the distance he could see light.


He may have a point. I need to calm down, think things through. Remember, Bruce, this is not any of the "side-kicks," they can handle themselves.

"Right. Get with them and get the Bug ready--we'll need some more firepower and an escape vehicle. Batman out."

We run as fast as we can, until we find outselves in a huge room, with a large vat in the middle.

"Gentlemen, I think we found the virus."

[Spider-Man9X17]

It's almost tempting to wait and see that happen to Rayner. But we have more important things to be concerned with.

I put my ring to the lantern. Soon my ring is at full charge again. It feels so good. I will the energy to begin healing my body and can already feel the difference. It will still take some time, but the process is accelerated.

Then I notice that my ring isn't just full. It's beyond full. The current charge is 105% of maximum. How can this be? Marvel again. It must be Marvel. I keep this fact from the others. Whatever changes that are occurring, I will deal with them myself.

"Now what?" I say, enjoying the feeling of my powered ring.

The Martian speaks up. "Superman has taken care of the situation, bringing sanity back to the city. There is still quite a lot of damage to repair, but I suggest we continue with our current mission: To reunite the League."

"So, you will offically rejoin after all?"

"...Yes."

"Good. Then let's find Superman and get started."

"I know where he is. Although we might be disturbing him..."

"After what we all just went through. Let him be disturbed. Lead the way." I look at Rayner. "I assume you're joining us?"

"Hell yeah. Someone has to lead you rowdy little band of misfit superheroes."

Kyle grinned arogantly. He could almost hear the groans.

[wiegeabo]

"Hell yeah. Someone has to lead you rowdy little band of misfit superheroes."

Kyle grinned arogantly. He could almost hear the groans.


I almost groan at that. No, don't give Rayner the satisfaction.

"Excellent," is all I say. I indicate the window. "After you," I say to the Martian. He nods and takes off. Rayner and I follow.

...

A few seconds later, a large male nurse enters the room. "Time for your...Mr. Lantern?" He looks around the empty room. "Mr. Lantern, are you here?"

[SuperFerret]

I almost groan at that. No, don't give Rayner the satisfaction.

"Excellent," is all I say. I indicate the window. "After you," I say to the Martian. He nods and takes off. Rayner and I follow.

I fly high above the city of Metropolis, knowing that I am leading Kyle and Sinestro to Kal-El's apartment. Sinestro's presence is an odd event, yet I can sense that he truly wants to do good, and I am sure that Superman does as well, but I cannot feel right about exposing Mrs. Kent to a former villain without her and Kal having prior notice.

I send out a telepathic message, reaching Superman's mind.
~Kal, this is J'onn. Kyle, Sinestro and I seek to meet with you about reforming the Justice League, is your apartment an acceptable meeting place given Sinestro's presence.~

[LibrarianThorne]

I fly high above the city of Metropolis, knowing that I am leading Kyle and Sinestro to Kal-El's apartment. Sinestro's presence is an odd event, yet I can sense that he truly wants to do good, and I am sure that Superman does as well, but I cannot feel right about exposing Mrs. Kent to a former villain without her and Kal having prior notice.

I send out a telepathic message, reaching Superman's mind.
~Kal, this is J'onn. Kyle, Sinestro and I seek to meet with you about reforming the Justice League, is your apartment an acceptable meeting place given Sinestro's presence.~

J'onn's mind came as a shock to Superman, and he sat up like a bolt.

Sorry, J'onn. Was taking a moment to relax. My apartment is fine for a meeting place, though you should know Wally's on his way to Gotham right now. As to Sinestro, I think he's turned over a new leaf, J'onn. Besides, I don't think any villain would be stupid enough to attack me or my wife in our home.

Lois looked at him with concern, seeing the distant look in his eyes. "Clark? Something the matter?"

His eyes snapped back to focus on her. "Sorry Lois. Telepathic communication. J'onn and company are coming."

He stood up, and was a blur of white that swiftly became a blur of blue and red as he changed into his costume. He stood in front of his wife, a smile on his face. She couldn't hide her own smile, though she tried bravely.

"Something about that cape always does it for me, Clark."
"You know, I don't think I've ever thanked Ma properly for it. You know, I thought the cape was a little much at first but now I really can't think of, well, me without it."

He walked into the kitchen, opening various cupboards. He took out a small white china plate and clear plastic glass. The glass was soon filled with milk from their refrigerator, but despite his searching he couldn't find J'onn's Oreos. "Lois, do you know where the Oreos for J'onn are?"
"X-Ray vision not working, hon?" she said from the living room.
"Fun-ny, Lois. You know I don't like using my powers when I'm home," he said with a chuckle.
"Second cabinet from the left, above the microwave."

He rooted around in the cabinet for a moment before digging out the package of Oreos. He didn't understand why J'onn liked the cookies so much, but it was just good manners to have some stashed away for when the Manhunter stopped by. He took out half a dozen cookies and laid them on the plate, then walked into the living room. Lois took one look at him and barked out a laugh. Superman cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

She couldn't stop herself from snickering as she spoke. "Oh, I wish I had a picture of this. You, holding a plate of Oreos and milk. You look hilarious, Clark."

Superman smiled. "At least I don't have those enormous pilot's glasses, Lois. You look more like an alien with those on than I do in my suit," he said with a laugh.

"Low blow, Smallville," she said with a mischevious grin. "I'll go make myself presentable to your Superbuddies now," she said as she stood and walked to her room. Superman set the cookies and milk on the small table they had in their living room, and awaited the arrival of J'onn, Sinestro, and Kyle.

[SuperFerret]

J'onn's mind came as a shock to Superman, and he sat up like a bolt.

Sorry, J'onn. Was taking a moment to relax. My apartment is fine for a meeting place, though you should know Wally's on his way to Gotham right now. As to Sinestro, I think he's turned over a new leaf, J'onn. Besides, I don't think any villain would be stupid enough to attack me or my wife in our home.

Lois looked at him with concern, seeing the distant look in his eyes. "Clark? Something the matter?"

His eyes snapped back to focus on her. "Sorry Lois. Telepathic communication. J'onn and company are coming."

He stood up, and was a blur of white that swiftly became a blur of blue and red as he changed into his costume. He stood in front of his wife, a smile on his face. She couldn't hide her own smile, though she tried bravely.

"Something about that cape always does it for me, Clark."
"You know, I don't think I've ever thanked Ma properly for it. You know, I thought the cape was a little much at first but now I really can't think of, well, me without it."

He walked into the kitchen, opening various cupboards. He took out a small white china plate and clear plastic glass. The glass was soon filled with milk from their refrigerator, but despite his searching he couldn't find J'onn's Oreos. "Lois, do you know where the Oreos for J'onn are?"
"X-Ray vision not working, hon?" she said from the living room.
"Fun-ny, Lois. You know I don't like using my powers when I'm home," he said with a chuckle.
"Second cabinet from the left, above the microwave."

He rooted around in the cabinet for a moment before digging out the package of Oreos. He didn't understand why J'onn liked the cookies so much, but it was just good manners to have some stashed away for when the Manhunter stopped by. He took out half a dozen cookies and laid them on the plate, then walked into the living room. Lois took one look at him and barked out a laugh. Superman cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

She couldn't stop herself from snickering as she spoke. "Oh, I wish I had a picture of this. You, holding a plate of Oreos and milk. You look hilarious, Clark."

Superman smiled. "At least I don't have those enormous pilot's glasses, Lois. You look more like an alien with those on than I do in my suit," he said with a laugh.

"Low blow, Smallville," she said with a mischevious grin. "I'll go make myself presentable to your Superbuddies now," she said as she stood and walked to her room. Superman set the cookies and milk on the small table they had in their living room, and awaited the arrival of J'onn, Sinestro, and Kyle.

As expected, Kal's reasoning followed my own.

"This way."

I lead my two companions to our destination, landing on the balcony outside his apartment. I tap lightly on the glass door, alerting Kal to our presence.

[LibrarianThorne]

As expected, Kal's reasoning followed my own.

"This way."

I lead my two companions to our destination, landing on the balcony outside his apartment. I tap lightly on the glass door, alerting Kal to our presence.

Superman walks over to the door and opens it, a smile on his face.

"J'onn, Kyle, Sinestro! Come in, come in. J'onn, there are Oreos on the table for you," he said as the trio walked in. Kyle took a seat on the couch, while Sinestro chose to stand.

"So, this is where we talk about the new Justice League."

[SuperFerret]

Superman walks over to the door and opens it, a smile on his face.

"J'onn, Kyle, Sinestro! Come in, come in. J'onn, there are Oreos on the table for you," he said as the trio walked in. Kyle took a seat on the couch, while Sinestro chose to stand.

I nod politely and sit at the table, picking up one of the delicious little cookies and munching on it.

"So, this is where we talk about the new Justice League."

"Yes. Our first order of business should be the roster, we cannot allow ourselves to fall apart as easily as we did during the Unity, or during the Deadly Alliance crisis."

[Spider-Man9X17]

"Wow, Superman's home," Kyle said to himself as the group entered the apartment. It felt a little wierd being here. Usually heroes didn't go to other heroes homes. They had the Watchtower or sometimes the Batcave for that. OK, so technically the Batcave was part of Batman's home, but...

Kyle snapped back to reality. They were starting without him.

"So, this is where we talk about the new Justice League."

"Yeah, the new League. The way I see it, we need a League as much as the people need a Leagur. A group to back us up, to help us out of our problems, as well as come together to stave off those threats no single hero can. The attacks on myself, on Superman, and onMetropolis these past few day just kinda drive that point home, don't you think. Really, in my eyes, this is a simple decision."

[LibrarianThorne]

"Wow, Superman's home," Kyle said to himself as the group entered the apartment. It felt a little wierd being here. Usually heroes didn't go to other heroes homes. They had the Watchtower or sometimes the Batcave for that. OK, so technically the Batcave was part of Batman's home, but...

Kyle snapped back to reality. They were starting without him.

"So, this is where we talk about the new Justice League."

"Yeah, the new League. The way I see it, we need a League as much as the people need a Leagur. A group to back us up, to help us out of our problems, as well as come together to stave off those threats no single hero can. The attacks on myself, on Superman, and onMetropolis these past few day just kinda drive that point home, don't you think. Really, in my eyes, this is a simple decision."

"I agree with Kyle and J'onn. The we need the League, and the world needs the League."

He began walking around the room, thoughts running through his head at the speed of light.

"And this new League needs to be more permanent than Leagues past. What I'm about to propose is something I've been thinking about for a long time. Our base of operations needs to be on Earth. No Satellites or Watchtowers looking down on the planet from above. And moreover, I want civillians working in the facility. I want the people to know that we aren't some sort of gods looking down on them, we're on the ground and working with them."

He stopped his pacing for a moment, looking at each of the gathered heroes in turn. "Frankly, being a hero isn't very popular right now. Words and platitudes won't change that. Many politicians are just waiting for one big screwup on our part. We're not going to give them that satisfaction. This new League will be the way we get the trust of the people back. And the quickest, surest method of that is including as many of them as we can into our organization."

[Spider-Man9X17]

"I agree with Kyle and J'onn. The we need the League, and the world needs the League."

He began walking around the room, thoughts running through his head at the speed of light.

"And this new League needs to be more permanent than Leagues past. What I'm about to propose is something I've been thinking about for a long time. Our base of operations needs to be on Earth. No Satellites or Watchtowers looking down on the planet from above. And moreover, I want civillians working in the facility. I want the people to know that we aren't some sort of gods looking down on them, we're on the ground and working with them."

He stopped his pacing for a moment, looking at each of the gathered heroes in turn. "Frankly, being a hero isn't very popular right now. Words and platitudes won't change that. Many politicians are just waiting for one big screwup on our part. We're not going to give them that satisfaction. This new League will be the way we get the trust of the people back. And the quickest, surest method of that is including as many of them as we can into our organization."

"That's all well and good, but I don't think the Bat's gonna go for it. Can we have a League without him? I mean, the financing and gadgets and all that?"

[wiegeabo]

I stand there with my arms crossed, listening to them discuss the new league. I shake my head. So consumed with trivialities.

"Excuse me for interrupting," I say, not really concerned about interrupting one bit. "While it is good to know we are all for the League's reformation, and have a number of ideas about how to do so, if I am counting correctly, there are only four of us."

"Perhaps, before getting ahead of ourselves, we should begin recruiting additional members. Four hardly constitutes a League. And the others will likely have there own opinions on how it should be formed. So for now, I suggest we set aside the specifics and search out new members."

[twylight]

Scarecrow stood in the shadows as his mystery partner now spoke with a new mystery man. They went on talking about Two-Face and the courthouse. An interesting thought came to mind. He walked out of the shadows.

"So Dent's your next target" he walked right next to the two "Two minds inhabiting one body. Now I asked the question what would happen if each or an even, the more difficult task, one side of the mind was put under an intense situation of fear." a smile appeared underneath his mask. "You would get a very interesting reaction"

He turns to the man who is just staring at him.

"Boo!" he turns to his partner "Once you have finish off Two-Face's gang let me explore Dent's mind"

The woman raised her eyebrow.

"Very well."

She replied. She turned and pointed her finger in Scarecrows face.
"But not before he talks with me"

She turned and walked away.

"Let's go. We're running out of time."

[Watchman]

The woman raised her eyebrow.

"Very well."

She replied. She turned and pointed her finger in Scarecrows face.
"But not before he talks with me"

She turned and walked away.

"Let's go. We're running out of time."

"Very well then. Lead the way"

He begins to walk but stops at a crate. He picks up a handgun and puts it under his coat.

[SuperFerret]

I stand there with my arms crossed, listening to them discuss the new league. I shake my head. So consumed with trivialities.

"Excuse me for interrupting," I say, not really concerned about interrupting one bit. "While it is good to know we are all for the League's reformation, and have a number of ideas about how to do so, if I am counting correctly, there are only four of us."

"Perhaps, before getting ahead of ourselves, we should begin recruiting additional members. Four hardly constitutes a League. And the others will likely have there own opinions on how it should be formed. So for now, I suggest we set aside the specifics and search out new members."

"I agree, Sinestro. I know of many who would be interested. One in particular comes to mind, from Gotham. And then there is Wally. As well as Green Arrow, and others. Perhaps we should split up and recruit some more members before continuing this discussion?"

[twylight]

The night air of Gotham was cool, but oppressive in the center of Gotham City. The courthouse stood, it's rounded top lite by lights, the American flag on top was tattered and tired looking. The woman stood in front of the large steps, the creamy columns covered in spray paint.

She took a step forward and made her way up the steps, her dark figure obvious against the yellwish lights that lite the outside of the once spotless white building. She reached the doors, framed in antique brass, the glass windows cracked and broken. Pushing them open she stepped inside the building and stopped, surveying the Marble statue of Justice, the woman’s stone face disfigured on one side.

She turned and moved quickly, Scarecrow trailing behind her.

She walked down the brightly lit marble hallway. Her black boots thumping on the floor. The woman stopped in front of two large double doors. Leaning her hands against them she pushed them open, allowing them to swing back. She stepped through before they swung shut behind her.

Putting her hand on her hip she levelled her eyes at the man in the room.

“I want to speak with Harvey Dent.” Her hoarse voice bouncing off the walls of the empty courtroom.

[LibrarianThorne]

"I agree, Sinestro. I know of many who would be interested. One in particular comes to mind, from Gotham. And then there is Wally. As well as Green Arrow, and others. Perhaps we should split up and recruit some more members before continuing this discussion?"

Superman sighed. Sinestro was right, of course. He'd gotten ahead of himself.

"Do any of us know where Batman is? Or Hal? Ollie? Diana? Many heroes have gone missing while I was... incarcerated. So then, it would seem our first order of business is to find our new members."

[wiegeabo]

"Batman?" I shrug, "no idea. Jordan, though, has been recalled by the Guardians to Oa. It is doubtful he would be able to assist us even if he wanted to do so. And the others...the only heores I have heard about recently is Captain Marvel and the Flash. And I would be very interested in having Marvel join..."

[Spike_x1]

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6264/rudyandlexsideview11gs.jpg

"Jones."

The Parasite stood before Lex, the firelight playing tricks of the light on his purple skin. He was grinning menacingly and his breath smelled of death.

"How many times does someone have to kill you before you finally decide to go to hell where you belong," Luthor asked.

The creature chuckled once. "You're one to talk, Luthor. You're the one who threw a party for the whole Metropolis club, and you neglected to invite little old me." Rudy pretended to contemplate for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh, I forgot! I was a tad busy at the time, right? Killing Doomsday from the comfort of my own jail, was it? I win a war for all of Earth, and what's the thanks that I get? Stuck in a cell and strapped into Metropolis' power grid, that's what!"

Luthor scowled at the Parasite. "I hate to sound childish, but you imprisoned me first, Jones."

The monstrosity's grin vanished and he grabbed Luthor by the neck with his massive claws and held him high above the floor. "Lex, I will tell you exactly what I told the Unity right before I killed him, and I am only going to say this to you once," He brought Luthor to his eye level, "I am nobody's slave."

With that, the Parasite threw Lex Luthor onto the floor several meters away and looked at him, his haunting smile reappearing. "I'm not going to kill you. Yet. I want you to live in fear, knowing that I'll be watching you, that I could be anyone around you. You'll never be safe again and I want you to remember that fact for the rest of your life, Luthor."

Rudy Jones turned around and began to walk away when Lex Luthor called out to him with rage pouring with his words, "You're just a brute, Parasite! A mindless monster who can only live off of what other people have! You can't even begin to compare with me! I'M LEX LUTHOR!!"

The Parasite stopped and looked over his shoulder. "A mindless brute? Nah-uh, Lex. Thanks to you and the Unity, I'm now so much more than you could ever imagine." The Parasite's eye flashed a light of terror and winked.

Lex Luthor found blood dripping from his nose once again as he watched the Parasite disappear into the flames.

[Ash Loomis]

I blink a few times, I feel myself begin to go unconcious. Blood loss 'll do that to ya. But no way Teddy-boy, you're not resting on the job! You're a superhero! You're going to make a name for yourself during this mission! You're gonna...

I wake up in the Bug near Ollie.

"AW SHIIIIIIIIT!"

[The Question]

He may have a point. I need to calm down, think things through. Remember, Bruce, this is not any of the "side-kicks," they can handle themselves.

"Right. Get with them and get the Bug ready--we'll need some more firepower and an escape vehicle. Batman out."

We run as fast as we can, until we find outselves in a huge room, with a large vat in the middle.

"Gentlemen, I think we found the virus."


"Hooray."

I look around that the others.

"So, any ideas as to what to do with it?"

[Batman]

The night air of Gotham was cool, but oppressive in the center of Gotham City. The courthouse stood, it's rounded top lite by lights, the American flag on top was tattered and tired looking. The woman stood in front of the large steps, the creamy columns covered in spray paint.

She took a step forward and made her way up the steps, her dark figure obvious against the yellwish lights that lite the outside of the once spotless white building. She reached the doors, framed in antique brass, the glass windows cracked and broken. Pushing them open she stepped inside the building and stopped, surveying the Marble statue of Justice, the woman’s stone face disfigured on one side.

She turned and moved quickly, Scarecrow trailing behind her.

She walked down the brightly lit marble hallway. Her black boots thumping on the floor. The woman stopped in front of two large double doors. Leaning her hands against them she pushed them open, allowing them to swing back. She stepped through before they swung shut behind her.

Putting her hand on her hip she levelled her eyes at the man in the room.

“I want to speak with Harvey Dent.” Her hoarse voice bouncing off the walls of the empty courtroom.

Two-Face raised an eyebrow, hearing the footsteps echoing throughout the building. And not the usual ones.

Who In The Hell... This ANOTHER One Of Your Deceptions, Dent?!
...What? No! I'm as confused as you are!
Funny. I'm Finding Alot Of What You Say To Be Hard To Believe, These Days...

Irregardless, Two-Face pulled out another gun from his jacket, as the doors to the court swung open, outside the Judge's chambers. Less than a minute after that, He heard a punch. By the time He made it out, One of his balif's was already down, on the ground, bleeding. Two-Face looked up to see...

...

The woman he had hired. Even though the lower half of her face was covered, It was obvious from the way she parted her hair to her striking eyes. He had never learned her name, But he automatically assumed she was here to get paid for her services. Two-Face lowered his gun.

"Ah. I Should've Figured We'd Get A Visit From You. Well, I'm Sorry To Have Wasted Your Time... But I'm No Longer In The Buisness. I'm The District Attorney Of Gotham City, Now....And The Judge...... So, That Said..."

Two-Face sneered, raising his gun, again.

"...What Are You Doing In MY Courtroom? Attacking One Of MY Balifs?!"

[twylight]

"I want to speak with Harvey Dent."

She said simple, holding up her arm to block Scarecrow as he stepped forward.

"I suggest quickly, before my associate get's any more impatient than he already is."

[Batman]

"I want to speak with Harvey Dent."

She said simple, holding up her arm to block Scarecrow as he stepped forward.

"I suggest quickly, before my associate get's any more impatient than he already is."

Two-Face's eyebrow raised, as The Scarecrow stepped forward, only to be blocked by her. This was an odd looking situation. An intriguing one... But odd, nonetheless.

"Crane? You're Apart Of This?! You Goddamned Traitor!"

Two-Face stopped himself. This woman had done well for Two-Face, in the brief time she was under his employment. He decided to at least hear her out. Besides... It was Harvey Dent she wanted to speak to...

Two-Face lowered his gun.

"...Very Well. But Just What What Do You Want With Me?"

[Nightwing]

I blink a few times, I feel myself begin to go unconcious. Blood loss 'll do that to ya. But no way Teddy-boy, you're not resting on the job! You're a superhero! You're going to make a name for yourself during this mission! You're gonna...

I wake up in the Bug near Ollie.

"AW SHIIIIIIIIT!"

I was looking at the controls to the Bug, until I heard a loud shout, it was Ted!

"Hey, Blue Boy! Nice of you to finally wake up, I'm taking good care of your girl just so you know. Bruce and the others went for the virus, so we're just going to have to wait patiently till they get back. How you holding out?"

[twylight]

Two-Face's eyebrow raised, as The Scarecrow stepped forward, only to be blocked by her. This was an odd looking situation. An intriguing one... But odd, nonetheless.

"Crane? You're Apart Of This?! You Goddamned Traitor!"

Two-Face stopped himself. This woman had done well for Two-Face, in the brief time she was under his employment. He decided to at least hear her out. Besides... It was Harvey Dent she wanted to speak to...

Two-Face lowered his gun.

"...Very Well. But Just What What Do You Want With Me?"


"I offer to you a choice." She spoke, her voice clear through the mask.

"You can help Gotham revitalize from the trial it is going through, or..."

She paused, she'd chosen Harvey Dent from the two personalities in hopes that the logic would reach him.

"I'll have to take you out of the equation, entirely." She spoke coolly as if giving baking instructions.

Scarecrow shifted and the woman glanced at him before looking back into Two-Faces eyes.

"If you take the last option I'll have to give you into the mercy of fear."

[Watchman]

Scarecrow stood by watching as his partner try to get Harvey out on there side. Two-Face always wins though, this is going to be fun. One thing that Scarecrow did not approve of was of this revitalize Gotham thing she has going on. Everybody was living in fear and that's the way he liked it. Scarecrow was not going to let that happen. He'll wait until later to make his move let her have her fun.

"So Harvey what's it going to be?"

[Batman]

"I offer to you a choice." She spoke, her voice clear through the mask.

"You can help Gotham revitalize from the trial it is going through, or..."

She paused, she'd chosen Harvey Dent from the two personalities in hopes that the logic would reach him.

"I'll have to take you out of the equation, entirely." She spoke coolly as if giving baking instructions.

Scarecrow shifted and the woman glanced at him beore looking back into Two-Faces eyes.

"If you take the last option I'll have to give you into the mercy of fear/"

...
Is She... Threatening Us?
I Believe She Is.
I Think It's Time We Taught Her Some Goddamned Manners, Then...

Two-Face stood, silent, for a minute. He didn't take his eyes off of the woman, obviously fueled with determination and fearlessness. But then again... Those two qualities existed in him, aswell.

"Miss... Whatever Your Name Is... While I Don't Understand Why You've Suddenly Turned Against Me In A Rather Unrational Manner... I Can Assure You... Gotham City Has Already Been 'Revitalized'."

Harvey smirked. Two-Face, however, was still as angry looking as ever.

"Hell, The City's Never Been Better."

Two-Face raised his gun once more, but now, it was directed directly at the woman. As far as he was concerned, The Scarecrow was a background painting. Nothing else. Crane didn't matter to him, really. It was all about this traitor, with him.

"And I Damn Well Don't Appreciate Your Tone. I'm A City Official Now. Learn Some Goddamned Respect... Before I Teach You.", Two-Face growled, as the gun clicked.

[twylight]

...
Is She... Threatening Us?
I Believe She Is.
I Think It's Time We Taught Her Some Goddamned Manners, Then...

Two-Face stood, silent, for a minute. He didn't take his eyes off of the woman, obviously fueled with determination and fearlessness. But then again... Those two qualities existed in him, aswell.

"Miss... Whatever Your Name Is... While I Don't Understand Why You've Suddenly Turned Against Me In A Rather Unrational Manner... I Can Assure You... Gotham City Has Already Been 'Revitalized'."

Harvey smirked. Two-Face, however, was still as angry looking as ever.

"Hell, The City's Never Been Better."

Two-Face raised his gun once more, but now, it was directed directly at the woman. As far as he was concerned, The Scarecrow was a background painting. Nothing else. Crane didn't matter to him, really. It was all about this traitor, with him.

"And I Damn Well Don't Appreciate Your Tone. I'm A City Official Now. Learn Some Goddamned Respect... Before I Teach You.", Two-Face growled, as the gun clicked.

The woman moved her hand to her belt and then drew it up quickly.
A flash of silver played in the air before the gun dropped from Two-Face’s hand and clattered to the floor followed by a drop of blood.

A silver star nestled in the back of Two-Face’s white gloved hand, the crimson of the blood spreading across it.

“I’m sorry then.” She turned a little towards Scarecrow.

“He’s yours.”

[Watchman]

Scarecrow pulled out a small skull out of his his pocket and he raised it up.

"Oh Two-Face where going to have a small experiment". A smile came under his mask. "Here you go Mr. Dent take your medicine" he throws the skull across the room smashing on the ground infront of Two-Face. Gas engulfed him.

"Now tell me TWo-FAcE anD HArVey whaT dO yOU fEAr"

[Batman]

The woman moved her hand to her belt and then drew it up quickly.
A flash of silver played in the air before the gun dropped from Two-Face’s hand and clattered to the floor followed by a drop of blood.

A silver star nestled in the back of Two-Face’s white gloved hand, the crimson of the blood spreading across it.

“I’m sorry then.” She turned a little towards Scarecrow.

“He’s yours.”

Two-Face's eyes widened as he grasped his hand in agony. Since the Bat had been out of town for so long, Two-Face had forgotten to make himself prepared for an attack like that. Who was this woman? Was she another one of Wayne's pawns?!

"You B****! I Had Faith In You, Goddamn It! How DARE You Do This To Me!"

Two-Face then noticed Scarecrow, standing infront of him.

"And What The Hell Are You Looking At?"

Two-Face wasn't afraid of Scarecrow. He was a weakling... A twerp... How could he really expect to inspire fear?

Scarecrow pulled out a small skull out of his his pocket and he raised it up.

"Oh Two-Face where going to have a small experiment". A smile came under his mask. "Here you go Mr. Dent take your medicine" he throws the skull across the room smashing on the ground infront of Two-Face. Gas engulfed him.

"Now tell me TWo-FAcE anD HArVey whaT dO yOU fEAr"

Two-Face's eyes widened as he began choking.

"No...NO!!!"

He couldn't let it end like this. For the first time in a long time, Two-Face had everything he wanted. Harvey didn't, but Two-Face most certainly did. He wasn't about to give it up for some ***** and her lab ratted twerp.

Two-Face stumbled back.

"I'll KILL YOU, YOU ****ING TWERP!!! I'll..."

Two-Face stopped. He... He wasn't seeing anything. He wasn't succumbing to the effects of the gas. Two-Face began laughing, maniacally, for the first time in a long time. Scarecrow had tried... But he failed! Two-Face TRULY WAS unstoppable, now!

"HA! You Think That's All It's Gonna Take To Take Me Down, Crane?! Well, THINK AGAI-"

Suddenly, Harvey Dent's eye twitched. Not Two-Face's but Harvey's. Something was wrong. Two-Face paused.

What The Hell? Knock It Off, Dent!
AGHHH!!! GET AWAY!!! STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
What The Hell Are You-
NO!! NOOOOOO!!!!! GET... GET OUT!!! GET OUT!!!

Two-Face was now clutching his head in agony. He was screaming. But it wasn't in Two-Face's voice. It was in Harvey's. He was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Get Him Away! GET HIM AWAY!!!! AGGHHH!!!!!"

What wasn't apparent was what Harvey was afraid of. It baffled Two-Face... But, in actuality...

Harvey Dent was afraid of Two-Face himself.

[Nightwing]

Just as I'm welcoming Kord back to good 'ol Mother Earth, I hear the voice of a young child screaming in tears. I get up from the pilot seat, and quitely walk toward him as he's sitting down with his head tucked into his kness. He was so small, it was no wonder I missed him when I was climbing back onto this heep.

"Well, looks like I wasn't alone as I thought I was. Come here, you must be the boy Bruce was trying to take back with him before he got captured. Don't worry, I'm one of your father's personal friends. I won't hurt you."

I heard his whining stint calm down for a few seconds as he looked up, and got up from the seat. He wiped off the remaining tears from his eyes, and started poking at my hat.

"Creesus, just how many of you does Bruce take under his wing? Dick, Tim, Cassandra, Barbara, even I couldn't do that as much as he can, despite having Connor and training Roy all those years.....Now if only I can remember your name, I think I was told what it was but I don't have the best memory nowadays."

As I finished mumbling to myself, I took off my hat and put it on his head. It wasn't exactly a perfect fit, but atleast it would keep him quite until his daddy got back.

"C'mon, scout, let's get you back to your seat. The least thing I need is for something bad to happen to you, and I end up never hearing the end of it."

I pick him up and put him back to his seat, after I lock him with the safety belt that way he wouldn't go anywhere. I walked back to the pilot seat, and continued to wait for everybody else to get back with that virus.

[twylight]

Two-Face's eyes widened as he grasped his hand in agony. Since the Bat had been out of town for so long, Two-Face had forgotten to make himself prepared for an attack like that. Who was this woman? Was she another one of Wayne's pawns?!

"You B****! I Had Faith In You, Goddamn It! How DARE You Do This To Me!"

Two-Face then noticed Scarecrow, standing infront of him.

"And What The Hell Are You Looking At?"

Two-Face wasn't afraid of Scarecrow. He was a weakling... A twerp... How could he really expect to inspire fear?



Two-Face's eyes widened as he began choking.

"No...NO!!!"

He couldn't let it end like this. For the first time in a long time, Two-Face had everything he wanted. Harvey didn't, but Two-Face most certainly did. He wasn't about to give it up for some ***** and her lab ratted twerp.

Two-Face stumbled back.

"I'll KILL YOU, YOU ****ING TWERP!!! I'll..."

Two-Face stopped. He... He wasn't seeing anything. He wasn't succumbing to the effects of the gas. Two-Face began laughing, maniacally, for the first time in a long time. Scarecrow had tried... But he failed! Two-Face TRULY WAS unstoppable, now!

"HA! You Think That's All It's Gonna Take To Take Me Down, Crane?! Well, THINK AGAI-"

Suddenly, Harvey Dent's eye twitched. Not Two-Face's but Harvey's. Something was wrong. Two-Face paused.

What The Hell? Knock It Off, Dent!
AGHHH!!! GET AWAY!!! STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
What The Hell Are You-
NO!! NOOOOOO!!!!! GET... GET OUT!!! GET OUT!!!

Two-Face was now clutching his head in agony. He was screaming. But it wasn't in Two-Face's voice. It was in Harvey's. He was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Get Him Away! GET HIM AWAY!!!! AGGHHH!!!!!"

What wasn't apparent was what Harvey was afraid of. It baffled Two-Face... But, in actuality...

Harvey Dent was afraid of Two-Face himself.


"You B****! I Had Faith In You, Goddamn It! How DARE You Do This To Me!"

"I am sorry." She said taking a step back as the toxic gas rose into the air and hid her from him.

It soon cleared and she watched with sharp eyes the horror as it spread across Harvey Dent's face, and the confusion on Two-Face's side.

His scream echoed in the empty courtroom, bouncing off the cold marble walls and ricocheting down the hallways of Gotham Cities Court House.

[Watchman]

"vERy InTeREstING yES sO HaRVEy you aRE afRaID OF TWo-FaCE". He walks slowly closer and closer to Two-Face. He takes the gun out of his coat and turns it upside down. He swings the butt of the gun into Two-Face's face.

"cALl me A TWeRp I'LL sHOW you". He kicks him to the ground and smacks him with gun again.

"So hArVEy YOU're Afraid oF TWO-face let me do you a favor" he points the gun to Two-Face's scarred side.

"LEt me gET RiD of Him FoR yOU!" Scarecrow then pulls the trigger

[twylight]

"vERy InTeREstING yES sO HaRVEy you aRE afRaID OF TWo-FaCE". He walks slowly closer and closer to Two-Face. He takes the gun out of his coat and turns it upside down. He swings the butt of the gun into Two-Face's face.

"cALl me A TWeRp I'LL sHOW you". He kicks him to the ground and smacks him with gun again.

"So hArVEy YOU're Afraid oF TWO-face let me do you a favor" he points the gun to Two-Face's scarred side.

"LEt me gET RiD of Him FoR yOU!" Scarecrow then pulls the trigger

*BANG*

The bullet hit the marble wall behind Two-Face creating a small hole in the marble, with spider-vein cracks trailing from it.

The woman stood there, her hand under Scarecrows arm, aiming the gun away from Two-Face.

“I said….don’t kill him.” She said, her voice low and threatening.

She pulled the gun from Scarecrows hands and tossed it aside. She looked down at Two-Face cowering on the floor, Harvey Dent’s handsome face contorted in pain and fear.

“No, he’s much better to us alive.”

[twylight]

The woman knelt down, a knife in her hand and cut the cords around Two-Faces hands.

Grabbing them, she held his convulsing body still as the Doctors squeezed him into a straight jacket. Outside of Arkham Asylum the morning sun was just starting to peek up over the city limits.

She helped the Doctors place Two-Face in his cell, before shutting the door with a loud clang.

The Doctor turned to her.
“Thank you.” He said simple before turning to leave.

She watched as he walked away before looking around the Hallway of the Asylum. The building was silent, and ran smoothly. She turned and walked down the hallway and down the steps. Scarecrow was waiting for her outside and emerged from the shrubs.

The woman ignored him and looked out over Gotham City. Here, on the hill it was peaceful, the birds chirped in the trees, and the sunlight touched the almost dead grass. She tilted her head at the irony. The Arkham Staff had been reinstated as order and the Asylum once known as a place of chaos compared to Gotham City now reigned in order, while Gotham City was engulfed in chaos. She smiled under her mask.

“Get some rest. We’ve got another person to visit tonight.” She said, her voice low and breaking the silence.

She turned to Scarecrow.
“Don’t kill anyone.” Her voice was threatening, she stared him in the eye before turning and walking down the long driveway.

[Batman]

http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/tnba/episodes/24judgementday/29.jpg

J-Justice. I... I once... upheld justice.
'Justice' was always a matter of opinion, with me.
I-I was... well respected... A hero... A champion, of this city.
I was always a menace to this city. And I damn well enjoyed every minute of it.

Two-Face rocks, back and forth, in both the darkest and lightest corner of his new cell. He didn't know what to do, anymore. The Joker wasn't there to break him out. Black Mask wasn't there for bail. And he wasn't sitting in a Courtroom anymore. Even if he could get out, and get back to being District Attorney... It wouldn't be until he could be cured of his newfound fear of himself.

Never more did Harvey Dent want to be split from Two-Face. He feared everything he did. He witnessed, first hand, how Two-Face thought... How Two-Face acted... And... It scared him. Chilled him to the bone. He was never afraid of The Joker, who murdered countless... Or even Batman, who inspired fear in Gotham's underworld. But Two-Face? Harvey had nightmares about him.

Two-Face, however, was just stunned. How could he have been defeated so easily? He had everything... Money... Power... A highly respected sense of security within a high rank. And it was taken away by some woman in a mask, and The Scarecrow? How? Why? The plan was so perfect... So very perfect.

Even though one side of him was scared, the other stunned... Both side's of Two-Face's mind knew only one thing. They were defeated. And he had a feeling that he wouldn't be the first. Soon, his allies would fall aswell, and they'd be forced to repeat the same pattern. Escape, plague the city, get defeated, and be thrown back. Sets of two.

Two-Face layed his head back against the wall, as his breath grew thin, and his heart rate sped, thinking about it. Was all of this pointless? Would this be all that He would do, for the rest of his life? Seize power, only to have it taken away all of the time?

"It's Not Fair......It's Not Fair..."

http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/tnba/episodes/24judgementday/30.jpg

"..It's....Not....Fair.."

Two-Face wanted to murder Batman. He wanted to strangle him, torture him... Make him pay for all that he had done to Two-Face, over the years. It didn't matter to him if Bruce Wayne and Batman were one in the same... He hated both of them, regardless.

Harvey saw Batman as an ally, once. And Bruce Wayne as a friend. He didn't want to kill either. He didn't want to kill anymore, period.

Neither would get their wish, because Batman wasn't there. He lost his city to freaks, and now, to a woman, who seemed to mimic his example. The Joker would go down, naturally. So would Black Mask. Gotham City was going to be given back to the masked vigilantes... and there was nothing Two-Face could do, except watch, and utter silent curses as they undid the damage He and his allies caused.

But either way... It was over. He had seized power... He even been given greater power... But now... Two-Face had nothing. Harvey Dent had nothing.

They had nothing.

I've tried to tell myself differently, but... This city isn't fair.
I've tried to tell myself differently, but... This city isn't MINE, anymore.

[Watchman]

The woman knelt down, a knife in her hand and cut the cords around Two-Faces hands.

Grabbing them, she held his convulsing body still as the Doctors squeezed him into a straight jacket. Outside of Arkham Asylum the morning sun was just starting to peek up over the city limits.

She helped the Doctors place Two-Face in his cell, before shutting the door with a loud clang.

The Doctor turned to her.
“Thank you.” He said simple before turning to leave.

She watched as he walked away before looking around the Hallway of the Asylum. The building was silent, and ran smoothly. She turned and walked down the hallway and down the steps. Scarecrow was waiting for her outside and emerged from the shrubs.

The woman ignored him and looked out over Gotham City. Here, on the hill it was peaceful, the birds chirped in the trees, and the sunlight touched the almost dead grass. She tilted her head at the irony. The Arkham Staff had been reinstated as order and the Asylum once known as a place of chaos compared to Gotham City now reigned in order, while Gotham City was engulfed in chaos. She smiled under her mask.

“Get some rest. We’ve got another person to visit tonight.” She said, her voice low and breaking the silence.

She turned to Scarecrow.
“Don’t kill anyone.” Her voice was threatening, she stared him in the eye before turning and walking down the long driveway.

"As you wish" he gave a little bow. He watched as she walked off wondering who was under the mask. He was getting sick of playing her little servent at least with the Joker he gave him Arkham. They were not seeing eye to eye on many things especially about Gotham. After Joker was gone he was through helping her. He was sick of playing hero it was too much like the Bat. He walked the opposite way looking for a hiding place until tonight. He stopped and looked back into the distance to catch her out the corner of his eye.

"We'll get you my pretty" he said to himself

[Keyser Soze]

Jervis looked up from the toy, then paused staring at the face of the Joker once again. Wordlessly he picked up his device and held it at arms length to the clown.

"Mr....Cobblepot....he said you might like this." The Joker gave him a blank look, so Jervis decided to demonstrate. He saw one of the big guards at the door, and turned the machine on. He didn't bother to tell the Joker to cover his ears, because Jervis knew...instictivley that this man was very simmilar to him.

The high pitched whine of the machine filled the room, and the large bodyguard by the door stiffened immediatley, then with an earsplitting shriek he fell to the floor, his hands clawing at his eyes. Blood began to pour from the man's face, and his screams filled the air as he tried to stop himself. Heslowly dragged himself to his feet and began bashing his head against the wall, until finally he stopped an lay still.

Jervis turned back towards the Joker, "it...emits a high frequency that causes a violent reaction in the brain...in normal individuals anyway. In a sense the pitch drives them insane and they inflict pain upon themselves until they eventually kill themselves....for some reason....people...certain ones....are uneffected by the pitch...."

Jervis halted....looking back at the mangled corpse at his feet. What had he done? Good lord...but the little girl was there again. She stood infront of the corpse, shaking her head back and forth. Yes....yes she was right...there was no one there...must have been his imagination....

He turned back to the Joker, "I can build more for you.....," he said jesturing to the machine, "and then...maybe you could help...me find Alice..."

Something caught the Hatter's eye, a ripped newspaper causually lying in a stack of magazines on the floor. He rushed to it....It was Alice! She was on the cover! On the cover with him! He held up the old newspaper and pointed to the picture.

"ALICE!" He said excitedly, "do...do you know where she is?" Unfortunatley Jervis did not read the captioned words under the picture.

Jervis Tetch depicted with his daughter Alice, who was murdered in what is believed to be a robbery. Tetch is missing and is presumed to be deceased.

The Joker's eyes widened with malicious glee.

"My oh my, Jarvis! What an incredible device! I can think of the perfect way to use it."


The Joker glanced down at the newspaper article. He knew all about Alice. And he knew that he could use daddy's little dead girl to manipulate Mad Hatter any way he pleased.

"And as for Alice, I don't know where she is. Yet. But I am going to help you look for her."

The Joker put on a well-rehearsed expression of sorrow. He stood up, putting his arm around Mad Hatter's shoulder.

"Just think about it. An innocent little girl, lost in the big, bad world. Looking...for you. Trust me, Jarvis. When I'm done with you, you'll be seeing Alice again. I promise."

The Joker took a moment to savour the sinister double meaning in that promise. Then, he walked towards the door.

"Bring that device with you, Jarvis. We're going to look for Alice. And if we want to find her, the first thing we need to do is find out if anyone has seen her. And what better way to do that than to put out a message...on a national news broadcast?"

[Infinity9999x]

The Joker's eyes widened with malicious glee.

"My oh my, Jarvis! What an incredible device! I can think of the perfect way to use it."


The Joker glanced down at the newspaper article. He knew all about Alice. And he knew that he could use daddy's little dead girl to manipulate Mad Hatter any way he pleased.

"And as for Alice, I don't know where she is. Yet. But I am going to help you look for her."

The Joker put on a well-rehearsed expression of sorrow. He stood up, putting his arm around Mad Hatter's shoulder.

"Just think about it. An innocent little girl, lost in the big, bad world. Looking...for you. Trust me, Jarvis. When I'm done with you, you'll be seeing Alice again. I promise."

The Joker took a moment to savour the sinister double meaning in that promise. Then, he walked towards the door.

"Bring that device with you, Jarvis. We're going to look for Alice. And if we want to find her, the first thing we need to do is find out if anyone has seen her. And what better way to do that than to put out a message...on a national news broadcast?"

Jervis nodded his head in agreement. That was a marvellous idea...this way more people would know about Alice...and maybe....maybe she would even see it...and come find him! But did the Queen watch television? Where there televisions in Wonderland......well he supposed it didn't matter much, Wonderland was very unpredictable.

Jervis followed the tall white man obediently, still staring intently at him. His eyes...they fascinated him....Jervis could see something there....and underlying pain....a pain just like Jervis's. After a moment Jervis spoke up.

"I don't believe I know your name," his voice took on the fanciful quality of the Hatter's, the way he made it sound when he played with Alice. He liked this voice....he didn't know why...but it suited him somehow....

"I was also wondering....who was it that you've lost? It's in your eyes you know....that...look. Everyone who's lost someone in Wonderland....and hasn't found them yet....they have the look. You have it, most definatley."

[Batman]

I have alot to answer for.

Well, actually... That's a really big understatement. I can't even begin to fathom the hundreds of reasons why I should go to hell when I die.

I've done bad things. Horrible... unforgiveable things, and yet... Somehow, I was forgiven by the man who had the biggest right not to. I'll never be able to express my gratitude for this... second chance.

Then I heard about Gotham. How his most famous and dangerous enemies had taken control over it. Suddenly, I had found that there was a way to repay him.

So, Here I am. I get off of the bus with a bag slugged around my arm. As I look out at the now ripped apart city that everyone used to call 'Gotham', I remember what kept me from it for this long...

Day 3

Three days prior, I had recieved an offer from Bruce Wayne... My mentor. Alias The Batman. He was forming a new group of Outsiders. It was the chance of a lifetime... I could be... myself, again. I could enter the past, and hopefully stay there. I could have my life back.

But there was a catch.

I had to be Robin again. I had to be a hero. It's not that I didn't want to... Hell, I loved it. It's all I wanted. But... To be Robin... Batman's well respected and legendary partner... I felt I didn't deserve it. After all I had done... All the pain I caused. The lives I took... How could I live up to that name, again? I barely even remembered what it was like to be Robin...

So, What did I do? I went home, and thought long, and hard... Remembering everything I was taught. Before I could don the suit again... I had to remember how to do it.

So what did I do?

Well, over the next few weeks... I re-did everything. Every day, every lesson... All of it. I had to become the Boy Wonder again.

I had to become Robin.

As I think all of this, I walk past a poster, attached to one of the walls of the old, worn down buildings. The poster displays the hideous face of The Joker, grinning, as he stares back at me, almost taunting me.

I reach up. This isn't right... This... monster... He shouldn't be the Mayor of Gotham City. And I'll be damned if I'm going to look at this again...

I pause. A cop rounds the corner. Well... 'cop' in name only. He's one of Black Mask's thugs, no doubt. I've seen it on the news. I put my hands in my pocket, and walk on, pretending I didn't even try to do anything. What I wanted to do was tear that poster apart, piece by piece, and stick a Batarang in it's place.

This city? It doesn't belong to The Joker. It belongs to Batman. And wherever he may be... He's still the owner of it, as far as I'm concerned.

Day 9

I stand on the rooftops of New York City. I've only gone through half of the teachings I memorised by memory... But this was part of the training process, as I recall.

I wrap the pitch black bandana around my head, Just above my mouth, covering my nose. I can see through it well enough... And it covers most of my head. I considered putting the domino mask back on... Hell, I never stopped wearing that, really... But I felt it wasn't appropriate. If I was going to be Robin again... I had to finish this. No jumping ahead.

Taking out a karate staff that I used to own even before I was Robin, I twirled it around, getting the feeling back into my fingers. I smile. I waited a long time for that...

Putting the stick in the back of my shirt, I leapt off of the building with a flip.

The Gotham air has actually gotten worse, if that's easy to believe. I think that as I walk into the abandoned warehouse. Flicking the lightswitch on, I watch as all of the equipment lights up infront of me.

Bruce told me about this place, briefly, before he disappeared. He told me to meet him here when the inital formation of the Outsiders was finished. That was before he went missing. I'm surprised he even told me about it, really... considering what I did to his other hideout...

I frown. Stop it, Tim. There's no time for that now... work has to be done... You can blame yourself some more later.

I walk over, and set my bag down on one of the tables, as I walk over to a metal chest. Opening it, I look inside, to see one of Bruce's Batsuits hung up. I gulp, a little. The thing gives me the creeps, even when it's not being worn. Slowly, I reach up, and take a few items... The belt... The gloves... The gauntlets... and the cape, before shutting the door back on the cowl and armor.

My old Robin suit has... well... It's kinda been worn out, from it's useage. That, and most of mine were destroyed anyway. So, I decided to start anew... in everything. Attire included.

Day 15. The Day Before Today

I arrived at the graveyard, right outside of Metropolis. It was filled with so many people... I couldn't help but wonder if any of them were here because of me.

Walking through the area, I looked at familar and non-familiar names, until I finally spotted the one I had been looking for. It's hard to believe it's come to this...

R. I. P
HERE LIES
ALFRED PENNYWORTH

I didn't know what I'd say to him. He was like a grandfather to me... Whereas Bruce was the father. He died before I could restore myself. He died thinking I was a criminal. I think that, above all, hurts the most. He'll never know that I was going to come back.

I layed a single rose down, infront of the grave. Bruce did this often, with his parents. I haven't been apart of his inner circle since before Alfred was killed, really... But I'm sure he did it with him, too. Alfred was like the father that Bruce never lost, as opposed to the one he did. And now, He didn't have either.

I didn't know whether to feel more sorry for him, or more hatred for me. But there was something I always wanted to say to him, back when he was alive...

"Thank you, Old man. Thank you for everything."

I lay the yellow pattern down across the table, outling it with the Batman cape I borrowed, and begin trimming it. About an hour later, I've cut it to be exactly like his, only yellow.

Another couple of hours later, they've become one, as I've sewn them together. One side Black, the other yellow. I always kinda dug the ridges, actually... I wonder why it took me so long to add them to my suit.

I lay the cape aside, next to the gauntlets, gloves, and belt. Pretty cool, so far. But I've still got a ways to go.

I walk over to my bag, and dump it's contents over the table. It's one of my old suits. Well, part of it. The 'R' insigna, The mask, those fastner things I always wore across my chest, and the boots. I think it's time for an upgrade.

The mask is green... It won't match with the rest of the suit I have invisioned in my head. I take it, and walk over to another table, where I put some extra black fabric. Removing the lenses, I trace a pattern of the mask on a piece of paper, and cut it out, before laying it over the black fabric and cutting it out again.

About two hours into that, I've sewn the black over the green mask, and reapplied the lenses. The mask is finished.

I look over, seeing the rest of Bruce's bodysuit. You know... I was just going to paint the rest of my suit... But his actually covers and protects more of the body.

I take the suit. It's not like he'd be loosing anything, from all of this. He has a countless amount of suits, after all...

[Batman]

A scream echoes through the Gotham City skyline. The scream of a woman. Said woman is running through an alleyway as we speak, being chased by a knife weilding muscle man. He laughs, mocking her screams, as they run out into the streets. The only person in the area is a cop.

Now, think about that for a second. The only person in the area is a cop. That spells trouble for the knife wielder, right? Wrong. Infact, it's quite the opposite. The cop smiles, as the woman approaches him.

"Please... You've gotta help me... That man... He-"

The woman's eyes widen as the cop grabs her, and puts a hand over her mouth. This 'cop'? An ex-con, freed by The Joker and Black Mask. Definatley not fit for the job. The thug smiles, as the two grab the woman, and drag her into an alleyway. Slamming her into the back of a wall, The cop holds her as the man begins to cut at her shirt, while unzipping her pants.

Real sickos, these guys. Have they no decency? Well... Okay, given that it's Gotham, and all... I guess that's pretty much a given.

Before the man can finish undressing her as she cries her eyes out, Something flies out of the darkness, striking the knife wielder in the hand. The knife goes flying, before it's stuck to the opposite wall. But that's not what startles the two men. What startles them is what sticks the knife to the wall.

A Batarang.

"...There's no way."

The knife wielder stands, letting go of the woman. He calls out into the darkness.

"There's no ****ing way!"

He hears a click.

"Way."

I fly out of the darkness, twirling my bo-staff behind me. I flip, kicking the man in the chest, and spin, hitting him in the face with the staff. Suckers... They always fall for that old trick.

I land in the alleyway, between the woman and the 'cop'. He takes out his gun.

"Alright, punk. You have the right to remain-"

I do a mock yawn.

"Oh please. You honestly expect me to take that poorly acted banter seriously after what you just pulled?"

Before the guy can even say anything, I knock him in the side of the head with the staff, leap forward, spin, and trip him with the staff, sending the back of his head into the street, knocking him down.

"Well dude, If you were... You were seriously mistaken."

I smirk, twirling the staff as I turn, and kick the other guy upside the chin, as He gets up. He falls, unconcious.

"Score one for the win!"

...

Um... Okay, what now?

If the entire police force is made up of bad guys... Where do you drop off the bad guys?

I look around, and look up, before spotting a very, very tall skyscaper, above the area. I return to the smirk. I've got some... ideas.

* * *

I leap off of the building as the two thugs dangle, upside down, from two Bat-lines. Sure, they'll be taken down soon enough. But they'll have serious headaches, before then... Not to mention the nosebleeds...

As I land on a gargoyle, I look down at my now finished new costume. I like it. More 'Batman' than my other. Not that I'm trying to be him by any means... That's the last thing I want... But, I never really dug the green anyway.

As I stand, with my cape flowing in the wind... A thought occurs to me. I... did it. Those were the first criminals I've taken down since... well... trying to get to this point. And I passed with flying colors.

I sigh to myself. If only Bruce could've seen it. But either way... One thing is for sure, now. I've earned it back. The name, you know? It's mine again. And now... As a celebration... I think it's time the city I used to call 'Gotham', but now call 'Hell', should go back to being Gotham City.

Even if I have to do it myself. Me. Tim Drake. Bruce Wayne's ward. Batman's sidekick. The second part of the dynamic duo. Or, to put it simpler...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Robintt34.PNG


Robin.

[Spike_x1]

A large man walked the streets of Metropolis. He was tall and well-built with dark brown hair. He wore a brown leather jacket and his hands were stuffed in his jean pockets. He smiled and whistled to himself as he watched people scream and run away from a ruckus happening just around the nearby corner of Stern Drive. The man could feel the presence of a familiar woman and smirked when he turned the corner, only to see Doctor Katherine Faulkner.

Only she looked as if she wasn't quite feeling like herself at the moment.

"You havin' a bad day, Kat?" the man asked. "I heard you had a nasty run-in with Captain Marvel yesterday. I guess you finally fished yourself out of the water and came looking for a rematch, huh?"

The towering orange monstrosity called Rampage grunted at the man in front of her and began walking toward him, her footsteps like thunder.

"Yeah, most of the guys from Stryker's were either zapped to hell or beaten up by those Justice Leaguers or whatever they call themselves now. I guess there's still a few of our kind running around this war zone. Out of all of 'em, though, I was hoping to see you the most."

Rampage roared with mindless rage and stampeded at the man, who merely shook his head and held out his hand. Swirls of orange light flowed from Rampage and into Rudy Jones' hand. She began to slow to a halt and fell to her knees as her body shrank into the more comforting body of the beautiful Kitty Faulkner. Rudy closed his hand and let the orange light run its course through his veins.

The Parasite stood over Kitty's body and looked around at the pothole of Metropolis. "In a dump like this, Kat, relieving you of the curse of Rampage is the least that I can do for you." Rudy would never be sure if it was actual affection between the two of them years ago, before his first "death," or if it was literally magnetism attracting them together because of their powers. But the fact remained that Doctor Faulkner was the only person in S.T.A.R. Labs who ever took the time to talk to Raymond Jones and treat him like a man. Even with Kitty's thoughts coursing through his mind, he didn't think that he would ever understand why she did any of that.

Rudy picked up Kitty's unconscious body and wrapped her in a nearby blanket after killing its previous occupants and wiping away their dusty remains. 'Years ago, I would'a left you for dead or finished you off, even with our history. I guess I must have a little too much of Kent in my head. Damn boyscout,' he thought as he carried Faulkner to a close by makeshift shelter for people in the area seeking refuge.

[LibrarianThorne]

"Batman?" I shrug, "no idea. Jordan, though, has been recalled by the Guardians to Oa. It is doubtful he would be able to assist us even if he wanted to do so. And the others...the only heores I have heard about recently is Captain Marvel and the Flash. And I would be very interested in having Marvel join..."

Superman nodded at Sinestro's words.

"I still have some concerns about Marvel, but he's more than proven himself. Flash is in. So, it seems to me that we all have work to do."

Superman walked to the large glass doors that led to his balcony, and flung them open. Kyle, Sinestro, and J'onn looked at him with some puzzlement.

"I've been putting this off for too long. Batman needs my help, wherever he is. And Gotham needs him. I'm going to find him, and invite him to the League. We all need to find other members. After I find Batman, I'm going to Atlantis to talk to Arthur. J'onn and Kyle, you must find suitable members. Sinestro, I think with your current... situation, it would be best if you stuck with Kyle. Many of our peers won't quite be ready to accept the 'new' you just yet."

[SuperFerret]

Superman nodded at Sinestro's words.

"I still have some concerns about Marvel, but he's more than proven himself. Flash is in. So, it seems to me that we all have work to do."

Superman walked to the large glass doors that led to his balcony, and flung them open. Kyle, Sinestro, and J'onn looked at him with some puzzlement.

"I've been putting this off for too long. Batman needs my help, wherever he is. And Gotham needs him. I'm going to find him, and invite him to the League. We all need to find other members. After I find Batman, I'm going to Atlantis to talk to Arthur. J'onn and Kyle, you must find suitable members. Sinestro, I think with your current... situation, it would be best if you stuck with Kyle. Many of our peers won't quite be ready to accept the 'new' you just yet."

"Am I to assume that you are also going to go to Gotham in an attempt to calm the volitile situation there?" I ask, popping yet another cookie into my mouth.

[LibrarianThorne]

"Am I to assume that you are also going to go to Gotham in an attempt to calm the volitile situation there?" I ask, popping yet another cookie into my mouth.

Clark smiled.

"No, J'onn, I'm not. I don't think any of us could fix Gotham. But I know who can, and I'm going to find him."

He strode out onto the balcony, the evening sun hitting him and giving him a glow. He turned, resting his back on the balcony and folding his arms across his chest.

"If we have no other business, I think now is the time we should start working."

[Green Lantern]

The light at the end of the tunnel was not a good one. Roy barely stopped himself from toppling off of large cliff, with a fall that ended with what looked like very sharp rocks below.

"Uh, this is seriously not good... I have more ninjas than you can shake a pirate at chasing my ass, and I come to what may literally be a dead end... Think Roy, you've gotten yourself outta this kinda s**t before, you can do it again."

Roy presses a button on his communicator sending out a message on all the availible channels.

"Ollie? Ted? Bruce? Vic? Anyone there? I'm kinda in a heap of trouble... if anyone's in or near the bug I could use a quick pick up... Transmitting GPS coordinates now."

He pressed another button and then clipped it back to his belt and unslung his bow from his back. As a handfull of ninjas rounded the corner, he let four arrows fly and four of them went down.

Dear god guys, hurry or I'm gonna run outta arrows...

[SuperFerret]

Clark smiled.

"No, J'onn, I'm not. I don't think any of us could fix Gotham. But I know who can, and I'm going to find him."

He strode out onto the balcony, the evening sun hitting him and giving him a glow. He turned, resting his back on the balcony and folding his arms across his chest.

"If we have no other business, I think now is the time we should start working."

"Very well." I stand, smiling politely to Lois as she takes the plate and the remaining cookies from me. "I for one will be going to Gotham, for two reasons. Firstly, I wish to recruit the Flash. Second, I am going to make contact with any of Batman's usual allies to assess the situation there. However, I will not do anything to aggravate the situation further, I plan to only observe while there."

[wiegeabo]

"My knowledge of this planet's heroes other than Lanterns is severly limited. Other than Flash, Marvel, and Batman...I am unsure where our first destination should be."

"But I do agree that it would be wise for Rayner and I to keep traveling together. At least for the time being."

[LibrarianThorne]

"My knowledge of this planet's heroes other than Lanterns is severly limited. Other than Flash, Marvel, and Batman...I am unsure where our first destination should be."

"But I do agree that it would be wise for Rayner and I to keep traveling together. At least for the time being."

"Good plan, J'onn. Sinestro, I'm glad you agree."

He began hovering a few feet off the ground. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a Bat to find."

He turned away from them, and flew off into the sky.

[wiegeabo]

I watch as Superman leaves. Even after all he has been through, he still acts like the greatest hero. His confidence intact dispite being publicly humilated. This Kryptonian is an impressive being. He would have made a powerful Lantern.

But he's not a Lantern. And I used to be, and will be again. I already wield one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. With some work, I'll also be connected to one of the most powerful power sources in the universe. Once again able to truly bring about order.

For now, though, the only Lantern in the room is Kyle Rayner. A man who was made Lantern by chance. By accident. It's an almost laughable idea. And it would be insulting, if he hadn't been able to prove himself an effective ringwielder.

The Martian finishes off the last of those cookies. I tired those once, nothing special. Now pretzels, that is an addictive Earth food. But back to the task at hand. Already the Manhunter is proving to be the valuable asset I believed he would be. And soon, we will have the League intact. All the heroes gathered in one place.

All we have to do now is search the world for those heroes, convince them to join, put the League back together. "Where should we start?" I ask Rayner.

[Spider-Man9X17]

I watch as Superman leaves. Even after all he has been through, he still acts like the greatest hero. His confidence intact dispite being publicly humilated. This Kryptonian is an impressive being. He would have made a powerful Lantern.

But he's not a Lantern. And I used to be, and will be again. I already wield one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. With some work, I'll also be connected to one of the most powerful power sources in the universe. Once again able to truly bring about order.

For now, though, the only Lantern in the room is Kyle Rayner. A man who was made Lantern by chance. By accident. It's an almost laughable idea. And it would be insulting, if he hadn't been able to prove himself an effective ringwielder.

The Martian finishes off the last of those cookies. I tired those once, nothing special. Now pretzels, that is an addictive Earth food. But back to the task at hand. Already the Manhunter is proving to be the valuable asset I believed he would be. And soon, we will have the League intact. All the heroes gathered in one place.

All we have to do now is search the world for those heroes, convince them to join, put the League back together. "Where should we start?" I ask Rayner.

"Well, there's another certain "green" hero who'd probably want in on the fight. I'd say that's our best bet right now"

[Trigger]

Warmth. Rose opened her eyes and was greeted by the warm glow of the morning sun. The sunshine sprayed her white room with its yellow rays, and she felt refreshed in it. She rose from her comfy queen sized bed and exited her room into the second floor’s main hall. She gently stepped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Wilson was making pancakes and had a plate stacked with sausages on the counter. Her brother Jericho and her father couldn’t wait for the pancakes to be finished and had already seated themselves at the dining table with a plate of scrambled eggs.
Rose began to walk towards the dining room table, but something stopped her from becoming part of the happy scene. A strange force beckoned her to stay away. She tried to come closer once more, but the force’s power over her was too strong. She could tell now that it wasn’t something inside of her; it was some outside force.

It isn’t your time….You have more to do…

Tears streamed down Rose’s face as the happy scene before her melted away. The warm morning sunshine faded into night and the house grew cold. Mrs. Wilson’s face began to wither away and her beautiful figure became a burnt, distorted image. Jericho began to fade away completely. The force’s hold on her began to weaken, and she tried to run to the disappearing Jericho. She clung to him, and watched his happy smile fade into nothingness.
All that remained was her tormentor, her eternal obstacle; Slade. He was no longer the happy father she longed for. He was now the dangerous Deathstroke, clad in his costume and armed to the teeth. A vortex surrounded them and began to tear away at the house. She looked around herself, horrified at the destruction and chaos. Slade reached out his hand.

“It is time.”

“Nooo!” she wailed.

The vortex began to close in around them and it ripped Rose asunder. She could feel her broken bones becoming completely healed. Her ripped skin sealed up, and her nostrils filled with the smell of brimstone and sinew.

“Rose Wilson, once dead but now beckoned to the land of leaving. A gift of sorts, or is this just a trip back to Hell for you?” said a voice that rang true in the thick chaos of the vortex.

Rose didn’t bother replying. Instead she wailed and cried. She cried from the pain of rebirth. She cried from the lost of her picture perfect world. She cried from the misery of her soon to be new life. Soon, even her own cry became too much to bear, and she covered her ears with her hands.

“Take me back! I just want to go home!”

The voice didn’t respond to her. The only sound she could recognize in the vortex was the sound of her screaming.

When she stopped, she no longer found herself in a vortex or her home. She was lying naked in a cold, dark alley. Her screaming subsided and she cradled herself for a moment. Sweat plastered her white hair to her fore headed and a stream of snot trailed from her nose. Near her head was a puddle of her own vomit and phlegm. The voice returned, but this time it laughed at her. It laughed at the site of her pathetically lying on the ground.

The tears returned, but they weren’t accompanied by any cries; only the knowledge that she was no longer dead. The insidious laughing did not cease and combined with her newfound knowledge, she felt overwhelmed. Rose wrapped her hands around her exposed body and closed her eyes. She let her self succumb to weight of her new situation and fainted.

[wiegeabo]

"Another Lantern?" I'm surprised Rayner would suggest it. Jordan's gone. Gardner is missing. Kilowog...well, I'd rather not confront Kilowog. I suppose Stewart would be willing.

I shrug my shoulders. A hero is a hero, and we need all we can get. "Then let us be off."

[Spider-Man9X17]

"Actually, I was thinking we should try to find Ollie, but another Lantern wouldn't hurt. I bet Kilowog would join up."

[twylight]

The apartment was dark, the only sliver of light was the thin line at the bottom of the bathroom door, from which emerged a thin stream of steam. Within the bathroom the woman stood over the sink, her brused and raw hands on either side of the sink, she leaned over it, staring at her quiuckly hidden face in the fogging up mirror.
The shower ran in the background, it’s white noise filling the small room and the steam billowed from it in clouds. The woman leaned over and splashed ice cold water over her face, the water beading on her skin and dripping off.

The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I'm alive
But I feel like I've died


She emerged from the bathroom a towel around her head and her body, the shower long since turned off, the steam disperesed into the cool air of the apartment. She took out a set of black clothing and slipped them, folding the towels up and setting them on the bathroom counter.
She walked to the center of the apartment and lowered herself slowly to the floor. Stretching her arms out to each side she stretched, her body folding across themselves.

And all that's left is to accept that it's over
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made
I try to keep warm but I just grow colder
I feel like I'm slipping away


The woman stood at the window, it’s closed curtains in front of her. Reaching out she drew them back, revealing for the first time the window behind them. She dropped her hands from the curtains and opened the window, the cool night breeze of Gotham flooding in, she looked out over the city, and smiled. The window lights twinkled like spotratic stars in a night sky. There were more tonight than there had been in a long while and hopefully there would be more.

After all this has passed
I still will remain
After I've cried my last
There'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

She carefully took off her clothing, her slow and steady paced methodical almost meditative. She pulled on grey pants, and a grey shirt, her right arm bare, the neckline arced under her right arm and over her left shoulder. She looped a grey bow and quiver over her body before buckling her belt on.


My whole world is the pain inside me
The best I can do is just get through the day
And though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday


She walked to the door, her boots quiet on the floor, she paused and looked at the black sheath on the wall, the blood red flowers enameld on the surface of it. Lifting her hands she took it down and ran her hand along the laquered surface, her eyes thoughtful. Tilting her shoulder forward she hooked it onto her back. The red covered hilt peeking over her left shoulder. She pulled up a mask over her mouth and nose,before opening the door.

Here and I am at the end of me (at the end of me)
Trying to hold to what I can't see
I forgot how to hope
This night's been so long
I cling to your promise there will be a dawn

The woman stood in front of an ornate gothic building, the dark of Gotham seemed to have swallowed it whole, with no chance of it ever letting go. Her grey ensamble standing out in the darkness.
Hr hands flitted over the sais on her legs before she turned to her ‘partner’ his outfit dishevelled, straw sticking out in all places.

“ Let’s go.” She said softly to his surprise. Turning quickly she walked up the steps slowly.


After all this has passed
I still will remain
After I've cried my last
There'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

[wiegeabo]

"Actually, I was thinking we should try to find Ollie, but another Lantern wouldn't hurt. I bet Kilowog would join up."


"NO!" I say too quickly. "I mean...there's no need to involve Kilowog, for now. Ollie...would be a fine choice." I'm assuming Rayner means the Green Arrow, but I couldn't care less if that was true or not. It is not yet...time...to involve Kilowog.

[Watchman]

He followed her up the stairs to what was now the headquaters of Black Mask. The gun he found eariler smacking against his chest. He fealt the steel of the knife against his arm. She said no killing but after her little crusade its curtains for her.

"I see you changed your outfit. Did you do that for me? I'm touched really" he said mockingly.

"So what's the plan?"

[Electro UK]

Black Mask met the two at the top of his stairs. A wide grin spread on his face. "My men spotted you from miles away. Once we'd confirmed this little missy was coming, we prepared." that was the signal, about 10 men poked their heads over from the roof and aimed down on the two while abot 15 emerged from behind Black Mask.

"You can turn around and leave now... if I ever see you again, I'll peel the flesh from your bones."

[twylight]

He followed her up the stairs to what was now the headquaters of Black Mask. The gun he found eariler smacking against his chest. He fealt the steel of the knife against his arm. She said no killing but after her little crusade its curtains for her.

"I see you changed your outfit. Did you do that for me? I'm touched really" he said mockingly.

"So what's the plan?"

She gave him a sideways look at the mention of her costume color. Her bare arm cold in the night air.

She didn't answer the last question, rather stopped and stared at Black Mask as he emerged at the top of the stairs.

Black Mask met the two at the top of his stairs. A wide grin spread on his face. "My men spotted you from miles away. Once we'd confirmed this little missy was coming, we prepared." that was the signal, about 10 men poked their heads over from the roof and aimed down on the two while abot 15 emerged from behind Black Mask.

"You can turn around and leave now... if I ever see you again, I'll peel the flesh from your bones."

She didn't bat an eye at the revelation of Black Mask's men.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that."

[Spider-Man9X17]

"NO!" I say too quickly. "I mean...there's no need to involve Kilowog, for now. Ollie...would be a fine choice." I'm assuming Rayner means the Green Arrow, but I couldn't care less if that was true or not. It is not yet...time...to involve Kilowog.

"OK, so, Star City it is."

Kyle powered up and took off.

[Charlie No-One]

Selina was tied to the wall with a cotton gag mashed across her mouth. Normally, she would like this position, but under the current circumstances, for example, her being imprisoned for the last two months, really spoiled the situation. The vixen watched Tony come into the room with her dinner. He came around to the chair that she was chained to and untied her gag. Selina smirked and glanced at her meal. It was surprising that she could even call it a meal. All the plate had on it was a few scoops of something that had no resemblance to any dish Selina knew of.

“Don’t get any ideas you stupid *****. I got my gun and I am not afraid to use you as a target,” yelled the thug as he unlocked her shackles. His hand skimmed across her breast as he put the keys back. Selina let out a quick growl before whipping her sweaty hands on her dull, gray jumpsuit.

“Touch me like that again and we will see if you still have a penis,” Ms. Kyle picked up the plate and began eating the pile of sludge. Two months ago, Selina Kyle was taken hostage by the East End branch of the mob. They tried to ransom her off to Batman, but it looked like he could care less. Now all she was good for was a little pleasure. The former cat-burglar left all hope behind that Bruce would ever come and get her.

Before she could take another bite, Tony slapped her in the mouth and pushed her against the wall. Tiny specks of crimson blood washed down her face as Selina was locked back into her chair.

“I will see you tomorrow for are little morning fun,” hollered the mobster as he slammed her cell door shut.

“Well **** YOU BUDDY!” retorted the prisoner. Tomorrow would be the day Selina went free.


--

Next Day

The next morning, Tony came back into the room. The pervert started unzipping his pants as he got closer to Selina. She licked her lips, pretending to be interested in the sick man known as Tony Calirona. The past month he would come in every morning and force Selina to pleasure him, and with the new political system of Gotham, rape did not exist.

As Tony flipped her onto the floor, Selina thought of the many reasons why she never tried to escape before. First, she was drugged everyday until recently when the mob decided she gave up fighting, and second, she was gathering information. Tony would every now and then slip little tad bits of information that was secret to the mob’s operation. The buzz would then sink its way into Selina’s brain.

The thug was undoing his top, skillfully holding down the woman at the same time. This was her chance to throw him off balance. Catwoman powerfully slid her body from under his legs. He was surprised and shocked. Tony turned and jumped forward towards the kinky Princess of Plunder. Dodging quickly, she clutched his neck and threw him into the wall. Then her eye got the plate that he brought in with him. Tony was starting to regain his bearings.

With a smashed plate in one hand, Catwoman leaped onto his stomach.

“I promised that the next time you touched me, you would lose your manhood. I keep my promises,” she purred into his ear. The door was still open. After Selina finished her current “operation” she could easily escape out of the second floor window. It was time to bring the mob to their knees.

[Nightwing]

Minutes passed since I returned to the pilot's seat and just about figured out how to operate Ted's bug...

"Lets see, you push this stick frontwards then backwards?"

I scratched my head for a second, then thought what the hell? I'll go for it. I pushed the stick the only way I knew, and the next thing you know I got the ship in mid air. The legs to the bug retracted to their inner cores, and blue flames started appearing from the bottom as the jets were serving their purpose.

"Woah, woah, woah. Where are you off to little lady?"

The bug ascended to the sky a little more and suddenly I felt like I was taking off into space. I pulled back this time on the steering wheel just so it would go back to mid air, then reopend the back of the bug so Vic and the others could get in here with no problem.

I looked to the back of me, and saw Bruce's kid sleeping. After all the noise I made he didn't wake up once, and managed to remain that silent?

"Well I'll give you one thing, kid, you really do take after your father that's for sure...."

I layed back on the chair and started whistling to myself, as I lowered the seat so I could rest my back. Don't get to cool and collected, Queen, you have a kid who isn't yours to look after along with a wounded hero beside you.

"Dammit, where the hell are they? If I were there, I'd move half as quick as they are now. And I'm half their age for cryin' out loud."

I stopped talking smack to myself for once, and listened to what I had just heard. I got up and turned around, one of Ra's ninjas stood there with two sais at his hands looking directly at Ibn....Ibn! That's his name, I remember now. He didn't notice me, so I took advantage of it and reached for my crossbow right beside me. When I got up, he was about to leave with Ibn in his grasp. Ibn stared yelling immediately, and the ninja turned around. Little did he know that he was turning around to an arrow pointed directly near his left eye socket.

"Get your frickin' hands off of him now, the kid stays with me and there's not a chance in hell you're taking him back to Ra's."

He flipped one of his sais, and switched to the end of it instead of the blade. He went for a quick jab against my skull, but I blocked it with my fist.

"Hmm, not so quick as I thought you were."

I jumped back, and shot the arrow in the cross bow which landed thorugh his shoulder. The reaction and pain it inflicted on him made his grasp on Ibn loosen, and he let go of his hand. I put another arrow and fired it away, this time I aimed for his chest and didn't miss at all. It's not my style, I know, but these guys arent holding anything back. He fell to the ground and I ran up to Ibn and grabbed his hand.

"You're ok again, it was only one of them."

I grinned at him as I saw him fix that hat I gave him to look up at me, the grin vanished in an instant as I saw the ninja reaching for his sais and still moving.

"Buddy, this is going to hurt me more then it will you."

I stepped in front of him and crushed his hand with my foot, he glanced up at me and I shot another arrow in the same place I shot the last one which went right through his chest. He fell back again, and looked to the back of me doing some ninja sign. Like it was his own way of signaling his friends, I turned around to where Ted lay and saw three other ninjas swinging on ropes toward the front window and landed on the outside.

Out of the three, the one in the middle reached for what looked like brass knuckles but with some very sharp and big spikes applied on top of them. And pulled back his arm and punched directly through the window, shattering glass every.

"Aww, you got to be kiddin' me!"

I let go of Ibn for a second and ran as fast as I could to Ted, I couldn't lift him without someone putting him over me. My back was long gone, but I managed to still be up on my two feet. I dragged his body to where Ibn stood, and pulled back not one, not two, but THREE arrows on the cross bow hoping I'd atleast hit them all in one shot to spare me some time.

"Well, I officially owe you a new front window, Ted. Remind me of it, if we make it out of this alive will ya?"

The arrows flew from the cross bow and one hit the ninja on my left in his right kneecap, I watched him fall off the bug and onto the ground. No way he could've survived that, one down two to go I thought to myself as the other two arrows hit only the ninja in the middle do to the fact that the one on my right leaped out of the way and threw a shurikan right past my face.

"Holy... nearly cut my god damn ear off!"

Dammit. How was I going to get the last one out of here? I stood in front of Ibn and Ted that way if anything were thrown again or swung, it would hit me instead of them. Yeah I knew what I was thinking, but I've lived long enough just to see all that life could offer me. And Ibn, the boy is so young. Hell, I died once and came back. So why not again?

I watched as I saw the ninja in front of me just stay there and doing some martial art movement like the one who was now dead did earlier, and then blurted out something. Ibn came up behind me and held on to my leg, poor kid had gotten the crap scared out of him one to many times. I pushed him back as I wasn't taking any chances, and the next I knew the ninja finally made his move as he jumped into the air again. I waited for him to reach closer, then lunged myself to the ground. He layed there one top of me, letting out a painful cry as he realized his friends own sais was now stuck between his ribs and blood started spilling everywhere. I planned this for good timing, cause if I had missed the sais this guy would've still continue his little judo shin dig.

I removed the sais and watched him grab the spot where the sais had gone through him, and removed his mask like he failed the mission he was given. Before hitting the ground, he looked at me as if to say I'll be back for you and then fell to the ground next to his friend I took down earlier. I sat down and took a breather and recapped what just happend, I saw Ibn walk up to the dead bodys in total shock and awe as he glared back at me in confusion.

"It's a very tough world we're living in now, kid. I can only hope for your sake you realize that as you get older, and usually kids your age would be with their parents or eating ice cream at the park. But you have to sit here and watch people die right in front of your eyes for no reason whatsoever, and for that I apologize."

That's when I saw him turn around and take off the hat I had once given him, then walked up to me and now put it over MY head. I looked over to the side of me where Ted lay, and realized he still had no idea what the hell was going on. I grinned once more.

"Heh, maybe he won't remember the new window I owe him."

No time for jokes, Ra's could be sending more men my way and I'm here sitting down like an old man in a rocking chair. Unexpectedly, my communicator goes off wildy and I recognize the voice once the message begins. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that it was Roy, I swear that kid can never stop himself from getting into a heep of trouble. I listened, and let the message continue.

The light at the end of the tunnel was not a good one. Roy barely stopped himself from toppling off of large cliff, with a fall that ended with what looked like very sharp rocks below.

"Uh, this is seriously not good... I have more ninjas than you can shake a pirate at chasing my ass, and I come to what may literally be a dead end... Think Roy, you've gotten yourself outta this kinda s**t before, you can do it again."

Roy presses a button on his communicator sending out a message on all the availible channels.

"Ollie? Ted? Bruce? Vic? Anyone there? I'm kinda in a heap of trouble... if anyone's in or near the bug I could use a quick pick up... Transmitting GPS coordinates now."

He pressed another button and then clipped it back to his belt and unslung his bow from his back. As a handfull of ninjas rounded the corner, he let four arrows fly and four of them went down.

Dear god guys, hurry or I'm gonna run outta arrows

The message ended, and I didn't waste anytime when clicking callback.

"Roy, Roy can you hear me? I finally figured out how to work Ted's bug, and I'm coming to get you now so stay where you are. I've already been through enough as it is, and if you have company on your ass then do everything you can to avoid them. I'll be there as fast as I can."

I got up, and tore have of my suits leg wear to provide Ted some sord of neck rest. There wasn't anyway I could lift him again, so I had no choice but to leave him there until Roy or Vic could pick him up properly. When I was done, I looked to the back of the bug where the others were supposed to come through once they got a hold of the virus and saw about a dozen MORE ninjas with even deadlier weapons then the last few.

"I really hate it when I'm right, Ra's isn't even braking a sweat here. Just how many of you does he have hanging around him?"

I ran for the controls again and looked back to see them drawing closer and closer to Ibn, Ted, and myself, and without any hesitation a pressed the button that would seal the back door.

"C'mon, c'mon! Can't you stupid peace of junk move any faster?"

The door started closing rapidly as I saw the ninja's heads vanished one after the other as the did everthing in their power to make onboard the ship, one of them even grabbed onto the edge of the door but ended up getting his had crushed as it sealed shut. Ok, can't waste any more time. I ran back to Ibn and lifted him up the air and sat him in the seat I put Ted in before, then reached for the seat belt.

"Safety first."

I pulled back on the stick and pushed hard on the pedal as the bug took off into the sky, and all the ninjas who had tried to climb the roof ended up falling right back down and having their faces kiss the dirt. I flew until I mainted my speed and air time, searching everywhere I could for the nearest cliff where Roy was now stationed at. I searched and searched, as I finally saw a red headed archer fending himself against some very angry ninjas coming his way. They were so forceful that they kept coming at him until he was nearly to the edge of the cliff, that's when I directed the bug toward it and started opening the back again. Once it was fully open, I put the but on autopilot so it would park itstelf. I held onto my crossbow tightly as I ran to the back and started aiming at the ninjas who had cornered Roy, once they were hit he looked behind him and saw me there yelling at him.

"JUMP!!"

[Electro UK]

She gave him a sideways look at the mention of her costume color. Her bare arm cold in the night air.

She didn't answer the last question, rather stopped and stared at Black Mask as he emerged at the top of the stairs.



She didn't bat an eye at the revelation of Black Mask's men.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that."

Black Mask sighed. "Fine, do as you wish, its your death." he turned to walk inside. "Have fun boys." Black Mask walked inside as the guards began to open fire.

[twylight]

Black Mask sighed. "Fine, do as you wish, its your death." he turned to walk inside. "Have fun boys." Black Mask walked inside as the guards began to open fire.


The woman flipped out of the way running and ducking behind a nearby abandoned car. She turned and spoke to Scarecrow who’d followed her in a less graceful way. The glass shattered around them and the metal shrieked as bullet holes were punched through it.

“They’re all yours.” She said slipping out from behind the car and over to the side, unseen by the guards as they continued to empty rounds into the car.

She quietly walked along the wall of the building, looking at every window. She stopped coming to one and jiggled the frame. Someone hadn’t pushed it all the way down. There was a small sliver of grey underneath it, and it was just enough room for her. Taking out a think star she pushed the edge of it under the frame and pried it open. Slipping the star away she put her fingers under the gap and pushed up. Placing her hands on the window sill she hoisted herself up and quietly spun into through the window. She dropped to the floor silently and made her way through the museum. The masks stared down from the dark wall, their many faces, happy, sad, angry stared at her in silence.

A thin bead of light shown from under a door. Pressing her back to the wall she placed her hand on the knob before throwing it open, she stared at the man in the Black Mask.

“I’m sorry about your men.”

[Spike_x1]

The drinks sucked. Rudy scratched the back of his head and groaned in annoyance. He had been to this particular bar once before, right after the Unity had first revealed itself to him and had given him the task of 'uniting' the world. What a load of s**t.

The Unity, he meant. Not the bar, although it too was quite the proverbial load.

"Larry's" was the name of the bar. Jones had gotten lucky there once, after meeting the only shiny penny of a woman in all of Suicide Slums. Too bad he wasn't having such luck on this evening. The only people in the establishment other than him were chubby, balding, wearing plaid, and needed to pull their pants up. And the men weren't much better looking.

Rolling his eyes with disgust, Rudy got to his feet and began to head toward the exit when a voice stopped him. "Jones? Oh my God! Is that really you?!"

Rudy turned to look at the source of the noise and found a familiar face coming out of the ladies restroom.

"K-Kayla?"

The woman approached him with awe in her eyes and a touch of fear in her step. "It's 'Kyla,' Jones."

Rudy had to take a moment to pick his jaw up from the floor. "Uh... hi. Long time no see. I... well..."

"This is the same place where we hooked up last time, Rudy." She spoke as if she were nervous, but her expression was almost angry. "Yeah, that's right. I actually found out your first name. How could I not figure it out after you transformed into a huge purple monster and united me?! You're the Parasite!"

At these words, most of the bar patrons looked up. Some dropped their drinks. The people within minimal steps of the rear exit made their escape. The others couldn't bring themselves to move and hoped that they wouldn't be noticed.

"Yeaahh... y'know, this whole moment would be a lot less awkward if I just killed you right now, Kyla." Rudy's eyes shifted. The solution to this b**ch's b**ching was so simple.

The woman firmly placed her hands on her hips in defiance and looked up, over her nose into Rudy's eyes. "If you do that, Parasite, you'll never get to meet your daught-" Her words were cut off as her skin and organs were instantly transmuted into dust.

Rudy smirked at his accomplishment. No more of that bullshat, that's for sure. Then it hit him. Kyla's thoughts came flooding into his mind along with the realization of what she was going to say before he killed her.

"I have a baby girl?"

Rudy Jones, one of only a handful of men in the world who had proudly stomped Superman's face into the dirt on multiple occasions, promptly fainted.

[Watchman]

The woman flipped out of the way running and ducking behind a nearby abandoned car. She turned and spoke to Scarecrow who’d followed her in a less graceful way. The glass shattered around them and the metal shrieked as bullet holes were punched through it.

“They’re all yours.” She said slipping out from behind the car and over to the side, unseen by the guards as they continued to empty rounds into the car.

Scarecrow hid behind the car as the bullets crashed against the car. One of them going through his hat. They all stopped and he heard the sound of reloading.

"I'm goin' over there" said one Black Mask's men. The others nodded. He slowly walked toward the car holding his gun up. Scarecrow took out the knife he had and pretended to play dead. The man made his way behind the car. He stared at what he thought was a dead body and touched Scarecrow's head with his gun.

"Hey guys I think he's...." Scarecrow took the knife and drove it through the man's foot. He let out a giant scream. Scarecrow grabbed the man's arm and pulled him down. He puts his hand to the man's face covering his nose and mouth.

"Scared you didn't I" gas is released iin the man's face and starts to scream.

"What the hell" another one yells. The rest of the men begin to rush the car, gun ready. Scarecrow grabs two skulls out of his pocket and throws them to the crowd.

"Trick or Treat" Scarecrow pops up as gas covers the group. All the men's faces are covered with terror. Then the men all point the guns at each. Scarecrow jumps ontop of the car and sits on top of it.

"Well this should be interesting its seems there fear has cause them to turn on each other". All the men open fire on each other. Within seconds all the men are down on the ground. All of them dead except for one. He starts to slide on the ground backing up. He hits a wall and Scarecrow walks up to him. He points his gun at him but all that comes out of it is a clicking noises. Scarecrow bends down and stares in his face.

"sHe sAId NoT tO kIll AnYoNe" he pulls the gun out of his coat. "BUt She's NOt hEre" he points the gun at his head.

"NO!"

BLAM! Blood sprays all over the wall and he puts the gun back into his coat. He looks around the the horrific scene and smiles. "Much better" he says to himself.

[Electro UK]

The woman flipped out of the way running and ducking behind a nearby abandoned car. She turned and spoke to Scarecrow who’d followed her in a less graceful way. The glass shattered around them and the metal shrieked as bullet holes were punched through it.

“They’re all yours.” She said slipping out from behind the car and over to the side, unseen by the guards as they continued to empty rounds into the car.

She quietly walked along the wall of the building, looking at every window. She stopped coming to one and jiggled the frame. Someone hadn’t pushed it all the way down. There was a small sliver of grey underneath it, and it was just enough room for her. Taking out a think star she pushed the edge of it under the frame and pried it open. Slipping the star away she put her fingers under the gap and pushed up. Placing her hands on the window sill she hoisted herself up and quietly spun into through the window. She dropped to the floor silently and made her way through the museum. The masks stared down from the dark wall, their many faces, happy, sad, angry stared at her in silence.

A thin bead of light shown from under a door. Pressing her back to the wall she placed her hand on the knob before throwing it open, she stared at the man in the Black Mask.

“I’m sorry about your men.”

Black Mask clenched his fists. Was this woman invincible? "Look you arrogant little brat, over the last few days you have caused me nothing but trouble. I'm going to put an end to this once and for all." and with that, he drew a blade, long and jagged with blood on the end.

"You're lucky, you get my special sword. I hope you have a nice time being imapled by it."

[Keyser Soze]

Jervis nodded his head in agreement. That was a marvellous idea...this way more people would know about Alice...and maybe....maybe she would even see it...and come find him! But did the Queen watch television? Where there televisions in Wonderland......well he supposed it didn't matter much, Wonderland was very unpredictable.

Jervis followed the tall white man obediently, still staring intently at him. His eyes...they fascinated him....Jervis could see something there....and underlying pain....a pain just like Jervis's. After a moment Jervis spoke up.

"I don't believe I know your name," his voice took on the fanciful quality of the Hatter's, the way he made it sound when he played with Alice. He liked this voice....he didn't know why...but it suited him somehow....

"I was also wondering....who was it that you've lost? It's in your eyes you know....that...look. Everyone who's lost someone in Wonderland....and hasn't found them yet....they have the look. You have it, most definatley."

The Joker's smile faded. Images of a past long gone flashed before his eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he snapped, with no trace of humour.

The rest of the journey past in silence. Finally, they reached their destination: The Gotham News Station.

"Here we are," cackled The Joker.

The Joker, Mad Hatter, and a large group of henchmen entered the building. Security were powerless to stop him. After all, he was the Mayor. He made his way into the studio, were the news broadcast was about to begin. The anchorwoman's eyes widened with horror as she spotted The Joker and his men enter. He silently motioned for her to stay in her seat, and for the cameraman to keep rolling. One of his henchmen handed him a series of large cue-cards he'd hastily written during the journey.

"Good evening," said the anchorwoman, shakily reading the cue cards, "We have a very special edition of the Evening News tonight. The Joker, The Mayor of Gotham City, will be in attendance. Which is a good thing, as The Joker brings laughter to us allHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The anchorwoman slumped forward onto the desk, dead. Her face had already contorted into a horrific grin. The Joker let the laughing gas dissipate, then confidently walked behind the desk, wheeling her chair off-screen and sitting down on a chair of his own.

"Thank you for that wondeful introduction. Good to see you smiling for the camera! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Tonight's broadcast is very special, and not just because I'm presenting it. No, I have a BIG news story tonight, so big, I'll be saving it for the end of the show. What is it, you ask? Simple."

The Joker gave a long, dramatic pause. After he said what he was about to say, he could imagine every news broadcast in America cutting into a live feed with this one. And the bigger his audience, the better. His grin widened maliciously.

"I'm going to reveal to you all...the real identity...of Batman."

[Spike_x1]

He unlocked the door to Kyla's apartment and listened to it creek open. He flicked on the lightswitch and looked around. The place didn't look that bad, considering that it was situated in the Slums. Rudy closed the door as he stepped inside, not bothing to wipe his muddy shoes on the doormat. He curiously approached a bureau on the far wall and inspected the photographs adorning it. There was Kyla and her mother at a picnic, a childhood picture of her and her father as he taught her how to ride a bicycle, her graduation from Lex Luthor High School, and captured frames of her with various boyfriends that she had accumulated over the years. Rudy paused. He knew the names of every single person in those photographs, but he had never met them. He even briefly wondered, if things had been different, if he had been different, would there be a picture of him and Kyla anywhere on that bureau?

But those thoughts were immediately pushed aside. Kyla was dead now. Her life over, casually taken in by the Parasite. But there was a piece of herself that she had left behind. Jessica.

Rudy took a few deep breaths and crept into the baby's room. He didn't need to turn on the light as he already knew the layout of the room and could "see" the infant's energy signature as clear as day. He quietly stood over the child's crib and found himself simply watching her sleep.

An hour had passed before the Parasite finally came to his senses and asked, what would be to him, the most obvious question of all, "Why haven't I killed you yet, kiddo?"

[Charlie No-One]

Selina stepped over Tony’s unconscious body. She wiped her bloody hands on her jumpsuit before running towards the door. Catwoman must have tripped an alarm because ten mobsters started running towards her.

“No whip. No claws. I only have my body. What a fair fight!” Selina ran straight into the mob of thugs. Her cold hands wrapped around a warm neck. The neck went one way and the hands the other. There was a quick snap and his life ended. Not giving it a second thought, the Princess of Plunder went to the next victim. The thug pointed a gun at her head. She leaped high into the air, missing the constant rain of bullets. Selina landed behind him and grabbed his arms. With a twist, his arms broke; the gun free. Catching it in mid air, she backed up towards her cell. One of the men spoke out.

“Hey bi*ch! We know you’re Catwoman. We know you’re Selina Kyle. We know where you live. We know who you love,”

S**t! They know my identity. This is bad, Selina. What are you going to do now? Wait, that gas tank looks promising. Behind the mob, there was a large gas tank surrounded by grating. Selina moved backwards into her cell. The men began to close in and then BAM! A bullet went straight into the gray cylinder gas tank behind. Within an instant, Catwoman shut the door and the tank exploded. After the smoke cleared, the woman stepped out and walked over to the one mobster that spoke to her.

“I don’t have any loved ones. Maggie and Bruce could care less about me and Holly is dead,”

The opponents were dead, but not the threat. Her life and identity were in trouble.

[twylight]

Black Mask clenched his fists. Was this woman invincible? "Look you arrogant little brat, over the last few days you have caused me nothing but trouble. I'm going to put an end to this once and for all." and with that, he drew a blade, long and jagged with blood on the end.

"You're lucky, you get my special sword. I hope you have a nice time being imapled by it."


The woman gazed at him a moment before reaching behind her and grasping the crimson hilt of her sword. Drawing it our of the sheath it's long elegant blade glistened in the light of the room. She held it in front of her and flicked her wrist, the blade in front of her face it split it in two.

"If you are quite ready." she said softly.

[Electro UK]

Black Mask roared as he charged at the woman. The blades connects, Black Mask giving it all he had, this wasn't going to be easy. He felt a white hot pain as he moved away, she'd made 1st contact. He felt his blood on his thigh... and tasted it. "Delicious, I'll have some of yours in a cup after we're done."

He charged once more.

OOC: Sorry for the bunny Twy, there's just not much for me to do

[SuperFerret]

After Sinestro and Kyle left, I stand alone in Superman's living room. Well, not entirely alone.

"Yes, Lois?” I ask.

"I didn't say anything, J'onn."

"But you want to. I can sense it."

"Well..." she paused, gathering her thoughts, "Clark's been under a lot of stress lately, with this whole Lex thing, and the Unity crisis. J'onn, would it be too much to ask for you to look out for him, make sure he doesn't do anything he'd regret afterwards? You could refuse if you want, and I hate to put you on the spot like this.."

I interrupt her, "No need to apologize. I will 'look out' Kal-El, he has aided me many times in the past, so I will return the favor. And thank you for the cookies.”

I lift myself into the air, become invisible, and fly upwards out of the building.

[twylight]

Black Mask roared as he charged at the woman. The blades connects, Black Mask giving it all he had, this wasn't going to be easy. He felt a white hot pain as he moved away, she'd made 1st contact. He felt his blood on his thigh... and tasted it. "Delicious, I'll have some of yours in a cup after we're done."

He charged once more.

OOC: Sorry for the bunny Twy, there's just not much for me to do

The woman brought her sword up to block his. The impact causing her to skid back slightly. Her dark hair whipped behind her and the long bangs covering the left side of her face were tossed back.
She jumped back from it and crouched on the floor.

"I don't wish this to end in death."

OOC: Bunny away the shorter this battle the better. By the way how shall this end?

[Electro UK]

The woman brought her sword up to block his. The impact causing her to skid back slightly. Her dark hair whipped behind her and the long bangs covering the left side of her face were tossed back.
She jumped back from it and crouched on the floor.

"I don't wish this to end in death."

OOC: Bunny away the shorter this battle the better. By the way how shall this end?

"Then you should not have come looking for me my dear." Black Mask replied. From his pocket, he quickly drew a flick knife and threw it at the woman, but she dodged with ease. However, it wasn't Black Mask's intention to hit, merely give a distraction as he let his foot into the womans face.

OOC: I dunno, just knock me out with your blade handle and have me wake up somewhere... I dunno, humiliating.

[Trigger]

Rose awake early the next morning. Her body was still naked and the pool of vomit was still beneath her head. She laid there in the cold alley for an hour; hal wanting to die again and half wishing she was just having a nightmare.
The laughter had subsided, but her pain remained. What was she to do now? She had no reason to fight the inevitable death that would come from lying in the alley nude. Her foster family was dead, she had no money, no true friends. Most importantly, she had no reason to live.
Eventually someone discovered her laying in the alley. It was a woman in white mink coat. She must've been walking her dog because Rose could feel a poodle sniffing her hair.

"Snooky get back here! You'll upset the niegh-"

The woman might've noticed Rose's figure, but now she had definitely realized what was laying in the alley. The woman ran over to Rose and checked for her pulse, and upon discovering how weak it was, she began to dial 911.
Rose remained silent during the whole ordeal. Even when the woman tried to ask for her name. Whose buisness was it if she wanted to die? If she wished to wither away in the alley then that was her buisness. She didn't need nosy socialites calling the ambulance. Nor did she need to talk with police and doctors about her being nude in the freezing early morning hours of the day inside an alley.

"Honey, can you hear me? The ambulance is on its way."

A strange kind of rage began to well up inside Rose. not just at her punishment of being revived, not just at the nosy woman in the mink coat, nor at the un trained poodle who was currently whizzing two feet away from her left leg. She was angry at everything. Fate had dealt one bad hand too many, and for her to now be summoned back from the afterlife just to endure more hardships again was too much.

Rose let out a guttural scream the extended from her soul and out of her mouth. The woman in the white mink coat jumped back with a startled cry and began to flee the alley; forgetting all about her poodle Snooky. Rose grabbed the poodle and slung it directly at the woman's head. She let out another cry as it struck her head. She fell to the ground and Rose pounced on top of her like a cat on a mouse. She scratched and clawed at the woman with such ferocity that it gave her a small jolt (which only encouraged her to continue). The woman didn't put up much of a fight. Instead she pleaded in vain, hoping beyond hope that offerings of money and mink coats would quell her attacker's rage. Even when Rose held her by her throat, the woman still pleaded through her bloody mouth. Rose snapped her neck and tossed her body a feet behind her.

As if she had suddenly taken a shower, her whole mind began to slowly activate. her thoughts became coherent again, and she began to approach this situation with a new focus. She walked over to the woman' s body and took her mink coat. It was big enough to cover her nude body comfortably and despite the poodle's protest, she thought she looked quite stunning. She fished through the pockets and found a wallet. Inside was the woman's identification.

"Hmmm. Elly Fields? Bad name, good tastes."

Deep in one of the pockets a ringing cellphone could be heard. She found it, and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mrs Fields?"

"Mrs. Fields?" she replied in mild surprise.

"This is Mrs. Elly Fields, correct?"

"Sure...what's up?"

"This Coran Doug of the Gotham Four Seasons Hotel. I was only inquiring as to how long you would be staying with us."

"Not sure, I'll be there for at least two days though."

"Understood."

Rose put the cellphone back up. She needed a fresh shower and a good night's rest if she wanted to tackle this situation from the right angle. Someone wanted her alive, and she needed to figure out who that was, unless she wanted to become their unwitting puppet.

Rose let out a sigh and left the alley with a brisk step. Without her buzz, her legs felt like jelly. She ambled slowly down the street, and only quickened her pace when she heard the sirens of an approaching ambulance.

"Four Seasons, here I come."

[twylight]

"Then you should not have come looking for me my dear." Black Mask replied. From his pocket, he quickly drew a flick knife and threw it at the woman, but she dodged with ease. However, it wasn't Black Mask's intention to hit, merely give a distraction as he let his foot into the womans face.

OOC: I dunno, just knock me out with your blade handle and have me wake up somewhere... I dunno, humiliating.


"OFH"

The woman skidded back, her hand on the ground in front of her between her knee's, her sword gripped in her left hand. She sheathed her sword, opting for mobility instead of honor.

Her right hand up near her chin silver darts glistened between her fingers. Bringing her hand out in an arc she let them fly, shimmering through the air towards him.

They hit him in the torso drawing thin rivelets of blood.

[Electro UK]

"OFH"

The woman skidded back, her hand on the ground in front of her between her knee's, her sword gripped in her left hand. She sheathed her sword, opting for mobility instead of honor.

Her right hand up near her chin silver darts glistened between her fingers. Bringing her hand out in an arc she let them fly, shimmering through the air towards him.

They hit him in the torso drawing thin rivelets of blood.

Black Mask screamed as he fell to the ground. Damn, he couldn't go out now, not like this, not by her. He softly growled as he pulled the darts out. If he wasn't going to win at playing fair, time to try out the big guns. He pulled a pistol from his back and opened fire at the woman.

[twylight]

Black Mask screamed as he fell to the ground. Damn, he couldn't go out now, not like this, not by her. He softly growled as he pulled the darts out. If he wasn't going to win at playing fair, time to try out the big guns. He pulled a pistol from his back and opened fire at the woman.


The woman ducked behind a display cabinet, her back to it. She pulled her bow out and nocked an arrow, peeking out from the display she let fly two arrows.

The gray points and shafts nestling in his shoulders, the blood staining his shirt.

She lept up as a shocked look crossed his face running towards him she brought a roundhouse to his face and stood up, watching as he fell.

[Electro UK]

The woman ducked behind a display cabinet, her back to it. She pulled her bow out and nocked an arrow, peeking out from the display she let fly two arrows.

The gray points and shafts nestling in his shoulders, the blood staining his shirt.

She lept up as a shocked look crossed his face running towards him she brought a roundhouse to his face and stood up, watching as he fell.

Black Mask coughed up blood as he fell to the floor. No... it couldn't end like this. It wasn't going to. He had to get up... had to stand up. Couldn't admit defeat. "Aw...damn." Black Mask said as he lost conciousness.

[MST3K 4ever]

Lex's Limo rounds the corner of main & 5th street. His assistant Mercy Graves is sitting at his side, and his secretary Brenda is reading to him his appointments for the afternoon.

She says,..."And then at 2:30 you're to be a part of a tele-conference with the Governor and the leaders of the legislature in board room 2428 in the west tower. That should be an all day thing but if you have time Cub Scout troop 316 will be touring Lexcorp at 4 and it might be a good opportunity for a photo op..."

Lex interupts, "Make sure the Cub Scout troop stops by the tele-conference. We'll do the photo op there and give them a chance to see the most powerful man in the state...talking with the Governor."

Lex chuckles as Brenda writes down "West Tower photo op Cub Scouts" the limo comes to a halt and the glass partition lowers.

The driver says, "We're here sir."

Lex says, "Thank you Fred." He puts on his sunglasses and straightens his coat and tie. He says to Fred, "Be back in 90 minutes."
Fred replies, "Yes Sir."

Lex and Mercy exit the limo as it drives off. Lex and Mercy are standing in front of one of the many damaged buildings in Metropolis with a media gathering taking his picture and shouting questions at him.

Lex says, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press I will make a statement in a few moments. For now I just want to survey the damage here and say a prayer for those who lost their lives here. Please respect my privacy for a few moments. Thank you."

Lex and Mercy walk around Lex shakes his head and points to a few areas of rubble to Mercy. He stops and bows his head. Once he is done he makes his way to the podium.

He removes his sunglasses and looks out at the gathered media and the crowd that has gathered around the building as well. He says, "Good morning. Although after what I have just seen and the turmoil this city has gone through those words seem rather hollow right now. But I say it is a good morning for Metropolis. In fact I believe that today is going to be one of the greatest days in the history of this city."
He takes a drink of water and continues, "The damage that we all have seen is unbelievable and many businesses, specifically the smaller ones, maybe wondring if they can ever recover. I say all the businesses of our great city can recover. As of today I am starting a new program with Lexcorp footing the bill not a dime from the Government this is out of my pocket. I call it 'The Metropolis Ressurection project.' It starts with granting many of the locally owned 'mom & pop' stores a grant of up half-a-million dollars and no less than $100,000 dollars. All the owners need to do is stop in at the Lexcorp towers receiption areas pick up a form and fill it out starting today. And I guarantee approval of your grant and your check within 48 hours. I am pulling many of my financial officers and other employees off of their previous projects to focus in on this project alone. Now before the big-chain businees cry out they are being pushed aside I have authorized a loan program for you. With a 1.2% interest rate lower than any bank in Metropolis. Same rule applies as with the grant program."

He takes another drink and says, "I realize that the private businesses will be aided by this program, but some of you maybe wondering about our city Government. I will be aiding them as well. Not only as an advisor on the reconstruction programs, but I am putting my money where my mouth is. I am giving the city of Metropolis Governement...half-a-billion dollars with the express purpose of repair and reconstruction to this great city of ours."

The crowd errupts in applause and cheers. They begin chanting, "Lex!" Lex holds up his hands and the crowd begins to quiet down he says, "Now now thank you, but I am not here for my glory. I am here for the glory of Metropolis. I challenge...no..I emplore my contemporaries in the businees community to follow my lead and get involved in this great city that has given us so much. With loan programs, donations to the City Government, or donations to the local charities. The time for competition among us is over for now. It is time for us to come together and bring back our great city."

The crowd errupts in jubilation again. Lex steps away from the podium and begins to smile. He steps back to the podium and says, "Now I realize that many of our great heroes have given of themselves as well, but they can only do so much. We have to take a stand and work together and follow their example as well. Working together we can make a difference for ourselves and our children and their children as well. Thank you so much and God Bless our great city...thank you!"

The crowd is now in a frenzy reaching out to touch Lex as his limo pulls up. He shakes a few hands and waves to the crowd. Someone holds up a sign that says, "Run again Lex!" Lex points to it and smiles.

He and Mercy jump in the Limo as it speeds off. Mercy says, "I realize that you are setting yourself up for another White House run, but don't you realize that trying to capitolize on a situation you helped create can backfire on you."

Lex lights up a cigar and says, "With what I am doing for this city and a certain document that basically authroized me to do this not even Superman can touch me. He might even vote for me. Trust me Mercy, I know exactly what I am doing. It's only a matter of time before I have taken my place in power once again."

[Batman]

(IC: Robin)

Families are weird. Especially surrogate ones.

I land on another Gargoyle, and wrap my cape around me. Don't want to attract attention, y'know?

Honestly, when I came to Gotham... I mean, I knew it was bad... Well, beyond bad... But I figured someone else would be here. Turns out I was wrong. No one else is here...

Bruce, the father of this 'family', has been missing for at least a couple weeks, now.

Dick, the big bro, was last seen in Metropolis, but he hasn't answered his comm. link, and his apartment was destroyed when The Joker took out Bludhaven, so I don't know where the hell he could be.

Barbara, the older sis, wasn't at the Clocktower, and hasn't answered her comm. After doing a little digging, I managed to find a note she left, saying she'd be out of town. For an undertermined amount of time... Which definatley didn't spell 'good' for me.

Cass ,the... er... other older sis, was contacted about the Outsiders according to what Bruce told me before he vanished, but, She hasn't responded to her comm, and Batgirl hasn't been seen anywhere to my knowledge.

I would've contacted Jean Paul Valley, The... um... crazy cousin?, if I didn't just remember that he was... well, dead.

So, that basically leaves me all alone, in the big city. One of which is being run by some of the worst criminals on the planet.

...

I pull out my comm. link, and set it up so not only the Bat-comms can hear this, but all of the JLA comm's aswell. If anyone still carries any of those...

"Uh... testing?"

...Oh, just get it over with, Drake.

"Yeah... For anyone who can hear my voice, please.. please respond. This is Robin, and I'm currently in Gotham City. Alone. And not that I don't think I could handle what most of these guys are going to throw at me anyway... It'd be sorta kinda nice to...um... have a little backup, so if anyone could stop by... It'd be mucho appreciated. So... um... Robin out."

...

Smooth, Drake. Real smooth.

In any case, I just hope it'll catch someone's attention... cause if not... Well... this is gonna be a looong night...

[Infinity9999x]

The Joker's smile faded. Images of a past long gone flashed before his eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he snapped, with no trace of humour.

The rest of the journey past in silence. Finally, they reached their destination: The Gotham News Station.

"Here we are," cackled The Joker.

The Joker, Mad Hatter, and a large group of henchmen entered the building. Security were powerless to stop him. After all, he was the Mayor. He made his way into the studio, were the news broadcast was about to begin. The anchorwoman's eyes widened with horror as she spotted The Joker and his men enter. He silently motioned for her to stay in her seat, and for the cameraman to keep rolling. One of his henchmen handed him a series of large cue-cards he'd hastily written during the journey.

"Good evening," said the anchorwoman, shakily reading the cue cards, "We have a very special edition of the Evening News tonight. The Joker, The Mayor of Gotham City, will be in attendance. Which is a good thing, as The Joker brings laughter to us allHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The anchorwoman slumped forward onto the desk, dead. Her face had already contorted into a horrific grin. The Joker let the laughing gas dissipate, then confidently walked behind the desk, wheeling her chair off-screen and sitting down on a chair of his own.

"Thank you for that wondeful introduction. Good to see you smiling for the camera! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Tonight's broadcast is very special, and not just because I'm presenting it. No, I have a BIG news story tonight, so big, I'll be saving it for the end of the show. What is it, you ask? Simple."

The Joker gave a long, dramatic pause. After he said what he was about to say, he could imagine every news broadcast in America cutting into a live feed with this one. And the bigger his audience, the better. His grin widened maliciously.

"I'm going to reveal to you all...the real identity...of Batman."

Touchy. The temper some people have, Jervis thought to himself. But then, the Queen had quite a temper too, so he was used to it by now. He followed the white indivdual into a tv studio, and Jervis found himself quite surprised at how cheery some of the anchors were. Why, he didn't think he had seen a lady laugh that much in quite a while.

As the Joker (as Jervis found out from the introduction) moved in front of the camera, he stayed in the shadows....he had never been fond of crowds. That was one thing Jenny had always tried to get him to do...go in front of crowds...but his wife was....she......NO NO.....he musn't think of that....never....

Jervis looked back over at the Joker, who had mentioned something about a Batman character. That name....Bat-man......why....so familiar....
Jervis shook his head. It kept bringing back the painful memories....he didn't like those....he shouldn't think of them....or else the little girl might come back...

Jervis was getting nervous, he didn't like just standing around. Tenitively, he walked forward and placed his machine on the desk the Joker was sitting at by his elbow. He had brought him here mostly because of the Machine, so Jervis figured the Joker would know what to do with it. The clown-like man glanced at him briefly before looking back into the camera. Jervis backed away quickly....preformers didn't like to be disturbed.

[MaskedManJRK]

IC: Batman

I take a look around the strange device, trying to figure the quickest and safest way to disable the system when my private comm buzzes.

(IC: Robin)

"Uh... testing?"

"Yeah... For anyone who can hear my voice, please.. please respond. This is Robin, and I'm currently in Gotham City. Alone. And not that I don't think I could handle what most of these guys are going to throw at me anyway... It'd be sorta kinda nice to...um... have a little backup, so if anyone could stop by... It'd be mucho appreciated. So... um... Robin out."

Tim. Haven't heard from him in a while. Even after I talked him back into the suit, he told me he still had to rededicate himself before he would go back to the streets. Judging from the message and voice, it appears so.

Then why is he saying that he can't handle what's going on? Surely things haven't gotten that bad since my disapearence...can they?

"Robin, this is Batman. It's a long story, but to shorten it--I've been kidnapped by Ra's al Ghul, taken to his stronghold in Africa where myself and most of the Outsiders are taking out what seems to be a never-ending swarm of ninjas while trying to disable a virus that Ra's aims to spread, killing most of the population on Earth.

"Now, would you mind giving me a status report? What's going on that you can't handle?"

[The Question]

Great. Stopping to check in on the kids. How cute.

"Bruce, if you don't mind, maybe we could concentrait on the doomsday weapon here?"

[Batman]

Nightwing had returned home after the incident in Metropolis. He felt that he was needed more in Bludhaven than he was there, especially with Clark's reappearance.

However... He wouldn't have expected what was to come his way. Less than an hour into coming back to the now destroyed city that he had been trying to restore for the past few months, He had been shocked to learn that there was a message on his communicator.


Pushing the nessacary buttons, Dick listened in, perched upon one of Bludhaven's few remaining skyscapers.

I hope to god this is Bruce. He's been out of action for the past few weeks... Where the hell could he have been? It isn't like him to leave Gotham unprotected without putting someone in charge, first. Well... In any case, I'm just glad he's ba-


"Uh... testing? Yeah... For anyone who can hear my voice, please.. please respond. This is Robin, and I'm currently in Gotham City. Alone. And not that I don't think I could handle what most of these guys are going to throw at me anyway... It'd be sorta kinda nice to...um... have a little backup, so if anyone could stop by... It'd be mucho appreciated. So... um... Robin out."



...

Oh... Well that's just dandy. The kid's by himself in one of the most crime infested cities on the planet.

Nightwing turned on the communicator, and spoke in.

"Robin-"

Nightwing paused. He wasn't used to calling Tim that. However... Tim had earned the role a long time ago. And even though he had taken a turn for the worst, as of recent times... Bruce had assured Dick that Tim was back to his normal self.

"This is Nightwing. I'm in Bludhaven... I could probably manage a visit. But first I need to know what the hell I'm getting myself into... so would you mind giving me a status report? What's going on that you can't handle?"

"Nightwing? NIGHTWING! Oh, thank god! Well... uh... It's... well, you see it's... It's kinda hard to explain..."

Nightwing raised an eyebrow. Tim had seen his fair share of weird things, over the years, and Dick had seen even more. What could possibly be so hard to explain?

As Nightwing began to speak back into the comm, a familar barritone buzzed into the Communicator...

Tim. Haven't heard from him in a while. Even after I talked him back into the suit, he told me he still had to rededicate himself before he would go back to the streets. Judging from the message and voice, it appears so.

Then why is he saying that he can't handle what's going on? Surely things haven't gotten that bad since my disapearence...can they?

"Robin, this is Batman. It's a long story, but to shorten it--I've been kidnapped by Ra's al Ghul, taken to his stronghold in Africa where myself and most of the Outsiders are taking out what seems to be a never-ending swarm of ninjas while trying to disable a virus that Ra's aims to spread, killing most of the population on Earth.

Nightwing smirked. He was back. Batman was finally within communication reach after all this time. Not that Dick was surprised... Bruce always found a way to make dramatic reappearances.

Ra's Al Ghul kidnapped him and took him prisoner against his will.

...

I knew something was up. Bruce wouldn't have left the city under his own terms without warning...


"Now, would you mind giving me a status report? What's going on that you can't handle?"

...

Huh. Now I know what the phrase 'Deja-Vu' refers to...

Nightwing listens as a frantic Robin responds to the now not-so-missing Batman.

"BATMAN! Boy, am I glad to... Er... Okay, since you probably don't wanna hear that, I'll go on with that status report. But... you might not wanna hear this, either. You see... Gotham has gone through a few... um... changes, since you left."

Nightwing could practically hear Bruce already telling Tim to 'Get to the point', so He decided to beat him to the punch.

"I'd get to the point, if I were you, kid."

"Well... Y'see... Gotham is being run by The Joker. No, seriously. He's literally become the new Mayor of Gotham City. Black Mask is the GCPD Commisioner, and Two-Face is the DA. Not to mention all of Gotham's cops are now released ex-cons, since Jonathan Crane was put head of Arkham."

...

Nightwing looked at the communicator in disbelief. That... What Dick heard couldn't have possibly been right. The Joker... MAYOR of Gotham? That was a phrase that could send chills down the spine of virtually any man. Batman, probably being the only exception... Though Dick knew it would take alot for this not to affect him, in some way.

"I... What? How? Why, I mean..."

"I don't know! That's the thing. He was already Mayor by the time I was packing my bags to head back and rondaevous with Bats. It was all over the news. Not only that... But masked vigilantism has been outlawed by the smiling bastard himself."

...

To put it in blunt terms... Holy ****. This day is just full of surprises...

Nightwing waited for Batman to respond to this, before saying anything else. It was time the city's rightful owner had a word in this...

[MaskedManJRK]

Great. Stopping to check in on the kids. How cute.

"Bruce, if you don't mind, maybe we could concentrait on the doomsday weapon here?"

"I have not forgotten nor lost any concentration, Sage."

I open up one panels, revealing many varities of wires. Still, I keep an ear to the comm, in case Tim answers.

[twylight]

“Yes.”

The woman spoke into the phone, her voice low. She stood on the empty Highway, Gothams lights in the distance. Her gray outfit bright in the night, her long dark hair streamed behind her in the breeze, her bangs falling and covering her face.

Ricky’s voice came from the other end.

“So, Friday then?”

“Yes.”

“No pulling out this time? We do have much to celebrate.”

The woman smiled gently, her red lips parted showing her white teeth.

“Don’t we?” she replied softly almost to herself.

“No pulling out.” she said before snapping the phone shut. She turned and returned to her work.

Looping this rope, tying that one, her motorcycle sat propped up on the shoulder, the deserted highway quiet as she worked her task. She stepped back and surveyed it, pulling her bow from her body she aimed two arrows as the final touch before looping it back over her body and straddling her motorcycle. Starting the engine, it echoed in the silence of the roadway, she flew off down the Highway. Leaving a warning for those with ideas for Gotham.

A trickle of blood hit the grass on the side of the highway, and as the motorcycle’s engine faded into the distance, the limp body of Black Mask remains still in the night, strung across the florescent green sign, bearing the blood stained white words: “Welcome to Gotham City”

[LibrarianThorne]

He had circled the globe in about five minutes, taking as long a search as he dared. As he crossed France, he cursed silently to himself. He'd been unable to find Batman. Wherever Bruce was, he was hidden well.

Dejected, Superman returned to Metropolis. He flew to the Daily Planet, taking the secret entrance into the globe that he'd discovered so long ago. There, waiting for him, was the suit and glasses of Clark Kent. In a blur, he was Superman no more, but rather grabed in the work clothes of intrepid reporter Clark Kent. He took a moment to straighten his tie and smooth back his hair, smirking at the thought that the most difficult part of his face to change was always his spitcurl.

He straightened his tie as he walked swiftly down the stairs, and in a few moments he found himself facing the door to the Planet's staff offices. He sighed to himself. No better time than the present, Clark.

He pushed the door open, and was greeted with the usual buzz of activity. Reporters shuffled to and fro, sheafs of paper tighly in sweaty hands. Photographers cut through the crowd, the swaying of the camera around their necks a suddenly comforting sight. It had been three weeks since the start of the trial. Three weeks since Clark Kent had been at the Planet.

Ron Troupe was the first to notice him. He still wore his slate grey fedora hat and argyle sweater, his friendly face framed by a set of large glasses. "Mr. Kent! Long time no see! How did that article on world hunger turn out?"
"Oh, um, it came out fine, Ron. Perry called me in to go over it some more. I don't think I'll ever understand what aversion he has to e-mail."
"Aw, you know Perry. Likes the hard copies just as much as the hard facts." He began walking off. "Sorry I can't chat more, Clark! Chief wants me on some mysterious bar murder. Might be something big, police are stonewalling us right now, though."
"Good luck with that, Ron," said Kent as the busy journalist headed out of the office.

"KENT!" came the roar from the editor's office. Only Perry White could get a room full of the best reporters on Eath to stop dead in their tracks just by the sound of his voice. Clark looked around sheepishly as many of his co-workers noticed him for the first time. Storming out of his office, cigar smoke billowing from the cigar clenched in his mouth, came Perry White. He hooked Clark around the shoulder with one of his arms and began dragging him back to his office. "Just WHAT is the matter with you reporters?! Hrm?! When an editor says 'meet me at three to go over your blasted article', he MEANS meet him at 3! Kent, look at that clock on the wall and tell me what time it is!"
Clark angled his head to get a look at the nearest clock. "It's, erm, quarter past three, Mr. White."
"EXACTLY! Fifteen minutes of my life that I can't get back, Kent! You, my office, now!"

Clark followed Perry as his editor stomped back to his office. When both men were inside his office, Perry slammed the door shut. Outside, Clark could hear the normal rattle of the Daily Planet as it's staff resumed work. Clark cleared his throat before addressing Perry, who had sat behind his deck and was busily rifling through papers. "So, um, about that article on world hunger?"
"Did your wife not tell you, Kent? The article was just the excuse I made to the board to explain where one of my star, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists had disappeared to. Next time, you damn well better tell me when you plan on taking time off like that."
"Sir?" said Clark confusedly.
"This Superman business. I'm fine when you go out of space to deal with whatever cosmic crazy has a hard on to blow up Earth, but if you're going to be out for weeks, the least you could is tell me beforehand."
"Right, Chief."
Perry White chuckled. "How many times do I have to tell the guy with super memory not to call me Chief?"
"Um, more than once?"

They both laughed a deep, hearty laugh, like two old friends who hadn't met in a long time. "Oh, I needed that. So, Chief, got any assignments for me?"
"Matter of fact, I do. How soon can you get to Gotham?"
"What?"
"No one knows what it's like in Gotham right now. None of the news agencies want to risk sending a reporter in there, not after the No Man's Land fiasco. And I want a story, Kent. I want a story that will shame the federal government into doing something about Gotham. I can't even imagine what it must be like to live by the laws of the Joker, and there are people in there who are doing it every day."
"And you're sending me because I can't get hurt while I'm there, right Chief?"
"No Kent, I'm sending you there because you're the best reporter I've got. Now can you do it?" Clark nodded. "Good. Now get out there and get me that story!"

In another few moments, Clark found himself again on top of the Daily Planet, clad in the familiar blue, yellow, and red of Superman and carrying his personal effects. Perry was right. This story had to be told, and he was the one to tell it. And maybe, if he was lucky, he could do some good while he was there.

Up, up and away he flew, and little did the denizens of Gotham then realize that the first of many angels was headed their way.

[Watchman]

Scarecrow looks at what he has created. What the fear has done to these men. What fear has done to this city. He looks up to where his partner has gone. He was going to be her lacky anymore. Taking out these thugs that wasn't his job. He was going to be a subordinate anymore. Not to the Joker and not to her. He looks at the man he just shot in the head.

"Looks like the good doctor is going to have to pay somebody a very special visit". He runs off to where they had their last meeting. He sneaks into the docks where he seeshis next victim. The man hangs up the phone and hears a sound in the backroom. He opens the door and heads inside. The room is pitch black and he can't see anything.

"Hey who's here" he heard a low voice coming from the corner of the room.

"The black and green scarecrow as everyone knows" the person said in a sing song voice.

"What the hell" the man looks for a light.

"Stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere" the voice continue to sing.

The man turns on the light. The light turned on but it was just one ligtbulb that barely lit up the room. A hand reached out and grabbed the man's face.

"He didn't care" gas came out and right into the man's face. The man face turned into one of terror. Although the man was scared he tried to fight back. Just like the bat always trying to fight back Crane thought. He throws an awkward punch and Crane dodges it easily. He connects with a punch to the stomach.

"He stood in a field where barley grows" he slams the man's head in the wall. Scarecrow emerges into the light and punches the man's face and then stomach. The man falls to the ground with his back to the wall. He grabs a stool and smashes against the man. Scarecrow begun to beat the man. After a few more kicks to the head and stomach Scarecrow stops and looks down at his work. The man's face was badly cut with blood all over it. He whole face was swollen and barely recognizable. He sets down a skull and gas pours out of it. It was his calling card. He heads for the door

"The black and green scarecrow is sadder than me
But now he's resigned to his fate
'Cause life's not unkind - he doesn't mind.
He stood in a field where barley grows."
he says in his low singing voice. "Good night Ricky"

He leaves the docks. It was time to continue his work all over Gotham.

[Purple Man]

What began as a pin-prick of light grew to a glowing, temporal gateway that crackled with raw energy. As a form began to emerge from the opening, the words "Long live the Legion." Were heard like a distant echo, and with those words he had appeared, garbed in the costume of his mentor and the source of half of his genetic material.

The portal which had transported him from the distant thirty first century, dissipated as he drifted towards the man of steel, his long red cape blowing to the left in the soft breeze. Conner looked like a spitting image of a young Superman, save for the 'L' insignia on his belt buckle and ring.


"Hi. They call me Superboy."

http://www.dragonhero.com/graphics/lsh/superboy.png

[LibrarianThorne]

What began as a pin-prick of light grew to a glowing, temporal gateway that crackled with raw energy. As a form began to emerge from the opening, the words "Long live the Legion." Were heard like a distant echo, and with those words he had appeared, garbed in the costume of his mentor and the source of half of his genetic material.

The portal which had transported him from the distant thirty first century, dissipated as he drifted towards the man of steel, his long red cape blowing to the left in the soft breeze. Conner looked like a spitting image of a young Superman, save for the 'L' insignia on his belt buckle and ring.


"Hi. They call me Superboy."

http://www.dragonhero.com/graphics/lsh/superboy.png

The shock of seeing Superboy's emergence caused Superman to drop his suit and glasses. Reacting quickly, he grabbed them before they could fall to the ground, then he addressed Superboy.

"Connor? What's happened to you?"

[Purple Man]

"I became the coolest guy in the thirty-first century, but now is not the time, to be discussing the future. You were headed towards Gotham, right?"

Conner was grinning as he floated in a reclined position, his hands behind his head, fingers tangled in hair that was usually a little bit shorter. His thoughts were slowly shifting from the future he left behind to the past, or present time depending on how you looked at it. Kon-El wanted to check on his friend Robin, the last he could remember Tim was in some trouble, but he even wasn't sure how long he had spent in the future.

[Trigger]

Rose teetered on her unsteady legs into the hotel. She wrapped herself nice and tight inside her newly aquired mink coat. After the two hour walk to the hotel, she wished she had also stolen the woman's clothes.

The man at the registry seem startled when she approached him. He was having a conversation with another employee, but the sight of a white haired woman wearing nothing but a mink coat must've been shocking.

"H-hello!" he stuttered.

"Um..Hello, my name is Elly Fields."

"Fields?"

The other employee whispered into the man's ear. Rose made out the words slightly. She could hear some mumblings about the Mrs. Fields being a popular reporter going through a divorce.

"Of course! I'm sorry for being so rude. Can I help you?"

"I need a key to my room."

"Room number please?"

"I forgot..."

The man nodded and began type some words into the computer on his desk. After a few seconds he found what he was looking for and retreived some keys from beneath the counter.

"Here you go, Mrs. Fields."

"Thanks."

Rose began to walk off slowlyl before she heard the hurried footsteps of the man behind her.

"Almost forgot! We'll have to charge you five bucks for the replacement keys."

"That's fine with me." she said over her shoulder.

When Rose arrived at the room, she found the place to be quite lavish. Everything was white; the walls, the chairs and tables, the carpet and even the shower. Rose close the door and dropped her mink coat on the floor. She wandered around the room for a bit, taking in the pleasant room and its grand view of the city.

She found the bathroom and quickly started the shower. Before entering she took a look at herself in the mirror. Her white hair was still plastered to her forehead, and her hands had an uncanny red tint. Other than that she looked....human.

Rose quickly stepped into the shower and she stood there letting the water just run over her for a minute. She began to wash herself and enjoyed the smell of Elly's shower gel. The scent of Vanilla Sugar filled the room and the blood ran down the drain steadily. She began to apply the conditioner and then rinsed it out. She followed up with an assortment of other hair shampoos. When she finally stepped out of the shower, she felt like a queen, albeit a false queen since none of this was hers.

Rose quitely walked out on to the room's balcony. She looked around at the city's citizens moving about busily. Two hours ago she murdered a woman with her bare hands, but the city, the world itself, kept moving along. What had occured between her death and now? How did she even die? Such questions buzzed through her head constantly.
Rose walked into the bedroom and collapsed on to the beautiful white bed. Its comfy pillows drew her in and threw her into a deep sleep.

[MST3K 4ever]

Luthor sits alone at a conference table while he stares at the split screen of the Governor and 2 members of the state legislature. Mercy is standing behind Lex.

Lex lights up another cigar and says, "So the way I see it gentlemen you have very little option at this time, but to agree to my terms concerning certain tax-breaks for my company. Otherwise I will have no choice but to pull the plug on the Metropolis ressurection project, and could you imagine the fire-storm of controversy that you all would ignite after I have made it so easy for the people of this city to get back on their feet. I could asure you all of this," he takes a puff and blows out the smoke and then says,"the voters would not forget this when it comes time to vote this year. I would see to that personally, and if I read the news reports correctly you 3 are all in fights for your politcal lives."

All three men on the screen look as though they are about to throw up. Finally the Governor says, "I think it is safe to say that you have us over a barrell Lex. All-right you win this round but only for the sake of the people of Metropolis."

Lex takes another puff and exhales and says, "Excellent and for this I will sure the voters of our city don't forget how you have made their lives so much easier."
Just then his secretary Brenda buzzes in on the phone. She asks, "Sir are you ready for the cub-scout troop?"

Lex puts out his cigar...I hate wasting a good victory cigar but I do have an image to uphold. Lex replies, "Yes Brenda by all means bring them in" He looks at the screen and asks, "Gentlemen would mind waiting on-line just long enough to spend a few moments with our local Cub Scout troop?"

All three men reply they would wait. Brenda brings in the scout troop and Lex says, "Ahh good afternoon children. How are you all enjoying Lexcorp?"

They reply all reply great or fine or other variations as they tell Lex each one about the favorite parts of Lexcorp. Lex says, "Excellent. I would like for you all to meet three friends of mine. Governor Hutchens, and Represenatives Lawson & Mitchell. Remember (Lex glares at the screen) they work for us."

The 3 men say hello to the children and Brenda makes sure to get plenty of photos. After a few moments the Cub Scouts & Brenda leave and Lex turns his attention back to the conference call.

He says, "I expect this issue to be dealt with in full by the end of the week. Are we clear on that?"
Governor Hutchens says, "We hear you Lex, and you had better be able to deliver on your promises to the people of Metropolis. Otherwise I will see to it that you regret ever setting foot in Metropolis."

Lex says, "Don't worry Governor this city will be back to peak standards by the end of the summer. Oh and don't ever try to threaten me again. I have battled Superman and had him on the brink of death so don't think your threat carries any weight with me. Good day."

Lex terminates the call and Mercy says, "All things considered that could've gone worse."

Lex relights a cigar and says, "It could've gone better as well. the nerve of those bafoons thinking they could play hardball with me." He takes a puff and exhales. He looks at Mercy and says, "Make three annonymous donations in the sum of $250,000 to each opposing candidate. They are about to pay the price for the lack of loyalty to me."

Mercy nods and leaves the conference room. Lex enjoys his cigar as he begins planning his run for the White House once again.

[LibrarianThorne]

"I became the coolest guy in the thirty-first century, but now is not the time, to be discussing the future. You were headed towards Gotham, right?"

Conner was grinning as he floated in a reclined position, his hands behind his head, fingers tangled in hair that was usually a little bit shorter. His thoughts were slowly shifting from the future he left behind to the past, or present time depending on how you looked at it. Kon-El wanted to check on his friend Robin, the last he could remember Tim was in some trouble, but he even wasn't sure how long he had spent in the future.

"How did you-" Superman began to say, before realization dawned on him. "Oh. Right. Thirty first century. Time travel." He sighed, and smiled a tired smile. "Have I ever told you how much I hate time travel? Just thinking about the paradoxes makes even my head hurt. Regardless, you were right. I am on my way to Gotham, but I don't know if anyone else is there. Flash was headed that way, but I have yet to hear back from him."

[Watchman]

"Stop it! Let go of me" yelled the man. Scarecrow dragged the man toward the docks. "Why are you doing this to me!"

"My dear boy you're here to deliver a very special message". Scarecrow tied a rope around the man's leg and dragged him from his apartment to the docks. He stop by the entrance of the docks and took out a knife. He stabbed the man and made a large cut. He begun to paint the wall with his knife. He put his knife away and walked off. Right before he died the man looked up at the wall painted with his blood and read:

DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN

[Johnny Blaze]

Eiling walked down the hallways of the R&D building a few feet ahead of his escorts. He was in a hurry.
It had been over a year since the project had been given the green light, and, since then, they had met with one setback after another. It was getting to the point that Eiling thought he'd have to terminate it. Or at least terminate the staff and start over from scratch.
But, the sun was apparently beginning to shine through the gray clouds...finally.

Entering the access code into the wall console, Eiling burst into the main lab where he was greeted by a trio of scientists.
All throughout the colossal lab was scattered pieces of technology and cables. And towards the back in the shadows stood dozens of huge glass tubes. Tubes big enough to hold a large man comfortably.

"Well, Saunders? Show me what you've got", said Eiling as he walked up to the three scientists.

"Right this way, General", replied the head scientist, Dr. Saunders, as he led the General deeper into the room.
"As you know we've been having problems with the genetic sequencing, but we've finally found a way around that. My assistants and I discovered that if---"

"You can spare me the technical jargon, Doctor. All I care about is the end results."

"Uh...yes sir. We're still having problems finishing up a few subjects, most notably K-20 and M-33, but the rest are ready for field testing."

"Excellent news", said Eiling as he and his entourage stopped in front of the large tanks in the back.

"Magnificent", said Eiling as he gazed at the fruits of his labors.
"I trust you've been integrating the specific programs into their cerebral cortex?"

"Yes sir, they will have the experience of a fully trained and seasoned super soldier."

"And they'll be totally loyal to me?"

"Yes sir."

"Good", said Eiling as he smiled at the creations as they floated in the tanks.
"Well...let's see them, Saunders."

"Yes sir", replied Doctor Saunders as he moved to a control panel and flicked a switch. With a loud gurgle, the liquid in a few of the tanks quickly drained away. As soon as the liquid was gone the Doctor pressed a black button, and the glass tubes slowly slid down and out of sight.
Groups of men rushed towards the beings in the tanks and began to strip them of all the remaining tubes and other devices still attached to them. When the men had finished their job and moved away, Eiling stepped forward.

"Good evening, gentlemen. My name, as you should be aware, is General Wade Eiling. I am the head of this military division and your commanding officer. From now on, you will answer to nobody but me."

"Now, step down."

Eiling looked on with wide eyed delight as the four ready for operation subjects stepped down from the slightly higher platforms they were on to the floor in front of him.
There was a deafening silence in the room as the four figures slowly walked towards the General and stopped just a dozen feet away. Eiling looked upon them and smiled wide.

They looked perfect.

"You certainly look the part", said Eiling as he approached the group with his hands clasped behind his back, "but, I think it's time for a test run."
“Sir, he’s in position”, stated the officer as he looked over the monitor screens.

“Good. Bring it up”, replied General Eiling as he calmly watched the operation that was underway.
The general and a small contingent of trusted personal were in the middle of the Atlantic on the USS Pathfinder, an advanced military research ship outfitted with some of the best technology on the planet. Along with the General and his small crew were the four subjects. This was their test run to see how well they operated in the field. Two of the subjects remained on deck while the other two were under the water completing their mission.

The waters were calm, at least as calm as the middle of the Atlantic Ocean can be, and there was not a single cloud in the beautiful night sky. The ship had it’s own sets of lights, but the light from the full moon was enough to bath the entire area in light.

Suddenly, the waters in front of the ship began to churn and bubble. General Eiling walked out on deck to observe the scene unfolding before him.

“You should stand clear sir”, said the female subject who remained on the ship, “just in case.”

“You’re concern is touching, little bird, but I’m not missing this for anything.”

The subject just nodded her head in acceptance, “Yes sir.”

Soon, from the churning waters, came the two test subjects…the female carrying a large object as she flew out of the water and onto the ship’s deck. She placed the object on the deck as the male test subject who accompanied her shot out of the water with graceful agility. The subjects lined up to attention as the General walked past them, staring at his prize.

“Well done, soldiers”, he said as he gazed into the glass tubing that comprised part of the object to the creature inside, “well done.”

Eiling turned on his heels and faced the test subjects.
“You’ve all done an excellent job today, soldiers. This was your first field test, and you all passed with flying colors. Soon you’ll be seeing some real action. Until then you will continue with your training as soon as we return to base.”

The four subjects said nothing. They simply saluted the general and returned to inside the ship after the general returned the salute.

Doctor Saunders walked up to the general as a group of engineers began inspecting the object.

“The container seems to have taken no damage during it’s time on the ocean floor.”

“Of course, Saunders. Aquaman’s no fool. You honestly think he’d risk something this powerful escaping?”

“I would hope not”, replied Saunders as he inspected the container.

“How soon can you have it ready, Doctor?”

Saunders remained silent for a handful of seconds before answering as he thought out the scenarios in his head, “Since it appears the creature is in perfect condition, we can have it ready within a week, at the least.”

“Good”, said Eiling as he gazed into the eyes of the creature. Those large red eyes. He was almost there. His goal was within reach. Soon he will be able to begin the final phase of his plan…and then the world would be his rule as he saw fit.

“Get to work, Doctor”, said Eiling as he walked off back into the ship’s interior, leaving the Doctor and his staff of scientists to get started.

[MaskedManJRK]

Nightwing had returned home after the incident in Metropolis. He felt that he was needed more in Bludhaven than he was there, especially with Clark's reappearance.

However... He wouldn't have expected what was to come his way. Less than an hour into coming back to the now destroyed city that he had been trying to restore for the past few months, He had been shocked to learn that there was a message on his communicator.


Pushing the nessacary buttons, Dick listened in, perched upon one of Bludhaven's few remaining skyscapers.

I hope to god this is Bruce. He's been out of action for the past few weeks... Where the hell could he have been? It isn't like him to leave Gotham unprotected without putting someone in charge, first. Well... In any case, I'm just glad he's ba-



...

Oh... Well that's just dandy. The kid's by himself in one of the most crime infested cities on the planet.

Nightwing turned on the communicator, and spoke in.

"Robin-"

Nightwing paused. He wasn't used to calling Tim that. However... Tim had earned the role a long time ago. And even though he had taken a turn for the worst, as of recent times... Bruce had assured Dick that Tim was back to his normal self.

"This is Nightwing. I'm in Bludhaven... I could probably manage a visit. But first I need to know what the hell I'm getting myself into... so would you mind giving me a status report? What's going on that you can't handle?"

"Nightwing? NIGHTWING! Oh, thank god! Well... uh... It's... well, you see it's... It's kinda hard to explain..."

Nightwing raised an eyebrow. Tim had seen his fair share of weird things, over the years, and Dick had seen even more. What could possibly be so hard to explain?

As Nightwing began to speak back into the comm, a familar barritone buzzed into the Communicator...

[/font]

Nightwing smirked. He was back. Batman was finally within communication reach after all this time. Not that Dick was surprised... Bruce always found a way to make dramatic reappearances.

Ra's Al Ghul kidnapped him and took him prisoner against his will.

...

I knew something was up. Bruce wouldn't have left the city under his own terms without warning...



...

Huh. Now I know what the phrase 'Deja-Vu' refers to...

Nightwing listens as a frantic Robin responds to the now not-so-missing Batman.

"BATMAN! Boy, am I glad to... Er... Okay, since you probably don't wanna hear that, I'll go on with that status report. But... you might not wanna hear this, either. You see... Gotham has gone through a few... um... changes, since you left."

Nightwing could practically hear Bruce already telling Tim to 'Get to the point', so He decided to beat him to the punch.

"I'd get to the point, if I were you, kid."

"Well... Y'see... Gotham is being run by The Joker. No, seriously. He's literally become the new Mayor of Gotham City. Black Mask is the GCPD Commisioner, and Two-Face is the DA. Not to mention all of Gotham's cops are now released ex-cons, since Jonathan Crane was put head of Arkham."

...

Nightwing looked at the communicator in disbelief. That... What Dick heard couldn't have possibly been right. The Joker... MAYOR of Gotham? That was a phrase that could send chills down the spine of virtually any man. Batman, probably being the only exception... Though Dick knew it would take alot for this not to affect him, in some way.

"I... What? How? Why, I mean..."

"I don't know! That's the thing. He was already Mayor by the time I was packing my bags to head back and rondaevous with Bats. It was all over the news. Not only that... But masked vigilantism has been outlawed by the smiling bastard himself."

...

To put it in blunt terms... Holy ****. This day is just full of surprises...

Nightwing waited for Batman to respond to this, before saying anything else. It was time the city's rightful owner had a word in this...


"...What?"

The panel drops in my hand instantly. Joker...that's not possible, that's...

I pound my fist on the machine, I utter in my mind every curse I can think of and aim them directly towards the grinning lunitic that has the gull to claim that Gotham is HIS city.

It is not his city. Gotham City is MINE.

Breathe steady, Bruce. You have to get this settled before you do anything else. No use taking Gotham back if it's blanketed in a mass-murdering nerve virus.

I just notice through the comm that Dick is with him. Good; at least Tim isn't alone in there.

They're waiting for my orders, so I give it to them.

"Alright, stay low until I return. Get everything you can prepared and ready. When I get back...we're going hunting."

I turn back to Sage before he can give another smug crack about "the kids."

"Question, there is apparently a large disturbence in Gotham. I will most likely use the Outsiders as reinforcements. I hope you have no disagreements."

[The Question]

"None at all. Mind getting rid of the canister of toxic nerv virus now?"

[Purple Man]

"How did you-" Superman began to say, before realization dawned on him. "Oh. Right. Thirty first century. Time travel." He sighed, and smiled a tired smile. "Have I ever told you how much I hate time travel? Just thinking about the paradoxes makes even my head hurt. Regardless, you were right. I am on my way to Gotham, but I don't know if anyone else is there. Flash was headed that way, but I have yet to hear back from him."

"You know, that's exactly what you in the eight-hundred and fifty-third century said; about the paradoxes and what not."

That grin never left his youthful face. Did Superman from the 853rd century really say that? Did Kon-El even meet him? Who knows? Such questions are meant to be lost in time.

"Race ya!"

Time travel was messy business, Conner was just glad to be home, racing across the open skies towards Gotham city.

[LibrarianThorne]

"You know, that's exactly what you in the eight-hundred and fifty-third century said; about the paradoxes and what not."

That grin never left his youthful face. Did Superman from the 853rd century really say that? Did Kon-El even meet him? Who knows? Such questions are meant to be lost in time.

"Race ya!"

Time travel was messy business, Conner was just glad to be home, racing across the open skies towards Gotham city.

Clark laughed as Connor raced ahead. Connor may be rash and impetuous, and he knew that the boy always worried about what the S on his chest meant, but at that moment Clark knew that Connor had done some growing up in that time so far away.

He sped across the sky, and within moments was a hair's breadth behind Connor. "I don't know what the sun is like in the 853rd century, Connor, but you've got to be feeling pretty confident if you think you can beat me!"

He pulled even with Connor, and winked at him as he pulled ahead, becoming a red and blue blur.

[Batman]

"...What?"

The panel drops in my hand instantly. Joker...that's not possible, that's...

I pound my fist on the machine, I utter in my mind every curse I can think of and aim them directly towards the grinning lunitic that has the gull to claim that Gotham is HIS city.

It is not his city. Gotham City is MINE.

Breathe steady, Bruce. You have to get this settled before you do anything else. No use taking Gotham back if it's blanketed in a mass-murdering nerve virus.

I just notice through the comm that Dick is with him. Good; at least Tim isn't alone in there.

They're waiting for my orders, so I give it to them.

"Alright, stay low until I return. Get everything you can prepared and ready. When I get back...we're going hunting."

I turn back to Sage before he can give another smug crack about "the kids."

"Question, there is apparently a large disturbence in Gotham. I will most likely use the Outsiders as reinforcements. I hope you have no disagreements."

Nightwing nods to himself, hearing Bruce's orders. ...He doesn't intend to follow them himself, but it's nice that Bruce has a game plan, even at this stage.

Dick activates the comm once more, and speaks.

"You heard the man. Keep a low profile for the time being. I'll be there in about thirty minutes, got it?"

"Uh... Sure. Yeah... That sounds good. Robin out."

Nightwing shuts off his communicator, before sticking it in his gauntlet. He looks out at the remains of Bludhaven... his city...

I wish I could say they needed me more... But... Last I checked, The Mayor of Bludhaven isn't The Joker...

He sighs to himself, taking out a grapnel and shooting it out towards the empty streets, where his motorcycle sits in a nearby alleyway. As he leaps from the rooftop, one lone thought passes his mind...

"Long Night" isn't even going to begin to cover this...

http://raydillon.com/Images/Sequentials/Nightwing/NWing-Fund-06colorlarge.jpg


Within minutes, He's revved up the engine, and taken off towards the city that made him who he is today. The city that made all of them... even Bruce...

[Purple Man]

Clark laughed as Connor raced ahead. Connor may be rash and impetuous, and he knew that the boy always worried about what the S on his chest meant, but at that moment Clark knew that Connor had done some growing up in that time so far away.

He sped across the sky, and within moments was a hair's breadth behind Connor. "I don't know what the sun is like in the 853rd century, Connor, but you've got to be feeling pretty confident if you think you can beat me!"

He pulled even with Connor, and winked at him as he pulled ahead, becoming a red and blue blur.

"You got faster! Does the Flash know you've been dipping into the speed force?"

How they could communicate at such outrageous speeds was beyond understanding. Of course the same could be said about pretty much anything these kryptonians (or in Conners' case; half kryptonian) could do.
He was doing his best to keep up with the man of steel, but could only manage to get a good view of the bottom of his boots.

"We better slow down or we'll end up back in Metropolis!"

[MST3K 4ever]

Lex exits the offices of Lexcorp. He sees very long lines of people with their paperwork in hand. They shout and cheer at Lex as he walks by. Mercy is waiting by the limo.

He smiles and waves to them, and finally walks over and begins shaking hands and posing for pictures. Many of them saying thank you, God Bless, or other things of that nature.

Lex steps away and shouts, "LET'S GET THIS CITY BACK ON TRACK!"

The crowd begins cheering and shouting his name. Lex and Mercy finally climb in the Limo.

As it drives away Mercy asks, "If you're going to run anyway why do all of this Metropolis? Why not just come right out and announce your candidacy?"

Lex replies, "Mercy first thing is first I must shore up my power base here in Metropolis. Leaving no doubt of what I can do. I mean if I can bring the city back from the brink of the chaos that it suffered imagine how that would look to the Country or the World for that matter. Once the city is back in working order then I will ride the wave of popularity right into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave."

Mercy says, "Hmmm...leaving no doubt what you can do. A message to a certain Kryptonian?"

Lex chuckles and replies, "Very subtle...don't you think?"

[LibrarianThorne]

"You got faster! Does the Flash know you've been dipping into the speed force?"

How they could communicate at such outrageous speeds was beyond understanding. Of course the same could be said about pretty much anything these kryptonians (or in Conners' case; half kryptonian) could do.
He was doing his best to keep up with the man of steel, but could only manage to get a good view of the bottom of his boots.

"We better slow down or we'll end up back in Metropolis!"

Superman slowed down, letting Connor pull even to him while using his microscopic vision to see far ahead of them. Around the Gotham city limits was a veritable armada of news agencies from around the world, each attempting to gain entry into the ruined city. The United States Army and National Guard had formed a cordon around Gotham, permitting no entrance into the wasted metropolis.

Superman frowned. "Dammit. Getting into Gotham is going to require some subtlety, Connor. We can't let the Joker or any of the other dozen lunatics know that we're in there, not yet at least. You have any civillian clothes on you?"

[twylight]

The woman dismounted from her bike in front of the dock warehouse. Ricky had set it up as a temporary location for the night, she furrowed her brow at the lack of movement around the building.

She silently slide the warehouse door open and looked around. It was empty.

She stepped inside and looked around, her body tense for action and her eyes sharp. She turned her head sharply and walked towards the back room, pushing the door open she gasped. Her usually intense features breaking as she saw the beaten and broken form of Ricky on the ground.

She rushes to him and checks his pulse, his features barely perceptible through the swelling and broken bones. She leans over, his pulse is faint and his breath is shallow and gurgling. Flipping his closed eyelids open she study’s their movement.

Rapid eye movement….dilated…



Poison.


She throws four darts, the glass windows exploding outwards as the sharp metal darts shatter them, allowing the cool harbor air to rush into the room. She pulled out a small needle from her belt and inserted it into his arm before standing and rushing out the back.

His car sat there. She jiggled the drivers door, finding it locked she placed her knuckles in the glass before pulling her fist back and shattering the window, the glass shards flying around her and twinkling to the ground. Reaching in she unlocked the doors and pulled the back door open.

Moving quickly she rushed back into the building and lifted him up, draping his arm around her shoulders, she slowly walked him to the car and laid him down gently on the backseat of the car. His bruised and swollen body laid limp on the seat. She gently felt down his body for signs of key’s.

Finding none she slipped into the drivers seat and leaned over, pulling out wires hotwiring it. The engine grunted to life and she put it in drive. Racing down the empty streets of Gotham she pulled up in front of the Hospital, the sky had clouded over and rain had begun to fall. Pulling Ricky gently out of the car she walked to the automatic doors, not seeing them open she pulled out an escrime stick and banged it against the glass shattering it.

Stepping through careful of Ricky she walked through the Hospital, beds were over turned, cases of medicine broken and missing, she found one room, that had remained almost intact. Laying Ricky on the bed she quickly went to work. She treated his minor cuts, and inserted an IV tube, checking his respiratory she inserted a breathing tube into his nose.

At one point she paused and then resumed work, ignoring the footsteps in the hallway.

“FREEZE!” The demand came with the sound of a *click click* of a shot gun. The woman half-way turned to the man in the door. His hair pressed against his head from the rain and his clothes damp.

“I’m busy.” She said simple.


He watches her before bringint the gun to his side.

“Are you a doctor?”

The woman shook her head, keeping her back to him.

“No.”

He leaned the gun against the wall and pushed his sleeves up, walking over to her and pushing her aside.

“I am. Let me.” He checked the tubing and lines as the woman stepped back. Minutes ticked by.

“I didn’t know any doctors were left in Gotham.”

“There aren’t” He said simply not looking up from his tasks.
“We had most of the patients discharged to SS or family members before moving the rest to a facility outside of Gotham City. Luckily we got out before the worst hit Gotham, but not by much.”

“Why are you here?”

“I came back to see if there was any medicine I could scavenge. We’re getting low on a few things.”

“What about the Government.”

The man let out a bitter laugh.

“Gotham City and the surrounding county has been deemed a ‘War Zone’ with no help coming in and nothing coming out. They don’t exactly know how to react to a ‘take-over’ like this.”

He stepped back from the table.

“He’s going to be okay. You’re quite accomplished, Nurse?”

“No.”

He raised his eyebrow she cocked the gun with a loud *click click*

“You’ve been out there, haven’t you?” He motioned towards the general area of Gotham through the wall of the hospital.
“What’s going on? Last word we had was that Joker took over as mayor with Two-Face and some other guy in other positions.”

The woman looked the gun up and down, not turning her head as she spoke.
“Black Mask. The other was Black Mask.”

She was quiet for a moment before turning to the doctor.
“Black Mask and Dent are both down out of power and their gangs are ‘headless’ right now they can only wander around and act like thugs with no direction. The joker however..”

She paused again.

“he’s going to be a little bit harder.”

She looked around the room.
“Did you find the medicine you needed?”

The doctor shook his head.
“No, they ransacked the place, and probably sold them on the black market.” He made a disgusted noise.

“Only left the stuff they didn’t know how to work.” He motioned the IV and respirator lines going in and out of Ricky.

She nodded and took out a gun and some clips tossing it on the bed next to Ricky’s limp form.

“Head for Arkham…” She held up her hand at the doctors incredulous look.
“Trust me it’s better than down here, and as ironic as it sounds it the only place in Gotham that’s safe and controlled. Take these, the clips are full of sedatives. No more killing.”

“’Sedatives?’ What kind?” He asked picking the clips and the gun up looking them over.

“Nothing you’d know about.” she said, the gun on her hip, she pointed to it.
"I'm taking this."

She walked to the door and paused.
“Please take care of him.” She said levelly.

The Doctor looked at the clips and the gun before looking up at her. His voice suddenly wary.
“How do I know you didn’t do this to him.”

The woman raised her eyebrow.
“Is there an ‘X’ on his forearm?” She asked

The doctor turned and pushed both of Ricky’s sleeves up.

“No…” he said looking at the bruised but otherwise unmarked arms.

“Then I didn’t do it.”

The Doctor looked at the wall for a minute, the pieces falling in place…

“The East Side..” He whispered.

“You mean you…” He turned, stopping when he saw the empty doorway. He leaned against the bed and looked down at clips and gun in his hands. He gave a small smile and chuckle.

[Purple Man]

Superman slowed down, letting Connor pull even to him while using his microscopic vision to see far ahead of them. Around the Gotham city limits was a veritable armada of news agencies from around the world, each attempting to gain entry into the ruined city. The United States Army and National Guard had formed a cordon around Gotham, permitting no entrance into the wasted metropolis.

Superman frowned. "Dammit. Getting into Gotham is going to require some subtlety, Connor. We can't let the Joker or any of the other dozen lunatics know that we're in there, not yet at least. You have any civillian clothes on you?"

"Youuuuuuu"

The last word of Kal's sentence seemed to be dragged on forever as Conner moved at super speed. When Clark finally shut his mouth, Kon-El was adjusting a pair of glasses as he floated in the air wearing blue jeans and a 'Gotham Knights' college football jersey. Where he got the clothes from was of no matter, no one would be missing them.

"Since when did you say 'dammit'?" Superboy was giving the man of steel a sideways glance. When did the farmboy speak like that? What was on his mind besides the sad state of Gotham city?

[LibrarianThorne]

"Youuuuuuu"

The last word of Kal's sentence seemed to be dragged on forever as Conner moved at super speed. When Clark finally shut his mouth, Kon-El was adjusting a pair of glasses as he floated in the air wearing blue jeans and a 'Gotham Knights' college football jersey. Where he got the clothes from was of no matter, no one would be missing them.

"Since when did you say 'dammit'?" Superboy was giving the man of steel a sideways glance. When did the farmboy speak like that? What was on his mind besides the sad state of Gotham city?

Superman was taken aback by Superboy's question.

"Well, Connor, things have changed in the weeks you've been gone. I've... been through a lot. My concern now is getting into Gotham. That city has needed my help and for too long I couldn't go to its aid. Now that I can, I intend to get that story out. I may not be able to save the city, but Clark Kent can. He can get the story out, and with that story the government can go in and clean the city up."

In a blur, the clothes of Clark Kent were on Superman, and he spared a moment adjusting his glasses and smoothing back his hair. "So, ready to find our way into Gotham, Connor?"

[Purple Man]

"Your lead."

Conner spoke while cracking his knuckles, a tough, determined look on his chiseled face. The rough exterior was hiding concern for his friend. Did Tim make it out ok? Was he still in the thick of it, standing back to back with that crazy ass Batman as they stared down the hounds of hell? At the end of all things, when kingdom come, he knew he wanted Robin the boy wonder at his side.

[Logan Howlett]

"People of Gotham! As you all know, I am The Joker, your esteemed Mayor. And as The Mayor of Gotham City, it is my duty to protect this city and it's people from harm. And so far, I'd say I've done a damn good job! HA HA! Batman is gone, and for a while, criminals were free to go about their business without living in fear."

The Joker's grin vanished. He took on a more sombre tone.

"But not anymore. A new vigilante has emerged to menace the streets. Many have fallen victim to the wrath of this mysterious figure, including my dear, beloved Harley Quinn. Of course, I realise now that she is expendable, but for about 3 minutes I was...oh, inconsolable!"

The Joker engaged in some theatrical sobbing, before his grin suddenly returned. He continued:

"And so, I've decided that we need a dashing, white-skinned superhero to save the day. But sadly, I'm busy with paperwork. Instead, I want to make a plea to the man they call Lobo. I know you are paying a visit to our glorous city. Well, we need your help. You will be paid generously for your heroic duty, I assue you. For more information, pop by The Mayor's office. The Mad Hatter is here as well. We can all have a cup of tea. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!



Well I'll be a son of a bastich! The Joker is the main man of Gotham now.............SOUNDS LIKE MY KIND OF JUDICIAL SYSTEM! So he wants to hire the REAL main man huh? This sounds like it could be fun! Hehe.

I look back at the corpse dragin from behind my bike and yell,

"YOU HERE THAT SKINNY?! I just got a personal invite from the mayor! Ahhhhhh, don't look so sad pal.......OF COURSE YOUR COMIN!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!"

I look around at all of the cowering citizens in the area. As I look across the square I see a fat hefer of a woman staring right at me.

"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU GAWKIN AT COW?"

With barely a second though she snaps back,

"YOUR A DICK! You people think you can just come in here and take over the whole town because the Batman aint here! You better think twice though, you know them heroes are always one step behind you! You just wait, soon enough Superman, Green Lantern, and the whole lot of em' will come here to run all of you thugs out!"

"Reeeeeeeealy?? Big mouth there pop & fresh! But havent ya heard, Supes aint very popular right now, and hes dealin with his own crap, the Lanterns could give a crap less about Gotam city......TRUST ME! and anyone else......well YOU could frag em'.......speakin of fragin, whats to stop me from capin you like I did Santa?"

I pull out my pistols and place em' to her head. She stops and stares at me very confused...... and quietly utters.....

"........Santa?"

"Yur lucky......I don't like runnin late, and killin you would only take up more time. Besides, you should be attacking Tokyo about now, shouldn't ya hun?"

Suddenly another message pops up on the Jumbo-tron, I turn to listen

"Good evening," said the anchorwoman, shakily reading the cue cards, "We have a very special edition of the Evening News tonight. The Joker, The Mayor of Gotham City, will be in attendance. Which is a good thing, as The Joker brings laughter to us allHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The anchorwoman slumped forward onto the desk, dead. Her face had already contorted into a horrific grin. The Joker let the laughing gas dissipate, then confidently walked behind the desk, wheeling her chair off-screen and sitting down on a chair of his own.

"Thank you for that wondeful introduction. Good to see you smiling for the camera! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Tonight's broadcast is very special, and not just because I'm presenting it. No, I have a BIG news story tonight, so big, I'll be saving it for the end of the show. What is it, you ask? Simple."

The Joker gave a long, dramatic pause. After he said what he was about to say, he could imagine every news broadcast in America cutting into a live feed with this one. And the bigger his audience, the better. His grin widened maliciously.

"I'm going to reveal to you all...the real identity...of Batman."...of Batman."



I turn to the corpse and say,

"Well aint that some ****! BATMAN! HA! Never liked that fanboy."

I turn back to the fat cow of a woman and say,

"Alright dollface! Your gona tell me how to get to the Gotham News station, or I'm gona decide that I LIKE wastin time!"

She stutters,

" I-I-Its......on.....B-b-b-b-Broadway boulevard and C-c-c-Continental!"

"Thanks! LETS RIDE SKINNY!"

I hit the thrusters and were off. I plug the street names into my bikes auto map, and within the minute, I'm at the front door.

"Alright skinny, you stay here and keep the bike safe, I'm gona go talk polotics!"

I walk through the front doors and into the Lobby. I look around......everyones dead......haha, my kind of party! AND THEIR SMILIN! They must have had one HELLOVA TIME! I walk over to the elevator, and look at the wall. Theirs a list next to the elevator, says "Studio 14th Floor".

"Guess I'm goin up."

I hop into the elvator, the damn weight limit almost goes off. I press 14 and start goin up. The doors open to an office and a dead secretary, a set of double door begind her, must be the studio. I walk up next to her body and say.

"Yes....um....I have an apointment for 8 o' clock with the Mayor......whats that?....go right in....well thank you."

I kick in the door and standin in front of me is some guy in a dorky lookin hat, a ****load of thugly ****ers, and finaly the man himself.

"Always thought about goin into politics myself, but I hear its murder!"

I walk up next to him, he's sittin in the news desk. I jump into the chair next to his, look into the camera and say,

"HI MA!"

I look back at the Joker and say,

"Now I know you aint the kind of guy whos gona have me make a house call for nothin, so tell me, whats yur sitch, who ya want fraged, and.....how do you keep your skin so nice and healthy? I'm gettin kind of ashy."

[Red]

Ra’s stepped around the corned of the hallway accompanied by two ninja’s. He halted and watched as both The Question and Batman headed now the corridor to the lab.The sound of clapping echoed down the hallway and the duo turned around. Ra’s, never one to show his emotions, looked on with a stern face.

“Your exploits have been impressive Detective. Signalling your comrades, leading an offensive against my men, attempting to poison my sons mind and now trying to acquire the Genesis Strain virus. All of this could have been prevented if you joined me and stood my side. This suffering that could have been preventing, the lives safe.”

[LibrarianThorne]

"Your lead."

Conner spoke while cracking his knuckles, a tough, determined look on his chiseled face. The rough exterior was hiding concern for his friend. Did Tim make it out ok? Was he still in the thick of it, standing back to back with that crazy ass Batman as they stared down the hounds of hell? At the end of all things, when kingdom come, he knew he wanted Robin the boy wonder at his side.

Clark nodded, and he and Connor both descended to the Earth, landing a few miles from the media encampment outside Gotham and safely out of line of sight. It took them, walking at normal human speed, about forty five minutes to make it to the media encampment, but when they were there they could both see a hive of activity. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and all the major broadcast networks had tents set outside of Gotham. Couriers ran to and fro, and Clark heard messages like "Rumors of some huge albino guy in the city." "Disappearance of Harvey Dent." "Where the hell is Black Mask?"

Kent recognized an old friend from Smallville University, a fellow journalism major. They'd worked together on the Smallville Times. Clark rushed over to him, Connor following behind. "Dan! Dan Silvestri!"
The man turned around, his face lighting up as he saw and recognized Clark. "Kent? Clark Kent? Is that really you?"
The two men embraced, smiles on their faces as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. "What are you doing here, Dan? Who're you with?"
"I got picked up by an NBC affiliate about, oh eight years ago. Everyone's trying to cover this story, but the feds aren't letting anyone in. They're saying it's too dangerous for the media. You know, I heard that, and I remembered ol' Professor Stein at SU. Remember what he always said, Clark?"
"'Nothing is too dangerous for the truth,' wasn't it?"
"Of course. But they've got twenty four hour survelliance and infra-red sensors set up all around the city limits. No one can get in or out without them knowing."
"Jeez. Given the situation, can't say I blame them, though."
"Really. The unspoken question here is where's the Batman. Gotham's his city, right?"
"Far as I know."
"Then it's pretty damn weird that he's not taking these psychoes down. If you'd heard half the reports we've gotten out of there, it'd make your skin crawl. Terrible thing is, we can't run these stories. No corroboration, no sources we can give out on air as they're stuck in Gotham. It's a hell of a thing, Clark. But now the Planet's here, right? You and the kid going to try to scoop us all again?"
"That'd be the aim, Dan."
"Good luck, Clark. You'll need it. I bet not even Superman could get into Gotham right now."
"Thanks, Dan."

Dan ran off to one of the tents, leaving Clark and Connor in the midst of the media buzz. Clark began walking towards the line of National Guard that guarded the bridge entrance into Gotham.

[Trigger]

Rose awoke the next morning to the sound of movement in the living room. By instinct she knew she had the advantage in this sitution by being unseen. She figured someone realized she wasn't Elly Fields, and that this someone was taking advantage of that.

Rose buried herself under the covers of the white, queen-sized bed until only her head was showing. There was no need to le the burglars know she was nude too.

"Roy! Be careful over there! If that chick hears you she could make a scene."

"Whateva! I stick the cow with this blade if she tries to stop me!"

"We don't need any trouble...."

Rose slid out of the bed with the slightest of ease. She crawled the distance of two feet into her newly aquired suite's closet, and closed the closet door. She didn't find much in there that fit her tastes. Where was all the tight leather pants and mid-drift revealing shirts? Rose settled on a simple, white dress. She picked it simply because it looked like the one Sharon Stone wore in Basic Instincts.

Outside the master bedroom, the two men busily searched the suite's cabinets and drawers, hoping to find something valuable. Rose studied them from the doorway like that of a scientist observing two rats running through a rat maze. She knew how this was going to end, but they didn't. At this point she was just going through the motions.

What struck Rose as the most astonishing part of this badly executed burglary, was the fact that these men wore no ski masks, no black attire (although that wouldn't have helped inside a completely white hotel suite), nor did they have any sense of organization. The day anyone got the oppurtunity to simply rummage about her lodgings (no matter how such lodgings was obtained) was the day Rose would let Slade kill her.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "Excuse me, but what in the nine hells are you doing?!"

Rose's words startled the two men and the first one to act must have been Roy, for he lunged at Rose with a steak knife. Rose cartwheeled to the left and Roy's lunge only succeeded in getting him acquainted with the suite's farthest wall. The other man tried to grab Rose as she landed, but his bumbling attempts were only rewarded with a swift punch to the head.

He let out a grunt and another grunt followed it when she gave him a nice uppercut to the chest. Roy leaped back into the fray and swiped at Rose's back. The blade of the knife connected with her back and she let out a howl. The other threw his full weight into a tackle and sent Rose crashing into a wall.

"Like that! Huh!?" the man screamed.

Rose expressed her disatisfaction with a strong jump kick in the gut. Roy threw his steak knife at Rose, and she dodged it by the skin of her teeth. The knife, now embedded in a nearby wall, had parted its owner, the skinny Roy, leaving him not nearly as confident as before. Rose kicked him in the face and he fell against a wall limp. His other ally began to sprint towards the exit, and Rose put the knife to good use. She grabbed it by the handle and expertly launched it at the man's calf. He fell to the ground with loud thud, and all that could be heard was the loud panting of the sparring trio.

"Geez, what the hell are you?!"

"The current owner of this suite, and you?"

The room fell silent again.

[Purple Man]

Clark nodded, and he and Connor both descended to the Earth, landing a few miles from the media encampment outside Gotham and safely out of line of sight. It took them, walking at normal human speed, about forty five minutes to make it to the media encampment, but when they were there they could both see a hive of activity. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and all the major broadcast networks had tents set outside of Gotham. Couriers ran to and fro, and Clark heard messages like "Rumors of some huge albino guy in the city." "Disappearance of Harvey Dent." "Where the hell is Black Mask?"

Kent recognized an old friend from Smallville University, a fellow journalism major. They'd worked together on the Smallville Times. Clark rushed over to him, Connor following behind. "Dan! Dan Silvestri!"
The man turned around, his face lighting up as he saw and recognized Clark. "Kent? Clark Kent? Is that really you?"
The two men embraced, smiles on their faces as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. "What are you doing here, Dan? Who're you with?"
"I got picked up by an NBC affiliate about, oh eight years ago. Everyone's trying to cover this story, but the feds aren't letting anyone in. They're saying it's too dangerous for the media. You know, I heard that, and I remembered ol' Professor Stein at SU. Remember what he always said, Clark?"
"'Nothing is too dangerous for the truth,' wasn't it?"
"Of course. But they've got twenty four hour survelliance and infra-red sensors set up all around the city limits. No one can get in or out without them knowing."
"Jeez. Given the situation, can't say I blame them, though."
"Really. The unspoken question here is where's the Batman. Gotham's his city, right?"
"Far as I know."
"Then it's pretty damn weird that he's not taking these psychoes down. If you'd heard half the reports we've gotten out of there, it'd make your skin crawl. Terrible thing is, we can't run these stories. No corroboration, no sources we can give out on air as they're stuck in Gotham. It's a hell of a thing, Clark. But now the Planet's here, right? You and the kid going to try to scoop us all again?"
"That'd be the aim, Dan."
"Good luck, Clark. You'll need it. I bet not even Superman could get into Gotham right now."
"Thanks, Dan."

Dan ran off to one of the tents, leaving Clark and Connor in the midst of the media buzz. Clark began walking towards the line of National Guard that guarded the bridge entrance into Gotham.


"If we can't get into Gotham with the S shield, how are we supposed to get in wearing civvies?"

Not having a childhood, Superboy disliked going about as a regular human. His world was up in the skies, above the meager concerns of civilian life. He was created for violence not pretending to be some journalists tag-along. This bothered him, his eyes were feeling warm like he was going to melt a hole in his glasses.

[Spider-Man9X17]

Kyle touched down in Star City. Powering down, he looked around. Sinestro was no where to be found.

"Wierd," Kyle mummbled, starting down the street. "Not like ol' egghead to let me get the drop on him."

Kyle came to a small intersection with a small grocery store on the corner. The street was empty for the most part. At 11:00 in the morning, most people would be at work.

"Now for my next question," Kyle said to nobody in particular, since nobody was around," which house is Ollie's?"

[Green Lantern]

The message ended, and I didn't waste anytime when clicking callback.

"Roy, Roy can you hear me? I finally figured out how to work Ted's bug, and I'm coming to get you now so stay where you are. I've already been through enough as it is, and if you have company on your ass then do everything you can to avoid them. I'll be there as fast as I can."

I got up, and tore have of my suits leg wear to provide Ted some sord of neck rest. There wasn't anyway I could lift him again, so I had no choice but to leave him there until Roy or Vic could pick him up properly. When I was done, I looked to the back of the bug where the others were supposed to come through once they got a hold of the virus and saw about a dozen MORE ninjas with even deadlier weapons then the last few.

"I really hate it when I'm right, Ra's isn't even braking a sweat here. Just how many of you does he have hanging around him?"

I ran for the controls again and looked back to see them drawing closer and closer to Ibn, Ted, and myself, and without any hesitation a pressed the button that would seal the back door.

"C'mon, c'mon! Can't you stupid peace of junk move any faster?"

The door started closing rapidly as I saw the ninja's heads vanished one after the other as the did everthing in their power to make onboard the ship, one of them even grabbed onto the edge of the door but ended up getting his had crushed as it sealed shut. Ok, can't waste any more time. I ran back to Ibn and lifted him up the air and sat him in the seat I put Ted in before, then reached for the seat belt.

"Safety first."

I pulled back on the stick and pushed hard on the pedal as the bug took off into the sky, and all the ninjas who had tried to climb the roof ended up falling right back down and having their faces kiss the dirt. I flew until I mainted my speed and air time, searching everywhere I could for the nearest cliff where Roy was now stationed at. I searched and searched, as I finally saw a red headed archer fending himself against some very angry ninjas coming his way. They were so forceful that they kept coming at him until he was nearly to the edge of the cliff, that's when I directed the bug toward it and started opening the back again. Once it was fully open, I put the but on autopilot so it would park itstelf. I held onto my crossbow tightly as I ran to the back and started aiming at the ninjas who had cornered Roy, once they were hit he looked behind him and saw me there yelling at him.

"JUMP!!"
"BOUT DAMNED TIME OLLIE! I was bout to become a splat of insides on the bottom of this gourge!"

Roy jumped onto the extended ramp of the bug and looked around.

"Where'r Bruce and Vic?"

[Nightwing]

"BOUT DAMNED TIME OLLIE! I was bout to become a splat of insides on the bottom of this gourge!"

Roy jumped onto the extended ramp of the bug and looked around.

"Where'r Bruce and Vic?"




"Still waiting for them to return with that god damn virus, I can't tell you all the hell of I've been through before rescusing your sorry ass.....AGAIN."

I closesd the back of the bug, and slowly drove the it back into mid air while the ninjas had arrows of their own shooting directly at us without pause. They weren't gonna quit.

I turn to Roy when he sat in the back of me.

"We'd better keep our distance from Ra's lair until Bruce and Vic make their way out of there, to many ninajs are swarming the damn entrance. Use these to look out for them while I'm piloting this thing."

I hand Roy a pair of binocular scopes I found in the big glove compartment beside me, I can't focus on two things at once. So he'll be my second pair of eye for now, once we catch sight of Bruce and Vic then I can quickly direct the bug and we can get the hell out of this place.

"First things first. With all those ninjas in the back of us, we won't have any way of getting to them without having MORE trouble on our shoulders. And it'll be even more difficult for them to get to us with all those guys guarding the place, so we'll have to take 'em down ourselves. Get your bow ready, cause I'm putting the bug on autopilot and reopening the back."

I grab the crossbow and look back at my quiver. Dammit, I only had about 28 arrows left for me to use. Hope it'll be enough, that's when I turn to Ibn.

"Stay here, do you understand? What ever you do, kid, don't touch any of these buttons in front of you. Or we're all done for."

I knew he was able to speak, but ever since he's been here with myself and Ted, he hasn't said a word whenever I talked to him. He only motioned his head and nodded it like he comprehended what came out of my mouth, he did it again when I told him not to touch anything. I loaded the crossbow, and held one arrow at hand to prepare for the next shot. Then opened the back of the bug and easily saw the ninjas justing waiting there, I slowly walked down the ramp then aimed carefully. I couldn't stop thinking to myself this would be a piece of cake, but that was only a matter of not getting hit.

[Watchman]

The gate made a loud creak when Scarecrow opened it. He looked back at the sign:

Gotham City Cemetary

He had a shovel and a large sack with him. He put the sack on the ground and begun to dig at different grave spots making small holes. He took the sack and opened it and took out bombs. He found them at one of Black Mask hangouts. Since he was out of commission he wasn't going to need them. He placed the bombs into each of the holes and covered them. He took the detonator and headed for the back of the graveyard taking the shovel with him. A thick fog layed across the graveyard that night...how appropriate. He notice a empty grave and blank tombstone. He spots a hammer and chisel and carves on the tombstone

Abandon All Hope

He hears noises outside and decides to investigate. He hears the sound the sounds of spray cans.

"Come on man just do it no cops are around" the one person says and turns his head toward the figure walking out of the gates. "Holy Sh..." gas circles the group and Scarecrow gets his knife and stabs each one over and over. He takes something out of his sack a paint brush. He dabs it into the blood of the six gang members and begins to paint on the walls:

Through me you enter into the city of woes, through me you enter into eternal pain, through me you enter the population of loss. Justice moved my high maker, in power divine, wisdom supreme, love primal. No things were before me not eternal; eternal I remain. Abandon all hope, you who enter here

He takes each of the bodies and ties them onto crosses all across the graveyard. He goes bck to the empty grave and picks up the detonator and waits.

[MaskedManJRK]

Ra’s stepped around the corned of the hallway accompanied by two ninja’s. He halted and watched as both The Question and Batman headed now the corridor to the lab.The sound of clapping echoed down the hallway and the duo turned around. Ra’s, never one to show his emotions, looked on with a stern face.

“Your exploits have been impressive Detective. Signalling your comrades, leading an offensive against my men, attempting to poison my sons mind and now trying to acquire the Genesis Strain virus. All of this could have been prevented if you joined me and stood my side. This suffering that could have been preventing, the lives safe.”

As Ra's was talking, I clipped the right wire, causing the Genesis Strain to harmlessly leak onto the floor, the slightly yellow liquid making the symbolism complete--a maniacal and deadly virus with stretched, Biblical symbols, ultimately becoming nothing more than piss on the floor.

"You're not poisoning anyone, Ra's--body, or mind."

I grip my hands harder on the previous holder of the Genesis Strain--a veil about the size of my forearm--and I take it out of it's resting place and throw it, hitting Ra's in the face. The glass cuts into Ra's face and I use the opening to give him a low blow, a chop to the throat, and an elbow to the back of his head.

"Question, get to the others, now!"

There's one more thing I have to do before I run like hell along-side Sage. I take a canister of oxygen, break it open, and throw it and a budsen burner into the chemicals. To say there was a flammible reaction would be a massive understatement.

For a moment, I thought about taking Ra's out so that he would survive--but he's faced worse death situations than this and survived. I give him one last look, and among the fire, I give him a final warning.

"You come near my son again, Ra's al Ghul, I will hunt you down like the dog you are, and make it so that no Lazarus Pit would ever be able to save you."

With that, I turn and run out with Question.

[Infinity9999x]

Well I'll be a son of a bastich! The Joker is the main man of Gotham now.............SOUNDS LIKE MY KIND OF JUDICIAL SYSTEM! So he wants to hire the REAL main man huh? This sounds like it could be fun! Hehe.

I look back at the corpse dragin from behind my bike and yell,

"YOU HERE THAT SKINNY?! I just got a personal invite from the mayor! Ahhhhhh, don't look so sad pal.......OF COURSE YOUR COMIN!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!"

I look around at all of the cowering citizens in the area. As I look across the square I see a fat hefer of a woman staring right at me.

"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU GAWKIN AT COW?"

With barely a second though she snaps back,

"YOUR A DICK! You people think you can just come in here and take over the whole town because the Batman aint here! You better think twice though, you know them heroes are always one step behind you! You just wait, soon enough Superman, Green Lantern, and the whole lot of em' will come here to run all of you thugs out!"

"Reeeeeeeealy?? Big mouth there pop & fresh! But havent ya heard, Supes aint very popular right now, and hes dealin with his own crap, the Lanterns could give a crap less about Gotam city......TRUST ME! and anyone else......well YOU could frag em'.......speakin of fragin, whats to stop me from capin you like I did Santa?"

I pull out my pistols and place em' to her head. She stops and stares at me very confused...... and quietly utters.....

"........Santa?"

"Yur lucky......I don't like runnin late, and killin you would only take up more time. Besides, you should be attacking Tokyo about now, shouldn't ya hun?"

Suddenly another message pops up on the Jumbo-tron, I turn to listen

"Good evening," said the anchorwoman, shakily reading the cue cards, "We have a very special edition of the Evening News tonight. The Joker, The Mayor of Gotham City, will be in attendance. Which is a good thing, as The Joker brings laughter to us allHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The anchorwoman slumped forward onto the desk, dead. Her face had already contorted into a horrific grin. The Joker let the laughing gas dissipate, then confidently walked behind the desk, wheeling her chair off-screen and sitting down on a chair of his own.

"Thank you for that wondeful introduction. Good to see you smiling for the camera! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Tonight's broadcast is very special, and not just because I'm presenting it. No, I have a BIG news story tonight, so big, I'll be saving it for the end of the show. What is it, you ask? Simple."

The Joker gave a long, dramatic pause. After he said what he was about to say, he could imagine every news broadcast in America cutting into a live feed with this one. And the bigger his audience, the better. His grin widened maliciously.

"I'm going to reveal to you all...the real identity...of Batman."...of Batman."



I turn to the corpse and say,

"Well aint that some ****! BATMAN! HA! Never liked that fanboy."

I turn back to the fat cow of a woman and say,

"Alright dollface! Your gona tell me how to get to the Gotham News station, or I'm gona decide that I LIKE wastin time!"

She stutters,

" I-I-Its......on.....B-b-b-b-Broadway boulevard and C-c-c-Continental!"

"Thanks! LETS RIDE SKINNY!"

I hit the thrusters and were off. I plug the street names into my bikes auto map, and within the minute, I'm at the front door.

"Alright skinny, you stay here and keep the bike safe, I'm gona go talk polotics!"

I walk through the front doors and into the Lobby. I look around......everyones dead......haha, my kind of party! AND THEIR SMILIN! They must have had one HELLOVA TIME! I walk over to the elevator, and look at the wall. Theirs a list next to the elevator, says "Studio 14th Floor".

"Guess I'm goin up."

I hop into the elvator, the damn weight limit almost goes off. I press 14 and start goin up. The doors open to an office and a dead secretary, a set of double door begind her, must be the studio. I walk up next to her body and say.

"Yes....um....I have an apointment for 8 o' clock with the Mayor......whats that?....go right in....well thank you."

I kick in the door and standin in front of me is some guy in a dorky lookin hat, a ****load of thugly ****ers, and finaly the man himself.

"Always thought about goin into politics myself, but I hear its murder!"

I walk up next to him, he's sittin in the news desk. I jump into the chair next to his, look into the camera and say,

"HI MA!"

I look back at the Joker and say,

"Now I know you aint the kind of guy whos gona have me make a house call for nothin, so tell me, whats yur sitch, who ya want fraged, and.....how do you keep your skin so nice and healthy? I'm gettin kind of ashy."


A large black haired man suddenly bursts through the door and shoves past Jervis. What strange creatures inhabited this city...did white skinned men like to travel in packs? The big man sat down next to the Joker, and shot off a quick comment about his complection.

Jervis was getting more uncomfortable, the larger white man had almost knocked his machine onto the floor, and it would take quite a long time to build another. Jervis considered briefly about telling the man to be careful around his machine...but he didn't look like the kind of fellow who would take kindly to that.

Jerivis stayed in the shadows rubbing his hands anxiously...for some reason he had a greet feeling of forebidding. He knew deep down the Joker was going to do something. He looked over his shoulder and saw the girl smiling from out of the shadows, a wicked smile, her glowing red eyes like two sinister beacons of light in a dense black fog. Jervis turned away quickly....he was starting to wish he had never come here.

[LibrarianThorne]

"If we can't get into Gotham with the S shield, how are we supposed to get in wearing civvies?"

Not having a childhood, Superboy disliked going about as a regular human. His world was up in the skies, above the meager concerns of civilian life. He was created for violence not pretending to be some journalists tag-along. This bothered him, his eyes were feeling warm like he was going to melt a hole in his glasses.

He was trying to find someone of rank to talk to. A Colonel, Lieutenant, someone. That's when he heard Connor's question, and turned. The boy's eyes were glowing. Not good.
"Connor, calm down." He looked around, noting that the reporters were too busy collating information to pay much attention to him or Connor, but that was no reason to get sloppy. "Take off your glasses if it will help you think. I know they're a new prescription, but you'll get used to them eventually."
He gave Connor a reassuring smile. "And let the old master show you how to move around," he said with a wink.
He moved deftly through the crowd, Connor following behind him. Finally, he managed to track down an Army officer with lieutenant's stripes. "Sir! Sir, excuse me." The man turned. His face was gruff and unshaven.
"What do you want?" he said brusquely.
"My name is Clark Kent, I'm with the Daily Planet out of Metropolis. I was hoping I could get access into Gotham, as I-"
"You stop right there. We've got standing orders that no reporter is allowed into Gotham. I'll never understand why you types want to be in there, anyway. Can't you see what kind of trouble that place is in? It's a damn war zone."
Clark peered into the distance, seeing something remarkable on one of the rooftops thanks to his microscopic vision. A woman he couldn't identify, and one of Bruce's enemies... Black Mask? And the Scarecrow.
He had to get into Gotham.
"I hate to be rude, but the embedded reporters in Iraq are in a war zone, too."
"That's different."
"How? Because they're approved by the DOD to risk their lives?"
"Well, yes."
"Since when do reporters need government permission to cover a story?"
"Since 9/11."
Clark sucked in his breath. He'd have to play dirty to get this story out. "Freedom of the Press is one of the building blocks of this country, soldier. I'm not going to let an excuse like that stop me from getting in there."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I think this conversation is at an end."
"Not by a long shot. I'm going to give you an option. I've got a front page piece for the Planet tomorrow. The Planet is the most read newspaper in the country. And I'm going to give you a choice about what story I'm going to run. I can run my planned story about what it's like in Gotham City right now. Or, I can run a story about why the government won't let the press tell the story that needs to be told. Call your higher ups if you have to, tell them that Clark Kent wants into Gotham. Please."

The soldier harrumphed, and took out a communications bead. He talked to a Colonel, then a General, then finally, Clark heard the voices of one of the Joint Chiefs. The chain of command had reached as high as it could go, and Clark was astonished that it had to go so high. Finally, the Lieutenant removed the communications bead from his ear and addressed Clark.

"Alright, you suicidal bastard. You can get into Gotham. The US government takes no responsibility for your life while you're in there, understand. Your kid asisstant has clearance, too."

Clark nodded his thanks to the soldier. Connor following, he walked towards the Gotham Suspension bridge. Reporters and camera crews paid looked at him as he walked onto the bridge, surprise and jealously shown by the reporters when he was allowed on.

After six minutes of walking, making sure that they were safely out of ear shot of the other reporters and the military, Clark talked to Connor. "Remember this, Connor. For all our power, there are things humans can do that we can't. Superman and Superboy flying into Gotham would have attracted far too much attention, and none of it good. But if we enter like this, we enter under the radar of those currently in power in Gotham. Trust me, even us super men need every advantage we can get."

As Clark finished talking, they reached the Main Street of Gotham. Around them, gothic buildings loomed, creating an oppressive feeling. "Now, Connor, this is the part where you tell me why you accompanied me this way. What do you intend to do in Gotham?"

[The Question]

As Ra's was talking, I clipped the right wire, causing the Genesis Strain to harmlessly leak onto the floor, the slightly yellow liquid making the symbolism complete--a maniacal and deadly virus with stretched, Biblical symbols, ultimately becoming nothing more than piss on the floor.

"You're not poisoning anyone, Ra's--body, or mind."

I grip my hands harder on the previous holder of the Genesis Strain--a veil about the size of my forearm--and I take it out of it's resting place and throw it, hitting Ra's in the face. The glass cuts into Ra's face and I use the opening to give him a low blow, a chop to the throat, and an elbow to the back of his head.

"Question, get to the others, now!"

There's one more thing I have to do before I run like hell along-side Sage. I take a canister of oxygen, break it open, and throw it and a budsen burner into the chemicals. To say there was a flammible reaction would be a massive understatement.

For a moment, I thought about taking Ra's out so that he would survive--but he's faced worse death situations than this and survived. I give him one last look, and among the fire, I give him a final warning.

"You come near my son again, Ra's al Ghul, I will hunt you down like the dog you are, and make it so that no Lazarus Pit would ever be able to save you."

With that, I turn and run out with Question.



"Hold on."

I walk towards Ra's.

"There's something that needs to be done."

I hold up the shotgun, and point it at Ra's, who's lying on the floor.

"Hi there. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

[wiegeabo]

I'm in the middle of a warzone. Except that I'm not in a war.

I am not sure how Rayner and I became separated, but I was drawn to these docks soon after arriving in Star City. The sound of weapons fire was unmistakable. From the air, I view the entire situation.

Groups of police officers are pinned down on the docks, using their vehicles and various structures to protect themselves from the surperior firepower of the apparent criminals within the building.

Two rockets launch out of the building heading for a group of officers. They try running away, but are too slow. The rockets explode against a golden barrier. I descend behind my barrier, and errect similar barriers infront of the other officers. They cease fire in confusion as those inside the building continue to attack, their weapons fire harmlessly stopped by the fields.

An officer comes running up to me. "What is going on?" I ask.

"Who the **** do you think you are?!? Last thing we need around here are capes! Why don't you go take a flyin' leap and leave this to us?"

"...Indeed." I shrug my shoulders. This is the last thing I need at the moment. "If you insist."

"Wait! Don't move." Another officer runs up. "What the hell are you doing, Callahan?!?"

"We're in the middle of a bust, and this...purple-skinned freak puts us all in danger."

"Just shut the hell up! If it wasn't for this guy we'd all be fishfood in the water." He sticks his hand out to me. "Lieutenant Mitchelson. Thanks for the help. You a Green Lantern"

"Something like that." I just look at his hand, then back at him. This is more like it. "You are welcome. What is the situation."

Mitchelson looks at his hand, shrugs, and takes it back. "Supposed to be a typical drug bust. Didn't know that was a cover for a high-tech arms shipment. We show up, and these guys open fire. The city's been crazy for a while now. Ever since Green Arrow vanished."

"**** the Arrow. That guy's just anothr freak like the rest. We don't need him."

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up, Callahan?"

"Hey, just 'cause you're a new transfer from a fancy city like Metropolis, doesn't give you the right to talk to me like that!"

"No, but being your superior officer does. Now get back with the others!" The one named Callahan backs away. I'm starting to like this Mitchelson. He shakes his head and turns back to me. He appears to be an honest law officer, but I remain weary. I learned from the Watchtower files I...appropriated...that Star City is probably second in police corruption to only Bludhaven. And with most of the population of Bludhaven killed off, it is likely Star has claimed the title for itself.

"Sorry about Callahan," Mitchelson says. "The old school types don't trust the super powered." A rocket explodes against the barrier. Everyone, including Mitchelson, flinch or duck. I ignore it. "Damn. It's been like this once the gangs and mob figured out the Arrow wasn't there to keep them in check. It's been warzone after warzone."

"Then I shall see what I can do." Without another word, I take to the air. I draw all the gunfire from the criminals in the building. I use the distraction to drop the barriers, allowing the police to open fire. I do a quick scan of the building and count thirty individuals. Floating outside, I will thrity arms into existence. They enter through the windows or burst through the walls outright. Weapons fire continues for a few seconds, becomes sporadic, then ceases.

I pull all thirty screaming, punching, and kicking criminal out. I bring them to the docks and land with them. I keep them secured until they are all taken into custody.

Mitchelson walks up to me. He appears very surprised. "Well...thanks. Made our job a lot easier today. Think you can help out for a while. It's getting bad out there."

"I believe I can do that. And I may know someone willing to assist." I scan and detect Rayner's energy signature. "I'll ask him and will contact you later."

"Fine by me. Swing around the 101st precinct. We'll see what we can do."

I nod and take into the air, following Rayner's energy. Odd. Green Arrow, the reason we came to this city, has gone missing. And his city is ripping itself apart. I suppose we must help protect it until he arrives.

Fortunately, this should make him more receptive to accepting our offer of rejoining the League.

[MaskedManJRK]

"Hold on."

I walk towards Ra's.

"There's something that needs to be done."

I hold up the shotgun, and point it at Ra's, who's lying on the floor.

"Hi there. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

Son of a b***h--we don't have time for this.

I grab him by the shoulder.

"Vic, I've done worse and still he stands, and the whole building's going to catch on fire at any second. Let's the out of here."

[Purple Man]

He was trying to find someone of rank to talk to. A Colonel, Lieutenant, someone. That's when he heard Connor's question, and turned. The boy's eyes were glowing. Not good.
"Connor, calm down." He looked around, noting that the reporters were too busy collating information to pay much attention to him or Connor, but that was no reason to get sloppy. "Take off your glasses if it will help you think. I know they're a new prescription, but you'll get used to them eventually."
He gave Connor a reassuring smile. "And let the old master show you how to move around," he said with a wink.
He moved deftly through the crowd, Connor following behind him. Finally, he managed to track down an Army officer with lieutenant's stripes. "Sir! Sir, excuse me." The man turned. His face was gruff and unshaven.
"What do you want?" he said brusquely.
"My name is Clark Kent, I'm with the Daily Planet out of Metropolis. I was hoping I could get access into Gotham, as I-"
"You stop right there. We've got standing orders that no reporter is allowed into Gotham. I'll never understand why you types want to be in there, anyway. Can't you see what kind of trouble that place is in? It's a damn war zone."
Clark peered into the distance, seeing something remarkable on one of the rooftops thanks to his microscopic vision. A woman he couldn't identify, and one of Bruce's enemies... Black Mask? And the Scarecrow.
He had to get into Gotham.
"I hate to be rude, but the embedded reporters in Iraq are in a war zone, too."
"That's different."
"How? Because they're approved by the DOD to risk their lives?"
"Well, yes."
"Since when do reporters need government permission to cover a story?"
"Since 9/11."
Clark sucked in his breath. He'd have to play dirty to get this story out. "Freedom of the Press is one of the building blocks of this country, soldier. I'm not going to let an excuse like that stop me from getting in there."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I think this conversation is at an end."
"Not by a long shot. I'm going to give you an option. I've got a front page piece for the Planet tomorrow. The Planet is the most read newspaper in the country. And I'm going to give you a choice about what story I'm going to run. I can run my planned story about what it's like in Gotham City right now. Or, I can run a story about why the government won't let the press tell the story that needs to be told. Call your higher ups if you have to, tell them that Clark Kent wants into Gotham. Please."

The soldier harrumphed, and took out a communications bead. He talked to a Colonel, then a General, then finally, Clark heard the voices of one of the Joint Chiefs. The chain of command had reached as high as it could go, and Clark was astonished that it had to go so high. Finally, the Lieutenant removed the communications bead from his ear and addressed Clark.

"Alright, you suicidal bastard. You can get into Gotham. The US government takes no responsibility for your life while you're in there, understand. Your kid asisstant has clearance, too."

Clark nodded his thanks to the soldier. Connor following, he walked towards the Gotham Suspension bridge. Reporters and camera crews paid looked at him as he walked onto the bridge, surprise and jealously shown by the reporters when he was allowed on.

After six minutes of walking, making sure that they were safely out of ear shot of the other reporters and the military, Clark talked to Connor. "Remember this, Connor. For all our power, there are things humans can do that we can't. Superman and Superboy flying into Gotham would have attracted far too much attention, and none of it good. But if we enter like this, we enter under the radar of those currently in power in Gotham. Trust me, even us super men need every advantage we can get."

As Clark finished talking, they reached the Main Street of Gotham. Around them, gothic buildings loomed, creating an oppressive feeling. "Now, Connor, this is the part where you tell me why you accompanied me this way. What do you intend to do in Gotham?"


"Do I really need a reason? Anyone worth the starch in their tights would follow Superman to the depths of hell."

As he spoke he was examining his glasses, making sure the heat that eminated from his eyes didn't melt the lenses

"I'm actually looking for my friend." Conner adjusted his glasses so they sat comfortably on his nose.

"And once I find Robin, we're looking for Cassie." Though there were plenty of heroes near his age in the thirty first century, he always missed his best friend. And even more than he missed Tim, he missed Cassie. Being a living legend in the future, he could have had his pick of the Legion babes, but his thoughts were always on Wondergirl.

If he didn't know that Clark would need his help, Conner would already be at Paradise Island looking for his love.

[Red]

Son of a b***h--we don't have time for this.

I grab him by the shoulder.

"Vic, I've done worse and still he stands, and the whole building's going to catch on fire at any second. Let's the out of here."

“Your words are nothing but insults to your character Detective; you lack the courage to do what is needed. You know in that mind of yours, that I will survive this and come for my son and yet you don’t summon the courage to end my life.”

[Green Lantern]

"Still waiting for them to return with that god damn virus, I can't tell you all the hell of I've been through before rescusing your sorry ass.....AGAIN."

I closesd the back of the bug, and slowly drove the it back into mid air while the ninjas had arrows of their own shooting directly at us without pause. They weren't gonna quit.

I turn to Roy when he sat in the back of me.

"We'd better keep our distance from Ra's lair until Bruce and Vic make their way out of there, to many ninajs are swarming the damn entrance. Use these to look out for them while I'm piloting this thing."

I hand Roy a pair of binocular scopes I found in the big glove compartment beside me, I can't focus on two things at once. So he'll be my second pair of eye for now, once we catch sight of Bruce and Vic then I can quickly direct the bug and we can get the hell out of this place.

"First things first. With all those ninjas in the back of us, we won't have any way of getting to them without having MORE trouble on our shoulders. And it'll be even more difficult for them to get to us with all those guys guarding the place, so we'll have to take 'em down ourselves. Get your bow ready, cause I'm putting the bug on autopilot and reopening the back."

I grab the crossbow and look back at my quiver. Dammit, I only had about 28 arrows left for me to use. Hope it'll be enough, that's when I turn to Ibn.

"Stay here, do you understand? What ever you do, kid, don't touch any of these buttons in front of you. Or we're all done for."

I knew he was able to speak, but ever since he's been here with myself and Ted, he hasn't said a word whenever I talked to him. He only motioned his head and nodded it like he comprehended what came out of my mouth, he did it again when I told him not to touch anything. I loaded the crossbow, and held one arrow at hand to prepare for the next shot. Then opened the back of the bug and easily saw the ninjas justing waiting there, I slowly walked down the ramp then aimed carefully. I couldn't stop thinking to myself this would be a piece of cake, but that was only a matter of not getting hit.

Roy backs up Ollie's words, with action, firing two arrows into the sleeves of the kid's shirt, pinning him to the wall.

"Listen kid, no hard feelings, but I don't know whose side you're on. And its not an age thing either, don't get me wrong. When I was your age, I was already slingin these arrows. Don't get any bright ideas or I'll pin you to the wall with more than just the cloth on your back."

Roy ran alongside Ollie and started firing arrows into the ninjas.

[Keyser Soze]

Touchy. The temper some people have, Jervis thought to himself. But then, the Queen had quite a temper too, so he was used to it by now. He followed the white indivdual into a tv studio, and Jervis found himself quite surprised at how cheery some of the anchors were. Why, he didn't think he had seen a lady laugh that much in quite a while.

As the Joker (as Jervis found out from the introduction) moved in front of the camera, he stayed in the shadows....he had never been fond of crowds. That was one thing Jenny had always tried to get him to do...go in front of crowds...but his wife was....she......NO NO.....he musn't think of that....never....

Jervis looked back over at the Joker, who had mentioned something about a Batman character. That name....Bat-man......why....so familiar....
Jervis shook his head. It kept bringing back the painful memories....he didn't like those....he shouldn't think of them....or else the little girl might come back...

Jervis was getting nervous, he didn't like just standing around. Tenitively, he walked forward and placed his machine on the desk the Joker was sitting at by his elbow. He had brought him here mostly because of the Machine, so Jervis figured the Joker would know what to do with it. The clown-like man glanced at him briefly before looking back into the camera. Jervis backed away quickly....preformers didn't like to be disturbed.

The Joker looked down at the machine Mad Hatter had placed on the desk. It was still just out of the frame. The Joker gave Mad Hatter a knowing wink, before turning back to face the screen.

"And in other news, reports indicate that the infant mortality rate has raised by 5% in the last year. You know, that reminds me of a joke. What's 12 inches long, and makes a woman scream all night? A DEAD BABY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The Joker whooped and guffawed at the decidedly unfunny joke. After regaining his composure, he picked up his notes and put on his best solemn expression.

"And news just in. A young girl named Alice has gone missing. If anybody has any information on her whereabouts, please contact us. We believe that this individual may know her whereabouts, and would like her to come forward."

An image of the Queen of Hearts flashed on the screen, before cutting back to The Joker. There, that ought to keep Mad Hatter happy. He needed his cooperation if he was going to use his little device at the end of the broadcast.

The Joker's plan was simple. He had drawn in lots of viewers with the promise of revealing Batman's secret identity. But that was his little secret. No, instead of revealing that knowledge to the mass viewing public all across America, he was going to play a little joke on them. He would switch on Mad Hatter's high frequency device, and turn their brains into mush. In a matter of seconds, millions of people all over America would be turned insane by their television sets, and kill themselves in a fit of madness. Oh, this was going to be hilarious!

"Stay tuned folks, for the biggest news story of the year! Batman's true identity will finally be revealed. Trust me, this is going to blow your mind! HA HA!"

[Keyser Soze]

Just as the live news feed cut to commercials, Lobo made his entrance.


"Now I know you aint the kind of guy whos gona have me make a house call for nothin, so tell me, whats yur sitch, who ya want fraged, and.....how do you keep your skin so nice and healthy? I'm gettin kind of ashy."


The Joker grinned at the new arrival.

"I took a chemical bath," he cackled, "It does wonders for the complexion. As for who I want "fragged", the answer is simple - anyone who gets in my way. I want you to be patrolling the streets. You see any do-gooders trying to interfere with my plans, you take them out. Oh, I want you to hunt down this...vigilante that has been a thorn in my side. My list of allies is growing smaller and smaller thanks to this nuisance. Squash them like a bug."

[The Question]

Son of a b***h--we don't have time for this.

I grab him by the shoulder.

"Vic, I've done worse and still he stands, and the whole building's going to catch on fire at any second. Let's the out of here."

"Hold. On."

“Your words are nothing but insults to your character Detective; you lack the courage to do what is needed. You know in that mind of yours, that I will survive this and come for my son and yet you don’t summon the courage to end my life.”

"Yeah Bruce. Listen to him."

I hold the gun closer to him.

"Let me tell you something. The man who taught me how to fight, a fellow by the name of Richard Dragon, he always had a saying. 'Everything works out how it should.' The universe always ends things the way it wants those things to end. Karma, I suppose you could say. Now, Ra's, I know who you are. I know you're reputation. I know how many skelitons you have in your closet. And there is no way in hell that the universe wants you to live more than the people you've killed. Which can only mean one thing: You've been cheating your karma."

I take a shell out of my pocket, load it into my gun, and point it at Ra's.

"Not tonight. Now, I'm not normally a vengeful man. I've tried to pout my more violent urges behind myself as of yet. But I really wouldn't be getting revenge, here. I'm going to give Karma a hand. You see, I've counted how many shots I've fired. I've only got two shells left in that pocket. One's a shotgun shell, and one's a rocksalt shell. The shotgun shell will kill you. Rocksalt'll just hurt like a *****. I picked one at random. Now, way I see it, if the universe really wants you to live, it'll be the rocksalt. If not....."

I pump the gun.

"I don't know about you, but I'm quite curious as to which it is."

[Charlie No-One]

Selina ran up the stairs to a small hallway on the second level of the Mob’s headquarters. Before she made her escape, the place needed to be destroyed. Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed through the narrow hallway. Catwoman slid into a small service shaft on the right side of the wall.

“That ***** escaped. We need to get to her before we meet Dane. He wants to make sure we have her before we sell her identity”

Dane? Who is Dane? Wait, isn’t that the head mob guy? What do they call them again? Capo di something…Capo di Tutti i Capi? He was the one leading this little organization. I think it’s time I meet this Dane fellow.

Ms. Kyle leaped out in front of the two criminals. Witch a hard punch in the face, the first thug passed out. Catwoman grabbed the second one and held him in the air.

“Where are you meeting Dane?”

“No way. Go to hell,”

“Reluctant. I like that in a man. It brings out the dangerous side in him,” Selina twisted her fingers into his neck.

“AHHH…****…STOP!”

“WHERE?”

“The old…****…Wayne Enterprises…building,”

“Who else knows about my identity?”

“No…one…DAMN…except Dane…and the building guards…,”

“The building guards?”

“Everyone…in…this building,”

“Thank you!” said the vixen as she knocked him out. Selina felt a rush of satisfaction. She pushed his obese body to the side of the hallway and ran into the armory.

Later

Catwoman stood outside of her prison. A small smile sprawled across her pale face. In one hand was a small detonator, and in the other, was a rocket launcher she stole from the armory.

“Boom,” she whispered as her finger rubbed across the silver button. One by one, the bombs Selina had placed through out the building exploded.

The former whore slipped into Tony’s car. It was obvious which vehicle was his. Not many people include the word BigPnis in their license plate. Being the expert cat-burglar that she was, she high jacked that car in seconds and was rushing towards her East End apartment.

Selina Kyle’s Apartment

The air smelled of decomposition. The young woman walked into the center of her old home. Lying lifeless on the floor were her two cats. Her only other family was dead. The apartment had been sealed for two months. She didn’t have a chance to go back to her home before she was kidnapped. Selina’s cats starved and because of the mob. Catwoman ran to her closet and pulled out her costume. She pulled the tight leather over her shoulders and zipped herself up. The newly costumed vixen took out a candle from a drawer and ignited the wick. She threw it on the wooden, worn out floors.

“Goodbye my children. Don’t worry, mommy will avenge you. It’s time to rebuild my life,”

A small tear ran down her face as her home burned down.

The Reading House Apartments
Across from Wayne Enterprises

Catwoman pulled her binoculars over her eyes. The mob had destroyed her life and they were going to pay. They were at Wayne Enterprises to sell her identity to another mob. They were also there to die. She could see Dane on the top floor. There was someone else standing next to him. It was the other mob leader, but she couldn’t tell who it was, but that didn’t matter; she was blinded by rage. Loading the launcher, she aimed for Dane’s face. Her finger pressed against the trigger. The rocket ruptured out of the barrel and raced to the building. It made contact and exploded. Chunks of debris were flung into the middle of the street.

“There could still be more people on the other floors,” Selina thought to herself. She loaded the gun once more and shot at the ground floor. Once again, the bottom level gave away. With no support, the building collapsed.

Selina would have smiled, but she couldn’t. The pressures of guilt were smashing for victory.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/LisaLoebIsMine/catwoman33-cover.jpg

[MaskedManJRK]

“Your words are nothing but insults to your character Detective; you lack the courage to do what is needed. You know in that mind of yours, that I will survive this and come for my son and yet you don’t summon the courage to end my life.”

I try and find something--ANYTHING--to come back with that it won't happen...but I can't find a goddamned thing. Can't let him see that, though.

"And you're a broken record. SHUT. UP."

"Yeah Bruce. Listen to him."

I hold the gun closer to him.

"Let me tell you something. The man who taught me how to fight, a fellow by the name of Richard Dragon, he always had a saying. 'Everything works out how it should.' The universe always ends things the way it wants those things to end. Karma, I suppose you could say. Now, Ra's, I know who you are. I know your reputation. I know how many skelitons you have in your closet. And there is no way in hell that the universe wants you to live more than the people you've killed. Which can only mean one thing: You've been cheating your karma."

I take a shell out of my pocket, load it into my gun, and point it at Ra's.

"Not tonight. Now, I'm not normally a vengeful man. I've tried to pout my more violent urges behind myself as of yet. But I really wouldn't be getting revenge, here. I'm going to give Karma a hand. You see, I've counted how many shots I've fired. I've only got two shells left in that pocket. One's a shotgun shell, and one's a rocksalt shell. The shotgun shell will kill you. Rocksalt'll just hurt like a *****. I picked one at random. Now, way I see it, if the universe really wants you to live, it'll be the rocksalt. If not....."

I pump the gun.

"I don't know about you, but I'm quite curious as to which it is."

I honestly don't know what to say. I don't know what I can do that will stop this from coming to a head.

No matter what, he'll always come for him.

Do I keep my morals, or take a chance to protect my son?

I have a decision to make.

Suddenly, I remember something--my father. It was Father's Day, I was almost six years-old. He was tucking me into bed when I asked something.

"How did you know when you were ready to have me?"

He looked down at me, surprised--I guess he didn't expect such a mature question from a kid who still played in a sandbox. His responce was suprising to me, as well.

"Honestly? I wasn't really sure I was ready until I first saw you. When I looked into your eyes for the first time, and I knew--I knew that whatever might happen to you, I would do whatever it takes to make sure you were safe. That's when I knew I was ready to be a father."

I snap back to reality. The fire in the room is about to spread out. We only have a few minutes, if that, to get out of here.

To hell with my morals.

I'm ready.

"Just do it already so we can get out of here."

[Red]

"Hold. On."



"Yeah Bruce. Listen to him."

I hold the gun closer to him.

"Let me tell you something. The man who taught me how to fight, a fellow by the name of Richard Dragon, he always had a saying. 'Everything works out how it should.' The universe always ends things the way it wants those things to end. Karma, I suppose you could say. Now, Ra's, I know who you are. I know you're reputation. I know how many skelitons you have in your closet. And there is no way in hell that the universe wants you to live more than the people you've killed. Which can only mean one thing: You've been cheating your karma."

I take a shell out of my pocket, load it into my gun, and point it at Ra's.

"Not tonight. Now, I'm not normally a vengeful man. I've tried to pout my more violent urges behind myself as of yet. But I really wouldn't be getting revenge, here. I'm going to give Karma a hand. You see, I've counted how many shots I've fired. I've only got two shells left in that pocket. One's a shotgun shell, and one's a rocksalt shell. The shotgun shell will kill you. Rocksalt'll just hurt like a *****. I picked one at random. Now, way I see it, if the universe really wants you to live, it'll be the rocksalt. If not....."

I pump the gun.

"I don't know about you, but I'm quite curious as to which it is."

“Charles Victor Szasz.” He paused. “The Question.”

“Destiny holds a much greater fate for me than to be killed by a faceless man.”

Amused Ra’s ignored the shotgun as if it was not there and fixed his gaze at Question.

“I have lived for seven hundred years and watched empires crumble, wars devastate countries and humanity itself come near to extinction. Fate would never allow a simple bullet, to kill a man who as seen so much.”

[The Question]

I try and find something--ANYTHING--to come back with that it won't happen...but I can't find a goddamned thing. Can't let him see that, though.

"And you're a broken record. SHUT. UP."



I honestly don't know what to say. I don't know what I can do that will stop this from coming to a head.

No matter what, he'll always come for him.

Do I keep my morals, or take a chance to protect my son?

I have a decision to make.

Suddenly, I remember something--my father. It was Father's Day, I was almost six years-old. He was tucking me into bed when I asked something.

"How did you know when you were ready to have me?"

He looked down at me, surprised--I guess he didn't expect such a mature question from a kid who still played in a sandbox. His responce was suprising to me, as well.

"Honestly? I wasn't really sure I was ready until I first saw you. When I looked into your eyes for the first time, and I knew--I knew that whatever might happen to you, I would do whatever it takes to make sure you were safe. That's when I knew I was ready to be a father."

I snap back to reality. The fire in the room is about to spread out. We only have a few minutes, if that, to get out of here.

To hell with my morals.

I'm ready.

"Just do it already so we can get out of here."

Well, aren't we full of suprises today?

“Charles Victor Szasz.” He paused. “The Question.”

“Destiny holds a much greater fate for me than to be killed by a faceless man.”

Amused Ra’s ignored the shotgun as if it was not there and fixed his gaze at Question.

“I have lived for seven hundred years and watched empires crumble, wars devastate countries and humanity itself come near toextinction. Fate would never a simple bullet, to kill a man who as seen so much.”

"How nice for you."

I pull the trigger. I feel the shock go up my arms as Ra's goes limp. He hits the ground.



Breathing.



Rocksalt.



"Well, I'll be damned."

I turn for the door, and Bruce and I leave. As I walk down the hallway, I speak.

"Kind of eerie how the bastard new my name."

[Spider-Man9X17]

"Ollie!" Kyle called out, entering the house. He had been standing outside for five minutes knocking before hsi ring fashioned him a key. "Ollie, dude, you here?"

No answer. Kyle suspected as much. He knew he was probably walking into a dead end, but at least he tried.

His ring began to buzz. Sinestro was near. Something else though...it had picked up something, or rather someone. No, wait, several someones.

"Who...who are you scanning...." Kyle asked the ring. Kyle shivered. His ring had never doen this without a command from him before. Some other force was at work here. The ring began translating, and Kyle's eyes widened in shock.

Sinestro had landed now, and was right behind Kyle.

"I found Ollie,"Kyle said without turning. "But things are a little more complicated now. Are you familiar with the name Ra's Al Ghul?"

[Logan Howlett]

Just as the live news feed cut to commercials, Lobo made his entrance.



The Joker grinned at the new arrival.

"I took a chemical bath," he cackled, "It does wonders for the complexion. As for who I want "fragged", the answer is simple - anyone who gets in my way. I want you to be patrolling the streets. You see any do-gooders trying to interfere with my plans, you take them out. Oh, I want you to hunt down this...vigilante that has been a thorn in my side. My list of allies is growing smaller and smaller thanks to this nuisance. Squash them like a bug."


"Thats it?.....You want me to play super cop?....Ok...guess I could have some fun with that. BUT I WANT A FRAGIN BADGE! hehehe....no seriously. I hope you know this aint gona be cheap, usualy I do free gigs if I get to squash on some fanboy like Supes, or Bats, but seein as how the "hero boys" don't like playin in Gotham no more......this one is gona cost ya.......you sure you can afford it? I mean, what kind of funds are we lookin at here? How much power does the mayor realy have?"

[Nightwing]

Roy backs up Ollie's words, with action, firing two arrows into the sleeves of the kid's shirt, pinning him to the wall.

"Listen kid, no hard feelings, but I don't know whose side you're on. And its not an age thing either, don't get me wrong. When I was your age, I was already slingin these arrows. Don't get any bright ideas or I'll pin you to the wall with more than just the cloth on your back."

Roy ran alongside Ollie and started firing arrows into the ninjas.


The ninjas started falling one by one as arrows started striking directly at them, whether it'd be through their chests, kneecaps, or shoulders, they were'nt getting back up. But that didn't stop them from bringing in more reinforcements, I was pretty sure Roy and I cleared the way just enough for Bruce and Vic to get back to us.

"That's it, keep firing at 'em! It's only a matter of moments before the others make there way out of that hell hole."

I reloaded after every arrow left the crossbow, not letting the ninjas get the upperhand by catching me off guard. I looked beside me and saw Roy doing the same, and smiled as I realized he had gotten quicker since the last time we fought side by side like this.

"Dammit, I'm running out of arrows way to quickly. I think I'll have enough to take out a few more, if not you mind lending me some?"

[MaskedManJRK]

Well, aren't we full of suprises today?

"How nice for you."

I pull the trigger. I feel the shock go up my arms as Ra's goes limp. He hits the ground.



Breathing.



Rocksalt.



"Well, I'll be damned."

I turn for the door, and Bruce and I leave. As I walk down the hallway, I speak.

"Kind of eerie how the bastard new my name."

"He knew mine before I met him too. Consider it his party trick. Now, would you hurry up before the whole place catches on fire?"

We both run out just as the fire spreads out of the room.

We eventually make it out of the facility and see Ollie and Roy taking out ninjas by the dozens.

"Mission accomplished--let's get the hell out of here."

[The Question]

I take out one of my 45.s, grab Roy by the collar, and run to the bug, firing at the ninjas behind me. I pull open the doors to the bug.

"IN!"

[twylight]

DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN

The woman stood up, from the dead man on the ground, her eyes staring at the still red blood on the wall.

Within seconds the sound of a motorcycle engine revving was heard in the Dock area of Gotham as it sped off into the night.


The rain was harder as she stood under the metal arch, the large words spelling out the location as if the thousands of headstones didn’t give you a big enough clue. Her outfit, coal gray from the rain which darkened it, blended into the shadows of the fog which layered Cemetery like a thick ocean.

Through me you enter into the city of woes, through me you enter into eternal pain, through me you enter the population of loss. Justice moved my high maker, in power divine, wisdom supreme, love primal. No things were before me not eternal; eternal I remain. Abandon all hope, you who enter here

She studied the still fresh blood, her eyes only briefly taking in the dead body’s hanging on the crosses throughout the cemetery. The blood trickled down the crosses from the bodies, thinned by the rain, puddling in pink at the bottom of each.

She took a step forward, and looked down, her boot next to a freshly dug spot in the earth. She turned her eyes upward, her head still down, a nearby tombstone reads:
Abandon All Hope

The chisel and hammer on the ground next to it.

She pulled out her bo staff and with a flick of the wrist it extended Her bare right arm glistened in the night, the rain coating it sheer. She twirled it till one end lay flat across her forearm, the other end extended in front of her face, taking a step forward she scanned the darkness of the cemetery.

“Let’s not play games” she called, her voice clear through her mask.

OOC: Soze, I'm not ignoring your posts, my character just hasn't been anywhere near the 'center' of Gotham. ;)

[Batman]

The engine of a motorcycle roared within a vast tunnel beneath Gotham City. Small puddles of water had leaked into them from being underground without being renewed for so long, but otherwise, they were in excellent condition.

Which was good for Nightwing, considering it was the only way he stood a chance of getting into the City at all. There were barriers built around it by the military, cutting Gotham off from the rest of the world. The area had officially become the most dangerous place on the face of the earth. Not that it was ever far from earning the title.

Batman had, in his early career, built various secret routes into the city, in case He had to manouver quickly or discreetly into a certain area. He and Dick had rarely used them, considering The Batmobile was always too fast for anyone to detect where it came from anyway, but they had proved useful, under some circumstances. Especially now.

Nightwing rounded a corner as the front of his bike lit the area infront of him up, revealing what looked like a dead end. Revving up the engine even faster, Nightwing braced himself as he sped forward, heading right for it. Before he could hit the wall, the wall... well... opened, as Nightwing and his motorcycle flew through the secret entance, and landed in a darker and less pleasant area.

The Gotham City Sewers. Dick had made it in. Well, partially. He still had to make it above ground. Switching his comm on, Nightwing spoke through his helmet, as he continued through the sewers.

"R, I'm in Gotham now. Send me your coiordinates and I'll meet up with you as soon as I can get above ground. Nightwing out."

As Nightwing switched off the communicator, and headed down a seperate tunnel, He noticed something odd. The walls around him seemed to get darker and darker as he continued.

Dick's eyes widened as something shot out infront of him, knocking him clear off of the motorcycle, and onto the bottom of the sewer. As he struggled to get up, Nightwing saw his cycle fall over, and slide, as it's light shined on a figure that was standing over him. At first, it wasn't clear who it was... But as the figure stepped forward, it's face became clearer, as did it's laugh and horrible stench.

Nightwing's expression was that of surprise, as he took his motorcycle helmet off, looking at the towering figure. These two had met before.

Oh dear god.

The figure cackled, whipping it's tail back as it grinned evilly at it's opponent. It had a name. Waylon Jones. But it had another, more fitting name, aswell... One that Nightwing knew all too well.

"Croc!"

http://www.gortner.com/batman/croc.gif


"Been a long time. Wouldn't ya say, Boy?"

[Watchman]

DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN

The woman stood up, from the dead man on the ground, her eyes staring at the still red blood on the wall.

Within seconds the sound of a motorcycle engine revving was heard in the Dock area of Gotham as it sped off into the night.


The rain was harder as she stood under the metal arch, the large words spelling out the location as if the thousands of headstones didn’t give you a big enough clue. Her outfit, coal gray from the rain which darkened it, blended into the shadows of the fog which layered Cemetery like a thick ocean.

Through me you enter into the city of woes, through me you enter into eternal pain, through me you enter the population of loss. Justice moved my high maker, in power divine, wisdom supreme, love primal. No things were before me not eternal; eternal I remain. Abandon all hope, you who enter here

She studied the still fresh blood, her eyes only briefly taking in the dead body’s hanging on the crosses throughout the cemetery. The blood trickled down the crosses from the bodies, thinned by the rain, puddling in pink at the bottom of each.

She took a step forward, and looked down, her boot next to a freshly dug spot in the earth. She turned her eyes upward, her head still down, a nearby tombstone reads:
Abandon All Hope

The chisel and hammer on the ground next to it.

She pulled out her bo staff and with a flick of the wrist it extended Her bare right arm glistened in the night, the rain coating it sheer. She twirled it till one end lay flat across her forearm, the other end extended in front of her face, taking a step forward she scanned the darkness of the cemetery.

“Let’s not play games” she called, her voice clear through her mask.

OOC: Soze, I'm not ignoring your posts, my character just hasn't been anywhere near the 'center' of Gotham. ;)

Scarecrow saw her enter the graveyard and walked right next to the unmark grave.

"Perfect" he said to himself. He picked up his shovel and charged her from behind. She turned around but it was too late Scarecrow caught her off guard. He swung his shovel connecting with her head. She stumbled and fell right into the grave.

"I agree my dear" he begun to shovel dirt into the grave "No more games. No more of me pretending to fight the good fight for Gotham. No more of you running around pretending to fill Batman's shoes. No more people pushing me around as some kind of common thug" he stop shoveling and took out a small clown head from his pocket.

"I was saving this. It's a special brew for a certain somebody. The chemicals have a higher potency then your regular fear toxin. How long can you hold your breath for?" he threw it in the grave and continue to shovel.

[twylight]

Scarecrow saw her enter the graveyard and walked right next to the unmark grave.

"Perfect" he said to himself. He picked up his shovel and charged her from behind. She turned around but it was too late Scarecrow caught her off guard. He swung his shovel connecting with her head. She stumbled and fell right into the grave.

"I agree my dear" he begun to shovel dirt into the grave "No more games. No more of me pretending to fight the good fight for Gotham. No more of you running around pretending to fill Batman's shoes. No more people pushing me around as some kind of common thug" he stop shoveling and took out a small clown head from his pocket.

"I was saving this. It's a special brew for a certain somebody. The chemicals have a higher potency then your regular fear toxin. How long can you hold your breath for?" he threw it in the grave and continue to shovel.

The woman landed on her back, her dark hair flying over her face, pushing it back she was greeted with a shovelful of dirt.

"I don't need to hold my breath." she said through her mask, throwing up two stars at him, catching him in the arm. He shrieked and fell back away from the opening as she hoisted herself out of the grave.

"I'm tired of..."


She took a step back, her arm coming up in front of her face.

"NO!" She yelled as she swipped at the air.

[Speedball]

Deleted!

[Watchman]

The woman landed on her back, her dark hair flying over her face, pushing it back she was greeted with a shovelful of dirt.

"I don't need to hold my breath." she said through her mask, throwing up two stars at him, catching him in the arm. He shrieked and fell back away from the opening as she hoisted herself out of the grave.

"I'm tired of..."


She took a step back, her arm coming up in front of her face.

"NO!" She yelled as she swipped at the air.

He ripped the stars from his arm and giving scream. He picks up the shovel and heads toward her.

"tHAt'S iT TelL Me wHaT yOu FEAR!" he yells. He charges her and pushes her to the ground. He stands over her and raises the shovel into the air. He was going to impale her with it.

"SCrEaM FoR mE. LEt ME HerE YoU ScREAM!" he brings the shovel down.

[MaskedManJRK]

I take out one of my 45.s, grab Roy by the collar, and run to the bug, firing at the ninjas behind me. I pull open the doors to the bug.

"IN!"

The rest of us didn't need to be told twice.

As the rest sat down as the Bug flew away, I stayed standing and walked in front of them.

"Congratulations on a successfull mission and thanks for saving my ass. I know we're all not at our best at this point in time, but I have to ask you into another mission--I just got word from my operatives in Gotham City that it has been...that it has been taken over.

"It has gotten so far that the 'super-villians of Gotham have literary taken control of Gotham City's government--The Joker himself has called himself Mayor, and it seems the entire police force is now either corrupt, mob enforcers, or cons.

"I know I'll need more than just my operatives--my family--to stop this. I need reinforcements. I need the Outsiders.

"Are you in?"

[Green Lantern]

The rest of us didn't need to be told twice.

As the rest sat down as the Bug flew away, I stayed standing and walked in front of them.

"Congratulations on a successfull mission and thanks for saving my ass. I know we're all not at our best at this point in time, but I have to ask you into another mission--I just got word from my operatives in Gotham City that it has been...that it has been taken over.

"It has gotten so far that the 'super-villians of Gotham have literary taken control of Gotham City's government--The Joker himself has called himself Mayor, and it seems the entire police force is now either corrupt, mob enforcers, or cons.

"I know I'll need more than just my operatives--my family--to stop this. I need reinforcements. I need the Outsiders.

"Are you in?""OH So NOW I get an invite? I wasn't good enough til I helped save your ass? What are you smoking, Bruce, of course I'm in! Now, the important thing, who's the kid I threatened to pincussion?"

[twylight]

He ripped the stars from his arm and giving scream. He picks up the shovel and heads toward her.

"tHAt'S iT TelL Me wHaT yOu FEAR!" he yells. He charges her and pushes her to the ground. He stands over her and raises the shovel into the air. He was going to impale her with it.

"SCrEaM FoR mE. LEt ME HerE YoU ScREAM!" he brings the shovel down.

Fear...

I gripped her insides, her head swam and water seemed to rush at her. She gasped, the 'water' clearing in time for her to see the shovel head come down on her face, rolling she tried to dodge it but it hit her left shoulder.

"AH!" She cried out in pain as blood gushed from the torn skin, the crimson liquid ran pink down her gray outfit. She pushed herself off the ground staring at him through her wet hair.

"I never scream" She said hoarsely as she pulled out a syringe and stabbed the needle into her arm. She tossed it away standing up, she swayed a little as the toxin coursed through her body.

The woman blinked, as a woman emerged out of the fog and walked towards her. Her outfit all in black she worn a cape with the hood low over her face. The woman pulled out her Sais and held them firmly in front of her as she trembled.

Her eyes grew wide as small flying animals burst from the fog and flew around her. She brought her arms up in front of her as bats pummeled her over and over, she tried to brush them aside only to find a handful of black feathers in her hand.

[The Question]

The rest of us didn't need to be told twice.

As the rest sat down as the Bug flew away, I stayed standing and walked in front of them.

"Congratulations on a successfull mission and thanks for saving my ass. I know we're all not at our best at this point in time, but I have to ask you into another mission--I just got word from my operatives in Gotham City that it has been...that it has been taken over.

"It has gotten so far that the 'super-villians of Gotham have literary taken control of Gotham City's government--The Joker himself has called himself Mayor, and it seems the entire police force is now either corrupt, mob enforcers, or cons.

"I know I'll need more than just my operatives--my family--to stop this. I need reinforcements. I need the Outsiders.

"Are you in?"

"Sure, but how did that even happen? How would a wanted mass murderer be elected the mayor of a city? Or, did his gang just break into the mayor's office and start a bunch of riots?"

[MST3K 4ever]

Lex sits on his penthouse suite padio overlooking Metropolis reading the paper. Mercy is standing in the corner as Louis his chef is preparing breakfast for him.

The phone rings and Mercy hands it to him and says, "It's Senator Newsome."

Lex takes the phone and says, "Hello Dennis how are you doing?"

Newsome replies, "Just fine Mr. Luthor or should say once again Mr. President."

Lex chuckles and says, "Easy Dennis there is nothing offical from me...yet. Although I do so miss Washington this time of year."

Newsome says, "Well we miss you too. You know this whole Ressurection project of yours has thrusted you into the nation-wide spotlight. Our party's convention is coming up and there are very heavy rumors that most of the delegates are ready to nominate you from the floor. I mean President Marshall is a good man, but his presidency lacks the guts and daring that yours did. There's no doubt that if you just showed up at the convention next month there would be shouts of acclaimation. The party wants a man who will get things done and isn't afraid to play hardball to do it. Face it Lex with all you've been through...the heart-attack, the coma, the comeback after Parasite, & rebuidling Metropolis...your approval numbers right now are higher than Marshall's ever were at any point."

Lex asks, "Can I assume that if I did announce my candidacy you would be on board as my campaign's chief of staff?"

Newsome chuckles and says, "I already have a staff in place ready to go & to follow you right into the gates of h*** at a moment's notice."

Lex looks at Mercy. They both smile and Lex says, "Make sure you are watching 'Eye on Metropolis' at noon today. I think you will find my surprise appearance quite exciting."

Newsome says, "All-right then. We'll be waiting for an offical announcement at noon today. Talk to you then Mr. Luthor."

Lex says, "Goodbye Dennis." He hangs up and calls Brenda his secretary. He says, "Brenda what appointments do I have today...cancel and reschedule them. The call Angela Chen and tell her I want to be on her noon program today. Be sure to mention it's an exclusive....thank you."

He hangs up the phone and Mercy asks, "Do you think you'll be able to get on her program on such short notice?"

Lex replies, "Mercy if it means an exclusive with me Angela Chen would sell her own mother to STAR labs for lab experiments."

Louis enters the padio carrying a tray with Lex's breakfast on it. He says, "Your Eggs Benedict in crab sauce Mr. Luthor."

He sets the tray down in front of Lex and Lex says, "Excellent Louis, thank you Louis. I doubt I will be here this evening for dinner so fix my daughter whatever she wants. Macaroni & Cheese is probably what she'll want so go with that, and that will be all for now Louis."

Louis bows and leaves. As Lex prepares to eat he looks at Mercy and says, "I think today is going to be a remarkable day."

[Watchman]

Fear...

I gripped her insides, her head swam and water seemed to rush at her. She gasped, the 'water' clearing in time for her to see the shovel head come down on her face, rolling she tried to dodge it but it hit her left shoulder.

"AH!" She cried out in pain as blood gushed from the torn skin, the crimson liquid ran pink down her gray outfit. She pushed herself off the ground staring at him through her wet hair.

"I never scream" She said hoarsely as she pulled out a syringe and stabbed the needle into her arm. She tossed it away standing up, she swayed a little as the toxin coursed through her body.

The woman blinked, as a woman emerged out of the fog and walked towards her. Her outfit all in black she worn a cape with the hood low over her face. The woman pulled out her Sais and held them firmly in front of her as she trembled.

Her eyes grew wide as small flying animals burst from the fog and flew around her. She brought her arms up in front of her as bats pummeled her over and over, she tried to brush them aside only to find a handful of black feathers in her hand.

He watched as his former partner begin to breakdown right in front of her. A great spectacle as even the strongest wills always are destroyed because of fear. No matter how strong the body was the mind will always conquer it. A knife slid from his sleeve into his hand. He rised the knife into the air. He jumped into the air and headed straight for her.

"tHAt'S iT GiVE IntO YOuR FeAR!"

[twylight]

He watched as his former partner begin to breakdown right in front of her. A great spectacle as even the strongest wills always are destroyed because of fear. No matter how strong the body was the mind will always conquer it. A knife slid from his sleeve into his hand. He rised the knife into the air. He jumped into the air and headed straight for her.

"tHAt'S iT GiVE IntO YOuR FeAR!"

Her eyes grew wide as the Scarecrow leaped 'through' the woman and towards her. She dodged and rolled, the 'feathers' turning to straw in her hand she let them drop as the bat's dissipated, pulling out another syringe she stabbed it into her shaking arm.

"NO!"

She grabbed his hand and forced him to the ground, bringing her arm around she pummeled his masked face.

"I've faced my fears! That's why I'm here"

Her dark hair hung in wet strands on either side of her face as she clenched her arm and brought it around again.

[MaskedManJRK]

"OH So NOW I get an invite? I wasn't good enough til I helped save your ass? What are you smoking, Bruce, of course I'm in! Now, the important thing, who's the kid I threatened to pincussion?"

"My apologies, Roy. As for your question...bluntly, he is Ibn Xu'ffasch. He's my son."

[MaskedManJRK]

"Sure, but how did that even happen? How would a wanted mass murderer be elected the mayor of a city? Or, did his gang just break into the mayor's office and start a bunch of riots?"

"I haven't gotten the complete information, but I'd guess the latter is more likely."

[Green Lantern]

"My apologies, Roy. As for your question...bluntly, he is Ibn Xu'ffasch. He's my son.""Hey, no problem. I DID take a break from the hero thing after... ya know... Dinah..." Roy's face hardened as he tried not to cry thinking about Dinah. His phone saved him as it rang. The ringer was "March of the Black Queen" by Queen and Roy ran to the corner to answer it.

"...Sasha? What do you need? Where'd you hear about that? Yeah, he pretty much just asked me to join. What? Huh, okay, I'll see what Bruce says to that, dunno how he'll take it though..."


Roy hung up and walked back to Bruce. "That was Sasha Bordeaux, Black Queen of Checkmate. She says you know her quite good Bruce, and wants me to extend an invitation to the Outsiders. She wants them to have loose ties to Checkmate. Nothing public, but for when they need the best to go in and take care of something. I told her I'd ask you, if yes then I'd be the official laison to Checkmate, as I'm her knight. Yeah, Ollie, I'm back in Checkmate..."

[Watchman]

Her eyes grew wide as the Scarecrow leaped 'through' the woman and towards her. She dodged and rolled, the 'feathers' turning to straw in her hand she let them drop as the bat's dissipated, pulling out another syringe she stabbed it into her shaking arm.

"NO!"

She grabbed his hand and forced him to the ground, bringing her arm around she pummeled his masked face.

"I've faced my fears! That's why I'm here"

Her dark hair hung in wet strands on either side of her face as she clenched her arm and brought it around again.

He position his feet into her stomach and flipped her off of him. He rolled away from her and got up. He got in a fighting stance and faced her.

"I see the gas is wearing off what a pity. I'll make sure the last moments of your life truly agonizing ones"

[MaskedManJRK]

"Hey, no problem. I DID take a break from the hero thing after... ya know... Dinah..." Roy's face hardened as he tried not to cry thinking about Dinah. His phone saved him as it rang. The ringer was "March of the Black Queen" by Queen and Roy ran to the corner to answer it.

"...Sasha? What do you need? Where'd you hear about that? Yeah, he pretty much just asked me to join. What? Huh, okay, I'll see what Bruce says to that, dunno how he'll take it though..."


Roy hung up and walked back to Bruce. "That was Sasha Bordeaux, Black Queen of Checkmate. She says you know her quite good Bruce, and wants me to extend an invitation to the Outsiders. She wants them to have loose ties to Checkmate. Nothing public, but for when they need the best to go in and take care of something. I told her I'd ask you, if yes then I'd be the official laison to Checkmate, as I'm her knight. Yeah, Ollie, I'm back in Checkmate..."

Interesting offer, but...one reason why I put together the Outsiders was to be the counter-defensive for potentially shady and corrupt organizations like Checkmate. On the other hand, the resources would be even better...and that would mean we could watch them even closer...

"Alright. As soon as we're finished in Gotham."

[twylight]

He position his feet into her stomach and flipped her off of him. He rolled away from her and got up. He got in a fighting stance and faced her.

"I see the gas is wearing off what a pity. I'll make sure the last moments of your life truly agonizing ones"
She followed through with the kick in the stomach and rolled with it, landing on her feet she spun around her bo staff in her hand.

She took off her belt, and quiver and bow, setting them on the ground beside her before taking off her gun and tossing it aside.

"Give me your best."

She launched herself at him, the staff a sliver blur in the gray fog.

[The Question]

"Checkmate? You mean, the government? Oh yeah, I'm sure everyone here knows how much I adore the government."

[Watchman]

She followed through with the kick in the stomach and rolled with it, landing on her feet she spun around her bo staff in her hand.

She took off her belt, and quiver and bow, setting them on the ground beside her before taking off her gun and tossing it aside.

"Give me your best."

She launched herself at him, the staff a sliver blur in the gray fog.

Scarecrow jumped out of the way as she launched herself at him. She made another swipe with him dodging again. She took her staff and made a low sweep trying to trip him up. Scarecrow jumped into the air. She thrust the staff forword. Scarecrow lept toward the right dodging the staff and gave her a hard punch across her face.

"You are going to have do better the Bat would have beat me already"

[twylight]

Scarecrow jumped out of the way as she launched herself at him. She made another swipe with him dodging again. She took her staff and made a low sweep trying to trip him up. Scarecrow jumped into the air. She thrust the staff forword. Scarecrow lept toward the right dodging the staff and gave her a hard punch across her face.

"You are going to have do better the Bat would have beat me already"

She stood up slowly, wiping the blood off her chin with the back of her hand and spitting some from her mouth. She glared at him at the mention of "the Bat."

"But I'll beat you harder"

She lunged forward feigning a frontal attack before spinning and hitting the edge of her hand across the back of his neck before thrusting the end of her bo staff into his spine.

[wiegeabo]

"Ollie!" Kyle called out, entering the house. He had been standing outside for five minutes knocking before hsi ring fashioned him a key. "Ollie, dude, you here?"

No answer. Kyle suspected as much. He knew he was probably walking into a dead end, but at least he tried.

His ring began to buzz. Sinestro was near. Something else though...it had picked up something, or rather someone. No, wait, several someones.

"Who...who are you scanning...." Kyle asked the ring. Kyle shivered. His ring had never doen this without a command from him before. Some other force was at work here. The ring began translating, and Kyle's eyes widened in shock.

Sinestro had landed now, and was right behind Kyle.

"I found Ollie,"Kyle said without turning. "But things are a little more complicated now. Are you familiar with the name Ra's Al Ghul?"
"Yes I have." Which means that, for whatever reason, the Arrow is somehow currenty involved with the Bat. But that does not concern me.

"It is fortunate you have found him. His city is tearing itself apart. I just stopped a battle between criminals and the police. Wars are breaking out on the streets since the Arrow disappeared."

[Nightwing]

The rest of us didn't need to be told twice.

As the rest sat down as the Bug flew away, I stayed standing and walked in front of them.

"Congratulations on a successfull mission and thanks for saving my ass. I know we're all not at our best at this point in time, but I have to ask you into another mission--I just got word from my operatives in Gotham City that it has been...that it has been taken over.

"It has gotten so far that the 'super-villians of Gotham have literary taken control of Gotham City's government--The Joker himself has called himself Mayor, and it seems the entire police force is now either corrupt, mob enforcers, or cons.

"I know I'll need more than just my operatives--my family--to stop this. I need reinforcements. I need the Outsiders.

"Are you in?"

Finally. Bruce and Vic made it back safely toward the Bug with the virus, as I put my crossbow down and gave myself a little brake then walked to the pilot seat and flew us out of here. Afterward, I listened to what Bruce had to say to the rest of us.

"Anytime Bruce, anytime. From all that has happend, I say we did a pretty damn good job as a team. Things back in Star seems to be back in order, with all this drug scenerio now over with. I'll gladly join, gotta keep myself busy after all. By the way, your kid and I have met. Tough little sport you got here."

Ibn still sat next to me since before I was left alone with him and Ted, I looked at him and took down the arrows Roy had put to make him sit still. I felt my smile quickly vanish when I heard Dinah's name mentioned by Roy, and suddenly a flashback of when she risked her own life to save Nightwing's came into thought. It was like it was only yesterday.

I told her I'd ask you, if yes then I'd be the official laison to Checkmate, as I'm her knight. Yeah, Ollie, I'm back in Checkmate..."

"Since when did this happen, Roy? It's now that we finish getting ourselves beaten and battered that you suddenly decide to tell me this? I thought you knew better!!"

I had every right to be angry, since when did Roy start keeping secrets from me? Calm down, Ollie, I'm sure he had his own reasons. It's not like the old days when I knew everything he was doing while under my wing, I waited for an answer as I flew us toward Gotham.

[Watchman]

She stood up slowly, wiping the blood off her chin with the back of her hand and spitting some from her mouth. She glared at him at the mention of "the Bat."

"But I'll beat you harder"

She lunged forward feigning a frontal attack before spinning and hitting the edge of her hand across the back of his neck before thrusting the end of her bo staff into his spine.

He fell forword into some mud. He got on his knees and grabbed his back. He leaned up against a grave pretending to rest and pulled something out of his coat.

"Tell me how is Ricky? I'm not sure after what I did to his mind if he'll ever recover"

*CLICK*

Scarecrow quickly turned around and fired off three shots before the gun made more click sounds telling him it was empty.

[LibrarianThorne]

"Do I really need a reason? Anyone worth the starch in their tights would follow Superman to the depths of hell."

As he spoke he was examining his glasses, making sure the heat that eminated from his eyes didn't melt the lenses

"I'm actually looking for my friend." Conner adjusted his glasses so they sat comfortably on his nose.

"And once I find Robin, we're looking for Cassie." Though there were plenty of heroes near his age in the thirty first century, he always missed his best friend. And even more than he missed Tim, he missed Cassie. Being a living legend in the future, he could have had his pick of the Legion babes, but his thoughts were always on Wondergirl.

If he didn't know that Clark would need his help, Conner would already be at Paradise Island looking for his love.

Superman smiled at Connor's first comment, his face growing more serious as the boy continued.

"So, Titans business then? That's good, great even. This world needs the Titans as much as it needs the League. Oh! I almost forgot!"

He rummaged around in his suit, his hand eventually emerging holding a digital watch with a fine leather strap. He offered it to Cononr, who accepted it with an inquisitive glance.

"It's a signal watch. There's a button on the side, if you press it the watch emits a hypersonic sound that only I can hear. If you or the Titans ever need my help, press the button and I'll be there. Quicker than a flash," he said with a wink.

"Now that that's out of the way, it sounds like you and I have to part here," he said as they reached the end of the bridge. "I've got a story to write, and you've got a Robin to find."

He nodded to Superboy, as he began walking down the Main Street of Gotham, taking in the sights and sounds that his super senses could detect. He heard a mother crying because she couldn't feed her child. The sound of a building in flames.

The sounds of a city desperately in need of hope.

His eyes saw people huddled around a well dressed man in black, his hearing picking up the sounds of a drug deal. He saw people in the uniform of police officers breaking into a store, people cowering in fear from them.

He saw and heard a city in need of a hero.

He could only hope that he could suffice.

[Purple Man]

Faking thankfulness for the signal watch, Conner headed out on his own. The first alley he came upon he went down. The place smelled like death.

"Whatcha whistlin'?" Go down some place called crime alley and get a gun pointed at your face, go figure. The man with the shaky aim seemed anxious for money so he could buy food or drugs. Probably drugs.

"It's actually a bird call. I'm looking for a Robin." In the blink of a drug deprived eye, the undercover boy of steel had his hand on the gun, though the mans finger was still on the trigger.

"Try it." The trigger was squeezed, but there was no gunshot. The weapon simply fell to pieces right in the mans hand.

"Rethink your life." With those words Conners' eyes were glowing red, the lenses of his glasses melting. The man was quite scared, running off without another word, a look of horror on his face.

"Screw this." Conner sighed, discarding the frame to his melted glasses on the ground and then stomping it with his shoe.

[Green Lantern]

Interesting offer, but...one reason why I put together the Outsiders was to be the counter-defensive for potentially shady and corrupt organizations like Checkmate. On the other hand, the resources would be even better...and that would mean we could watch them even closer...

"Alright. As soon as we're finished in Gotham."
"Alright, I'll call her or Alan as soon as we're done cleaning the streets."

"Checkmate? You mean, the government? Oh yeah, I'm sure everyone here knows how much I adore the government."

"Well, technically we are no longer a government run organization, we're a United Nations endorsed counter-terror and espionage organization. The U.S. government has almost NO say in what we do anymore, except through U.N. channels."



"Since when did this happen, Roy? It's now that we finish getting ourselves beaten and battered that you suddenly decide to tell me this? I thought you knew better!!"



"Uh yeah, I was going to tell you earlier... but then you wrecked my bike and then Bruce got himself in all sorts of s**t because a terrorist bent on world reformation had his bastard child. Which he still needs to explain by the way... Because its WELL ESTABLISHED that you and I are the promiscuous ones in the superhero bunch... Anyway, Alan called me last week, telling me that he had recommended me to replace Sasha's knight, who died in an operation two weeks ago. I can't say no to Alan, he's like my GRANDPA."

[The Question]

"Well, technically we are no longer a government run organization, we're a United Nations endorsed counter-terror and espionage organization. The U.S. government has almost NO say in what we do anymore, except through U.N. channels."

Yeah. And who, being the richest country in the world, has a controling interest in the U.N.?

"So, about Checkmate. If the Justice League was put back together, would they get the same deal? Beating up the scary monsters on behalf of Checkmate?"

[Spider-Man9X17]

"Yes I have." Which means that, for whatever reason, the Arrow is somehow currenty involved with the Bat. But that does not concern me.

"It is fortunate you have found him. His city is tearing itself apart. I just stopped a battle between criminals and the police. Wars are breaking out on the streets since the Arrow disappeared."

"I guess were going to Gotham then. Try to get in touch with Superman, see what progress he might have made already."

[twylight]

He fell forword into some mud. He got on his knees and grabbed his back. He leaned up against a grave pretending to rest and pulled something out of his coat.

"Tell me how is Ricky? I'm not sure after what I did to his mind if he'll ever recover"

*CLICK*

Scarecrow quickly turned around and fired off three shots before the gun made more click sounds telling him it was empty.

The woman flipped back at the sound of the first shot, and ducked behind a gravestone.

One of the bullets grazed her bare right shoulder and she clenched her jaw as the burning pain shot through her. She put her hand on her belt before remembering she'd taken it off. She cursed at her 'honor' and hearing the empty clicks of the gun raced from the other side of the stone, bringing her staff up She hit his arm away, punching him with her right one.

Grabbing his collar she hauled him up to her height.

"You're going to die for what you did to him." She said her voice barely a whisper but the anger in it.

Pulling her arm back she punched him.

[Green Lantern]

Yeah. And who, being the richest country in the world, has a controling interest in the U.N.?

"So, about Checkmate. If the Justice League was put back together, would they get the same deal? Beating up the scary monsters on behalf of Checkmate?""I don't think so Vic. The whole idea behind our team is that we're a covert strikeforce, at least I think thats what Batman's trying to set up. The JLA would be too public for Checkmate operations."

[MST3K 4ever]

Lex is sitting in the guest chair on the "Eye on Metropolis" set and is greeted by Angela Chen. She sits in the host's chair as the stage manager walks by and says, "1 minute to air"

She says, "I hope this is a big announcement Lex. The Mayor was not very pleased to get bumped off the air by you."

Lex replies, "Angela my dear have I ever let you down? I think you'll be most please with this interview."

The floor manager shouts out, "We're live in 5,4,3,2,..." he cues Angela.

She says, "Good aftrnoon and welcome to 'Eye on Metropolis'. I am your host Angela Chen and I know many of you we're expecting to see Mayor Winston today. However we will reschedule that interview for another time. With us today is a person of great promenance not only Metropolis but in the world wide community. I am pleased to welcome Lex Luthor to our program. Lex welcome to the show."

Lex replies, "Thank you Angela it is always a pleasure to see you and I thank you for granting me this opportunity to speak to the people of Metropolis on such short notice."

Angela asks, "so Lex why are you here today?"

Lex replies, "Angela I am honored to be able to do so much for our city. As many of your viewers know we are making great strides in getting our fair city back on track. There is still much to do and I know the good people of Metroplis won't rest until we are once again back and better than ever. However I travel the country quite often I see the same thing. Homelessness, unemployment, criminals in the street, over-worked and underpaid police officers, an educational system that is in shambles, and our senior citizens treated like yesterday's news. I want to do so much more but I can only do so much as a private citizen." Lex looks into the camrea and continues, "As the President of the United States I know I can do so much more. I realize that some people may have some misgivings about giving me another chance, because of certain associations that I have had in the past. That was the past and I am now moving forward with my life and my willingness to serve wherever I can. To those of you with doubts about me let me say first off I am sorry for what I have done, and secondly that I will do everything I can to earn your trust once again. So there you have it Anglea I am officlly throwing my hat into the political arena once again."

Angela says, "My Lex that is certainly big news. If I recall last time though the last time you ran for the Presidency a heart attack derailed you, what can you do to assure the voters that won't happen again?"

Lex replies, "Angela I had a complete physical last week and the doctor has given me a clean bill of health. In fact he says my heart is as strong as ever and I am determined to use every beat in it to help get this country back on track."

Angela says, "Lex this certainly big news indeed and I wish to discuss it with you further when we return from our break. We'll be right back..."

The floor manager shouts, "And we're clear back in 2:30"

Just as Angela is ready to ask Lex a question his phone rings. Lex answers, "Yes."

Newsome says, "Not only did I see it, but Lex every major news outlet is on this story. Face it you were the other shoe they were all waiting for to drop. The posters and flyer will be ready within the hour, the web-site will be up in about 10 minutes, and I've got just about everyone from Mike Wallace to Katie Couric calling in and asking for a sit-down with you. I'll get to work on setting up those interviews...once we get a new press secretary our former one dropped out because of a death in the family...talk to you later" Newsome hangs up.

Lex hangs up and looks at Anglea and says, "Sorry my dear it's the wonderful world of politics."

Angela replies, "It's okay Lex. I..."

Just then the floor manager yells, "We're back in 5,4,3,2..."

Anglea says, "And welcome back my guest is Lex Luthor..Lex I have to ask you.."

Lex intreupts, "Excuse me Angela I need to ask you something...would you be interested in being my press secretary? You are more than quailfied and I have an opening on my staff...and if I am elected I guarantee you a cabinet postion...how about it?"

Angela is stunned and then smiles. She looks into the camera and says, "We need another break.....now! and we'll be back...to my final broadcast "

[Spike_x1]

He unlocked the door to Kyla's apartment and listened to it creek open. He flicked on the lightswitch and looked around. The place didn't look that bad, considering that it was situated in the Slums. Rudy closed the door as he stepped inside, not bothing to wipe his muddy shoes on the doormat. He curiously approached a bureau on the far wall and inspected the photographs adorning it. There was Kyla and her mother at a picnic, a childhood picture of her and her father as he taught her how to ride a bicycle, her graduation from Lex Luthor High School, and captured frames of her with various boyfriends that she had accumulated over the years. Rudy paused. He knew the names of every single person in those photographs, but he had never met them. He even briefly wondered, if things had been different, if he had been different, would there be a picture of him and Kyla anywhere on that bureau?

But those thoughts were immediately pushed aside. Kyla was dead now. Her life over, casually taken in by the Parasite. But there was a piece of herself that she had left behind. Jessica.

Rudy took a few deep breaths and crept into the baby's room. He didn't need to turn on the light as he already knew the layout of the room and could "see" the infant's energy signature as clear as day. He quietly stood over the child's crib and found himself simply watching her sleep.

An hour had passed before the Parasite finally came to his senses and asked, what would be to him, the most obvious question of all, "Why haven't I killed you yet, kiddo?""Sir, we have him in our sights. He's standing over the kid. Permission to remove the threat he presents?"

*************

Jones was watching the child breathe. In and out. In and out. She really was beautiful in her slumber. Then her eyes shot open and a violet glow startled the Parasite looking down at her. Something was wrong.

What sounded like a muffled energy rifle being fired came from outside the baby's window. With reflexes stolen from Rampage, Rudy turned in time to see the bright streak being shot from a marksman on the rooftop across the street. The projectile left a clean hole in the glass window and Rudy brought his hand up in an attempt to "catch" the blast. It hit squarely in the palm of his hand and it took a moment before Rudy felt the mind-numbing pain in his extremity. He looked down to his palm and watched in horror as the skin on his hand literally began to tear itself apart!

"RrraaaaaAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!"

He grabbed his wrist and stared as the skin, muscle tissue, and bone slivers shriveled up and fell away, as if they were merely sheets of paper being lit on fire and blowing away in the wind. This wasn't exactly a normal energy weapon being used against him!

More shots erupted from the adjacent rooftop, and Rudy dodged them as fast as he could. He couldn't afford to transform into his true body at the moment; even if it meant that he'd have access to the full supply of energy that he had stolen from Rampage and the other meta-criminals at the Syndicate's headquarters, it also meant that he'd be a much larger target with less room to maneuver around the small apartment. He couldn't afford to be exposed like that right now.

Suddenly, a squadron of troops, armored head to toe, burst into the room with high-tech looking guns aimed directly at Jones with laser sights. "Freeze, Parasite!"

Rudy looked at the smoldering stump that remained of his left hand, then back to the soldiers. "What are ya waitin' for, Rambo? Gimme your best shot!" With that, the troops began firing, but the Parasite did a backflip, soaring over his daughter's crib and grabbing her before landing behind it. He kicked the crib into the leader of the squadron, knocking the poor sap into the soldiers behind him. Another bolt of the strange energy being fired by the troops struck the Parasite in the shoulder, grazing him. Screaming in pain and rage, Rudy didn't bother to look at his shoulder. He already knew that his flesh was again ripping itself into tatters. "F**king tool!"

As gently as he could, Rudy cradled his child in his arms and charged at the wall of the room, sending the father and daughter into midair, several stories above the street below. He landed with a small crater, the child completely unharmed, and began running away as fast as he could. 'Why the hell am I saving your ass,' he silently asked Jessica who was now crying in his arms.

[Trigger]

The two men were hesistant to speak to Rose at first, but after she gagged the bigger one, Roy, and began slicing certain body parts with her knife, they became much more friendlier.

"Aaaagh!! Please, if you have a soul stop!" Roy cried as he watched his companion lose a finger.

"Sure, after you tell me why you chose to steal from my room. Do you know my secret?"

"Secret? We thought you were out of the apartment for chrissakes!"

Rose dropped the knife on the floor and climbed from on top of the would-be burglars. She had tied Roy to a chair and gagged him. She only pounced on top of the bigger one in order to keep him from making too much noise. She had worried that the neighboring hotel clients would notice the racket, but no one had shown up. With the realization that no one figured her out to be a fake, Rose became a little calmer.

"Good, I'll un-tie your friend and you two can scat, 'kay?"

"We can't keep the stuff?"

Rose was left dumbfounded. Did he really think he could have some of her booty? She stole this room, and she wasn't going to give up anything.

The bigger man began to cry, "Ma'am, I know you're not exactly a kind woman and all, but we really need some quick cash."

"Sounds personal..." she responded coldly.

"After most of the mobs got cleaned up our shop lost its protection, and we've fallen victims to theives and thugs."

"Again, that sound like a personal problem." Rose replied as she began to remove Roy's gag.

"We've barely got food to get by with. We figured we could pawn anything we found here and use it to buy a plane ticket or somethin' out of town. Our families can't stay in this war zone foreva."

"War zone?"

"Hell yeah! Without Batman or anybody else to really protect us we've been left helpless. Crime is so rampant outside of the east area." Roy said.

The name batman stirred up memories that seemed repressed by some strange force. She struggled to make sense of it, but the name wasn't strong enough to help her remember who Batman actually was.

"This Batman...is he around?"

"Not sure, he's been MIA or somethin', all I know is that he hasn't done jack for me. Hell, if it wasn't for that woman we'd be done for..."

"Where is this woman?"

"East Gotham."

Rose left the room immediately without checking her appearance she had somewhere to go now. East Gotham.

[Watchman]

The woman flipped back at the sound of the first shot, and ducked behind a gravestone.

One of the bullets grazed her bare right shoulder and she clenched her jaw as the burning pain shot through her. She put her hand on her belt before remembering she'd taken it off. She cursed at her 'honor' and hearing the empty clicks of the gun raced from the other side of the stone, bringing her staff up She hit his arm away, punching him with her right one.

Grabbing his collar she hauled him up to her height.

"You're going to die for what you did to him." She said her voice barely a whisper but the anger in it.

Pulling her arm back she punched him.

Scarecrow's head reeled back. Blood came from his nose but it wasn't broken. He spat up some blood and smile under the mask.

"I think I struck a nerve" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ninja star and stab her arm that was holding him.

[twylight]

Scarecrow's head reeled back. Blood came from his nose but it wasn't broken. He spat up some blood and smile under the mask.

"I think I struck a nerve" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ninja star and stab her arm that was holding him.

She grimaced but didin't giv up her gripe as anger flowed through her as she banged him against a nearby tree.

She pulled out the star and sliced it across his neck wordlessly.

[Watchman]

She grimaced but didin't giv up her gripe as anger flowed through her as she banged him against a nearby tree.

She pulled out the star and sliced it across his neck wordlessly.

Scarecrow grabbed his neck with one of his hands. Blood streak down his neck. The cut wasn't that bad and he was going to live. He was just surprised at what she just did.

"Your kind is not suppose to kill" he pulled the detonator out of his pocket "but we are" he presses the button. Explosions rock all around him.

[LibrarianThorne]

Gotham: Day One
By Clark Kent

Metropolis has seen her fair share of disasters over the years. Doomsday, Darkseid, and a dozen other catastrophes in seemingly as many years. Metropolitans are not new to suffering or despair. I like to think that is because the citizens know they have a guardian angel in the form of Superman, a friend who helps the city in its times of need. Perhaps due to his influence, Metropolis has shone brightly as America's city of the future, even during it's greatest crises.

I wonder how much is different about Gotham. Disasters do not happen in Gotham, cataclysms do. No one will ever forget the disastrous No Man's Land declared by the US government five years ago, cutting Gotham off in its time of greatest need. It took several months for aid to reach Gotham then and the hope was that such a situation would never happen again.

It is my shameful duty to report that it has. I am reporting from the center of Gotham City, and the skyline now is as damaged and dark as it was during the No Man's Land. The Army and National Guard refuse to send aid in, and another No Man's Land has been all but declared on the city.

Why, the readers may wonder. The answer is that several of Gotham's deadliest and most powerful homicidal maniacs have assumed power. The Joker, infamous murderer of thousands, fashions himself Mayor of the city. Most citizens were able to flee Gotham before the full weight of Joker and the other escapees from Arkham and Blackgate could be brought to bear. Many now assume that those left are people just as crazy as the escaped prisoners.

That assumption is wrong. There are the poor and underpirveleged in Gotham, just as in any other city, and they have stayed. I met a sixteen year old mother hiding in a back alley, and she told me she hadn't eaten in days. Clutched to her chest was a baby who itself couldn't have been more than four or five months old. There are the elderly, lonely and forgotten by American society, and many of these senior citizens simply didn't have the money to escape.

I have been in Gotham City for twenty-four hours, and in all my thirty-two years on Earth I've never seen a city in such terrible shape. If Gotham does not see the arrival of heroes, those in costumes and those who have the courage to wear none, the city itself will soon die. We, as Americans, must be ashamed that an event like this has been allowed to happen again.

************************************************** *

He sent the report across the wireless network that still surrounded and suffused Gotham, on its way to the Daily Planet editorial desk. He then put his PDA and stylus away in the small pocket on the left of his suit jacket. He stood up from the dirty stool he'd been sitting on, and brushed his clothes as clean as possible, straightening his glasses and tie as he did so. He walked out of the ruined bar, into the wan sunlight that hung around Gotham like a shroud.

He had work to do.

[twylight]

Scarecrow grabbed his neck with one of his hands. Blood streak down his neck. The cut wasn't that bad and he was going to live. He was just surprised at what she just did.

"Your kind is not suppose to kill" he pulled the detonator out of his pocket "but we are" he presses the button. Explosions rock all around him.


The woman stumbled back as the explosions ripped the ground around her, the wet mud splattering her body and sticking to her.

She caught her footing and stayed near Scarecrow, knowing he'd be where there were no explosives.

A rocks flew into the air cutting her skin and clothes as they whizzed by with force. After a few seconds the mud and dirt started to fall back to the ground, coating her in a new layer as she flipped back and picked up her belt.

Screw honor.

She held up some darts in her hand, fanning them out so Scarecrow could see.

"I don't have a kind. I don't belong anyhere."

She raced towards him.

"Don't judge me!" Taking out stars with her other hands she let them fly, they lodges in his arms and torso.

Punching him she hauled him up again and pulling his mask off, his eyes were wide in terror at the woman who held him. Her face splattered with blood and dirt that even the rain couldn't wash off.

She held up a dart.

"Poison. You know all about it. A small amount can give you pain, a larger amount can kill you. And what's between the two?" She asked as she leaned closer.

"Admit it, I've won and I hate being between the two."

She ran the dart down the edge of his cheek, drawing a thin trail of blood.

He stared at her for a second before he convulsed. She held him tighter feeling his small framed body wrack in pain before his eyes opened wide, a sigh escaped his lips before his head flopped over.

She dropped him and turned his head towards her, his eyes glazed over.

She straightened up and stared off as the rain trickled to a stop.

"I always win."

[Watchman]

The woman stumbled back as the explosions ripped the ground around her, the wet mud splattering her body and sticking to her.

She caught her footing and stayed near Scarecrow, knowing he'd be where there were no explosives.

A rocks flew into the air cutting her skin and clothes as they whizzed by with force. After a few seconds the mud and dirt started to fall back to the ground, coating her in a new layer as she flipped back and picked up her belt.

Screw honor.

She held up some darts in her hand, fanning them out so Scarecrow could see.

"I don't have a kind. I don't belong anyhere."

She raced towards him.

"Don't judge me!" Taking out stars with her other hands she let them fly, they lodges in his arms and torso.

Punching him she hauled him up again and pulling his mask off, his eyes were wide in terror at the woman who held him. Her face splattered with blood and dirt that even the rain couldn't wash off.

She held up a dart.

"Poison. You know all about it. A small amount can give you pain, a larger amount can kill you. And what's between the two?" She asked as she leaned closer.

"Admit it, I've won and I hate being between the two."

She ran the dart down the edge of his cheek, drawing a thin trail of blood.

He stared at her for a second before he convulsed. She held him tighter feeling his small framed body wrack in pain before his eyes opened wide, a sigh escaped his lips before his head flopped over.

She dropped him and turned his head towards her, his eyes glazed over.

She straightened up and stared off as the rain trickled to a stop.

"I always win."

There was only darkness. It had to been hours he awoke on stone steps. His head was pounding and his arms were tied to his back. It was still raining and he was soaking wet. He heard footsteps coming closer and closer until there was a pair of shoes right next to his head. One of the shoes gave a kick to the head which didn't help his headache.

"Well well well what do we have?"

"Looks like an old friend"

"Welcome home Dr. Crane". Two different sets of hands grab each one of his shoulders and dragged him through the door. Crane looked up and saw a sign which read:

ARKHAM ASYLUM

He was dragged down a long dark hallway and thrown into the last cell. A guard cut the ropes holding Crane's arms together and he raise it in the air out toward the window. He could see Gotham out there and the he covered it with his palm.

"We'll get you my pretty...Gotham will remember fear" he said quietly. The doctors put him in a straight and threw him in a chair.

"Be afraid be very afraid"

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/AgentClarkNova/news_1886_1.jpg

[Speedball]

I crossed the line. I went too far, much further than Bruce ever went. I killed someone.
Out of rage, out of sorrow, out of hate for those who hurt me and my family, I murdered Pamela Isley, also known as Poison Ivy, a super-villain. That led me down a path of darkness and anger, and I hurt people who cared about me and wanted to help me.
I cut them off in my mind, they only made me angrier. I blew up my friend’s house, tried to kill many others. But I snapped out of it before I could hurt anyone else. I ran away, tried to do some soul searching. I came to terms with my fathers’ death and with what I had done to that poor woman. I promised myself that I would makeup for her death by helping all the people I possibly could. My mission was to defend people from people like her, and to help those who caused harm as well. To try to help them see what they had done was wrong.
When I returned to Gotham, things had happened, bad things. The city was under control of the Joker and many others under his command. If there was one person in this world that I couldn’t help, it would be him. I tried to help the citizens, but I got too overwhelmed. When I contacted my former associate, Batman, he told me to lay low until he and the Outsiders had returned to Gotham.
So that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m Tim Drake for the time being. And I’m waiting for Bruce to give me the go ahead to join him and take back the city.

[twylight]

The door to the apartment flew open as the woman walked slowly in.

The mud sliding off her damp body and globbing on the floor beneath her. The apartmenet air felt cool to her skin wet in rain and blood and she shivered slightly as she pulled off her boots. She dropped them in a pile on the floor, they were soon followed by the rest of her outfit. The gray cloth stained with blood as she dropped it into the trashcan. She lay her bow, quiver and belt on the table and walked quietly to the bathroom, turning the shower on she let the steam fill the tiny room before she took down a bottle and pour it's contents into the running water. It released a musky vanilla scent into the air as she breathed deeping.

She pulled off her undergraments and stepped into the shower, careful of her open wounds she washed them clean. She leaned her head back and let the water run through her long dark hair, turning it black.

The woman sighed, plastic of the shower wall. A lone tear fell from her eye, mingling with the shower water which set like dew on her face and shoulders.


Stepping out she dried off and pulled out a medical kit. She opened the bathroom door and allowed the steam to escape, turning to the rapidly defogging mirror she looked at herself in the mirror and took inventory.

Cut in the left shoulder, scrape on the right, variosu cuts and scrapes over her face and arms.

She looked down at her left arm and the large cut there. She'd had the Doctor in charge of Ricky patch that one up before she went home. The stiches smmed to be holding up well.

She picked up the rubbing alcohol and dabbed some on a cotton ball.
It was going to be a long haul.

[Speedball]

I need more equipment, so i headed toward the ruins of Wayne Manor when Bruce told me to lay low.
I can't believe I was capable of something like this. As I head toward the entrance to the Cave, I try to take in the destruction I have caused, and wonder how Bruce can even forgive me. I guess that's the good thing about him. Even though he may seem like a jerk at first, once you get to know him though, you can see he cares for everyone and tries to help others even though they might beat the crap out of him.
I need more Bo staffs, batarangs, flashbangs, a new cape, and I need to find out all i can about this woman I keep hearing about on the News.
I still can't believe through all this chaos and destruction, the news crews are still broadcasting and put themselves in harm's way just to tell the Nation about what is happening in Gotham. People say Heroes are brave, but people like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, who constantly go out there with no training or powers, are braver than us.
I find nothing about this mystery woman reportedly patroling Gotham, taking out many of the villians that the Joker has working for him. There are no pictures. Nothing, no one even knows what she looks like, just that she exist. Reminds me of when I was a little kid, and all these reports about Batman came out. No one knew whatr he looked like, just that he would pop up when you needed him the most.
As I leave the Manor, I head toward the Robin's Nest, my home away from home. It's more of a safe house that Bruce set up for me on nights I patrol alone. After I left Gotham, Bruce took all the Equipment back to the cave, thus for my reason to go there. He left my computers though, and hopefully I can find out more about the mystery woman while I wait for him to arrive(If he ever get here).

[wiegeabo]

"I guess were going to Gotham then. Try to get in touch with Superman, see what progress he might have made already."

"If we are going to look for the Arrow and Bat in Gotham, we need to move quickly. This city is ripping itself apart. If what we heard about Gotham from Superman is correct, Star City may not be far behind. Likely the only thing keeping this city up is the lack of villain that Gotham constantly faces."

With that, Rayner and I rush off to the otherside of the country.

[Speedball]

While on my way to the Robin's nest, i ran into some trouble. I was attacked by some of the Joker's goons. So much for lying low. Now that the Joker has the Taxpayers money, he can afford to give his guys new and improved equipment. The bikes they had were almost as good as mine, almost. The only thing that stopped me was one of them shot my tire.
I backflipped off my bike and land on my feet, should've called myself Catman(too bad it's taken). I hit knocked out when i hit him with my staff while he was going about 50 mph. The other two got off their bikes, he one with the gun kept shooting. He had to go down first.
I slide down under him and take out his footing, then I brought him down with my staff. The other I kicked in the head. as i was finishing off the last one. the one with the gun got up, got on his bike and drove off, probably toward the Mayor's office.
I head toward the Nest. I have to tell Batman that the Joker knows i'm here and that he'll be looking for me.
As I arrive there, I find a note on the door.

"Ivy is alive, but not well. Speak to Dr. Thompkin's, she will tell you where she is."
WHAT!? I can't believe this. I'm not sure what is going on through my mind. I can't tell if it's happiness that the woman I murdered was alive, or anger that she was alive, and all I had done was because of her fake death. I had to go see her. To ask for forgiveness if she was really murdered by my hand, and she was resurrected by some higher power. Or if she had faked her death. First to call Dr. Thompkins......

Wait just a moment. That note was on my door. No one knows about this place except for people who are out of town. I have to get out of here. Nowhere in Gotham is safe for me now. Guess Lying low can't happen when your're a superhero in a town about to explode in violence.

[Keyser Soze]

"Thats it?.....You want me to play super cop?....Ok...guess I could have some fun with that. BUT I WANT A FRAGIN BADGE! hehehe....no seriously. I hope you know this aint gona be cheap, usualy I do free gigs if I get to squash on some fanboy like Supes, or Bats, but seein as how the "hero boys" don't like playin in Gotham no more......this one is gona cost ya.......you sure you can afford it? I mean, what kind of funds are we lookin at here? How much power does the mayor realy have?"

"Trust me, you'll get your money. Let's just say I have a very wealthy sponsor. Now, if you excuse me, I have a nation to address. HA HA!"

[Red]

Two identical ninja’s scramble across the floor caring Ra’s behind them. They came out a small tunnel into a large circular room with a pit of green bubbling liquid in the centre. The two wadded into the pool and dropped Ra’s. They looked on nervously as they waited for their master to resurface. Minutes pasted, but nothing, the water remained still no bubbles surfaced not even a single ripple.

Suddenly there was a thunderous roar and Ra’s emerged from the Lazarus Pit. The green liquid dripped down his body.

http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/btas/episodes/demonsquestp2/02.jpg

Panting like a wilding animal he lunged forward and garbed one of the ninja’s at the throat, and then tossed him across the room. Ra’s raised his fist to his mouth and whipped away drool that had amassed on his face. He pulled himself back and regained his sophistication.

“Report” ordered Ra’s still gasping for breath.

Stunned the remaining ninja’s stuttered his answer “f, fifty-six injured nine critical Master, the fire within the base as been extinguished and transport to the alpha site in the Balkans will be finished at sunset."

“The Detective?”

“He and his comrades have retreated to GothamCity…master Ibn is still with them.”

Ra’s hand stroked down his beard, his greatest adversary had taken his heir. The boy he hoped to shape in his own image and one day continue his own legacy had been taken from him. Ra’s mind fell back to contingency plan a half smile crept up his face.

“Have you made contact with Talia?”

“Her location remains unknown master.”

“Continue the search and report any sighting to me.” Ra’s began to make his way out of the room when the ninja interrupted his exit.

“There is one more matter master.” He paused. “Lex Luthor has announced plans to contend for presidency of America.”

Ra’s looked back over his shoulder.


http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/btas/bios/rasalghul/06.jpg

“An interesting development…gather fifty men and prepare my jet for Metropolises.”

[Batman]

http://www.gortner.com/batman/croc.gif


"Been a long time. Wouldn't ya say, Boy?"


This was the last thing that Nightwing had time for. Gotham City was under seige, and Batman was busy with a potentially global crisis, so He and Robin were really the only defense that Gotham had, to his knowledge.

Of course, that didn't stop Dick from jumping once Killer Croc swung his large tail at him. Flipping through the air, Nightwing bounced on Croc's back, making the beast yell out in pain, before landing behind him and kicking him in the back of his legs. Croc jumped, before spinning, growling. Nightwing immediatley unsheathed his esrcima sticks.

"Funny. I was just thinking the same thing. Except I also wished it could've been longer..."

Croc leaped forward, angrily. Spinning, Nightwing connected his foot to Croc's jaw, before slamming one of his escrima sticks into Croc's throat. Croc fell back, into the slime of the sewers, as Nightwing stood above him.

"I'd stay down if I were you. You damn well know how this ended last time."

Nightwing noticed Croc beginning to growl again, as he pushed himself up, slime dripping from his face.

"Lucky shots, Kid. Nothin' more. This time, I'm gonna eat yer bones clean!"

Nightwing smirked.

"Your mistake."

Croc lunged again, heading at Nightwing with full force. Before Nightwing could attack, He paused, taking an interesting fact in. Killer Croc's reaction time had gone down considerably well since they had last fought. Last time, Dick had trouble keeping up with Croc's brutal attacks. This time... It was like fighting another pathetic thug on the streets.

There was something wrong.

Nightwing came back to his senses just in time to duck as Croc swiped a clawed hand at him. Taking a few small jabs at Croc's abdominal area, Nightwing twirled one of his esrcima sticks before forcing it upward, hitting Croc underneath his jaw. As Croc grunted, Nightwing spun with his leg held out, tripping Croc and sending him into a wall.

Instead of continuing the attack, Nightwing dropped the sticks, and walked over to the now slightly dazed Waylon Jones. Grabbing him by the torn, blood stained shirt that Croc wore, Nightwing picked him up off of the ground... As hard as it was, considering Croc's size.

"And just what was that, Croc? You're better than that."

Croc wreathed, obviously trying to look away.

"Go... ta hell..."

Now Nightwing knew something was wrong. Croc wasn't being himself. It was almost as if...

Nightwing grabbed his wrist. Croc's eyes widened.

"Hey! What do ya think yer-"

Nightwing's eyes widened, seeing Croc's veins. They were strangley colored. As if he had been pumped with something.

A steroid? Not likely, considering Croc wouldn't have been nearly as weak if he had taken one. Infact, He probably could've killed me. But if that wasn't it...

Nightwing looked back at Croc's face.

"I'm not the first person you've encountered recently, am I?"

Croc didn't say anything. Nightwing grabbed harder at his shirt, slightly choking him.

"Who did this to you?"

"I dun... I dun know what yer talkin' ab-"

"WHO DID THIS TO YOU?"

"I... I... I dun know who did it!"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I... figgered it was one'na... yer mask wearin' pals."

Dick's eyebrow arched, under the mask. One of the Bat-Squad drugged him? That didn't seem right... It didn't fit the style of any one of Gotham's vigilantes. Nightwing loosened his grip.

"Describe the person."

"...Yer serious?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"..."

"...It was'a... er... Chick. Dark hair. Mask... Exotic dame. I'da done nasssty things ta her if she hadn'ta beat my ass..."

Nightwing ignored Croc's crude comment as he tried to think of anyone who fit that description. Dark hair and exotic left out the possibility of Barbara... 'Batwoman', apparently, as Bruce had told him before all of this started. It also left out Stephanie Brown, The Spoiler. That left two...

"Did she wear purple? Have a crossbow?"

"You seriously expect me ta answer-"

Nightwing gave Croc a glare.

"...No."

It wasn't the Huntress, then. That left two remaining candidates. Batgirl, also known as Cassandra Cain... And Lady Shiva. They had worked together... And Shiva was known for pulling some pretty weird stuff, at least from Dick's point of view. Was it possible?

Nightwing looked at Croc. He had fought Shiva... And Cassandra, but Cassandra wore a mask, on that occasion. However, there was something else that bothered him. Cassandra and Shiva had been contacted by Bruce... And they weren't even near Gotham City. Not only that, but they wouldn't have had enough time to come back...

It wasn't anyone he knew.

"And you didn't recognise her?"

"What're ya, dense? Don't ya think I would'a told ya by now?"

This guessing game was getting really old, really fast. Nightwing grabbed Croc once more.

"Where did she drug you?"

"Oh, for the love'a... Arkham! Scarecrow took over... I was his bodyguard... She came... I was drugged and locked up! Managed to dig a hole through my cell and get down here before your little twerp ass got ta me..."

Nightwing dropped Croc, before spinning, and kicking him across the head, sending his head into the back of the wall. He was out cold from that moment. Grabbing Croc's arms and legs, Nightwing hog-tied him with a steel cable, before leaving him.

If Arkham was that easy to escape, Croc would be better off down here, until this ended. But that was far from Dick's mind, as he went to retrieve his motorcycle and helmet.

There was someone else out there. Another vigilante... One that was willing to drug her victims. Whoever she was... That was enough to convince Nightwing that he needed to find out. Before she really hurt someone...

[twylight]

The quiet shuffle of papers came from the half cracked door as the woman delicately flipped through the papers. She leaned back in the leather chair of the office, in one of the dark buildingd of Gothams uptown as she glanced over the figures.

She smiled, the curve of her lips only visible on one side as her hair hid the other.
She leaned back and laced her fingers through her long bangs.

Ricky had done his job well.
According to these, he hadn’t just bought up the Gotham Wayne Enterprises stock, he’d bought up all the plummeting stock of all companies in Gotham City. She placed the papers down on the desk and smiled. He’d done everything perfectly.

She didn’t just think she owned Gotham City. She did own Gotham City. Won’t someone have a problem with that.

The woman replaced the files and stood up, her long dark hair black against her crisp white outfit. Her midriff and arms were bare, her forearms wrapped in white clothe tape. Her black belt hung loosely over her white pants. The fabric tight against her thighs before flaring out at the knee over her soft boots.

She slipped out the window and let herself fall gracefully off the ledge, her white lower face mask covering her features. Shooting out a line she let it catch her before landing on the street below.

The scattered shounds of shattering glass and screams filled the night.

The snake without a head was wriggling in death spasms.

[MST3K 4ever]

Lex & Mercy stroll into the Lexcorp offices riding high on his latest hiring. He waves to the employees who are giving him a thumbs up or applauding.

They enter his private elevator and enter the security code. His phone rings and it Senator Newsome.

Newsome says, "We faxed over the tax forms to Angela she should be on the Lexcorp plane to here in DC within the next couple of hours. Are you sure about her Lex?"

Lex replies, "Rarely have I ever been so sure about anything Dennis. Angela Chen knows how to work the media almost as well as I do and she is a master of spin control. Not to mention if you get her in a corner she will come out fighting and fighting dirty. No holds barred she could make a Preist confess to any sin in the book. Once I am elected she will be my press secretary, and of course you will be awarded with a post as well in the White House."
They exit the elevator and notice Brenda is not at the desk. Mercy and Lex stop and look at each other.

Lex then says, "Dennis I need to take care of something here at Lexcorp call me once Angela arrives." He hangs up the phone.

He sees his office door is partialy open and nods at Mercy. She steps to the door and pushes it open the rest of the way. Her mouth opens slowly and she stares at Lex and nods to the office.

Lex enters the office and sees sitting behind his desk staring out at the window...Ras-Al-Goul.

Lex blinks twice and sees a bottle of Red Wine sitting on the desk with two glasses.

Lex looks at Mercy and says, "Wait outside. If anyone comes within 3 feet of the front door try to make it look like an accident."

Mercy nods and leaves. Lex approaches Ras and asks, "Not that it is of overwhelming concern, but where is my secretary?"

Ras replies, "She was called away to another department in the other tower. It bought me enough time to enter in here unseen. I have a proposal for you Alexander are you interested?". He pours two glasses of wine and offers one to Lex

Lex takes the glass and says, "I am always interested in new partnerships. Especially when they involve men of your stature Ras. Please continue you have my interest."

[Trigger]

Rose left the hotel in hurry. Rose had grabbed a pair of white high heels on the way out of the suite. She straightened out her white dress in the elevator, and smoothed out her hair as she exited the building. That name: Batman, had stirred so many of the memories in her head into motion. She could hear people saying the words, she could feel herself at one time saying the words, but the man behind the words and the name itself were lost to her. He would remain a simple pronoun in her head until she met him.

As Rose walked down the street in the general direction of Eastern Gotham, she found herself daydreaming. Surely she had walked down these very streets herself at one time? She could feel a slight twitch deep down in her mind that told her she needed to do something about this chaos, but she was too numb to truly feel it.

She stopped to take a look at her current location. The street sign read: Advent Lane, and farther down the street she could hear the sounds of gunshots and fists pounding flesh. Rose looked up into the sky and the closed her eyes. Her head still lifted high, she took in the smell and sounds of Gotham.

"Why? Why revive me and then place me in this trash heap of a city? Got a plan up your sleeves? I'd sure like to know it." Rose wondered aloud.

[Red]

Lex & Mercy stroll into the Lexcorp offices riding high on his latest hiring. He waves to the employees who are giving him a thumbs up or applauding.

They enter his private elevator and enter the security code. His phone rings and it Senator Newsome.

Newsome says, "We faxed over the tax forms to Angela she should be on the Lexcorp plane to here in DC within the next couple of hours. Are you sure about her Lex?"

Lex replies, "Rarely have I ever been so sure about anything Dennis. Angela Chen knows how to work the media almost as well as I do and she is a master of spin control. Not to mention if you get her in a corner she will come out fighting and fighting dirty. No holds barred she could make a Preist confess to any sin in the book. Once I am elected she will be my press secretary, and of course you will be awarded with a post as well in the White House."
They exit the elevator and notice Brenda is not at the desk. Mercy and Lex stop and look at each other.

Lex then says, "Dennis I need to take care of something here at Lexcorp call me once Angela arrives." He hangs up the phone.

He sees his office door is partialy open and nods at Mercy. She steps to the door and pushes it open the rest of the way. Her mouth opens slowly and she stares at Lex and nods to the office.

Lex enters the office and sees sitting behind his desk staring out at the window...Ras-Al-Goul.

Lex blinks twice and sees a bottle of Red Wine sitting on the desk with two glasses.

Lex looks at Mercy and says, "Wait outside. If anyone comes within 3 feet of the front door try to make it look like an accident."

Mercy nods and leaves. Lex approaches Ras and asks, "Not that it is of overwhelming concern, but where is my secretary?"

Ras replies, "She was called away to another department in the other tower. It bought me enough time to enter in here unseen. I have a proposal for you Alexander are you interested?". He pours two glasses of wine and offers one to Lex

Lex takes the glass and says, "I am always interested in new partnerships. Especially when they involve men of your stature Ras. Please continue you have my interest."

“Our goals are similar Alexander. You seek power over man and I purification.” Ra’s took a sip of his wine.

“I see that you are dabbling in politics once again and if you were elected President, this could benefit us both greatly.”

“And what is it you suggest?”

“You allow me to operate my activities more freely within your nation and assist me with your resources when needed. In return Alexander you and your nation will be immune and you will have full reign of a "New America."

[MST3K 4ever]

“Our goals are similar Alexander. You seek power over man and I purification.” Ra’s took a sip of his wine.

“I see that you are dabbling in politics once again and if you were elected President, this could benefit us both greatly.”

“And what is it you suggest?”

“You allow me to operate my activities more freely within your nation and assist me with your resources when needed. In return Alexander you and your nation will be immune and you will have full reign of a "New America."

Lex looks at Ras for a moment and then raises his glass and Ras raises his as well. The two men toast and Lex says, "I accept your offer, and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship."

The two men take drinks from their glasses and Lex says, "I just need some kind of notice when you are planning something so I can make any arrangments on your behalf."

Ras nods and Lex looks at his watch and says, "Now if you will excuse me I have a meeting with a couple of my advisors on how the campagin should go over the next couple of weeks. I will make sure Brenda is detained and the other tower for the next 20 minutes. That should more than by you enough time to leave unseen once again."

Lex sticks his hand out and Ras shakes it. Lex says, "I think it safe to say that you'll be in touch. Until then have a safe trip and may it be bat-free."

Ras smiles slyly at Lex as Lex leaves the office.

[Watchman]

Captain Cold was putting the final touches on his brand new freeze guns. He lost his old one during the siege on Keystone. Him and the Rogues were working for Luthor and all they got from working for Luthor was getting bruised and broken. Many of the Rogues were injured or were captured. They were at a new time low but it was also a new beginning. They were going to show people how dangerous the Rogues turly are. No more just robbing banks or diamonds they were going to take it to the next level. He picks up his two freeze guns and puts them in his holsters. He goes into the next room and sees what is rest of the Rogues were. McCulloch and Weather Wizard were playing cards while Trickster was watching TV. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and went to the table where playing cards.

"Ok boys it's time to get to work"

"What do ye have in mind" came a voice behind Weather Wizard turned around and saw Mirror Master in a mirror behind him looking at his cards.

"You dirty cheater" Weather Wizard shouts and points his wand at the mirror. Cold slams his face on the table.

"I said it's time to get to work" he said sternly. The two quite down and Mirror Master walked through the mirror. Trickster was peering over the couch.

"And I'm not taking about some bank job or something we are going to do something big"

"Like what?" Trickster asked

"I'm getting to that. Us Rogues belong to a pack. A pack of other guys just like us that is headed by some Alpha males. Now guys like us stick to smaller jobs and get busted pretty easily. Now these alpha males that rule the pack get away with big jobs they don't even get caught and they push the rest of the pack around. Now let's say that some of that pack decide to challange the alpha male. When they do and win they rule the pack. What we have to do is challange an alpha male. When the Rogues beat this alpha male they are going to be on top. We won't be just some bank robbers from Keystone we'll be the one of the most powerful groups in this country"

"So who do we hit?"

Cold took out a small piece of paper. "Take a look at this". The rest looked at it and smiled.

[Spike_x1]

"Shut up for cryin' out loud!"

Even with the combined intelligence of thousands of his victims, Rudy Jones could not find an answer to a very troublesome problem that he was having at the moment: How to get a baby girl to stop crying.

Without killing her, that is.

He had tried to shapeshift into some funny faces for her while in the cover of a dark alley. He had tried to make a cool looking lightshow for her with his glowing eyes. He had even considered doing such mundane activities as playing pattycake with Jessica before remembering that he currently only had one hand.

"Oy. I need some f'ing energy." Rudy looked at his daugher who was wailing from on top of a pile of rags in the alley, "Cripes, I'm even swearing less now that I've got you around me all the time." He looked at the blackened stump protruding from his left arm. 'What the hell were those weapons that those jerks were blasting at me?' he wondered. 'I wonder if I can...' He grasped his wrist and closed his eyes to concentrate. He could feel something happening in what was left of his arm. He opened his eyes and watched as, first the bone splinters, then the veins and the skin began to regrow, rebuilding his arm. It looked like burning flesh, only shown in reverse. Once the forearm was fully regenerated, the Parasite wiped the sweat from his brow. Rebuilding his body had exhausted huge quantities of his energy reserves whenever he had tried it in the past. "I guess my new body is still limited in that area, at least," he said to himself.

Suddenly a squad car marked with Metropolis' Special Crimes Unit's logo shot by the opening of the alley with its siren blaring and lights flashing. Startled, Jones picked up Jessica and leapt behind a dumpster. When the patrol car's noise finally faded, Rudy breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't spotted him. Noticing the absence of mind-numbing crying, he looked down at his daughter in his arms and found her smiling up at him. Warmly.

"Don't look at me like that, kid." Rudy looked away from the runt. "If there's gonna be any more of those soldiers comin' after us, then I'll need a whole lot more energy than what I've got right now in order to fight back. There's only one place that I can think of for us to go to for shelter, and it ain't gonna be a comfortable experience, believe me."

[Charlie No-One]

Catwoman had made her way back to the East End. The mob was gone and her secret was secret again, but she had killed and destroyed. Her old problems faded, but new ones rose. There was no one to talk to; make her feel like she did nothing wrong. Holly was slaughtered by Black Mask. Karon couldn’t take the news and killed herself shortly after. Bruce didn’t care about any of that and left Selina alone. News on the street was a new female vigilante was messing up Gotham. Moments ago, one thug told Catwoman that Black Mask was hanging on the “Welcome to Gotham” sign. *****. I should have gotten to him first. Selina sat down on the ledge of the East End Theater and watched her life wither slowly away.

[twylight]

The night sped by, her movements automatic and she stopped counting the muggers, looters, thugs and rapists after the number hit double digits.

She wrapped her arm around her bo staff; its end firmly planted on the asphalt and rested it in the nitch of her right elbow as she unwrapped her left arm to check the stitches. Pulling out some salve from her belt she paused, the green goo in her hand as a memory flittered across her mind. Slathering it on her wound she paused at the sound of screaming. Spinning around she ran towards it, her bo staff in her hand and the white fabric held tightly in her hand. Coming around the corner she found herself face to face with another mugger.

Closing her bo staff she fastened it to her belt and grabbed her bandage in one hand as she threw it over the mans head, catching his throat she yanked him back and brought her knee up into his back.

Letting loss the bandage she let him fall back before stabbing two fingers into his neck and watching as his body went limp.

The woman moved her eyes and glanced over at who she’d saved, half-expecting a female, but seeing a young man instead. She ignored him and leaved over, withdrawing a small ivory pen knife from between her breasts and flicking it open.

“Who are you?” The man asked.

She ignored him and grabbed the mans limp wrist, flipping it over to the soft underside she carefully scored an ‘X’ into his skin, the red blood dripping to the ground.

“What are you..? Hey!”

The man lunged forward and the woman held her arm up, blocking him as she snapped the knife shut, her back to him.

“Go home.”

“What the **** do you think you’re doing? You’re ******** crazy you know that?” He screamed as he pushed her arm down and came around to face her.

She kept her head down, her long hair falling forward and covering the upper part of her face her white mask didn’t hide, as she slowly and methodically started to re-wrap her arm.

“You ‘marked’ him? What kind of sick sadistic **-“

She hand reached out and grabbed him by the throat as she brought her head up.

“I saved your life. If you think you had a better chance of doing it yourself you shouldn’t have screamed like a little girl”

She released him and he dropped to his knees gasping for air. She finished wrapping her arm, weaving the fabric down her forearms and over her hands and knuckles like a boxers.


“I’m not here to baby sit like Gotham is used to.”

She then moved to her right hand, snugging up the wrapping around it before turning, her long hair swishing behind her.


Catwoman had made her way back to the East End. The mob was gone and her secret was secret again, but she had killed and destroyed. Her old problems faded, but new ones rose. There was no one to talk to; make her feel like she did nothing wrong. Holly was slaughtered by Black Mask. Karon couldn’t take the news and killed herself shortly after. Bruce didn’t care about any of that and left Selina alone. News on the street was a new female vigilante was messing up Gotham. Moments ago, one thug told Catwoman that Black Mask was hanging on the “Welcome to Gotham” sign. *****. I should have gotten to him first. Selina sat down on the ledge of the East End Theater and watched her life wither slowly away.

“Not exactly where I expected to find Gotham Cities resident female.”

The woman stood, her weight on one leg as she leaned lazily against her bo staff on the roof behind Catwoman.

[Spider-Man9X17]

Kyle hovered above Gotham City, looking down on the once proud city. It looked like something out of a movie, something from the end of the world.

"God, I have been gone a long time."

He turned on his communicator.

"Superman, this is Kyle. Sinestro and I are outside of Gotham City. What's your position?"