The "World Of Heroes" DC RPG Season V

[MaskedManJRK]

The Batarang stuck in The Joker's wrist.

"YAAAAAAAA! Don't be a playa hater, whitey!"

Instead of dropping the trigger, The Joker's hand cramped, pressing the detonator button.

"Whoopsie."

I miscalculated. Again.

AGAIN.

Now it's caused...how many people to die? How many men, women...children...families?

"...No..."

I stare into Joker's empty eyes, his inhuman grin. My fists clench. I run towards him, punishment on my mind.

"NO!"

I grab him by the collar and throw a brick wall of a punch to his face. I notice teeth coming out and I wonder for a moment how many of those have flown away from his unnatural smile over the years. He must have dentures at this point.

He falls to the ground and I stomp on his privates. His torso rises from the blow and I grab him by the collar so that I could put my hands on his throat. I'm not going to kill him, but I want to make him feel what it must be to die before I put him in a deep, deep hole where he can't harm a human being ever again.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I miscalculated. Again.

AGAIN.

Now it's caused...how many people to die? How many men, women...children...families?

"...No..."

I stare into Joker's empty eyes, his inhuman grin. My fists clench. I run towards him, punishment on my mind.

"NO!"

I grab him by the collar and throw a brick wall of a punch to his face. I notice teeth coming out and I wonder for a moment how many of those have flown away from his unnatural smile over the years. He must have dentures at this point.

He falls to the ground and I stomp on his privates. His torso rises from the blow and I grab him by the collar so that I could put my hands on his throat. I'm not going to kill him, but I want to make him feel what it must be to die before I put him in a deep, deep hole where he can't harm a human being ever again.

With a flick of the wrist, The Joker produced a switch-blade from under his sleeve. He swiped the blade outwards, slashing Batman across the face. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, The Joker pushed himself away from Batman, coughing blood and retching from the pain of the kick to the groin.

Then he spotted Gordon. Lunging forward, The Joker grabbed Gordon and pulled him in front of him, holding the knife against his throat.

"I don't think...ack....you want to take risks about how my hand's gonna move again...eh, Batsy?"

The Joker forced a grin, his teeth stained red with blood. Scarecrow and Two-Face gathered behind him, and they all backed away towards the front door of the GCPD.

"This isn't over. We'll be meeting again...real soon."

As Scarecrow pushed the door open, The Joker smashed a smoke grenade against the floor, and gave Gordon a kick in the ass, sending him flying forward into Batman. By the time the smoke had cleared, the three villains were gone.

 

[MaskedManJRK]

With a flick of the wrist, The Joker produced a switch-blade from under his sleeve. He swiped the blade outwards, slashing Batman across the face. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, The Joker pushed himself away from Batman, coughing blood and retching from the pain of the kick to the groin.

Then he spotted Gordon. Lunging forward, The Joker grabbed Gordon and pulled him in front of him, holding the knife against his throat.

"I don't think...ack....you want to take risks about how my hand's gonna move again...eh, Batsy?"

The Joker forced a grin, his teeth stained red with blood. Scarecrow and Two-Face gathered behind him, and they all backed away towards the front door of the GCPD.

"This isn't over. We'll be meeting again...real soon."

As Scarecrow pushed the door open, The Joker smashed a smoke grenade against the floor, and gave Gordon a kick in the ass, sending him flying forward into Batman. By the time the smoke had cleared, the three villains were gone.

I watch as the three villians disapear. I, as calmly as I can, push Jim off of me and stand up.

I want to remain in control. I want to keep everything inside. I want to calmly, coldly, track The Joker down and arrest him.

I want to.

But it's gone.

I somehow find myself grabbing on of the chairs near the desks and throwing it through the window.

"GODDAMNIT!"

I find myself near the desk and pushing everything off and pushing the desk over. I drop to my knees and find myself pounding onto the wood until it breaks apart.

I imagine what has happened. I see in my mind all of the men and women and children dead on the ruined streets, horrible grins spread on their faces so wide that it actually rips into the rest of their faces, leaving nothing of what they were behind.

I grab another desk and throw it, crashing into the wall. The last of my strength taken, I find myself leaning onto the wall and sliding down. No matter how hard I try, I can't get myself to stop. I finally find myself mumbling.

"No. No. All those people. All those people dead. Dead. Because of me. Because of me."

 

[Keyser Soze]

I watch as the three villians disapear. I, as calmly as I can, push Jim off of me and stand up.

I want to remain in control. I want to keep everything inside. I want to calmly, coldly, track The Joker down and arrest him.

I want to.

But it's gone.

I somehow find myself grabbing on of the chairs near the desks and throwing it through the window.

"GODDAMNIT!"

I find myself near the desk and pushing everything off and pushing the desk over. I drop to my knees and find myself pounding onto the wood until it breaks apart.

I imagine what has happened. I see in my mind all of the men and women and children dead on the ruined streets, horrible grins spread on their faces so wide that it actually rips into the rest of their faces, leaving nothing of what they were behind.

I grab another desk and throw it, crashing into the wall. The last of my strength taken, I find myself leaning onto the wall and sliding down. No matter how hard I try, I can't get myself to stop. I finally find myself mumbling.

"No. No. All those people. All those people dead. Dead. Because of me. Because of me."

"It wasn't your fault, Batman. It was him. It's always...him!"

Gordon placed a tentative hand on Batman's shoulder, an attempt to offer some kind of comfort.

"Remember when...when Sarah was killed? I blamed myself for that, but you kept on telling me that he was responsible, and him alone. You told me enough times, that I finally started to believe it."

Was this what Batman and Gordon's relationship had become? Taking turns to comfort each other in the aftermath of The Joker's latest atrocity. Both of them teetering ever closer to the edge of oblivion...

"This is The Joker. You know him...better than anyone. You know he'd have flicked that trigger anyway, as soon as the notion took him. The citizens of this city, the ones who still have their lives, would be grateful, because you did something nobody else had the courage to do. You tried. You tried to stop him. And even though...even though we....failed....at least now he's used the weapon. He can't hold that over our heads anymore."

Gordon sat down against the wall next to Batman, his hand still on his shoulder. Now he was at eye-level with the man he'd been through so much with.

"So we need to get back up on our feet....and find them. Find him. And bring an end to this madness."

 

[MaskedManJRK]

"It wasn't your fault, Batman. It was him. It's always...him!"

Gordon placed a tentative hand on Batman's shoulder, an attempt to offer some kind of comfort.

"Remember when...when Sarah was killed? I blamed myself for that, but you kept on telling me that he was responsible, and him alone. You told me enough times, that I finally started to believe it."

Was this what Batman and Gordon's relationship had become? Taking turns to comfort each other in the aftermath of The Joker's latest atrocity. Both of them teetering ever closer to the edge of oblivion...

"This is The Joker. You know him...better than anyone. You know he'd have flicked that trigger anyway, as soon as the notion took him. The citizens of this city, the ones who still have their lives, would be grateful, because you did something nobody else had the courage to do. You tried. You tried to stop him. And even though...even though we....failed....at least now he's used the weapon. He can't hold that over our heads anymore."

Gordon sat down against the wall next to Batman, his hand still on his shoulder. Now he was at eye-level with the man he'd been through so much with.

"So we need to get back up on our feet....and find them. Find him. And bring an end to this madness."

I listen to Jim consolation and as I do I pull myself back together. I put myself back in control.

I stand up and extend my hand to pull Gordon up with me.

"You're right. I'm going out there to find the bastard. We should get the emergency teams together, find the place where Joker's bomb detonated and try to clear the area up. Maybe we might be able to save some lives over there.

"I'll call you when I find him."

I walk out of the building, take my grappling hook, and leap onto the rooftops.

I will find him. And God help him when I do.

 

[Karem-Knight]

With a flick of the wrist, The Joker produced a switch-blade from under his sleeve. He swiped the blade outwards, slashing Batman across the face. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, The Joker pushed himself away from Batman, coughing blood and retching from the pain of the kick to the groin.

Then he spotted Gordon. Lunging forward, The Joker grabbed Gordon and pulled him in front of him, holding the knife against his throat.

"I don't think...ack....you want to take risks about how my hand's gonna move again...eh, Batsy?"

The Joker forced a grin, his teeth stained red with blood. Scarecrow and Two-Face gathered behind him, and they all backed away towards the front door of the GCPD.

"This isn't over. We'll be meeting again...real soon."

As Scarecrow pushed the door open, The Joker smashed a smoke grenade against the floor, and gave Gordon a kick in the ass, sending him flying forward into Batman. By the time the smoke had cleared, the three villains were gone.

Gotham City:

The three out laws of Gotham City got into their van, Two-Face driving, Scarecrow at the back of it and The Joker bleeding heavily on the passengers seat.

Harvey looked at The Joker laughing his head off while he blood went on the floor, Harvey then punched him in the head and turned his head away from driving.

“You MONSTER!”

Ooh look at Big bad Harv

That gun is getting tempting

No, We let him live remember?

DAMMIT!

“Sorry about that but you deserved it.”



Two-Face looked back at Scarecrow.

“How much money have we got straw man?”

 

[trustyside-kick]

At high speeds, Orin and Garth swim through the surface of the ocean while Diana follows by air. Garth turns to Orin, while trying to maintain his speed and speaks.

"So, this is the same place Vulko tried to have you killed?"

"Yes. After the incident back in the Obsidian Age...well, I believe you know the details. Vulko, along with a batallion of troops, dragged me out of the ocean and pinned me up against those dreadful rocks of that reef to die."

"And you still found it in your heart to forgive him?"

Orin doesn't respond immediately, he just continues swimming at high speeds. After a while he finally turns his head to respond to Garth.

"It was hard times...the people were...confused and mislead. Or at least, that's how Vulko puts it. He was merely following his orders."

"I think I see it. Over by those islands over there. Is that it?"

Orin brings his attention back to the direction they are heading and spots the set of islands Diana was talking about. He looks up as she flies into the sky, and nods as she looks down. The group picks up speed and head for Traitor's Reef.

The groups finally reaches their destination and they move inland. Memories of his last visit invade Orin's mind but he tries to shrug it all off. Now isn't the time to visit old memories; especially bad ones.

"Okay, so what are we looking for exactly, Orin?"

"You mentioned something about a Secret Sea? So are we looking for a body of water? I don't see how we would find something on this small island. I didn't see anything when I descended."

"Not quite. I've been to the Secret Sea with Orin a few times before. We aren't looking for the Secret Sea though...finding that place is a lot harder I would think. But um...what are we looking for exactly, Orin?"

Orin continues to wander around the island as Diana and Garth do the same, but makes sure to not keep the distance between them too large. The island is small, but still possible to get seperated and possibly lost for some time; and in their case, time is something they cannot afford to lose. Orin finally stops, and drops to his knees.

"I--I don't understand!"

Diana and Garth rush over to him and kneel down beside him.

"What don't you understand, Orin?"

"What's up?"

"The...it's not here! It's supposed to be here though! I...I saw it! I've been here before! This is where I first met the Lady of the Lake! Where is it!?"

Garth grabs Orin's arm and pulls him up with him.

"What, Orin? What's supposed to be there?"

Orin pulls himself from Garth's hold and pushes himself away. He begins to wander down a hill, circling the area back and forth. Garth and Diana watch from above, worried and confused.

"The lake! It's...it's gone!"

"A lake? Orin, I already told you...I didn't see any bodies of water of any kind when I was descending from the air. If there was one, surely I would've spotted it as I landed."

"Yea, and we both know these waters like the back of our hands and I know for a fact there isn't a lake here. Maybe you meant in one of the islands to the--"

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? AM I TALKING TO MYSELF?"

Orin sits down, and puts his hands on his head as he tries to calm down. Garth and Diana remain above the hill, looking down at him with. Diana is about to move forward, but Garth stops her as he places his hand on her shoulder. She looks back at him and he simply nods a "no" and jumps down himself.

"I don't understand..."

"Orin? What did you do last time? What exactly happened last time?"

"Last time? Why...I uh...I was struggling. I could barely even walk with dehydrated I was. I was also losing blood...fast. But I didn't imagine it all! I know this is the spot! It has to be!"

"Maybe...maybe you're forgetting something, Orin. Maybe--"

Garth's words and suggestions fall on deaf ears as Orin tries to figure it all out from within. He closes his eyes and tries to recall his memories of the waterspirits; failful servants of the Lady of the Lake. He tries to recall her image, her voice...anything to help refresh his memory on how to possible reach out to her once again.

But it does not help. He opens his eyes, and all he sees before him, is dirt and clay. There is no water.

Garth is still rambling on with suggestions and questions, and finally grows tired as he notices Orin's lack of attention. He picks up small pile of dirt, and tosses it as he utters something just loud enough for Orin's ears to pick up.

"She said to have her precious 'Waterbearer return to me' she said. And that 'after bathing in water of truth, the restorative powers shall cleanse him from within' she said. And then the Secret Sea will be 'open to mankind once more' she said...yea, too bad she never said how..."

That's when it hits Orin and he couldn't be happier. His old memories finally serve him some use. He recalls something the Lady of the Lake once told him; about another Arthur she once knew. And that is all he has to remember to know what he must do; at least he hopes it is what he must do. He stands up, and lifts up his hands.

"It is again about time your waters flowed back into the hearts and mind of men! The great wheel shall turn once more! Share the water of truth with me once more! Your Waterbearer returns, milady!"

Garth and Diana look over at Orin as he yells those words out, and something strange begins to happen. A great flash of light blankets their surroundings and the sound of water falling begins to become audible. Playful laughter and the sound of splashes too become present as does the sound of a great waterfall. Great green plants and trees sprout up from the ground, and the flash slowly fades away. In absence of the light, all is revealed. The Lady of the Lake stands tall on the rocks, surrounded by her Waterspirits as they open their arms wide open to welcome the visitors.

"Look look, milady!"
"He lives! He lives!"
"And he has come with friends!"

"My dear Waterbearer...you have returned to me."

"Aye, milady."

Orin begins to swim through the lake heading towards the Lady of the Lake and the Waterspirits swim clear of his path heading to the rocks where she stands. He pulls himself out of the water, and takes a knee on one of the rocks and bows his head.

"You have come here to bathe in my waters, do you? You welcome the restoring waters of truth? You wish to become whole once more? For to know the water of truth is to be made whole."

"I will share the waters of truth with you forever."

"And I shall allow you to do so. Now come, my valiant Waterbearer. Come."

Orin stands up, and the Lady of the Lake slides a bracelet from her arm and places it on Orin's left arm at the end where his hand once was. She utters a few words under her breathe, and a small flash of light quickly appears and fades away. Feeling whole and proud, Orin turns around facing the others, and lifts his left arm. His mystical water hand glitters as the rays of light shine through from the sun. Garth responds quicker than Diana can as he dives into the lake and pops back up like a playful dolphin.

"What do you see, Orin?"

Staring proudly at his mystical hand, Orin shortly looks over at Garth and smiles. Garth gives him a nod, and Orin looks back over at his left hand. He brings all of his focus and attention into it and almost becomes lost in his gaze. Searching for visions of the events to come, Orin finally finds what he is searching for. He wishes to know what will become of Triton and his actions. And then suddenly...all too quickly, his big grin fades away, yet his eyes do not turn away from the sight laid out before him. Garth notices the shift in facial expression and is compelled to ask.

"What...what's wrong?"

Still Orin looks at the image, becoming more and more horrified with each passing second. Keeping his eye on the vision, he answers Garth.

"...everything."

 

[Watchman]

Gotham City:

The three out laws of Gotham City got into their van, Two-Face driving, Scarecrow at the back of it and The Joker bleeding heavily on the passengers seat.

Harvey looked at The Joker laughing his head off while he blood went on the floor, Harvey then punched him in the head and turned his head away from driving.

“You MONSTER!”

Ooh look at Big bad Harv

That gun is getting tempting

No, We let him live remember?

DAMMIT!

“Sorry about that but you deserved it.”



Two-Face looked back at Scarecrow.

“How much money have we got straw man?”

Scarecrow opens up the money bag and begun to count the money. After a few minutes he comes up with their total.

"One point five million but it's nearly useless now since the Joker destroyed our leverage. Now they are going to be hunting us down all because Joker wanted to see his bomb go off." Scarecrow picked up another bag and drops it on the floor, spilling it's contents.

"The bomb went off there fear turned into hate and anger at us. They will hunt us down and will probably kill us. It is time teach them to remember their fear." He held up toys that simply macabre that he took from the Joker's warehouse modified with fear gas.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Scarecrow opens up the money bag and begun to count the money. After a few minutes he comes up with their total.

"One point five million but it's nearly useless now since the Joker destroyed our leverage. Now they are going to be hunting us down all because Joker wanted to see his bomb go off." Scarecrow picked up another bag and drops it on the floor, spilling it's contents.

"The bomb went off there fear turned into hate and anger at us. They will hunt us down and will probably kill us. It is time teach them to remember their fear." He held up toys that simply macabre that he took from the Joker's warehouse modified with fear gas.

"Heh..."

Slumped in the back of the van, The Joker spat out another wad of blood.

"Lets unleash those toys of yours on Gotham. We'll watch these insects tear each other to pieces!"

 

[Spike_x1]

"Did you see the look on that guy's face when everything blew up?" Trudy and Joe casually walked out of the Cineplex, laughing and eating the last remnants of their popcorn. "So what was your favorite part, Joe?'

"Hmm... I'd have to say the part where the zombies swarmed all around that one guy and--"

"Those were robots, Joe," Trudy interrupted, laughing. For the next few minutes, they absent-mindedly walked down the sidewalk, back towards the café they had met at earlier, which was just down the street a few blocks. "Darn, I hate trying to hail a cab at this hour," she said, craning her head to see any taxis in the vicinity.

"I can give you a ride if you'd like." Joe scratched his head nervously. "I'm still parked in the restaurant parking lot, actually."

"Oh?" asked Trudy as they turned a corner and came within sight of the parking lot. "Which one's your car?"

**********​

"Are you sure I shouldn't be wearing a helmet?!" yelled Trudy over the noise of the wind and traffic going by as she sat on the back of Joe's Harley Davidson, her arms curled around Joe's ribs in fear.

"Meh."

For the first time in a long while, Joe Martin was happy for himself. After walking Trudy to the front door of her apartment building, they exchanged numbers and planned to go out sometime next week. "Hm." He walked back to the motorcycle in the parking lot and paused. He pulled out the bottle for the first time in hours and felt the familiar bitter taste as he swallowed a couple pills. "Don't get involved, Joe. You'll only end up hurting the both of you," he told himself as the flames once again engulphed his body.

This isn't going to end well. He saddled onto the bike and kicked it into gear. I've already lost myself to this monster. She's a nice person and doesn't deserve to be brought down in flames too. Joe sighed. Not knowing which road to take on his own, his mind was made up by the sound of an explosion in the distance. Slipping out of his reverie, his hand cranked back on the gas and he roared onto the roadways of Metropolis. "Superhero time!"

 

[Green Lantern]

"You know, Roy. I actually like that idea. Get away from it all and recharge my batteries, but I have a better idea than Tibet."

I turn the plane southward and flash a smile at Roy.

"We're going to The Island....you know which one."

Roy looks at me for a second before it dawns on him.

"Yeah, that island. The one that created Green Arrow."

"Well... yeah, you definitely need it. Is that a beer gut I see? And I think I see a coupla grey hairs in your beard. Speaking of old man hair... how's the Rogaine process going? I see you still HAVE to have the hat to cover up the blinding balding spot. Man... this is getting too easy."

Roy grinned as he pulled sunglasses over his eyes.

"Onward, to the island paradise, old man."

 

[MaskedManJRK]

​

I scale the rooftops of the city, looking for the damage that Joker has done.

Joker. The name pumps more hate into my veins than ever before, when I thought it wasn't even possible. The bastard has bombed an entire portion of the city.

So many lives he's taken...when the only logical death that should happen with him...is his own.

I stop moving and stand on the edge of a building on Apero and Adams, pulling myself together. I need to be calm, cold and collected. I can't have another...episode, like in the police station.

I look out onto Gotham City. I don't see evidence of the explosion. But Gotham's a big place, and it could have been anywhere...

I take my grappling hook and shoot a line out. It connects to a roof adjecent to mine and I fly out to another building, to continue.

I don't care if it takes me the whole night and overlaps into day. I am going to find where the bomber went off. I'm going to find Joker's hideout, and I'm take great relish and precision into breaking him and arresting him, where he'll hopefully get the chair.

Hopefully...​

 

[Keyser Soze]

"What do you mean you haven't found it? A bomb has detonated somewhere in the city, releasing The Joker's laughing gas into the air. We're looking at casualties possibly up in the hundreds here. We need to locate the blast radius, and save who we can. Got it?"

Gordon slammed the phone down, exasperated. The hunt was on, for both the three Arkham escapees on the run and for the location of the explosion. He was pacing around the GCPD building like a caged animal, waiting for a call that would give them the vital information they needed so desperately. He knew that every second he waited put more lives at risk.

Then, the front door opened. A young, bespectacled man in a coat staggered into the building. He was pale, drenched with sweat, he looked like he'd took a jog through hell. Gordon intercepted the man as he approached reception.

"Sir, can I help you with..."

The rest of Gordon's sentence caught in his throat, as the man let the coat fall to the ground. Strapped to the man's chest was the very device he'd seen on The Joker's live broadcast. The device they were all looking for. The device that brought with it a promise of a horrible death. The Venom Harness.

"Please," said Paul Thorne, choking out the words in a frantic whisper, "Help me..."

 

[Byrd Man]

"Well... yeah, you definitely need it. Is that a beer gut I see? And I think I see a coupla grey hairs in your beard. Speaking of old man hair... how's the Rogaine process going? I see you still HAVE to have the hat to cover up the blinding balding spot. Man... this is getting too easy."

Roy grinned as he pulled sunglasses over his eyes.

"Onward, to the island paradise, old man."

"Yeah, keep talking kiddo. It's gonna be hard for you to gab when you got an arrow shot up your ass."

*********
​

I step onto the sand of the island and look back at Roy.

"Alrighty. We're gonna play a little game. Think of it like hide and go seek. You got two days to get as far away from the beach as you can. I'll come after you after two days. That is, unless you want to do it the other way around?"​

 

[batnkevlar]

"In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government."

Mr. Bueller droans on and on in his monotone voice as I sit in Economics class. I stare outside the window and gaze outside at the sunny afternoon.

Damn I want to be out there.

"Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. "Voodoo" economics"

Just then, the bell rings and I'm gone before he can even discuss homework.

"Where did mister Allen go?"

My suits on before I reach the school's front door and I'm out the door in a blink of an eye.

[BLACKOUT]"Yeah runnin down a dream
That never would come to me
Workin on a mystery, goin wherever it leads
Im runnin down a dream."[/BLACKOUT]

I sing while zipping through the streets of Keystone and Central. I only stop when I see my cousing Wally with someone I thought I would never see again.


[BLACKOUT]"Cuz! Other cuz that I see more often!"[/BLACKOUT]

[BLACKOUT]
"What's crackin, Jenni?"
[/BLACKOUT]​

"Nothing much Bart. Just my annual vacation time with the Legion and I decided to come here. Sprock, it's hot here. Global warming my ass."

I look at Bart and we exchange puzzled expressions.

"I'm also here to see Grandma Iris."

I shake my head.

"You'd have to find her first. Haven't seen her in a while."

"Does she still have the book?"

I frown.

"You're on a Legion mission, aren't you?"

"Not really, more on a personal quest. Like Don Quixote or Rynd Granvilder."

"Who?"

"Nevermind. The point is, around this time, the book goes missing for five hundred years. I'm sure you two remember the war versus the Cobalt Blues. Dont want that happening again. Anyway, I don't know whether the disappearance is linked with changes in the timline, because of certain recent devlopments with the timeline it's hard to say, but I'm here to find the book and take it back to the future."

 

[Green Lantern]

"Yeah, keep talking kiddo. It's gonna be hard for you to gab when you got an arrow shot up your ass."

*********
​

I step onto the sand of the island and look back at Roy.

"Alrighty. We're gonna play a little game. Think of it like hide and go seek. You got two days to get as far away from the beach as you can. I'll come after you after two days. That is, unless you want to do it the other way around?"​

"Nah, I'm fine with hiding from you. Allows me to get away from your stench."

With that Roy ran towards the water. Diving in, he swam away from the shore and dived out of Ollie's sight.

Half an hour later he came to a forested inlet on the other side of the island. Using his knife to cut a bamboo reed he walked nearly two miles inland, making sure to leave highly visible footprints. In the trees, he made a make shift fort to 'sleep' in. Actually it would be a decoy for Ollie to find. Then using trip wire, he rigged a trap with five glue arrows.

"Be a nice surprise for Ollie when he 'finds' me."

That night he slept in the fort, but woke up at the crack of dawn to leave his hiding place. He left several more sets of footprints all around the tree he was using, then climbed back up, and using swing line and arrows, he navigated the tree tops to get back to the bay. He dived into the bay and began to swim in the same direction around the island. When he was near the beach that Ollie had him start from, but still well out of sight, Roy dived, and used the bamboo reed as a snorkel. Come nightfall, he swam closer to the shallows, and lay down on his back, amidst several bamboo stalks. Taking great caution he buried himself in mud, and waited for the day to come.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Luthor grows increasingly frustrated by the lack of trouble that would allow him to start World War III.

I can't believe it...the one time I need world-wide trouble...and everyone is basically singing "Give Peace a chance." I need to go back to where i was it was so beautiful and peaceful...most of all Lena was there.

I pours himself a drink and downs it. He then smashes the glass against the wall.

The hell with it...if this world won't see the light then I'll have to show it to
them.

He opens a brief-case and studies the launch codes for the Nuclear Arsenal.

 

[MaskedManJRK]

​

I perch myself next to a gargoyle and pull out a new tool I was toying with before--a PDA with access to the computer mainframe in the cave.

I've had enough of aimlessly searching for Joker. I'm going to find where he is right now.

I search for anything regarding abandoned hideouts The Joker would like--candy, ice cream, toy factories.

I find a toy factory listed called "Hilton-Madley" closed down and due for demolition (probably for copyright reasons), but the lease was bought before the bulldozers came in to a "Jose Payaso."

Payaso. Spanish for clown. It's as though he's begging for me to find him.

I memorize the address, put the PDA away, shoot out a line and make my way to Hilton-Madley.

If he wants me there that bad, then I shouldn't disappoint...​

 

[Keyser Soze]

"I-I-I-I-didn't know where else to go. The little button started flashing red and I...I thought I was going to die! But then....then nothing happened. So I'm ah.....thinking that...maybe it's jammed, or malfunctioned, or something, I don't know. So I...I came here. I'm so sorry...."

That's what Paul Thorne had said. They'd got a name out of him, and Gordon had heard his story. Picking a random innocent victim to be his agent of death. Typical Joker.

The bomb-squad were with him now, looking at the Venom Harness. Gordon watched intently, a cigarette wavering in his trembling hand. The relief that came with knowing the bomb hadn't exploded and killed hundreds of civilians was quickly replaced with fear for his own safety. What if this was The Joker's plan? Fool Thorne into coming here for protection, THEN set the bomb off, decimating Gotham's police force. Gordon thought of Barbara, lying asleep in his bed once more after all these years apart.

What if he never saw her again?

What if he never saw his children again?

Gordon's heart siezed in his chest as the bomb squad took the harness off of Paul, and dropped it to the ground. Gordon entered the room, going up to the leader of the bomb-squad.

"You dismantled the bomb?"

"No."

"What do you mean, no? Is that bomb still active?"

"No, it never was active."

"What?"

"The bomb...it's harmless. It's a fake."

 

[MaskedManJRK]

​

I break into Hilton-Madley by the skylight. I lower myself down on the line to find...

No one. It's completely empty.

Suddenly I hear static from my communicator, from my Gotham line. Gordon.

"Batman. Gordon here. A man named Paul Thorne just turned himself in. He had The Joker's bomb strapped to his waist, unexploded. Turns out it was a fake. There was no explosion. Just another one of The Joker's sick pranks."

Shock and relief runs though me. I almost tell Gordon the dead-end I'm in, when I notice something--all the doors in the factory are open, except one.

I walk over to the door and slowly turn the handle...​

 

[Keyser Soze]

"The place was, like, an old abandoned toy factory. Sorry, I don't know any more than that..."

Paul Thorne and Gordon had moved over to the interview room. Paul was shaken.

"I...I thought I was dying tonight."

"Why did you do it? Why risk all those lives? Was it because you were scared, or..."

"Scared. Yes. But not for me. I was willing to die. It...it...it was my wife. The Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, they have her. They said if I tried to warn anyone, or get help, or if I didn't go where I was told, I...they'd know, and they'd...they'd kill her. She's pregnant with my child....I...I had no choice. She's still at that toy factory now. Those psychos, they'll be on their way back there now! Emily..."

Paul burst into tears.

"I love her so much..."

Trying to regain his composure, Paul Thorne looked up at Gordon with pleading eyes.

"Please...you've got to find her. Please bring her back to me."

 

[MaskedManJRK]

​

As I open the door, the smell and the pale-gray foot I see from the small crack of opening told me that whatever's in here won't be any good.

I open it completely and I see it.

Inside is a bathtub, almost completely filled with water. It must have been overflowing before, since there seems to be desipation around the tub. Next to the tub is an extension cord, plugged in. I walk further in and I see that the extension cord is connected to what looks like a baby bottle heater. Next to the heater is a woman, nude and dead inside. Her frizzed hair and spread out position confirms it--death by electrocution.

As I get closer, I notice her round stomach--pregnant, Jesus--and on her forehead, in-between her wide, empty eyes, is a post-it. I peel the note off her forehead and read it.

Dear Paul,
Your wife has great ****. Lucky guy!

Love and snuggles,


- J

I crumble the note and clench it in my fist. I place my hand over her eyes and close them.

"Jim. You should probably let Paul know that his wife is dead."​

 

[Johnny Blaze]

ROGUE WAR: The Enemy Revealed ~ Part 2

McCulloch leaned on the large stone angel that adorned the grave of Sam Scudder, the first Mirror Master. Next to Evan stood his friend and fellow Rogue Mark Mardon, the Weather Wizard, and they were joined by Digger Harkness, Captain Boomerang, and James Jesse, the Trickster.
The four criminals were in Avernus, the hidden graveyard of the Rogues. Hidden in 4-D space and cloaked with Gorilla City tech, this cemetery was away from the prying eyes of any cape or person trying to find it. There were only a select few who could even access the place, Mirror Master being one of them. The other being the leader of the Rogues, Captain Cold.

It was the Captain who now walked up to his fellow Rogues from the other side of the cemetery.

"It's about bloody time", states an impatient McCulloch.

"Easy, Evan", chimes Mardon with an outstretched hand, "I'm sure Cold had his reasons for making us wait."

"I'm sure he did, mate", agreed Digger as he folded his arms across his chest, "but right now I'm interested n' hearin' this plan he's got ta take out competition."

"What", replies Cold with a quizzical look.
"What the hell are ya talkin' about, Digger? Mardon called me here. Said he had some major info on these New Rogues."

"What? That's nuts! You called me saying you had some big plan to take them down. McCulloch was right there with me when you called."

"Aye, that I was", agreed McCulloch in a suspicious tone, his eyes darting about the area.

"Well, if you didn't call us", says Jesse jumping into the conversation, "and we didn't call you, what the hell is going on?"

All remained silent as not one of the said a word. They didn't need to...they all knew what had happened.

"TRAP! Move", shouted Cold as the five Rogues split up while a bomb went off where they were standing.

Cold spins on his heels at the attacker, but finds himself encased in a glob of silly putty by Axel Walker, the second Trickster.

"What's the matter, Cold", taunted Axel as he flew around the Captain mocking him, "feeling sluggish? Is old age finally catching up to you?"

"You just chill, heh...", jokes Walker as he digs into his back of tricks and pulls out a T-bomb, "I've got the cure for ya!"

As Walker winds back to throw the explosive he is caught from behind by a lightning blast and forced to the ground.

"Thanks fer the save, Mardon", says Cold to the airborne Weather Wizard as he starts to freeze and shatter the putty.

"No problem, CaptAAAAAAINNN", Mardon's reply quickly turned into a scream as a blast of fire ignited his costume from behind and brought him back down to earth. Heatwave move out from behind a tree, his gun trained on the Wizard as he rolls around on the ground to put out the flames...


"C'mon outta there ya Irish pig", screamed Girder at his hand which held the reflection of the Mirror Master.

McCulloch frowned, "Irish!? Are ye daft, man? I'm Scottish!"

"Same damn thing", yelled an increasingly angry Girder as he slams his hand into a tree and shatters it, "now get your skirt wearin' ass outta me!"

"Ye know somethin', Alice", agrees McCulloch as he appears in Girder's back and sticks his arm out, taking aim with his mirror gun, "ye really are a ******, but ye also got a point. I think I will come out, if jus' fer a bit."

Seeing Tarpit coming up to attack Boomerang from behind while the Captain is engaged with Magenta, McCulloch aims his mirror gun and fires a beam at Tar Pit. As soon as the beam connects with the villain, Tar Pit is transformed into a glass statue.

Before McCulloch can retract his arm, he is grabbed and yanked out of Girder by a green blur and thrown hard against a tree.

"Remember me, *******", asks Inertia as the speedster runs around the Mirror Master, punching him one hundred times in under a few second.
After Inertia relents the attack, McCulloch slumps to the ground a bloody mess and unconscious.

"You left me in that damn mirror world! You left me there to die, and I would've if my teammate hadn't gotten me out."

Inertia rears back his fist, which begins to vibrate and hum.
"Now I think it's time to return the favor! Who knows, maybe the third Mirror Master won't be stupid enough to piss off a speedster?"

 

[Keyser Soze]

"Dear God..."

Gordon had stepped out of the interview room to take the call from Batman. But upon hearing the devastating news, he was only able to utter those two words before ending the call. And it wasn't even blasphemy. It was an appeal for help, for strength, for the perseverance to try and make sense of this cruel, unjust world.

Paul Thorne had begged him to bring his wife back safely to him. Begged him. Now she was dead. And Gordon had to be the one to tell him.

He staggered back into the interview room, almost dazed. Paul took one look at Gordon's face, and knew exactly what the call had been.

"No."

Paul stood up, wild desperation in his eyes.

"Don't you say it!"

"I'm so sorry..."

That was all he needed to say. Paul grabbed his chair and tossed it hard against the wall. Then his legs seemed to give out from under him, sending him stumbling back into his table. Swaying back and forth, bitter tears streaming from his eyes, Paul clutched fistfuls of his air and let out an animal-like wail of utter despair.

"It's okay, son."

Barely even realising what he was doing, Gordon approached the young man, putting his arm around him. A feeble attempt at comfort when none could hope to be found.

"It's okay."

Paul let out an incoherent stream of broken words and sobs. He couldn't articulate the utter heartbreak he was feeling. A wife, an unborn child. Dead. And Gordon, he...he didn't know what to say to that. Nothing except...

"It's okay."

Repeated. Hollow as it was the first time. Paul slumped down onto a sitting position on the floor, any attempts at speech now lost in his wails and cries. The sadness, the anger that came with the loss of a loved one. Gordon knew that feeling. He kneeled down next to Paul, who quickly wrapped his arms around him, and sobbed into his shoulder. Gordon patted the young man on the back.

"It's okay."

And the two of them sat like that, rocking back and forth on the GCPD Interview Room floor. Paul Thorne. Another victim of The Joker. Another husband whose wife had been killed by that sadistic madman. The image was still seared into Gordon's mind. That day his world came crashing down. The day he'd come closest to betraying everything he believed in, and giving The Joker the final victory over him.

The day Sarah Essen died.

"It's okay."

Gordon didn't even realise that now he was crying too. Sarah. A good cop. A wonderful human being. She'd died saving the life of an innocent child. The Joker, in his infinite cruelty, had seen such a courageous, selfless, heroic woman, and decided her life was nothing more than a joke, to be extignuished on a malicious whim. He didn't care, about the people he killed. He got to go to Arkham, break free at will, and continue his twisted little games. It was people like Paul, people like Gordon, who were left to pick up the pieces of the lives The Joker shattered.

There's more than one way to lose your life to The Joker...

"It...It's okay."

But it's not okay. Every day, every hour, every minute The Joker ran free, more lives were in danger. And for every life he took, there'd be more pieces left to pick up...

 

[Spike_x1]

The Atomic Skull could feel the heat of the fires even before he turned the corner on Jurgens and Byrne. He pulled the clutch and break in, coming to a fast stop as his eyes laid on the source of the chaos.

"Blackrock?"

Joe was taken aback slightly at the sight. Peter Silverstone was killed by the Parasite months ago, so apparently this new shmuck had found the stone that Peter had used as the source of his power under the name of Blackrock. This newbie didn't even seem to have any goal aside from just trashing the immediate area; he was shooting energy blasts at parked cars and pretending to be a one-man wrecking crew, demolishing buildings and making bystanders run for their lives. These new kids today, thought Martin. What? Is being a mindless supervillain the new fad or something?

Joe's appearance on the scene had seemingly caught the new Blackrock's attention, as the young man turned to Joe, his body radiating energy.

"Yeah. Right." The Atomic Skull cracked his knuckles and his neck. "Is there something you want here, Sport? Or do you just get your kicks out of blowing crap up?"

That stupid smirk was still on Blackrock's face, even as he floated to a street light and tore the pole of the ground. "You see what happened when Doomsday killed Superman? The Parasite? Those guys became overnight Stars!" Brandishing the steel pole like a club, Blackrock swung it hard towards the Skull.

Oh great, Joe thought. This guy's just another dumb thug on his way to Stryker's, trying to make an easy rep for himself. With swift reflexes, Joe caught the street light and used his own brute strength to swing the pole even further, bringing with it Blackrock, still holding onto the other end.

The new Blackrock lay stunned, buried in his shallow crater after the Skull had smashed him into the pavement. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the ringing in his ears. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

Floating above the kid, Joe's contempt-filled gaze came across, even through the purple and blue flames. "Guess again, Sport."

In a sudden burst of rage, the new Blackrock roared in anger and lunged out of his hole, rocketing into Joe's surprised face. Aw crap. I should'a taken another pill.