Well, here it is. Almost time to reveal all the mysteries.
Almost.
C&C appreciated
-rod
Bubblegum Crisis
Batman: The Animated Series
S M I L E
A tale of knights, past and present.
--------------------------------
Part 6: Gotham Knights
--------------------------------
Gotham.
I soar through her towers, horrified at what she's become.
Gotham's towers reach up to the sky higher than before,
dozens of towers of Babylon housing men believing themselves
gods, and the working class drones that serve under them.
Her streets are darker than ever, choked away from the sky
by a myriad of towers. Her children are savages, warring
tribes setting the night on fire.
No more.
I have been away too long, injuries and old age denying me
the night. But no longer. I am resurrected, a second
chance to make things right.
I will.
Mother. Father.
Your son has returned.
The war goes on.
:)
[From the morning edition of the Gotham Gazette]
Batman Returns?
Scores of witnesses reported last night
seeing a large bat-like figure, causing
speculation that the legendary Batman
has returned.
Bernard Williams, a cab driver, saw the
possible Dark Knight as he was driving
from the airport to midtown.
"It was huge, like ten feet tall huge,
black as night, and had bat wings," said
Williams. "I damn near had a heart attack
when the thing flew over my cab. Is it
Batman? Could be."
Winnie Taylor, a nurse, was rescued by the
mysterious figure when a street gang member
assaulted her at a bus stop.
"I always heard about him, but thought that
he was, you know, an urban myth," said
Taylor. "Thank God he's real. I owe him
my life."
:)
The Joker grinned as he read the newspaper article, giggling
happily.
It was too good to be true.
Batman was back.
'Woohoo! YES! Looks like dreams really CAN come true, eh
Harley?'
Harley nodded happily.
He thought about it for a moment.
'Y'know, it's almost like the good old days, y'know? All we
need is good old Commish Gordon with us. Too bad he's dead.
Haha!'
'Yeah, too bad,' lamented Harlequin. 'I kinda liked him.'
'Now what can I do for Batman tonight...'
While the Joker mulled over the possibilities, the being
that called itself Harley awaited dutifully by his side,
smiling.
Somewhere locked inside of her, Priss Asagiri screamed.
:)
[Gotham Grand Hotel, 3:30 pm]
Linna took a long look at the room that they'd managed to
get with Sylia's mysterious friend pulling the strings. A
large window graced the north side, giving a majestic view
of Miller Harbor. A stocked bar, 60 inch flatscreen
television, lush carpeting, and a sauna also came with the
room.
"This looks exactly like the sort of place I'd expect Sylia
to stay in," she murmured. "Don't you think so, Nene?"
"Zzzz..."
Linna blinked, then turned around. Nene was already
sprawled on her bed, fast asleep. She understood perfectly
why. They'd left Gotham only hours after their disastrous
encounter with the Joker, hot in pursuit of a bloody trail
from MegaTokyo to Gotham that began with a hijacked freight
plane and ended in a fiery wreck a few miles outside of
Gotham.
They'd gone via private flight, thanks to Sylia's mysterious
associate. It was a necessity, since Linna had packed her
hardsuit, repair kit, and loads of Nene's hacker toys along
as well.
They were in the Gotham Grand to check on Sylia's
whereabouts, hoping that she'd left some clues in her hotel
room.
The lack of rest from the Joker encounter, the long flight
from MegaTokyo, and the rough cab ride had drained Linna
severely. It obviously had the same effect on Nene, only
worse, as she'd whimpered, whined, and squirmed every
agonizing step of the way. Linna had to admit, Nene showed
a lot of heart and soul, traveling all this way despite her
cracked ribs and broken arm.
Linna frowned as she thought about her teammate. She didn't
want Nene along, mainly to make sure she stayed safe and so
that she'd recover from her injuries. However, Nene argued
long and hard, and finally pointed out three facts.
One, they might need to do some hacking in Gotham.
Two, if Priss was being controlled by an implanted device,
as Nene's sensor recordings from the blimp roughly
suggested, Nene was in a far better position to do something
about it than Linna.
Three, they were a team, and solo stunts weren't allowed.
Linna hated it when Nene was right.
Hopefully, they'd find Sylia soon. After that, she would
surely know how to handle the Priss situation.
Though if the Joker surfaced before they found Sylia,
rescuing Priss would immediately become priority one.
Getting her away from that maniac was something that had to
be done as soon as possible. She hoped the Joker
didn't force Priss to do anything... unpleasant.
With a shudder, she shook that thought away and decided that
a brief nap certainly wouldn't hurt. Besides, it'd be best
to start their investigation wide awake.
:)
[Genom Tower, Madigan's office, MegaTokyo]
//Madigan.//
The second-in-command of all Genom looked up from her desk
and stood respectfully at the image of her commander in her
vidphone. "Yes sir?"
//I see you have a six o'clock flight to Gotham.//
"Our renegade Largo unit with the Momus mindsim is there."
//Cancel your flight.//
"What? But sir-"
//The Knight Sabers will clean up as they always have. If
it's hardware recovery you're concerned about, I already
have a team watching the situation carefully.//
"Sir, did I do anything wrong?"
Quincy smiled. //No, Madigan. You're still the Genom
second-in-command for a reason. I need you to go to
Antarctica and solidify our grasp on the region.//
"Yes sir, I undertsand."
//That is all.//
Quincy's image faded from view, leaving Madigan disgruntled
and irritated. She loathed the Knight Sabers, and while she
saw why Quincy hadn't made a major move against them yet,
their involvement in this matter still left her feeling
burned.
"One of these days..."
:)
It was a quiet house in a quiet neighborhood, part of a
pleasant suburbia safely outside of Gotham's mean streets.
Norman Rockwell would have liked this house, with its large
front yard, shady trees, and classic design complete with
a white picket fence.
Inside, a family was gathering and discussing current
events. Grandmother Barbara and grandfather Richard
presided over the Grayson family. Their two children, Jim
and Mary, brought along their significant others and their
beloved children.
The two grandchildren, Rachel and John, 14 and 11, didn't
get involved in the conversation, preferring to stick close
to the television set, the saviour of children stuck in
places they'd rather not be. It wasn't that they disliked
their grandparents, Rachel actually displayed quite a bit of
affection for her grandmother, it was just that they didn't
care to get caught up in the mundane chit-chat of adults.
Besides, the conversation was terribly embarrasing at times.
'Rachel's gotten in trouble again?' asked Richard in mock
disbelief. 'Gosh, I can't imagine where she got it from.'
He cast a sly eye towards his wife, which earned him a quick
swat on the head with a pillow.
"Wasn't my fault, granpa!" yelled Rachel from the
television. "Other kid started it!"
The grandparents laughed along with the parents, and the
childrein cringed.
Yes, just another nice evening in suburbia.
Until the knock on the door.
'Would someone get that?'
'I got it, I got it, no need for everyone to get up.'
Grandmother Barbara rose from her comfy chair,
ruffling her granddaughter's hair as she passed, leaving the
room.
A moment later, the family heard a scream of terror.
The family turned towards the door, except Rachel, who
immediately ran, and Richard, who was right at her heels.
The sight that greeted them made Richard's blood run cold,
an all too familiar grinning figure holding his unconscious
wife.
'Well, Harl, I guess she stil remembers me,' muttered the
Joker.
'Let go of her!' yelled Rachel. She charged, and to
Richard's horror he saw the gun, aimed at his granddaughter.
Richard reached for her. 'Rachel, wait!'
Harlequin aimed and fired.
*BLAM*BLAM*BLAM*BLAM*BLAM*
With an overdramatic sigh and a hand to his forehead, the
Joker said, 'An ordinary gun. How mundane, and messy too.
Look at all that blood. No boxing glove gun?'
'Sorry, Mista J. Didn't have time ta get one.'
:)
When Linna opened her eyes next, the sun was gone from the
sky and replaced by the endless lights of downtown Gotham at
night. Cheecking the clock revealed that four hours had
passed.
She considered leaving Nene behind, but she knew Nene would
be essential if they had to break into Sylia's room. All
the doors in this hotel were of the card-swipe variety,
something Nene could get past with ease.
"Hey, Nene, time to move out."
"Mmm... a little later, mom."
"Nene!"
"Wha- huh?"
"C'mon, we're gonna check Sylia's room."
"Oh."
Sylia's room was, of course, the penthouse. Nene had to
wire into the elevator control panel to get there, then had
to use a magnetic card wired to her laptop to pop open the
door.
As the door swung open, they heard a rustling noise from
within.
"Someone's here," whispered Nene.
Linna motioned for Nene to back away to the elevator, then
cautiously made her way into the suite. The main room was
dark, but there was a light in the bedroom door.
As she advanced to the door, Linna drew her gun, drawing a
gasp of surprise from Nene. Slowly, she peered inside and
saw someone searching over the bedroom desk. A man.
Linna kicked the door wide open and brought her gun up.
"FREEZE!"
"Aaaah! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
Everone blinked.
"Mackie?"
Linna lowered her gun and sighed, while Nene rushed forward
and tried to give Mackie a hug.
A second later, Nene screamed in pain as her cracked ribs
reminded her that hugging was not an option. Scowling in
pain, she immediately landed flat on the bed, taking shallow
breaths.
"Let me guess," said Linna. "Looking for Sylia."
He nodded, then asked, "What happened to you?"
Linna brought Mackie up to speed with current events: the
Joker's emergence, his acts of terrorism, the zeppelin
battle over the skies of MegaTokyo, and finally the Priss
situation.
Mackie was, to say the least, impressed.
"Jeez, and all I've been doing for the last two weeks is
studying Advanced Robotic Theory."
"How long have you been here anyway?" asked Linna.
"About an hour. Haven't found anything."
Linna nodded. "Let's keep on looking, then."
:)
He landed atop the Gotham Police Department building
undetected, as he knew he would.
It was far different than the GPD building he remembered.
Gone were the classic and timeless walls of brick, replaced
by smooth glass and steel. It saddened him, this change.
As he paced around, something came in his sight and lifted
his heart.
It was still there.
The old GPD building.
Sort of.
The old building was now an auxillary building, attached to
the side of the new building, strangely appearing as if it
were an egg from which the new GPD building hatched.
It was dwarfed in size by its offspring, with the new
building a good thirty stories higher than its predecessor.
Actually, it was dwarfed by everything in this new Gotham
town.
Why did they keep it? Nostalga, perhaps?
It didn't matter.
What did matter was that IT was still there.
The Batsignal.
If it didn't work, he could make it work. He had that power
now.
And then... surely... Batman would come, right?
The Joker giggled. Everything was in place.
Time to party.
:)
An hour into their search, things weren't looking good.
"Find anything?" asked Mackie.
Linna shook her head. "Not much. Just a few notes.
Looking into some guy named Bruce Wayne, apparently. But
there's nothing on where she went or where she might be
going. You got anything, Nene?"
"She rented a car four days ago, and that's it. Nothing
else. I guess I could try getting in contact with Oracle to
see if-"
"Who?" asked Linna.
"Oracle. Legendary hacker and information broker that got
in touch with Sylia before she disappeared. She might...
might..." Nene's gaze glazed over them, staring out at the
night sky with a curious expresion. She pointed out at
the night sky and asked, "Um, guys? Is that... is that what
I think it is?"
:)
It hit like a wave across the collective consciousness of
Gotham.
In the high towers above the streets, old men paused and
remembered what it meant, and wondered what it meant for
them now.
In the crime infested sector of Crime Alley, young turks and
young punks looked up in the sky and wondered if all those
stories of old were really true.
Gotham held its breath for a moment as the Batsignal blazed
through the night sky.
It could have only meant one thing.
He was back.
:)
Linna took one look at the Batsignal and knew what she had
to do.
"I'm suiting up."
She turned to her teammates with a solemn look they had
rarely ever seen on her face.
"I've got a feeling the Joker's behind this. And if he is,
Priss isn't far behind."
"You're facing him alone?" asked Nene, protest in her voice.
"You can't suit up and Mackie is out of the question."
Seeing the look on Nene's face, Linna thought for a momet.
"Tell you what... keep your ear on the radio and stay near a
terminal. I may need your help with something. I don't
know what, but it never hurts to be prepared."
:)
The Gotham Police Department was up in arms, police swarming
to see the Batsignal in use. The officers were abuzz wth
speculation, some thinking this was an official action
confirming that Batman was back, others believing that some
practical joker snuck up to the roof.
Police Commissioner Renee Montoya was in that catergory.
'Someone get to the old building and SHUT THAT THING OFF
NOW!' she roared.
'Commish, the old rooftop's locked up!'
'Whoever's up there is DEAD!' snarled Montoyo.
One of the men, staring down below with a rifle scope,
focused in on a figure stalking the rooftop's shadows. For
a moment, the mystery man stood in the light, revealed, and
the policeman suddenly felt like he was in an episode of the
twilight zone.
'Um, commish? Ya don't know how right you are...'
:)
The Joker paced and frowned, wringing his hands nervously.
Where was Batman? Surely he'd be here by now, right? What
was taking him so long?
He was so frustrated he could yell.
'BATMAAAAAAAN!'
In reply, a police helicopter focused its spotlight on him.
//'YOU, STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP!'//
'Feh, police. BUZZ OFF!' He reared back his fist and
punched towards the helicopter and the air before his fist
seemed to ripple in a wave.
And then the helicopter exploded.
'Now where was I? Oh yes, getting impatient. BATMAN! If
you don't show up in ten seconds, I'm going to start
tearing this city DOWN! One... Two... TEN!'
The Joker wound his fist back, then lashed out again. Steel
and glass shattered as the neighboring tower shuddred from
his attack. He looked around, searching for another target,
and lashed out again. An advertisement blimp popped in a
bright orange explosion.
'BATMAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!'
A sniper's bullet suddenly jarred his head, snapping it
severely to the right.
'OW!'
With a snarl, he threw punch after punch at the new GPD
buiding, crushing glass and steel with every blow.
Caught up in his rage, the Joker almost missed the blip on
his sensors that was zooming at him from behind. He dodged,
jumping away nimbly as the spot where he stood erupted in an
explosion that sent dust and bricks flying.
'Batman! It's abou... wha?'
As the dust settled, the Joker saw not the Dark Knight, but
a Knight in green armor.
//Where's Harley?!// she demanded to know.
The Joker dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "Shoo.
Scat. Get outta here, kid, you're not a part of tonight's
show."
//I am now.// She rushed forward, swiping at him with a
charged knuckle bomber. He easily dodged that, then stepped
back to evade her followup kick.
Barely able to focus, she was stunned and horrified at his
speed, so fast...
And then he was on her, hitting her with punch after punch,
slamming into her armor like a jackhammer. She twisted
away, whipping her monomolecular ribbons towards the Joker.
A slight buzz and a scream of pain from him told her the
ribbons did their job. The Joker's left hand flew away in a
shower of sparks and fluid.
She didn't have time to enjoy it.
The Joker suddenly tagged her with an elbow to her head,
nearly knocking her out. As she staggered away, he wound
back with his one remaining fist and sent a gravity blast
her way. She saw it coming and tried to dodge, but got
caught at its edge. Even the edge of the blast was still
powerful enough to send her flying towards the steel wall
connecting the old building to the new.
Something caught her.
Linna looked up, and into the shape of something huge and
dark. Her eyes met two points of light on an otherwise
featureless mask, save a knight-like grill on his mouth and
two pointed tips. Ebony draconian wings seemd to fold
behind him.
'That's enough, Joker.'
'Batman!' The Joker nearly jumped for joy. 'You reallly
ARE back! Hold on a moment while I get my hand.'
The Dark Knight put a stunned Linna on her feet as the Joker
quickly picked his hand up from the ground and fused it to
his arm.
"B-batman?" stammered Linna.
'Leave. Now,' he commanded, in his low, rumbling voice.
"No," said Linna sternly. "He's got my friend. I'm not
leaving without her."
For a moment, she wondered if Batman knew Japanese. It
didn't seem to matter when he stared down at her for a
moment, then strode forward to face the Joker.
Linna did a quick system check on her hardsuit. There were
some cracks in the armor and more than half of the linear
motors in the front side of her suit were damaged, but it
was still very much functional. With that done, she went to
Batman's side.
The Joker looked at them both, amused, then examined Batman
with a critical eye. 'Hm. Armor. Power armor. Took the
nickname 'dark knight' a bit literally, did you?'
'You should be dead,' said Batman.
'Same could be said of you, Batsy,' countered the Joker.
'Last time we danced, we really lit up the Gotham sky.' He
waved a hand casually. 'Ah, well, but that was then and
this is now.'
The Dark Knight merely stared at him.
'Well, let's get to the main event, shall we?,' asked the
Joker. 'HAAAAAR-LEEEEEY!'
Two figures stepped out from the shadows of the rooftop.
Priss/Harley, holding an elderly woman, gagged and bound, at
gunpoint.
"Priss!" shouted Linna.
:)
The Joker had a plan.
It went something like this:
In front of Batman, he'd have Jim Gordon's last descendent
shot and killed, with him helpless to do anything about it.
Then with his new body's neat bag of tricks, the Joker would
pound Batman to his knees.
He didn't count on Linna being there.
:)
Linna, on the other hand, came prepared for this
confrontation.
She had the narrow beam EMP gun attachment on her armor.
Good for one shot, but she hoped it'd be enough.
In one swift move, she took aim and fired. The results were
instant, with Priss screaming and on her knees.
Immediately, Batman sprang at the Joker, freeing Linna to
check on her friend.
"Priss! Are you okay?" Linna slowly helped her up,
steadying her friend in her arms.
"Ow... what the..."
"Priss?"
"That HURT!" Priss suddenly landed an uppercut on Linna's
jaw, sending her in the air a moment before landing flat on
her back. "And the name's HARLEY!"
And then she got struck from behind, as Barbara swung her
tied-up fists at her head. Harley/Priss snarled and punched
her, knocking her out cold.
'And that's enough outta you!'
:)
'End of the line, Joker.' Batman reached out to grab him by
the shirt collar. The Joker calmly intercepted his hand.
'Oh no,' said the Joker. "it won't be as easy as that.
Not anymore.' With ease, he shoved Batman's hand away, then
surprised him with a lightning quick punch to the face.
Batman rolled with the punch, lashing out with a kick as he
spun around.
The Joker was knocked off of his feet, but not for long as
he sprang back up immediately. Soon, the two were
exchanging thunderous blows as metal struck metal.
:)
"I see it, but I don't believe it."
Commissioner Montoya looked on from above with the aid of
binoculars as she saw the ensuing fight rage on.
"Is it really him?" asked an awe-struck officer.
"I don't know." She turned to him and asked, "Any luck
unfreezing the system?"
"Sorry, commish. Someone's got a firm grip on our network.
Everything's locked up."
"I knew automating everything was a stupid idea."
"Hey commish! Batman's gone down!
:)
"Sorry, Priss."
Linna feinted right, then lashed out with her left leg.
Priss/Harley caught it, as she expected. Linna used that leg
to pivot on as she hopped up and struck the side of Priss'
head with her right leg.
She held back on that kick, of course. The suit was built
to kill boomers, not knock out people. All the more reason
for her to feel a moment of fear as Priss collapsed on the
ground.
It was a short victory, and one she had no time to enjoy.
A roar of pain came from behind her, followed by
triumphant laughter.
'First blood, Batboy!'
Linna turned to the battle between Batman and the Joker, now
at the roof's edge. She saw something long, sharp and
narrow piercing through the dark knight's armor. As the
Joker pulled away, she saw it was his morphed hand.
With his other hand, the Joker formed a massive mallet. He
raised it, laughing wildly.
Linna sprang at him, jump-assist thrusters burning, and
slammed into the Joker with a knuckle bomber. The explosion
sent him over the edge, down to the streets below,
screaming as he fell.
Quickly, Linna untied the still unconscious hostage, then
went to Batman's side.
'Barbara... is she...' he said weakly. He then hesitated,
then said it again, this time in Japanese. "Is... the
hostage..."
"She's knocked out, but fine." Linna examined Batman's
wound closely. The Joker had managed to stab through the
joints in his armor, and the hole he'd put in there looked
grisly indeed. "We need to get you to a hospital, you're
bleeding badly."
"No."
"But-"
He cut her off with a raised hand, then pointed up. Above
them, something began to descend.
:)
//Nene?//
The redhead stopped her typing immediately and grabbed her
microphone.
"Linna? What happened? Is everything okay?"
//I've got Priss, but... you're not going to believe this.//
"What?"
//I'm... I think I'm in the Batjet.//
Nene blinked. "The... the what?"
//Batman's here with me.//
"WHAT?!"
//It's... ah.. a weird story... but Batman came to my rescue
and now we're headed... um... somewhere. Can you track my
signal?//
"Hold on," said Linna. She quickly dug into her large bag
of equipment and pulled out another laptop, this one with a
few bulky attachments and wires connected, and plugged it
in. "Okay... tracing... now. I got you."
//Where am I headed?//
"North pretty fast too."
//I don't know where we're going, but try to follow us.
Might need help with Priss.//
"Priss? How is she?"
//Priss? She's f-ne -ut I'm w---ied th-//
"Linna? I'm losing you. Linna? Hello?"
Staring at her screen, Nene watched the small blip that
marked her location suddenly disappear.
"Linna? Hello?"
:)
Linna blinked.
She had been staring out the side window of the, er,
Batjet, while talking to Nene, when suddenly the dark skies
and distant lights of Gotham disappeared. The world seemed
to be swallowed in darkness.
"What the..."
And then there was light.
They emerged in a dark cavern, enormous in its size, dimly
lit by runway lights from below and warning lights on the
ceiling.
The Batjet, still running on autopilot since they'd left the
city, slowly made its descent. It landed with slight jolt,
then hissed as the deck ramp lowered.
Batman rose slowly from his chair, his breath ragged as he
walked. Linna quickly rushed to his side and helped him
down the ramp, but found herself pushed away at the bottom.
"Batman?"
He didn't acknowledge her call, continuing to walk down the
runway with a hand over his wound.
"Batman, wait!"
This time he hesitated "See to the others."
"But you-"
"I'll... be fine."
Reluctantly, Linna turned back to the craft, letting the the
Dark Knight disappear into the shadows.
:)
Priss would be a problem.
That is, if she was still Harlequin.
Linna looked at Priss nervously, wondering how she'd be able
to restrain her. She found several... for lack of a better
description... bat-cuffs, and used a number of them on
Priss' arms and feet. She wasn't sure how strong those
enhancements on Priss were, but she had a feeling the cuffs
would eventually break if Priss was determined enough.
After snapping on the last of the cuffs, she turned her
attention to the elderly lady that had been taken hostage.
Aside from a mild concussion, she seemed fine, and started
to come around as Linna checked on her.
Linna realized, as the woman woke, she'd have to keep her
helmet on. The lady seemed nice by appearances, but Sylia
drilled it into her never to be too careful.
Damn. It was starting to feel stuffy in there.
:)
"You sure this is the right way?" asked Mackie, feeling a
bit uneasy about driving on American roads.
"Linna's signal cut out in this direction," replied Nene as
she checked over her laptop map. "Nothing much out there...
some cliffs, undeveloped land, and... this is not
coincidence."
"Hm?"
"The old Wayne Manor. It's out in the direction where we're
headed. Sylia said she was checking out some stuff about
Wayne. This can't be a coincidence."
"So you think..."
Nene nodded. "Head for Wayne Manor."
They drove onward in their little hatchback rental car,
through long unused roads and dark forest paths, their car
shaken by the turbulent winds and their path darkened by the
overcast skies. Finally Wayne Manor appeared on the
horizon, looming at the top of a cliff justting above and
away from the rest of the land.
Mackie whistled. "Wow, looks impressive."
"Hey, what's that?" Nene pointed to the gates of Wayne
Manor, where a car was parked and apparently abandoned.
They parked by the car, then Nene took a good look at the
license plate and typed it into her laptop. A moment later,
her suspicions were confirmed.
"Sylia's car."
"Looks like it's been sitting here a while too," said
Mackie.
"This is definitely not a coincidence." Nene walked around
Sylia's car, trying to peer inside. "Hey, I think I see
some of her stuff inside. Can you-"
-click-
Mackie deftly put away his lockpick set, whistling casually.
This clearly surprised Nene. "Hey, when did you learn how
to lockpick?"
"Sis taught me. Said it could come in handy someday. Guess
she was right."
"Open the trunk while you're at it."
:)
The first thing Barbara saw as she woke up was a woman in
battle armor standing by her. She remembered the woman as
the one that saved her from the woman that was calling
herself Harlequin.
The next thing she saw was the new Harlequin, handcuffed
excessively, in the seat next to hers.
Looking around again, she realized what she was in.
"The... the Batjet. What am I..."
The girl in the armor said something, but it was in
Japanese, a language which Barbara had no fluency in aside
from 'sayonara'.
"Sorry," she said, "I don't speak Japanese."
The woman tried again. "You... feeling okay?"
Barbara nodded. "Who are you?"
"I... ah... Knight Saber."
Ah. Them.
"Where... where's Batman? Where are we?"
The figure pointed to the exit ramp, where Barbara noticed a
trail of blood leading outward. "Is he okay?"
The Knight Saber shrugged.
"I'm going to go check on him, okay? Make sure Harley here
doesn't do anything."
:)
She stepped across its barren floor, feeling nostalgic as
she did. It had seemed like a lifetime since she and Dick
retired, the end of an era for them.
"Batman?"
Her words echoed through the cavern, with no reply. She
followed the trail of blood past the main cavern, and saw
by the trail that he hesitated in front of the case holding
the Robin costume.
Tim's.
She followed the trail as it went deeper into the cave, down
some stairs, towards the area she rememberd as Bruce's
med center. It made sense to head there.
Finally, she arrived in the med room. The lights were all
dimmed, nearly hiding the large, armored figure sitting upon
a throne of steel in the back. She could see dozens of
thin, spindly mechanical arms moving about the armor,
automaton surgens working their patient over as they weaved
around his gaping wound.
"Bruce?"
"Barbara," he replied. Even though his voice was
electronically masked, she could hear the weariness and
exhaustion in it.
"Bruce, what.. what's going on? What are those things doing
to you?"
"Automated... surgeons... and medical... nanites."
"I'll... I'll let you get patched up," said Barbara. "But
we need to talk. You just... you just return from out of
nowhere and you're batman again. Bruce, you're too old for
this... and we've missed you."
:)
Linna tended to Priss, placing her on a fairly large table
off to the side of what seemed to be the main room of the
Batcave.
While the suit gloves were made for good handling, it wasn't
good enough for caring for the wounded. At least, that was
Linna's opinion. That -- well, and the fact that the suit
slowly losing power -- were both reasons she felt that she'd
have to risk blowing her identity.
Linna deactivated her powesuit and slipped out of it. She
immediately regretted it, as the cave was not only chilly,
but drafty. The garments worn under the powersuit were
terribly thin and not made to withstand extreme weather
conditions.
Looking around, she found a sink, as well as some towels and
a bathrobe hanging in a small stand-alone closet of sorts.
She quickly donned the bathrobe, despite the musty smell and
the fact that it was a few sizes too big. Linna dampened the
cloth and began wiping away the Harlequin's makeup.
As she was wiping, she noticed something metallic, latched
onto Priss' head, hidden behind her ear. She tugged gently
at it, and immediately stopped when she saw it might take
off a significant amount of skin with it.
"What is this?"
Hearing footsteps approaching, Linna turned around. She saw
the woman, Barbara, approaching slowly. Well, thought
Linna, she saw my face. Hope Sylia doesn't kill me for
this.
'How's Harley?' asked Barbara.
Linna shook her head. "She's not Harley. She's Priss."
Remembering that she probably didn't understand Japanese,
Linna tried it again in simpler terms, pointing to Priss and
saying her name.
'Ah. I see. A friend of yours? Your friend?'
Linna nodded, then went back to examining the chip behind
Priss' ear.
'What's that you're looking at, dear?'
Hearing the inquisitive tone on Barbara's voice, Linna was
guessing she wanted to know what was so interesting. Why
not show her, mused Linna. Couldn't hurt. It would go a
long way towards explaining Priss' condition. Linna leaned
out of the way and pointed the chip out, clearly increasing
the woman's curiosity.
'So he's doing that again... just like before.' Barbara
said. Gently, she pulled at the metal device. As blood
began to run down Priss' neck, Linna placed a hand on
Barbara's and gave her a questioning look. 'Trust me,' said
Barbara. 'It's not as bad as it looks. I've seen this
before; I know what I'm doing. It's a trick he stole from
the Mad Hatter, mind control chips. Take it out and she'll
be fine.' Barbara hesitated again and then looked at Linna
carefully. 'Do... do you understand what I'm saying?'
Linna nodded.
Barbara took a deep breath, then pulled the chip the rest of
the way out. The pins, surprisingly long, released their
grip on Priss and eased out, leaving a circular red wound
bleeding in a steady stream. Linna quickly moved the towel
to cover her wound. From nearby, Barbara retrieved a
bandage from somewhere Linna didn't see and applied it to
Priss' neck.
Priss remained surprisingly sedate as the chip was removed,
twitching only once.
Linna sighed in relief, then seemed contemplative for a
moment as she watched Barbara rinse the chip of its blood in
the sink. The old woman seemed familiar with the place,
making Linna wonder how she was connected to it.
She thought it over.
In this situation, Sylia would've probably kept a mask on or
something, and had a knife handy in case the woman turned
out to be a danger.
That was Sylia's way, not hers.
"Ah... thank you," said Linna, hoping she wasn't mangling
her English. 'Watashi wa.. er... my name is Linna.' She
held a hand out to the woman, smiling.
"You're welcome," replied Barbara, shaking Linna's hand.
"Barbara." The woman looked thoughtful for a moment, then
pointed at herself and said, "Batgirl."
Linna nearly did a double-take. "You?" she asked. Barbara
nodded.
"Oh, the stories I could tell... too bad you don't know
English well enough," sighed Barbara. "Listen, I'm going to
check on Batman. If you need anything, I'll be over there."
Barbara pointed to one of the dark passages to the side,
where Batman's trail of blood ominously trailed into.
"Is he... ah...," said Linna. She shook her head and tried
again in English. 'Is he okay?'
Barbara nodded, then left Linna to watch over Priss.
:)
'Bruce?'
Still sitting in his throne of steel, still clad in battle
armor, the Batman rested. The small metal pincers had ceased
their work. Sitting there like that, he looked like a lord
of darkness brooding after a battle.
'Bruce, are you okay?'
'I'm here, Barbara.' His voice was even more weary than
before, troubled and tired. 'Just tired.'
'Do you know who that young lady is?'
Batman nodded. 'Linna Yamazaki. Part of the project.'
'Project?'
'Curran.'
'You mean she's...'
'Not directly, no. She was recruited by Sylia Stingray.'
Barbara nodded. 'So, how's it feel to see your heir in
action?'
'It... feels good.'
'She seems to be up to the job. I'm sure Dick would
approve.'
Batman lifted his head slightly. 'Dick... how is he?'
'He's fine, Bruce.' Barbara smiled. 'You should see the
grandkids some time.'
'Grandchildren.' Batman shook his head slowly. 'Dick...
and you... you made the right decision, retiring.'
'And you?'
'I... I couldn't stop. I never will.'
'Bruce, you're 74 years old. It's time to put your
ghosts to rest. You found heirs in other countries,
perhaps it's time to finally find one for your home?'
'Perhaps.' Batman drew in a long breath, then sighed.
'Once I finish with the Joker.'
'The Joker,' said Barbara, frowning. 'Bruce, how... I mean,
he looks like he hasn't aged a day. He shouldn't be alive.
He was killed when you...'
'That's not the Joker. Not the original. He's a boomer, a
highly advanced boomer.'
'A boomer? But who'd be mad enough to make a Joker boomer?'
'I don't know.'
'He wounded you pretty badly... when did you get this fancy
chair?'
'Rossum. And Stingray.'
'Sylia's father, right?'
Batman nodded.
'Bruce, are you sure using those nanites is okay? I mean,
even today they're highly experimental, and unless you've
been updating them lately....'
'I'll be fine. The nanites work.'
'How do you know?'
Batman's reply this time seemed a bit tense, with an edge
to it. 'I know.'
Barbara stepped closer, resting a hand on Batman's steel
gauntlet. 'Bruce... why haven't you taken off the suit
yet?'
'I... something's wrong.'
'Wrong?'
'Something... something's wrong with me. I... I don't
understand.'
Slowly, Batman removed the seals of his helmet. One by one,
they snapped and hissed out of place.
Finally, he lifted the helm away from his face.
Barbara gasped.
:)
end part 6
:)