ROUGH BETA FORMAT
C&C welcome
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Bubblegum Crisis
Batman: The Animated Series
S M I L E
A tale of knights, past and present.
---------------------------------
Part 8: The Tour
---------------------------------
(-|-)
Among the nest of gargoyles on their 40th floor perch, Linna
gazed down below, admiring the dark city of Gotham. The
last of the evening's light had fallen, only a purple
horizon remaining in an otherwise dark night. All around
them, the lights of the city were alive with movement,
though most of the lights were down below on the street
level. In the distance, the beginnings of thunderclouds
began to form, an ominous sign.
Unlike MegaTokyo and its forest of shining new steel towers,
Gotham was an amalgam of new and old. Stone and brick stood
next to iron and glass, all of them dark and subdued in
color. It was as if the city had a grim personality, and
imposed it on all who built Gotham's towers. No matter how
advanced technology had become, Gotham's buildings always
had a touch of gothic to them. The building they were on
now was a behemoth of grey steel, with enormous iron
gargoyles towering over Linna, glaring down at the people
below.
She had a bad feeling about tonight, and it wasn't just the
city's dark nature. She looked to the right, and shivered
slightly at the massive ebony figure standing at the
building's corner.
As she stood waiting, Nene's voice crackled over a private
com-link channel. //"Linna, how's Sylia?"//
//"She... er... she's still Batman,"// Linna whispered.
//"Any clues why?"//
//"I was hoping you'd tell me,"// replied Nene. //"She say
anything after you two went on patrol?"//
//"Nothing, and she glares at me if I call her Sylia,"//
replied Linna. //"How's Priss?"//
//"She's awake."//
//"And?"//
/"And? That's it,"// said Nene. //"She won't do anything
else. Just stays in bed with a pillow over her head."//
//"Not good."//
'Batman' finally moved from his place, stalking atop the
head of one of the massive gargoyles. 'His' synthesized
barritone rumble came cut into Linna's speakers.
//"Stay here,"// he said, and shot a line at the neighboring
tower.
//"Wha- wait! Where are you going?"// asked Nene.
//'Going to talk to an old acquaintance.'//
(-|-)
An elderly figure sat in a darkened loft, entrenched deep in
his recliner. The room's only illumination came from a
holographic fireplace, the false flames sending flickers of
red and orange across the room.
An orange dot stood out among the changing patterns of
light, the glowing tip of a cigarette held in an
old-fashioned cigarette holder, resting in a white-gloved
hand. To the left of him, the room was dominated by a
single window pane, through which the forest of Gotham's
towers could be seen.
As the old man breathed in and out, a faint sound could be
heard, a weak wheezing that almost sounded like a 'waugh'.
>From the deeper shadows of the room, something stirred,
something larger than life. The old man cast a widened eye
to it, then 'waugh'ed a bit sharply.
'Forgive me if I don't give a *cough* jolt of panic,' the
old man said, his voice dripping with cultured sarcasm.
'This old bird is a bit too tired.'
The figure stared at him. The Penguin, in turn, stared
back, slightly amused.
'New feathers for the old bird, I see,' said the Penguin,
raising a monacle to his eye. 'Or perhaps you're an entire
new bird, hm? Like what you've done, yes, looks much
more menacing.'
//'You've still got connections to the underground.'//
The deep baritone of Batman's voice surprised the Penguin --
almost as he remembered it, but with a suspicious artificial
tinge...
'Moi? *cough* Underground?' The geriatric Penguin looked
mildly insulted. 'Why, I'm an honest business man.
Retired, of course.'
Batman's body shifted forward menacingly.
'Going to smash my table again?' asked the Penguin. 'Come
now, we're both too old for that.' He paused for a moment,
taking a puff from his cigarette. 'At least, I am. Not too
sure about you, waugh-hah!'
Batman stood silently.
The Penguin frowned, then 'waugh'ed a sigh. 'Oh, let's get
this over with. What do you want?'
'The Joker. What have you heard?'
Taking another long drag from his cigarette, the Penguin
blew smoke into the air and 'waugh'ed as if in
understanding. 'This new Joker, hm? The original was
turned into pate by you... or your predecessor.' He stroked
his chin and gazed at Batman once more. 'I don't suppose
you'd tell me if that was really you in there, the original,
waugh?'
Silence.
'No, I suppo-'
//"When you tried to steal the Kestrel Diamond,"// said
Batman, //"the automated security system almost killed you.
I saved you. You owe me."//
The Penguin's eyes widened a notch. 'Well well. Nothing
conclusive but you've certainly made yourself more
interesting.'
//'The Joker.'//
Pausing a moment to tap the ashes from his cigarette off,
the Penguin said, 'Some boys in one of the local...
organizations... say they heard laughter coming from the
warehouse district. A distinctive sort of laughter.'
Batman waited.
The Penguin shrugged. 'Sorry, old bird, that's all _I_
have,' he said dismissively.
As Batman turned to leave, the Penguin said, 'You know, I've
won. Look at me, comfortably rich and well into retirement.
Living well is the best revenge, and _I_ won.'
//'We'll see.'//
And with that, the Batman disappeared into the shadows. The
Penguin sighed, wiping his brow with a hankerchief. A
moment later he pushed a button on a nearby table.
'Birdy! Find us a new security firm; we need an upgrade!'
(-|-)
The warehouse district was an even more helter-skelter blend
than downtown, gleaming and smooth grey warehouses and
factories mixed with dark, decrepid and rusting ones.
The streets and walkways below were mostly empty, aside from
a few vagrants and the occasional security officer. Off to
the east, the sounds of the shipyars and Gotham Harbor could
be heard, bellowing smokestacks, warning bells and the whir
of heavy machinery.
Above it all, from rooftop to rooftop, Batman and Linna
hunted for their prey.
//"So, um, what're we looking for?"// asked Linna.
//"Some place the Joker would like, something with clowns,
toys, or playing cards... or that."//
//"Or what?"//
Batman didn't reply, instead leaping down to an alley
between two decrepid warehouses. He approached a nearby
dumpster, its lid cracked slightly and a hand dangling from
it. Linna gasped at the sight, while Batman slowly lifted
the lidd. Inside was a dead watchman, the telltale death
grin of the Joker's venom on his face.
Linna looked around them warily. //"He's been here."//
Batman's eyes fell upon one of the newer warehouses a few
blocks down, the company title 'ACE CHEMICALS' printed in
bold text.
//"There."//
//"There?"// asked Linna. //"Why there?"//
Batman paused for a moment, then said, //"He has sentimental
attachments."//
//".... oh."//
Linna followed Batman, who chose to approach from the
rooftops. They leaped away, then approached the building
from behind, in the shadowy alleys. They approached a side
door, where Linna saw automated lockpicks emerge from
Batman's gauntlet and open the door.
The inside was cavernous and cold, stacked to the ceiling
with crates and barrels. Linna could tell something was
wrong immdiately; some of the neon lights overhead were
dark, while others were sputtering and sparking, hanging
partially down.
//"Be ready,"// said Batman quietly. Linna quickly primed
her weapons systems, warily looking around. As they wound
their way through stacks, they came upon a scattering of the
grinning dead, their bodies long since drained of the colour
of life.
Batman knelt by one of the bodies, looking the unfortunate
victim over. //"Dead at least a day. He's settled in here
or he's long gone."//
They went further through the warehouse, passing several
opened crates and barrels. Batman stopped to examine these,
then headed for the back of the warehouse, Linna following
close behind. They came upon a row of freight trucks,
quickly noting the empty gap in the row.
//"He took a truck,"// said Linna. //"And he hauled out
some chemicals."// She looked down at a puddle of spilled
liquid, and at the footprint left in it. //"And he had a
combat boomer, BU-55's probably."//
//"Joker toxin and some muscle to back him up."// said
Batman. //"Go to the office terminal, get the license plate
of the missing truck."//
//"But wh-"//
Not waiting for Linna's question, Batman stalked away into
the warehouse, looking for the unknown. Linna sighed, then
headed to the small office at the corner of the warehouse.
She froze right when she opened the door.
Sitting in the office chair was a basic maintenance boomer,
its upper head replaced by a makeshift camera. The lower
half of its face was stilll there, the mouth welded into a
grin.
'Hi there!' it said.
//"Batman, get over here!"//
//"What?"//
The boomer folded its arms. 'Hey, you're not Batsy,' it
pouted in the Joker's voice.
//"The Joker left some sort of boomer here, it's got a
camera on its head and it's talking to me."//
Batman's voice came loud and urgent on the comm.
//"YAMAZAKI! GET OUT!"//
//"Huh?"//
'Oh well, you'll have to do. Five!'
Linna's eyes went wide. //"Uh oh."//
She turned around to run. The door slammed shut.
//"OhSHIT!"//
//"Yamazaki!"//
'Fourthreetwoone!'
//"AAAAAAGH!"//
'BOOM!'
Linna cringed, waiting for the explosion.
And waited.
'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!'
She turned slowly, arms trembling, and stared at the boomer.
//"Wh... what the..."//
The boomer was still laughing. 'Ha! Gotcha!'
With the sound of bending metal, Batman ripped the door from
its hinges.
'Oh, NOW you show up,' said the Joker's boomer, crossing its
arms.
The Batman's voice was a growl, angry and deep.
//'Joker.'//
'Aheh! Aheheh! Woooo! Had ya going there, didn't I? Okay,
this time I mean it. Five!'
//"RUN!"//
:)
The High View was situated on the top of Gotham's 3rd
highest tower, a restaurant and lounge that was frequented
by the upper class of Gotham. At the moment it provided a
magnificent view of the fireball mushroom blossoming out
from the warehouse district.
The Joker sat upon a window table, smiling down upon the
destruction, twirling a martini in his gloved hand.
'And there's the punchline!' he said happily. 'Good joke,
huh?'
The dozens of dead patrons didn't reply. They were, at
least, smiling.
'Yeah, that bit was good, mm-hm.' He took a sip from the
glass, then tossed it carelessly behind him. 'Buuuuut
knowing Batsy, he just had his wings singed. No, we haven't
gotten to the real fun and games yet, nonono, but we'll be
getting to that soon enough.'
Standing up, the Joker dusted himself off dramatically, ran
a hand through his green hair, then giggled. 'Groucho!
Harpo! Chico! Zeppo! Let's go!'
Four massive shapes lumbered behind him as he left, monotone
static giggles filling the air in their wake.
;)
//"Romanova."//
Nene nearly fell out of her seat, snapping to
attention. She found talking to 'Batman'
incredibly unnerving.
"Yessir!"
//"Scan the police and military for stolen and missing
combat boomers."//
"Yessir!"
//"And..."//
Nene blinked, noticing the uncertain tone that wavered into
Batman's voice.
"Sir?"
//"How's Asigiri?"//
"No change sir, sorry."
//"Batman out."//
Nene slumped and sank back into her seat, sighing as she
did. Just the beginning of another long night. She looked
around, wishing Mackie was with her, but he was off
exploring other regions of the cave.
With Sylia out of her mind and Priss without one, Nene
wondered what else could go wrong.
(-|-)
'Uh oh.'
Carrie Delrin looked around and frowned, regretting the
decision to take a brief nap under the tree. All around
her, the wilderness was dark and untouched by the lights of
civilization. The ride back on her scooter was sure to be a
long one, and the night skies above hinted of a storm to
come.
She looked to the boarded up mansion, Wayne Manor, and
wondered how it was inside after all these years. She had
memories, vague memories, of a time long ago when her family
had opened the place for special occasions, usually
anniversary celebrations, family reunions and such.
Recollections of a grand staircase, dark oak, thick
carpeting and endless corridors came to mind. In some way,
the manor had always scared her, being so huge and yet so
empty.
But it was also fun, with her and her cousins John and Lisa
running around like the crazy kids they were. Hide and seek
was elevated to a whole new level when inside the Wayne
Manor.
A part of her realized this was where her grandfather was
raised, after his parents died...
Overhead, the first flash of lighting appeared, followed
soon after by the crack of thunder. Carrie frowned, knowing
her parents weren't going to be happy with her being out
this late. They were about to become more upset if she
didn't get home, and at the rate the stormclouds were
brewing...
A sudden torrential downpour of rain killed any ideas about
going home.
"Oooh crap!"
She hopped on her scooter, driving quickly to the manor's
front overhang for shelter.
'Great, just great,' she muttered.
Soaked thoroughly, she wondered if she could somehow get
inside. Pry some boards maybe, or get in by breaking a
window? This wasn't going to be easy without a crowbar...
She gave the board covering the front door a might tug. To
her astonishment, it flew off easily, and so did she,
stumbling bacwkards and falling on her rear.
'Ow!'
She blinked, looking at the wood board in her hands. This
was certainly unexpected. Quickly tossing it aside, she
tested the front door. It creaked, but it opened.
This was weird.
She peered inside. The grand entry greeted her sight, with
its chandalier and grand staircase.
It was dark in there.
Very dark.
She went back to her scooter, got the mini-flashlight, then
went back inside. It was far too dark in there to be
without one...
(-|-)
Well this was typical, Linna thought to herself.
Caught in the lightning and rain, the duo of Batman and
Saber Green (definitely not as smooth sounding as 'Batman
and Robin' thought Linna) kept to the shadows of the
surrounding trees as they spied the outskirts of a long
abandoned circus. In the distance, the long-unused ferris
wheel creaked and groaned, while nearby the ragged tent
flaps snapped and fluttered in the violent wind.
//"Isn't this too obvious?"// asked Linna.
//"With the Joker, nothing is certain."//
The Batman advanced upon the empty tent cautiously, but only
took a few steps before something began to happen. The
ragged walls of the big top ripped apart as four massive
boomers tore through them with ease. Linna knew them
immediately: BU-12Bs, with an upper body almost disc-like in
nature with twin thrusterse sprouting like wings from its
back, each armed with a massive cannon/shield nearly as tall
as itself. Each of their 'faces' were painted in white with
red lipstick where their mouths would be.
Linna and Batman seperated immediately as the boomers'
autocannons opened fire, tearing up earth and forest in a a
symphony of bullets, debris and thunder. Tree after tree
shattered under the onslaught as Linna retreated further,
the enemy fire too heavy to let her shoot back.
And then the shooting stopped.
Cautiously, Linna approached, ready to spring away at the
first sign of the combat boomers. Instead, she saw four
smoking hulks of boomer wreckage and Batman standing above
them, two blades extending from his arms much like the ones
in Sylia's armor. Another look at the boomers revealed
clean hits to their 'brains', fatal blows every time.
Nothing more, nothing less.
She was speechless.
//"Let's go,"// said Batman.
//"H-hai."//
(-|-)
Exploring Wayne Manor turned out to be more nervewracking
than she'd feared, darkness all around and the sound of the
storm outside raging in full. Paintings of Waynes past
were there as she remembered, and medieval armor as well,
though it all was far more eerie at the moment. A noticable
covering of dust had settled over everything, evidence of
its undisturbed nature.
Waitasec, she thought. What was that?
As she stood at the base of the grand stairs, there was a
trail of footprints, new footprints.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared, rattling the windows
and shaking the earth. Carrie stifled a scream, her arms
shaking in fear.
She could go home now. That would probably be the best
idea, yes. Carrie knew how all those old urban legends
went, and this was the sort of thing that got the stupid kid
killed.
She could go home.
She didn't.
Taking a deep breath, she followed the footprints upstairs,
her steps creaking on the wooden floor. As she walked down
the corridor, she saw a slightly opened door ahead, where
the footprints were leading.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Trying to control her trembling, she approached the door.
She tried to listen for someone's presence, but the storm
was too loud, the only sounds in her ears being the creaking
of her footsteps and the heavy beating of her heart.
Carrie peered into the narrow slit the opened door afforded
her, seeing nothing.
She had to open the door.
She didn't want to open the door.
This was where something scary popped out because the door
creaked really loudly, or even worse, something snuck up
from behind while-
Carrie slowly turned around.
Nothing there.
Good.
She pushed at the door carefully and it responded with an
ear-piercing squealing that seemed to echo everywhere.
In panic, she backstepped away from the room.
A quick scan with her flashlight revealed it to be a study
of some sort, with books lining one wall, tables here and
there, and a large chair at the other end. Specks of dust
floated in the air, solidifying her flashlight beam.
Carefully, she crept into the room. Straining to hear above
the rain and thunder, she failed to sense any other
presence. The footsteps continued into the room, pacing
everywhere. One of the windowpanes had been wiped away,
though for what she wasn't sure, since the windows were
boarded up.
She followed the mystery man's path around the room, finding
herself pacing back and forth, then standing before a large
fireplace. The tracks changed here, as if the person fell
to their knees or something. Was there something in the
fireplace? No, no tracks went there, the mystery man didn't
go into the fireplace. If anything, they turned sharply
back and out the door.
So what was here?
She shone her flashlight up, above the fireplace, where a
large painting rested. In it were a couple, presumably
married, certainly wealthy. On the bottom of the frame was
a name plate, 'Thomas and Martha Wayne'.
Hrm.
So these would be her... adoped great-great-grandparents.
Neat.
Nothing left here, though, but to follow the trail onwards.
(-|-)
Of all the things Linna was expecting to see inside the
abandoned circus, a tunnel leading downward and into an
ancient railway wasn't it.
Then again, Syl... Batman did say nothing was certain when
it came to the Joker.
The moment they descended into the tunnel they heard the
faint sound of a train speeding away. Immediately, Batman's
iron wings unfurled and boosters roared to life, sending him
zooming down the tunnel. Linna, her suit not built for
flight, kept up with boost assisted hops. Rounding the dark
corridor, they saw the train, an old silver bullet model
that had to have been unused for decades., shambling down
the tracks. Batman reached the car first, wingls folding
tightly to his back as he landed on the caboose, followed by
Linna landing in at the end of a mighty leap.
//"Get ready,"// said Batman. Linna nodded, and a moment
later the two kicked the rear door open, Batman hunched and
ready to charge, Linna with her weapon arm primed and ready.
The cabin was empty.
There was, however, a greeting written on the wall in bright
red.
JOKER TOURS!
Linna stared at it and blinked. //"Huh."//
The two stared around the cabin, looking for anything else.
Aside from a large red arrow pointing towards the next door,
the room was decrepit with age, disrepair and dust.
//"I guess we follow the arrow?"// asked Linna.
The Joker's whimsical voice cut in, crackling from unseen
speakers. //'Welcome to the Joker's Gotham Tour line!
Please follow the red line, keep all hands inside the
car and watch out for the killer robots! Hahahahahaa!"//
The door to the next cabin slip open suddenly.
Batman and Linna tensed.
A single rusty cleaner boomer puttered out. It collapsed
before crossing the door, dying with a final wheeze.
//'Okay, so we're running low on killer robots,'// said the
Joker's voice sheepishly. //'But that isn't really
important. What IS important is presentation, ain't that
right Batsy?'//
Linna looked to Batman, who remained silent.
//'Feel free to head to the front of the train, there's not
much that'll happen here,'// said the Joker, sounding almost
bored. //'Making you a Bat-smear now just wouldn't be...
it'd lack that sort of... that je ne sais qui, y'know? I've
got something much bigger planned, but it'll have to wait
till the end of the ride.'//
//'Don't trust him,'// said Batman through the private
comm-line. //'Stay alert.'// Linna nodded.
As the train continued down the dark tunnel, it took a
sudden rise, emerging from a hillside and over a rusted
railway bridge. The massive skyline of Gotham appeared to
their left, an ocean of lights in the sea of darkness.
//'I've made a few adjustments, taken control of the subway
system, and you kids should be arriving at the heart of
Gotham in a feeeeeeeew minutes. Until then... '// The Joker
took a breath, then spoke again, this time his voice taking
on a slightly bitter edge in its whimsical tone. //'Take a
look at this city. No place like home, eh? Oh, how I miss
the old days. Oh well, I'll see you at the end of the line,
hm? And by the way...'//
>From further down the train, they heard the sounds of tiny
metal feet skittering towards them. //'I _do_ have a few
toys to spare. Wouldn't want you to get killed by boredom
on the way, eh? Hahahahahaaa!'//
Typical, Linna thought.
:)
The footsteps eventually lead out to a door on the opposite
end of the study, into another corridor and down the
grand staircase, the set on the other end this time, and
continued down the central hallway.
The lack of windows made this passageway particularly dark,
yet Carrie ventured onward with nothing but a small pocket
flashlight.
'Any minute now,' she muttered to herself, 'just any minute
now something is gonna pop outta the dark and scare the hell
outta me.'
Much to her irritation, nothing did, and that only added to
the tension and anticipation that something _would_ pop out
sooner or later.
The footsteps seemed to go down the darkened corridor
forever, but eventually turned left. Carrie hesitated,
however, upon seeing the doors to the grand ballroom. She
smiled as she thought of it, that grand room with
chandaliers and pillars and all sorts of beautiful things...
She wondered how it looked now.
Hesitating for just a moment, Carrie turned away from the
footsteps and reached for the ballroom doors. She cringed,
expecting the door hinges to groan loudly as she pulled, and
was surprised when the door opened with very little noise at
all.
Carrie peeked into the vast darkness of the ballroom,
shining her light inside. Cobwebs and the dusty air filled
her beam of light, the marble walls illuminated by the
flashlight from far away. She raised her beam to the
ceilings above and was rewarded with a dazzling reflection
of crystals and the shine of platinum plated steel. The
grand chandaliers of Wayne Manor still hung high, something
she approved of. Carrie wasn't entirely certain why, she
just felt that gigantic shiny chandaliers were really cool.
It was also neat that those chandaliers were worth several
luxury cars.
Enough with the tour, Nancy Drew, she thought to herself,
there's more important things to look at.
In some ways, the footsteps leading towards the hallway with
large windows was a blessing and a curse. At least now she
had slight illumination from outside, which was
unfortunatley mainly composed of lightning. This only added
to the nerve-wracking tension she was feeling.
Okay, something's gotta pop out here, she said to herself.
Any minute now. C'mon.
Lightning flashed once more, casting harsh shadows
everywhere. Thunder rattled the house so violently she
feared it would shatter the windows.
Nothing popped out.
Carrie tried to calm herself down, annoyed that her
heart was pounding so quickly.
'Sheesh.'
With quick steps she walked down the corridor, pursuing the
mystery guest of the manor, until she found herself at the
doorway to another room.
Not really in the mood for a repeat of the tensions of the
last time she had to enter a room, Carrie took to it
differently this time. She placed an ear to the door,
listening carefully, then took a deep breath and swung the
door open.
This one was empty too.
'Whew.'
This was a room much like the previous one, lined with
shelves of books on the walls, but much more spartan than
the other. The only furniture in the room was a long table
at the center and a large grandfather clock still ticking
away.
The footsteps went towards the clock... and ended.
She stared at the footsteps, then the clock, and shook her
head. It was all too obvious, really, and a bit too good to
be true. A grandfather clock that probably was moved to the
side, yeah, revealing a long winding secret passage to some
really weird stuff like a bomb shelter, a treasure trove or
something really perverted like she saw in the movies her
parents didn't know about.
Carrie shone her light over the grandfather clock slowly,
looking for the telltale signs of someone's passing.
Handprints in the dust confirmed her suspicions.
There was only one thing left to do.
'Talk about yer cliches,' she muttered.
And with a mighty push, the grandfather clock moved aside,
revealing a dark gaping maw into the abyss.
'Figures.'
(-|-)
Sparks flew as machine gun fire richoched chaotically around
the train cabin. Batman shielding himself with a metal wing
while Linna dodged frantically, trying to aim with her own
gun as she did.
Waddling into the cabin, armed with tommy guns, was a large
pack of wind-up dolls. Each wore a pale white mime mask,
repeating a pre-recorded laugh track endlessly. They were
also armed with tommy guns.
Batman lifted his wing briefly, letting a pack of batarangs
fly out. Some of the windup toys were sliced in half,
toppling over other wind-up robots as they fell. Seeing an
opening, Linna charged in for the kill, setting loose the
monomolecular whips on her helmet. With a quick spiral
dance, she tore through the rest.
Linna sighed in relief. //"That was close."//
//"Don't let your guard down."//
//"Right."//
Batman turned away, looking out the window, where the towers
of Gotham loomed overhead. //"Romanova."//
Nene's nervous voice jumped into the comm channels.
//"Y-yessir!"//
//Home in on my signal, overlay a map of Gotham's rail
systems, give me this rail's destination."//
//"On it now!"//
Linna walked to the cabin's end, weapon arm up, peering into
the next room. //"Should we move forward?"//
//"Don't,"// replied Batman. //"Traps."//
//"Oh, right."//
Romanova cut on the comm lines again nervously. Linna
wanted to shake her head, seeing Nene rattled so badly.
//"Sy- er B-Batman? The line is the old Loop Eight,
circling Gotham's outer limits."//
//"See if someone's controlling the rail system."//
//"Already on it,"// replied Nene. //"You're being rerouted
down the 290 line straight into Gotham. You'll end up in
the subway system under the Hathaway Grand Tower."//
//"Highest tower in Gotham, with a subway station beneath
it,"// mumbled Batman. //"Romanova, the Joker has control of
the lines. Try to get in and make sure he doesn't cause any
disasters."//
//"Yessir!"//
//"Don't let me down. Batman out."//
Linna's voice crackled in next. //"Shouldn't we call the
police?"//
//"No... in the past, when I didn't play along, he'd do
something worse. Right now, I think he's willing to wait
for us."//
//"You sure?"//
With a sharpness in his voice, he replied, //"I know him."//
The train sped onward, turning slightly as it hit the
connection to the 290 line, and began its run into the heart
of Gotham. Linna wondered and feared what was waiting for
them ahead.
(-|-)
At times like this, Carrie was grateful that she was wearing
soft shoes. There were some places where creeping around
silently was the best option, like this long stairway
spiraling into the total darkness. Far behind her was the
dim light of the entrance and far below here was endless
night.
Her flashlight batteries weren't as fresh as she thought
they were, getting dimmer as the minutes passed.
Common sense told her to turn around.
She kept on walking.
While there was no light ahead, there were some faint
sounds. Occasionally she would hear the sqeaks of bats,
which didn't help her mood. Carrie wasn't an animal person,
not at all. Then there was the other sound, a faint sort
of constant sound... running water, maybe?
And then she came to a dead end.
At least, it seemed like a dead end, a wall of natural
stones exaclty like the surrounding walls that cut off her
progress. Carrie wasn't buying into it at all. No way would
anyone bother to build passages that lead to nowhere.
Well, there was that Winchester Mansion, but still...
No.
This was not the end. It couldn't be, and the faint
impression of footsteps on the stairs confirmed it.
Carrie moved the flashlight's beam across the rocky surface,
searching for some hint of a doorway outline. Seeing
nothing, she pushed at the wall, then pulled at the jagged
rocks, though nothing moved.
With a sigh, she crossed her arms.
'This is where I nearly give up, lean on the wall and
accidentally discover a way in, right?'
She paused for a moment.
'Nothing else to do anyway.'
As she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, she
felt something shift slightly to the side.
'Heh. Figures.'
Carrie turned around and pushed the rocks side to side, unti
she found one that shifted to the left.
That did nothing.
She frowned, then tried to shift the rock around in a
different direction. This time it moved slightly down, and
soon after the entire wall shifted to the left revealing
a few more feet of passage way down that turned to the
right, with a light at the end of the tunnel.
'Now we're getting somewhere.'
Stepping cautiously onward, she shut down her flashlight and
peered around the final curve. Beyond the last step was a
massive underground cave illuminated in fluorescent light,
the floor reinforced by metal plates and grills, with many
walkways branching out over dark chasms. The sound she'd
heard earlier was now clear, the sound of power generators
humming within the bowels of the cave.
To one side she saw a redheaded figure hunched over a large
bank of computers, typing frantically though she had one arm
in a cast. On the other side was an open expanse leading to
further unseen passages.
Carrie opted for the other side, not feeling too eager to
confront anybody until she had something blunt and heavy in
her hands. Staying to the shadows, she carefully walked on,
keeping low to avoid being seen by the woman by the
consoles. After crossing a catwalk, she found herself in a
large room full of cases. A gigantic fake tyranosaurus
dominated one end of the room, with a penny that stood
nearly as tall next to it. From the ceiling hung an all
too familiar symbol, a giant replica of a Joker's card.
'Oh man...'
She suspected what this place was, but the glass cases at
the end of the room confirmed her suspicions. The first one
on the right, the one that caught her eyes immediately, made
it obvious, holding a black and grey costume, the cowl with
pointy ears, and the unmistakable symbol on the chest.
She was in the Batcave.
'Oooooh man.'
And Batman was Bruce Wayne.
She'd just uncovered one of Gotham's greatest mysteries.
This was cool.
She wished John and Lisa were here to see this.
To the left of Batman's garb was a suit of black, green and
red. Had to be Robin, thought Carrie. She noticed a plaque
at the foot of the costume and knelt down to read it.
ROBIN II
1983 - 2000
A GOOD SOLDIER
Just a kid, not too much older than her...
Somewhere on the grounds she remembered a grave, a boy named
Tim Drake that, as her grandfather had put it, was another
ward of Bruce Wayne's, and had died in a fatal accident.
The dates matched.
Tim Drake was Robin, and if he was Robin...
Her grandparents were Nightwing and Batgirl.
Now this was getting really neat.
She turned to face the dozens of cases around the room,
feeling like Alice in Wonderland. The trophies were many
and varied: a silver dollar with its face distorted, a black
leather whip, the remains of a wooden dummy, a scarecrow
mask, a futuristic gun, a jester's cowl...
The room was filled with endless curiosities but no quick
answers, which is what Carrie was looking for. Who was that
red-headed lady? Who was this new Batman that just appeared
a few days ago?
Did Gramma know what was going on?
And so, Carrie Delrin moved on.
(-|-)
Memories...
Years and years of memories, that was what Mackie was
staring at. They took the form of a large row of data units
plugged into the back area of a roughly made data seat, much
like the one in Sylia's room.
He'd been reluctant to tell the others about his discovery.
It was, in a way, a private matter of the Stingray family.
Sylia was very secretive about the data units, not even
telling Mackie all about them. She did tell him it was
father's creation, and that it held memories, but she also
told him to never ever touch the machinery with dire
consequences promised.
It was mostly speculation, but he knew that this was
responsible for 'Batman'. The sudden impact of an entire
man's life, crammed into an already busy human brain, that's
what happened.
But was it permanent? Was it reversable?
Was Sylia...
//"Mackie?"//
Nene's voice on the comm line derailed his thoughts. He
didn't like where they were headed anyway.
"Yeah, what's up?"
//"Can you get down here? I'm gonna need your help on
something."//
"Oh... be there in a minute!"
Should he tell the others what he'd found? That wasn't much
of a question, though he knew under normal circumstances
Sylia would likely hate him for it. Then again, these were
hardly normal circumstances.
Now, how to put it into words...
(-|-)
//'LAAAAAST STOP!'//
The Joker's yell echoed through the underground train
station, giving Linna reason to fear what was ahead. The
train had already gone through the heart of downtown and had
taken a plunge into the underground tunnels. From there
the lights had been killed, keeping them in the darkness.
The dark was not a problem, since Linna's helmet came with
night vision. Batman didn't seem bothered by it either, it
seemed obvious to her that he'd build it into his suit as
well.
Thus far, the darkness held no surprises, but as the train
approached the underground station, the shapes slumped about
the platform gave her reason to dread.
//"Batman..."//
//"Already dead,"// he replied grimly. //"We're too late by
hours."//
//'AAAAAAALL ABOOOOOAAAARD!'// the Joker's voice crowed.
There was a pause. Batman and Linna waited expectantly as
the train doors slid open. Scattered across the platform
they could see a scattering of dead bodies, their faces
twisted into a tortured smile.
//'Boy, nobody getting on? Guess they're dead tired!
HAHAHAHAA!'//
Across the station, elevator doors opened, the light within
cascading over the platform.
//'Come on up, Batsy! The view's great from here. Wouldn't
want you to miss the show, hm?'//
Batman's eyeslits narrowed as he looked at the inviting
elevator. //"Romanova."//
//"Yessir!"//
//"Send the schematics to the Hathaway tower and tip the
police."//
//"On its way now!"//
He turned to Linna. //"Let's go."//
//"We're riding the elevator?"// she asked. //"I don't
trust him that much."//
//"We're taking the shaft, not the elevator."//
//"Oh. Right."//
(-|-)
There was a sound.
It was hard to tell exactly what it was, aside from it
being a human noise. The sound was faint yet very near, and
loud enough for Carrie to be distracted by it.
Was it bitter laughter? A tragic sob? Whatever it was,
Carrie found it eerily disturbing and impossible to ignore.
She followed the sound, creeping from chamber to chamber,
until she came at last to what looked like a makeshift
infirmary. A trio of hospital-style beds were there, two of
them empty, the third hiding a form under its sheets. A
pale, clawed hand held a pillow over the person's head, two
red, bloodshot eyes staring out from beneath.
The form shuddered briefly and once more Carrie heard that
strange sound, followed by a rasping intake of breath. Now
that she was closer, it seemed more like a woman's mournful
sob. A few strands of brown hair peaked out from the cover
of a pillow, and bloodshot red eyes stared wildly from
underneath.
Her eyes stared at Carrie.
'Um... hi?'
The woman's eyes grew wider, and her hoarse voice spoke,
stuttering words that Carrie couldn't make out.
'Are... are you okay?'
'I-I-I d-didn't want t-to,' the woman stuttered between
choking sobs. 'I'm s-sorry, I'm sor- sorry.'
Carrie reached out to the woman, hoping to calm her down.
The touch of her hand seemed only to make the woman worse.
'Hey, calm down,' said Carrie soothingly.
The woman's sobs were becoming nearly hysterical, twisting
into a sad sort of hysterical laughter. Her arms curled up
behind her head and she folded in to a fetal position. The
pillow fell away, revealing her face.
Carrie stared.
It was her.
'Let go of her!'
Her.
'Carrie, wait!'
Her.
'Look at all that blood.'
HER.
:)
end part 8
:)