----- Original Message -----
From: "Rod M" <rpm@thekeep.org>
To: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Sent: March 25, 2000 11:20 PM
Subject: [FFML] [BGC/Batman:TAS](new) SMILE part 8
ROUGH BETA FORMAT
C&C welcome
open to suggestions
Whoo, what a ride! Why haven't I seen this story before? Damn tasty.
C+C as we go...
Bubblegum Crisis
Batman: The Animated Series
S M I L E
A tale of knights, past and present.
---------------------------------
Part 8: The Tour
---------------------------------
SNIP<
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'.
Ahh, Pengy! Nice to see he's still kicking around...
>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.'
file://'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...
Pengy always was a clever one.
'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!'
Been watching Batman Beyond, has he?
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-'
file://"When you tried to steal the Kestrel Diamond,"// said
Batman, file://"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.'
file://'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.'
file://'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!'
Penguin: And change my colostomy bag!
(-|-)
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.
should be : decrepit
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.
file://"So, um, what're we looking for?"// asked Linna.
file://"Some place the Joker would like, something with clowns,
toys, or playing cards... or that."//
file://"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. file://"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.
Isn't the Joker in the B:TAS based on Nicholson's Joker from the first
movie? If that's the case, shouldn't that be "Axis" Chemicals, or the Ace
Playing Card Company?
file://"There."//
file://"There?"// asked Linna. file://"Why there?"//
Batman paused for a moment, then said, file://"He has sentimental
attachments."//
SNIP<
Standing up, the Joker dusted himself off dramatically, ran
a hand through his green hair, then giggled. 'Groucho!
Harpo! Chico! Zeppo! Let's go!'
The four Bugrom from the El-Hazard dub pop up....
SNIP<
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.
Gotta mention here what a treat this fic is for Batfans. Not just the
fact that you've written all the Bat-characters so well, but all the little
in-jokes as well, i.e.: The Sons Of The Bat and Carrie from Dark Knight
Returns, the brief mention of Dick's son or son in law Terry (McInnis?),
even the fact that Robin 2's elegy is the same as Jason Todd's. Carrie is
most definitely a hoot. Good job on this.
SNIP<
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.
"Aaargh! Mimes!" screamed Batman as he demolished the robots with a
flurry of bat-shuriken. "I hate mimes!!!"
SNIP<
'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.
Oh, boy. You're really gonna make this tough on Priss, ain'tcha? Nasty.
'Let go of her!'
Her.
'Carrie, wait!'
Her.
'Look at all that blood.'
HER.
:)
end part 8
:)
Well, all in all, hugely entertaining, and a great way to spend my lazy
Sunday. Gotta see more of this'un soon!
Here Endeth The Lesson.
Spa Fon!
-------------------------------------------
Dave Menard
Keeper of Pink's Hammer of Vengeance
Knight of the Combat Fiancees
Member of the Space Pirates Guild
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/spacepiratesguild/
"I would not, could not kill the King... I would not poison Anything!"
--Green Eggs and Hamlet