-Commissioner James Gordon-
The signal shines more brightly than ever in the midnight sky. The wings of the massive bat stretch over the clouds. The red sky around the bat is turned a shimmering gold by the light.
I’m standing on top of City Hall, which is being used as a replacement for Central until the old building is reconstructed. Mayor Webster was reluctant to allow me use of the signal here, but I convinced him when I reminded him that he would still be a prisoner if not for Batman. Things have been uneasy working here for the last few weeks, but everyone will have to get along until everything is straightened out.
“Jim.”
I turn around and find Batman standing on the ledge of the roof. He really doesn’t look like he wants to be here right now. In fact, this is the only time I’ve been able to reach him in the last few weeks. I honestly haven’t seen him for over a month. Seeing him now takes away some of the stress that’s been building.
“So, you decided to show up after all,” I say sarcastically.
“I’ve been busy,” he replies as he steps off of the ledge.
“Yeah, we’ve all been busy.”
“Why did you call me here?”
“There are a lot of things that have been left unresolved. For starters, I haven’t had a chance to thank you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Maybe not to you, but I’m more courteous than that. Secondly, Joker is still out there some where. God only knows what he’ll be planning to do next.”
“I told you already: I’ve been busy.”
“Well, that’s good. Then, there are the other Arkham escapees to worry about. The Ventriloquist, Clayface, Scarecrow, Croc, Ivy, Riddler, and Two-Face are all running free also. That’s only mentioning the ones that were working with Church. Well, I guess you’ve got them covered too.”
“They’ll all go back to Arkham eventually. All it takes is time.”
“There’s something else that’s bothering me.”
“It’s about Church, isn’t it?”
“Yes. How did we not know it was him all along? The evidence was there. Church had a motive. Why were we so oblivious?”
“Church had been working with Scarecrow. We had all been exposed to Scarecrow’s toxin at one point. At some point Scarecrow poisoned us all, even without us knowing. We were aware that Church was a suspect, but our minds wouldn’t allow us to come to the conclusion that he was Joke-Man.”
“Well, it’s over now. Church is gone and buried.”
Batman seems to tense up, but for what reason I don’t know. He must know something that I don’t, but he always knows something that I don’t. I can’t let it bother me because he always knows what is best, even if that involves lying and keeping things from me.
“So, what’s the next step?” I ask. “If you’re going after the Arkham escapees, I can help.”
“I’ll gladly have your help, but you have to do something first,” Batman bargains.
“I can trust your judgment whatever it is. What do you want?”
“I want every single man and woman that helped Church off of the police force.”
I sigh heavily and run my hands through my hair.
“That’s an awful lot of you to ask,” I groan.
“I need you to be with me on this, Jim,” Batman says more sincerely than he’s ever said anything.
“Those men and women will no doubt be punished for what they’ve done wrong, but I need all of the help that I can get right now. If I throw that many people off of the force, then Gotham will be left defenseless.”
Batman reaches under his cape and opens a compartment on his belt. He pulls out a flash drive and tosses it at me. I barely catch it and it fumbles in my hands for a few seconds. I look it over and then put it into my pocket.
“What’s it for?” I ask.
“The flash drive contains the files of three hundred officers in this area of the country that are looking to transfer,” Batman answers. “That should be sufficient until more can be found.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
I don’t want to take this drastic of a measure, but Batman’s right not to trust the officers that worked with Church. Despite the fact that their leader is dead, philosophy and morals don’t die with one man. The last thing I need right now is more than half of my men constantly shooting to kill.
“I don’t know what to make of all this,” I mutter, just trying to make conversation.
“Make of what?” he asks.
“Who won this time? Sure, Joke-Man’s gone, but Church was able to influence a large number of people in this city. What’s worse, he was able to influence influential people. We may have put out one fire, but its embers are going to burn down the whole forest.”
“Nobody’s won. With so much blood spilled, there is no winner. We’ve all lost in this game.”
“It’s getting worse. This city just keeps bringing out more of the worst in people. It all started with Harvey really. Such a bright light of hope was torn in half by the very city he was trying to save. Now, the same thing happened to Robert Church.”
“It’s not the city that’s bringing out this evil. It’s the people that sit back and choose to let it consume them.”
“You do realize this is the first time we’ve even seen each other since the Church family was killed.”
“I do.”
“So, you decided not to kill Joker after all, eh?”
“I have my personal pains that are my own to bear. Being reminded of my losses does not sit well. Seeing the Church family slain as they were, I relived those losses. I was blinded by rage. If Joker had been there that night, I may very well have killed him. I’ve had time to calm down since then.”
“I’m not going to tell you what choices to make, but you know as well as I do what lies ahead for you should you cross that line. I won’t be able to protect you and I may be forced to arrest you.”
“That line has never been clearer to me than now. Church put things into perspective when he chose to divide this city.”
“Do you think things will ever be the same?”
“Gotham will never go back to how it was before Joke-Man, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t grow stronger. The sides will be chosen. The city may go to war with itself. Even if everything falls, true justice will be all that remains in the end.”
I turn away from him for a second to turn off the signal, which has already been on longer than it should have been. When I turn back, Batman is gone. I don’t think I’ll ever get use to his random coming and going.
When I came up here on the roof tonight, I had so many doubts about where this city might go. Now my faith has been restored. Whatever may come to face us, we will always be ready to meet it head on. Batman and I lead the war against crime in Gotham, but even if we should fall there are others that will take our place. Gotham may be synonymous with crime, but she is also a city of heroes, both kind that do and don’t wear costumes.
Suddenly there is a rumbling sound that fills the air. The ground must have shaken quite ferociously because I feel the tremor all the way up here on the roof. In the distance I can see flames begin to flicker, burning a building on the west side.
Gotham City.
You gotta love this town.
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-Epilogue-
The sky is black as coal. Not a single star shines through the clouds and the smoke. The moon is the only thing poking out its head in between the clouds, trying to get a peek at the world. Rain falls down from the great, black abyss. Every droplet hits the Earth like the sound of glass shattering. The wind blows gently, pushing a falling leaf through the pouring water. Its nights like these when the air chills to the bone. Its nights like these when something strange is bound to happen.
Gotham City has seen many nights like this. The cold air fits with the dark, looming buildings and ghastly, grinning gargoyles. It isn’t the hidden moon that keeps the streets of the city in constant shadow, but the buildings and, more importantly, fear leave this isolated world in darkness. Gotham’s romantic beauty is not enough to distract those who know her from her evil.
The city is as silent as a falling feather. No sound but the falling rain breaks through the night air. It’s in silence like this that one care hear their own thoughts, and sometimes those thoughts are most foul. Foul thoughts are not uncommon in this place. Some come to this city for wealth, though not all achieve it fairly. Some come here to claim Gotham for their own; some of whom do so through various real-estate claims, and others just want to watch the city burn. Then, there are some that are born here that go mad from Gotham’s wretched darkness. Of course, there are others that were born here that had their life taken from them and have persevered in protecting Gotham.
From the tall to the small, all in this city have experienced pain. Some have had their loved ones killed by evil clowns and some have been broken into half of themselves. To not know pain in Gotham City is to not be living.
A place in Gotham that has felt much pain is Church Street. Though, not much pain is left to be felt anymore. All who lived on the street have vanished, not wishing to be haunted by the tragedies of the past. Formerly Baker Street, Church Street is now most quiet of all. Every building from the houses to the shops lay empty. The street is so called Church Street for the family murdered there. Just a few houses down the block, the Church home once stood as a warm, inviting place for the neighbors. After the family was murdered, the house fell into disrepair and was eventually destroyed by a raving, vindictive lunatic. Some say that the ghosts of the Church family can still be seen walking down the street.
There is one soul that still remains on Church Street, and she’s been trapped there for many weeks. Under the fallen remains of the Church home, there is a small chamber which would have been under the front porch. For many weeks, the poor girl has been trapped beneath the rubble. The girl was meant to appear to have died, but she remains safe in the chamber. Who ever dug the chamber was kind enough to stock it with plenty of foods and water. She may have appeared to have died, but this girl was meant to live.
In the blackness of the chamber, with only a candle to light and warm her surroundings, the girl gathers herself into a ball to dissuade the cold. This is by far the coldest night to come in this mid-autumn season. The girl shivers in the darkness. The candle had been burning for a long time and not much remains of the wick. If the girl is not found soon, she will certainly die.
However, the girl is growing sick of her misfortune. From her point of view (as would be the opinion of most others), she should never have been put into this situation. She was told to check the house for safety, but the house was clearly not safe as it fell on top of her. Pouting with her bottom lip stuck far out, the girl decides that she’s going to try to get out.
From up is the way she came in, and by going up she hopes to get out. She sits up on her knees and tries to ignore the cold. If she should get lucky, she’ll be free soon and she won’t have to worry about the cold. She raises her arms and starts to push on the weight above her. Surprisingly, she is able to lift it quite easily.
What lies above her that she is pushing upwards is the trapdoor in the porch through which she fell. She realizes this now and this puts a look of confusion on her face. There are many things that the young woman does not know, but all will be revealed to her very soon.
It’s not long before she’s managed to get the door all the open, but she is disappointed to find that she is still trapped. The ruins of the house have braced themselves in such a way that room enough for the door to open was left, but there is no opening to the outside. The girl, now standing up in the underground chamber with enough room to poke her head up, stomps her feet in frustration.
Being completely fed up with the whole matter, the girl doesn’t wait long before she starts pushing up on the rubble as well. The broken boards and pipes don’t give nearly as easily as the door did, but she manages to push some of the debris upwards. A glimmer of hope shines in the young woman’s eye as she believes herself to be making progress.
All it takes is a slip of the hand and all is left to crumble. The girl is now truly buried beneath the remains, but the hand that had slipped has managed to poke itself out into the frigid night air. Even though she is buried, the girl feels some satisfaction as she feels the rain slap against her naked fingers.
The fact that she tried is now enough. She couldn’t do much to free herself by this point, so why not just enjoy what progress she’s made? The cold no longer bothers her. The chilly wind on her dampening hand feels as warm as a mother’s touch.
Then she realizes that something warm is touching her hand. Something warm touches her hand and grabs it firmly. Could someone have come to save her? After all, heroes are not uncommon in Gotham City. Many have embraced the city’s darkness and turned it on her evil.
The girl soon finds herself beginning to be pulled up. The broken wood and pieces of glass scratch her skin as she travels up through the debris, but the pain is worth it to be free. The rain is soon slapping her shoulders and the back of her head. She is finally free. Her hood was torn away from head when she was pulled through and now her long, blonde hair is soaked and matting against her face. The front of her costume tears also, exposing more than just her underwear, but she has little concern for that now.
It’s not long before the girl finds herself lying on top of the rubble that been burying her only a few seconds ago. She rolls over onto her back and laughs as she sticks out her tongue, letting the raindrops hit her mouth. Too many of us take our freedom for granted. This girl will never do that again.
“Hello, Harley,” a voice says from above her.
She looks up into the darkness and finds the shadow of a man looming over her. She squints in the darkness, trying to get a better look. With the world so dark, there is little about the man that she can make out. All she sees is his hand still holding firmly onto hers.
The moon peeks back out of the clouds and gleams brightly upon the man’s bright, yellow helmet.
“How would you like to work for a real comedian?”