Chapter 10: The Final Part of the Plan
Gordon and Dent had been overlooking the takeover of the construction site. Bruce had waited until nightfall for him to strike as Batman. He was racing across the road in the Batmobile, driving past taxis and cars screeching to a halt. Armoured cars were singling in on Batman, and he realised that it was the mob. He pressed some buttons and set up a gun. Not a normal gun, one to remove the wheels of a car. It rose out of the roof and targeted all the wheels. It shot a metal spinner at the first two wheels and sliced them up. The car swerved around and it cut off the others. The car smashed into a wall burst into flames. It started on the other cars and they all crashed as well but the criminals survived with injuries. Bruce realised that the maximum speed wasn’t fast enough. More dials were turned and levers pulled and a large hollow tube appeared at the back of the car. Flames erupted out of it and rocketed the car along. More armoured cars appeared behind the Batmobile. The closest car’s side door slid open and a man with a grimy face and a leather jacket stood there holding a bazooka. Batman’s eyes widened. The missile fired into the jet engine and buried itself in the mechanics of the car.
“Oh sh-“The missile exploded. The entire back half of the car erupted in fire and smoke. Part of one of the wheels flew backwards and smashed through the front window of one of the enemy cars. Suddenly, the screen on the dashboard flickered. Lucius’s image appeared.
“Mr Wayne, thank god this worked!” He said.
“What’s going on?” Asked Batman.
“Well it’s simple; this is a mini-Batcomputer! The stadium is fully constructed did you know that?”
“Yeah of course I did.”
“That means the security cameras are in place too.” Lucius grinned.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m here to guide you through the building- to tell you where the thugs are at and how to get there. Did I give you that sword?”
“The Bat Blade? Yeah.”
“Use that. As your costume is modelled after a bat I can communicate with you through your ears on the mask. Bats can pick up high frequency sound waves which I only found out recently. I won’t spoil the surprise for you. I’m just going to say one thing: you won’t be alone!” Bruce had no idea what he was talking about and neither of them had the time to talk about it.
“So where should I go now?” Bruce asked.
“Well you should learn how to use the brakes and keep your eyes on the road first.” Bruce looked up. He had nearly driven into the large crowd of pedestrians. Luckily they had separated, but the Batmobile wasn’t so lucky. It swerved in a circle and smashed into the wall of the building. Glass cracked and fell everywhere. Batman got out, tired and dazed. The crowd erupted in cheers. “Bruce...?” A voice yelled loudly. Batman dived in the building.
“Shutup! People could have heard!”
“Oh they wouldn’t have heard, you can only hear me!”
“Right, where should I go first?”
“Hold on... Third floor. Seven of Mask’s thugs are holding a worker hostage. Use your battarangs, you’ll get there quicker.”
“Got it.” He took out a specialised gun from his Batbelt and shot it at the ceiling and then the next one. He put it away and lifted up his grappling hook. Bruce was lifted upwards and fell onto the ground.
Back at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox checked his computer screen for any more thugs closing in on Batman. He was sweating and looked worried.
“He will find out.” He was speaking to somebody.
“Not yet he won’t.” The person replied. He had a raspy, hate filled voice. “You’re not going to tell him if any other thugs close in on him. And you can’t tell him where his friends are!”
“But Hugo...”
“That’s right. You’re not telling him where Gordon and Dent are!” Lucius stared at two sections of the screen. Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent were bound and gagged with timers attached to them. Lucius looked at the man pointing the gun at his head. It was Harold Stapleton.
Batman was finishing off the thugs on the third floor, when two more ran in behind him. He whipped out the Bat Blade and slashed them both across the cheek, causing them to scream in agony.
“Where now Lucius?” Bruce growled. He didn’t reply. “LUCIUS!” He screamed.
“Yes I’m here. The floor above, go around half way to the other side. There are ten tough guys waiting for you.”
“On it.” The grappling hook shot upwards and buried itself into the ceiling.
On the top floor of the building, Black Mask stood silently watching over Gotham. He turned his head to the right, facing the glass barrier between him and the energy storage unit. He lifted up his left hand which was holding a small radio.
“Turn it on.” Mask spoke into it. At Wayne Tower, Hugo Strange looked over around six men and women sitting in front of control panels. He slowly moved his head forward so it was next to a man’s ear.
“He wants you to turn it on.” Hugo whispered, rolling out each word carefully. The man was shaking. He moved his hand as slowly as he could and touched a dial. He turned it to the right. “Good, he would be pleased.” Lucius Fox was sitting far behind Hugo and the scientists at a desk. He was about to speak into the microphone and tell Bruce that Dent and Gordon had been taken hostage, but was quickly stopped by Hugo firing a bullet at the wall next to him. Hugo faced him. “Don’t even think about it.”
Black Mask stood still watching the blue energy pour into the glass container. All across the city, power stations were activated. Safe, eco-friendly energy burst into thousands of tunnels and raced at top speed all the way to the container. Mask laughed and marvelled at what he had achieved. He reached into his jacket pocked and pulled out a timer. A bomb timer. It said, ‘00:05:00’. Mask cackled, a cackle that could be heard all across the building and in the crowd. A cackle that struck fear into anything that heard it.
Batman had finished off beating thugs on the fifth floor.
“Where next?”
“You’re gonna have to jump for this one!”
“Jump? What do you mean jump!?” Suddenly, a massive wrecking ball was thrown through the wall, demolishing most of the wall and floor. Rubble covered everything, including Batman. He threw a couple of pieces off of him and sat up. The ball was dragged back out, only to be thrown again.
“I told you!” Lucius gloated. Batman stood up, panting and covered in dust. The machine drove closer to the wreckage.
“Ha, this is so much fun! It’s payback time!” Screeched the driver. Bruce recognised that voice. It was Blackjack.
“You...! But, you’re in prison!”
“Was in prison. And that prison was Arkham Asylum.
“I know I was there.”
“Yeah, I saw you. Too bad we weren’t cellmates huh!”
“Too bad you’re going back to prison.” He snatched another battarang from his belt and threw it at the machine. Blackjack leapt out as the entire thing exploded. The flames were nearly at Bruce, so he ran. They were still catching up and were about to swallow him whole. Blackjack was in free fall about to be pulverised by the ground when something strange happened to the bat-armour. On his back and underneath the cape, mechanisms were stirring and something was ejecting. A large black object flew underneath Batman’s feet and caught him.
“Bruce, say hello to a secret weapon I installed on the suit, The Batglider!” Lucius said happily.
“Seriously!?” A small missile launched out of the front of the contraption and blew a large hole in the wall. Bruce didn’t seem to be in control of the flying vehicle. Lucius was. It dived down and small metal holders appeared over his feet to keep him in place. It was going after Blackjack. He pushed his arms out and grabbed hold of him, then dropping him in the crowd for the police. It bolted on, flying straight upwards.
“I’m just switching the main weapon to plastic bullets. We don’t want to break your limits do we? The next thugs should be a piece of cake!” The Batglider burst through the wall on the seventh floor, shooting down all the criminals there. It swerved to the left, flying around the centre still gunning down the enemy. It flew up the stairs in a stylized fashion, knocking over any passing criminals. No matter how much bullets they shot at it, the glider would just swerve upright and deflect them using the bottom of the machine. More criminals were called in from the ground floor, racing up the stairs frantically trying to stop the flying beast. Lucius was having a wonderful time controlling it. It was like a video game, only real. Black Mask stood on the tenth floor fuming. He whipped out his radio and shouted into it,
“Get all the buggers in the building NOW!”
One thug ran at Bruce with a bazooka. Some kind of electrical beam was shot at his face, melting his insides and collapsing. This wasn’t what Bruce wanted. He was against killing, and Lucius was killing them. They weren’t plastic bullets- they were real, lead bullets.
“Lucius STOP! YOU’RE KILLING THEM!” Screamed Bruce, holding his ears tightly.
“This is what they deserve!” Lucius replied calmly. Bruce swerved to the right, but Lucius hadn’t done it. Bruce was taking control of the machine. He tried to make it fly out of the building, but instead flew up more stairs. More criminals were also running up trying to stop Batman but failed greatly. Bruce had an idea. He got out the Bat Blade. The glider was still flying upwards. He steadied himself, lifting the blade. Lucius saw what he was doing through one of the security cameras. “NO!” The blade was thrust downwards and cut through the middle. Bruce was thrown off and burst through a pair of double doors. He collapsed on the floor surrounded by parts of the Batglider. He looked up and saw Black Mask holding a machine gun. He looked furious.
“So, you’ve killed all my thugs. Why?”
“I didn’t want to kill them- the glider was being controlled.”
“Well now it’s the final confrontation! Where the two enemies fight to the death. But this duel will be different. The bad guy’s gonna win!”
“Not on my watch.” Mask giggled. He pointed the machine gun at Batman and fired multiple times. He dived for cover.
“Come out BATMAN! Are you afraid to show yourself?” He laughed loudly. Batman popped out of nowhere and pointed his wrist blades at Mask. They ejected and slashed across his face. “AAAH!” He screamed loudly. Batman ran up to him and punched him in the face.
“I didn’t kill all of your men- Blackjack is alive! Gordon’s arrested him!”
“Really, take a look out of that window over there and tell me where Gordon is.”
“I’m not a fool; you’ll just pounce on my back.” Mask laughed loudly.
“Pounce on you! You are so wise Batman! Soon enough I will kill you and throw Gotham into chaos! You see, I only kill the people that matter the most.”
“I bloody well know that!” Batman threw Mask against the glass barrier as hard as he could. He slumped to the floor. Bruce stumbled over to the window and looked down at the crowd. He activated small telescopes in his mask and focused on the police area. Gordon was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Dent. He turned around and looked at the smiling crime lord. “Where are they?” He growled.
“That’s confidential my dear nut job!” Batman ran over to him and slammed his head against the glass, causing the fracture to grow.
“WHERE ARE THEY?” He screeched in Mask’s face.
“Well, Gordon’s on the eighth floor and Dent’s on the fourth! And the other bomb is on this floor.” He said the last sentence quickly and smiled widely.
“What bombs?”
“You have a choice of which bomb you disarm in five minutes. You can save the police Commissioner, believed by the public to be the last honest cop on the force! Or you could save The White Knight Harvey Dent who has put away thousands of criminals and is on the verge of restoring Gotham to its former glory. But there are also the sweet and innocent citizens of Gotham! You see, I have placed a timed bomb that will explode right in this building! And best of all, it’s next to the energy storage! Think about that much power released into the city, it could pulverise it! And the last option, the most difficult and fun to pull off, is will you save yourself?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hehe, it’s time to explain to you about my secret mole in Wayne Enterprises! Harold Stapleton is not who he seems to be. Didn’t you look at those old papers thoroughly enough?”
“What old paper-“He stopped in realisation. “How do you know about that?”
“Ethan Bennett works for me! He trained you well, but he trained me better! Too bad he’s at the bottom of a lake. But didn’t any of the papers have pictures of Hugo Strange?” Batman was thoroughly confused. “Am I being too subtle?”
“You’ve been in control of Wayne Enterprises for an entire year.”
“Not just a year- decades! I have more moles in there than you could imagine! Half the decisions made on that board were thought of by me! Why do you think the Smartphone’s didn’t work? A little tinkering by me and my scientist Nygma! You see Batman, Harold Stapleton is Hugo Strange in disguise!” Batman gasped.
“Lucius said he was a friend of his...”
“Well Lucius wasn’t working for me but when some people hold your family hostage and at gunpoint for a year that person has to do what you say! Lucius knew the whole time that Harold was Hugo and my full plan! The Batglider was faulty for a reason- because I told him to make it faulty. And there’s a reason why a bomb has been concealed in your suit for a year waiting to be activated.” Bruce’s eyes widened. He tried to speak but failed. “You see Batman, I’ve won! You can save Gordon, Dent, the city or you. And you have five minutes starting... Now!” Mask pulled out a detonator and pressed the red button. The countdown had begun. Batman raced down the stairs and could still hear Black Mask’s laughter echoing being him. He dived out of a window and his cape formed a bat-shape and attached to his arms. He glided down to the fourth floor which was met with cheers from down below. He burst through a hole in the wall and saw Dent tied up to a chair.
“BATMAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? SAVE GOTHAM! SAVE GORDON, SAVE YOURSELF! DON’T SAVE ME! I’M NOT WORTH SAVING!!!!” Dent was screaming at the top of his voice. He untied the ropes and dragged Dent to a smashed window.
“Jump.” He asked.
“Heads I jump, tails I stay with you.” He produced his lucky coin from his pocket. He flipped it in the air and caught it. It was heads.
“Bye then.” Batman pushed him off the ledge. “CATCH HIM!” He yelled down to the crowd. He stopped. Bruce could hear a beeping sound. It was coming from the belt. He un-buckled it at the back of his waist and lifted it up in his hands. The centrepiece (his logo in a glass encasement) was beeping. Through the glass he could see the bomb. He had three minutes left. The bomb was still in the rope. He grabbed it and sliced up the mechanisms using his wrist blades. He then grabbed a gun from his belt, still holding it in his hands, and fired it at the ceiling. It did nothing. He shook it at the ground. “Come on you piece of junk!” He fired again and it worked, but blew up the floor. Bruce fell through all the way to the ground floor. He was surrounded by fighting cops and thugs. Directly in front of him was the centre of the building; holding the energy. There was a door supposed to be used if there was an emergency and the power needed to be shut down. He guessed that he could use the door. Bruce stumbled to it and broke off the handle using the Bat Blade, causing the door to fall backwards. Batman entered and saw the might of it all. The encasement was huge, about thirty feet wide and ten feet long. Instead of looking for the bomb, he looked for the shut down switch. Suddenly, shards of glass fell from the top floor. It was Mask smashing the barrier.
“Oi Bats’! I forgot to tell you, the shut down switch is at Wayne Enterprises! Strange follows my orders not yours!”
“Crap.” He started his search for the bomb. Bruce lifted up the belt and checked his time. One minute and thirty seconds. He searched faster, and found it behind the encasement. It was stuck to it using duck tape. He destroyed that bomb too. Batman fired his grappling hook up to the eighth floor and was lifted up faster than before. He has under one minute now. Bruce landed on the floor. He could see Gordon tied up in a chair actively trying to shoot through his bonds. He turned around and jumped out of his skin.
“Bruce, I thought you were leaving me behind.”
“No, why would you think that?”
“Because I let Chill free.”
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“No it was. I lied the other time. Chill had been on endless trials for six months and in the end everybody agreed, including me, that he should be let free. And it was my idea.” Batman was angry.
“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault except for his. I forgive you. Now let’s get you out of these ropes.” He slashed through the ropes and Gordon stumbled to the floor.
“Thank you.” He noticed the ticking belt in his hands. “What’s that you’ve got there?” He asked.
“Just a bomb. Speaking of which I have to disarm yours.” While Bruce was slashing across Gordon’s bomb, the man himself was speaking to him.
“A bomb!? Mask is worse than I feared. Give it here.” Bruce tossed it to him. Gordon stood up and took out his gun.
“What are you-“
“If you want to get something done, do it the opposite way to the way you prefer Bruce.” He shot three times at the bullets. It stopped ticking.
“I was just about to slash it...”
“Yeah right. Now go. Go stop him!” Gordon ran down the stairs, gun in hand.
“Evacuate the area!” Gordon stopped.
“Why?” He asked.
“In case a certain storage unit explodes. Hurry!” Gordon carried on running. Batman was about to run as fast as he could up the stairs, when he realised that all the bombs has been disarmed. Dent’s, Gordon’s, the energy storage’s and his. He had won. He blew two holes in the upcoming ceilings and rose up them. Mask stood there in shock that he was still alive.
“You’ve lost Mask. Surrender and you can keep your life.”
“HAHAHAHA!” Mask bellowed. “You’re seriously going to kill me!? That’s not what you are! You have your limits Batman, don’t break them. That’s my job!”
“Surrender. The cops have this place surrounded and are heading up here right now. All your thugs have been killed or arrested. Dent and Gordon got out alive. Give up.”
“Well that doesn’t mean I can’t blow your head off right now!”
“I’m not giving up without a fight.” Batman lunged at Mask and began fighting fiercer than before.
Hugo Strange was waiting for the explosion in anticipation. He didn’t know that all the bombs had been disarmed and Batman had won.
“Come on, what’s taking so long!?” He said angrily. The alarm on his watch beeped. “It should be happening right now!” Nothing happened. He stood up and rifled through some draws. The maniac grabbed a pair of binoculars and stared through them. He could see Mask and Batman battling it out. “DAMN IT!” He screeched. “Well, luckily I came prepared!” He reached underneath Lucius’s desk and pulled out a massive gun.
“Is that a bazooka?” Lucius asked in astonishment.
“I prefer the term ‘rocket launcher’ myself but whatever floats your boat!” He aimed it at the top of the building and fired. All across Gotham, people’s heads were looking up at the rocket. Down by the building, Gordon was ordering cars away and people were running screaming.
“Could everybody please keep it down!?” He yelled. Then the rocket passed over their heads. “Holy...”
Black Mask saw the rocket.
“I do wish that man would stay out of things!” It hit the building. The entire right side of the building shook and started to crumble away. The first few floors collapsed in on themselves. Debris and rubble were falling all around the unit. Batman slid backwards, but managed to steady himself by burying his wrist blades into the ground. Luckily, the top floor balanced itself on a pile of rubble. Mask was aching. His suit was torn and burnt and flames were lapping around him. Batman crawled closer to him and grabbed him by the cuffs.
“And now you pay.” He said.
“Oh Batman, tell me something. Who are you?”
“You know fully well who I am.”
“Yes I do, but you have two identities. One has to become less active so that it doesn’t get in the way of the other. You can only be one person. I don’t know whether to call you Batman or Bruce. So which one shall it be? Who are you, really?” He was taken aback by the statement. It took time to think of an answer.
“I’m the goddamn Batman bitch!” He let go. Mask fell backwards, screaming and writhing. Batman slid down on his chest in an attempt to catch him, but he fell off the edge too quickly.
“Goodbye Batman!” Mask’s last words echoed across the collapsing building. Back on the ground, Gordon jumped into a police car and ordered the driver to step on it and drive as fast as he could. Batman ran up the falling floor and jumped over the end and threw the crumbling wall. His cape locked onto his arms and he spread them out. It made a bat shape. Black Mask seemed to be falling in slow motion. Debris surrounded him. He was surprised that nothing had hit the glass. Yet. One of the pieces fell through the glass, turning it into little sharp pieces. Mask screamed as the blue energy pulverised him. From the outside it looked like a nuclear explosion. Except it was blue. Batman glided in between cars and motorbikes trying to get to Wayne Tower as fast as possible. The energy was racing through the roads, pulverising entire streets and houses. Cops on motorcycles were being swallowed whole. The back of the car was eaten. Gordon nearly was. The wind blew Batman upwards and he swerved into the direction of his company. The car had reached its speed limit. It smashed into the car in front and drove over it. It turned to the left, narrowly avoiding the destruction of that entire block. The car blew its tires. It smashed into the side of a building. Gordon looked out of the window and breathed a sigh of relief that the energy had settled. People all over were gasping at the destruction, but when they saw Batman gliding to safety they erupted in cheers. Gordon got out and fell to the floor panting.
“There’s no way Mask survived that!”
Batman glided across the city. He felt a sense of accomplishment and wonder at the city, and that he had killed one of the greatest criminals known to man. But now he needed to stop the real villain. Hugo Strange. He sabotaged the first energy reactor Wayne Enterprises had built and now he had destroyed the second one. Batman could see armed guards on the top floor of the tower behind the glass. Many people were on the floor holding their hands over their heads. He folded in his cape so that he looked like a missile. He smashed through the glass and took down two guards. Four more came running at him but were thrown away easily. Batman looked across to the far side of the room and saw Lucius hiding underneath his desk.
“Well it certainly took you long enough!” He whipped around and saw Hugo Strange strutting towards him in a long white jacket.
“You have been destroying my company from within for decades!” He said angrily.
“I haven’t Bruce, Mask did it! I was simply a man who came across the crime lord and saw a great opportunity! But there is one thing that you should be mad at me about.”
“What?”
“That I was the one who hired Joe Chill to kill your parents and paid off the judge in the court hearing so that he was set free.” Batman lunged towards him, fists at the ready. He tutted loudly and pulled out a machine gun from inside his jacket. “Let’s not be too hasty now shall we-“Batman leapt on him and winded him. Strange wheezed.
“I’m not stopping no matter what you point at me!” He punched him n the head.
“Oohoohoo, you put up quite the fight!” He was punched again.
“YOU DESERVED TO BE ARRESTED!”
“The task was too much! It was the 80’s and this kind of technology didn’t exist! Black Mask took me in and introduced me to all the different illegal traders! Plutonium was the only option!” He was punched yet again.
“That’s a lie! My father would have pulled the plug on the operation if it wasn’t possible!”
“You clearly didn’t know your father Bruce.” He was angrier than before. Batman stood up and dragged him across to the smashed window.
“My father was a good man!” He growled.
“My point is proven!” Batman lifted him up and dangled him out the window. “Bruce, don’t break your limits. Don’t let your other identity get in the way of this one.” Lucius crawled out from under his desk and grabbed a gun.
“I’m not- you’re a criminal!”
“You wouldn’t drop me would you...?”
“Maybe-“He was cut off by the sound of gunfire. Strange fell. Lucius had shot him twice in the arm.
“AAH!” Screamed Hugo, falling through the air.
“LUCIUS!” He sent down his grappling hook and it grabbed Strange by the leg. Batman pulled him up and tied the rope to a chair.
“Ohhhhh....” Hugo groaned. “What was that for Lucius?”
“Give me my family back.”
“You can have them now that the cops will come and arrest me and Mask is dead. Why didn’t you let me go Bruce? You could have ridded me from your life forever! But no, it’s too much for you! Your parent’s death had more of a knock-on effect than I thought; it’s made you afraid to kill anybody!”
“I’ve killed before!”
“Who, Chill? That was a mistake, you were angry! You let your personal troubles get in the way of Batman! The same happened with Vicki’s death, you gave up being Batman. Some advice for you-keep your identities separate!”
“They are separate!”
“Well Bruce, now that we are face to face, this has been pretty underwhelming! I was hoping for a longer more thought out brawl than you pinning me down and then chucking me out the window!”
“What more do you want- death?”
“That would be great! I’ve seen too much pain and suffering in my long lifetime, why did you have to catch me? Because you couldn’t let me go! This is a perfect example of what I’m talking about: you want to kill me because I organised your parent’s death but you want to keep me alive because Batman doesn’t kill people and killing a man in cold blood would be too much on you, physiologically and physically. Oh look, police cars! Who called ‘em?”
“You’re not worth my time, you belong in Arkham.”
“Fine, leave me here! Have a good life Bruce!” The police burst in, just as soon as Batman tied himself to the ceiling. Hugo dangled there laughing like a maniac. The police kneeled down in front of him with guns at the ready. Blood dripped down Strange’s coat, blowing off as soon as it fell by the fierce wind. Batman jumped down and glided out of the building. The police sat there in awe. “So long!” Yelled Hugo, trying to be heard over the shouting of the officers and the fierce wind. Batman flew across the night sky, heading back to Wayne Manor.
Bruce and Alfred were sat at the dinner table. He had not long been back. Alfred had quickly prepared sandwiches for them to share. Bruce was just glad that it was all over.
“So tell me, what happened with Hugo Strange? You mentioned him on your way in. And that ‘everything makes sense now’. What do you mean sir?”
“Harold Stapleton was Hugo Strange in disguise, who was working for Black Mask. Mask’s been controlling Wayne Enterprises for years, even when my father was in power. Lucius’s family had been captured and he had to do what Mask said and what Hugo said. That’s why the Smartphone’s were faulty. My armour was faulty and had a hidden bomb concealed in the Batbelt. The reactor core-“Bruce was cut off.
“Reactor core?” Asked Alfred.
“It’s easier to say than eco-friendly power storage unit.”
“Ah right Master Bruce.”
“Hugo was the one who hired Chill to kill my parents. They’ve been controlling my life for years. The reactor core exploded because Mask fell into it and smashed the glass. Hugo was arrested and Lucius shot him.”
“Did he kill him?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Alfred seemed sad.
“So the entire area where the reactor was has been pulverised. And Wayne Enterprises has no income. The company’s collapsing Alfred. What do I do?”
“Well maybe you could look into the Smartphone’s again?” Alfred suggested.
“No it would cost too much! The reactor core experiment cost $2billion dollars! And millions of dollars are being wasted on gadgets for Batman.”
“Batman is you Sir.”
“No, I am Batman. I am only Batman. Bruce Wayne is a mirrored version of Batman.”
“I think you’ve got it the wrong way around Sir. You are Bruce Wayne! Batman is another version of yourself, a way to escape from your normal life! Black Mask and Hugo Strange were a challenge for you but you have overcome it. I don’t know what’s around the corner, but I know that you can stop it.” Alfred smiled and walked into the kitchen. Bruce sat there and took the first bite of his ham sandwich, thinking to himself about what lied around the corner for him. There was still the question of the Arkham breakout earlier today, thousands of criminals are on the streets and need to be returned to prison. Gotham City needs Batman right now to save them from crime. Gotham City needs Bruce Wayne to save their economy. Bruce and Batman are one. And nothing can get in their way.
Bruce stood in front of a headstone. It read:
Vicki Vale
June 30 1981-August 13 2011
An amazing woman, loved by all who knew her. Greatly missed by parents, friends, family and her boyfriend. Memories of her shall be treasured forever.
May she rest in peace.
He placed some flowers on the grave.
“I miss you. In case you didn’t already know, your murderer is dead. May he rot in the gates of hell. Hope you like the flowers! Everything’s alright now! Lucius did some tinkering with the Smartphone’s and got them working, now they’re the top phone in the district! I wish you were still here. I wish I could see what’s coming. They say that the first opponent is always the easiest. In this case I bloody well hope not!” A tear rolled down his cheek and fell on the dry earth. “Goodbye. Same time next week?” There was no reply. “Of course it is.” He smiled and walked away, as the sun beamed down on the grave making the fresh tear glisten in the daylight.
THE END
EPILOGUE:
Jack Napier ran down the alleyway. He had been one of the inmates to escape from Arkham Asylum and not get caught by police. But that may be about to change. He was being chased by Gordon and his men. The sound of gunfire was the clearest thing to be heard in the night. He stopped abruptly as he had hit a dead end. He turned around, panting and saw the police closing in on him.
“STOP RIGHT THERE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!” One of them yelled. Jack looked to the left and saw a large trash can. He leapt on it and hoisted himself over. The police didn’t like this. One of them fired a bullet. It hit his face.
“SHIT! AARRGGH!” He screamed in agony and fell over the wall onto the hard, wet ground. His face was throbbing and covered in blood. The insides of his cheeks were visible. He could hear large dogs barking madly. Jack looked in front of him and saw a large building across the street- a make-up factory. “There’s lot’s of make-up there! Now my face won’t look horrible, I can cover the scars!” He laughed loudly and heavily as he ran towards the front door of the building. Napier was insane. But was about to get a lot crazier.
Well that was the final chapter! I hope you have enjoyed the story and if you haven't read all of the chapters, my Fansite can be found HERE!
And best of all, the sequel to TB:CR is coming soon! It's still in the development stage but what I can tell you is that the plot continues from where this story left off and the main villains have both featured in a Batman movie before, perhaps even been paired up before...