Chapter 8: The Batman’s Loss
Black Mask entered a cold room with peeling cream paint and a long table situated in the middle. He was furious. Most of the mob had been killed at the stadium explosion and there were only about twenty left.
“I can’t believe that we failed this! How hard was it to stop ONE PERSON? There were thousands of you! From all the different mobs in Gotham and one man just walked in there and got out without a scratch! I just want to take Gotham by the hands and rip it apart!” Julian Day stood up. His face was burnt and pale and looked distorted after being caught in the explosion. He wore a stained dark pink hat, a black sweater and a long leather jacket that reached down to his ankles. He now walked with a steel cane and wore white trainers sprayed black.
“Hey, we did accomplish what we wanted! You set out to destroy something that means something to everybody in Gotham and we did. That football stadium collapsed and burnt to the ground. Sure, Batman and Gordon escaped but the explosion didn’t go as planned. Why didn’t you put a bomb in with it? Then there would have been more booms! And Batman and Gordon would have been killed for sure!”
“Listen Day, there was no bomb because they didn’t drain the energy from years ago and if the container was smashed it would create explosions et cetera! Are you gonna shut up now before I replace your face with a hammer?” Julian Day sat back down quietly. “Now what we need to do is strike Batman from the heart. I’ve said before that I know who Batman is and I’m going to tell you. He is Bruce Wayne. That’s right, the billionaire playboy running a company and getting laid five times every night. I know this because one of the key players at Wayne Enterprises is working for me and he’s feeding me information so I can plan my final attack. This was a back-up plan for if the football stadium explosion didn’t work properly but I want to do this anyway. We are going to rip Batman’s heart out! We shall kill the person closest to him at the moment and cause Batman to become an emotional wreck which will get in the way of his crime fighting which will cause him to be arrested again! I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself but that’s the general plan of what I want to happen. In a few weeks we are going to kidnap her and taunt him. Then he will come to us and we can kill her in front of him! But first we need to figure out how to get into the Gotham Chronicle officer because we are going to kidnap Vicki Vale.”
The hunt for Batman had finished. Harvey Dent had sent out a public apology and Batman, Gordon and Dent were working together to stop Black Mask. All three of them were standing on top of the roof where Gordon had previously built the Batsignal. They had been standing there for a couple of minutes and hadn’t said a thing.
“Batman, do you have any info via your computer?” Dent asked.
“No. The criminals have been pretty quiet for a few weeks. I’ve only seen a couple out but not doing anything, just buying themselves hotdogs.” He replied.
“This is too suspicious.” Said the DA.
“Your right it is.” Gordon cut in. “We have more cameras in more places than you Batman. We intercepted a phone call between two criminals saying that Black Mask is planning two more attacks. They’ve hacked into the Smartphone Company Motorola and can get any criminals number and address easily via the phones. We have no idea what type of attacks they are, but he referred to the first as an attack and the second as an event. God knows what they are.” Batman was alarmed by this.
“So they’re planning on kidnapping or killing somebody soon. Well this is Black Mask and he’s only going to kill people or cause things that matter. It could be either of us. What we don’t know is how he defines ‘mattering’. It could be one of our wives or girlfriends.” A sense of realisation spread across his body. Mask wanted to destroy him. He had already tried and failed. It all fitted together perfectly. He leapt off of the building and glided down onto the Batmobile below.
“COME BACK!” Dent screamed.
“YOU HAVE TO PROTECT GOTHAM!” The Batmobile was already driving away, but Batman shouted back:
“I am protecting somebody! Somebody that matters!” Gordon and Dent were left panting and stressed on the rooftop. He knew that Mask would strike as soon as possible and he needed to prepare himself for it.
The next day, Vicki Vale sat in her office feeling lovesick. She hadn’t seen Bruce since he returned from his ‘business trip’. There had been hardly any news since the stadium explosion so she was going home early. Some reporters who worked in the showbiz and entertainment section had resorted to making up false ‘scoops’ just to sell papers. She was planning on surprising tonight at his house. She wanted to take him out for the night to show him what being a normal person was like. There was a beautiful restaurant owned by a delightful person called Oswald Cobblepot. But it was time for her to leave and prepare. Or so she thought. Just as she got up from her chair behind her desk the doors to the officers were thrown open by about fifteen criminals in black ski masks and dark sweaters. They were all holding guns and shot randomly in the air, killing some innocent reporters. Vicki crawled under her desk as fast as she could and made as little noise as possible.
“Where’s the one they call Vicki Vale?” Yelled one of them.
“He-he, come out wherever you are, the Black Mask’s have come to get ya!” Screeched another. Now she knew why all of the Mask’s men wore ski masks; to show that they were his followers. It was like some kind of cult. The criminal who spoke first fired his machine gun and a legion of bullets came hammering into Vicki’s desk.
“Come on, we just wanna talk that’s all!” Said another criminal. Suddenly, one of the reporters from the Lifestyle section stood up and spoke to them.
“SHE’S OVER THERE! UNDERNEATH THAT DESK! Take her, but leave the rest of us please. We haven’t done anything wrong!” He yelled.
“Thanks kid.” Answered a new criminal who emerged from the wrecked door. He grabbed a machine gun and shot multiple times at the reporter’s neck. Vicki shut her eyes tightly and quietly sobbed as she could hear blood splattering everywhere and the collapse of an innocent man. She could already hear police sirens outside. People were shouting and loudly discussing what was going on. She was on the highest floor of a tall building which worried her. Three different goons ran up to Vicki’s desk and grabbed her out of it. Her face was covered in tears. More criminals ran past them and smashed all the glass windows.
“Miss Vale, your time has come!” He smiled through the mask. She cried more and started screaming.
At Wayne Manor, Alfred was gathering up Bruce’s things. They had heard about the hostage situation at the Gotham Chronicle and Bruce needed to get there as fast as possible. The problem was that it was against Batman’s nature to appear during the day so Bruce was going to arrive in one of his cars and show these criminals a piece of his mind.
“Are you ready Master Bruce?” Alfred asked.
“Definitely. Just give me the keys to the Lamborghini and I can do the rest.”
“Have you brushed your teeth?”
“Shut up!” Bruce ran out of the house and drove away as fast as lightning in the stylish car.
Vicki was being held on the very edge of the building. Shards of glass were getting stuck in her shoes. The police were surrounding the building and slowly making their way through the building fighting the criminals. Suddenly a blue Lamborghini drove through the crowds of people and police officers and swerved to a stop. Bruce leapt out and ran into the building which was met with many cheers from people watching. Gordon was standing in the doorway and was surprised by the billionaire’s appearance.
“Bruce! What are you doing here?”
“Saving my girlfriend!” They ran up the stairs together to find her. They both were much better at fighting than the other criminals were.
“Where did you get your training?”
“Private trainer called Ethan Bennett. He’s very good.”
“Ah. Why aren’t you dressed as Batman?”
“Not very fashionable in the middle of the day.” They finally reached the top floor. All the criminals were occupied holding down reporters with machine guns. Five had been killed. The person holding Vicki was continuously taunting her by pretending to drop her and then picking her back up, like a baby. Bruce and Gordon burst through the glass. They ran to different criminals and started fighting them which was over relatively quickly. The other officers still hadn’t appeared. The person holding Vicki dropped her on the ground and ran after Bruce. Gordon grabbed Vicki to comfort her while Bruce and the goon battled it out. Bruce was kicked to the floor.
“Ha-ha, you don’t know who I am do you?” Said the criminal.
“Why would I!?” Bruce yelled. His opponent ripped off his ski mask to reveal a familiar face.
“I’m their leader!” It was Black Mask. Bruce leapt up and started fighting harder than before. Gordon looked up and could see that Bruce was in trouble.
“I’ll be right back Miss Vale.” He smiled and ran after them both. Mask turned around and saw Gordon.
“Well this is nice! It’s just like the stadium explosion when thousands of innocent people were injured and/or killed!” He said this with a boyish grin on his face. Gordon kicked him in the buttocks and slammed him to the ground. Bruce grabbed a machine gun and pointed at his head.
“Bruce...” Gordon trailed off.
“So Batman, are you going to do it? Are you going to murder a man in cold blood? Can you do it? Hmm?” Bruce was angry. It was visible in his expression, pulsing through his veins. He dropped it and Gordon grabbed some handcuffs.
“You’re not officially under arrest Black Mask, for everything.”
“Aw crap I wanted to get away, like I always do!” Gordon lifted him up and was about to put them on his wrists when he kicked him in the chest and dived on Bruce, grabbing the machine gun in the process. He whacked it around Bruce’s neck which caused him to collapse. Mask pointed the gun upwards and fired hundreds of bullets into the air which led to Gordon dropping on the floor and taking cover. Vicki was hiding behind a wood panel. He grabbed her out of it and held her against the open space.
“AAAH!” She screamed.
“This is what happens when a mentally deranged person comes out every night dressed as a bat! It makes people strange! Very strange! Actions have consequences GOTHAM CITY!” He screeched at the top of his lungs and fired the gun through Vicki’s chest. Everything went into slow motion. Bruce found himself running but couldn’t get there quick enough. It was like an invisible force field was blocking him from them. Gordon tried to crawl but he wasn’t fast enough either. Vicki mouthed the word ‘Bruce’ and fell. Bruce and Gordon sped up. He grabbed Mask by the neck and strangled him as hard as he could. Smashing his head against the wall and kicking him all over, he wanted to kill him. Vicki’s body landed in the middle of the crowd and everybody was silent. The other officers burst into the room with guns at the ready after a major holdup on the Showbiz/Entertainment floor.
“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Screamed Bruce, still absolutely furious. Gordon put Mask in handcuffs and the other officers captured the other criminals. All the gang members were dragged away (including Mask) which allowed Gordon to grab Bruce. He was fighting and trying to break free but failed at it. Paramedics had already arrived and were taking away Vicki in an ambulance. He could still hear the echoes of Black Mask’s laughter from the stairs. Tears burst out of his eyes. Mask had succeeded again.