Gotham: City of the Bat

[NicoJoe]

Gotham City
11:23 PM
Apartment Building Fire Escape[/size]

Jim Gordon stood on the fire escape of his apartment. He looked across the alleyway at the brick building in front of him as he gripped the cool iron. It was raining heavily, drenching the older man as he stood there, but he paid no attention to it. He wore a pair of brown, dress pants along with his white button up. His tie was loosened and askew around his neck and his white hair was disheveled from the rain and his hands constantly running through it. The man’s face was weathered, tired, defeated. This was very uncharacteristic for the Commissioner…former commissioner.

A streak of lightening illuminated the man standing next to him. This didn’t surprise Jim because he’d become accustomed to the Batman lurking in the shadows. On some level, he knew he was there. He always was.

“Is it true?” the voice of Gotham’s Dark Knight asked, again hidden from the light.

Jim didn’t look toward him, just kept staring at the building next door. His eyes were no more than slits and his mouth was a hard line as he spoke, “What do you think?”

“What I think is irrelevant,” Batman replied, “Good men make mistakes, Jim,”

“I didn’t do it, dammit!” Jim looked toward the darkness, his voice raising only a little at his outrage, “I’d never take a dime from some low life. I’ve spent my whole career putting them behind bars. Why would I change now? I’m being framed.”

“By who?”

“Who do you think? This new guy, Nichols, who else? Guy just shows up and then suddenly I’m locked up and he’s sitting at my desk. Doesn’t sound fishy to you?”

“Who is he?” Batman asked with no emotion in his voice.

“No one knows,” Gordon answered, returning his gaze to the building across the way. “Just showed up from Metropolis. His record was clean; we didn’t have a reason to distrust him. I guess we still don’t.” Gordon turned away from Batman and away from the alley, facing in the window to watch his wife on the couch. She was pretending to watch TV, wiping tears away from her face with the back of her hand.

“I’ll find a reason,” before Jim could reply, Batman was gone. He returned to the roof and looked over the city, his city. The air felt different. Something was about to happen; something that would shape not only his future, but the future of Gotham City as a whole. Bruce had faced a lot of trials in his time as Batman. He wasn’t afraid. Nothing scared The Batman.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said to Robin as he surveyed the city from his vantage point. “Be prepared,”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Gotham City
12:05 AM
The Narrows


Unsurprisingly, the run-down and litter-shrewn streets of the area of Gotham City collectively known as 'The Narrows' was deserted. And not without reason too; the chances of getting mugged were higher than the chances of being left alone, and nearly every resident had a criminal record. Still, where better for a criminal to blend in than with her own kind?

Peeking out of an alley overflowing with trash into the main street, a blond-haired woman with wide blue eyes and a large black bag slug across her shoulder stepped out into the street, glancing up and down before taking off at a brisk trot towards the west. If she appeared nervous or fearful, it was only an act; one didn't work closely with the Joker and fear anyone in this city.

Whistling to herself, the woman fished in the front pocket of her skiiny jeans and re-read the scrawled note, the paper cheap and crumpled. Grinning, she quickened her pace, her brick-red jacket fanning out behind her.

Coming up to one of the boarded houses that was crumbling the least, the woman pushed through into a surprisingly dustless living room. Reaching out experimentally, she ran her hand along the wall until her fingers touched a light-switch, and she pressed it. Light's flickered on. Letting out a high-pitched giggle, the woman ran up the stairs and found one of the bedrooms, dropping the large duffle bag on the bed before unzipping it and removing the contents; a red and black skin-tight costume with a jester-like headpeice in matching colours.

Taking her cell-phone from her pocket, she dialed a number quickly before jamming the device between her ear and shoulder as she began to hang the outfit in the wardrobe, which was in surprisingly good condition.

"Hey, Red? It's Harls. Yeah, I found the place, right in the middle'o tha' Narrows! I told you Mistah Jay would look afta' us!" She was silent for a few moments, before laughing. "I knew ya'd say that! Well, yo'wrong! He's gunna get out soon, you wait! Till then, he's gunna stir up trouble in Arkham...Don't say that, Red, my Puddin' can do anything! Well, the pad's ready when you are, Pamela. I gotta go get ma'babies soon, they'll be missin' their momma without big daddy around!"

"Besides-" she said suddenly, a grin on her face as she looked at herself in the mirror, bringing a finger to her lip to trace the bottom one, as if rubbing in makeup that she wasn't wearing, "-Puddin' said that somethin' big's gunna be goin' down soon. We're takin' over, Red, you wait. So girl, you want in?"

[TragicAce]

Arkham Prison
“I’m more worried about getting butt-&%#@$ then what time it is.”
Cell Blocks D

“This is ridiculous! The indignation of it-Can you believe this? My rights have been violated! I demand justice!” The penguin was getting his feathers in a bunch for the third time today, the first being about a lack of toilet paper and the second was over his loss in a game of Parcheesi with several other inmates during lunch. This time it was about the absence of the second in a pair of dinner rolls. The supervillain could have sworn he heard the prison guard munching on something when he came to deliver dinner.

Captivity was starting to get to him. Sure he was no stranger to the inside of a barred room, but it was never something he could get used too. “Nothing is more lamentable then a caged bird!” The Penguin always had a flair for the dramatics, but it was all that he had to keep him sane these past couple of months. Usually he was in-and-out within a week with enough bribes to corrupt officials. But not this time, that blasted Bat saw to it he’d serve out a prolonged visit.

Hmm, speaking of insane people…”Hey clown, you’re the mastermind in makeup around here. Thought you’d have some half-crazed plot to spring us out weeks ago.” Penguin jeered at the Joker, trying to get a response out of his strangely silent cell neighbor. “Or has the Bat broken your spirit? Maybe he’s taken your girl, that crazy what’s-her-name. Bet she’s a ball in bed.” If this didn’t incite an emotion out of the guy, nothing would.

[NicoJoe]

Just outside Gotham City
12:05 AM
Arkham Asylum[/size]

Jason’s motorcycle skidded to a stop; the gravel beneath the tires sprayed out over a few feet. In front of Jason stood Arkham Asylum, the first step in his plan for revenge against the Batman. The gates to the estate were large, towering over Jason as he stared up at them. He had arrived ready to bust the gate down, but as he approached it he noticed it swinging open slightly in the. Jason laughed to himself, wondering how these people could be taxed with holding Gotham’s most dangerous criminals but couldn’t be trouble to lock a gate. This would be easier than he had anticipated. Preparing for his job, Jason placed his mask over his head and became the Red Hood. He walked inside the gate and began up the path toward the mansion. On either side of the path, tall and eerie trees loomed overhead and in the distance he could hear the sounds of the night owls. The environment alone was enough to scare a lesser man. However, Jason wasn’t like most people. He had no fear. Jason Todd had returned from the dead. What else was there to fear? Besides, the truly horrific sights were inside Arkham, not lurking around the grounds.

As he approached the mansion, he began to notice guards stationed around its entrance. Out of instinct, he reached for his pistol but thought better of it. His mission here wasn’t to kill some inconsequential guards and doing so would only draw undo attention to him. Instead, he drew his grappling hook, one of the things he had kept from his time as Robin, and aimed it toward the roof. It was surprising how quiet the tiny machine was. It made almost no sound as he shot a line at a gargoyle poised on top of the mansion. It yanked him up, bringing him to his destination without alarming a single guard. Along the roof top, a line of guards stood at their posts. They would be easy to handle and one by one, Red Hood incapacitated them. He chuckled to himself as he moved atop the roof, looking for the right place. He had memorized the schematics of Arkham and knew exactly where his target was.

It only took minutes before he was above Cell Block D, the home for Arkham’s most violent offenders; the people who had committed crimes that were truly heinous, beyond the capabilities of any sane human being. And, most importantly to Jason, they were all sworn enemies of Batman. Psychopath’s lead by revenge. Not the most tamable army, but Jason would try. He placed his first charge on the roof, followed by the second and third; enough C4 to destroy it. Be quickly laid his message out on the floor in a place where anyone coming through the gap would have to see it. Once everything was in place, Jason Todd left the roof and returned to his motorcycle, unseen. As he sat on his bike, he removed the detonator from his pocket.

“And so it begins,” he whispered as he pushed the button, causing a loud explosion atop of Arkham. Smoke and debris flew into the air, exactly how it had been planned. Once the crazies escaped they’d see his message:

DOCKS
3:30
TONIGHT
THE BAT DIES BY OUR HANDS

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