Categories > Movies > Batman Begins > Batman: The Scarred and the Damned
Chapter XIV
0 reviewsHarvey's 'Endgame' begins as he announces his return to the rest of Gotham, as well as his plan. A plan that will change the City forever….but only if the Batman fails to stop him, that is.
0Unrated
"Hello, Gotham...remember me?" Harvey spoke as his disfigured Face appeared on TVs all around the City, from homes, Clubs, Diners, pretty much anywhere there was an active Television, gaining shocked reactions from all who were watching.
"As you can see, I, Harvey Dent, am not dead as 'others' had reported a year ago. But I am no longer the Man who you all once believed in to save this City from the threat of organized Crime..." he started to explain, while Batman, Alfred and everyone else watched.
"...since I have realised that there is no saving Gotham, because it is a 'cursed' City, where anyone who enters is 'damned' and forced to lose everything that they love. That is what happened to me when I took a stand against against the Mob, because those I considered friends/allies betrayed me, allowing the Joker to get his hands on the Woman I loved, Rachel Dawes, and myself..." he continued while a saddened look appeared on his scarred face.
"...before blowing her to hell in a building full of explosives. I would have suffered the same fate, if it hadn't been for the Batman, though as you can see, I didn't get out of there completely unscathed..." Dent added, gesturing to the burnt and hideous side of his face.
"...and after learning of Rachel's death and what had become of myself, I wanted nothing more than to join her, but only after making the ones I held responsible pay for failing Rachel and myself for what happened to us. But the Batman interfered again and I ended up in a coma, rotting away in the depths of Arkham Asylum for a year. I have had much time to dwell on that, also I found out that you, the people of Gotham, had used my name to rid the City of the Falcone Crime Syndicate. Instead of pursuing justice for Rachel, you chose to heed the lies of this Man..." the former DA continued, before the camera moved slightly to the right and revealed the broken looking Jim Gordon, who was on his knees and staring down at the floor.
"...this Man, who built a lie about me and had his Vigilante friend take the blame for it. But I did not ask for that and will not accept it, because I let Fate judge those people and then killed them accordingly." Two-Face continued as he then flicked his coin and caught before showing it's burnt and scarred side to the camera.
"And now, with your dear Commissioner's help, I will now let fate judge you all, Gotham. I have planted and armed four thermobaric bombs in secret locations throughout the City, which together have the same destructive potential as four Nuclear Warhead, minus the radioactive fallout. Now if only two of these devices were to go off, then the level of destruction would be limited to only half of Gotham. But as I have already said, all the devices have been armed and they will all go off at exactly 8:29pm, which was the exact time that my Rachel lost her life..." the Maniac added, while people started to panic as his transmission continued.
"...now you can try to flee the City, but since Gotham has a population of several million people, it will take a while and most of you will not escape the blast radius in time. But as I said, that is only if all the bombs explode, you see, I will be giving the choice to your beloved Commissioner with this remote." Harvey added, before revealing the small device in his burnt left hand.
"If Jim Gordon, here, presses the button on this remote before 8:30pm, then only two of the bombs will detonate and destroy just half of Gotham. That means only half of this City's Citizens, if plan is followed correctly, will have a 50/50 chance of surviving this and reflecting on the fact that their own inability to stand up to injustice is what put them in this very situation." the scarred Man spat with a judgemental tone, before a slight smirk appeared on his half-ruined face.
"But if Commissioner Gordon does not play by my rules, if he does not activate the remote in the set time, then everyone in this poisoned City will die. So, Gotham, time to hold your breath and see if your Hero-Cop here, has the courage to let 'fate' decide who will live and suffer the guilt of their inaction and those that will burn for their sins..." Two-Face continued, only to pause for a second before looking back at the camera with a knowing expression.
"...oh and one last thing, I certainly hope none of you put faith into Gotham's apparently misunderstood Vigilante, the one who loves this City so much that he took the blame for what were considered my crimes, in the hope that things would get better in the long run. Only they haven't, have they? Because no matter what the Batman tries to accomplish, he will inevitably fail, just as he did with Rachel and myself." the former DA explained with a disdainful tone, before flicking his Father's Coin into the air and catching it one more time.
"So, let's begin." he finished with a finality to those words, before the transmission suddenly cut off, which made Alfred look back to Bruce, who was already working away at the Bat-Computer.
"Sir, 8:30pm is..." he started to say with a worried tone, only for the younger man to cut him off mid-sentence.
"In just under an hour's time, I know...are you online, Lucius?"
"I always am, Mr. Wayne..." the voice of Wayne Enterprise's CEO then spoke through the Bat-computer's speakers, while Batman continued to focus on it's main screen as he typed.
"...and before you ask, yes, I have just seen that transmission and I am ready to assist you."
"Good, start by using our Wayne-Tech Radio transmitters to try and pick up any frequencies that appear to be alien for the area of Gotham..." the Vigilante started to reply, before Fox cut him off.
"No need, Mr. Wayne, since the new Satellite can scan for different types of frequencies." he said back with an inquisitive tone, earning a nod from Batman in return as he got out of his chair.
"Okay then, get a fix on their frequency and try to block it, so Harvey's bombs can't detonate." he then started to order while making his way towards the Batwing, only for his loyal Butler to catch his attention.
"But, Master Wayne, what about the Commissioner?" he asked, making the Dark Knight stop and look back.
"Gordon won't use that remote, Alfred, I know he won't." he said back reassuringly, bringing a puzzled look to his older friend's face.
"So where are you going?"
"I know where Harvey and the Commissioner are, since i recognised the area around them in the transmission. They are at 250-52nd Street..." the costumed Man replied.
"Where Miss. Dawes died and Mr, Dent was believed to have perished." Alfred replied, his tone of voice tinted with sadness, which made Batman sigh in response.
"...Yes, so I am going to need you to work with Lucius from here and keep in contact with me via my com-link."
"...Yes, so I am going to need you to work with Lucius in finding the Bomb's frequency and block it, so I have only have to worry about stopping Harvey and saving Gordon."
"You can count on us, Master Bruce." the Butler replied in a reassuring tone, earning a nod from the costumed Billionaire as he turned round and walked over to the Batwing.
"I know, now I just need to gain the assistance of someone else before we make our move." he replied with a slight crypticness to his words.
"And who would that be, Mr. Wayne." Fox asked over the Bat-Computer's speakers, making Batman look back after climbing into the Jet's cockpit.
"Someone who hates me." was all the Vigilante would sat before the glass-canopy closed over him and he then piloted the vehicle out of the Cave, leaving Alfred on his own as he sat down at the Computer.
"Alright then, let's find that signal."
BATMAN: THE SCARRED AND THE DAMNED
'20 minutes before 8:30pm'
Lieutenant Foley stood beside his Patrol-Car, one of several that blocked off one of three streets leading to 250-52nd Street, holding his Buretta in one hand and a radio in the other as Eckhart approached him.
"Lieutenant, the squads have checked in and reported that the other streets have been blocked and the SWAT teams are standing ready." the younger Man reported, gaining a nod back from George saw one more SWAT van pull up to their barrier.
"Good, now we just wait and make sure that nothing gets in or out of the area 50-52nd Street. I am just relieved that there are no Civilians in there, since the whole area is disused." the Lt. replied, earning a confused look from Eckhart.
"Sir, I don't understand why we don't just move in and take those Mercs down. I mean we have all our SWAT teams here and ready to go, so what is the hold up?"
"Son, you saw what happened when one of our Choppers did a fly by of the place, trying to get a lay of the land. It was shot down by a surface to air - rocket propelled Grenade, meaning that those Mercs have access to some heavy Military hardware, curtsey of 'The Bird' I bet. I have called in the National Guard, but there are still mobilizing. Also we are stretched pretty thin, with half of our men here and the others out there, searching the City for those four bombs that Dent has hidden." Foley replied with a frustrated tone, making the younger Police Officer look out in the direction of 50-52nd Street.
"But what are we waiting for, then?" he asked, which brought a thoughtful expression to the Lieutenant's face as he looked in the same direction, as he remembered what had happened in only 30 minutes earlier...
'At the GCPD Headquarters, Foley sat in his office and looked out of the windows that surrounded his work area, separating him from the rest of the force. They were rushing about with far more urgency as usual, which was to be expected when you consider that they had all just seen Harvey Dent on the TV, threatening the entire City.
'Gotham just doesn't get a break, does it? First it was Ra's Al Ghul's Chemical Attack, then it was th Joker and now it's this...' he thought with a worried expression, before his attention was caught by the door opening as a younger Man stood in the now open doorway.
"Lieutenant, the Bomb Squads are being mobilised as we speak and should be ready to go in 5 mins."
"Very good, Johnson, is there anything else?" the GCPD's second in Command replied, gaining a nod from the Subordinate in response.
"Yes, Bullock called in from the Hospital and says that he is ready to come in and help, considering what is happening right now." he said back, bringing an appreciative slight-smile to Foley's face.
"You have got to give the man credit, he gets shot just a day earlier and still wants to help..." he started to say with an impressed tone, while Eckhart listened to him from his spot in the doorway.
"...but tell him that though while I appreciate his enthusiasm, the best place for him right now is the Hospital."
"Okay, Sir." the younger Man replied, before exiting the room and closing the door behind him, once again leaving the Lieutenant on his own once more, making him sigh deeply as he watched his colleagues continue to work around him.
"We have to talk!" a familiar deep voice spoke once from behind the Cop, making him nearly fall out of his seat as he fumbled his gun out of his holster, only for it to be quickly snatched from his grasp, with Foley finding himself on the floor and staring up at the Batman.
"What...how...how did you...?" he mumbled with a confused and shocked expression, before the Vigilante then picked him up and pushed him against the wall, all while everyone outside of the room continued to work, completely oblivious to his presence.
"We don't have time for this Foley..." he started to say, only for the Lieutenant to interrupt him by fighting back with a punch to the Dark Knight's stomach. But his move was too easily telegraphed and Batman easily blocked it, before twisting said arm around Foley's back and forcing the Man down on to his knees.
"...because no matter what your thoughts are on me right now, there are much bigger things going on and you have to focus on them..." the Vigilante carried on saying while looking down at beaten Man, who looked back up and saw the judging glare that was being stared at him.
"...or are you going to let your Colleagues out there..." Batman added while pointing the Police outside as he spoke, making the Lieutenant look in the direction with a look of disgrace on his face.
"...discover that you are just a shadow of the Man who should be leading them right now?"
There was a moment of silence between the two Men as Batman let his words sink into the Lieutenant's mind, before the latter looked back from over his shoulder.
"What do you want?" he asked with a reluctant tone, while former, with his free hand, took a Memory-Stick out of one of the metallic pouches on his Utility-belt and placed it on the Policeman's desk.
"On this Flash-drive are two addresses, the first is Harvey Dent's base of operations and the other is where he, his Mercenary team and Commissioner Gordon are right now..." he started to explain in his disguised voice, only for Foley to cut him off.
"Why should we bother with his Base if they are not there any more?" he winced as the Dark Knight kept his arm in that tight hold, making him grit his teeth.
"You need to send a Patrol out there and identify the bodies of a Woman, a little Girl and a little Boy who are currently burning in a bonfire outside the building there." Batman continued, before the Cop looked back with a worried expression.
"You're not talking about Jim's Family, are you?" he asked, making the Vigilante shake his head in response, while not letting go of the Man's arm.
"No, Harvey wants Gordon to believe that his Family are dead, but they are safe and out of his reach..." he began to explain, though Foley suddenly tried to resist and break free.
"Where are they!" he spat, making the Dark Knight twist the arm more and stop the Lieutenant in his tracks.
"They are safe, but the family that was killed deserves Justice for what was done to them and you have to ensure that their voices will be heard."
"Okay, they will. And what about the other Address?" Foley sighed in return.
"You have to surround its perimeter and ensure no one gets in or out, once I have dealt with everyone in there, I will send a signal and you can they come in and arrest everyone." the Costumed-Man replied, earning a reluctant nod back from the Policeman.
"Alright, I will see this done, one time. But this doesn't change anything, because even if you didn't kill Harvey Dent, you are still a Vigilante and are acting outside of the Law. So no matter how tonight ends up, I am still coming for you." he said back with a determined look, which brought a knowing smirk to Batman's face.
"Understood, now get out there and do your job, Lieutenant." was all the Vigilante would say next, before pushing the Cop to the floor, making Foley land face first next to his gun. This made his eyes widen as he saw the weapon, before suddenly snatching it up in his hands and quickly turning around and aiming it at the Dark Knight.
'What!' he thought with another shocked expression as he found himself to be alone once more in his office, with only a slightly ajar window as a sign of how his enemy had got out.
"Damn it!" he spat with a frustrated look, before sighing and holstering his weapon.'
"Lieutenant, I asked what are we waiting for?" Eckhart asked once more, snapping Foley from his thoughts as he looked back at the confused looking younger Man. But before either could say another word, a jet-black fighter-jet suddenly flew overhead in direction of 50-52nd Street, gaining an aggravated look from the Lieutenant as he watched the plane.
"For that...for the f**king Batman!"
BATMAN: THE SCARRED AND THE DAMNED
"Okay, looks like Foley did as I said." Batman spoke aloud from the Cockpit of the Batwing, looking down at the streets below as he flew over them.
"You did threaten his ego, Sir, which can be a great motivator for most people." Alfred replied over the com, earning a slight smirk from the Vigilante.
"Yeah, I did. But the Lieutenant needed the push, or else he would have just kept himself locked up in that office." he said back as his expression became more serious.
"You don't think that the Lieutenant has what it takes, Master Bruce?" the Butler then asked, only for the Dark Knight to ignore him as one of the screens in front of him began to beep.
"Sir?"
"Sorry, Alfred, but I think someone is targeting me." the younger Man replied as he glanced at the screen, just as the Batwing approached 250-52nd Street.
"That is understandable, Sir. "
But Batman continued to ignore the voice of his Confidante and friend as an alert sound blasted out from the speakers at either side of his seat, keeping his attention on what was transpiring at that moment.
'What the hell is targeting me out there?' he thought frantically while looking out of the cockpit at the area around what was left of the building, before it then struck him as the Pilot saw a anti-aircraft weapons platform aiming it's turrets towards him.
"Shi..!" he started to say, only to be cut off by Fox, who spoke over the Com-link.
"Better get ready to use your Counter-measures, Batman." the CEO said in his usual calm tone, leaving the Vigilante to look at his controls and spot the button.
"Oh, there it is."
This gained a knowing sigh from the old Man over the com, but the Dark Knight's focus was still on the upcoming threat, which suddenly became very real as the platform launched a rocket his way, signalled by the Cockpit's audio alert changing to one very loud and continuous tone.
"Evade and launch counter-measures!" Lucius ordered as the Costumed-Man pulled the Batwing away from the building sharply and fired several flares behind it, making the homing projectile miss the Jet as it turned it's attention to the Countermeasures and hit one of them.
Meanwhile, Two-Face watched with a restrained Jim-Gordon at his side from their place on the derelict Building's top floor, the former beginning to smile as he witnessed the Batwing coming under attack.
"Okay, Boys, light him up." he then said into his radio, before returning his attention to the knelt Commissioner.
"Well, Jim, the Bat showed up, just like we both knew he would..." he continued while kneeling down beside his prisoner, who just kept his own eyes on the jet-black fighter.
"...but he is not going to stop what is about to happen..." the Scarred-Man added while undoing Jim's restraints as he kept his pistol pointed at him, before placing the remote in his now free hands.
"...because either way, this damned City will burn."
Gordon though just looked down at the device that lay in his grasp, knowing what would happen if he pressed it's button.
"No..." the Police Commissioner began to say as he looked up at his Captor, while a resilient expression appeared on his face.
"...no, I will not do it."
"Oh yes you will, Jim, because if you don't..." Dent then replied as he looked at his watch, earning a glance from his former friend.
"...then in just under 20 minutes, everyone in the City will burn. But if you can save half of its Citizens if you just push that button, I do not know which half, but that's the point. 50 percent of Gotham will have a 50/50 chance of surviving, just like Rachel and I did..."
The disgraced District Attorney was about to continue talking, only to have his attention caught as his radio came to life once again.
"Two-Face, this is Kuttler..." spoke the voice of the Mercenaries Tech-expert, which made Harvey take his radio back out of the burnt side if his suit.
"What is it?"
"Just thought you would like to know, that our Bat-friend will be in for a surprise in the next moment or so." Kuttler replied with a confident tone, gaining a slight smile from his Boss in return.
"Good, just keep him busy with the rest or our Artillery in the meantime. Oh and, Kuttler..." he started to say back, just as Gordon watched him with a curious look.
"Yes, Two-Face?"
"Please give my regards to 'the Bird' for all the Tech that he has procured for me and let him know that he, along with you and the rest of the Mercenaries will be well paid for your efforts when this night is through." Harvey said back, just as his Prisoner noticed a sinister expression cross his half-mutilated face.
"Of course I will, Kuttler out."
"Oh, if only they knew the truth." the Maniac then said, once his radio had gone silenced, making Gordon stare back with even more confusion in his eyes.
"What have you done, Harvey?"
This made the disfigured Man turn his attention back to the captive Police Chief, a sinister and telling smile on his face.
"I told you a long time ago that there would be no escaping what was meant to happen and I have made sure that this time, there 'really' will be no escape tonight...not for any of us." he replied with a knowing and truthful tone to his voice, earning a worried expression from Gordon as he looked back at the device in his hands.
"So press that button and spare half of Gotham from the fate that awaits us in the next 20 minutes."
Meanwhile, the Batwing managed to dodge another missile as it performed a barrel-roll, only to suddenly be hit by gunfire.
"What the hell?" Batman replied with a surprised tone as he felt the impacts, before noticing that another small screen had activated on his controls, one that showed a top down view of his vehicle and it's starboard wing flashing red.
"You have been hit, Mr. Wayne." Lucius said over the com in a very 'matter-of-fact' tone, gaining an aware expression from the masked-Vigilante.
"Oh, what gave you that idea." he replied with a slight sarcastic tone to his disguised voice, before spotting more weapon platforms activating on the sensor screen.
"Luicus, does the Batwing have any offensive capabilities?" he asked while pulling the Jet out of the firing solution of said platforms, making the CEO sigh on the other end of the Com.
"I should have known that you didn't read the instructions yet, Bruce."
"I have been a little busy." the Dark Knight said back, only to perform another evasive move as another missile and barrage of bullets came his way.
"Well, the Batwing has two Vulcan cannons and a full assortment of 'air to air' and 'air to ground' missiles of varying explosive yields." Fox replied, bringing a relieved smirk to Batman's face.
"So not all the weapons are lethal, that's good to know."
"Master Bruce, in case you haven't noticed, but there are no life-signs outside of 250-52nd Street, since they all appear to be inside..." Alfred then spoke up over the encrypted Com, only to be cut off by Luicus.
"Which means that you shouldn't worry about cutting loose with the Batwing's weapons, Mr. Wayne."
The Vigilante could not help but feel good about the current situation as his smirk widened a little more, all the while keeping his attention on his flying.
"Thanks for keeping an eye on my screens, Alfred. I really appreciate it, since I haven't been able to glance down at that screen for the last few minutes."
"No trouble at all, Sir. In fact I have been able to take a look at the instructions and take some tips from Mr. Fox, so if you want, I can target the turret platforms for you?" he replied with a mirrored tone, earning a nod from the Dark knight in response.
"Please do, Alfred, I am bringing her round for a pass now." he answered while flying the Batwing away from the building, making some distance between it and the weapons as he then flicked a number of switches on the controls panel to his right.
"Going weapons free." he reported, only to then pull the stick down and right in his direction, causing the Jet-fighter to sharply turn around and fly back towards 50-52nd Street, just as a number of targets were marked on his sensor screen.
"All targets locked, Sir." the Butler reported, as the pilot narrowed his eyes and readied his finger and thumb on the guns and missiles triggers of the flight stick.
"Time to end this." he then said with a finality to his voice, before pressing down the triggers and launching a barrage of gun and missile fire that devastated the weapon platforms that were positioned around the derelict building as the Batwing flew over head.
"All targets destroyed, Master Wayne." Alfred then reported, while the Vigilante looked out of the glass canopy and saw the burning wrecks as he circled 50-52nd Street.
"Excellent. Lucius, how are you getting along with finding the Bombs frequency and stopping it?"
"I have located the correct frequency, Mr. Wayne, but it's Military grade, just as I thought." the CEO replied in a calm manner.
"So it won't be a problem for a Man of your Talents, will it?" the younger Costumed-Man asked back with a smirk.
"Of course not..." he began to reply, while Batman returned his attention to hos flight instruments.
"...but it will take several minutes at least.
"I better get down there then and put Harvey's Men out of commission..." the Vigilante began to say, only for the former to cut him off mid-sentence.
"Then I should inform you of a quick way to exit the Batwing, considering how theatrical you like to be. I have made the Fighter's eject system work in reverse and built a trapdoor of sorts into the floor of the Cockpit." he explained, making the Dark knight smile as he noted the eject button's location on his control-interface.
"You have found your calling, Luicus..." he started to say back, only to be cut off as the whole Batwing violently shook from an impact from behind.
As this was happening, Harvey and Gordon continued to watch from their location in the derelict building. The former had a large grin on his face as he saw the dark smoke trailling from the aft of the damaged Fighter-Jet, while holding his radio to his right ear.
"Direct hit, Two-Face. Batman did not see the stealth missile coming, so shall we finish him off?" Kuttler asked, not even attempting to hide his enthusiasm as he spoke. But as Gordon watched from on his knees with a shocked and fearful expression, he saw Two-Face take his coin out and flick it up into the air and back down into the palm of his hand.
"Do it." he then replied with a smile, before turning to the captive Cop and revealing the blacked out Tails side of his coin, which made the latter's eyes widen in response.
Back in the Batwing, smoke was starting to fill the Cockpit as alarms blared and numerous screens flashed red light into the Pilot's masked-face.
"The Batwing's taken catastrophic damage to all systems, I am having trouble keeping her in the air." he replied while fighting to keep control of the flight-stick, which was shaking violently in his grip.
"It must have been a stealth missile, that's the only way that they could have bypassed the Batwing's sensors." Fox guessed, only for the Vigilante to undo his seat-belt and flick a number of switches in front of him.
"Then I am going to bail out, since we won't know when the next one is fired at us."
"God's speed, Master Bruce." Alfred then said, just as the Dark Knight then pressed the eject button, causing the floor to open up and drop him out of the Batwing. But just as the costumed-man spread out his cape into it's gliding function, the Fighter was hit by another missile, causing it to explode and create a bright fiery backdrop to the Bat-symbol shape of the now gliding Batman as he began to fly towards 250-52nd Street.
"That was a close one. So tell me, what am I up against in there?"
"There are at least several life-signs on both the first and second floors, Mr. Wayne, while there are only two on the fourth floor." Fox replies over the Vigilante's com-link.
"That will be Harvey and Gordon, but what about the third floor?"
"There are no life-signs on that floor, but the Satellite is detecting a large amount of explosives, perhaps enough to bring down the entire building." the Wayne Enterprises CEO explained as Batman noticed three Mercs coming out of the main entrance to the building, looking shocked at the destroyed weapons platforms that stood nearby.
"Okay, we will deal with that in due time. But as of right now, I think that I really should reintroduce myself to these guys." the Dark Knight replied, while the burning wreck of the Batwing fell to the ground behind him.
BATMAN: THE SCARRED AND THE DAMNED
"God damn it, look at all this damage." the Bird exclaimed as he joined the three masked Mercs outside, who were all staring at the same burning wreckage.
"At least we took out the Bat." one of them replied with a relieved tone, gaining a nod from his friends in return.
"Yeah, we won't be seeing him agai..." another began to say, only to have a pair of customized boots to hit him in the face as the Batman swooped down and took him out, making the guy fall down the steps as their attacker landed amongst them.
"Shit!" The Bird almost screamed before running back inside, while other two aimed their weapons at the Vigilante.
"Die, Batman!" one shouted as he pulled the trigger, but before any bullets were fired, the costumed-man quickly knocked the weapon out of his hands with an armoured gauntlet while back-kicking his friend through the now closed front door.
"Oh Crap! the Merc panicked before heading into the land of the unconscious as he was met with a fist to his face, leaving the Batman as the only man standing there at the doorway.
"I'm heading in, keep me apprised on the situation with the Bombs." he then said into his com-link.
"Will do, Master Wayne, but I should warn you. The rest will know that you are coming now." Alfred replied, while the Bird's screams of 'Batman's here' could be heard from inside.
"Let them know, it's not going to change anything." the Dark Knight said back, before heading into the condemned Building.
But as soon as he entered, the Batman was welcomed by a barrage of gunfire as several more men opened fire, while the Bird ran up the stairs. This made the Caped Crusader dive behind one of the concrete pillars as he Threw out a smoke pellet between the group, engulfing them in a thick smoke cloud as it exploded.
"Watch out, he's using that damn smoke again!" one called out with a cough, as his teammates became hard to see through the cover.
"Quick, get together and watch each other's..." another started to call out, only to be quickly silenced.
"What was th..." one more began to say, before he too went quiet.
"F**k this!" a severally agitated Merc then cries out as he opened fire with his weapon and spread the room with bullets, before a cry of pain was heard.
"Did I get him?" the guy then asked as he turned and faced the direction that it came from, narrowing his eyes behind his mask as he tried to see through the still thick smoke.
"We have a Man down!" another exclaimed, gaining the former's attention as he then saw the silhouette of one of his colleagues kneeling down beside the slumped form of another against of the pillars.
"Oh crap, that's on me." he said with a shameful tone, only to suddenly feel he hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, as a deep and gravelly voice spoke behind him.
"Yes it is!" the Merc then heard and turned around, before suddenly feeling the full force of a fist smash through his mask and knock him out.
The one that stood by his injured comrade had heard this and quickly threw his weapon to the ground and put both hands in the air in surrender, while the smoke started to dissipate around them and reveal the others lying unconscious around them.
"I surrender!" he called out with slight confusion to his voice, since there was no sign of the Batman in his area. But before he could question this further, he felt a strong vice like grip around the back of his throat.
"Good choice." the Dark Knight replied as he then forcefully slammed the guys head into the pillar and dropped him to the ground to join his teammates before turning his attention to the injured one slumped next to the pillar beside him.
"You will live." the Vigilante then said as he knelt down and took a small device out from his Utility belt and pressed it against the Merc's bullet wound, gaining a loud grimace back as the wounded Man felt a sharp, hot pain in that same spot, while smell of smouldering flesh filled the immediate air around him.
"There, that should hold until you get proper medical attention." the Vigilante added, earning what could only be read as an appreciative groan from the injured Merc as the former stood up and looked up at the ceiling.
"Alright, the ground floor is secure. How is the second looking, Penny-One?"
"Penny-What, Sir?" Alfred replied in the Dark Knight's ear, gaining the most subtle of smirk's from the young man in return.
"Just run with it."
"Very well, Sir. Now according to the Satellite scans curtesy of Mr. Fox, it appears that the remaining Forces have readied quite the gauntlet for you." the Butler explained with a slightly worried tone to his voice, though this did not dampen Batman's spirits as he started to walk away from the slumped Merc.
"I'm honoured."
"This is no joking matter, Master Bruce, as it will be suicide if you attempt to reach them via the stairs." the older Man replied, bringing a thoughtful expression to the Vigilante's face.
"Tell me where the majority of the men are standing, Alfred."
"If I am reading this correctly, then you are now standing below the largest cluster of armed-men, Sir."
"Alright, time to make this interesting." Batman then said, before equipping his explosive-Gel gun and firing a splatter of it onto the ceiling, joined by a timer that started counting down from ten.
Meanwhile, Wintergreen and the others closest to him stood ready with their weapons aimed directly at the stair-case, while the rest kept their focus on the surrounding area.
"Okay, stand ready, guys. The Bat will either come up through here or from the edges of this floor, so if you see anything Bat-shaped...fill it with lead, understood?"
"Yes, Sir!" they all replied in unison, before he then stared down the barrel of his rifle, through it's cross-hairs towards the stairs.
'Come on, freak, just show me that scowl of yo...' he started to think, only to be cut off as the sound of an explosion below them 'made the ground shake, before a large part of it collapsed and took the men standing there with it.
"Shit! Guys!" one of the others called out in a panic as he looked down at the large hole that was now visible there, while concrete dust filled the air.
"Everyone, focus! This is what he wants!" the leader spat, while near the back of the room, the Bird and Kuttler stood next to another of the Mercs.
"Just find and kill the Bat already!" the former cried out in a panic, before his and the tech-expert's guard was suddenly pulled off the ledge by something unseen.
"Aarrrgh!" the man screamed, scaring everyone there as they turned to see his body fall off the ledge.
"Oh shit, where did he go?" the Bird asked with a growing fear in his voice as he and Kuttler looked over the edge at the ground, only to see nobody there.
"You guys, keep an eye on the floor below..." Wintergreen then said to those still standing around the large hole in the floor, before returning his attention to the Men standing with him at the stairs.
"...and you, watch..." he continued, but was stopped as a small wired claw suddenly shot out of the dark of the bottom of the stairs and latched onto the front of his armour.
"What the...?" he started to ask with a confused expression, before feeling a sharp tug on the wire, making his eyes widen as he realised what was about to happen.
"...oh!"
Suddenly the Batman soared up the stairs using the momentum that his grappling gun had given him, tackling the Merc leader to the ground and quickly moving onto the next and the next, quickly taking the group next to stairs down with a series of punches and kicks.
"Get him!" shouted one of the soldiers standing next to the gaping hole in the floor, as he and the three others opened fire on the Dark Knight. But their attacker rolled out of the way and threw four Batarangs simultaneously, with each one hitting all four in their masked-faces and knocking them off their feet and through the hole to the floor below.
"Hey, Batman!" came a valiant cry from behind the Vigilante, making him turn to see Wintergreen getting back to his feet and equipping a pair of Eskrima Sticks.
"You're a fool if you think I am going to let you get upstairs." he warned with a heavy breath, earning a knowing stare from the Dark Knight.
"And you are a bigger fool if you think that you are going to live beyond tonight."
But Wintergreen simply attacked, making his opponent go on the defensive instantly and block each hit with hi gauntlets.
"What the hell are you talking about?" the former spat, as Batman countered by disarming him of one Eskrima, quickly knocking the Merc-Leader back with a kick to the stomach.
"Harvey has enough explosives on the floor above us to level this entire building, think it through!" he said back with a serious tone, which made Kuttler's eyes widen as he watched the pair."
"What the hell do you mean? Two-Face promised to pay us off big time for our services." he said back with a shocked expression, while Wintergreen attack the Batman once more. But the latter simply and easily deflected the attack, pushing the former into one of the pillars that stood nearby.
"Yeah, why would he promise us the remains of the Mob's Finances if he had no intention of delivering?" he spat back in a disbelieving tone, which just made the Dark Knight gesture to the Bird.
"Why don't you ask him?" he replied knowingly, making both Kuttler and the Merc turn their attention to the Weapons dealer, who suddenly gulped as he felt all their eyes on him.
"What the hell is he talking about, Bird!" Wintergreen spat, which made the bald man suddenly turn and run. But he was quickly stopped as the Vigilante caught him with his grappling gun and yanked him back towards them, landing roughly on his arse.
"It wasn't my idea, Dent made me do it!" he suddenly cracked, showing them all his fear as they looked down at him.
"Talk, Bird, now!" Batman ordered, which made a wet patch appear on the floor of which the bald man was sitting upon.
"Seriously!" Kuttler replied with a surprised and disgusted tone, before Wintergreen then grabbed the scared Weapons Dealer by the scruff of his neck.
"You heard him, talk!"
"Two-Face wants to die and take those that wronged him with him, and he doesn't care who else is present when that happens." he then confessed, bringing a confused look from the Merc-leader's face.
"Why would you agree to such a thing?"
"It's because he's dying..." the costumed-Man then spoke with his disguised voice, making both Wintergreen and Kuttler look between both men with a surprised expression, though Batman remained focused on the Bird.
"...aren't you?" he observed, gaining a nod from the shamed Man in return.
"Yes...Cancer. I have only a few months left to live." he replied in a pained manner.
"Plus despite all the high-tech weaponry that you can get your hands on, your running out of places to sell them."
This gained a nod from the Weapons-dealer in return, which brought a look of realisation to both Wintergreen and Kuttler's faces.
"We have to get out of here, since it is now 8:24!" the latter exclaimed while pointing at his watch, earning a nod from the former.
"And I have to get my men out of here as well."
"Go, I will deal with Harvey." Batman replied as he turned away from the three Men and headed for the staircase which would take him to the top floor, earning a confused look from Wintergreen.
"You're just letting us go?" he asked, making the Dark Knight stop and glance of his shoulder.
"No one is dying tonight, so get out now and leave me City." he then said before disappearing up the stairs, leaving the three Men alone with their Men, who started to slowly recover around them.
"Sir..." Alfred then spoke from the com-link inside the Vigilante's Cowl, gaining his Master's attention as he walked up the stairs between floors 3 and 4.
"...are you really going to let them go, especially after the Police that they killed?"
"Of course now, Penny-One. Now anonymously contact Lieutenant Foley and notify him of the Mercs heading out, because right now, I have bigger problems to deal with." Batman replied as he now found himself standing before Two-Face and Jim Gordon, the latter on his knees and holding onto the remote trigger, while the latter flicked his coin into the air and caught it, while aiming a pistol at his enemy with his other.
"Hello, Batman, glad you could make it. Now tell me, is anybody else getting a feeling of deja vu?" the Scarred-Man then asked with a knowing smile on hos face, making the Dark Knight narrow his eyes back in return as the clock continued to count down to 8:30pm.
"As you can see, I, Harvey Dent, am not dead as 'others' had reported a year ago. But I am no longer the Man who you all once believed in to save this City from the threat of organized Crime..." he started to explain, while Batman, Alfred and everyone else watched.
"...since I have realised that there is no saving Gotham, because it is a 'cursed' City, where anyone who enters is 'damned' and forced to lose everything that they love. That is what happened to me when I took a stand against against the Mob, because those I considered friends/allies betrayed me, allowing the Joker to get his hands on the Woman I loved, Rachel Dawes, and myself..." he continued while a saddened look appeared on his scarred face.
"...before blowing her to hell in a building full of explosives. I would have suffered the same fate, if it hadn't been for the Batman, though as you can see, I didn't get out of there completely unscathed..." Dent added, gesturing to the burnt and hideous side of his face.
"...and after learning of Rachel's death and what had become of myself, I wanted nothing more than to join her, but only after making the ones I held responsible pay for failing Rachel and myself for what happened to us. But the Batman interfered again and I ended up in a coma, rotting away in the depths of Arkham Asylum for a year. I have had much time to dwell on that, also I found out that you, the people of Gotham, had used my name to rid the City of the Falcone Crime Syndicate. Instead of pursuing justice for Rachel, you chose to heed the lies of this Man..." the former DA continued, before the camera moved slightly to the right and revealed the broken looking Jim Gordon, who was on his knees and staring down at the floor.
"...this Man, who built a lie about me and had his Vigilante friend take the blame for it. But I did not ask for that and will not accept it, because I let Fate judge those people and then killed them accordingly." Two-Face continued as he then flicked his coin and caught before showing it's burnt and scarred side to the camera.
"And now, with your dear Commissioner's help, I will now let fate judge you all, Gotham. I have planted and armed four thermobaric bombs in secret locations throughout the City, which together have the same destructive potential as four Nuclear Warhead, minus the radioactive fallout. Now if only two of these devices were to go off, then the level of destruction would be limited to only half of Gotham. But as I have already said, all the devices have been armed and they will all go off at exactly 8:29pm, which was the exact time that my Rachel lost her life..." the Maniac added, while people started to panic as his transmission continued.
"...now you can try to flee the City, but since Gotham has a population of several million people, it will take a while and most of you will not escape the blast radius in time. But as I said, that is only if all the bombs explode, you see, I will be giving the choice to your beloved Commissioner with this remote." Harvey added, before revealing the small device in his burnt left hand.
"If Jim Gordon, here, presses the button on this remote before 8:30pm, then only two of the bombs will detonate and destroy just half of Gotham. That means only half of this City's Citizens, if plan is followed correctly, will have a 50/50 chance of surviving this and reflecting on the fact that their own inability to stand up to injustice is what put them in this very situation." the scarred Man spat with a judgemental tone, before a slight smirk appeared on his half-ruined face.
"But if Commissioner Gordon does not play by my rules, if he does not activate the remote in the set time, then everyone in this poisoned City will die. So, Gotham, time to hold your breath and see if your Hero-Cop here, has the courage to let 'fate' decide who will live and suffer the guilt of their inaction and those that will burn for their sins..." Two-Face continued, only to pause for a second before looking back at the camera with a knowing expression.
"...oh and one last thing, I certainly hope none of you put faith into Gotham's apparently misunderstood Vigilante, the one who loves this City so much that he took the blame for what were considered my crimes, in the hope that things would get better in the long run. Only they haven't, have they? Because no matter what the Batman tries to accomplish, he will inevitably fail, just as he did with Rachel and myself." the former DA explained with a disdainful tone, before flicking his Father's Coin into the air and catching it one more time.
"So, let's begin." he finished with a finality to those words, before the transmission suddenly cut off, which made Alfred look back to Bruce, who was already working away at the Bat-Computer.
"Sir, 8:30pm is..." he started to say with a worried tone, only for the younger man to cut him off mid-sentence.
"In just under an hour's time, I know...are you online, Lucius?"
"I always am, Mr. Wayne..." the voice of Wayne Enterprise's CEO then spoke through the Bat-computer's speakers, while Batman continued to focus on it's main screen as he typed.
"...and before you ask, yes, I have just seen that transmission and I am ready to assist you."
"Good, start by using our Wayne-Tech Radio transmitters to try and pick up any frequencies that appear to be alien for the area of Gotham..." the Vigilante started to reply, before Fox cut him off.
"No need, Mr. Wayne, since the new Satellite can scan for different types of frequencies." he said back with an inquisitive tone, earning a nod from Batman in return as he got out of his chair.
"Okay then, get a fix on their frequency and try to block it, so Harvey's bombs can't detonate." he then started to order while making his way towards the Batwing, only for his loyal Butler to catch his attention.
"But, Master Wayne, what about the Commissioner?" he asked, making the Dark Knight stop and look back.
"Gordon won't use that remote, Alfred, I know he won't." he said back reassuringly, bringing a puzzled look to his older friend's face.
"So where are you going?"
"I know where Harvey and the Commissioner are, since i recognised the area around them in the transmission. They are at 250-52nd Street..." the costumed Man replied.
"Where Miss. Dawes died and Mr, Dent was believed to have perished." Alfred replied, his tone of voice tinted with sadness, which made Batman sigh in response.
"...Yes, so I am going to need you to work with Lucius from here and keep in contact with me via my com-link."
"...Yes, so I am going to need you to work with Lucius in finding the Bomb's frequency and block it, so I have only have to worry about stopping Harvey and saving Gordon."
"You can count on us, Master Bruce." the Butler replied in a reassuring tone, earning a nod from the costumed Billionaire as he turned round and walked over to the Batwing.
"I know, now I just need to gain the assistance of someone else before we make our move." he replied with a slight crypticness to his words.
"And who would that be, Mr. Wayne." Fox asked over the Bat-Computer's speakers, making Batman look back after climbing into the Jet's cockpit.
"Someone who hates me." was all the Vigilante would sat before the glass-canopy closed over him and he then piloted the vehicle out of the Cave, leaving Alfred on his own as he sat down at the Computer.
"Alright then, let's find that signal."
BATMAN: THE SCARRED AND THE DAMNED
'20 minutes before 8:30pm'
Lieutenant Foley stood beside his Patrol-Car, one of several that blocked off one of three streets leading to 250-52nd Street, holding his Buretta in one hand and a radio in the other as Eckhart approached him.
"Lieutenant, the squads have checked in and reported that the other streets have been blocked and the SWAT teams are standing ready." the younger Man reported, gaining a nod back from George saw one more SWAT van pull up to their barrier.
"Good, now we just wait and make sure that nothing gets in or out of the area 50-52nd Street. I am just relieved that there are no Civilians in there, since the whole area is disused." the Lt. replied, earning a confused look from Eckhart.
"Sir, I don't understand why we don't just move in and take those Mercs down. I mean we have all our SWAT teams here and ready to go, so what is the hold up?"
"Son, you saw what happened when one of our Choppers did a fly by of the place, trying to get a lay of the land. It was shot down by a surface to air - rocket propelled Grenade, meaning that those Mercs have access to some heavy Military hardware, curtsey of 'The Bird' I bet. I have called in the National Guard, but there are still mobilizing. Also we are stretched pretty thin, with half of our men here and the others out there, searching the City for those four bombs that Dent has hidden." Foley replied with a frustrated tone, making the younger Police Officer look out in the direction of 50-52nd Street.
"But what are we waiting for, then?" he asked, which brought a thoughtful expression to the Lieutenant's face as he looked in the same direction, as he remembered what had happened in only 30 minutes earlier...
'At the GCPD Headquarters, Foley sat in his office and looked out of the windows that surrounded his work area, separating him from the rest of the force. They were rushing about with far more urgency as usual, which was to be expected when you consider that they had all just seen Harvey Dent on the TV, threatening the entire City.
'Gotham just doesn't get a break, does it? First it was Ra's Al Ghul's Chemical Attack, then it was th Joker and now it's this...' he thought with a worried expression, before his attention was caught by the door opening as a younger Man stood in the now open doorway.
"Lieutenant, the Bomb Squads are being mobilised as we speak and should be ready to go in 5 mins."
"Very good, Johnson, is there anything else?" the GCPD's second in Command replied, gaining a nod from the Subordinate in response.
"Yes, Bullock called in from the Hospital and says that he is ready to come in and help, considering what is happening right now." he said back, bringing an appreciative slight-smile to Foley's face.
"You have got to give the man credit, he gets shot just a day earlier and still wants to help..." he started to say with an impressed tone, while Eckhart listened to him from his spot in the doorway.
"...but tell him that though while I appreciate his enthusiasm, the best place for him right now is the Hospital."
"Okay, Sir." the younger Man replied, before exiting the room and closing the door behind him, once again leaving the Lieutenant on his own once more, making him sigh deeply as he watched his colleagues continue to work around him.
"We have to talk!" a familiar deep voice spoke once from behind the Cop, making him nearly fall out of his seat as he fumbled his gun out of his holster, only for it to be quickly snatched from his grasp, with Foley finding himself on the floor and staring up at the Batman.
"What...how...how did you...?" he mumbled with a confused and shocked expression, before the Vigilante then picked him up and pushed him against the wall, all while everyone outside of the room continued to work, completely oblivious to his presence.
"We don't have time for this Foley..." he started to say, only for the Lieutenant to interrupt him by fighting back with a punch to the Dark Knight's stomach. But his move was too easily telegraphed and Batman easily blocked it, before twisting said arm around Foley's back and forcing the Man down on to his knees.
"...because no matter what your thoughts are on me right now, there are much bigger things going on and you have to focus on them..." the Vigilante carried on saying while looking down at beaten Man, who looked back up and saw the judging glare that was being stared at him.
"...or are you going to let your Colleagues out there..." Batman added while pointing the Police outside as he spoke, making the Lieutenant look in the direction with a look of disgrace on his face.
"...discover that you are just a shadow of the Man who should be leading them right now?"
There was a moment of silence between the two Men as Batman let his words sink into the Lieutenant's mind, before the latter looked back from over his shoulder.
"What do you want?" he asked with a reluctant tone, while former, with his free hand, took a Memory-Stick out of one of the metallic pouches on his Utility-belt and placed it on the Policeman's desk.
"On this Flash-drive are two addresses, the first is Harvey Dent's base of operations and the other is where he, his Mercenary team and Commissioner Gordon are right now..." he started to explain in his disguised voice, only for Foley to cut him off.
"Why should we bother with his Base if they are not there any more?" he winced as the Dark Knight kept his arm in that tight hold, making him grit his teeth.
"You need to send a Patrol out there and identify the bodies of a Woman, a little Girl and a little Boy who are currently burning in a bonfire outside the building there." Batman continued, before the Cop looked back with a worried expression.
"You're not talking about Jim's Family, are you?" he asked, making the Vigilante shake his head in response, while not letting go of the Man's arm.
"No, Harvey wants Gordon to believe that his Family are dead, but they are safe and out of his reach..." he began to explain, though Foley suddenly tried to resist and break free.
"Where are they!" he spat, making the Dark Knight twist the arm more and stop the Lieutenant in his tracks.
"They are safe, but the family that was killed deserves Justice for what was done to them and you have to ensure that their voices will be heard."
"Okay, they will. And what about the other Address?" Foley sighed in return.
"You have to surround its perimeter and ensure no one gets in or out, once I have dealt with everyone in there, I will send a signal and you can they come in and arrest everyone." the Costumed-Man replied, earning a reluctant nod back from the Policeman.
"Alright, I will see this done, one time. But this doesn't change anything, because even if you didn't kill Harvey Dent, you are still a Vigilante and are acting outside of the Law. So no matter how tonight ends up, I am still coming for you." he said back with a determined look, which brought a knowing smirk to Batman's face.
"Understood, now get out there and do your job, Lieutenant." was all the Vigilante would say next, before pushing the Cop to the floor, making Foley land face first next to his gun. This made his eyes widen as he saw the weapon, before suddenly snatching it up in his hands and quickly turning around and aiming it at the Dark Knight.
'What!' he thought with another shocked expression as he found himself to be alone once more in his office, with only a slightly ajar window as a sign of how his enemy had got out.
"Damn it!" he spat with a frustrated look, before sighing and holstering his weapon.'
"Lieutenant, I asked what are we waiting for?" Eckhart asked once more, snapping Foley from his thoughts as he looked back at the confused looking younger Man. But before either could say another word, a jet-black fighter-jet suddenly flew overhead in direction of 50-52nd Street, gaining an aggravated look from the Lieutenant as he watched the plane.
"For that...for the f**king Batman!"
BATMAN: THE SCARRED AND THE DAMNED
"Okay, looks like Foley did as I said." Batman spoke aloud from the Cockpit of the Batwing, looking down at the streets below as he flew over them.
"You did threaten his ego, Sir, which can be a great motivator for most people." Alfred replied over the com, earning a slight smirk from the Vigilante.
"Yeah, I did. But the Lieutenant needed the push, or else he would have just kept himself locked up in that office." he said back as his expression became more serious.
"You don't think that the Lieutenant has what it takes, Master Bruce?" the Butler then asked, only for the Dark Knight to ignore him as one of the screens in front of him began to beep.
"Sir?"
"Sorry, Alfred, but I think someone is targeting me." the younger Man replied as he glanced at the screen, just as the Batwing approached 250-52nd Street.
"That is understandable, Sir. "
But Batman continued to ignore the voice of his Confidante and friend as an alert sound blasted out from the speakers at either side of his seat, keeping his attention on what was transpiring at that moment.
'What the hell is targeting me out there?' he thought frantically while looking out of the cockpit at the area around what was left of the building, before it then struck him as the Pilot saw a anti-aircraft weapons platform aiming it's turrets towards him.
"Shi..!" he started to say, only to be cut off by Fox, who spoke over the Com-link.
"Better get ready to use your Counter-measures, Batman." the CEO said in his usual calm tone, leaving the Vigilante to look at his controls and spot the button.
"Oh, there it is."
This gained a knowing sigh from the old Man over the com, but the Dark Knight's focus was still on the upcoming threat, which suddenly became very real as the platform launched a rocket his way, signalled by the Cockpit's audio alert changing to one very loud and continuous tone.
"Evade and launch counter-measures!" Lucius ordered as the Costumed-Man pulled the Batwing away from the building sharply and fired several flares behind it, making the homing projectile miss the Jet as it turned it's attention to the Countermeasures and hit one of them.
Meanwhile, Two-Face watched with a restrained Jim-Gordon at his side from their place on the derelict Building's top floor, the former beginning to smile as he witnessed the Batwing coming under attack.
"Okay, Boys, light him up." he then said into his radio, before returning his attention to the knelt Commissioner.
"Well, Jim, the Bat showed up, just like we both knew he would..." he continued while kneeling down beside his prisoner, who just kept his own eyes on the jet-black fighter.
"...but he is not going to stop what is about to happen..." the Scarred-Man added while undoing Jim's restraints as he kept his pistol pointed at him, before placing the remote in his now free hands.
"...because either way, this damned City will burn."
Gordon though just looked down at the device that lay in his grasp, knowing what would happen if he pressed it's button.
"No..." the Police Commissioner began to say as he looked up at his Captor, while a resilient expression appeared on his face.
"...no, I will not do it."
"Oh yes you will, Jim, because if you don't..." Dent then replied as he looked at his watch, earning a glance from his former friend.
"...then in just under 20 minutes, everyone in the City will burn. But if you can save half of its Citizens if you just push that button, I do not know which half, but that's the point. 50 percent of Gotham will have a 50/50 chance of surviving, just like Rachel and I did..."
The disgraced District Attorney was about to continue talking, only to have his attention caught as his radio came to life once again.
"Two-Face, this is Kuttler..." spoke the voice of the Mercenaries Tech-expert, which made Harvey take his radio back out of the burnt side if his suit.
"What is it?"
"Just thought you would like to know, that our Bat-friend will be in for a surprise in the next moment or so." Kuttler replied with a confident tone, gaining a slight smile from his Boss in return.
"Good, just keep him busy with the rest or our Artillery in the meantime. Oh and, Kuttler..." he started to say back, just as Gordon watched him with a curious look.
"Yes, Two-Face?"
"Please give my regards to 'the Bird' for all the Tech that he has procured for me and let him know that he, along with you and the rest of the Mercenaries will be well paid for your efforts when this night is through." Harvey said back, just as his Prisoner noticed a sinister expression cross his half-mutilated face.
"Of course I will, Kuttler out."
"Oh, if only they knew the truth." the Maniac then said, once his radio had gone silenced, making Gordon stare back with even more confusion in his eyes.
"What have you done, Harvey?"
This made the disfigured Man turn his attention back to the captive Police Chief, a sinister and telling smile on his face.
"I told you a long time ago that there would be no escaping what was meant to happen and I have made sure that this time, there 'really' will be no escape tonight...not for any of us." he replied with a knowing and truthful tone to his voice, earning a worried expression from Gordon as he looked back at the device in his hands.
"So press that button and spare half of Gotham from the fate that awaits us in the next 20 minutes."
Meanwhile, the Batwing managed to dodge another missile as it performed a barrel-roll, only to suddenly be hit by gunfire.
"What the hell?" Batman replied with a surprised tone as he felt the impacts, before noticing that another small screen had activated on his controls, one that showed a top down view of his vehicle and it's starboard wing flashing red.
"You have been hit, Mr. Wayne." Lucius said over the com in a very 'matter-of-fact' tone, gaining an aware expression from the masked-Vigilante.
"Oh, what gave you that idea." he replied with a slight sarcastic tone to his disguised voice, before spotting more weapon platforms activating on the sensor screen.
"Luicus, does the Batwing have any offensive capabilities?" he asked while pulling the Jet out of the firing solution of said platforms, making the CEO sigh on the other end of the Com.
"I should have known that you didn't read the instructions yet, Bruce."
"I have been a little busy." the Dark Knight said back, only to perform another evasive move as another missile and barrage of bullets came his way.
"Well, the Batwing has two Vulcan cannons and a full assortment of 'air to air' and 'air to ground' missiles of varying explosive yields." Fox replied, bringing a relieved smirk to Batman's face.
"So not all the weapons are lethal, that's good to know."
"Master Bruce, in case you haven't noticed, but there are no life-signs outside of 250-52nd Street, since they all appear to be inside..." Alfred then spoke up over the encrypted Com, only to be cut off by Luicus.
"Which means that you shouldn't worry about cutting loose with the Batwing's weapons, Mr. Wayne."
The Vigilante could not help but feel good about the current situation as his smirk widened a little more, all the while keeping his attention on his flying.
"Thanks for keeping an eye on my screens, Alfred. I really appreciate it, since I haven't been able to glance down at that screen for the last few minutes."
"No trouble at all, Sir. In fact I have been able to take a look at the instructions and take some tips from Mr. Fox, so if you want, I can target the turret platforms for you?" he replied with a mirrored tone, earning a nod from the Dark knight in response.
"Please do, Alfred, I am bringing her round for a pass now." he answered while flying the Batwing away from the building, making some distance between it and the weapons as he then flicked a number of switches on the controls panel to his right.
"Going weapons free." he reported, only to then pull the stick down and right in his direction, causing the Jet-fighter to sharply turn around and fly back towards 50-52nd Street, just as a number of targets were marked on his sensor screen.
"All targets locked, Sir." the Butler reported, as the pilot narrowed his eyes and readied his finger and thumb on the guns and missiles triggers of the flight stick.
"Time to end this." he then said with a finality to his voice, before pressing down the triggers and launching a barrage of gun and missile fire that devastated the weapon platforms that were positioned around the derelict building as the Batwing flew over head.
"All targets destroyed, Master Wayne." Alfred then reported, while the Vigilante looked out of the glass canopy and saw the burning wrecks as he circled 50-52nd Street.
"Excellent. Lucius, how are you getting along with finding the Bombs frequency and stopping it?"
"I have located the correct frequency, Mr. Wayne, but it's Military grade, just as I thought." the CEO replied in a calm manner.
"So it won't be a problem for a Man of your Talents, will it?" the younger Costumed-Man asked back with a smirk.
"Of course not..." he began to reply, while Batman returned his attention to hos flight instruments.
"...but it will take several minutes at least.
"I better get down there then and put Harvey's Men out of commission..." the Vigilante began to say, only for the former to cut him off mid-sentence.
"Then I should inform you of a quick way to exit the Batwing, considering how theatrical you like to be. I have made the Fighter's eject system work in reverse and built a trapdoor of sorts into the floor of the Cockpit." he explained, making the Dark knight smile as he noted the eject button's location on his control-interface.
"You have found your calling, Luicus..." he started to say back, only to be cut off as the whole Batwing violently shook from an impact from behind.
As this was happening, Harvey and Gordon continued to watch from their location in the derelict building. The former had a large grin on his face as he saw the dark smoke trailling from the aft of the damaged Fighter-Jet, while holding his radio to his right ear.
"Direct hit, Two-Face. Batman did not see the stealth missile coming, so shall we finish him off?" Kuttler asked, not even attempting to hide his enthusiasm as he spoke. But as Gordon watched from on his knees with a shocked and fearful expression, he saw Two-Face take his coin out and flick it up into the air and back down into the palm of his hand.
"Do it." he then replied with a smile, before turning to the captive Cop and revealing the blacked out Tails side of his coin, which made the latter's eyes widen in response.
Back in the Batwing, smoke was starting to fill the Cockpit as alarms blared and numerous screens flashed red light into the Pilot's masked-face.
"The Batwing's taken catastrophic damage to all systems, I am having trouble keeping her in the air." he replied while fighting to keep control of the flight-stick, which was shaking violently in his grip.
"It must have been a stealth missile, that's the only way that they could have bypassed the Batwing's sensors." Fox guessed, only for the Vigilante to undo his seat-belt and flick a number of switches in front of him.
"Then I am going to bail out, since we won't know when the next one is fired at us."
"God's speed, Master Bruce." Alfred then said, just as the Dark Knight then pressed the eject button, causing the floor to open up and drop him out of the Batwing. But just as the costumed-man spread out his cape into it's gliding function, the Fighter was hit by another missile, causing it to explode and create a bright fiery backdrop to the Bat-symbol shape of the now gliding Batman as he began to fly towards 250-52nd Street.
"That was a close one. So tell me, what am I up against in there?"
"There are at least several life-signs on both the first and second floors, Mr. Wayne, while there are only two on the fourth floor." Fox replies over the Vigilante's com-link.
"That will be Harvey and Gordon, but what about the third floor?"
"There are no life-signs on that floor, but the Satellite is detecting a large amount of explosives, perhaps enough to bring down the entire building." the Wayne Enterprises CEO explained as Batman noticed three Mercs coming out of the main entrance to the building, looking shocked at the destroyed weapons platforms that stood nearby.
"Okay, we will deal with that in due time. But as of right now, I think that I really should reintroduce myself to these guys." the Dark Knight replied, while the burning wreck of the Batwing fell to the ground behind him.
BATMAN: THE SCARRED AND THE DAMNED
"God damn it, look at all this damage." the Bird exclaimed as he joined the three masked Mercs outside, who were all staring at the same burning wreckage.
"At least we took out the Bat." one of them replied with a relieved tone, gaining a nod from his friends in return.
"Yeah, we won't be seeing him agai..." another began to say, only to have a pair of customized boots to hit him in the face as the Batman swooped down and took him out, making the guy fall down the steps as their attacker landed amongst them.
"Shit!" The Bird almost screamed before running back inside, while other two aimed their weapons at the Vigilante.
"Die, Batman!" one shouted as he pulled the trigger, but before any bullets were fired, the costumed-man quickly knocked the weapon out of his hands with an armoured gauntlet while back-kicking his friend through the now closed front door.
"Oh Crap! the Merc panicked before heading into the land of the unconscious as he was met with a fist to his face, leaving the Batman as the only man standing there at the doorway.
"I'm heading in, keep me apprised on the situation with the Bombs." he then said into his com-link.
"Will do, Master Wayne, but I should warn you. The rest will know that you are coming now." Alfred replied, while the Bird's screams of 'Batman's here' could be heard from inside.
"Let them know, it's not going to change anything." the Dark Knight said back, before heading into the condemned Building.
But as soon as he entered, the Batman was welcomed by a barrage of gunfire as several more men opened fire, while the Bird ran up the stairs. This made the Caped Crusader dive behind one of the concrete pillars as he Threw out a smoke pellet between the group, engulfing them in a thick smoke cloud as it exploded.
"Watch out, he's using that damn smoke again!" one called out with a cough, as his teammates became hard to see through the cover.
"Quick, get together and watch each other's..." another started to call out, only to be quickly silenced.
"What was th..." one more began to say, before he too went quiet.
"F**k this!" a severally agitated Merc then cries out as he opened fire with his weapon and spread the room with bullets, before a cry of pain was heard.
"Did I get him?" the guy then asked as he turned and faced the direction that it came from, narrowing his eyes behind his mask as he tried to see through the still thick smoke.
"We have a Man down!" another exclaimed, gaining the former's attention as he then saw the silhouette of one of his colleagues kneeling down beside the slumped form of another against of the pillars.
"Oh crap, that's on me." he said with a shameful tone, only to suddenly feel he hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, as a deep and gravelly voice spoke behind him.
"Yes it is!" the Merc then heard and turned around, before suddenly feeling the full force of a fist smash through his mask and knock him out.
The one that stood by his injured comrade had heard this and quickly threw his weapon to the ground and put both hands in the air in surrender, while the smoke started to dissipate around them and reveal the others lying unconscious around them.
"I surrender!" he called out with slight confusion to his voice, since there was no sign of the Batman in his area. But before he could question this further, he felt a strong vice like grip around the back of his throat.
"Good choice." the Dark Knight replied as he then forcefully slammed the guys head into the pillar and dropped him to the ground to join his teammates before turning his attention to the injured one slumped next to the pillar beside him.
"You will live." the Vigilante then said as he knelt down and took a small device out from his Utility belt and pressed it against the Merc's bullet wound, gaining a loud grimace back as the wounded Man felt a sharp, hot pain in that same spot, while smell of smouldering flesh filled the immediate air around him.
"There, that should hold until you get proper medical attention." the Vigilante added, earning what could only be read as an appreciative groan from the injured Merc as the former stood up and looked up at the ceiling.
"Alright, the ground floor is secure. How is the second looking, Penny-One?"
"Penny-What, Sir?" Alfred replied in the Dark Knight's ear, gaining the most subtle of smirk's from the young man in return.
"Just run with it."
"Very well, Sir. Now according to the Satellite scans curtesy of Mr. Fox, it appears that the remaining Forces have readied quite the gauntlet for you." the Butler explained with a slightly worried tone to his voice, though this did not dampen Batman's spirits as he started to walk away from the slumped Merc.
"I'm honoured."
"This is no joking matter, Master Bruce, as it will be suicide if you attempt to reach them via the stairs." the older Man replied, bringing a thoughtful expression to the Vigilante's face.
"Tell me where the majority of the men are standing, Alfred."
"If I am reading this correctly, then you are now standing below the largest cluster of armed-men, Sir."
"Alright, time to make this interesting." Batman then said, before equipping his explosive-Gel gun and firing a splatter of it onto the ceiling, joined by a timer that started counting down from ten.
Meanwhile, Wintergreen and the others closest to him stood ready with their weapons aimed directly at the stair-case, while the rest kept their focus on the surrounding area.
"Okay, stand ready, guys. The Bat will either come up through here or from the edges of this floor, so if you see anything Bat-shaped...fill it with lead, understood?"
"Yes, Sir!" they all replied in unison, before he then stared down the barrel of his rifle, through it's cross-hairs towards the stairs.
'Come on, freak, just show me that scowl of yo...' he started to think, only to be cut off as the sound of an explosion below them 'made the ground shake, before a large part of it collapsed and took the men standing there with it.
"Shit! Guys!" one of the others called out in a panic as he looked down at the large hole that was now visible there, while concrete dust filled the air.
"Everyone, focus! This is what he wants!" the leader spat, while near the back of the room, the Bird and Kuttler stood next to another of the Mercs.
"Just find and kill the Bat already!" the former cried out in a panic, before his and the tech-expert's guard was suddenly pulled off the ledge by something unseen.
"Aarrrgh!" the man screamed, scaring everyone there as they turned to see his body fall off the ledge.
"Oh shit, where did he go?" the Bird asked with a growing fear in his voice as he and Kuttler looked over the edge at the ground, only to see nobody there.
"You guys, keep an eye on the floor below..." Wintergreen then said to those still standing around the large hole in the floor, before returning his attention to the Men standing with him at the stairs.
"...and you, watch..." he continued, but was stopped as a small wired claw suddenly shot out of the dark of the bottom of the stairs and latched onto the front of his armour.
"What the...?" he started to ask with a confused expression, before feeling a sharp tug on the wire, making his eyes widen as he realised what was about to happen.
"...oh!"
Suddenly the Batman soared up the stairs using the momentum that his grappling gun had given him, tackling the Merc leader to the ground and quickly moving onto the next and the next, quickly taking the group next to stairs down with a series of punches and kicks.
"Get him!" shouted one of the soldiers standing next to the gaping hole in the floor, as he and the three others opened fire on the Dark Knight. But their attacker rolled out of the way and threw four Batarangs simultaneously, with each one hitting all four in their masked-faces and knocking them off their feet and through the hole to the floor below.
"Hey, Batman!" came a valiant cry from behind the Vigilante, making him turn to see Wintergreen getting back to his feet and equipping a pair of Eskrima Sticks.
"You're a fool if you think I am going to let you get upstairs." he warned with a heavy breath, earning a knowing stare from the Dark Knight.
"And you are a bigger fool if you think that you are going to live beyond tonight."
But Wintergreen simply attacked, making his opponent go on the defensive instantly and block each hit with hi gauntlets.
"What the hell are you talking about?" the former spat, as Batman countered by disarming him of one Eskrima, quickly knocking the Merc-Leader back with a kick to the stomach.
"Harvey has enough explosives on the floor above us to level this entire building, think it through!" he said back with a serious tone, which made Kuttler's eyes widen as he watched the pair."
"What the hell do you mean? Two-Face promised to pay us off big time for our services." he said back with a shocked expression, while Wintergreen attack the Batman once more. But the latter simply and easily deflected the attack, pushing the former into one of the pillars that stood nearby.
"Yeah, why would he promise us the remains of the Mob's Finances if he had no intention of delivering?" he spat back in a disbelieving tone, which just made the Dark Knight gesture to the Bird.
"Why don't you ask him?" he replied knowingly, making both Kuttler and the Merc turn their attention to the Weapons dealer, who suddenly gulped as he felt all their eyes on him.
"What the hell is he talking about, Bird!" Wintergreen spat, which made the bald man suddenly turn and run. But he was quickly stopped as the Vigilante caught him with his grappling gun and yanked him back towards them, landing roughly on his arse.
"It wasn't my idea, Dent made me do it!" he suddenly cracked, showing them all his fear as they looked down at him.
"Talk, Bird, now!" Batman ordered, which made a wet patch appear on the floor of which the bald man was sitting upon.
"Seriously!" Kuttler replied with a surprised and disgusted tone, before Wintergreen then grabbed the scared Weapons Dealer by the scruff of his neck.
"You heard him, talk!"
"Two-Face wants to die and take those that wronged him with him, and he doesn't care who else is present when that happens." he then confessed, bringing a confused look from the Merc-leader's face.
"Why would you agree to such a thing?"
"It's because he's dying..." the costumed-Man then spoke with his disguised voice, making both Wintergreen and Kuttler look between both men with a surprised expression, though Batman remained focused on the Bird.
"...aren't you?" he observed, gaining a nod from the shamed Man in return.
"Yes...Cancer. I have only a few months left to live." he replied in a pained manner.
"Plus despite all the high-tech weaponry that you can get your hands on, your running out of places to sell them."
This gained a nod from the Weapons-dealer in return, which brought a look of realisation to both Wintergreen and Kuttler's faces.
"We have to get out of here, since it is now 8:24!" the latter exclaimed while pointing at his watch, earning a nod from the former.
"And I have to get my men out of here as well."
"Go, I will deal with Harvey." Batman replied as he turned away from the three Men and headed for the staircase which would take him to the top floor, earning a confused look from Wintergreen.
"You're just letting us go?" he asked, making the Dark Knight stop and glance of his shoulder.
"No one is dying tonight, so get out now and leave me City." he then said before disappearing up the stairs, leaving the three Men alone with their Men, who started to slowly recover around them.
"Sir..." Alfred then spoke from the com-link inside the Vigilante's Cowl, gaining his Master's attention as he walked up the stairs between floors 3 and 4.
"...are you really going to let them go, especially after the Police that they killed?"
"Of course now, Penny-One. Now anonymously contact Lieutenant Foley and notify him of the Mercs heading out, because right now, I have bigger problems to deal with." Batman replied as he now found himself standing before Two-Face and Jim Gordon, the latter on his knees and holding onto the remote trigger, while the latter flicked his coin into the air and caught it, while aiming a pistol at his enemy with his other.
"Hello, Batman, glad you could make it. Now tell me, is anybody else getting a feeling of deja vu?" the Scarred-Man then asked with a knowing smile on hos face, making the Dark Knight narrow his eyes back in return as the clock continued to count down to 8:30pm.
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