The New Ultimate DC RPG

[Saved]

I take care of my baddie easily. A beanbag blast to the shoulder will **** up anybody's day. I'm right behind Hood as he approaches Nayfield. I load another round into the breech and aim. "C'mon, hit us with your best shot."

Nayfield's face turns beet red and he groans loudly. We figure out what he's up to. In a burst of strength equal to Hood's, Nayfield picks up his unconscious henchmen and tosses him back at us. Both Hood and I leap out of the way to avoid getting hit by the human ragdoll. I pull myself back up and see Nayfield running off through the warehouse.

Hood runs point with me lagging behind slightly. When we catch up to the Russian gangster, he has Oksana Russovich in his arms with a gun pointed to her head.

"Here is how we do it. You try to follow, I kill girl. You move, I kill girl. Twitch or sneeze, I kill girl."

Time for a plan. Time to break out the McFly Maneuver.

"You forgot about one thing, Boris...."

I shove my arm forward and point to a spot behind him. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Nayfield turns to look. I take advantage of the distraction, popping out my switchblade and tossing it.

"Ahhh!" Nayfield screams in pain as the switchblade lodges into his gun hand. He lets go of Oksana to pull the blade out, giving the girl her chance to run as fast as she can away from him. She runs as fast as she can across the room and ducks behind hood.

"Nice throw," Hood says.

"I was aiming for his head."

The girl grabs Jason by his leg, hugging him close as tears run down her face. As Jason looks into her eyes, he sees the fear gripping her tightly - refusing to let go. The rage deep within Jason's heart ignites like a wildfire, burning strong and furious. This is the innocence he's fought to protect, and despite rescuing her from death, Jason knows she will never be the same.

"Augh!" Nayfeld shouts in pain, clasping his bloody hand tightly as he tries to slow the bleeding. "You will paey for this," he threatens. "I will maeke sure you two die... You won't-"

"Hey, Nayfeld?" Hood shouts, cutting the man off. Jason raises the pistol in his hand and lines up the sight to Boris's face. "Shut your mouth." Jason pulls back on the trigger, shooting a pellet of rubber directly below the man's eye. A loud "snap" sounds as Boris slaps his face, gripping at the socket as he cries and screams in agony. Jason turns to Q, an ambivalent tone in his voice, "Your witness."

 

[Byrd Man]

The girl grabs Jason by his leg, hugging him close as tears run down her face. As Jason looks into her eyes, he sees the fear gripping her tightly - refusing to let go. The rage deep within Jason's heart ignites like a wildfire, burning strong and furious. This is the innocence he's fought to protect, and despite rescuing her from death, Jason knows she will never be the same.

"Augh!" Nayfeld shouts in pain, clasping his bloody hand tightly as he tries to slow the bleeding. "You will paey for this," he threatens. "I will maeke sure you two die... You won't-"

"Hey, Nayfeld?" Hood shouts, cutting the man off. Jason raises the pistol in his hand and lines up the sight to Boris's face. "Shut your mouth." Jason pulls back on the trigger, shooting a pellet of rubber directly below the man's eye. A loud "snap" sounds as Boris slaps his face, gripping at the socket as he cries and screams in agony. Jason turns to Q, an ambivalent tone in his voice, "Your witness."

"Uhh....the defense rests?" I mumble meekly. Nayfield continues to scream. I walk over and give the Russian gangster a blast from the taser to knock him out for good. Standing over him, I look over at Hood.

"No offense, Hood, but the whole concept of using rubber bullets works well when you aim for parts like the limbs and torso. Headshots with rubber ammunition can be just as bad as the real thing, you know."

 

[Saved]

"Uhh....the defense rests?" I mumble meekly. Nayfield continues to scream. I walk over and give the Russian gangster a blast from the taser to knock him out for good. Standing over him, I look over at Hood.

"No offense, Hood, but the whole concept of using rubber bullets works well when you aim for parts like the limbs and torso. Headshots with rubber ammunition can be just as bad as the real thing, you know."

Jason remains silent as he ponder's the Question's advice. Deep down, Jason knows he's right - he knows how reckless and dangerous the shot was, putting Nayfeld's life at risk by shooting at such a pivitol area. It all feels wrong to him - the disregard for life, the lack of conscience, even the hard metal weapon clutched tightly in his grasp. But for some reason, despite all those things, strangely, it feels right.

"An eye for an eye, Q," Jason finally speaks. "Here," he gives the weapon back to the hero, returning it to its owner. "You should hold on to this," he tells him, trying to save face. Of course, inside his mind, Jason has taken his first step into a much darker reality. A reality where justice might not be as black and white as he had once imagined.

 

[Byrd Man]

Jason remains silent as he ponder's the Question's advice. Deep down, Jason knows he's right - he knows how reckless and dangerous the shot was, putting Nayfeld's life at risk by shooting at such a pivitol area. It all feels wrong to him - the disregard for life, the lack of conscience, even the hard metal weapon clutched tightly in his grasp. But for some reason, despite all those things, strangely, it feels right.

"An eye for an eye, Q," Jason finally speaks. "Here," he gives the weapon back to the hero, returning it to its owner. "You should hold on to this," he tells him, trying to save face. Of course, inside his mind, Jason has taken his first step into a much darker reality. A reality where justice might not be as black and white as he had once imagined.

"Well, I guess you went biblical on his...." I stop as I realize there's a little girl present in the room. "Hiney."

I bend down and look at the little girl and feel a pang of sadness at the sight of her tear-stained eyes. "Hey, baby. Don't worry everything will be alright. We're gonna go ahead and take you back home to your mom and dad. I mean it too, sweetie. I'm a man of my word and they say I have a honest face."

 

[Andy C.]

Spoiler

With the assurance of his ally's safety, not to mention her surprising amount of durability, Batman felt a sense of liberation as the creature doubled over in the agony from the infliction of Wonder Woman's attack. But while it's cries of torment were quakening enough to shatter the windows of buildings surrounding them, still making it a legitimate threat, the creature had unknowingly placed itself in a position primed for an even more devastating assault. And with Wonder Woman recovering, The Dark Knight realized that in order to stop the beast's rampage once and for all, they'd need to improvise an attack on a scale greater than themselves. A challenge, but it was one that he was prepared to embark upon.

Leaping onto the top of a nearby car, he reached into the back of his belt and produced several pieces of the same weapon, culminating into a recently developed Waynetech prototype. Snapping the pieces into place, Batman lifted it with careful aim at the creature's hide, revealing the weapon's final shape to be similar to that of a military-grade assault rifle. But once it began firing, the gun produced a far cry from a round of bullets - rather, a series of electrical charges began to riddle the creature's spine.

"Oracle,", He began, with urgency.

"Divert all power to charges. Concentrate all satellite defenses towards output."

Be Advised,

Established Uplink Will Be Compromised.

I Will Be Unable To Assist You Further.

Knowing that it'd take several weeks to repair the damage to his systems, Batman reluctantly put aside his indifference and continued the process manually, shutting down his own connection with the Waynetech satellite to allow a faster transferrence over to the charges. As The Oracle's systems began to fade from his cowl's readout screen, Batman gave it one final command.

"Just do it."

In seconds, the charges were active. And as Wonder Woman looked up to meet Batman's gaze of the creature, an extraordinarily bright light engulfed the area, causing them both to immediately avert their eyes. Vast amounts of electricity shot out of the charges one by one, each hitting Star'ro's beast with a more powerful blast than the next. The creature writhed back and forth in it's place and uttered a loud, blood curdling scream, as it's skin began to visibly crack from within. Unbeknownst to Wonder Woman at the moment, Batman had indeed taken her advice and exploited the opening in it's side. Because now, in an attack joined with the electrocution from the outside, it's blood had boiled and it's muscles had crackled, giving way into fire. The creature was burning from the inside.

Flames burst forth from it's damaged organs as electricity scarred it's stomach, working around the entire body until the beast couldn't even fight it anymore. Just as the charges drained the remainder of the Waynetech satellite's reserve power, the beast fell limp and finally died, entirely charred to oblivion with it's chest cavity bursting open, beginning to smoke. Metropolis was now home to a behemoth's corpse, left in wake to the evidence of it's destruction to part of the city itself.

But beneath the scene, two unlikely champions stood victorious. Star'ro had lost a battle in a war that was slowly ending before it had even really began. In a valiant effort to preserve hundreds of lives, Batman and Wonder Woman had done part of the work - now, the rest was up to the others. For the first time tonight, the invasion seemed to be an obstacle that the assembled group could actually manage to overcome.

Looking over to his ally as she wiped the creature's blood clean from her face, The Dark Knight remained silent, weighing out his next . But his curiosity was piqued as she looked back, giving him a look that he had only recieved once before - from, what he thought, was a different woman entirely. It only took him moments to realize that this wasn't the case, and that the piercing blue eyes that had only escaped his notice due to her bright and colorful uniform belonged to a ghost from Bruce Wayne's past. He paused with the revealation, unable to contain his surprise before his better instincts could prevent it.

"...Diana?"

I stand amazed at Batman's ability to call down such impressive firepower from the sky. Whoever he may be, he must have incredibly deep resources.

Then he calls me by my name, and I'm brought to a halt.

"How do you know my name?" I demand of him, even as the Sta'rro spawn begin to make their way towards us. "Have you been spying on me? Are you working with Kobra? Or.....wait a minute.....your voice............Wayne?"

Bruce Wayne served with me in the Infantry during my first tour overseas. He was always abrasive, antisocial, never really fit in with the rest of the troops. Even when in combat, his mind always seemed to be somewhere else, but his abilities were uncanny.

I remember hearing he had come into a considerable fortune, inheriting the family company. If this is how he chooses to spend his time and his money, I suppose it does not come as a great surprise.

"We may have to catch up later," I say, growing aware of the mob of infected civilians that are closing in on us. "I can fly us out of here, but if there are any other creatures like the one we've just destroyed, then fighting our way past it may be the only....option...."

I trail off as I see the men and women bearing down on us suddenly begin to convulse, their bodies rattling and flailing before going limp like puppets whose strings had been cut.

"By the gods," I say under my breath, praying that Sta'rro hasn't simply killed them all. I fly over to one and check her pulse, to find it strong and steady. I check a few more to be sure, then let out a sigh of relief.

"They're still alive, merely unconscious," I call back to Batman. "I believe our compatriots have succeeded in breaking the monster's control over them. We should attempt to reconvene with them to decide the next course of action."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

While holding both Superboy and Atom Majestic watches for a moment as the two alien heroes put an end to Sta’rro’s rain of terror. It’s finally over Majestic thought to himself. Now that his job is done he can go back to Elijah and Jessica but before he does he has to drop off Atom and Superboy.

Majestic turns away from watching Sta’rro being taking to his new resting place and heads back to the planet. While flying back down he never noticed how beautiful the planet looks from space. Thanks to the help of planet’s league of heroes, Earth and the people on it will live to see another day.

After breaking through Earth’s atmosphere Majestic flew back to Metropolis. He lands them in Centennial park.

“Will you be fine here with the boy?” Majestic asks the Atom.

The Atom spots an unconscious person with a cell phone.

She turns to Mr. Majestic and says, "I'll use the cell-phone and call Star-Labs. They'll take care of Superboy and make sure that I'm okay. You're probably needed elsewhere we'll be fine. Thanks for the lift Mr. Majestic."

The Atom floats over to the cell-phone and calls Star-Labs. Within minutes a van arrives. The technicians carry Superboy into the van and The Atom floats alongside them.

Once they arrive back at Star Labs Superboy is carried off on a stretcher.

Mac approaches Atom and asks, "Are you all-right?"

She replies, "I think so, but could you do me a favor and run a work-up on me?"

Mac says, "Atom I don't know the least few hours have been a stress on me I think that..."

The Atom floats up to Mac and says in almost whisper, "Look Mac in order for these tests to be run effectively I will need to be normal size. I need someone I can trust to run the tests and keep my identity a secret."

Mac nods and says to everyone in the room, "I'm going to be running some tests on the Atom make sure she is okay. I will need absolutely privacy. Nobody enters the testing chambers under any circumstance. So everyone clear out now."

Everyone leaves Mac and The Atom alone.

Once the room is clear The Atom transforms back into Rhiannon Palmer.

She says, "I appreciate that The Atom just helped save the world, but it feels so good to be back to normal again."

Mac says, "It's good to see you again Rhiannon. Now let's get started."

After several tests Mac says, "From what I can tell any, for lack of a better term, St'arro residue or side effects are quickly dying at a substantal rate. You should be back to normal as it were within the hour."

Mac then begins destroying and deleting the test results. He says, "Keeping your secret safe."

Rhiannon nods and says, "Mac there is something I need to know. St'arro said that he needed my DNA for the Shrinking powers. If I were to have children would they have my powers as well?"

Mac replies, "Well Rhiannon genetics are a roll of the dice as it is. There are so many varibles to take into consideration so many unknown factors and..."

Rhainnon interupts, "Mac! A straight answer please. Bottom line it for me. Mac if our relationship ever meant anything to you if you ever felt anything for me please be my friend and be honest. Please Mac you ran enough tests you can tell."

Mac stops his deletion process for the moment and looks at her. He says, "Based upon the tests that I ran, and based solely on them alone, I suggest you see a genetics expert for confirmation, but if from what I can tell your children if you ever have any that there's anywhere from a 80-90% chance they would have some sort of meta-human capablity. These traits would probably assert themselves in their teenage years."

Rhiannon nods and says, "Great, teenage years are tough enough now this would complicate them even more.Is there anyway to turn off my powers."

Mac shakes his head, "No your powers are yours forever they are a part of your genetic code now. A side effect of the dwarf star element."

Rhiannon says, "Thank you for your honesty Mac."

She transforms back into The Atom and says, "I'm going to check on Superboy."

The Atom floats away to the lab holding Superboy.

 

[Saved]

"Well, I guess you went biblical on his...." I stop as I realize there's a little girl present in the room. "Hiney."

I bend down and look at the little girl and feel a pang of sadness at the sight of her tear-stained eyes. "Hey, baby. Don't worry everything will be alright. We're gonna go ahead and take you back home to your mom and dad. I mean it too, sweetie. I'm a man of my word and they say I have a honest face."

"I wouldn't want to play poker with you," Jason jests, his jovial manner slowly returning. "Come on, let's - AH," he yelps suddenly, grabbing the bicep of his limp arm forcefully. Small drops of blood drip from the sleeve of his jacket, staining the floor below.

"You alright?"
"Yeah," Jason lies, taking his jacket off and dropping it to the ground. Just below the sleeve of his t-shirt, the deep slash wound bleeds. The two flaps of skin separate, revealing the deep red slabs of flesh. Between the gulley, the pulled wire of the stiches sprawl upward - resembling the snapped strings of a guitar.

"Shoot," he says, watching his tongue. "Hang on, I need a - like, a strang of cloth or something." He begins to look around, hoping to find some piece of cloth to use as a makeshift tourniquet. As he looks, the sharp pull of his pant leg catches his attention. He looks down to see Oksana holding out the scarf once wrapped around her torso as a belt, offering it with a half smile.

"Here," she says in the best english she can muster. Jason grins with pride, touched by the young child's compassion.
"Thank you," he tells her gently, taking the scarf from her. Tightly, Jason wraps the wound - covering the gruesome sight as he constricts the blood flow. "Alright," he starts, grabbing his jacket and slowly slipping it back over his arms. Jason looks to the Question, then back down to Oksana - seeing the innocent look in her eye as she remains by his side. "Let's go home."

As the trio make their way toward the exit, the Red Hood moves in close to the Question, speaking in a hushed whisper. "Once she's safely back with her family, I've got something special in mind for Cobblepot..."

 

[Byrd Man]

"Thank you," he tells her gently, taking the scarf from her. Tightly, Jason wraps the wound - covering the gruesome sight as he constricts the blood flow. "Alright," he starts, grabbing his jacket and slowly slipping it back over his arms. Jason looks to the Question, then back down to Oksana - seeing the innocent look in her eye as she remains by his side. "Let's go home."

As the trio make their way toward the exit, the Red Hood moves in close to the Question, speaking in a hushed whisper. "Once she's safely back with her family, I've got something special in mind for Cobblepot..."

"Hopefully it involves a live snake and shoving into certain parts of the body where the sun don't shine."

*****​

Hood stays in the car while I take Oksana to her home. I slide open the window to her bedroom and help her up through the windowsill. "Alright, sweetie. You're safe now. Wait a few minutes before going to see your parents. Okay?"

She nods and I smile, even though she can't see it. "Have a good night."

I slip away from the window and get back into the car. "I gotta tell ya, that made me feel good. In a city like this, it's rare you find a true victim. Little girl about to be sold into slavery by evil men. It doesn't get anymore black and white."

 

[Saved]

"Yeah. Hopefully her parents decide to take her and their money and leave this filthy city," Jason says bitterly. "This is no place to raise a kid." Changing his train of thought, he sits straight in his seat, looking forward at the road a head. "Drive to 232 Avian Avenue. This isn't over."

****​

A half hour passes as the moon begins to wane. Soon, the somewhat clear sky fills with smoke as heavy clouds billow up from a warehouse on the east end of the city. Bright yellow flames breach the windows of the structure, blasting fragments of glass out onto the street as the warehouse becomes engulfed by fire.

Across the street, the Red Hood and the Question stand idle on an adjacent rooftop. They watch intently as the flames dance about, illuminating the roadways beneath.

Jason stows his cellphone back in his jacket pocket as he turns to his faceless ally. "Called the fire department. They're on their way," he explains as he puts his foot up on the ledge, leaning forward on his knee. "Luckily the warehouse is surrounded by a vacant parking lot so it won't spread."

"Cobblepot stored all his valuable possesions inside," he tells the hero with a disturbing calmness to his voice. "I'd imagine when he hears about this he'll be in a fowl mood."

 

[Byrd Man]

A half hour passes as the moon begins to wane. Soon, the somewhat clear sky fills with smoke as heavy clouds billow up from a warehouse on the east end of the city. Bright yellow flames breach the windows of the structure, blasting fragments of glass out onto the street as the warehouse becomes engulfed by fire.

Across the street, the Red Hood and the Question stand idle on an adjacent rooftop. They watch intently as the flames dance about, illuminating the roadways beneath.

Jason stows his cellphone back in his jacket pocket as he turns to his faceless ally. "Called the fire department. They're on their way," he explains as he puts his foot up on the ledge, leaning forward on his knee. "Luckily the warehouse is surrounded by a vacant parking lot so it won't spread."

"Cobblepot stored all his valuable possesions inside," he tells the hero with a disturbing calmness to his voice. "I'd imagine when he hears about this he'll be in a fowl mood."

"I like it. A guy like that only feels a hit when it's his wallet getting hit. Also, fowl mood? Nice pun."

We watch the fire in silence for a few moments before I turn to him.

"I gotta tell you, this has been fun. We did some good work tonight. You're a good partner. If you ever need some backup, hit me up online. I'm on the Facebook. The kids, they love the Facebooks and my page."

 

[Saved]

"I like it. A guy like that only feels a hit when it's his wallet getting hit. Also, fowl mood? Nice pun."

We watch the fire in silence for a few moments before I turn to him.

"I gotta tell you, this has been fun. We did some good work tonight. You're a good partner. If you ever need some backup, hit me up online. I'm on the Facebook. The kids, they love the Facebooks and my page."

"Social networking, huh?" The Red Hood asks, pausing for a moment to think things over. "Yeah, I don't really do "fans"." The Red Hood steps up on the ledge as he stares down, surveying the adjacent rooftop a few stories down. "But, not to worry - I'll keep in touch." As he moves to leave, he suddenly doubles back, turning to Q once again. "By the way, let's keep the 'gun' thing between you and me, hmm?"

 

[Byrd Man]

"Social networking, huh?" The Red Hood asks, pausing for a moment to think things over. "Yeah, I don't really do "fans"." The Red Hood steps up on the ledge as he stares down, surveying the adjacent rooftop a few stories down. "But, not to worry - I'll keep in touch." As he moves to leave, he suddenly doubles back, turning to Q once again. "By the way, let's keep the 'gun' thing between you and me, hmm?"

"Damn. I was kinda looking forward to going home to to my no-faced wife and kids and telling them all about that. Oh, well."

I stuff my hands in my pocket and begin walking down the building's fire escape. "See you around, Red."

 

[Saved]

One hour later ...

Jason Todd sits in the living room of his apartment dressed down in only a tanktop and his dark grey jeans. Across the room from him, his front door stands in place loosely by two long boards nailing it to the doorframe. A reminder of the encounter he had with the mercenary nearly a month ago. Bullet holes adorn the couch at the room's center, and the window by the adjacent wall remains jammed in place, unable to be completely opened or closed. So little time has Jason spent in his apartment in the last few weeks, allowing him to forget about the upkeep and maintenance of the luxurious penthouse. Lucky for him, Harley has been busy with work at Arkham, otherwise the sight of his living quarters alone would be enough to give away his secret identity.

As Jason sits in the corner chair, he continues stitching the injury on his arm. Wincing only occassionally, he makes quick work of the task - using his teeth when necessary to hold the string as he jerks his head back to pull the stitch tight. At this point, Jason has become so used to fixing himself he could do it in his sleep. With the last loop around the two skin slabs, Jason pulls the string tight, knotting it quickly before cutting the string.

"That was pleasant," he says sarcastically as rises from the chair. Slowly, Jason makes his way to the evidence room - the last door on the left. As he steps inside, he glides his finger up the light switch and illuminates the room. Before him is the wall of cluttered newspaper clippings and photographs, his own personal web of information connecting every noteable person in Gotham.

Reaching into his back pocket, Jason pulls out a folded piece of paper - freshly cut from a 8" by 11" sheet of xerox paper. As he unravels it, the headline of an internet news article becomes intelligable, reading "Man With No Face Flees Scene of Crime". Softly, Jason laughs with a single grunt, nodding as he stares at the piece of paper.

Slowly Jason rises his head, looking back up at the wall before him. On the right side of the wall, a montage of various pictures and headshots are lined from ceiling to floor. One of the photos shows a grainy photograph of Batman coupled with a photo of Bruce Wayne tacked to the side. Another shows Barbara Gordon with a cut out headline from Gotham Times chronicling the arrival of a female vigilante. Taking a pin, Jason tacks the article in his hand below the other pictures.

"Ah," he muses, a noticeble smirk at the corner of his lips. "And so it begins."

 

[Bounce]

She transforms back into The Atom and says, "I'm going to check on Superboy."

The Atom floats away to the lab holding Superboy.

​

The young Kryptonian woke with a large yawn as he sat up and stretched lazily. Bare skin stood out from behind a volume of holes and tears in his clothing, which was stained with dust and dirt from when the boy had been punted through a building and smashed into concrete even before he'd gone to wrestle Sta'rro. For himself, other than a few bruises, the child seemed no worse for wear as he sleepily rubbed at one eye and looked around.

He wasn't in space anymore. It looked like he was back on Earth, but this was a strange place.

He didn't know what had happened to Sta'rro or the others, but he recognized the Atom as she walked into the room. She'd been in space with him, so obviously whatever had ferried him back to this world had done so for her.

With many questions swirling about in his head, the child opened his mouth and uttered the single most important issue pressing upon his mind.

"I'm hungry."

The rest would work itself out.

 

[Catman_prb]

"Get something straight, I am not a dirty cop. You're the mother****er I pulled out of the **** on that Holiday thing. These mother****ers are jamming me up because they need a lamb to sacrifice and I'm int. Look, **** it. I don't need your help. I'll call up Bullock and Driver and convince this mother****er Bock to drop his case against me the hard way."

Bock? Gordon's head flicked up at that revelation. Bock was one of the few IA recruits that Flass had suggested may be a threat to Gordon's organisation, before Holiday had dealt with him. If Bock was interested in Nygma, it was a matter of time before he was interested in Essen and the rest of Gordon's band of merry theives.

"Nygma shut the-" Jim growled, before taking a deep breath "Eddie, I'm sorry. I underestimated the situation. We need some delicacy here. I'll try and help you however I can. What does he have on you, and what do you need from me?"

 

[Byrd Man]

Bock? Gordon's head flicked up at that revelation. Bock was one of the few IA recruits that Flass had suggested may be a threat to Gordon's organisation, before Holiday had dealt with him. If Bock was interested in Nygma, it was a matter of time before he was interested in Essen and the rest of Gordon's band of merry theives.

"Nygma shut the-" Jim growled, before taking a deep breath "Eddie, I'm sorry. I underestimated the situation. We need some delicacy here. I'll try and help you however I can. What does he have on you, and what do you need from me?"

"For starters some of the money from the Maroni sting is missing. I had to dip into it to pay for the Crime Doctor. Evidence Control logged the complaint and Bock was assigned the case. He started looking into me and he's found a questionable history."

Walk away from Jim. Take a deep breath. "If he digs deep enough he'll find out that I spent some time in a mental hospital in the mid-90's. It was years before I came to Gotham. I was working as a patrolman in Kentucky. I had a nervous breakdown. They diagnosed me as manic-depressive. I take medicine for it. But if Bock finds out, it's enough to get my badge taken. The rest of the stuff he has on me is nothing but smoke, but this is solid."

Turn around and look at him. "I need for Bock to be convinced to drop the investigation. He needs to realize that this investigation can be a hazard to his health and career."

 

[Byrd Man]

​

I hate this city. Goddamn, do I hate this city. I hate this piece of **** with every fiber of my being....and yet, I love her. She's disgusting and irreistible, like a hooker with the clap. That's my city. That's why I protect her.​

Night time. My time. The right time to bring to justice, those who feed on my city's teets like pigs. Nobody sucks on her teets but me.​

It's barely dark when the first screams of the night echo through the alleys. Three men trying to rape a woman. She has to be a ****e from the way she dresses. A part of me wants to leave her to her fate. Justice in it's most basic form.​

I land between the men and the lone woman, growling like a fat man who realizes he's not going to get the last piece of pizza. They have guns and knives on their side, nothing but my body on my side. My head and torso are ready for battle, calm and focused. Below the waist, I've got a hard-on that could cut diamonds.​

One of the criminals charges. I could kill him with my forearm, but I won't. I have my one rule, the rule I will never break. I grab him by the neck and crush three vertebrae in his spine. Not dead, just a paralyzed below the neck. I drop the beaten thug like a sack of potatoes and turn to his friend.​

One of them ****s his pants and runs away screaming. The other draws his weapon on me. I rush over before he can shoot, grabbing his gun and smacking him in the forehead with it. He cries out in pain like an eight-year-old handicap kid. I grab both his forearms and twist as hard as I can. All told, twenty-three fractures to his forearms. Still alive, but he'll never be able to fully use his hands again.​

I turn to the woman. She's paralyzed by fear and shaking. "Who are you?" she asks. ​

I scowl. "Are you dumb? Stupid? I'm the mother****ing Batman!"​

"Sage."​

Knox's voice snaps me out of my trance. I look up from my laptop and stare over the cubicle wall at him. "What's up?"​

"Nothing much. You're just over there typing like a fiend. I was hoping you had a hot lead on something."​

"Naah. This is more like a personal project."​

I save the word document as "Batfanfic1" and close the lid to my computer. "So what's on the plate for tomorrow?"​

"Going through my budget lines for the city section tomorrow. I'm doing the follow-up on that missing girl. Cops wouldn't comment on how she got back home, but rumor is it involves a masked man."​

I do my best to hide my smirk. "Anything for me?"​

"Yeah. Kinda light, though. It's a human intrest piece."​

"You need some fluff to go with the bad news."​

"I want you to head over to Waynetech and interveiw their CEO Helena Bertinelli. Waynetech is launching some kind of new tech and the PR people want a nice feature on Bertinelli and the company."​

"Sure thing, boss."​

I lift up the laptop lid and start back on my story.​

 

[Catman_prb]

"For starters some of the money from the Maroni sting is missing. I had to dip into it to pay for the Crime Doctor. Evidence Control logged the complaint and Bock was assigned the case. He started looking into me and he's found a questionable history."

Walk away from Jim. Take a deep breath. "If he digs deep enough he'll find out that I spent some time in a mental hospital in the mid-90's. It was years before I came to Gotham. I was working as a patrolman in Kentucky. I had a nervous breakdown. They diagnosed me as manic-depressive. I take medicine for it. But if Bock finds out, it's enough to get my badge taken. The rest of the stuff he has on me is nothing but smoke, but this is solid."

Turn around and look at him. "I need for Bock to be convinced to drop the investigation. He needs to realize that this investigation can be a hazard to his health and career."

Gordon suppressed a laugh. He looked Nygma straight in the eyes with a small smile.

"For someone who isn't a crooked cop, you're awfully fond of violence and intimidation," he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"I'll get it done Eddie," he said, turning away and walking towards his car "Don't you worry about it,"

 

[Byrd Man]

Gordon suppressed a laugh. He looked Nygma straight in the eyes with a small smile.

"For someone who isn't a crooked cop, you're awfully fond of violence and intimidation," he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"I'll get it done Eddie," he said, turning away and walking towards his car "Don't you worry about it,"

"Thank you, sir. And now I'm the one who owes you."

Light up another cig and get into my car. In-debt to Gordon now. Not a good place to be.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

​

The young Kryptonian woke with a large yawn as he sat up and stretched lazily. Bare skin stood out from behind a volume of holes and tears in his clothing, which was stained with dust and dirt from when the boy had been punted through a building and smashed into concrete even before he'd gone to wrestle Sta'rro. For himself, other than a few bruises, the child seemed no worse for wear as he sleepily rubbed at one eye and looked around.

He wasn't in space anymore. It looked like he was back on Earth, but this was a strange place.

He didn't know what had happened to Sta'rro or the others, but he recognized the Atom as she walked into the room. She'd been in space with him, so obviously whatever had ferried him back to this world had done so for her.

With many questions swirling about in his head, the child opened his mouth and uttered the single most important issue pressing upon his mind.

"I'm hungry."

The rest would work itself out.

The Atom pushes a bed tray in-front of Superboy. She then floats up and stands on top of the tray as Superboy sits up in bed and looks down at her..

The Atom says, "Usually I feel very uncomfortable standing on a surface like this with someone looking down at me. It makes me feel like they are either stairing at me like I'm some sort of freak or they are getting ready to smush me, but I trust you Superboy."

The Atom looks down for a moment and says, "You saved my life and for that I'm forever grateful to you. I thought that you were a spoiled arrogant brat, but now I see that you're actually a lot like me."

She looks back up and says, "Now what do you have a craving for? I'm sure that we can get you whatever you want to eat."

 

[Saved]

Red Hood​

Arkham Asylum

Doctor Harleen Quinzel storms down one of the many corridors of the asylum, the sound of her heels making a loud clamor that resonates loudly as she moves. In one hand she holds her clipboard, tucked in close to her body. In the other hand she has a bottle of prescription medicine clasped tightly in the palm of her hand. Her face is tight with a look of urgency.

As she reaches her desired location she stops outside the door and peers through the glass. Without knocking, she bumps the door open with her knee and enters. Inside, Doctor Jonathan Crane, the resident physician at Arkham, sits at his desk filling out a report on his laptop. Hearing the door open, he turns in his chair to confront Harley. “Why, Doctor Quinzel,” he begins with a friendly smile. “This is a surprise.”

“I think there was something wrong with the medicine you gave me for one of my patients,” she replies, skipping the pleasantries as she forcefully places the pill bottle on the desk. ​

“Oh?” He begins, adjusting his glasses as he leans forward with interest. “Who might that be?”
“Milo Fobiya,” she replies. “Here,” she begins, reaching into the pocket of her coat and pulling out a recorder. “Listen,” she slides her finger across a button on the side of the device and the tape begins to play.​

“Milo – Milo, it’s okay. Just relax.” ​

“No!” A voice cries in panic. “No it isn’t! You’re going to leave me! Leave me here alone!”
“No, I won’t, Milo. You’ll be fine, alright? Just remember your exercises.” ​

“NO!” He shouts in rage, fear filling him. “I can’t be alone! I can’t – I won’t! You’ll leave and forget about me. You ALL will!” The sound of something breaking obscures his rant. “Leave me in isolation to die!”​

“Milo, just calm down – we’re not going to forget about you, alright? You won’t be alone.” ​

“You LIE!” He screams as noises of objects being tossed and thrown cause the speakers to static.
“YOU ALL LIE! YOU'LL LEAVE ME ALONE! ALONE!” ​

“Milo, you need to calm down. Security – SECURITY!” ​

Harley stops the tape, staring at Crane intently, almost demanding a response. ​

“My word,” Crane replies – faking his sincerity. “That’s awful.”
“Isn’t it?” She snaps, putting her hand on her hip.

“Let me guess, monophobia?” He inquires.
“Yes – an intense fear of solitude. Now, what I can’t understand is what could provoke such a reaction? He was four months without an episode, taking his pills and doing his exercises every day. He was nearly ready to be released!”

Doctor Crane rubs his chin thoughtfully as he leans back in his chair. “Yes, quite strange,” he mumbles as he strokes his jaw. As Harley watches him, she sees a small smirk hiding behind his boney hand rise up his cheek. As Crane moves his hand back to his lap, his grin disappears and a look of concern projects forth once more. “Perhaps he wasn’t as well as he had you believe, Doctor Quinzel?” Harley frowns as she shifts her weight to her opposite leg.

“Nothing changed, Doctor Crane,” she explains vehemently. “The only possible alteration was his medication – medication that you make personally here on site.” Crane pauses for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

“Yes,” he says suddenly, nodding his head. “Yes, you’re probably right, it must be the medicine. I’ll check the pills immediately.”

“Thank you,” she replies, somewhat insincere.

“I’m very sorry, Harleen,” he apologizes as he rises from his seat. “I’ll make up a supplemental dose in the meantime. It’ll be on your desk first thing tomorrow morning.” He puts his arm around her shoulder and gently guides her toward the door. “And after I examine those pills, I’ll be sure to give you a full report.”


“Alright,” she says reluctantly. “Thank you, Doctor Crane.”

“It’s no trouble,” he says pleasantly. “Anything … for a friend.” As Harley stares at Jonathan, a chill suddenly runs across her skin. She ignores the feeling, passing it off as simple coincidence.

​

“Of course,” she tells him as she steps out into the hallway.

“Have a nice night, Harleen,” he speaks softly as he gently closes the door. Crane stands still, staring at the door as he listens patiently. Soon, the sounds of Harley’s footsteps making their way down the hall begin to fade until only silence remains.

“Hmm,” Crane turns around and looks to the pill bottle left standing on his desk. An unsettling smile crawls across his face as his eyes stay fixated on the bottle. “A strange reaction,” he muses, his voice startlingly proud. “Strange indeed…”

 

[Bounce]

The Atom looks down for a moment and says, "You saved my life and for that I'm forever grateful to you. I thought that you were a spoiled arrogant brat, but now I see that you're actually a lot like me."

She looks back up and says, "Now what do you have a craving for? I'm sure that we can get you whatever you want to eat."

Lor mildly entertained the thought of asking what had happened to the big star monster, but it seemed a largely moot point. They were alive. Earth was still here. Atom seemed relaxed. Obviously they had conquered the creature. Whether Sta'rro itself lived or died wasn't something he really cared about in either respect, which made asking about it pointless.

As Atom spoke, the child adopted a clearly perturbed expression on his face. He wasn't spoiled or arrogant - whatever that meant - and he definitely was not a brat. And he certainly wasn't anything like her. For one thing, she was a girl! And that totally was not cool. Plus, he was a Zod. That meant he was better than everyone else. If more people would just accept this simple truth then Lor's dad could spent more time winning friends and less time 'influencing' people. Or conquering them, destroying them, laying their planets to waste...

His expression brightened back up as the topic jumped back to food, but her question almost seemed like one that he wasn't expecting. Dabney and Albert never asked him what he wanted to eat, they just ordered pizza delivery or had a research aide go to McDonalds. Lor was fairly certain from TV ads that the humans had other foods, and some of them looked really tasty - except for the leafy green thingies - but the young Kryptonian had no idea just what any of them were. "I don't know," the child confessed as the realization hit him.

"Um, I like McDonald's. And pizza," Lor began, wiggling his toes as he sat on the bed and actually pondered the question. "I don't really know much about what you eat on Earth," the boy stated, then paused as he realized that probably didn't make much sense to someone who was really from Earth.

"I'm from a non-cop... co-pre-al..." Lor began to explain, stumbling over the word non-corporeal before he finally concluded, "Uh, I'm from a place, like, where you don't, like, uh, touch things or stuff. So a lot of this is new to me."

The thought struck him that Atom probably knew quite a bit about Earth food. Inclining his head to one side, the boy looked down at the small woman and asked, "What do you like to eat?"

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Lor mildly entertained the thought of asking what had happened to the big star monster, but it seemed a largely moot point. They were alive. Earth was still here. Atom seemed relaxed. Obviously they had conquered the creature. Whether Sta'rro itself lived or died wasn't something he really cared about in either respect, which made asking about it pointless.

As Atom spoke, the child adopted a clearly perturbed expression on his face. He wasn't spoiled or arrogant - whatever that meant - and he definitely was not a brat. And he certainly wasn't anything like her. For one thing, she was a girl! And that totally was not cool. Plus, he was a Zod. That meant he was better than everyone else. If more people would just accept this simple truth then Lor's dad could spent more time winning friends and less time 'influencing' people. Or conquering them, destroying them, laying their planets to waste...

His expression brightened back up as the topic jumped back to food, but her question almost seemed like one that he wasn't expecting. Dabney and Albert never asked him what he wanted to eat, they just ordered pizza delivery or had a research aide go to McDonalds. Lor was fairly certain from TV ads that the humans had other foods, and some of them looked really tasty - except for the leafy green thingies - but the young Kryptonian had no idea just what any of them were. "I don't know," the child confessed as the realization hit him.

"Um, I like McDonald's. And pizza," Lor began, wiggling his toes as he sat on the bed and actually pondered the question. "I don't really know much about what you eat on Earth," the boy stated, then paused as he realized that probably didn't make much sense to someone who was really from Earth.

"I'm from a non-cop... co-pre-al..." Lor began to explain, stumbling over the word non-corporeal before he finally concluded, "Uh, I'm from a place, like, where you don't, like, uh, touch things or stuff. So a lot of this is new to me."

The thought struck him that Atom probably knew quite a bit about Earth food. Inclining his head to one side, the boy looked down at the small woman and asked, "What do you like to eat?"

The Atom replies, "I like McDonald's & Pizza as well and I love chocolate, but I have to really watch how much of it I eat. Mainly because if I eat a lot of it well this outfit" she gestures to her costume and smirks "doesn't exactly give me the luxury of hiding a lot. It's skin-tight as it is I don't need it any tighter. so in the end it's usually a lot of salads and bottled water. Although with your metabolism my guess is that you don't have that problem."

She floats down from the table and pushes it over to night-stand. The Atom then picks-up the phone and places it on the table and moves it back into place.

The Atom floats up and sits next to the phone. She asks, "What do you want from McDonald's or wherever else? I've seen the operating budget here I think they can spring for something for you, and besides I used to work here and I can honestly say the cafeteria food isn't exactly 5-star caliber."

 

[Saved]

From the personal Diary of Barbara Gordon:

August 26

It’s true when people say this city is ungrateful. No one says “thank you” for the hard work you do – even if you put your life on the line to save theirs, the story remains the same. I used to think that there were some people out there who were different – people like me who appreciate and admonish the servitude, but now I realize how naïve I was to believe that.

I finally met him - him- the silent guardian and protector of Gotham; the man who saved my life and inspired me to fight back against crime and evil. I thought, of all people, he’d be the one to understand – that he’d be the one to appreciate someone else taking up the good fight against injustice. But now I understand that I was foolish to think that as well. It appears this city’s ‘dark knight’ is just another citizen trying to control the system, and place it under his command.

****​

September 1

Batgirl stands on the top of Miller tower, her arms crossed over her chest, as she stares out into the distance. Her cape closer over her torso, covering her body like cloak from her shoulders down to her feet. A sharp burst of wind blows past her, forcing her cape to flow freely with the current. Despite the forceful gust she remains motionless – standing like a sentinel, towering over the city below.

​

“Good evening,” a voice suddenly speaks. Casually, she turns over her shoulder to see the vigilante known as the Red Hood pulling himself up the side of the building before leaping up onto the rooftop to join her.

“So you got my message?” She asks, turning herself completely to face him.

He nods, “Not very subtle. A note inside the hood of a red sweat shirt nailed to the side of your window?” Batgirl grins, impressed by her actions.
“I figured you were still stalking me.”
“How’d you explain that to the commissioner?”
“He didn’t notice,” she replies, her tone bitter. “Not home.”
“Awww.”

“Anyway, I called you here for a reason,” she starts, getting to business unusually quick for her.
“I figured as much.”

“I checked the databases at Gotham Central – read your whole file.” The Red Hood stays silent, simply staring at Batgirl with curiosity. “I’m a fan.”

“Does that mean you’ve considered my proposition?” Batgirl’s arms drop down, moving to her hips and resting comfortably on the pouches of her belt. A small determined smirk comes over her face, breaking her otherwise stoic disposition.

“Count me in.” Jason smiles beneath his hood, both excited and intrigued by her change of heart.

“What happened to working for your idol?” He probes.
“Things … didn’t work out,” she replies cryptically, refusing to talk about the encounter. “Let’s just say I’m a free agent.”

“Haha, very good,” Jason replies, somewhat unsurprised by her response. “I look forward to our lucrative relationship.” He begins, stepping toward her slowly. He holds out his open hand to her, waiting for the alliance to be consummated with a handshake. Batgirl looks to his hand, than to his helmet – taking one final moment to contemplate her decision. With a pleasant smile, she takes his hand firmly and shakes.

“Likewise,” she concurs.

“Here,” he starts, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a cell phone. “You can reach me directly with this; I put my number in the list of contacts.” Batgirl examines the phone intently.

“Do I have unlimited minutes?” She quips.

“I wouldn’t recommend making social calls with it.” As Batgirl navigates the phone’s menu, Red Hood turns and begins walking toward the roof’s edge. Reaching the contact list, Batgirl notices the only contact in the cue: 'Red Hood'.

“Hey, wait!” She exclaims, looking up to see the Red Hood standing on the ledge. “When do I get to see your face?”

“You’re the detective,” he teases. “Consider it your first case.” With that, the Red Hood leaps off the edge and disappears into the foggy clouds surrounding the skyscraper’s canopy.

“Great,” she grumbles to herself, letting out a heavy sigh. As she takes a few steps forward, she looks to the phone resting in the palm of her hand.

“Well, Babs, I hope you know what you’ve just gotten yourself into.”

****​

 

[Bounce]

The child adopted a confused expressed as he tried, unsuccessfully, to follow along with what the Atom is saying, not understanding all of the references that the woman uses. What did food have to do with the elasticity of her costume? And what did metabolism mean? "What's chocolate?" the boy inquired, mystified. "And what's a salad?"

Wiggling his feet some more, the child thought over his choices. Atom had told him about some new things he didn't know anything about. As much as he'd already decided with regard to humans, there were a lot of things about them and their world that he didn't know. "I want to try those things," Lor decided finally.

The boy paused for a second.

"Can I get them... and a cheeseburger happy meal?" the young Kryptonian inquired hopefully, his large brown eyes looking over at the diminutive Atom.

Changing topics, the boy asked, "Hey, Atom? What happened to Superman?"