The Joker And The Fool

9(.3) the Gotham War

9.3 

In the month of august, the city of Gotham had been occupied for more than seven weeks. It had been an incredible hot week. In the scouring light of the sun the city seemed almost as if it lay in the midst of a desert land. The streets were covered with a dust that seemed like sand; it was the rubble that had been created by the chaotic attack of Bain and the uprising of the people of Gotham. During the week Diana and several of her men had to deliver water and food more frequently than usual. Their involvement with the police had long before not gone unseen. Bain watched them intensely, he set out several guarding stations near the subway.

During the time Diana had sent several small children, who could fit between the gap that would access the subway tunnel, out on an expedition. For a long time, it seemed that her only option was to create another explosion which could possibly open another entrance. However, as she discovered through her contact with the police officers and children, they could not possibly create another explosion. For it had been two bombs that caused them to become trapped. But there were originally three bombs set up. The risk of the third one exploding was very real. Thus, they had no answers yet to solve this problem. But they carried on aiding them.

After some time, the children would be attacked by some of Bain's soldiers. One of the children would be caught and murdered. The policemen on the other end of the hole could hear gunfire and explosions. For, Diana was wise enough to give the larger children a way to protect themselves. The smaller children had gone into the tunnel, where they would take refuge until the gunfire stopped. Th ground had shaken, and dust had fallen from the fragile ceiling.

Dick Grayson would find the boy two days later; the smaller children were still hidden in the tunnels; so, he discovered. Enraged by Diana's deeds, he would cut her off. Within several days he managed to help the officers create a pathway which would lead the further into the tunnels. This did not give them any way out of the hole, but it allowed them to become more accessible through different spaces. This did not mean, however that Diana did not play a part in their care. She would continue to send her children down into the tunnels.

Often Bain would create new laws and televise statements to introduce these laws. Or he would televise warrants for people's arrests. By the end of the week, he televised a statement saying that any involvement with the police officers that he had disposed them of, would result in the death penalty. An example would be the child Diana had sent to his death. Bain could deliver footage of the children, which they had taken the night that the boy was murdered. And they had taken pictures of the dead boy's body but had not allowed him a proper burial. It was Dick Grayson who buried the boy. Bain had long given a warrant for Diana's arrest, as well as Bertinelli and Zuko. But neither of Diana's men would be so easily caught. And not many people dared to betray Diana to her death. It was as if it would bring bad luck. What felt strange to her was that Bain knew of her location and of her actions, however he did not take the correct measurements to stop her, himself. He must have thought that he was unbeatable. The bomb would go off, no matter what she did. It seemed to him that she was just good "buzz". That was, if she remembered correctly, what the Joker would have called it. And for that time, she was not focused on the bomb, she was focused on other cases.

For instance, she was rather occupied with seeking out contact with Waller, but off course, there was complete radio silence. She had no way to reach the outside world. The bridges were being watched by the U.S military, but they would shoot at anyone who came within a mile radius of the border of Gotham City. Besides there were other problems ahead. The stores and supermarkets had been looted, leading to a very threatening absence of food and water in the future. There was no panic thus far, but within two months Diana expected the city of over eight million inhabitants to fall into a famine.