Going Out With a Bang

Part 3

Batman scrutinized the room from a rafter above. He pressed a button on the side of his cowl, illuminating his vision of the room. Everything was covered with a blue tint, the guards teeming below were masses of orange, and fragments of information flashed around his field of vision. He could now see that the guards were carrying automatic rifles and decided to take them out one by one, using the shadows to his advantage.

In the center of the room was a tinted glass box, lifted about twenty feet off of the ground. Circling the room were grated walkways at the same height. Batman saw a light blue shape lying on the floor inside the cubed room. He was unarmed and seemed to be a hostage or prisoner, but this was not a hostage situation.

Batman waited for one of the guards to walk directly beneath him before swinging down, enveloping the goon in his cape, and flying back up to the rafter, where he tethered the man and dropped him. The limp body dangled on the cord and caused panic to spread through the others. They could not spot Batman hiding in the shadows above the body, but he knew they would if he didn't move soon.

He shot a claw onto the grated walkway and aimed the grapple launcher at one of the guards near it. The claw attached to the other end of the cable shot out and clamped onto the man, hoisting him up into the air where he panicked briefly before losing consciousness. Two down, four to go.

The guards huddled back to back on the ground floor. Batman saw an opportunity and tossed a smoke pellet in the middle of them. Once the fog was dense enough to hide him, he leapt down and kicked one of the men to the ground, knocking him out. Batman turned to another and pummeled him to his knees. The smoke screen was fading away quickly, so he shot back up to the dark rafter.

The two remaining guards stared around in stunned confusion at the bodies next to them. They hurried to the ladder leading up to the grated walkway. Batman glided down behind them and kicked the latter one down. The first guard turned to shoot, but before he could Batman had disarmed him with the batclaw. The guard tried to swing at Batman, but he caught the punch and flipped the guy over the rail of the walkway. Batman lifted the second guard and smashed his elbow into the side of the man's head, then dropped the unconscious body back onto the metal. The room was clear.

Batman proceeded to the glass room on the center. He grappled up to the roof and lined the edges with an explosive gel. He readied himself in the middle and squeezed the detonation trigger. The roof collapsed and Batman dropped into the glass room. It was fairly large, but the cluttered tables made it seem much smaller.

"O-oh God no, not you." whimpered a voice in the corner. Batman turned to see Dr. Jonathan Crane huddled on the ground, wearing a torn up suit covered by a tattered, brown tweed jacket.

"What are you doing in here, Scarecrow?" Batman asked. He took a step toward Crane, which caused him to throw his hands up and recoil like an animal accustomed to beatings.

"It's the Joker. He's lost his mind."

"That man's mind was lost a long time ago."

"No, he's gotten worse." Crane spoke the words with such trembling that Batman almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He scanned the lab and spotted a shimmering green powder that caught his attention.

"How the hell did you get krypto-"

The deafening sound of bricks crumbling away resounded in the gigantic room. Batman looked out of the glass wall to see what had caused the sound. Through the hole in the wall lumbered the enormous figure of a man. He was ten feet tall with arms the size of tree trunks, wearing a clown mask and stained purple pants.

"Dammit." scowled Batman under his breath.

"If you get me out of here I will tell you everything you want to know." Crane said. Batman appraised him for several seconds before nodding. Crane began shoveling various items from the lab into the pockets of his tweed jacket. Batman turned to find the behemoth picking up a fire extinguisher like it was a football. Batman ducked down as the sound of shattering glass pierced his ears. He stood up and stared into the blissful eyes of the huge man before him.

"Stay here. I'll be back for you when I'm done." Batman said to Crane without turning to look at him. Batman jumped from the ledge and hit the ground running. The thug charged toward him and, just before they were about to crash into each other, Batman rolled to the side. He quickly turned and threw a batarang at the back of the man's head. The thug didn't even flinch. He turned and grabbed Batman with both hands, lifting his body then throwing it to the other side of the room. Batman let out a pained scream.

The thug turned to face Batman and barreled at him again. This time Batman threw a smoke pellet onto the ground in front of him and moved to the side. The thug ran headlong into the brick wall. He stumbled around in a daze for several seconds, just long enough for Batman to throw a freeze grenade at him. It burst open and encased his torso in a thick clump of ice, attached to the corner of the wall. The thug grunted and strained, but he could not budge. Batman grappled back up to the glass room.

"We need to move, that ice won't hold him for long."

"First I need to see what's inside those crates," Crane said. He walked over to the pile of boxes across the room and fumbled with the lock on one of them. Batman swung his black-clad fist down and snapped the lock off of the crate. "Thanks." Crane muttered.

He lifted the lid and his eyes widened.

"What is that?" Batman asked.

"I'll explain later, we need to get out of here." Crane and Batman walked out of the building through the hole in the bricks left by the frozen lunkhead in the corner. The putrid air of the Bowery greeted them.