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1. Master Bruce 12 yrs ago
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Very well, where do I begin? 

My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. 

My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. 

My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard, really. At the age of twelve, I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. 

There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking. I highly suggest you try it.

Most Recent Posts

In Master Bruce's Multiverse Of Madness → 6 yrs ago Forum: Character Sheets

Ultimate One Universe: Year One Application

Character You're Applying For: Batman/Bruce Wayne

Powers And Abilities: No physical powers, but is a master of twenty-seven martial arts, a gifted detective, and a billionaire with limitless resources that provide him with an arsenal of state-of-the-art gadgets and vehicles.

Origin And Backstory (In A Maximum Of Four Paragraphs): Born as the son of a wealthy philantropist and the head doctor of Arkham Asylum, Bruce Wayne witnessed the unthinkable whenever a mugger ended the lives of his parents on the streets of Gotham City. Suffering severe post-traumatic stress from the event, young Bruce was put under the care of legal guardian Alfred Pennyworth, who sought the treatment of Martha Wayne's dearest friend, psychologist Leslie Thompkins. Together they would act as Bruce's surrogates, trying to shield him from the ever-present public eye as he was mentally rebuilt. But despite their best efforts, Bruce would never be psychologically whole again. 

Eventually fleeing the country in the middle of his senior year at Bludhaven University, Bruce travelled to the most remote areas of Asia and Europe and spent a period of ten years engaging in what he considered to be extreme trauma therapy. This soon evolved into lessons under a series of different masters that would incidentally make him an adept thief, a cunning detective, and a brutal hand-to-hand combatant. His experiences brought him closer to the criminal underworld as he began to see his own psychosis take on some of their habits - that is where he learned the nature of fear, and how powerful of a weapon it could truly become. 

Under the tutilege of the legendary Ra's Al Ghul of The League Of Shadows, Bruce would learn to face his own fears in the dangerous Thogal ritual, meant to simulate a state between life and death to achieve a spirtual awakening. All that Wayne found waiting for him were shadows. Echoes of something he didn't fully understand, until he reached out - and was met by a large nest of bats, circling out of the monolithic caverns that The League operated from. But a falling out would occur whenever Bruce revealed that he held no desire to take his enemy's lives, leading to a duel between master and student that would only stop when the master's daughter forbade her father from delivering the killing blow. Exiled, Bruce travelled back to the United States at the age of 28. 

Discovering that Gotham had become crippled by inner-city corruption headed by what was considered The Five Families, including mafioso Carmine Falcone, his rival Salvatore Maroni, a Siberian native that took to calling himself The Penguin, and a powerful drug lord known only as Poison Ivy, Bruce took up a mask and a series of gadgets supplied by his family's company of Waynetech and became a vigilante. But after being beaten half to death by the masked gang of sociopaths calling themselves The Royal Flush Gang, led by an individual called Red Hood, Wayne was forced to reconsider the nature of fear as he understood it. Only in a state of euphoria brought about by blood loss did he revisit his incident in the caves during Thogal, and remember the fear that overcame him when he was attacked by the bats. And so in order to strike terror into Gotham's criminals, a Bat is precisely what he would become. 

What Makes This Character 'Ultimate'?: The comics, the movies, The Animated Series. The image that they conjure in your head is who he's destined to become - but for now, he's still new to everything. So his aversion to using guns, for instance, isn't exactly set in stone yet even if he still doesn't use them to kill. In addition, his psychosis is a little more unhinged, with vivid hallucinations and dreams often plaguing his waking hours whenever he's not fighting criminals, along with his violent tendencies being a little more brutal in his need to make criminals fear him. He also doesn't live in Wayne Manor or have a traditional Batcave, choosing to live in an inner-city penthouse with an underground bunker that leads out into a massive tunnel system beneath Gotham. This is Batman by way of the version Frank Miller created, if that version also produced an offspring with the Denny O'Neil and Scott Snyder versions that favor the humanistic detective. Mine sits at a happy medium. 

As far as Gotham itself is concerned, virtually every supporting character is different from how they're usually portrayed. Alfred isn't Bruce's butler and is more of a proactive agent for the cause, Gordon isn't his ally in any capacity and the police almost entirely distrust Batman (The Bat-Signal still exists, but with a twist), Barbara Gordon is already paralyzed and will never become Batgirl, and Jason Todd isn't a Robin or a vigilante. The big villains are all going to be reinvented in ways that feel familiar but operate differently, aswell. And then there's the interconnected crime families, who are going to more closely resemble the warring factions of Westeros from Game Of Thrones than any previous incarnation. 

Lastly, I've toned down the whole 'master of everything' element of his character. He's good at what he does, but I wouldn't call him the best ever as a fighter, or even close to the World's Greatest Detective. He's a man who learned alot of tricks that make him a force to be reckoned with against street criminals, with the cash to pick up his slack. If he were to go toe-to-toe with Daredevil, for instance, he'd probably do alright. But a fight with Captain America or Iron Man would leave him dusted fairly easily, not to mention a certain Man of Steel. And he's definitely not the brilliant strategist that makes the Batman of the comics seem almost ridiculously untouchable, with plans upon plans for every possible outcome. He's simply quick on his feet and lucky to be alive.

Supporting Characters: I'll start with his allies and leave the exact roles of his enemies as an in-game surprise.

Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's mentor and trusted field agent, among many other things. Raising Bruce from the time his parents were murdered, Alfred has overseen most of Bruce's training abroad and continues to act as his moral compass.

Captain James Gordon, Batman's relentless law-abiding rival who believes him to be a criminal. He's an honest cop and honorable man, but belives Batman to be the cause of several of the city's newest threats. 

Harvey Dent, Bruce's best friend since boarding school and the city's crusading A.D.A. Unwittingly acts as an informat of Batman's through Bruce's charade as a carefree friend for Dent to vent his frustrations at.

Oracle,  Batman's online accomplice whose identity even he doesn't know. In actuality, she is Barbara Gordon, the wheelchair bound teenage daughter of the Captain with a vendetta all her own.

Lucius Fox, Bruce's armorer, who outfits him with the latest in scrapped military tech. Fox also currently acts as a member of the board of directors for Wayne Enterprises, keeping an eye on it's shady business dealings with a potential buyer in the majority shares, Roman Sionis. 

Jason Todd, Batman's twenty-something streetwise informant and occasional mechanic, responsible for customizing the equipment Fox provides. Known for his ability to seamlessly infiltrate the local gangs. 

Leslie Thompkins, Bruce's psychiatrist and a surrogate mother who helps guide Bruce through the darkness. She also works as a doctor in Arkham Asylum, where her care is considered kinder to that of men like Jonathan Crane and Professor Hugo Strange, the Asylum's administrator. 

Duke Thomas, Batman's only informant from within the GCPD. One of the few honest cops in Gordon's precinct, he nevertheless only seeks the vigilante's help in times of absolute crisis and only begrudingly feeds him information out of loyalty to Gordon. 

Selina Kyle, Bruce's liason to the elite of Gotham. The daughter of crimelord Carmine Falcone, whose real alliegances are routinely questionable, she is primarily responsible for introducing the billionaire to some of the city's most powerful individuals.

A.C.E, Batman's Waynetech-provided A.I. that acts as a digital super-weapon, able to black out portions of the city, remotely control his vehicles, give him three-dimensional readouts of his surroundings, and hack into the GCPD criminal database, among many other features.

And Katherine 'Kate' Kane, Bruce's cousin and one of only a handful of blood relatives. Still a teenager, she occasionally resides in Wayne Tower to escape her militant father. She remains unaware of Bruce's double life.

Sample Post:

Gotham City, Warehouse 2120
12:41 AM

John "Johnny Boy" Gobbs coughed as the polluted midnight air hanging over the Gotham City Docks filled his lungs. A two-bit hustler for the Maroni crime family for the last seven years, Gobbs had developed somewhat of a reputation among his peers in the criminal underworld for being a guy who took nothing seriously. When the heat came down, he was usually the first one to throw up the white flag and take one for the team, knowing that he'd be back out on the streets by dawn's early light. It was just how that sort of thing worked in Gotham. The cops were on Salvatore Maroni's personal payroll, the one hold that the gangster had on The Roman to keep himself ahead of the game. As far as Gobbs was concerned, that made Sal untouchable, and even a low-level man like Johnny Boy considered himself fortunate to be on the winning team.

So why he'd been assigned to guard an import of weapons for The Red Triangle, who had established themselves as an enemy to both the Maroni's Capo Italiana and The Roman's Syndicate, was way beyond him. He and a small army had been given the order by one of Maroni's personal guard, Anthony "Fat Tony" Zucco, to work with the Russian outfit to ensure that a safe deposit was made to a secondary location without incident. But the pay was more than generous, and Gobbs figured that if he had a chance to pay off his car by the end of the month just for lending a helping hand, asking questions were the last thing on his mind.

Sitting guard in the loading bay, Gobbs pulled a joint from his jacket that he'd been saving for a night like this and began to roll. As he was about to light it up, another lieutenant for his outfit made his way through the door and immediately gave him a look. Gobbs shrugged. 

"Hey, don't gimme that look. You know me, I gotta rip one off before we get down to business."

The lieutenant was a gruff, no-nonsense up and comer named Jefferson Skeevers. With a rap sheet a mile long and a particular vice for the city's vast market of narcotics, Skeevers nevertheless cut the bullshit whenever it came to his work and expected everyone else to do the same. 

"Not tonight, Gobbs. We gotta stay alert. All hands on deck type'a situation."'

"Now, you mentioned that you've been having nightmares again. Tell me about those."

Leslie Thompkins sips at a freshly brewed cup of tea as I sit on a couch directly infront of her, trying to think of how to word exactly what I saw this morning. These sessions have been very helpful, I believe, in relieving my mind of the stress that comes with the life I've chosen. But the sheer ferocity of these dreams, and the frequency of which they've been happening. I'm not entirely sure that I trust even Leslie to make sense of them yet. Not until I've made sense of them myself, if I ever even can. The medication she's prescribed to me is starting to lose it's effect - not to mention that it's affected my nightly performance, of which I can't abide.

"It starts..."

I clear my throat. "It starts with something I can't really understand. You've heard of the metahuman problem?"

Leslie nods. "I wouldn't necessarily say that I believe it to be a problem, per se, but I read the papers like everyone. I know about the more media friendly types."

Contrary to what she believes, I disagree. Ever since these superhumans began appearing in the public eye, I've had to prepare strategies for entirely new threats. Unimaginable threats that I may or may not even ever come into contact with. Threats that don't so much cause disruption in Gotham as represent a new danger I'd never anticipated: one that could level the city with a thought, or a fist. Alfred says I'm paranoid. I like to think I'm being realistic.

"Hh. Well, there's one in particular that I haven't been able to get out of my head."

I take a sip of the coffee that Leslie prepared, knowing my affinity for cinnamon and sugar mixed with milk. My mother's favorite, as Leslie knew well, given they were friends for fifteen years. It's one of the few links I have left to my mother, after all these years. Well. One of the... saner links, I suppose.

Taking the blunt from him, Skeevers made sure to stuff it in his own pocket. Gobbs didn't know whether that meant that he was holding onto it temporarily or, more likely, that he'd just been robbed. But he was more interested in what happened next, as Skeevers replaced his now empty hand with a 44. magnum. Gobbs looked at the weapon curiously, nevertheless loading the clip he was then handed. 

"Hey, I already got a piece. I came prepared. What's with the extra bit of paranoia?"

Skeevers side-eyed him. "What, you ain't heard? This ain't a simple cargo drop tonight, man. Maroni's cut a deal with The Roman on this, splitting it three ways with The Penguin. They got a mutual enemy, and that piece of shit's been hitting us hard the last couple of weeks. Nobody knows when or where he's gonna hit next, but we wanna make sure he doesn't make it outta here alive."

Gobbs' eyebrows raised. "You're shitting me. All this is because of one guy?"

"One guy that put seven of Zucco's guys in traction last night, yeah. One hell of a guy."

"Heh. Sounds like the families are looking out for The Boogeyman."

Skeevers narrowed his eyes. "Motherfucker, from what I heard... that ain't too far off."

Despite being relatively well informed, Johnny Boy was unable to wrap his head around what he'd just heard. One guy had hit the families and lived? An assassin, maybe? Word on the street was that the leader of the drug trade, some crazy plant-loving bitch calling herself Poison Ivy, had doubled up on her own private set of muscle to protect her assets from falling into the wrong hands. She had everyone from Floyd Lawton to El Gato, The Catman, working for her now. Was this the start of a territorial thing?

"Alright, you don't gotta tell me twice. I'll keep a watch."

Skeevers nodded and loaded his semi-automatic, heading back out to oversee the loading crew. As the minutes passed by, Gobbs found himself reaching back into his pocket to see if there were any traces of weed left in his stash. Nothing on the CCTV feed indicated that there was anything but business as usual for the boys outside, so he figured all of this paranoia was for nothing. And if it was indeed one guy to look out for, there were at least twenty armed guards waiting to pump him full of lead. 

"Heh. The Boogeyman. These idiots really got some imagination..."

"They call him Superman. I've been studying news footage of him for months, weighing out the possibilities of where his abilities could have come from."

"I see. And you've been drawn to this one in particular, because?"

"Leslie, the man can fly and bend steel with his bare hands.", I reply, narrowing my eyes. "He's virtually invulnerable to pain and affliction, as far as I can tell. Bullets bounce off of his skin."

Leslie raises an eyebrow. "You sound almost envious of this power."

"I wouldn't say envious. I'd say that it makes me afraid. That one day, he could land out of the skies and make his way into Gotham. And that I wouldn't know what the hell to do."

With a faint sigh, she massages the bridge of her nose. "So I assume, then, that this dream had to do with this... Superman?"

"Something like him, I suppose."

I place the mug of coffee infront of me and put my hands together. 

"It starts with a routine sweep of the East End. I'm on patrol, looking into the new drug trade that answers to an individual known on the streets as The Penguin.", I begin. "I'm watching them load the product into their trucks, checking serial numbers. Double checking orders given via tablet. And just as I'm about to make my entrance and prevent those drugs from hitting the streets..."

There's a lilt of anger in my voice. "I feel a singe of red heat start to burn at the base of my skull. Whenever I turn around, I see..."

"You see what, Bruce?"

As he took out his flask of whiskey and took a swig, something immediately caught his attention. A flicker of movement that had shown up out of the left corner of his eye. Johnny Boy scanned the area closely, swearing that he'd seen two of The Roman's men patrolling the area not just a second ago. But there was nobody there. His own paranoia suddenly rising, Gobbs held onto the .44 a bit more firmly. 

"What the hell?", he whispered to himself. "That ain't..."

And that's when it really started. Suddenly, guys just started disappearing from the feed, left and right. Pulled up into the air, some by their feet, others from around their chests. Like some sort of rope or cable just came down and plucked them from the Earth. Gobbs had been far from the other one to notice this bizarre phenomena as he could hear Skeevers barking orders from outside. Seconds later, the gunfire began, and Gobbs leapt to his feet with his weapon raised.

"Jesus Christ!"

Running towards the door, he could see glimpses of activity from the windows. Something was happening alright, but it was hard to tell what exactly it was. A shadow had swooped down over the guys guarding the outpost leading into the cargo bay, and was currently taking out everything in it's wake. Gobbs could hear bullets flying, but what what worried him was that he heard a more prominent set of sounds - bones crunching and grown men screaming for their lives. Kicking open the door, Johnny Boy Gobbs steadied himself and aimed high. 

But no one was left standing. Johnny Gobbs gasped as he looked down to his feet, to find Skeevers flat on his face. He didn't know if the guy was dead or unconscious, but whoever had got to him was still there. He could hear him. Some kind of weird rustling, like leather flapping against the wind. Gobbs looked at the scores of similarly immobile figures ahead of him and immediately sheathed his gun. 

"Him. Floating. Ready to cut me down. Larger than life, with the abilities of a God. And I start to realize that I'm only a man in a costume. Nothing in the belt can save me. Or rather, the belt itself even disappears. I can't remember."

I sigh myself, frustrated. "It doesn't make sense, Leslie. From everything I gathered, this 'Superman' is nothing but benevolent. He helps people. Saves them in ways that I could never do myself. Why is it that he's my enemy in these dreams?"

Leslie takes a long pause. I know that she wants to say more, particularly about the violence. She's had long conversations with me in the past. Needless to say, she was less than thrilled with my choice of profession in life whenever I confided in her, but she's unwilling to turn me in. Both as a professional courtesy and out of a need to protect me, given she and Alfred were the only ones there after I lost my parents. I've often wondered if that's manipulation on my part, to prevent incarceration. Like I've unwittingly blackmailed her into continuing these sessions, knowing what I truly am. Knowing that I break the law on a regular basis and inflict pain on people in a way that she despises. 

But, she's stuck with me. And I'm stuck with her. I think that in the end, it helps us both to be able to have a completely open forum about this. Especially if we don't say my other name aloud. The one that the press clung to, the one that my enemies whisper in the dark. 

"Fuck. Shit. Fuck!"

Turning tail, Gobbs darts immediately for the parking lot, running over several groaning bodies. That at least told him they were alive, but none were in a condition to stand. And if Gobbs were anything, he was no goddamn fool. If whoever had hit them was able to take on a small army and win, Johnny Boy wouldn't last a second. He'd catch hell from Zucco, but he figured that was more favorable to having his head bashed in by something out of a horror movie.

"OH, FUCK!"

Gobbs was so out of sorts and frantic by the sight of grown men lining the docks on their stomachs that by the time he reached the edge of the platform he'd been stationed on, he immediately realized that he had been on the second floor of the loading bay and not the first. In essence, Johnny Gobbs had gotten ripped and took a walk off a roof.

Falling straight into the air, Gobbs got one look at the pavement below and closed his eyes. No one would mourn him, as he didn't have any immediate family. He had been seeing a girl from Bludhaven for a few months, but it was nothing serious. And he sure as hell didn't expect Sal Maroni to attend his funeral. All in all, he figured he'd be written off as no big loss. 

"Bruce, I have to be blunt when I say this. I think what you're experiencing is envy. I don't think that this man is a threat to you, and I think that you know that.", she begins. "But I do believe that the power he represents is threatening to you on a professional, perhaps even psychological level."

I raise an eyebrow. "Professional..."

"He's a crimefighter. A hero, to a great many people.", she explains. "Is that not what you wish to be yourself? Even if you're trying to scare others, isn't he practically everything you want to be? Renowned for your ability to help others?"

I take a moment to consider this. 

"No."

When she visibly questions my response, I elaborate.

"No, what he does, he does in a very specific way. He's out there in full view of everyone. I can never be that. I don't... want to be that. Nothing about what I do is meant for personal gain. It can't be, especially after how it got to this point. I learned a hard lesson about trying to make this mission personal. Being..."

I catch myself. "Being him allows me to take myself out of the equation. Bruce Wayne isn't the one going out there and putting himself on the line. Bruce has friends. Loved ones. Things that Wayne couldn't stand to lose. But he doesn't."

Leslie looks at me, a sense of worry coming over her face.

"Bruce, what do you mean by taking yourself out of the equation? Do you consider..."

"I consider him a separate entity, yes."

That's when he felt something clasp itself hard around his neck, tight as a steel bar. Gobbs began to choke, watching out as his descent slowed down. And he noticed that whatever was around his neck wasn't made of steel, but was flesh and muscle. Garbed in black, with three razor-like fins protruding from the forearm. Gobbs breathed a sigh of relief for only a moment, before he realized that his descent was turning into an ascension, and whoever had grabbed him wasn't letting go. 

"Please... I don't... You don't gotta..."

By the time that Gobbs got a decent look at the face of his attacker, he was screaming too.

She's silent. 

"I know how that sounds, but..."

"It sounds like dissociative identity disorder, Bruce. And if that's the case, we may need to begin some form of cognitive behavior therapy, or dialectical behavioral therapy. Something more than your routine visitations."

"Leslie."

I lean forward. "I know who I am. I'm not in any doubt of that. But... I do try and keep myself separated from it all. I don't know whether it's to protect myself, or other people, but I have a need to ensure that I can establish plausible deniability."

"What if that's not what you're seeking? Because to me, that sounds closer to actual denial."

I try and answer, but stop. Because for the life of me, I don't know if she could be right.

"At the very least, we should consider switching your medications. Clozapine doesn't seem to have helped your hallucinations if you're having dreams like this."

Fighting back my immediate resistance, I lean back into the couch. 

"Whatever you're willing to prescribe, I'll be looking into it myself before I consider taking it."

Taking out a notepad, she begins jotting down a perscription nevertheless. 

"Yes, you've established that your father's stubborness is quite thoroughly alive and well, these past few months.", she dryly responds. "I'm going to give you a trial of Bitizaparide. It's new to the market, but the results have been promising. More to the point, it has no chance of slowing cognitive function."

I nod, grateful. "That's all I ask."

Less than an hour later after the initial attack, Gobbs would be found strung up on the side of the loading bay with more than a dozen other men similarly beaten half to hell, wrapped and sealed for delivery to the police. Precinct 27, to be exact, where an idealist young police captain named James Gordon was trying to clean up corruption and avoid getting in on the take. 

And only one clue would be left to the assailant's identity - a sharp, metal projectile wrapped inside the binds, dipped in a chemical solution that made fingerprints or any further identification through forensics next to impossible. 

A projectile that looked to be shaped like a Bat.

Post Catalogue:

Volume 1: Ninety-Six Hours

1. Signal In The Sky
2. Terrorized And Terrorizing
3. Shall We Play A Game?
4. Shot In The Dark
5. Deadly Influences
6. Motives Unclear
7. Roads Paved With Good Intentions
8. A New Player In Town
9. Allies In The Field
10. Temperate Toxicity
11. Roman's Holiday
12. Life Or Death
13. Out Of Your Element
14. A Fight You Can't Win
15. Desperate Measures
16. Rock And A Hard Place
17. Out Of Control
18. The Impressionable
19. When All's Said And Done

Volume 2: The Dark Before The Dawn

1. Second Chance
2. Matters Of Family
3. Cold Realities
4. Seeing The Light
5. Gathering Intelligences
6. Through The Mud
7. Fist Of Clay
8. Black And Blue: Part 1 (w/ AndyC)
9. Black And Blue: Part 2 (w/ AndyC)
10. Black And Blue: Part 3 (w/ AndyC)
11. Black And Blue: Part 4 (w/ AndyC)
12. Black And Blue: Part 5 (w/ AndyC)
13. Black And Blue: Part 6 (w/ AndyC)
14. Black And Blue: Part 7 (w/ AndyC)
15. Black And Blue: Part 8 (w/ AndyC)
16. Black And Blue: Finale (w/ AndyC)
17. Cards On The Table
18. The War Will Carry On

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

The Journal Of Alfred J. Pennyworth
June 27th, 1947

One cannot ever properly prepare for death. The war taught me this cruel lesson in earnest. Watching friends and compatriots alike be ripped from this Earth with such precise ferocity was supposed to steel one's heart from feeling these bitter strikes at the center of my soul, and yet, here I find myself again. Answering death's call, my grief at the ready. I received a knock at the door of the Manor at 11:30 PM. A pair of uniformed officers, barely even half my age, waiting for me in the pouring rain. They tell me that they've arranged for me to be escorted into the city. Their words ringing in my ears as they've spoken of an unthinkable tragedy. Master Thomas and Lady Martha. They...

I suppose it does not do anyone any good to detail the grotesquely violent manner in which they were taken. Nor do I feel it necessary to offer my opinion of the event itself. I was, after all, not present for it. A fact of which shall haunt me until my dying day. Would I have been able to prevent it? Were the instinct to take hold, would seven years' service of training in combat medicine and the theater arts have given me some disproportionate advantage against their murderer? Perhaps not. But were it required for me to lay down my life for either party, for they were two of the finest people I shall ever know, I would have done so without question.

But the burden of my grief for their passing shall have to wait. In some small way, perhaps, the shock of their sudden removal from this life will allow me to carry on with my duties. For as important as it may be to honor the memory of the Wayne family, the tragic reality is that they are not the last of their bloodline. They left behind a son. A small, inconsolable boy whose life was just shattered amongst the rain. Carelessly taken for granted in a world where the horrors of humanity are becoming a more frequent companion to any redemptive qualities one might find.

Young Master Bruce. How I should hope that you never have to read this entry. For this night may undoubtedly be your darkest, my immense task shall be to guide you as far away from these memories as possible. Though I am neither your father or your blood relation, I owe it to your parents to try my very best. The world has such greater things in store for you than this, and when you are to come of age, I shall be comforted to see the pain of losing your family be washed away by your immeasurable success. In time, perhaps we shall even look back at this night as a faint glimmer in your life's overall story.

One could certainly dream.

Two shots ring out into the Gotham City nightscape. In a space where three individuals once stood, a boy drops to his knees and screams. 

The gunman grabs the couple's valuables and flees for his life, never once daring to look back at the sobbing child's immeasurable loss. He simply wanted them to hand over some spare cash, he tells himself in between fits of panic. Why didn't they just give it to him? 

He doesn't stop to question that line of thinking. He doesn't stop, period, as the sirens begin to sound off a mere block away. The police are already on his tail, and this idiot's still holding the smoking weapon. He hops a chain-link fence, lands hard, and takes off down a dark alleyway. His ankle beginning to lock up, the thug gasps for breath as he pitches the gun into a nearby open dumpster. Long as he has the cash, he can stay alive long enough to buy a new one. That's what the man wearing a sports jacket labelled "J" above the faded starting number for the Gotham Knights tells himself to remain assured that he didn't just shoot a couple of people for no good reason, that he didn't make an orphan out of some kid who never meant him any harm. That he didn't just fuck up and ruin his own damned life.

"Jesus Christ, call an ambulance! We've got a couple of gunshot victims on West 39th!"
"Over there! I think I hear footsteps..."
"He's over there! He's over there! In pursuit of suspect!"
"You two! Cut him off on the opposite alley at O'Neil Jewelers!"

The harsh barking of orders from a fedora adorned detective echoes out from behind the mugger, giving him even more reason to keep pushing past his aging body's limitations. He tosses the hat that he wore to keep his identity conspicuous, in the event that there were unexpected witnesses to his crime. He'd worked up the courage to do something like this for months, and it all seemed to go swimmingly in his mind. A pair of bodies, no kid, no police. It was supposed to be clean and simple. But he'd gotten desperate, and desperation had evaporated what was left of his patience, putting him squarely in the line of sight for Gotham's dirtiest bunch of crooks, the GCPD. He wouldn't have been surprised, he thinks, if they were on their way to collect protection money whenever they heard his two-bit 22. go off. 

But that was just how it rolled. In Gotham City, you were either born as the top fish, or you always got swallowed up by the bigger one. And ever since The Roman's Holiday Massacre of 1929, the top fish in town was always the one in control of the cops. Sergio Falcone had taken a dive so that his own son could plunge the city into open chaos during one night that served as a grotesque power shift between rival factions of the mob. In alot of ways, it felt like the city would never recover from that night. And here this clown was, trying to scrape a couple of bucks off of some punk's mom and dad. He shook his head to himself, wondering how he'd ever worked up the stones to try and pull this pathetic stunt off. The amount of money he'd stuffed into his jacket was probably worth far less than this month's rent. 

Just as it seemed that he'd outrun his pursuers, tires screeched out across the street infront of him. Red and blue lights shot out against the pitch black darkness, causing the crook to slide to a complete stop and stumble forward. He flailed wildly, trying to push himself up, but he heard the clicks of their weapons. He saw the slicked shoes coming towards him, and worse, he could sense even more coming his way from the rear. He was cornered, and this was over. He'd violated his parole, and this would easily send him back to the pen for life. 

"FREEZE!"

"Don't even blink, asshole! We've got you pinned from all sides! Let's see those hands!"

"You're under arrest for armed robbery and double homicide! Put your hands on your head and lie forward on the ground!"

With an exasperated breath, the sweating crook complied with the officer's demands. His chin soon found itself against the pavement, and he could feel the cold steel of the officer's handcuffs snap hard against his wrists. Two sets of hands pulled him to his feet, and in a moment he'd feel particularly ashamed of later, a third officer pulled out the earnings of his crime: a measily fifty-seven dollars in cash. The criminal looked on with shock, swearing that there had been more. The way the bills were stacked, it seemed like so much more. But he'd killed two people over less than the going price of the gold necklace adorned around his neck. The criminal hung his head in shame as the officers forced him against the nearby squad car, patting him down for the murder weapon or any other unpleasant surprises. 

"And so began the true end of Johnny 'The Spider' LaMonica's life..."

Mugshots from that night flash across the screen, showing the real-life Gotham City gunman that looked practically unrecognizable next to the actor that had just been shown playing him in a very dramatic re-enactment. The actual LaMonica's forehead was busted open, clearly suggesting a more violent encounter with the police than the television program had been permitted to show. Stories like this were often alot worse than they were presented as told. 

"Caught dead to rights in the city's East End, LaMonica was arrested and charged with the murder of local grociers Edwin and Patrice Prewitt on October 12th, 1951. One of the more prominent couples in the city's growing community of African-American leaders of business at the start of the 30's, Edwin Prewitt and his wife were considered patron saints of the Park Row slums, with many residents portraying them as lively storytellers, eager to spin a yarn about Gotham's glory days for any customer that seemed to want to listen."

Tragically, a pair of photographs show the victims of LaMonica's crime in happier spirits, with Edwin Prewitt playing an impromptu set of drums outside the entrance of his supermarket, clearly helping out a group of street performers looking to make an honest dollar. His wife looks on, mid-laugh, as a vague tune can be heard in tandem with another set of photographs of the two together. 

"It was this crime, among notable others, that led to Gotham's restructuring of Park Row as the now infamous Crime Alley. And their murderer, as identified by their grieving grandson, the sole witness at the scene, would soon face two life sentences in exchange for coldly taking the couple away in the midst of a botched robbery. LaMonica pleaded no contest, with his lawyer stating at the time that the known trigger for hire had expressed deep remorse for the senseless act, citing his inability to keep a steady job following the criminal takeover of the East End by the Falcone Crime Family as his only motive."

Grainy newsreel footage shows LaMonica, in prison stripes, being led out to an awaiting Blackgate Penitentiary escort amidst a field of reporters.

"Though speculation at the time pointed towards it being a racially motivated assault turned calculated murder, the Prewitt's grandson would later cooaborate LaMonica's version of events during an adulthood interview in retrospect. LaMonica was eventually locked away on August 3rd of the following year, leaving behind a tragic legacy that the victim's family would never be able to escape."

Unexpectedly cutting back to a panaround shot of the actor playing Johnny LaMonica in the re-enactment, now dressed in a prison uniform and sitting in an obvious television set's recreation of an interrogation room, the show keeps "LaMonica's" side profile in focus as the door opens. Two suited men enter, throwing down a lengthy file and staring the crook directly in the face. LaMonica's tired eyes, likely an effect of makeup, stare blankly at the mustached member of the pair. 

"But would that be the end of The Black Spider's story? Or would this so-called 'deep remorse' act as fuel to an escalating fire within Johnny LaMonica, arguably put into this position by the very criminal factions that he used to run with?"

After a silent moment between them, the suited man nods to someone on the other side of the door to the room. In walks a third party, a member of the prison staff, carrying a massive suitcase. LaMonica looks confused, but distinctly intrigued. Something more is going on here. Something much bigger than him, it seems, as the camera focuses on the badges pinned to the suited men's lapels. The letters 'FBI' shine against the glare of the light, dramatically recontextualizing this seemingly innocuous meeting. 

"He had the motive. He had nowhere to turn. And as far as the world was concerned, no one was ever going to miss a lifer that had plainly made his bed and chosen to lie in it. What if, instead of the reported hanging that would seal LaMonica's fate in the history books as a man who'd chosen to take the easy way out, The Black Spider had chosen to align himself with Uncle Sam's top men? What if the hanging was a cover-up made to conceal the fact that LaMonica had simply traded one animal moniker..."

The suitcase lands, hard, onto the table infront of him. The convict takes it with both hands, and slowly lifts open the top half, revealing contents which clearly shock LaMonica to his core. 

"For another?"

The camera pans around, finally revealing what's inside the suitcase.

A fearsome, leathery black garb, seemingly extended from a mask attached to a folded cloak.

A black garb in the form of a Bat. 

"I'm Waylon Jones. And tonight, we're asking Gotham City to contemplate the question that has rested on the minds of each citizen for half a century: which one of their own could have possibly been... The Batman?"

Lightning strikes, ever dramatically, across LaMonica's face as he raises the cowl to meet his own. The scene fades out to a heavily produced title card, displaying an assortment of headshots and mugshots alike across a golden banner, with the center filmstrip reading off the program's all too familiar title: 

A loud cough interrupts the program just as it goes to commercial, prompting the junior member of the board of directors - who had been streaming the latest episode of Gotham's hit "reality" television show on his smartphone, while waiting for this meeting to begin - to suddenly look up and gauge the room around him. Practically everyone was either staring or side-glancing him, having noticed that he'd put in his wireless earbuds and wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. 

Adjusting his tie, nervously, the 31-year-old proceeded to remove the buds and place his phone on lock, quickly slipping it into the pocket of his suit's jacket. If his face weren't a shade of red before, it certainly was now, looking toward the far more professionally dressed woman standing at the end of the long table.

"If we could have everyone's attention before we proceed?"

The younger member of the board places his hands together, nodding silently while refusing to make eye contact. The woman merely shot him a stern look of disapproval before turning her attention towards the digital clipboard that she held firmly infront, marking down a note with the strokes of her fingertip. 

"Glad to see that we're all equally as engaged. Please continue with the next phase of your pitch, Mr. Isley."

A red-headed gentleman adorned in a several-thousand dollar suit glances over his shoulder, clearly annoyed at the sudden interruption, but quickly composes himself and clears his own throat. He gestures to the image floating infront of him, projected via hologram. 

"Yes, well. As I was saying, esteemed members of the board, I feel as though the next logical step for this company to take is one that evokes a more vested interest in New Gotham's economical growth than we've seen in the last decade."

Waving his hand over the hologram, Arthur Isley watches as a digitally reconstructed neighborhood of Gotham's slums becomes a theoretical haven of modern shopping, with several dummy businesses - such as a smartphone carrier, a couple of trendy restraunts, a corporately owned boutique, and a clothing store - appearing in the places of buildings seemingly abandoned and left to ruin over the years. Some eyebrows raise, while others sit intrigued. 

"While these are just a few examples of the jobs we'd be creating if we pursued my initiative, imagine if we invest in enough neighborhoods to provide these spaces to prospective small business owners aswell as the local corporations. What you see here reflects a more traditional sense of systemic consumer output, but what if we could diversify the palate? What if we could actually turn one of the city's most notorious neighborhoods, affected in equal measure by crime and the impoverished conditions that have made these streets practically uninhabitable, into a more attractive lure for tourism?"

Several of the storefronts change, reflecting Isley's 'diversity' - though each new business seems to be a hollow imitation of the ones that came before it. Still, several members of the board eye eachother, clearly seeing the potential in such an investment. 

"And if there's anything Gotham ever needed at this stage of it's economical lifespan, I would say tourism ranks far higher than the more steady approach we've taken in the past. While vital city resources have come to rely on us for land development, market research has suggested that the margin of tourism has dipped by over sixty-one percent ever since the implementation of Mayor Dent's Blackgate Wall."

Placing his hands together, Isley initiates the hologram's shutdown, triggering the overhead lights to come on and illuminate the room. 

"Bottom line? This company's focus on reaching out to those affected by the conditions of the Mayor's strict documentation regimine for leaving the suburbs of Old Gotham is, while I can agree to be a noble cause, leaving the rest of the city to hang out to dry up in the current landscape. While we've no shortage of practical businesses operating out of the area, what we need is a firm invitation to people across the country - nay, across the world - that Gotham is once again open for business. Not just for local consumers, but to the casual market aswell."

Looking upon the room, Isley's eye darts to a seat at the very front that's been turned away from him for the entire meeting. It remains turned towards the large window overseeing the city below them, with the sunlight just barely reaching the chair's as-of-yet silent occupant. Isley raises an eyebrow, turning towards the individual members of the board.

"Are there any objections? Questions? Any feedback at all?"

While some go to speak up, evidently ready to share their own opinions, a voice of a much lower register cuts them off before any can attempt to broaden the discussion. 

"This proposal is absurd."

Isley's annoyance only grows as several members of the board are caught off guard by the harshness of the older man's tone. The chair slowly spins around to meet the stewing business executive's gaze with an equal amount of contempt. Dressed in an entirely black suit with a silk tie that clearly costs more than any given part of the room itself, the elderly CEO of Wayne International remains completely, almost chillingly still as he continues to outline his displeasure. 

"Gauging tourism, in my experience, has always proven to be a temporary fix for much bigger problems. And while we can certainly try and make the city seem appealing from afar, the fact remains that nobody's coming to invest their money here anytime soon. You of all people should know why, Arthur."

Isley, while clearly flustered, stands as one of the few in the room completely unintimidated by the commanding presence of the 81-year-old.

"Perhaps you'd care to enlighten us, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce Wayne sneers, slowly rising from his chair.

"While your people have been conducting market research, I've been paying more attention to the headlines. The crucial element of engaging tourists that you're missing is good publicity. And publicity for Gotham ever since Dent took office has been decidedly unkind. While most consider us to simply be bad for business, I keep hearing a common refrain used to describe the state of the city."

By the time he's fully stood, Wayne clearly stands a few inches taller than Isley, even at his advanced age. It quite literally casts a shadow over the executive, whose brow furrows when confronted with the debilitating fact. 

"Dystopian."

Isley scoffs, turning towards his fellow members.

"An overexaggeration, I assure you."

"But a believable conceit in the minds of the public."

His hand gripping a polished wooden cane, Wayne begins to walk across the whole of the table as he eyes each individual member of the board himself. They're quick to pay attention, as the aging billionaire has spent a good portion of his life building up a reputation for blunt honesty, something that Isley seems to shy away from.

"The reason that Wayne International has been reaching out to the, as you call them, victims of 'documentation' is because we've devoted our resources towards helping those that are financially unable to provide the city with sustainable business. Not only those living in complete poverty, but those struggling to even stay afloat. Even if we were to cut out a swath of land for an investor with a modern sensibility, the fact remains that without the citizens of Old Gotham and New Gotham working together to provide revenue, we'd be delivering a staggeringly empty promise. In the short-term, that could be damaging. In the long-term, crippling."

Turning to meet the whole of the assembled board members, Wayne's face is only partially lit as he continues to outline why the proposal won't work. It's an image that unnerves even the stoic Arthur before the elder Wayne eventually steps forward to become fully illuminated.

"Our focus is to be dedicated to uniting both halves of a city that our Mayor has carelessly sought to divide. And as long as I'm still CEO, that's where it will remain. Vote however you wish, but I think I can safely speak for most of our stockholders when I say that Mr. Isley's proposal will solve nothing."

Arthur crosses his arms as his barely contained frustration washes over him.

"All in favor?"

A deafening silence fills the room, causing Isley to bitterly sigh. 

"All opposed?"

Unanimously, the entire board raises their hands. Wayne's gaze never leaves Isley as he turns to head back to his seat.

"Meeting adjourned."

Helped back into his seat by his assistant, who hands him her clipboard while simultaneously beginning to pour him a glass of water, Wayne removes two pills from his jacket's pocket and downs them before anyone can notice. Taking a careful swig of his drink, Wayne does everything he can to hide the fact that his pulse is racing. His breathing momentarily shallow. It would be an eye-opening glimpse at a titan of industry, were anyone paying attention to anything other than the desire to leave the room and resume business.

But just as the door opens and people begin to pour out, Arthur Isley takes a few steps forward. 

"And how exactly do you suggest that we unite this city, Mr. Wayne?"

"Your proposal is denied, Arthur. The meeting is over."

"But the discourse certainly isn't!"

Isley's outburst catches the attention of everyone. Wayne merely stares back.

"For months, I've been coming to this table - this same table from the same position - to do nothing but offer new ideas and expand the company beyond it's shrinking potential. And yet at every turn, you've made it your mission to cut every proposal down in it's infancy. The problem that the stockholders see with Wayne International is an inability to try something new, but you won't even let us get to that point. We're draining resources fast, and all because you tout an idealist's dream of bringing together a unified Gotham."

Isley finds himself leaning against the portion of the table directly infront of his boss, unafraid to get too close. 

"You're the leader of this company. So I implore you, Mr. Wayne, to lead us. Help us understand your strategy for doing the impossible."

Bruce leans forward. "It's called faith."

Isley corrects his posture, immediately on the counter-offense.

"It's called suicide. We need to be proactive if this company's going to last into the next decade and avoid a buyout. And hoping that Mayor Dent's crime prevention initiative magically goes away along with that wall is well within the area opposite of productivity."

As the members of the board look towards their CEO, Wayne remains curiously silent. 

"I realize that in your day, Gotham was an easier landscape to navigate. But we're suffocating under the conditions that you refuse to acknowledge as anything but temporary when, infact, all evidence points towards the contrary. I want to help the citizens of Old Gotham as much as you do, Bruce, but that's what the Wayne Foundation is for. And the whole of this company can't exist entirely as your charity."

Isley's tone borderlines on disrespect, but it's laced with enough truth to keep Wayne from an immediate retort. The two men clearly don't like one another, but the question of which one is ultimately right becomes more blurred as Isley speaks. 

"But you and I both know that already. You also know what this is really about. So with all due respect, I'll try not to waste any more of your valuable time."

As Arthur turns to leave, finally, Wayne eventually speaks up.

"Isley..."

Arthur pauses, but doesn't bother to turn around and face his superior. He knows all too well where this discussion will lead. He's already cursing the fact that he even tried persuading the old man to see it his way. And yet the next few words still send a tremble down the spine of each lingering member of the board.

"Bruce is reserved for friends."

Seemingly lowering his shoulders in defeat, Isley gathers up his materials and wordlessly exits the room, along with the rest of the board. While Wayne's assistant personally sees to escorting Arthur out of the room, for fear of another outburst, Bruce takes another sip of water. By the time the door closes, his steely gaze gives way to a look of tired, frustrated repetition.

He made the mistake of giving up on Gotham once, years ago. And it cost him everything he held dear. The Manor. His closest friends. The remnants of the family that he built. And the other part of himself that could have fixed this - could have solved the problem before it even began. 

If there's ever been a time for Bruce Wayne to remain hopeful that his city can power through the darkness, it's now. Because his days of fighting for Gotham are long since over. All he can do is sit back and allow it to try and heal itself. 

Because right now, it's limping.

"Package is en route to destination. I repeat, package is en route to destination..."

A figure watches from the darkness above Gotham as two trucks cross the bridge from Arkham Island. A shipment of materials from The Arkham Institute is on it's way to the Blackgate Wall, to be delivered back where they originated: GCPD's archival warehouse. The figure has waited weeks for an opportunity to sneak into the heavily guarded facility, but he wasn't sure of how to gain entrance until a request for research materials was processed. Turns out, there was a mistake, and no doctor from Arkham had requested any of the items onboard either truck. That would be what happens when a report is electronically falsified, as the figure knows all too well. After all, he was the one that falsified it. 

Perched atop two stone gargoyles, the figure briefly looks out across the Gotham skyline. He remembers, as a child, when it was brighter. The skies seemed to illuminate in a perpetual glow that cast the normally dangerous city in quite literally a safer light. But a sharp line now stands between that light and the people on the other side of the Blackgate Wall, cutting it off and leaving 'Old Gotham' in a shadowy landscape of terror and oppression. 

No more, the figure thinks to himself. After tonight, everything will change. 

It's been too long since Gotham's had a reason to believe again. 

In hope. 

In the future.

And especially in heroes.

The figure doesn't know whether he has what it takes to fill the void. But he's going to try his best, even if it kills him. And it may very well do so. Nevertheless, he positions himself firmly against the gargoyles that once were laid claim to by another man - and leaps into the night. 

The first of many.

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

Now, now, let's not make this yet another game where we dogpile on @Sep.

Let's save that for the mid-season.

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

Captain America, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Bruce Wayne, The Hulk, and Iron Man are all approved.

@HenryJonesJr

I'll accept this outcome, mostly because I'm aware of how terrifying you all clearly feel a raging hormonal Clark Kent would have been to unleash onto this game.

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A LB R U C E   W A Y N E

P H I L A N T H R O P I S T   ♦   G O T H A M   C I T Y  , N E W   J E R S E Y  ♦   W A Y N E   I N T E R N A T I O N A L
C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:

"Never again."

For over half a century, Gotham City had been protected from the forces of evil by an unseen guardian. Considered an urban myth whispered among a superstitious and cowardly criminal lot, those who had been saved by him and those who had been unfortunate enough to earn his wrath knew him only as The Batman. And as the times and traditions of Gotham's citizens changed, he remained the one true constant, striking terror into criminal factions of all creeds and urban terrorists that sought to challenge him through their own bizarre, inspired gimmicks. But with the aid of Commissioner James Gordon, his trusted and faithful servant Alfred, his one-time partner Robin, The Boy Wonder, and the use of his civilian identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne, The Batman crusaded against evil successfully for many years - until one fateful night in 1986 changed everything. 

Becoming hardened, grim and vicious, The Dark Knight Detective began to forgo the shadows and legitimately terrorize evildoers, leaving them maimed, broken, and scarred beyond repair. Some terrible evil had been committed against him, and those who knew him best were unable to comprehend how Gotham's greatest hero could have fallen so far. It wasn't until many years later, in a final fight against arguably his greatest foe, The Joker, that something finally shattered The Caped Crusader's restless spirit. Bruce Wayne realized that he'd come too close to the edge for comfort - or worse, that he may have even descended into the abyss without even realizing it. And so he made a choice. 

Retiring the cape and cowl, destroying the many weapons, gadgets, suits and vehicles that he'd used to operate as a vigilante, and going so far as to abandon Stately Wayne Manor and block off the fabled Batcave beneath, Wayne devoted himself to his philanthropic and financial efforts entirely. One way or another, The Batman was dead. And as soon as his absence became noticed, his rogue's gallery seemed to slowly dissipate, either dying out due to age, unfortunate circumstances, or retiring far away from Gotham to live in peace, their war against the masked vigilante having ended. With only a few remaining in Arkham and no further escapes reported, Gotham seemed to settle into a period of peace, seemingly affirming that The Batman's war on crime had escalated the very evil he sought to vanquish and that the city was better off without him. 

But while Batman's abscence may have left Gotham with eased tensions, they eventually began to boil over once again with a dramatic rise in street crime. With Commissioner Gordon having left the GCPD years earlier, a new civil servant had to rise up and challenge this escalating violence  - and to everyone's surprise, the one to answer the call would be Harvey Dent. The one-time criminal known as Two-Face, Dent had been given a clean bill of health and returned to civilian life shortly after his masked enemy retired. Having managed to amass a fortune that rivaled Bruce Wayne's own in the years following, Dent's charm and ambition managed to win him back the public's trust - aswell as an eventual election for Mayor of Gotham City. 

In a move that could only be seen as suspicious soon after taking office, one of Dent's first acts as Mayor was to erect a massive wall, blocking off the crime-ridden East End of Gotham City from the more fortunate West End, where the rich were accommodated while the poor were left to fend for themselves against common criminals and street gangs. Despite the best efforts of Commissioner Renee Montoya and the GCPD, whose members were beginning to align with Dent's promise of a Gotham where good and evil could be easily separated, The Blackgate Wall eventually stood as either an achievement in forceful dominion over crime or a testament to a city too far gone to be saved. Montoya eventually quit the force in disgust, leading the way for the ruthless Lyle Bolton to succeed her. But regardless of who was running the police, the massive blockade proved to be effective at preventing GCPD from interfering with what transpired in what was then dubbed "Old Gotham", with even fewer citizens of "New Gotham" willing to lend a hand. While some initially heeded the legend of The Batman as an example to try and take back their streets, those that fought back were soon eliminated by a vicious gang of masked criminals calling themselves The Disciples Of Order. 

In the year 2020, all hope seems lost. Bruce Wayne is 81 years old, forced into a pending retirement as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. The once gallivanting socialite has turned into a bitter old hermit, never seen among the public between his hours at the office and the many nights spent alone on the top floor of Wayne Tower, overlooking the city he once would have given his life for - wishing desperately to be able to defend it once again, but physically and mentally unable to return to the mantle of The Bat. In his mind, he is poised to die a failure, leaving behind a Gotham City torn apart by the very sort of criminal that murdered his parents.

It is only until a mysterious figure treads the soiled ground where a ghostly Wayne Manor now stands and begins digging, reaching the partially collapsed ruins of The Batcave beneath with the intent to steal a very important book - The Journal Of Alfred J. Pennyworth - that the quest for Gotham's salvation begins again. Someone out there knows Gotham's biggest secret, and they're determined to continue the fight whether Bruce Wayne allows it or not.

The Batman is dead. 

Long live The Batman.

C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:
This concept is the most ambitious endeavor I've ever attempted with the character. It's not so much about one single narrative - with the exception of Bruce Wayne and the new Batman's perspectives, since they're the protagonists - as it is the biggest statement I have about the myth and legacy of Batman and how that can affect a Gotham City which has seemingly lost it's hope. When Bruce began as a vigilante, he was trying to save a corrupt version of the city. This is the antithesis, where the war was seemingly won, but the corruption naturally took back over after the age of the costumed supervillain passed. There's been no one there to stop it - until now.

I've taken alot of inspiration from notable Elseworlds stories, including The Dark Knight Returns, Year 100, Brotherhood Of The Bat, The Batman of Bethlehem, White Knight, Arkham City, a very tiny bit of Batman Beyond, and the general history of the character in comics, films, television, games, and everything in between. I've also taken some inspiration from stuff like HBO's Watchmen, Logan, Netflix's Daredevil, and the current political climate of The United States to really try and tell a story with some meat to it. It's going to be something very personal that I hope can be wholly mine and yet honor everything that Batman is and has been for the last 81 years.

C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:
Gotham is home to many characters that operate within the new status quo of a city quite literally divided. Very few of the original rogues gallery remain, and if they do, they're far too diminished to make any trouble now. But there are quite a few recognizable names that still appear within the city that will make up the supporting cast of Bruce Wayne and the as-of-yet-unidentified Caped Crusader.

Once the dashing and crusading District Attorney of Gotham City, Harvey Dent's campaign against the likes of mobsters Salvatore Maroni and Rupert Thorne resulted in a face full of acid that helped split his sanity into two distinct personalities. Becoming Two-Face, the criminal mastermind modeled himself after the gangsters that had ruined his life, taking out the competition in a bloody war for Gotham's streets. Giving up his own sense of free will, he relied solely on defaced silver dollar to decide the outcome of his crimes - which proved to be his ultimate undoing, when Batman used this weakness against him in their final battle, destroying the coin and rendering Two-Face unable to act. Surrendering to authorities, Dent was committed to Arkham and underwent intense therapeutic sessions for nearly twenty years. But against all odds, Two-Face was eventually purged, and Harvey's immense sense of guilt for his many crimes eventually convinced the board of directors that he was sane enough to be released. With Batman having disappeared, Dent saw the city rise up from the chaos only to fall again. Determined to prove that his legacy as a crusader for justice would outlive his legacy as Two-Face, Dent used his knowledge as a lawyer to craft a masterful Mayoral campaign, promising to separate the good people of Gotham from the criminal underworld that sought to bring the city to ruin. A promise he unfortunately made good upon with the Blackgate Wall, bringing tensions to the forefront in a way that he either never expected or willfully ignores, having become an elitist who would prefer to rebuild part of Gotham than to cure the whole of it.

Bruce Wayne's ex-wife, formerly the master thief known as The Catwoman. While she remained loyal at his side for over a decade as he waged his neverending war on crime, often joining him in the pursuit of criminals with her own thrill-seeking flair, Selina eventually realized that her husband's obsession with operating as Batman was only going to end in tragedy - a premonition that would come about rather cruelly. When a clash between Batman and The Joker indirectly led to the miscarriage of Bruce and Selina's would-be child, the pain of that loss solidified into an irreconcilable split between them, leaving The Dark Knight to walk a much lonelier path than he had ever before. Selina has been globe-trotting for the better part of two decades, putting as much space between her and Bruce as possible. Whether she'll ever really return is anyone's guess.

A brilliant engineer that helped to reshape the once-decrepit Arkham Asylum into The Arkham Institute in the 21st century, Tim's history with The Batman is complex as it is dormant. As boy, he was rescued by the vigilante firsthand during a massive fire caused by the villain Firefly, creating a lifelong obsession and dedication to justice that might not have otherwise existed. Though he's largely put his faith in The Caped Crusader behind him following the disappearance of Batman and Gotham's restructuring under Mayor Dent, Drake was still able to piece together a secret that has remained hidden for decades - that beneath the cowl, at one time, was the now elderly billionaire Bruce Wayne.

The sole remaining ally that Bruce didn't manage to drive away in all his years as The Dark Knight, Gordon is now in the twilight of his life, having long since retired from his role as Gotham's storied Police Commissioner. Living well at the age of 96 years old, despite a few close calls, he acts as an unofficial consultant for the GCPD, keeping the discretion of the few good officers who look towards him for guidance when put against the overt corruption of the new Commissioner, Lyle Bolton. Wayne occasionally visits Gordon in times of crisis, hoping that the presence of his old friend can quell any temptation that might remain to once again act outside the law.

The leader of The Guild Of Shadows, a group of followers in the methods of the original League Of Shadows, before it was tainted by bloodshed to become The League Of Assassins under Damian's grandfather, Ra's al Ghul. Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, conceived during a brief period in which The Dark Knight considered succeeding Ra's as Son Of The Demon. It was only when Talia realized Bruce could never truly part with his mission to protect Gotham that she falsified a miscarriage, a fact that would later create a permanent rift between Talia and her beloved. Surprisingly loyal to The Batman's code of ethics, it would appear, Damian has nevertheless been unable to reach his father and form a legitimate bond.

Having briefly acted as the vigilante Batgirl, fighting alongside Batman after the departure of Robin and disappearance of Catwoman, Barbara eventually gave up the life of a crimefighter to entertain a career in law enforcement. But unlike her father, Barbara could recognize the cracks in the system that were allowing repeat offenders to terrorize Gotham's streets despite Batman and the GCPD's best efforts. And so she eventually became disillusioned with both the badge and the Bat, opting to run for local office against her corrupt colleagues. Now serving her second term as District Attorney of Gotham City, her days are spent torn between a tireless legal effort against Mayor Dent's growing authority and her ailing father, who she fears isn't long for this world. She was made aware of Batman's dual identity as Bruce Wayne, and has chosen to remain silent out of respect for her father's admiration of him - but having witnessed the vigilante's brutal methods up close, she's far from a fan.

Currently a member of the Gotham City Police Department, Duke's willpower is second to none after being forged by tragedy. Witnessing his parents succumb to a debilitating strain of Joker Toxin as a teenager, Duke was saved by Batman from the clown's wrath and forever changed, determined to become The Dark Knight's partner after the original Robin had long since abandoned his post to become the vigilante Nightwing. But despite Duke's best efforts, he was rebuffed by the increasingly hostile Batman, leading him to pursue a more legitimate path following the retirement of Commissioner James Gordon. He now serves as a partner in the Major Crimes Unit to Lieutenant Jason Bard, pursuing a mentality that Gotham's streets need to be taken back by the people Batman inspired.

Raised by a couple of loving foster parents, Lucy Quinzell discovered the truth about her bloodline after she was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 14 - that in reality, she had been the daughter of The Joker and Harley Quinn. Learning that her biological mother had been killed in 1992 during a scuffle between her father and his hated enemy, The Batman, Lucy became consumed with the idea that the masked vigilante had murdered her mother and began to grow resentful of a city that seemed to worship him while demonizing her father. Leaning into her psychosis and turning her delusions into violent behavior, Lucy eventually used a straight razor to kill her 'false' family - including her adoptive father, adoptive mother, and adoptive brother - before disappearing for a number of years. Resurfacing as the clown-themed villainess Hyena, Lucy sought to bring chaos bring to a city that was desperately seeking order. Now, she prepares to commit a grand act of terrorism that will unravel Mayor Dent's work to keep the peace in New Gotham, amassing a group of loyalists that she refers to as 'The Mistahs' to help her enact vengeance in the name of her true parents.

Born from the affair of the infamous crimelord and an unnamed cocktail waitress working at The Iceberg Lounge, Nathaniel Cobblepot grew up far away from Gotham City in what was considered The Penguin's only true act of compassion. Receiving only the best education that the world abroad had to offer, Nathaniel grew up to become a spoiled, arrogant playboy that shunned his father's legacy whenever possible, seeing Oswald Cobblepot as a failure who turned to petty crime after being too weak to take back his family's fortune through legitimate means. A cunning businessman in his own right, Nathaniel invested in several fortune 500 companies and became a billionaire in his own right. But the all-too-familiar lure of criminal pursuits eventually drove Nathaniel down his father's path, turning him into a leading seller on the Black Market of weapons and narcotics. A chance to return to Gotham eventually came in an invitation from none other than Harvey Dent, who sought an adviser in an upcoming Mayoral race. Dent had long respected The Penguin's business tactics, but despised the man himself, figuring that his son would be a suitable replacement. Tempted by the chance to fully humiliate his father by doing what he never could, Nathaniel made the arrangements and now sits on a throne of misery and wealth as the new Penguin.

When Poison Ivy wished to sire a daughter that wasn't born of her experiments with plant mutations, she found the perfect unwitting host in the form of Edward Nigma, better known as The Riddler. Convincing him to cooperate through her pheromones, Pamela Isley soon gave birth to the disappointment of her life - a son, not a daughter. Rejecting him almost immediately, declaring that man had spurned both her and the natural resources of the world, Ivy placed the baby in the care of her one-time ally, Catwoman. Burdened with a child of her own due to be born with her husband, Bruce Wayne, Selina and Alfred Pennyworth arranged for the child - whom they named Arthur, after the inventor of the crossword puzzle as a means of giving Edward some part in the boy's legacy - to be raised by Leslie Thompkins. Ever the kindly caretaker, Leslie taught Arthur the nature of compassion and healing before she eventually passed away, leaving Arthur to succeed her in operating Gotham's only health clinic for the less fortunate. Turning the struggling clinic into an overnight success as he came of age, Arthur eventually opened the Leslie Thompkins Memorial Hospital and gave the good people of Gotham a proper medical facility to rely on. With this achievement, Arthur sought to expand his commitment to Gotham by campaigning for a seat at the board of directors' table of Wayne International, noting Leslie's close connection to the Wayne family. There's only been one obstacle standing in his way: CEO Bruce Wayne, who cynically suspects criminal intent from Arthur due to his biological parentage being that of two of Batman's greatest enemies. After years of trying to convince the old man that he's not out to become either his father or his mother, Arthur eventually won his place on the board and regularly tries to earn Wayne's respect - almost predictably, to no avail.

Originally started by a gathering of the last remaining remnants of The Red Hood Gang, The False-Face Society, The Royal Flush Gang, and other followers of Gotham's most notorious super-criminals, the borderline cultist group The Disciples Of Order came into true prominence with the election of Harvey Dent, with the group adopting a Two-Face themed mantra of doling out a vicious perversion of justice in the name of balancing out Gotham's 'natural order' of criminal conduct. Each member is anonymous, ranging from those living in poverty to the very top of the elite, but their mission is clear: with the flip of a coin, they will decide the fate of each and every individual citizen of Gotham City. Good heads, the victim will be left alive. Bad heads, and they'll be rendered nothing but a memory. Only fate can spare those from The Disciples' wrath, and fate has seemingly favored death, as the body count of the fringe group of terrorists begins rising with each passing day.

And finally...

In response to a tragic event from their past, a mysterious figure that is much more physically able than Bruce Wayne to carry out the Dark Knight's war against crime will soon emerge to try and quell escalating tensions between the citizens of "Old Gotham" and "New Gotham". Virtually nothing is known about this new Batman, other than the fact that in order to acquire all that he has to pursue his crusade against Mayor Dent and the escalating class war that threatens Gotham, he's at least aware that the original Batman was Bruce Wayne - aswell as many other crucial secrets related to Gotham's history that would be able to lead one towards the path of succeeding The Caped Crusader. Bruce Wayne is personally unaware of who the new Batman is, and in his paranoia, will likely begin efforts to try and deduce his identity in the event that the copycat ends up falling short of the model that inspired him - even if his appearance may yet rekindle hope in the people of Gotham that their masked savior hasn't abandoned them.

The Once Deadly... And The Dead
Many of Batman's original rogues gallery were either scared off by their arch-nemesis' newly gruesome approach to striking fear into the hearts of his enemies, forced into retirement by debilitating circumstances, or simply died off due to a varying number of causes. Whatever the case may be, their names are almost as mythic as Batman's own, even now existing as whispers within the halls of The Arkham Institute from the mouths of those who still remember. They are...

Status unknown. Many believe he was killed by The Batman in their climatic battle, resulting in the latter's retirement for crossing such a sacred line. But there are those that believe there's more to the story - some are even determined to prove it, believing that when the opportunity for the perfect punchline to Gotham's chaotic state arises, The Clown Prince of Crime will re-emerge to deliver it.

Retired. Formerly the reigning crime boss of Gotham following the deaths of Carmine Falcone, Sal Maroni, and any other would-be criminal families, Oswald Cobblepot eventually lost control of his thriving empire thanks to the efforts of Batman's relentless pursuit to put him away in Blackgate. Though The Dark Knight was never entirely successful in seeing Cobblepot serve a sentence in prison, karma eventually caught up to the aging gangster when a heart attack and stroke rendered him a complete invalid. Now pushing 87, Cobblepot lives an undignified existence as a resident of a Coast City nursing home, put there by the cunning and entirely spiteful inheritor of his vast fortune - his son, Nathaniel.

Retired. A permanent resident of The Arkham Institute, Edward Nigma's obsession with proving his intellectual superiority over every citizen of Gotham, particularly The Batman, eventually caused him to have a nervous breakdown that he never entirely recovered from. In a tryst with Poison Ivy, controlled by her mind-altering pheromones, Edward produced a son that he's too hopelessly insane to even recognize at this point. Considered harmless, despite his unending compulsion to speak entirely in brainteasers, Edward lives within a waking nightmare of thoughts that can no longer escape his fractured mind as the other residents of Arkham relentlessly mock the over-the-hill ex-criminal's continued delusions of grandier.

Reformed. One of the few success stories to come out of the era of costumed criminals and crusaders, Victor Fries' cold heart eventually thawed when Bruce Wayne, in an astonishing act of compassion, utilized his vast resources to finally cure Victor's beloved wife, Nora. With his motivation for criminal conduct erased, the former cryogeneticist walked away from a life fueled by hatred and pain in an effort to reunite with Nora. Giving himself over to the police almost immediately, Fries was given a light sentence in exchange for co-operating with the GCPD in building a state-of-the-art series of cryogenic chambers that would preserve bodies more efficiently than the standard methods of preservation, leading to earlier deductions in murder cases and pushing forensic technology ahead by several years. With his time spent serving justice, Victor eventually even pulled off a miracle himself by curing his body of the need to exist only within zero temperatures. He now lives a normal, happier life with Nora and their new children, only occasionally called upon to consult for new technologies developed by Wayne International.

Reformed. Waylon Jones holds the distinct honor of being Batman's only foe to transition from ruthless criminal brute to the world of celebrity stardom. After coming to the conclusion that he had spent over half of his life either incarcerated or in Arkham Asylum, Jones went about another path that subsided his animalistic nature and tried his hand at underground boxing. Being careful not to cross the line into unlawful territory, the former "Killer Croc" was sought out by a talent agency to endorse a line of skin-care products. Despite the inherent irony, Jones took a chance and became a beloved figure of the media once he published his first novel, I Threw A Rock At Him: The Waylon Jones Story, telling his side of things in regards to his many clashes with the GCPD and The Dark Knight. Having acted in television, produced an album, and even started his own charity for people with disfigurements, Jones now enjoys his life as the narrator to the popular reality television series Legends Of The Dark Knight, a program devoted to speculating the identity of The Caped Crusader.

Residents Of The Arkham Institute

Julian Day
Thomas Elliot
Hugo Strange
Drury Walker
Jervis Tetch
Arnold Wesker

The Dead

Poison Ivy
1966-1997. Transmutated.

Bane
1965-2012. Overdose.

Ra's Al Ghul
????-2005. Natural Causes.

The Scarecrow
1941-2008. Heart Attack.

Harley Quinn
1952-1992. Murdered.

Deadshot
1950-2016. Suicide.

Firefly
1952-2012. Asphyxiation.

Victor Zsasz
1972-2005. Shivved.

P O S T   C A T A L O G:

THE DARK KNIGHT LIVES
1. And I Heard, As It Were, The Voice Of Thunder

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

To hell with it! If Bruce isn't accepted, this is my backup.

C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A LS U P E R B O Y

C L A R K   J O S E P H   K E N T♦   J U N I O R   R E P O R T E R  ♦   S M A L L V I L L E   ,   K A N S A S♦ T H E   D A I L Y  S T A R   -  S M A L L V I L L E  H I G H  E D I T I O N
C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:

"This looks like a job for Superboy!"
This application is for Superman, but like, as a teenager. He does regular Superman stuff like saving the world, making out with a teenage version of Lois Lane, battling teenage versions of Brainiac, Doomsday, and Metallo, but he does it while balancing having to do homework and chores around the Kent Farm. It's Superman but not!

C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:
I 'unno. He'll be going through super-puberty, I guess?

C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:
Perry White, Age 17
Lois Lane, Age 15
Jimmy Olsen, Age 8
Ma And Pa Kent
Lex Luthor, Jr.
Lana Lang, Age 15 (She'll be like a Betty to Lois' Veronica)
Pete Ross, Age 14
Mr. Mxyzptlk, Age 1,000,002
Grant Morrison, Age 60
Neil Gaiman, Age 59
Alan Moore, Age Unknown, Possibly Immortal

P O S T   C A T A L O G:
A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

Curious, though. Are you completely retconning the previous Batman Beyond character with this reboot? Or is Terry's time under the cowl still canon?@Retired

It's a retcon. Bruce will have been the only Batman until this new guy shows up. As much as I love Beyond and what Wraith did with Terry, I felt I had to do my own thing just as Wraith had to do his own thing following Byrd's tenure. 

In Absolute Comics - Justice Rising → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A LB R U C E   W A Y N E

P H I L A N T H R O P I S T   ♦   G O T H A M   C I T Y  , N E W   J E R S E Y  ♦   W A Y N E   I N T E R N A T I O N A L
C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:

"Never again."

For over half a century, Gotham City had been protected from the forces of evil by an unseen guardian. Considered an urban myth whispered among a superstitious and cowardly criminal lot, those who had been saved by him and those who had been unfortunate enough to earn his wrath knew him only as The Batman. And as the times and traditions of Gotham's citizens changed, he remained the one true constant, striking terror into criminal factions of all creeds and urban terrorists that sought to challenge him through their own bizarre, inspired gimmicks. But with the aid of Commissioner James Gordon, his trusted and faithful servant Alfred, his one-time partner Robin, The Boy Wonder, and the use of his civilian identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne, The Batman crusaded against evil successfully for many years - until one fateful night in 1986 changed everything. 

Becoming hardened, grim and vicious, The Dark Knight Detective began to forgo the shadows and legitimately terrorize evildoers, leaving them maimed, broken, and scarred beyond repair. Some terrible evil had been committed against him, and those who knew him best were unable to comprehend how Gotham's greatest hero could have fallen so far. It wasn't until many years later, in a final fight against arguably his greatest foe, The Joker, that something finally shattered The Caped Crusader's restless spirit. Bruce Wayne realized that he'd come too close to the edge for comfort - or worse, that he may have even descended into the abyss without even realizing it. And so he made a choice. 

Retiring the cape and cowl, destroying the many weapons, gadgets, suits and vehicles that he'd used to operate as a vigilante, and going so far as to abandon Stately Wayne Manor and block off the fabled Batcave beneath, Wayne devoted himself to his philanthropic and financial efforts entirely. One way or another, The Batman was dead. And as soon as his absence became noticed, his rogue's gallery seemed to slowly dissipate, either dying out due to age, unfortunate circumstances, or retiring far away from Gotham to live in peace, their war against the masked vigilante having ended. With only a few remaining in Arkham and no further escapes reported, Gotham seemed to settle into a period of peace, seemingly affirming that The Batman's war on crime had escalated the very evil he sought to vanquish and that the city was better off without him. 

But while Batman's abscence may have left Gotham with eased tensions, they eventually began to boil over once again with a dramatic rise in street crime. With Commissioner Gordon having left the GCPD years earlier, a new civil servant had to rise up and challenge this escalating violence  - and to everyone's surprise, the one to answer the call would be Harvey Dent. The one-time criminal known as Two-Face, Dent had been given a clean bill of health and returned to civilian life shortly after his masked enemy retired. Having managed to amass a fortune that rivaled Bruce Wayne's own in the years following, Dent's charm and ambition managed to win him back the public's trust - aswell as an eventual election for Mayor of Gotham City. 

In a move that could only be seen as suspicious soon after taking office, one of Dent's first acts as Mayor was to erect a massive wall, blocking off the crime-ridden East End of Gotham City from the more fortunate West End, where the rich were accommodated while the poor were left to fend for themselves against common criminals and street gangs. Despite the best efforts of Commissioner Renee Montoya and the GCPD, whose members were beginning to align with Dent's promise of a Gotham where good and evil could be easily separated, The Blackgate Wall eventually stood as either an achievement in forceful dominion over crime or a testament to a city too far gone to be saved. Montoya eventually quit the force in disgust, leading the way for the ruthless Lyle Bolton to succeed her. But regardless of who was running the police, the massive blockade proved to be effective at preventing GCPD from interfering with what transpired in what was then dubbed "Old Gotham", with even fewer citizens of "New Gotham" willing to lend a hand. While some initially heeded the legend of The Batman as an example to try and take back their streets, those that fought back were soon eliminated by a vicious gang of masked criminals calling themselves The Disciples Of Order. 

In the year 2020, all hope seems lost. Bruce Wayne is 81 years old, forced into a pending retirement as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. The once gallivanting socialite has turned into a bitter old hermit, never seen among the public between his hours at the office and the many nights spent alone on the top floor of Wayne Tower, overlooking the city he once would have given his life for - wishing desperately to be able to defend it once again, but physically and mentally unable to return to the mantle of The Bat. In his mind, he is poised to die a failure, leaving behind a Gotham City torn apart by the very sort of criminal that murdered his parents.

It is only until a mysterious figure treads the soiled ground where a ghostly Wayne Manor now stands and begins digging, reaching the partially collapsed ruins of The Batcave beneath with the intent to steal a very important book - The Journal Of Alfred J. Pennyworth - that the quest for Gotham's salvation begins again. Someone out there knows Gotham's biggest secret, and they're determined to continue the fight whether Bruce Wayne allows it or not.

The Batman is dead. 

Long live The Batman.

C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:
This concept is the most ambitious endeavor I've ever attempted with the character. It's not so much about one single narrative - with the exception of Bruce Wayne and the new Batman's perspectives, since they're the protagonists - as it is the biggest statement I have about the myth and legacy of Batman and how that can affect a Gotham City which has seemingly lost it's hope. When Bruce began as a vigilante, he was trying to save a corrupt version of the city. This is the antithesis, where the war was seemingly won, but the corruption naturally took back over after the age of the costumed supervillain passed. There's been no one there to stop it - until now.

I've taken alot of inspiration from notable Elseworlds stories, including The Dark Knight Returns, Year 100, Brotherhood Of The Bat, The Batman of Bethlehem, White Knight, Arkham City, a very tiny bit of Batman Beyond, and the general history of the character in comics, films, television, games, and everything in between. I've also taken some inspiration from stuff like HBO's Watchmen, Logan, Netflix's Daredevil, and the current political climate of The United States to really try and tell a story with some meat to it. It's going to be something very personal that I hope can be wholly mine and yet honor everything that Batman is and has been for the last 81 years.

C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:
Gotham is home to many characters that operate within the new status quo of a city quite literally divided. Very few of the original rogues gallery remain, and if they do, they're far too diminished to make any trouble now. But there are quite a few recognizable names that still appear within the city that will make up the supporting cast of Bruce Wayne and the as-of-yet-unidentified Caped Crusader.

Once the dashing and crusading District Attorney of Gotham City, Harvey Dent's campaign against the likes of mobsters Salvatore Maroni and Rupert Thorne resulted in a face full of acid that helped split his sanity into two distinct personalities. Becoming Two-Face, the criminal mastermind modeled himself after the gangsters that had ruined his life, taking out the competition in a bloody war for Gotham's streets. Giving up his own sense of free will, he relied solely on defaced silver dollar to decide the outcome of his crimes - which proved to be his ultimate undoing, when Batman used this weakness against him in their final battle, destroying the coin and rendering Two-Face unable to act. Surrendering to authorities, Dent was committed to Arkham and underwent intense therapeutic sessions for nearly twenty years. But against all odds, Two-Face was eventually purged, and Harvey's immense sense of guilt for his many crimes eventually convinced the board of directors that he was sane enough to be released. With Batman having disappeared, Dent saw the city rise up from the chaos only to fall again. Determined to prove that his legacy as a crusader for justice would outlive his legacy as Two-Face, Dent used his knowledge as a lawyer to craft a masterful Mayoral campaign, promising to separate the good people of Gotham from the criminal underworld that sought to bring the city to ruin. A promise he unfortunately made good upon with the Blackgate Wall, bringing tensions to the forefront in a way that he either never expected or willfully ignores, having become an elitist who would prefer to rebuild part of Gotham than to cure the whole of it.

Bruce Wayne's ex-wife, formerly the master thief known as The Catwoman. While she remained loyal at his side for over a decade as he waged his neverending war on crime, often joining him in the pursuit of criminals with her own thrill-seeking flair, Selina eventually realized that her husband's obsession with operating as Batman was only going to end in tragedy - a premonition that would come about rather cruelly. When a clash between Batman and The Joker indirectly led to the miscarriage of Bruce and Selina's would-be child, the pain of that loss solidified into an irreconcilable split between them, leaving The Dark Knight to walk a much lonelier path than he had ever before. Selina has been globe-trotting for the better part of two decades, putting as much space between her and Bruce as possible. Whether she'll ever really return is anyone's guess.

A brilliant engineer that helped to reshape the once-decrepit Arkham Asylum into The Arkham Institute in the 21st century, Tim's history with The Batman is complex as it is dormant. As boy, he was rescued by the vigilante firsthand during a massive fire caused by the villain Firefly, creating a lifelong obsession and dedication to justice that might not have otherwise existed. Though he's largely put his faith in The Caped Crusader behind him following the disappearance of Batman and Gotham's restructuring under Mayor Dent, Drake was still able to piece together a secret that has remained hidden for decades - that beneath the cowl, at one time, was the now elderly billionaire Bruce Wayne.

The sole remaining ally that Bruce didn't manage to drive away in all his years as The Dark Knight, Gordon is now in the twilight of his life, having long since retired from his role as Gotham's storied Police Commissioner. Living well at the age of 96 years old, despite a few close calls, he acts as an unofficial consultant for the GCPD, keeping the discretion of the few good officers who look towards him for guidance when put against the overt corruption of the new Commissioner, Lyle Bolton. Wayne occasionally visits Gordon in times of crisis, hoping that the presence of his old friend can quell any temptation that might remain to once again act outside the law.

The leader of The Guild Of Shadows, a group of followers in the methods of the original League Of Shadows, before it was tainted by bloodshed to become The League Of Assassins under Damian's grandfather, Ra's al Ghul. Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, conceived during a brief period in which The Dark Knight considered succeeding Ra's as Son Of The Demon. It was only when Talia realized Bruce could never truly part with his mission to protect Gotham that she falsified a miscarriage, a fact that would later create a permanent rift between Talia and her beloved. Surprisingly loyal to The Batman's code of ethics, it would appear, Damian has nevertheless been unable to reach his father and form a legitimate bond.

Having briefly acted as the vigilante Batgirl, fighting alongside Batman after the departure of Robin and disappearance of Catwoman, Barbara eventually gave up the life of a crimefighter to entertain a career in law enforcement. But unlike her father, Barbara could recognize the cracks in the system that were allowing repeat offenders to terrorize Gotham's streets despite Batman and the GCPD's best efforts. And so she eventually became disillusioned with both the badge and the Bat, opting to run for local office against her corrupt colleagues. Now serving her second term as District Attorney of Gotham City, her days are spent torn between a tireless legal effort against Mayor Dent's growing authority and her ailing father, who she fears isn't long for this world. She was made aware of Batman's dual identity as Bruce Wayne, and has chosen to remain silent out of respect for her father's admiration of him - but having witnessed the vigilante's brutal methods up close, she's far from a fan.

Currently a member of the Gotham City Police Department, Duke's willpower is second to none after being forged by tragedy. Witnessing his parents succumb to a debilitating strain of Joker Toxin as a teenager, Duke was saved by Batman from the clown's wrath and forever changed, determined to become The Dark Knight's partner after the original Robin had long since abandoned his post to become the vigilante Nightwing. But despite Duke's best efforts, he was rebuffed by the increasingly hostile Batman, leading him to pursue a more legitimate path following the retirement of Commissioner James Gordon. He now serves as a partner in the Major Crimes Unit to Lieutenant Jason Bard, pursuing a mentality that Gotham's streets need to be taken back by the people Batman inspired.

Raised by a couple of loving foster parents, Lucy Quinzell discovered the truth about her bloodline after she was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 14 - that in reality, she had been the daughter of The Joker and Harley Quinn. Learning that her biological mother had been killed in 1992 during a scuffle between her father and his hated enemy, The Batman, Lucy became consumed with the idea that the masked vigilante had murdered her mother and began to grow resentful of a city that seemed to worship him while demonizing her father. Leaning into her psychosis and turning her delusions into violent behavior, Lucy eventually used a straight razor to kill her 'false' family - including her adoptive father, adoptive mother, and adoptive brother - before disappearing for a number of years. Resurfacing as the clown-themed villainess Hyena, Lucy sought to bring chaos bring to a city that was desperately seeking order. Now, she prepares to commit a grand act of terrorism that will unravel Mayor Dent's work to keep the peace in New Gotham, amassing a group of loyalists that she refers to as 'The Mistahs' to help her enact vengeance in the name of her true parents.

Born from the affair of the infamous crimelord and an unnamed cocktail waitress working at The Iceberg Lounge, Nathaniel Cobblepot grew up far away from Gotham City in what was considered The Penguin's only true act of compassion. Receiving only the best education that the world abroad had to offer, Nathaniel grew up to become a spoiled, arrogant playboy that shunned his father's legacy whenever possible, seeing Oswald Cobblepot as a failure who turned to petty crime after being too weak to take back his family's fortune through legitimate means. A cunning businessman in his own right, Nathaniel invested in several fortune 500 companies and became a billionaire in his own right. But the all-too-familiar lure of criminal pursuits eventually drove Nathaniel down his father's path, turning him into a leading seller on the Black Market of weapons and narcotics. A chance to return to Gotham eventually came in an invitation from none other than Harvey Dent, who sought an adviser in an upcoming Mayoral race. Dent had long respected The Penguin's business tactics, but despised the man himself, figuring that his son would be a suitable replacement. Tempted by the chance to fully humiliate his father by doing what he never could, Nathaniel made the arrangements and now sits on a throne of misery and wealth as the new Penguin.

When Poison Ivy wished to sire a daughter that wasn't born of her experiments with plant mutations, she found the perfect unwitting host in the form of Edward Nigma, better known as The Riddler. Convincing him to cooperate through her pheromones, Pamela Isley soon gave birth to the disappointment of her life - a son, not a daughter. Rejecting him almost immediately, declaring that man had spurned both her and the natural resources of the world, Ivy placed the baby in the care of her one-time ally, Catwoman. Burdened with a child of her own due to be born with her husband, Bruce Wayne, Selina and Alfred Pennyworth arranged for the child - whom they named Arthur, after the inventor of the crossword puzzle as a means of giving Edward some part in the boy's legacy - to be raised by Leslie Thompkins. Ever the kindly caretaker, Leslie taught Arthur the nature of compassion and healing before she eventually passed away, leaving Arthur to succeed her in operating Gotham's only health clinic for the less fortunate. Turning the struggling clinic into an overnight success as he came of age, Arthur eventually opened the Leslie Thompkins Memorial Hospital and gave the good people of Gotham a proper medical facility to rely on. With this achievement, Arthur sought to expand his commitment to Gotham by campaigning for a seat at the board of directors' table of Wayne International, noting Leslie's close connection to the Wayne family. There's only been one obstacle standing in his way: CEO Bruce Wayne, who cynically suspects criminal intent from Arthur due to his biological parentage being that of two of Batman's greatest enemies. After years of trying to convince the old man that he's not out to become either his father or his mother, Arthur eventually won his place on the board and regularly tries to earn Wayne's respect - almost predictably, to no avail.

Originally started by a gathering of the last remaining remnants of The Red Hood Gang, The False-Face Society, The Royal Flush Gang, and other followers of Gotham's most notorious super-criminals, the borderline cultist group The Disciples Of Order came into true prominence with the election of Harvey Dent, with the group adopting a Two-Face themed mantra of doling out a vicious perversion of justice in the name of balancing out Gotham's 'natural order' of criminal conduct. Each member is anonymous, ranging from those living in poverty to the very top of the elite, but their mission is clear: with the flip of a coin, they will decide the fate of each and every individual citizen of Gotham City. Good heads, the victim will be left alive. Bad heads, and they'll be rendered nothing but a memory. Only fate can spare those from The Disciples' wrath, and fate has seemingly favored death, as the body count of the fringe group of terrorists begins rising with each passing day.

And finally...

In response to a tragic event from their past, a mysterious figure that is much more physically able than Bruce Wayne to carry out the Dark Knight's war against crime will soon emerge to try and quell escalating tensions between the citizens of "Old Gotham" and "New Gotham". Virtually nothing is known about this new Batman, other than the fact that in order to acquire all that he has to pursue his crusade against Mayor Dent and the escalating class war that threatens Gotham, he's at least aware that the original Batman was Bruce Wayne - aswell as many other crucial secrets related to Gotham's history that would be able to lead one towards the path of succeeding The Caped Crusader. Bruce Wayne is personally unaware of who the new Batman is, and in his paranoia, will likely begin efforts to try and deduce his identity in the event that the copycat ends up falling short of the model that inspired him - even if his appearance may yet rekindle hope in the people of Gotham that their masked savior hasn't abandoned them.

The Once Deadly... And The Dead
Many of Batman's original rogues gallery were either scared off by their arch-nemesis' newly gruesome approach to striking fear into the hearts of his enemies, forced into retirement by debilitating circumstances, or simply died off due to a varying number of causes. Whatever the case may be, their names are almost as mythic as Batman's own, even now existing as whispers within the halls of The Arkham Institute from the mouths of those who still remember. They are...

Status unknown. Many believe he was killed by The Batman in their climatic battle, resulting in the latter's retirement for crossing such a sacred line. But there are those that believe there's more to the story - some are even determined to prove it, believing that when the opportunity for the perfect punchline to Gotham's chaotic state arises, The Clown Prince of Crime will re-emerge to deliver it.

Retired. Formerly the reigning crime boss of Gotham following the deaths of Carmine Falcone, Sal Maroni, and any other would-be criminal families, Oswald Cobblepot eventually lost control of his thriving empire thanks to the efforts of Batman's relentless pursuit to put him away in Blackgate. Though The Dark Knight was never entirely successful in seeing Cobblepot serve a sentence in prison, karma eventually caught up to the aging gangster when a heart attack and stroke rendered him a complete invalid. Now pushing 87, Cobblepot lives an undignified existence as a resident of a Coast City nursing home, put there by the cunning and entirely spiteful inheritor of his vast fortune - his son, Nathaniel.

Retired. A permanent resident of The Arkham Institute, Edward Nigma's obsession with proving his intellectual superiority over every citizen of Gotham, particularly The Batman, eventually caused him to have a nervous breakdown that he never entirely recovered from. In a tryst with Poison Ivy, controlled by her mind-altering pheromones, Edward produced a son that he's too hopelessly insane to even recognize at this point. Considered harmless, despite his unending compulsion to speak entirely in brainteasers, Edward lives within a waking nightmare of thoughts that can no longer escape his fractured mind as the other residents of Arkham relentlessly mock the over-the-hill ex-criminal's continued delusions of grandier.

Reformed. One of the few success stories to come out of the era of costumed criminals and crusaders, Victor Fries' cold heart eventually thawed when Bruce Wayne, in an astonishing act of compassion, utilized his vast resources to finally cure Victor's beloved wife, Nora. With his motivation for criminal conduct erased, the former cryogeneticist walked away from a life fueled by hatred and pain in an effort to reunite with Nora. Giving himself over to the police almost immediately, Fries was given a light sentence in exchange for co-operating with the GCPD in building a state-of-the-art series of cryogenic chambers that would preserve bodies more efficiently than the standard methods of preservation, leading to earlier deductions in murder cases and pushing forensic technology ahead by several years. With his time spent serving justice, Victor eventually even pulled off a miracle himself by curing his body of the need to exist only within zero temperatures. He now lives a normal, happier life with Nora and their new children, only occasionally called upon to consult for new technologies developed by Wayne International.

Reformed. Waylon Jones holds the distinct honor of being Batman's only foe to transition from ruthless criminal brute to the world of celebrity stardom. After coming to the conclusion that he had spent over half of his life either incarcerated or in Arkham Asylum, Jones went about another path that subsided his animalistic nature and tried his hand at underground boxing. Being careful not to cross the line into unlawful territory, the former "Killer Croc" was sought out by a talent agency to endorse a line of skin-care products. Despite the inherent irony, Jones took a chance and became a beloved figure of the media once he published his first novel, I Threw A Rock At Him: The Waylon Jones Story, telling his side of things in regards to his many clashes with the GCPD and The Dark Knight. Having acted in television, produced an album, and even started his own charity for people with disfigurements, Jones now enjoys his life as the narrator to the popular reality television series Legends Of The Dark Knight, a program devoted to speculating the identity of The Caped Crusader.

Residents Of The Arkham Institute

Julian Day
Thomas Elliot
Hugo Strange
Drury Walker
Jervis Tetch
Arnold Wesker

The Dead

Poison Ivy
1966-1997. Transmutated.

Bane
1965-2012. Overdose.

Ra's Al Ghul
????-2005. Natural Causes.

The Scarecrow
1941-2008. Heart Attack.

Harley Quinn
1952-1992. Murdered.

Deadshot
1950-2016. Suicide.

Firefly
1952-2012. Asphyxiation.

Victor Zsasz
1972-2005. Shivved.

P O S T   C A T A L O G:
A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

In Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A L

TERRANCE 'TERRY' MCGINNIS ♦ PERSONAL ASSISTANT ♦ GOTHAM CITY, NJ ♦ WAYNE-SIONIS

C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:"Somebody had to do something. And you sure weren't about to!"
- Terry McGinnis to Bruce Wayne

Obviously, this isn't a character that originated with me. @Lord Wraith did all of the heavy lifting to establish the blend of both the contemporary Batman mythos and the canon of Batman Beyond, resulting in a version where Terry can operate as Batman in a modern Gotham City that hasn't become a Blade Runner-esque futurescape. So the changes to the regular Batman canon should be apparent - my goal is basically to take the baton and run with it, seeing as I've had conversations with Wraith about the basic philosophies of what made Batman Beyond interesting (so don't expect a Riddler Beyond or similar gimmick concepts). We both seem to agree that Terry should be the focus, not Bruce.

Wraith provided me with alot of story content that he was going to do himself, but has no interest in pursuing any further, so I'm going to do what I can to blend what he had in mind with my own ideas since I like alot of what he came up with. Beyond that (no pun intended), I want to really flesh out the Gotham of the past and the Gotham of the present, since The Batman's been around since the 1960's and holds a metric slag-ton of history that influences Terry's life as the heir to the cowl.

C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:

The overall crux of Batman Beyond, as I've revisited the show, is that as Terry grew into the mantle of Batman, he became further away from what Bruce Wayne was whenever he was active. The best way to describe his personality is that Terry evolved from the best parts of each Robin to create a new character, someone who saw things like justice and heroism in a more optimistic light than his predecessor while retaining the rough edges that would make someone The Dark Knight. My plan isn't to deviate from this arc, but to take it even further. Right now, Terry's operating very much in the shadow of The Bat, but I want him to eventually own the role almost independently of Bruce and set the course for his own destiny. Which I recognize is a mammoth task when Bruce Wayne has been the originator from day one of his creation, but I want to make it clear that the old Batman's days are over rather than lean on Terry being an extension of one man's legacy.

Especially since the canon of the DCAU went so far in the opposite direction that they eventually retconned Terry into Bruce's biological... well, let's not get into it. Best to ignore the mistakes of the past, right?

C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:

Supporting Cast - Established By Wraith

Bruce Wayne - the original Batman, Terry's mentor, who retired in 1995 after a life-altering final mission. Wayne is actually 80 years old, but appears closer 60 due to a Lazarus Pit encounter.
Ace - the loyal guard dog of Bruce Wayne, and sometimes ally to Terry as Batman in the field.
Melanie Walker - Terry's current girlfriend, formerly the villainess 'Ten' of The Royal Flush Gang.
Mary McGinnis - Terry's mother, legal guardian, and widow to Terry's father, Warren.
Matthew McGinnis - Terry's younger brother, who lives only to annoy his older brother.
Maxine 'Max' Gibson - Terry's lone confidant in his secret life, a genius level hacker.
Carrie Kelly - Max's girlfriend and one of Terry's classmates at Hamilton Hill High.
Dana Tan - Terry's longtime girlfriend, recently turned ex.
Chelsea Cunningham - Terry and Dana's more 'out there' friend, prone to attracting attention for her rebellious behavior.
Nelson Nash - Terry's rival and frequent social antagonist, arrogant and spoiled rich.
Commissioner James Gordon - Current head of the GCPD, unaffiliated with The Batman past or present.*

*Established by @IceHeart

Antagonists - Established By Wraith

Roman Sionis/The Black Mask
Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter
Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin
Lonnie Lachin/MoneySpider
Deever And Dumfree Tweed/Tweedledee And Tweedledum
Real Name Unknown/The Tally Man
Warren White
The Mutant Gang
The Jokerz
The Sons Of Batman

Supporting Characters - Established By Me
TBD

Antagonists -  Established By Me
TBD

Deceased Characters
The Joker
Catwoman/Selina Kyle
Alfred Pennyworth
Lucius Fox
The Riddler/Edward Nigma
Ra's Al Ghul, The Demon's Head
Two-Face/Harvey Dent
The Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane
Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries
Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist
The Phantasm/Andrea Beaumont

S A M P L E   P O S T:

"Nine-four-zero! I repeat, nine-four zero! Officers in need of assistance!"

The crackle of the damaged communications frequency filled Detective Samuel Bradley with a combination of determination and dread. The latter of which seemed to overtake him as he heard the vicious, child-like cackling from outside his partner's overturned squad-car. Bradley looked to his left to see the driver, Lieutenant Murakami, hanging upside down from his seat and bleeding from the temple. He was only unconscious, mercifully, but in desperate need of medical attention. Bradley unhooked his seat belt and positioned himself to fall on his back to lessen the impact, but he could feel a considerable pain in his right shoulder. A fracture, maybe, but nothing broken... yet. 

"Screw it,", Sam whispered to himself, unhooking his fellow officer. "I don't know if you can hear me, Lieutenant, but try and remain still. We're in a bad spot, and we're not out of the fire yet."

The middle aged, graying Detective sneered as he heard the distinct sound of motorcycle engines racing past, circling their position. The cackling grew into high-pitched fits of laughter echoing out from the throats of a group obviously much younger than either of the two seasoned GCPD officers. Drawing his side-arm with the shoulder that hadn't taken the brunt of the car's crash, Bradley pulled his partner towards the middle of the car's hood to draw him out of the line of fire, on the off chance they were packing heat, and began kicking at his own door to loosen it. 

"This isn't my first rodeo.", Bradley assured him. "And definitely not my first clowns."

As the door eventually creaked open, revealing itself to have unlatched during the crash. Bradley tried to think of the events that transpired just moments before, in a vain hope to ascertain a motive behind their attack. They were on Park Row Avenue, investigating the lead in a triple homicide. The suspect had left behind traces of his hair fibers in the midst of a victim's struggle. A man in his early 30's with a laundry list of priors, and if he wasn't the suspect, he sure as hell knew who was. As Bradley's partner turned onto 9th street, Sam had heard a faint noise - like a line being snapped, or more likely, a tripwire - before the side of their car was engulfed in a loud explosion and sent airbourne. 

This wasn't the work of their perp, obviously. This was a trap set up for a distinct reason: random violence, seeing who would trip the explosives first. It was the M.O. of a group of known terrorists that Bradley had come across before, but never so directly. And as he slowly began to crawl his way out of the car, he was beginning to catch glimpses of their faces. Their smiling, greasepaint smeared faces that looked upon the scene with hungry eyes. A group of late teens to twenty-somethings who had taken up the torch of a madman from Gotham's past. Bradley could hardly hide his disgust as one of them sliced the blade of a machete into the pavement, creating sparks. 

Jokerz.

"Well, well, well!", one of them jovially announced. "Looks like we caught ourselves a couple of piggies, kids! Two little piggies, escaped from the farm!"

The others laughed and began to mimick an "oink" sound as Bradley made himself visible, his side-arm's safety visibly turned off. The group of clowns, each done up in elaborate and particularly gruesome fashion, each flashed an even wider grin, evidently seeing the Detective as fresh meat ready for tenderizing. 

"What do you say, dregs, should we cut him up? I say we cut him up!", a female member of the gang cooed. "I'm in the mood for some bacon. Maybe some sausages. Oooh, the possibilities!"

Bradley raised his gun, hiding any visible fear even as the group's cycles simultaneously began to slow to a stop. One of them was wielding a pair of large chains, swinging it above his head. Another, the machete clown, was outfitted to the teeth - quite literally, as he bit down on the blade of a knife fixed between his jaw - with all manner of sharp objects affixed to his spiked jacket. The woman held a spiked mallet, fashioned together from crude scraps of metal, displaying her vivid pink and blue shirt that read "Daddy's Little Monster". And flanking the other side of the Detective were a pair of wirey twins, their makeup fashioned off of the Chinese yin and yang symbols while combined with stark green tipped hair and crimson coated smiles. 

"Stop where you are, freaks.", Bradley coldly commanded. "You've had your fun. Turn back now and I won't have to use this."

The chain-wielding clown chuckled, stepping off of his bike and revealing a large stature. 

"On the contrary, old man. We insist."

Swinging his chains high into the air, the clown slammed the cold metal into Bradley's gut before he could pull the trigger, knocking him down and causing him to drop the fire-arm. The twins stepped infront of it, unsheathing a pair of katanas that had been retroactively graffitied with HA-HA symbols and what looked to be dried blood. Remaining on the ground, the Detective refused to give them the benefit of seeing him so much as worry. His concerns were more directed for his partner, who he could hear groaning inside the car.

"Whoopsie! Looks like the piggy lost his toy.", Machete Clown replied. "You gonna squeal for us to get it back? Huh? Are ya?"

The group erupted in laughter as Chain Clown grabbed Bradley by the lapel of his overcoat. 

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find ways to make him squeal. But I want to do it slowly. Make him work for it. Shed a little of the good stuff."

The degenerate licked his lips as Machete Clown brought out an excessively large, freshly sharpened bowie knife to go with his other weapon. Bradley held his breath for a moment, seemingly trying to keep himself calm. It was only a few seconds later when this proved to be a ruse, as the Detective spat directly in the face of Chain Clown.

"Go to hell."

Machete Clown squealed in delight as Chain Clown angrily threw the Detective to him, like a game of hot potato. 

"HA! Nicely done, oh, nicely done! Looks like you've got some fight in you, piggy."

Holding the bowie knife to Bradley's face, the clown's rank breath was the first thing to genuinely elicit a reaction from the Detective. Machete Clown's yellowed teeth were directly in Bradley's line of sight as he tightened his grip on the handle.

"Makes you all the more ripe for roasting."

Raising his bowie knife in the air, Machete Clown got the Detective to close his eyes, resigning himself to whatever horrible fate that the gang was waiting to give him. But as he began to fear the worst, the entire group - including Bradley - heard a distant whizzing noise. The noise grew louder as the seconds went by, before a small shadow could be seen launching directly for Machete Clown's knife. With a loud clang, the objects smashed together, creating a large enough spark to send Machete Clown stumbling backwards in surprise. 

The bowie knife dropped, embedded into the pavement by something made of a much stronger metal. A red and black circular object, bladed and sporting an all-too-familiar symbol. Bradley barely got a glimpse of it before realizing just what was happening: they were getting their back-up afterall. But it wasn't GCPD. 

"Oh, shit! We got..."

"Company? I'll say."

A much larger shadow descended upon them, gliding into view at a speed that none of them could comprehend. Before anyone could make sense of what was happening, the shadow slammed directly into Machete Clown and knocked him back with a force that sent him flying into a nearby shop window. The figure landed, firmly placing himself between the Detective and The Jokerz without a moment's hesitation. 

"You dregs really know how to spoil someone's night, you know that?"

The tone was harsh, laced with a combination of sarcasm and malice. The Jokerz each took a step back with widened eyes as the horns of the cowl became visible, aswell as the neon red glow of the symbol adored across the figure's chest. Detective Bradley could only see him from behind, but the silhouette was very - if not painfully - familiar. It was one of the only remaining figures in Gotham that still caused creeps like The Jokerz to hesitate for even a moment. 

"Slag this! I wanted a piggy! I didn't sign up to tangle with no freakin' Bat!"

The Batman smirked as another batarang appeared from his outstretched gauntlet. Most of The Jokerz looked at eachother, quizzically, to see if they were willing to take on the obviously more experienced hero. But the twins seemed unfazed, stepping forward with their katanas raised in unison. Batman narrowed his eyes, waiting for them to make the first move.

"Get out of here before you get yourself hurt."

Bradley didn't know if it was a command meant for him or The Jokerz, but he didn't want to wait around and find out. Rushing himself back to the car, the Detective rolled under the opened passenger door, choosing to let what was about to play out begin to play out for itself. Just as he slipped away from view, he could see The Twin Clowns rushing Batman on the attack. 

The vigilante tossed the batarang high into the air, raising up his gauntlet to clash with the first katana that sliced towards him. The second swung on approach, but Batman managed to duck, landing a brutal uppercut that sent the second Twin into the air and colliding with his own bike. The Jokerz fixated their gaze on the scene as the first Twin suffered a series of roundhouse kicks that caused his katana arm to raise above his head, setting it up for the batarang that had been tossed as it circled back around, embedding it into the clown's wrist. 

With a spinning kick, Batman nailed Twin Clown directly across the face and sent him spiraling to the ground, opening himself up to attack from the other Jokerz. Which they quickly decided they were going to attempt, despite the odds. Chain Clown was the first to attack, having pulled himself from the broken glass of the shop window with a thirst for revenge. Throwing his chain directly towards Batman, he was surprised to see The Dark Knight deliberately allow his arm to be ensnared by the weapon. What was even more surprising was that no sooner than when Batman took a step forward, he was airborne, propelled by rockets beneath his boots. The chain connected to Batman's forearm snapped taut and clotheslined Chain Clown hard in the throat, causing him to drop immediately. 

Batman landed ontop of him, sending a direct stomp onto his skull to keep him momentarily incapacitated. Machete Clown and Mallet Clown looked at eachother in fright as The Dark Knight faintly smiled back at them, sardonically using a come hither motion. 

"You know, I have a history with dispatching clowns. You might even call it a hobby."

Machete Clown rushed forward, slicing at Batman like a wild animal. The vigilante sidestepped and leaped over each attack, somersaulting over Machete Clown and grabbing him by the shoulders, flipping him onto his back. Landing directly infront of Mallet Clown, who made no attempt to flee, Batman caught the spiked mallet with his palm, displaying the strength of the servos wired into his suit. 

"So why the hell that you twips would ever, and I mean ever want to get into this line of work is beyond me."

Ripping the mallet from the clown's grasp, Batman tossed it and caught an attempted punch, spinning the woman around and forcing her into an armlock. 

"It's like almost like you want this."

"Funny. We could almost say the same about you."

Before The Dark Knight could react, one of the Twin Clowns smacked him on the spine with an electric buzzer, sending hundreds if not thousands of volts of electricity coursing through Batman's system. Calling out in pain, Batman dropped to one knee and was forced to let the Mallet Clown go, who promptly ran for her tossed weapon. Picking himself up, slightly dazed, Batman found himself taking a katana hit across the chest, severing part of the Batsuit's outer layer to reveal a glimpse of circuitry beneath.

"I mean, you think you're what, a savior? A protector of these lousy sacks of meat?"

Going in for another slice, Twin Clown watched as Batman wasted no time in meeting his attack with a direct right hook. Then a left, then another right, before leaping into the air and drop kicking him far enough away to cause some considerable damage. Batman sneered, running his hand along the damage to his suit.

"Something like that."

As Mallet Clown approached from behind, quietly raising her weapon high into the air, Batman, without even looking, reached back and shot a minature taser directly into the woman's chest, causing her to spasm before dropping to the pavement aswell, with steam rising off the mallet.

Machete Clown and Chain Clown were down for the count, as were the first Twin and Mallet Clown. All that remained was the slightly out-of-it second Twin, whom Batman spotted trying to lurch towards his bike. Outstretching his arms, allowing crimson bat-like wings to unfold and fall to his sides, Batman rocketed into the air and slammed both knees into the clown's back, causing him to fly into a nearby garbage bin. 

Detective Bradley kicked the passenger door back open, his partner slung over his shoulder, and watched as Batman landed amongst a slew of unconscious bodies. Reaching into the unconscious Lieutenant's holster, Bradley drew his weapon and aimed it directly at the viglante.

"GCPD! Freeze!"

Batman turned, slightly surprised as Bradley sternly eyed him.

"You're wanted for questioning, Bat. Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head."

Motioning to the unconscious clowns, Batman seemed more annoyed at the threat than anything.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm playing games?!", Bradley countered. "Wearing that mask and beating the hell out of perps doesn't make you any less of a criminal than they are!"

Batman sneered.  "Right."

Before Bradley could fire a warning shot, Batman outstretched his wings once again and launched himself back into the Gotham night air. Just before he disappeared out of view, Bradley could hear the vigilante call to him from the skies with one last retort.

"You're welcome, by the way."

Frustrated, the Detective lowered his weapon, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to try and open fire. The kid was already gone, anyway. Placing the gun back into his own holster as he gently lowered his partner onto the street, Bradley's eyes remained fixated on the sky. The Batman had entirely vanished from view. He could hear sirens in the distance, signaling that back-up had finally arrived - about ten minutes late, all things considered. 

The Detective sighed to himself.

Unfortunately for him, it was beginning to feel like old times.

"The more things change..."

In Absolute Comics - Season Two: The Monster Within → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

Batman is obviously accepted@HenryJonesJr

I would think so. You're the one who encouraged me to apply. 

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