Samael61
patreon
Chapter 32 - Gotham Harbor Attack
🕑 Added 2025-08-29 18:33:32 +0000 UTCGotham Harbor
“Good afternoon, Gotham! Imagine my heartbreak when I heard all these important people gathered here, and you didn’t even send an invitation to the good ol’ me.” Dressed in a purple suit, the most insane and dangerous criminal in Gotham stood on top of the van that just dove into the crowd.
“But worry not; now that I am here, this party will be a blast!” Joker’s maniacal laughter was cut by the colorful explosives spewing toxic fumes that were slowly moving over the crowd gathered to watch the demonstration.
“Hey circus freak.” Joker stopped laughing, looking down at the person who just insulted him, and jumped down to the back of the car to shield himself from the raging flames.
“Somebody’s angry.” The Clown Prince of Crime cackled, pulling out a cigar from his pocket. Holding it up, he let the flames ignite the tip of the cigar before tossing it over the van in the direction of the woman.
The flames ceased after the explosion, but the woman was nowhere in sight.
Opening the back of the van, the clown pulled out a box of grenades and began to launch them towards the fleeing crowd.
Only for an interloper to freeze the grenades before detonation.
Joker’s grin turned into a frown. He didn’t like party poopers.
“If it isn’t the savior of Gotham Harbor! Tell me, can your fish clean up blood and corpses, too?”
“Tell me, aren’t you tired of losing to Batman?” Even if the jab infuriated Joker, the clown did not show it, still grinning.
“Ah, Batsy. I am sure he will be here. In the meantime, why don’t we have some fun, hmm? You are so serious; why don’t we put a smile on that face?” Joker’s laughter was interrupted when Batman came swinging down and planted both feet on the clown’s face, sending him flying away, right into the arms of Aquaman, who clotheslined the madman to the asphalt.
Coughing and spluttering, Joker still laughed. “Batsy, you didn’t mention you had friends besides me. I’m hurt.”
“Surrender, now.” Batman warned, ready to beat the clown within an inch of his life.
“If you had, I would bring some friends too. Oh wait, I already did.” The sick grin on Joker’s face had all four of them alert, and it wasn’t for nothing, as Killer Croc came tearing through a warehouse, followed by Bane, who calmly strutted out with a grin on his face, ready to fight.
“BATMAN! Croc appeared more deranged than usual, his eyes glowing with a sickly green hue.
Joker must have done something to draw Waylon to the Harbor.
“Aquaman, you deal with Bane; Croc is too focused on Batman. We’ll deal with Joker and then assist you.” Miles suggested as he watched more vans and pickups ride to the harbor at full speed, all graffitied in various clown themes.
Arthur nodded. “Very well.”
“Claire, get ready, and don’t hold back. I am calling in reinforcements.” It was time to see if Morrow’s androids were willing to play the hero once again.
—
Batman was parkouring and grappling through the harbor, drawing Killer Croc away from the citizens, while Aquaman and Bane were in a fistfight.
Venom in Bane’s veins was doing a good job of standing against Aquaman, but Miles was sure the King of Atlantis would pull through.
“What is it now?” Morrow, the android one, answered the phone with an irritated tone.
Miles was going to do something about the synthetic’s attitude. “I need the siblings at Gotham Harbor. Joker staged an attack, and his goons are swarming the place.”
“They aren’t exactly feeling the desire to be heroes again.”
“Tell them they have a choice to either be useless tin cans waiting to rust or heroes following the beliefs they once carried. Just because they are not flesh and blood does not mean they aren’t a part of humanity.” Miles snapped the phone shut.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Joker sang, strutting around with a revolver in his hand. His henchmen were searching the area while causing as much destruction as possible.
Peeking out of the cover, Claire’s flames sent several goons flying away and out of action, while Miles targeted Joker, but the clown dodged.
Miles could finally hear the police sirens as the GCPD came in with force, though Joker's little army was spread out and had good cover, so any firefight was bound to be costly.
“Look at this, boys, Gordon’s late to the party, as always.” Joker chuckled. “Kill them.”
The goons ran, taking cover and firing at the approaching police cars.
Miles pulled Claire back. “Forget the goons; they will be too busy with the GCPD. We are taking down Joker.”
“Let’s go.” Claire leaped out of the cover again, but Joker was ready.
“Two on one? That’s not fair.” The Clown Prince of Crime dropped canisters, covering the whole area in purple smoke, and Miles only hoped the clown wasn’t crazy enough to poison himself in the attempt too.
Standing back-to-back, Miles and Claire waited for Joker to show himself. “Can you fly us out of here?”
Claire shook her head, hands aflame and ready. “Not without burning you. We could just run out of this smoke.”
“The clown’s watching; he’d probably hit us in the back.” With how many canisters the pale villain had dropped, he must have planned for Miles and Claire to run while leaving their backs unguarded.
If the clown wasn’t coming out, Miles would find him. “Tell me something, why are you targeting us and not Batman?”
“Why? Because unlike him, you’re actually helping Gotham, and I can’t have that now, can I?” Joker’s voice echoed, making it difficult to pinpoint his location.
Not to mention the echo made the crazy villain’s laughter more grating.
Shadows danced around them in the fog, accompanied by Joker’s vile cackling, and Miles didn’t have a plan.
Running out would leave them open to the clown, and staying in wasn’t an option either.
Claire tackled Miles to the ground as something flew towards them, exploding as it slammed into the podium.
Miles pointed to where the RPG round had flown from and fired, but missed, causing Joker to laugh even louder. Claire got up, snarling, and held out her hands to the sides, releasing two deadly bouts of flame, and began to twirl around.
There was a scream of indignation and pain, indicating Claire must have nailed Joker.
“Do you have any idea how expensive this suit is? I am going to take it out of your hide.” The first shot of the machine gun missed, and Claire set herself on fire, quickly flying up and firing towards where the shots were coming from to draw Joker’s attention.
The clown kept firing, somehow dodging Claire’s attacks, while Miles lay down, waiting for an opening to take out the clown.
Permanently, if possible.
“Hey, you pale bastard.” Green vines surged forth like a tidal wave, flowing around Miles. There was an “omph,” and the two quickly ran out of the smoke, seeing Joker entangled within vines.
“If it isn’t Harly’s bestie. She will be so heartbroken when I get out of here and clip your branches with an axe.” Joker’s grin never faded, but it turned to a murderous one even as he struggled to free himself from the vines.
Ivy scoffed. “Dream on, clown.” She could kill the clown now but didn’t want any trouble from the heroes or the police.
Miles picked up the machine gun and slammed the stock to Joker's temple, knocking the clown out.
He would have loved to finish the job here, but there were too many witnesses for him to kill a restrained man, even if it was Joker.
Even if it was self-defense, someone would use it against him, and the clown's time would come.
“Get them.” Joker’s henchmen came to the rescue and were swatted away like flies by vines thick as tree trunks.
“Ivy, what a pleasant surprise. Didn’t think you’d be interested in playing the hero.” Miles greeted the green woman, half wondering what she was even doing here when her accommodations were on the other side of the city.
Ivy looked insulted by the insinuation. "I am not, but who is supposed to help me save nature if this clown kills you?”
Miles smirked. “Your concern over my well-being is duly noted.”
“How the hell did he find so many goons?” There was literally a small-scale battle going on between the GCPD and Joker’s little army.
“Good question.” Unless Joker robbed a bank and got away without anyone knowing, which was impossible because the clown was an attention seeker, unless it was a long con.
Or someone could be financing the Clown Prince of Crime.
—
Aquaman ducked Bane’s punch, responding with a quick strike to the liver and an uppercut when the drug lord bent in half.
The uppercut sent him flying off, but the luchador villain shook his head, returning to the fight.
This Bane was unknown to the king of Atlantis, but he was a durable opponent, and the rabble brought by the clown did not make this fight easier.
Bullets pinged off his skin, making Aquaman more annoyed than anything, so he took a large piece of wooden debris and threw it at the gunmen.
The improvised projectile knocked them about, and Bane took the opportunity to nail Aquaman in the face, barely causing the Atlantean to turn his head.
Grabbing the wrist, Aquaman twisted it, headbutted Bane, and kicked the back of his knee to force the villain down before drop-kicking him to the ground face first.
Not down yet, Arthur took the luchador by the ankles and twirled around, sending the villain flying to the murky waters of the harbor.
Dusting his hands, the victorious hero turned his attention to the goons.
—
Batman backflipped, and Killer Croc’s punch left a small hole on the ground where he just stood a second ago.
Pulling out a respirator, the Dark Knight threw a ball containing anesthetic gas to Waylon’s face, followed by more to force the rampaging meta-human to sleep.
Croc just shook his head and charged, razor-sharp claws trying to shred Batman to confetti, but the nimble hero dodged each and every attack and took out a pair of brass shock knuckles and nailed the metahuman right in the forehead.
Killer Croc couldn’t even scream as the voltage ran through his body and paralyzed him. Not done yet, Batman kept raining a flurry of punches, slowly but steadily beating Killer Croc to submission.
Eventually, Croc slowed down, his nervous system too stressed, and one last punch from the shock knuckles sent him down.
Batman left the meta-human where he was lying and jumped between several goons, dismantling them in a heartbeat, leaving behind broken bones and guns.
—
GCPD was moving slowly to neutralize the armed gunmen Joker had brought, in part because they had dug in and were heavily armed.
Miles and Claire were assisting, having left Ivy to contain Joker since the former villainess wasn’t interested in anything more than saving Miles.
Fortunately, reinforcements were here.
Red Tornado, Red Torpedo, and Red Inferno came to the harbor, each using their respective elements to fly, and began to help the GCPD mop up the goons.
Red Tornado grouped the gunmen together, dropping them down from high enough to knock them out. His brother, Red Torpedo, flooded buildings and anywhere else the goons had taken cover, while Red Inferno targeted vehicles and heavy weapons.
Three siblings working in unison made quick work of the goons.
—
Aquaman hauled Bane to where Poison Ivy kept the Joker entangled in her vines, while a special unit from the GCPD restrained Killer Croc and took him away, and the henchmen were marched to prison buses to be moved to a detention center to await trial.
“This was a disaster.” Miles commented as the emergency teams rushed to put out fires and render medical aid to any injured civilians.
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I had thought your job was to know these things?” Surely, if Miles knew so much about Atlantis and its plans, then this attack should have been expected as well.
“I tend to keep out of Gotham since Batman is too territorial.”
“Who are the synthetics?” The said hero approached, turning to the androids as they landed near him.
“I am Red Tornado.” Tornado introduced himself, and Miles wanted to ask when they had found him, because the aerokinetic had not been at the lab last time he visited.
“That name sounds familiar.” Leave it to Batman to remember a robot from around sixty years ago.
Tornado nodded. “I was a member of the Justice Society of America.”
“And your companions?” The other androids stood to the side, seemingly disinterested.
“My siblings. These are Red Torpedo and Red Inferno.” Tornado introduced his siblings.
“What brought you here?” Batman asked, and Miles decided it was time to intervene.
“Common courtesy dictates that you thank them for the assistance, rather than starting an interrogation. I am sure someone has taught you these manners.” At least he hoped Alfred had, because if it was Ra’s Al Ghul, then they had a long way to go.
Batman just gave a small nod and left.
“In his place, allow me to relay to you the gratitude of the people you had just saved.” Miles thanked the androids, shaking hands with Tornado.
“We are pleased to be of service. Would you require assistance with the cleanup operations?” The synthetic offered, and Miles gestured to James Gordon, who was organizing the GCPD forces.
“You should ask the GCPD; tell the Commissioner you’re with me.”
“I shall do that.” Tornado turned to his siblings. “Would you two like to stay or return?”
Red Inferno and Red Torpedo looked at each other before agreeing. “We came all this way; we might as well do more.”
“Thank you.”
—
The androids had the clear from James Gordon and began to assist the emergency teams as best as they could.
They cleared debris and patrolled the perimeter for any escapees, and Miles had given them a card to go and get food and drinks.
Beyond lending a helping hand, it was a good debut, or rather, re-debut for the androids, and some people had even asked for autographs, while the reporters were vying for an interview.
Miles had quickly made himself scarce, taking Ivy with them so the reforming villainess could avoid publicity and not cause a panic.
—
Miles had dropped Ivy at her little corner of heaven in Gotham while chatting along the way.
Pamela had seen the news of the demonstration and had come in to see it with her own eyes, intending to quietly leave before anyone could see her.
Good thing too; her timely assistance had saved them the headache of fighting Joker on the clown’s terms.
The demo was left in the background following Joker’s attack, but the organizations had promised their support, and Miles had directed them to finalize the deals with Mary-Anne.
Overall, it was a productive affair, if a bit more adrenaline-filled than expected.
Comments
GameMage
Joker, please tell me you’ll neutralize the bastard. I just hate him. Great chapter. Thanks for writing.
