>>5502453
Batquest Issue #1: https://lws.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5086723/

Batquest Issue #2 :Part 1 and 2
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5180270
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5232631

>>5502453
>Return of the Caped Crusaders
Welcome back QM

>>5502453
>>Return of the Caped Crusaders

>>5502453
>Return of the Caped Crusaders
Give that we're Gun Batman and yet still didn't execute that Talon, what else could it be?

Locking for return of the Caped Crusaders. Update tonight.

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>>5502453
>Pencils, Inks: Miguel Mendonça. Colors:Tiago da Silva.
>Alt-text: Blockbuster, A large shirtless man with muscles and bulging veins stands in the rain behind Nightwing, a crouching masked man in a blue and black costume

You land in the melee. These alleys were safe once. It’s time to take back the night.

CHASE:
Hold your fire!
BATMAN:
It’s over Desmond.
ROLAND:
You kiddin me, freak? I know what goes down in those fed pens. I’ll take my chances with the lead.

He raises his gun and you knock it away with a Batarang. But it’s too late, you hear the CBI rifles cock before you feel the fire.

BATMAN:
BAT-CAPE!

The voice command makes the fibers in your cape go rigid, forming a shield around you, Dick, and your foes.
You’re safe from the main assault but the ricochet and shrapnel are inching closer to finishing you all.

MARK:
Roland, help me!!!
ROLAND:
I got you, bro!

You and Dick are pinned down by the gunfire. You can’t reach them!

BATMAN:
No!

Roland shoves a vile of the mutagen down his brother’s reluctant throat.

CHASE:
I said hold your fire!

The automatic fire clears the air long enough for Chase to pull a long-range rifle.
Roland panics and shields himself with his own brother. You’ve seen Chase in action enough to know a body is about to drop.
BANG!
The mild-mannered scientist's shirt is shredded, but, instead of a bloody corpse, what stands before you is...

GOLUM:
Lookat that Blockbuster!

Dr. Desmond stands seven feet, rippling with muscles and with the bullet stuck harmlessly in his skin like a piercing.

BLOCKBUSTER:
RAHHHHH!!!

The mutated doctor grabs the Golum and hurls them into the gunner's seats of the copter above.

CBI AGENT:
Mayday! Mayday!

Chase leaps from the spiraling aircraft grabbing an agent in each hand.
Before she falls to the concrete, she pulls the parachute cords of her passed-out fellow agents before doing so for her own.
An impressive move, but she didn't save the Golum!

BATMAN:
BAT-GRAPNEL!

A line fires from your gauntlet through the open doors of the helicopter and locks onto a gargoyle on a building across from you.
In the split second, before the chopper finishes its rotations, your suit’s motor pulls you from the ground, lifting you in and out of the copter so you can grab the biker.
You look down from the gargoyle as the copter crashes below. Through the flames, Dick’s battle rages on.

BLOCKBUSTER:
RAH!

He dodges a punch then flips onto Blockbuster’s back to chokehold him with the cachaba.

NIGHTWING:
Hey, whatever happened to “just say no?”

Dr. Desmond’s mutated arms are too large to reach Dick, and with all his new mass, he’s consuming oxygen faster.
The behemoth’s moves grow slower and sloppier.

NIGHTWING:
That’s it, time to tuck you in, big guy.

Dr. Desmond faints and Dick moves to handcuff him before Chase aims her sidearm dead at his face.

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>>5503902
>Dialouge: Dan Curtis Johnson. Pencils: J.H. Williams III. Inks: Mick Gray. Colors: Lee Loughridge. Letters: Comicraft.
>Alt-Text: Chase, a woman in a jacket, points a gun toward the viewer and says “STOP OR I’LL...”
>Vote Titles: Peter David, Dan Curtis Johnson, J.H. Williams III

CHASE:
Hands in the air, everyone here is under arrest! Stop or I’ll...

One Grapnel blast later and you’re ready to intervene.
You could play up your history together and try to talk it out or give cover for an escape and risk antagonizing the CBI.
Though if you truly don't care about making enemies, a quick Bat-Bolas should take her out.

>Time Out
“They’re with me, Chase.” (Talk to Chase)
>In Darkest Night
“Bat-Smoke!” (Escape)
>Bag of Tricks
“Bat-Bolas!” (Immobilize Chase)

>>5503909
>In Darkest Night

>>5503909
>Darkest night

I remember that we don't trust cops, until they prove themselves.

>>5504495
Locking for "In Darkest Night"

Update later tonight.

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>>5503909
>Art: Duc (Phil) Nguyen. Dialogue Inspiration: Bill Finger
>Alt-text: A photorealistic CGI image of the Joker’s smiling face. He has pale white skin, bright red lips, and is wearing a purple fedora and jacket.

You land on the concrete between Chase and Dick, startling her.

CHASE:
Bruce?!
BATMAN:
Bat-Smoke!

A thick smog cloud covers the ally and covers your escape. Before the cover clears, you check Desmon’s van for the mutagen, and find it empty!
----
A van labeled “Tickle-box delivery” drives down the road. Two men sitting in the seat holding a case of mutagen in their laps.

FRANKIE:
This job was a cinch!
CHUCKLES:
Cool it. Job ain’t done till we get paid.

Frankie palms a high-tech gun with an LED screen displaying its ammo.

FRANKIE:
Like we got anything to worry about with this heat. If Arekoj keeps paying with these I’d deliver my left-

POP!
The van jerks to a halt.

CHUCKLES:
The hell was that?!
FRANKIE:
I don’t know.
CHUCKLES;
Well take a look, ya mook!
FRANKIE:
I’m goin’, I’m goin’.

Frankie takes his gun out of the van and steps into the street. He looks at the tires and sees them shredded by a box of heroin needles covered in a black tarp painted to look like the road.

AREKOJ:
Oopph. You better tell your ride to lay off the black tar. That stuff will really tire you out.

Frankie looks up to see a man in a fedora and trench coat standing in the middle of the empty street.

CHUCKLES:
The hell you sitting there for?!

Frankie gets out of the car and points his gun at the figure, Chuckles hastily gets up and does the same.

CHUCKLES: Who are you?! How’d you know we’d be here?!
AREKOJ:
And now you’re 30 minutes late. Guess my delivery’s free.
CHUCKLES:
Arekoj?! You trying to screw us? Aint happening!

Chuckles fires his gun but instead of bullets, the LED chimes a fart noise and reads out BANG! Chuckles looks at it closer.

CHUCKLES:
The fu-

BANG!
The gun explodes, knocking Chuckles and Frankie down and blasting the van unsteadily onto a lamppost.
Arekoj walks from the shadows to the van. As he gets closer, the lamplight reveals his green hair, pale white face, and unnaturally large red grin.

JOKER:
Kids these days. Back in my time, guns were full of lead, not LED.

FRANKIE:
uuurghhhhhh
JOKER:
It makes sense when you write it out, okay?

Joker steps over Frankie to pull the case of mutagen from the van leaving a joker playing card in its place. As he gets out, Chuckles wheezes painfully on the ground.

JOKER:
Don’t worry, I’ll still give you a good rating. Side hustles, am I right?

CHUCKLES:
Ppplease...

>” Don’t worry, you’ll be all right”
Knock the van down so it crushes their left hands
>” Oh right! I forgot the tip.”
Tip the over down so it kills them both.
>” Here you go, plenty of stars!”
Knock them out with an oversized mallet.

>>5505012
>” Here you go, plenty of stars!”
Of the three jokes, it's the funniest.

>>5505012
>” Oh right! I forgot the tip.”
Tip the over down so it kills them both.

>>5505012
>Here you go, Plenty of stars

We don't really care about witnesses, do we?
Jokera?

>>5505012
>” Here you go, plenty of stars!”
Welcome back HCB! Can anybody refresh my memory on how the last thread ended? We were fighting some black vigilante in france, right?

>>5505797
Nightwing made friends (?) with Bronze Tiger, who is one of Waller's ops, and faced off with Man-Bat. We ended up in the Caribbean fighting Kobra and the schemes of that Professor Moreau-style guy who made Tygrus from Batman: TAS.

We then followed the trail of black market supertech to France, where we liberated/destroyed super psychic gorillas, while Nightwing/Red X got training from one of our detective/martial arts mentors, teamed up with a mad scientist, and learned not to be overreliant on super-technology after it got him briefly stranded in the Phantom Zone and encouraged his aggression.

We stymied some arms deals with our spec-ops ex-girlfriend based on Silver Age Batwoman, while Nightwing and that black vigilante guy (Raptor) got chummy, and he tried to appeal to Nightwing's Roma heritage and outcast status to let him assassinate some rich asshole who was turning poor kids into cyborg assassins (but we refused).

Then, he headed on home.

That's what I remember, anyway.

>>5505797
>>5505898
Mostly accurate. Some clarifications (and I can take this as feedback that my plots may be too byzantine.)

1. Intel shows Bronze Tiger "isn't" one of Waller's guys.
2. The French Government was making the super gorillas and was paying the rich asshole to turn poor minorities and immigrants into superweapons.
3. Raptor (as far as I know) isn't Black. He's a dark-skinned Roma.

Locking for "Plenty of Stars" update tonight!

Feel free to crosstalk and chime in with feedback like this, helps me improve the quest.

>>5505912
Thank you for the clarification! Bronze Tiger's still government, though, right? Just not Task Force X, I guess? Or am I still misunderstanding?

>>5505914
Yes he is a CBI agent, a federal agency that has control over Gotham law enforcement right now due to the Talon attacks and mutagen spread.

>>5505012
>” Here you go, plenty of stars!”

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>>5505012
>Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colours: FCO Plascencia.
>Alt-text: A large black blimp hovers over a smaller blimp that reads GCPD. A storm with large clouds and red lightning. The black blimp flashes its headlights and a silhouette of a city skyline is barely visible on the ground below.

The smiling man walks past the injured bandits and returns from the alley with an oversized mallet.

JOKER:
Here you go, plenty of stars!

The Joker knocks them out as his laughter echoes toward the sky.
___
Dick was the first to break the silence of the Bat-Blimp.

NIGHTWING:
Are all your exes gonna point guns at me or just the ones that are government agents?

You speak without turning from the controls.

BATMAN:
Before the mission took its current form I thought law enforcement was the best path to justice. Chase and Netz trained with me at Quantico before we went took different paths.
NIGHTWING:
Well her path ended with a badge. She knows who you are Bruce, that could be trouble.
BATMAN:
I’ve suspected certain figures in US intelligence we onto my activities. The fact they haven't made a move yet means there’s some greater plan at work, but Dick-

You turn to face him.

BATMAN:
If it comes to it, I will take any means necessary to protect you and Alfred.
NIGHTWING:
Look at me, Bruce. You already have.

The blimp moors at Wayne Tower and Dick walks to the exit.

NIGHTWING:
I’m gonna dig in the streets to see where that mutagen wound up. It’s more dangerous loose out there than it would have been with the Golums.
BATMAN:
Good work, we’ll debrief in the morning.
NIGHTWING:
So you’re not coming. Got a recon mission of your own?
BATMAN:
Something like that.

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>>5506197
>Pencils & Inks: Rafael Albuquerque. Colors: Dave Stewart
>Alt-text: Two men, Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent sit in a cocktail lounge. Harvey holds a Bombay dry.

You hate fancy restaurants. Bankers with mistresses, drug deals in bathrooms, managers stealing tips
To your trained senses, it's an orchestra of signs of crime screaming at you. Your suit is itching. You need to claw out of it and do something about-

DENT:
Bruce! You look half dead. Hope you didn’t kill yourself just to get here on time for once.

District Attorney Harvey Dent takes a seat at your private table.

BRUCE:
Oh, it was no problem, I was in the area.
DENT:
Business or pleasure?

You smirk.

BRUCE:
No comment.
DENT:
That two-face shtick might work in the papers but I know you, you’re not as shallow as you let on.
BRUCE:
Or maybe I’ve changed in 15 years.

Dent grimaces, you sense you’ve gone too far.

BRUCE:
Harvey, I-
DENT:
No, you’re right. It’s been a long time since Arkham. Been so caught up in my career and politics that I barely reached out when you came home.
BRUCE:
In your defense, I couldn’t have picked a worse time.

Dent smirks.

DENT:
You’d think that, but I think we’re on the cusp of something great. These feds the Mayor brought in, want to shoot things back to normal, but I see the potential for the future.
BRUCE:
Which is?
DENT:
The mob’s out, the owls are out. Mayor Hill’s forced into the light where the people can see his bullshit, the city’s ripe for change.

Your mouth opens in shock, only half of it faked.

BRUCE:
You’re running for Mayor.
DENT:
I’m running to heal this city.

He passes you an image on his phone of the rundown Arkham Home for the Emotionally Troubled. Its vine-covered brick is a bittersweet reminder of your past.
DENT:
The GCPD budget is half a billion. Imagine what that could do for kids like us, instead of lining the pockets of crooks like March.
BRUCE:
The council’s blocked funding to repair Arkham every time it’s come up.
DENT
These attacks woke the council up, them, and the whole city. And I’m not just repairing it. I’m expanding it. Top-to-bottom mental health treatment, employment training, restorative justice. Safety and compassion as two sides of the same coin.
BRUCE:
Harvey, when my parents died, I was in a dark place. Arkham showed me how to channel that pain and you showed me I wasn’t alone. But I know how a crusade can consume you. This could be a good thing, but you have to...
DENT:
Control myself?

The air in the conversation gets tense.

BRUCE:
...Be careful, you’re making some powerful enemies.

Harvey’s face calms and he puts his hand on your shoulder.

DENT:
I’m sorry, chewing you out’s not what I invited you here for.
BRUCE:
It’s fine, but what did you invite me here for?

He looks around and whispers.

DENT:
What do you know about The Bat Man?

>Knightmare
The Batman’s a violent criminal.
> Urban Legends
The Batman’s not real.
> The Defender of Gotham City
The Batman’s a hero.

>>5506200
> Urban Legends
Or if he is, surely he can't be just some guy singlehandedly taking down the mob and owls and whatever else, right? Maybe he's a government op, or a gang, or a bunch of different people and events all getting equated and retroactively tied together?

>>5506200
>> The Defender of Gotham City
>"It's something I've always dreamed of doing, you know? Massages, world class vacations and five star restaurants still seems more appealing than beating up a bunch of lunatics in stupid costumes in dirty alleys, however."

>>5506200
> The Defender of Gotham City
The Batman’s a hero.

>>5505930
Talon and mutagen were the reasons we even left Gotham into the Caribbean. We got sidetrack real bad, but we got leads on the mutagen there due to the one radioactive good scientist getting his meds, and thwarting the furry-fabricating bad scientist in the process. Now we're back in Gotham, where clearly this Desmond duo were involved in pushing that same mutagen. Am I correct?

>>5506200
> The Defender of Gotham City
He's the hero Gotham needs...
But who does Gotham deserve?

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>>5506469

>>5506200
>Defender of Gotham

Locking for Defender of Gotham City, Update later today.

>>5506200
> Urban Legends

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>>5506200
>Art: Brian Bolland. Dialogue Quotes: Brian Azzarello, Sam Hamm.
>Alt-Text: The left side of a man, Harvey Dent, wearing a suit and tie and holding a 1922 Silver Dolar heads side up.

BRUCE:
The Batman’s a hero. I’ve dreamed of being able to do what they do, but-

You take a mouthful of beefsteak tomato salad with very thinly sliced red onion dressed with extra virgin and Maldon salt.

BRUCE:
I found other pleasures.
DENT:
That you did, but I don’t think Batman’s a man.
BRUCE:
I make it a habit not to assume genders myself.
DENT:
Not what I meant. You think there’s only one Batman? You think one human being could take that sort of punishment? I think “Batman” is someone’s personal squad. Well-trained and well-funded.

If you hadn't trained to hide your emotions Dent might have seen you sweat.

DENT:
And I want more of them. Arkham will be the cure. Batman can be the prevention. Imagine that method scaled up with city funding. Citizens engaging in direct action, trained in self-defense and conflict resolution with the funding and resources to solve problems on the front end before we have to deal with them in the streets.
BRUCE:
You want to replace the cops with what, Batman Inc? No way the city would fund...

He gives you his trademark half-grin.

BRUCE:
No...
DENT:
Your father paid for the railway, your mother revolutionized health care in the city. They knew their power wasn’t a luxury, but a responsibility.
BRUCE:
But something this radical. The mob’s near extinct, the owls are gone, your buyback program is strong and you’ve never lost a case...

He slams his hand on the desk.

DENT:
*Almost* never lost a case.

His face screams at you in pain and silence. For once, you would be glad to focus on the tax evaders the next table over.

BRUCE:
Harvey, I’m sorry, I just meant I think the city’s finally getting back to normal.
DENT:
Normal? I started small with the buyback, and now we see this monster goo and an army of who knows what coming in to replace it. The world’s changed since Metropolis, why not make that change for the better?
BRUCE:
Using the Mayor’s office to rebuild the government from scratch...
DENT:
You know me, always playing both sides.

The waiter arrives with the check and Harvey pulls out his lucky coin.

DENT:
I know it's a lot to take in, and I’m not asking for any commitments. Just show up for the campaign announcement at Arkham. It will mean a lot to the kids there to see two of their own make it.
BRUCE:
I’ll think about it.
DENT:
You always do.

He flips the coin and catches it on the back of his hand.

DENT:
Heads you pay.

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>>5507261
>Pencils: Clay Mann. Inks: Seth Mann. Colors: Ulises Arreola.
>A red-haired woman wearing glasses and a lab coat, Dr. Pamela Isley, holds a banana.

ISLEY:
Come to see what Wayne’s paying for?

Isley’s lab is smaller than her last one, a concession made so it could fit in the city and be more accessible to you.
The walls are covered in cases of plants and unknown chemicals.

BATMAN:
I couldn't acquire a sample of the new mutagen formula.

She sighs and injects a browned banana with green fluid.

ISLEY:
More bad news. A T-100 sample would make up for a lot of losses here.
BATMAN:
I thought you had everything you needed here.
ISLEY:
Survival isn't the same as growth. I thought Bruce paying for this with his personal funds instead of Waynetech would mean *less* red tape, but whatever that guy spends his money on, it's not this lab.
BATMAN:
You’re doing good work here Dr. Isley, I can get you a sample.
ISLEY:
It’s not just about the sample. The greatest leap in technology since the agricultural revolution and all people will pay for is ways to make it a weapon.

The banana flexes and grows bright yellow.

ISLEY:
We could end famine across the world, grow ethanol for fuel with next to no carbon footprint, produce medicine in quantities so vast it would be free...

The banana continues to flex until it explodes.

ISLEY:
But I can’t do that working out a basement. The military was throwing billions at me to weaponize this, it's only a matter of time before Woodrue or that hippie Holland cracks it for them.

You upload a file to her computer. A 3d model of the inside of Dr. Desmond’s van.

BATMAN:
The mutagen was gone but I was able to scan an image of the equipment Dr. Desmond was using.
ISLEY:
Those units.. .must be doing total synthesis... but at that scale...

Isley pulls up a map of Gotham on the screen and starts marking locations.

ISLEY:
Since you bombed them in Santa Prisca, Kobra’s had to ship the raw materials stateside for production. Given its shelf life, they’re about a dozen facilities in the area that could be producing T-100 in the volumes we’ve seen.
BATMAN:
Then I’ll search them all. With your help, we’ll get rid of this venom.
ISLEY:
But what if we don’t need to get rid of it, what if we just need it in the right---

She turns to see empty space.

ISLEY:
Hands?

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>>5507271
>Art: Nicolas Ferrand
>Alt-text: A massive computer array wired to multiple monitors, disc readers, and servers. A blimp is displayed on one screen.
>Vote Titles: Bill Finger, Paul Levitz

On the Bat-Computer, flocks of CBI helicopters hover around Gotham square’s tree-lighting ceremony. You and Dick talk while preparing for tonight’s mission.

NIGHTWING:
Mayor Hill’s really pulling out all the stops this year.
BATMAN:
It’s a show of force. Hill’s given the CBI unchecked authority to draw focus from his own crimes, he needs to be in lockstep with them to save his skin.
NIGHTWING:
Word from Ben is they don’t like him much. Once the mutagen’s gone, looks like that Hill’s getting flattened.
BATMAN:
Then it seems Harvey didn't need me after all.

Dick looks pensive.

NIGHTWING:
Hey, I don’t know what the Arkham Home was like, but if its anything like the circus those bonds run deep. Maybe you *should* show up.
BATMAN:
The mission comes first. We need to find out where Desmond was making the mutagen and we’ve only cased half the potential lab sites.
NIGHTWING:
And I can check out the next one myself. Besides, from what you told me, Harvey’s campaign could be part of the mission too.
BATMAN:
This

You gesture to the Bat-Cave around you.

BATMAN:
Was meant to *save* this city from the chaos that consumed it. It almost sounds like Harvey wants to embrace it.

Alfred walks in holding your new gauntlets.

ALFRED:
Is that so different than the darkness you adopted?
BATMAN: The goal of Batman is to make a world that doesn't need him, not to make the City his battlefield forever.
NIGHTWING: But what if Dent could win that battle?

>The Man Who Led a Double Life
Go as Bruce to Harvey’s campaign announcement
>Hunt & Be Hunted
Case out the potential lab.

>>5507278
>The Man Who Led a Double Life
Can we prevent the Two Face transformation? Is it even a chance? We gotta try at least either way.

>>5507278

>The Man Who Led a Double Life

Nightwing can handle casing these places.

>>5507278
>The Man Who Led a Double Life

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>>5507278
>The Man Who Led a Double Life

>>5507278
>the man who led two lives

>>5507284
Locking for "The Man Who Led a Double Life"

Update later today.

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>>5507278
>Pencils: John Romita Jr. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors: Dean White.
>Alt-text: A man, Alfred, stands next to a car and is holding hands with a boy, young Bruce Wayne Alfred holds a suitcase and both are outside a gate that reads “Arkham.”

BATMAN:
Stay on recon, contact at the first sign of trouble.

Dick smiles

NIGHTWING:
You got it, partner.
ALFRED:
It seems you’ll be needing a change of wardrobe.
NIGHTWING:
Knowing Harvey, he might *want* the vigilante vote.
______
It's the coldest winter in Gotham in decades, but the crowd is still thick. At the center of it all, Gotham’s Dark Knight stands at attention.

DENT:
Thanks for coming out tonight. You’re here in the frost instead of cozying up at home and it means a lot to me, and to this city. And this city needs it. It's going through a dark time.

He turns towards Arkham and sees you smiling next to the students, doctors, and teachers.

DENT:
Years ago, I was going through a dark time. Generations of trauma and corruption piled up on my family, and on me. If it weren’t for the people at the Arkham Home, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Someone who can pay it forward.

He points downtown.

DENT:
Across town right now is the status quo. The remnants of those who suck our city dry with one hand while bringing down the hammer with another. Who devasted this city and got rich hammering up for the problems they caused. No more!

He pulls out his lucky coin.

DENT:
It’s a lie that we have to sacrifice freedom for safety. They're two sides of the same coin. As Mayor, I’ll get the CBI out of the city. And replace our current police department with a community-based model of public safety. One based on mental health services, restorative justice practices, and the leadership of community activists and organizers.

He turns towards Arkham.

DENT:
And an expanded Arkham will once again be a haven for those who need it. No longer will addicts be given handcuffs instead of treatment. No longer will “justice” come at the hands of strangers with guns, and no longer will the people serve those in power instead of the other way around.

He turns and looks at you.

DENT:
I met my best friend here. When I told him about this plan, he looked at me like I needed to go back.

Some reporters chuckle.

DENT:
He thought I had a 50/50 chance at best to pull this off. So I said, “Bruce...”

He flips his coin, showing it has two heads.

DENT:
I make my own luck.

The audience screams in applause as Dent steps off the podium.

BRUCE:
Great speech Harvey, didn't know I was in the script.

DENT:
I wrote two in case you didn’t show.

BRUCE AND DENT:
“Always play both sides.”
BRUCE:
I won’t forget you cheated me out that dinner.

Harvey points at a clown-themed food truck the kids and a security guard are crowding around.

DENT:
I’ll buy you a taco and call it even.
BRUCE:
It’s nice you did this for all the kids, they really like it.

Harvey stops dead in his tracks.

DENT:
I thought you rented the truck.

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>>5507789
>art: Teen Titan Go Production Team https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4738876/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm
>Dialouge Sample: Randy Rogel
>alt-text: A taco truck at night. On its side is a picture of the Joker holding his hair, based on Brian Bolland’s art from “The Killing Joke.” Hahas surround The Joker, who holds a taco with a lit fuse. Text reads TACO TROUBLE and THE JOKE IS ON YOU. A small cartoon Batman head smiles with YUM! Written next to it.

SECURITY:
Hack hack, ha-

The guard chokes and falls. A pale-faced clown runs out of the truck to them.

CLOWN:
Everyone back away! I’m a doctor.

A crowd of onlookers blocks you from reaching them. The guard’s coughing intensifies until it sounds like...laughing.

CLOWN:
I diagnose you with a critical case of...

The Clown stands up with the guard's gun and fires several rounds in the air, the crowd panics.

JOKER:
LEAD DEFFICIENY! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

The crowd runs to the exit, but some people who are running right at-
BRUCE:
Harvey!

You reach for him just as a large “reporter” from “Gotham Current Affairs” comes at him with a taser disguised as a microphone. Before you get there-

DENT:
You little weasel! I’ll tear you apart!

Dent grabs the taser-mic and twists the attacker’s wrist until it snaps

“REPORTER”:
AHHH!!!

He throws his attacker to the ground and gives a savage beating. You pull Harvey off before he goes too far.

BRUCE:
That’s enough!

BANG!
You both stand still as the clown points a gun at you, at too far a distance for you to try anything without risking civilian casualties.

JOKER:
Finally, politics WITH bloodshed. Mao eat your bald heart out.
DENT:
Who are you and what do you want?
JOKER:
A hard-hitting interview of course.

He looks at the “reporter” bleeding on the floor.

JOKER
Well, not THAT hard. Punch, Judy! Get Mr. Dent to the green room.
Two hulking figures come out the food truck. Harvey Walks over to them.
DENT:
I’ll do it, just let everyone go.
JOKER:
Of course. No one here is HALF as fun as you. Now let’s get this PTA night started.

The clown and their guards take Dent into Arkham. This is bad. With holiday traffic, half the CBI and GCPD are half an hour away at the tree-lighting, assuming Hill doesn't use this bump off a rival.

BRUCE:
Mr. Malone to bird watcher.

Gunfire blasts from your earpiece.
NIGHTWING:
A bit occupied!
BRUCE:
What’s going on?
NIGHTWING:
Good news we found the lab.

BAM!

NIGHTWING:
Bad news, they had recon too.
BRUCE:
Pull out!
NIGHTWING:
Trying!

You need to get to a safehouse. No telling how many forces the clown snuck in, you need your-

CHASE:
This is the CBI! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!

File: The law.jpg (54 KB, 192x638)

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>>5507818
>Pencils: Dick Giordano. Inks: Bob Layton: Tom Ziuko
>Alt-text: A squad of armed government agents.

A platoon of CBI agents march onto Arkham grounds, mowing down more “reporters” that came to attack them. Agent Chase walks to you holding a loudspeaker while her squad handles crowd control.
BRUCE:
How are you here?
CHASE:
When I saw you on the guest list, I had Ben put me and a squad on standby. Trouble seems to follow you, Bruce.
BRUCE:
I have no idea what you’re talking ab-
She walks to the building entrance.

CHASE:
Hostage situation, how many hostiles?
BRUCE:
Three, at least one armed. Other two ex-miltlary. Col Moschin or Folgore based on the tattoos.
CHASE
You always were the smart one. I’ve seen what you’ve done here. Imagine what you could do with the right backing.
____
The pale man drags Harvey through the walls and the aged winnows rattle from the speakers

CHASE:
This is the CBI! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!
JOKER:
Oh, it seems winter break is here, I hope my parents got me cyanide for Christmas.
DENT:
What do you want with Arkham?

The clown pushes the gun in Dent’s face and puts on a cartoon gangster accent
JOKER:
This is a stickup, I want all the paper, myeah, see, myeah.
DENT:
This is a school. A hospital. There’s s no money here.
JOKER:
Money? Ha. You must be joking...
____
BRUCE:
You have three different infiltration points, avoid the west wing in case of snipers.
CHASE:
Formation Omega!

The troops surrounded the entrance.

CHASE:
You haven’t been here in 20 years and you remembered that? This is why we need you with us.
BRUCE:
I left for a reason.
CHASE:
We’ll talk after I send out the clowns.
She speaks on the loudspeaker.

CHASE:
You have 52 seconds to send out the DA!

A shrill voice sounds from the rafters.

JOKER:
Sorry, Da-da’s not home. Punch is the man of the house.

The clown pushes a body out the window and they crash in front of the agents. Miraculously an 8-foot muscularly monstrous clown stands up, they’ve taken T-100!

CHASE:
Fire!

The troops unload their weapons but Punch mows through them like toys. The human weapon is heading straight for you and Chase!
You could try to fight him head-on, but that may risk exposing your skills to the CBI agents and civilians that hadn’t evacuated.
Or you could move evasively to get you and Chase out of danger, though that risks Punch escaping.

>The Punchline
Fight Mr. Punch
>The Cowardly Lot
Try to escape with Chase.

>>5507835
>The Cowardly Lot
Can't be the man who led a double life if we immediately compromise one half of thag life, right?

>>5507835
>The Punchline

>>5507835
>The Cowardly Lot

>>5507835
>The Cowardly Lot
DO NOT COMPROMISE OUR POSITION

>>5507851
Locking for The Cowardly Lot.
Update later today.

File: Mr Punch.png (113 KB, 446x335)

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>>5507835
>Character Design: Andy Chiang. José López. Thomas Perkins.
>alt-text: A large man, Mr. Punch, wearing clown makeup and a jester’s outfit.

BRUCE:
Get down!

You push Chase to the ground and Punch runs past you, straight into her CBI van.

CHASE:
What are you doing?!

Chase fires five rounds into Punch’s back while he struggles to pull his arm out the wrecked vehicle.
BRUCE:
He’s bulletproof!
CHASE:
But not lightingproof.

She pushes a button on her gun and the bullets stun the giant clown with an electric shock.

CHASE:
Wires!
The CBI agents who are still conscious stand-up and fire harpoon rifles that crisscross Punch and pull him to the ground. Chase aims her sidearm at Punch’s face.
CHASE:
Stand down or I put one in your eye.
JOKER
Someone’s getting coal!

A large chunk of brick sails through the air at Chase and you knock her out the way. In Arkham’s highest window the clown gets into a... Santa Claus-style sack being held by another giant clown.

JOKER:
Time to make deliveries to the naughty and nice people of this city. On Judy!

Judy jumps out the window and makes a series of giant leaps until she comes to Punch. She swats the agents aside and rips the wires off.
JOKER
And now you’ve got my goon off-brand! Mr. Punch is a GLOVE puppet. No strings.
The lead clown turns to face their “audience.”
JOKER
That’s all folks, Merry Christmas and a Batty new year! HAHAHAHA!
Punch and Judy jump into the street, leaping from building to building until they’re out of sight. Chase radios in.

CHASE:
I need a search copter now. I don’t care about the mayor, we just have a Metahuman incident at Arkham!

Her voice fades as you rush toward the building, you need to make sure Harvey isn’t hu- and he just stormed out the door.

DENT:
Where are the clowns?!
BRUCE:
Are you okay Harvey?
DENT:
Okay?! This joker attacks our people, our home?! Why do we even have you here?!

Chase meets Harvey’s glare with a stare of her own.

CHASE:
The CBI’s contained two metahumans to date, we have the resources to handle this new threat.
DENT:
You call this handled? You better hope this dust up killed my polls because my first act of Mayor is kicking you feds out.
CHASE:
Noted, sir. If you can follow my colleague we can get your statement.

Harvey is ushered away by an agent while he calls at you.

DENT:
Know your rights!
BRUCE:
I know them plenty.

Chase walks the two of you to a private location
BRUCE:
Is this necessary? I have pressing business.
CHASE:
Why didn’t you take down the target? Between The two of us and our firepower, he’d be done.
BRUCE:
I don’t know what kind of man you think I am-
CHASE:
I know the kind of man you were. One who gazed into the abyss we call a planet and decided to do something about it.
BRUCE:
Quantico was a long time ago, Cameron.
CHASE:
It’s a new world, Bruce. The CBI’s been collecting agents, assets, tech beyond belief. If we're enemies the bad guys win, but if we work together, we can take down this “Joker” AND the mutagen.

File: Jack Ryder.png (629 KB, 552x691)

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>>5508676
>Portrayl: JackSquatJB
>alt-text: A man with glasses and a colorful suit and tie. His press badge reads JACK RYDER.
>Vote Titles: Scott Snyder, Jeph Loeb, Joshua Williamson.

BRUCE:
Am I under arrest Agent Chase?
CHASE:
No.

You walk off.

BRUCE:
Then we’ll chat another time.

As you put your head to your earpiece you hear Chase yell
CHASE
Remember the mission! Remember your parents!
BRUCE:
Birdwatcher?
NIGHTWING:
Exfiltration successful. No injuries.
BRUCE
Rendezvous at B-C. Mr. Malone Out.
____
The Bat-Computer blares the only story running today.

RYDER:
...still reeling from the “Joker” attacks that left 10 injured and dealt thousands in damage. No motive has been declared but reports show nothing was taken except several hundred report cards. The Dent Campaign condemned the attacks and promised to tighten security at-
NIGHTWING:
They had the second most powerful man in the city and they let him go for... report cards?
BATMAN
Crime is simple, Dick. Everyone has a motive, you just need the skill to figure it out.
NIGHTWING:
At least my night was simpler.

He uploads a city map to the screen. A red dot moves through the streets.
NIGHTWING:
I didn’t get T-100 but I landed a tracer on a truck. They know their lab’s been found so I bet my stocking stuffers it's heading straight for a safe house.
BATMAN:
Then it’s time to strike, are you well enough to fight?
NIGHTWING
I’m kushti but it’s not about me. That lab had an army. The last scraps of the mob making a final stand. I don’t think the two of us are enough to handle it.
BATMAN:
You propose?
NIGHTWING:
We scale up, there are a few assets we can make use of without bringing the in fully.
BATMAN:
You’re thinking of the CBI.
NIGHTWING:
With my contact with Ben and yours with Chase we have ins. We’ll be the knife and they’’’ be the hammer.
BATMAN:
There’s is a world of shadows. If we work with them we would have to be prepped for any ulterior motives.
ALFRED:
If motives are your concern, I believe Mr. Dent has worn them on his sleeve.
BATMAN:
With The DA’s office, we could fight both physically and legally.
NIGHTWING:
But he doesn’t have the forces the CBI does, we’d be trading firepower for political power.
BATMAN:
And both cases involve working with government figures.
ALFRED:
If we want to avoid the law, perhaps we could scale our operations deeper underground.
BATMAN:
Dr. Isley requested more funding, she doesn't have the resources of Dent or the CBI but her scientific expertise is unmatched.

>Shadow War
Ally with agents Ben and Chase in a spy thriller against metahuman cultists and international intrigue.
>Zero Year: Savage City
Ally with Dr. Isley in a sci-fi adventure of mutants and monsters.
>The Long Halloween
Ally with Dent in a crime-thriller against bizarre mobsters and politicians.

>>5508687
>Zero Year: Savage City
Harvey'a agood ally to have, but the best way to keep him safe (and with one, intact face) is to keep him out of this. Plus: imagine if we can keep Ivy on the right side of justice? We'd have such a powerful ally!

>>5508687
>spy thriller
Already had that last time with Nightwing and the events in France with the child soldiers and black market weaponry
>sci-fi adventure
Already had that last time with Batman and the events in the Caribbean with Dr. Radium and Cobra, and in France with the super-gorillas

I would say this leaves the odd one out being The Long Halloween, but that doesn't mean we HAVE to go crime-thriller yet. As much as the Joker is a clown bouncing high on his crime trampoline, the mutagen is THE central thread deriving from the original story arc with the Owls and the mob. We've helped Dr. Isley in the last arc stay alive and continue her work, and she did help us stop the Talon serum if I remember right? But with her hinting about lack of space and funds, and her desire to seize the mutagen to use it ourselves, she might be veering close to Poison Ivy territory. On the other hand, we have Dent who still has not gone Two-Face. He did want Batman's support as the new mayor of Gotham, and the political aspect of things cannot be ignored for long with the CBI feds being here for that reason. Speaking of them, the CBI were the ones that ultimately captured Man-Bat with Nightwing's help before. They have a stake in this too, despite being an unwelcome presence in our Gotham.

>>5508687
>Zero Year: Savage City
Ally with Dr. Isley in a sci-fi adventure of mutants and monsters.

A nice escape from reality.

>>5508701
>>5508708
Do you think there is an alternate option we could benefit from pursuing? We could go "Zero Year: Savage City" with Dr. Isley, but maybe pass the political mob information to Dent - based on what identifying information Nightwing could have collected from the mass baddie forces at that lab? Or pass/trade that information on the baddies on to the CBI, and have them use that information to pursue their own leads? Going the Dr. Isley route with this, but allowing other character routes to progress offscreen?

If this isn't possible, then my vote is
>Zero Year: Savage City

>>5508710
No matter which vote you choose, the other characters will be involved in the plot as supporting characters. The character you ally with will be the deuteragonist.

>>5508714
Cool, thanks for clarifying. Then I'm sticking with my vote in >>5508710

Also as we are wrapping up the first act of the quest, I would like to take advantage of the Holiday to open the floor for feedback on how things are going so far.

This will also be one of the more critical votes for the quest so I am also open to having a longer vote time than others depending on how it goes.

>>5508687
>The long Halloween

I like supporting Isley. But I really like getting the political punchs in.

>>5508687
>Zero Year: Savage City

>>5508729
Autistically sourcing every image used is nice.
Having the dialogue and action flow exactly like comic panels would, but less limited and with more freedom of description/text due to the /qst/ posting, is all good.
Having comic titles plus brief punchy description as the vote options at the end is also very good.
No explicit write-in option is interesting despite the offense some might take with its lack in a running quest on /qst/, but I rather like that the quest you run has preset options. It reminds me of actual comic books and old paperback Choose Your Own Adventure novels where you go to Page X or Page Y or even Page Z depending on the option you pick. In that sense, it works both mechanically for the players and flavor-wise for the quest, without detracting much from player voting/freedom. That's what I think.
Another bit of feedback might be to try [b]bold[/b] or [i]italicized[/i] or [b][i]bold italics[/i][/b] in your narration posts, since comic books also have those. Not to the egregious extent some comics out there do, but a bit here and there to emphasis could be good. I am not sure if it would be, so that's why I said try and see how it looks.

>>5508729
I'm quite enjoying it, as I always do. You have one of the more unique presentations on the board and, while I found it a bit tricky at tbe beginning of Nationquest, it works REALLY well for Batquest. Part of this is your refining of the technique, and part of it is that we have the base familiarity with the names and setting to keep us moored and help remind us who is who.

Looking for Zero Year: Savage City.

Update later today.

File: JTV.png (1.42 MB, 1920x1080)

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>>5508687
>Character Design: Jeff Matsuda. Andy Chiang, José López, Thomas Perkins. Storyboard: Joung Choi, Seung Eun Kim, Kalvin Lee, Chap Yaep. Background Paint: Bill Dunn
>Dialogue samples: Michael Jelenic. Ed Brubaker.
>alt-text: The Joker, an unnaturally pale man with long jester-cap-styled hair and a large red-lipped grin waves while a jester logo saying JTV is in the corner.

BATMAN:
It’s too risky to work with the law, even if we know them.
NIGHTWING:
Pam might be a genius but she won’t be that good in a fight

You remember her killing a Talon with a gas attack.

BATMAN:
You’d be surprised.
_____
ISLEY:
This is surprising.
BATMAN:
You said you needed more resources. We have access to funds and equipment. It’s time you join the mission.

Dr. Isley turns to her computer in her equipment-cramped lab.

ISLEY:
My mission is to help the world, not fight people.
NIGHTWING:
This IS how we help the world.
BATMAN:
We’re the closest we’ve been to the mutagen. Please, we need your help.

Your Bat-Comm buzzes.

ALFRED:
Penny One to Mr. Malone: This “Joker” has gone live.
BATMAN:
Bat-cast!

Your cowl casts the stream into Dr. Isley’s computer. The criminal clown sits with “JTV” in the corner and a chatlog spamming emotes.

BATMAN:
Bat-Wave! Trace the broadcast!
JOKER:
Goooood evening Gotham! I hope you all enjoyed my Christmas show, lord knows it was better than that snooze fest at city hall.

A crudely animated cut out of Mayor Hill appears on-screen.

“MAYOR”:
Blah blah
JOKER:
And hey, LOVE the Joker name, by the way. Funny I didn’t think of it! HAHAHAHAHAAHAH!

His face snaps to a severe scowl.

JOKER:
In all seriousness. Mr. J needs some help. This is a time of giving, and my stockings are dryer than leftover turkey. Why do you ask?

The Joker’s image shrinks to the corner as a picture of an animated fish with a clown grin fills the screen.

File: Laughing Fish, On Sale Soon!.jpg (104 KB, 685x960)

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>>5510250
>Art: Burton Gray
>Alt-text: An unnaturally muscular fish, with pale white skin and a huge grin filled with human teeth. Goldfish cower in fear inside its mouth.
>Dialouge Samples: Bill Finger, Paul Dini
>Vote Title: Laurie S. Sutton
JOKER:
Laughing Fish NFTs! Smiling Smelt! Giggling Grouper! Happy Haddock!

He slams his fist.

JOKER:
An award-winning assembly of aquatic amusement, and the feds freeze my sales! Why? Because of nonsense technical words like-

He uses mocking air quotes

JOKER:
“Arms dealing” and “money laundering” and “funding war crimes?” No! It’s because they have a war on art and free spirits and I won’t stand for it.

The screen shifts to the image, name, and address of one Henry Claridge.

JOKER:
If the fruits of creative genius aren’t made available for purchase by my adoring fans, then by midnight tonight, the gag will be on you, Mr. Claridge. The Joker has spoken! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

The stream ends.

ISLEY:
Holy Gaia, Batman. You really do need my help.
NIGHTWING:
Did you get a lock on the signal?
BATMAN:
The broadcast was too short to track, we’ll need to work backward from the commentators.
NIGHTWING:
That won't save Claridge tonight.
ISLEY:
Wait!

Dr. Isley points to the red dot on the Gotham Map.

ISLEY:
The truck you traced is moving into the chemical warehouse district, we have a chance to get the T-100 tonight.
NIGHTWING:
If they change trucks, offload the mutagen or find the tracer, we could lose them for good.
BATMAN:
And the Joker is still on the loose.

>You Choose Batman: The Joker’s Dozen
Write in how you split Batman, Nightwing, and Dr. Isley between striking the truck or protecting Claridge. You may have everyone work on one case or may divide the team between them.

>>5510253
>Batman to pritext Claridge
>Nightwing and Isley to get the T-100

>>5510455
This sounds good. Never know what to expect from the Joker.
+1

>>5510455
+1

>>5510455
Support

>>5510455
*protect

Locking for Batman protecting Claridge and Nightwing and Isley dealing with the truck.

Update within 24 hours

>>5511188
I wonder when Roman Sionis as Black Mask will make an appearance, and if he cares at all that Batman did not really harm his family once? And I wonder how the Penguin will turn out after Black Mask killed his father. Is Ducard really Ducard, or is he Ra's al Ghul? Is Joker in this tied to ACE Chemicals in any way, and if not then where is Red Hood?

File: A Smile on that face.jpg (129 KB, 565x557)

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>>5510253
>Image Dialogue: Ed Brubaker. Pencils & Inks: Doug Mahnke. Colors: David Baron. Letters: Rob Leigh
>Alt-text: A man, Henry Claridge, laughing in pain while his skin turns white, his lips turn red and his hands clench in rigors.
>Dialouge Sample: Bill Finger
>Vote Titles: Gregg Hurwitz, Peter J Tomasi
Claridge Mansion is like a fortress. Top-notch private security padded with CBI agents and police. It’d be a challenge for YOU to get it, let alone this ridiculous clown.

BATMAN:
Bat-Wave, Radio Scan.

You dial through the various bandwidths until you dial on a voice you recognize. CBI Gotham Chief Benjamin Turner.

CLARIDGE
You’ve got to protect me!
TURNER:
Just stay in the panic room, we have a perimeter around the building.
CLARIDGE:
Don’t tell me what to do, boy! Hill’s the only reason you spooks are here. And I’M the reason he’s in office. You keep me alive or you lose your jobs!

Ben’s right, if he was in the panic room you wouldn't be able to pick up their signals at all, and if you can listen in...

BATMAN:
Bat-Drones report
BATWAVE:
The perimeter scan shows no signs of hostiles.

Almost midnight now. Is he planning an aerial attack? No, the CBI has a no-fly zone. And inside-job?

BONG! BONG!

CLARIDGE:
Ha! I’m safe! That thug thought he could scare me!
TURNER:
Sir! Stay in the panic room!
CLARIDGE:
Thought he was so smart, hee, I’m the big boss of Gotham, ha, the big chee hee he HAH HAHAHAHA!
TURNER:
Medic! Get a medic!

Your radio explodes with activity as the agents scramble through the mansion.

BATMAN:
Bat-Wave! Pull the last 24 hours of tracking for Henry Claridge!
He turtled up the moment the Joker went live, no opportunities for contact unless he was hit BEFORE the stream. Of course!
A time-delayed poison, The Joker predicted a crime he already committed. But how could he have reached Claridge, he’d need some method of intel...
Arkham! The Joker didn't just have access to report cards but to all patient information, including parents and guardians.
The high cost of care means the clientele tends to be wealthier, it's how you could afford it. If Claridge was paying for an Arkham bill, the files could have let Joker track him down. Every patient and guardian of a patient at Arkham is a potential target.
Arkham uses Waynetech computers, you could access the files yourself, but that would be an extreme violation of privacy for the patients, students, and families.
You could contact Arkham, and warn them of the danger, but there’s no guarantee they’d listen to you given your reputation.

>Matter of Trust
Contact Arkham
>Hollow Man
Hack the Arkham files.

>>5511982
So Joker got the report cards of kids, but this is in addition to all their files and patient information. How? How did he get in? And he used that information to track Claridge and kill him for being the reason Mayor Hill is in office. So can't we as Batman hack the Arkham files? Is that the Hollow Man option, or is the Hollow Man option hacking the files as Bruce Wayne?

>>5512017
>So Joker got the report cards of kids, but this is in addition to all their files and patient information. How? How did he get in?

When Joker broke into Arkham here
>>5507835
That was the "paper" he was joking about.
Batman just realized if he could steal the report cards, it means he had access to other private information too.
>>5512017
>So can't we as Batman hack the Arkham files? Is that the Hollow Man option, or is the Hollow Man option hacking the files as Bruce Wayne?
There isn't any difference between hacking the files as Batman or Bruce Wayne. The Hollow Man option is accessing the files without permission, thereby violating intimate mental health privacy. The Matter of Trust option is trying to communicate with someone at Arkham to explain the situation to them, even if you can't guarantee their cooperation.

>>5512034
Thanks for clarifying

>>5511982
>Matter of Trust
Joker already did it first, so us hacking them would change nothing. But even so, it has to do with what Arkham means

>>5511982
Moral qualms. . . Hmm.

>A matter of trust
We don't want anyone getting hurt. But further we have to stand for some principles.

>>5511982
>Hollow Man
The principle we stand for his life. It's justice. It isn't due process or privacy. We already spy on people without warrants or permission all the time.

>>5512142
But Arkham is a special case... isn't it?

>>5512157
In that we ESPECIALLY need to make sure this mad dastard doesn't kill the fanilies of our fellow patients! Failing to find Joker's tarhets and protect them before he strikes could create dozens of Arkham orphans! Children already suffering as Bruce suffered, now subjected to the same loss, because we decided to wait behind the red tape and let the killer clown be the ONLY extrajudicial actor privy to their deepest darkest.

>>5512161
Fine you convinced me.

>>5511982
Changing vote from >>5512045 to
>Hollow Man
We're already gun Batman

Locking for Hollow Man update today

>>5512847
Apologies, the update will be delayed to tomorrow.

>>5513377
No worries, QM!

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>>5511982
>Figure: Prime Studio 1 . Character Art: Del Walker, Benjamin Flynn.
>Alt Text: A man, Nightwing crouches on a rooftop in a tactical military suit. He wears a domino mask with red eyes and holds two staff weapons glowing at the end with red electricity. On his chest is an armored emblem shaped like a bird with wings spread.
>Vote Titles: Marv Wolfman. Tom Peyer

You feel something give away inside you, as you realize what you feel you must do. No, what you MUST do. Your father would be ashamed, but didn't he cut the skin to save the heart? Your uncle’s backdoors were tools he used to gain power, intel for blackmail, and data collection.
Now they’ll be weapons for good. You access the Arkham files and are instantly drowned in darkness. The secret struggles and shames of the city wash over you like a black ocean. The Elliots, the Cobblepots, and... Martha Kane?
Seeing your mother’s file fills you with discomfort. There is no need to read her history, but part of you questions if you would if you had to.

BATMAN:
Bat-Wave, cross-reference the patient rolls with Gotham families with wealth or influence, then highlight activity since the Christmas Eve attack.

The list isn’t as short as you’d hoped. Claridge is on it, supporting your theory, but it will take time to sort through the list. Time you’re running out of. You hope Dick and Dr. Isley are doing better.
_____
ISLEY
Does that a lot doesn’t he?
NIGHTWING
You have no idea. But like I said we have two options. We can attack the truck, or wait until it reaches the plant.
ISLEY
The truck will be an easier target alone.
NIGHTWING
But if I can infiltrate the plant, we could get more intel, and figure out the ringleaders of this syndicate.
ISLEY
And how did that go last time?
NIGHTWING:
Last time, I was going as a spy. This time

He presses a button on his gauntlet and his suit glows bright radioactive red. Arcs of clearly dangerous energy flow to his cachabas.

NIGHTWING:
I’m prepared for war.

>This Road to War!"
Attack the Truck
>Chemic World
Attack the Plant

>>5514125
>Chemic World

He says he's prepared.

>>5514125
>Chemic World

>>5514125
>Chemic World
Let's rock!

>>5514171
>>5514243
>>5514327
Given the unanimity, do you want me to lock this vote and start writing the update now would you prefer I wait?

>>5514340
Do it!!!!!

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5514340
Let us consult the coin.
Heads is 1 (give more people time to vote)
Scratched Heads is 2 (update now because of the unanimity)

>>5514340
Do it up!

t. >>5512161

>>5514340
do it.

Locking for Chenic World. Update later today

>>5514960
This one's for you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-H4YAk_PE8

>>5514960
This is also for you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFEQESNiqJc

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>>5514125
>Pencils: Don Kramer, Rags Morales. Inks: Christian Alamy, Michael Bair, Sandu Florea. Colors: Nathan Eyring
>Alt-Text: A high-tech glider flies out of a building.

ISLEY:
Is that Xenothium?!
NIGHTWING:
Soveneer from overseas. I used to think it was an arman. That it was a curse bringing out the worse in me. But I realize now it's the person holding the weapon that chooses if it's good or evil.
ISLEY:
You know what, let’s nail them all.
_____
ISLEY:
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Your glider has enough strength to hold an elephant, but Waynetech didn't account for the fear of the untrained.
ISLEY:
Can we go down now?!
NIGHTWING:
Almost at the warehouse!

You land on the roof of Ace Chemical Warehouse 1, Isley hugging the concrete like it gave her life itself.

NIGHTWING:
Sorry about that, take your time.
ISLEY:
No, we might not get a second chance, lets do it.
NIGHTWING:
I’ll take the rafters and set up the spy drones. Then I can guide you to the mutagen.
ISLEY
Kill the roots and the weed dies.
______
Your muscle memory kicked in on the rafters. Flipping from beam to beam brought you back to a better time, you use that to fuel you.
While the drones map out the warehouse, you sneak above a room full of people.
Someone in a white suit with a Black mask sits next to someone in a business suit and a computer with a camera.
Armed guards surround them while a haggard figure fidgets with a whiteboard.

BLACK MASK:
Dude, Abbadon was it? You’re losing me.
WITTS:
I told you to stop wasting time with this nonsense.
ABBATOIR:
It's Abbatoir sirs and it's quite simple. Mr. Witts, Black Mask, have you ever wondered how the monster of Metropolis achieves flight without any visible power source? The answer must be ambient energy in the environment.
WITTS:
What does that have to do with grave robbing?!

Black Mask raises his hand.

BLACK MASK:
Hold up, let him cook.

Abbtaoir starts frantically scribbling.

ABBATOIR:
What the ancients called Orgone is actually a fifth-dimensional wave field that flows from all living beings. It divides into seven equal parts based on the emotional frequency of the lifeforms. When a being dies, its energy dissipates into the atmosphere. With a small loan of ten million dollars and a supply of T-100, I can raid all five Gotham cemeteries in a single night. So we can process the raw material.
BLACK MASK:
Process?
ABBATOIR:
The psychosomatic energy of human flesh eclipses anything your mutagen does, you’ll make a return on your investment tenfold.
BLACK MASK:
You want us to give you ten million dollars, so you can eat people?
ABBATOIR:
Not just people, but the cosmic energy they contain. I theorize the liver has the highest concentrations of what I call Element X and...
WITTS:
Stop! I’ve put up with this enough! This juice was supposed to make us rich, now you’re playing loan shark with every freak in the city.

Black Mask stands and presses his headgear into Witt’s face.

BLACK MASK:
Watch it, Number 2. I’m the boss here.

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>>5516442
>Pencils & Inks: Sam Basri. Colors: Hi-Fi
>Alt-text: The torso of A Man, Mr. Witts, wearing a suit and tie and giving a smug grin.
WITTS:
Go ahead, do it. You spent your life in a pile of powder and now you think you can run things because you play dress up and everyone else died?

He waves his hand.

WITTS:
None of this works without me! As soon as you run this business into the ground our island friends find new buyers.

Black Mask looks at the camera and then back at Abbatoir. Before he can say anything a slow rhythmic clap echoes through the warehouse.

From the entrance, The Joker slowly walks to Abbatoir, everyone in the room standing at attention.

JOKER:
I’ve seen bad acts before, but you Abby, you really knocked ‘em dead.

He puts a hand on Abbatoir’s shoulder, and somehow the cannibal isn't the creepiest person in the room anymore.

WITTS:
The hell are you doing here?!

Witts pulls a gun

BLACK MASK:
Hold it, we have a deal.
WITTS:
You’re working with this freak?!
JOKER:
You know, you should be more thankful for the guy who got half your stash back after Mugsy and Rocky ran off with it.
WITTS:
What’s he talking about?
JOKER:
It’s funny a guy named Witts isn’t that smart. I got your goo back after the Desmonds ran off with it. Probably because they were fed up with your CRIMINAL lack of imagination.
ABBATOIR:
I can leave now if...

The Joker grabs Abattoir tighter.

JOKER:
You ever see Space Jam?
WITTS:
Okay, what the f-
JOKER:
Michael Jordan, the best basketball player on earth has to play with the Looney Tunes, and he is. Getting. Beat.

With each word the Joker steps toward Witts, dragging Abbatoir along.

JOKER:
Because he was playing like normal in a world without normalit\y! But when he let go, EMBRACED the madness he reached new heights!

The Joker pulls a gun out and shoots into the air, his bullets barely missing you.

BLACK MASK:
That’s enough--

He points the gun at Witts.

JOKER:
You’re thinking too small. We live in a world of Gods and Monsters and you’re running around playing Soprano for what? Money?

He pulls out a smartphone with a smile on its case.
JOKER:
My fish skyrocketed in value. I have more money than everyone here because I know what the people want! Not your gritty mob nonsense. Primary colors, explosions, epic fights, anything to distract them from the miserable boring NORMALITY of their lives.
BLACK MASK:
Your fish are still frozen. When you asked for funding you would make us all rich.

The Joker presses a button on his phone and the news plays.

RYDER
Reports say Claridge collapsed in his mansion in a fit of laughter. He is said to be in critical con-
JOKER:
I know who really pulls the strings, and once they start dropping like flies, my masterpieces will be free for sale. And every show I put on just raises the price.
WITTS:
Have you lost your mind? The man’s pointing a gun at you!
JOKER:
Actually, I’m pointing a gun at you... and the guy behind you.

Someone behind Witts steps to the left.

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>>5516448
>Pencils & Inks: Doug Mahnke. Colors: David Baron.
>Alt-text: A man, The Joker, with inhuman white skin, green hair, and a wide grin, points a gun at the viewer.
>Vote Titles: Jim Shooter. Alan Grant.

JOKER:
Hey Snake Guy, when you’re done fighting GI Joe, how many bull testicles or whatever will 100 million buy?

Everyone stares at the camera until the computer screen flicks on.

COMPUTER:
Enough to yield ten thousand doses.
BLACK MASK:
Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!
WITTS:
You deal with this wacko, we’re all dead!
JOKER:
Bossman? Permission to flush Number 2?

Looks like this weed is choking itself. You could jump in and put yourself at risk, or let them fight it out and mop up whoever’s left.
It’s not killing directly, but failing to act, is it the right thing to do?

>Duel of the Crime Kings!
Let them fight.
>The Meaning of Life
Intervene.

>>5516363
>>5516394
Thank you. And sorry for updating late again.

>>5516448
Missed a Dialogue Sample credit here.

>Dialoue Sample:Alan Burnett, Bruce Timm.

>>5516452
>Duel of the Crime Kings!
Let them fight.

>>5516448
>Millenial age bracket Joekr makes Space Jam references
Checks out. Kek, love it.

>>5516452
>Duel of the Crime Kings!
We aren't No Kill Batman & Robin, just No Summary Executions Batman & Robin. Remember, voting public, we bombed that srug ring on that island.

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>>5516452
>Duel of the Crime Kings!
I hope we're recording all this intel for Batman and future planning. Joker mentioned GI Joe and Snake Guy. I really hope pic related exists in this universe in all his cold glory. Reminds me of that one great Cobra Quest from 3 years ago: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=CobraQuest Well worth the read, I'll tell you what.

>>5516511
>Checks out. Kek, love it.
Very appropriate that QM's update has Joker make a Space Jam reference after I posted this >>5516394

>>5516559
>Joker mentioned GI Joe and Snake Guy
He may just be memeing because he is affiliated with DC's Kobra Cult, in the same vein of the Space jam joke.

>>5516571
Thanks for clarifying then. I like how this Joker's first big plot is to make and sell Joker Fish NFTs, but they're all frozen fish because the feds froze his sales.

>>5516605
In general, QM has been doing an amazing job with the references and characterization ESPECIALLY for Joker, who has consistently been funnier in this quest than his comic version has been in years.

>>5516642
>than his comic version has been in years.
I'm unfamiliar. You wanna explain or give examples?

>>5516642
I appreciate the compliment.
Though I think you may have forgotten your vote.

>>5517179
I'm >>5516511.

>>5516991
Since aroudn the time of Heath Ledger's protrayal and/or The New 52, DC has been leaning much harder into the "clown-themed serial killer" angle than the "sometimes deadly satirist-turned-gangster" one. The Joker spends a lot less time pulling capers and telling legitimately funny jokes than being creepy and giving monologues about chaos and death.

>>5517219
Sounds like they killed the Joker and replaced him with a ripoff. Somebody finally did what Batman couldn't, but in the worst monkey's paw way possible.

Locking for Duel of the Crime Kings. Update tonight

>>5517219
Putting on my annotator hat, a lot of that stems from The Killing Joke

That really paved the way for the "Joker kills 100 people to fuck with Batman" type stories.

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>>5516452
>art:naratani
>Alt-text: A man, Black Mask, wearing a Black Mask and a white suit. He holds two guns.

Your first instinct is to rush in, to protect life no matter whose it is. Like you did back in France
But then you remember what the computer said, ten thousand doses, and what just one did.
You remember the scared children on Christmas Eve and the hail of gunfire that night that had you using tools you swore off. No.
You won’t kill them, but you don’t have to save them.

WITTS:
Are you- you’re actually considering it?
BLACK MASK:
Let up will ya, I’m thinkin’.
WITTS:
Think on this, then.

Witts pulls out a phone.

WITTS:
If I don’t enter the code every 24 hours, all your dirty laundry goes public.
JOKER:
Oooh! I can show off my good undies!
BANG!

Witts collapses, and everyone pulls their guns.

BLACK MASK:
What the hell! We’re screwed now.
JOKER:
Come on Romey, who wants to play in the shadows when you can have an adoring crowd?

Black Mask grabs the computer and yells in panic.

BLACK MASK:
King Snake! Tell me you can hack the phone or whatever.
KING SNAKE:
Kobra will assess whether this partnership will continue.

The screen goes black and Black Mask angrily smashes it and sits with his head down.

BLACK MASK:
DAMN IT!
JOKER:
Huh, that went better in my head. Oh well, time to cut the losses. Punch!

The colossal metahuman bursts from the window and smacks half the guards aside. Black Mask and the rest aim their weapons but before they fire, Judy bursts from the other window and knocks them out from the back.

JOKER:
Oh yeah!
BLACK MASK:
What are you doing? We had a deal.
JOKER:
I was young and needed the money, goons don’t pay for themselves. Yada-yada.

He puts on a terrible Italian accent.

JOKER:
“One for them, one for me” and all that, and if you’re gonna be wearing white stripes soon...

He walks to Black Mask and points his gun at his head.

JOKER:
I figured I’d take a grateful donation.

He turns to Abbatoir.

JOKER:
Good news Abby, the buffet is open!

He points down a hallway.

JOKER:
And I know where they keep the sauce.
The mutagen!

NIGHTWING:
Target acquired, move quickly, you might have company.

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>>5517968
>Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors:FCO Plascencia
>Alt-text: A man in a blue jumpsuit
>Vote Titles: Tom King. Peter J. Tomasi. Duane Swierczynski

Days like this you wish Gotham U had a track and field class.

ISLEY:
I’m coming up to the lab, are you sure I’ll be safe?
NIGHTWING:
No, but the drone tazers should help
GUARD:
Who are-AHH!!!

The Guard falls down in a shivering pile.

NIGHTWING:
Told you.
ISLEY:
I feel better already.

The lab behind the door puts yours to shame. A shame that THIS is what pays. Now to find a sample-

DARYL:
What are you doing there?!

An unarmed figure stumbles in. Wrinkled lab coat, bags on the eyes, over-caffeinated breath. You know the look.

ISLEY:
You’re a lab tech.
DARYL:
I’m the lab OWNER, who are you?

>Everyone Loves Ivey
Try to lie.
>Blowback
Use Physical Force
>Clean Getaway
Run Away and hope you can snag some mutagen on the way out.

>>5517971
>Everyone Loves Ivey
Try to lie.

He doesn't stand a chance.

>>5517971
>Everyone Loves Ivey
Not yet sure if this Ivy is gay, but either way I'm confident she can pretend long enough to seduce her way past a lab tech.

>>5517971
>Everyone loves Ivey
Cant beat plant woman.

>>5517971
>Everyone Loves Ivey
Ivy is green. Money is also green. Criminals love money. QED

Locking for everyone loves Ivy. Update tonight

>>5518713
>EVERYONE Loves Ivy
>Unanimous vote
Like pottery.

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>>5517971
>Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors: FCO Plascencia
>Alt-text: A hand holding a baggie with a seed on it. The Seed has a picture of a flower on it.

ISLEY:
I’m Dr. Isley, the Boss hired me to help.

The lab tech’s eyes light up.

DARYL:
Holy-THE Dr. Isley? Your work is legendary. Your thesis was groundbreaking.
NIGHTWING:
Sign autographs later, we need the mutagen.
ISLEY:
Thank you, but from what I know you’re the one doing the groundbreaking.

The tech ushers you to a side room and your jaw drops. Camelina sativa. Zea mays.
A garden of Eden of plants all growing at superhuman rates.

ISLEY:
Holy hell you actually did it.
DARYL:
Not me. A Gothcorp team cracked it six months ago.
ISLEY:
But if they could do this why didn’t they...
NIGHTWING:
Doctor, hurry!
DARYL:
You know why. Something like this would change the world and the people that run it like it the way it is. So folks like us have to work with criminals for REAL progress.
NIGHTWING:
Get the mutagen and get out, NOW!

You ignore your earpiece as Darryl brings you to a drawer and passes you a seed.

DARYL:
THIS is the real breakthrough. All this time trying to find the ideal delivery method and nature had us beat by 350 million years. If the same seed can make parts as different as flowers, roots, bark, and stems...
ISLEY:
You’re using epigenetics.
DARYL:
The T-100 is a brute hammer, enhancing traits already in the subject. But with this, we can have adaptable metagenettics. Custom-made enhancements for any lifeform.
ISLEY
This isn’t just remaking agriculture... it's remaking life.
DARYL:
And with enough of these, we can cut loose from the mobsters and CEOs who control us with their money. Imagine what can happen if we gave this power to the people who NEED it. With your help-

BANG!

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>>5519143
Thunder rings your ears as you watch Darryl fall in pain.

JOKER:
Ugh. When did mad science get so *political*? Back in my day, doomsday devices weren’t so preachy.

He points his gun at you.

JOKER:
But I do need a hand.

Darryl clutches his bleeding wrist.

JOKER:
Not that one. Show me where the stash is unless you want 200 lbs of fertilizer on your hands.
ISLEY:
Darryl, don’t.
DARYL:
Case 52.

Joker opens a case of hundreds of seeds.

JOKER:
Now *this* will stir up some trouble. Or make a heck of a bagel. HAHAHAHAHA
DARYL:
*hnnnng* No good to you. Seeds imperfect, success rate, one in a thousand.
JOKER:
A thousand?! Great, now I have to do math. Let’s see here...square root of fish, carry the two... Ah forget it.

He dumps the entire case onto Darryl! The labtech screams as the seeds root into his bleeding hand.

JOKER:
Talk about a green thumb.
NIGHTWING:
How 'bout a black eye?

A high-tech cachaba knocks the Joker upside the head and ricochets back to its owner.

NIGHTWING:
I told you to get out.
DARYL:
You’ree.. aaaah, with them?

The Joker stands up, his head bleeding a sickly green.

JOKER:
Looks like we got a snake in the garden. Time to get some new boots!

He lunges with a switchblade but Nightwing easily disarms and knocks down his enemy.

NIGHTWING:
Let’s get the goo and go, his two metagoons are still downstairs.
ISLEY:
Wait, it’s not just-
DARYL:
Theeevsssss???

Darry stands. His skin thin as paper and his limbs stretched like inhuman branches.

DARYL:
NO!

He arm sprouts out like a vine, knocking Nightwing into the wall hard enough to make him cough blood.

ISLEY:
Darryl, stop!

He faces you, pain twisting his face until a single flower blooms on it. He raises his hands to strike you... then pulls back.
Darryl’s limbs grow longer and he rips a hole in the roof before climbing out.
You look to the exit and see the imposing figures of Punch and Judy blocking it, just as the Joker gets up.

JOKER:
Hahahahahahahahaahah!!
_____
You’re swinging, feeling the freedom of the open air.
You know you can go as far as you like, without a net, because no matter how dangerous the move, your parents will be there to catch you.
You look down and instead of their smiling faces, you see an ocean of hellfire.

NIGHTWING:
AHHHH!
JOKER:
Done dreaming? if so, I'm glad you could hang.

You’re swinging alright, but swinging chained up to Dr. Isley dangling over a vat of acid. Punch and Judy stand next to The Joker at the controls.

JOKER:
I used to work here you know. Playing cards they made. Which is funny because, despite the name, I was more of a VS system guy.

NIGHTWING:

>Opening Offers
“Surrender now and I can make things easy for you.”
>Acts of Violence
“Let me down if you know what’s good for you.”
>The Joker Announces Danger
‘What are you planning?”

>>5519171
>The Joker Announces Danger
He won't surrender. He doesn't fear us (and why, right now, should he?). But we can get info... And hope we find a way out, or that Batman arrives soon.

>>5519171
>>The Joker Announces Danger
>‘What are you planning?”

The Joker's one weakness... monologuing. Heh.

>>5519243
+1

>>5519243
>Support
First objective is info gathering

>>5519182
Locking for the Joker announces Danger. Update in a couple of hours.

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>>5519171
>Art: Adam Hughes
>alt-text: A suit-wearing man, Black Mask, with a skull like face melted into a mask he is wearing.

The way he keeps going on, like he’s in love with his own voice... like a ringmaster! You can use that.

NIGHTWING:
What are you planning, Joker?!
JOKER:
Ooh. I like that line. Could get used to this cat-and-mouse gig. Punch! Bring out the party favor
.
The goon drags out a bloody and beaten Black Mask, the once pristine mask smudged in filth.

JOKER:
Hey buddy? Imma need you to give me the code to your bank account before the your guys plan has more cops in it than a donut shop.
BLACK MASK:
I don’t understand. I thought you said your NFTs had you loaded.
JOKER:
*PFFTT* HAHAHAH! Wait. Are you serious? NFTs are a bigger scam than even regular money, look.

He pulls out a picture of a laughing fish on his phone and clicks “save as...”

JOKER:
The only value these things have is looking amazing and stringing along chumps like you.

Whoever's under that mask, they found a way to frown through it.

BLACK MASK:
The feds ain't unfreezing your sales are they?
JOKER:
Nope. But as long as people THINK they will, the price of fish goes up and I can keep getting patrons for my art.

The Joker grabs Black Mask by the face and looks him in the eye.

JOKER:
You can appreciate that, can’t you Romy? I can smell it on ya. Underneath all the aftershave and coke sweat.

He caresses the Mask and gives a big sniff.

JOKER
You’ re a performer like me. You just.

He slaps the mob boss in rhythm to his words.

JOKER:
Have. To. Commit!

Joker looks at his phone.

JOKER:
Show time soon. Let’s put your face on.

He drags his screaming “patron” to the vat of acid.

BLACK MASK:
Wait! I’ll give you the code, 3861985. I swear, that’s-AHHHHHHH!!!

The Joker dunks Black Mask’s face in the acid and pulls it out, the material sizzling as it melts into the mobster’s flesh.

JOKER:
Thanks for the cash and the lab. We’re gonna have so much fun playing with your toys.
ISLEY:
There's nothing left!

JOKER:
What’d you say, carrot top?

Was that *real* anger? Seems he’s not so above it all.

ISLEY:
All the mutagen was in the seeds, and the guy you dumped them on just left through the roof.

The Joker looks back and forth between Pam, Black Mask and the roof.

JOKER:
Is that true, Masky?
BLACK MASK:
(screams in pain)

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>>5520530
>Pencils: Eddy Barrows. Inks: Eber Ferreira. Colors: Rod Reis
>alt-text: The Green Eyes and smiling face of the Joker loom large in the shadows. Underneath, Nightwing sinks into a spiral of bloody Joker playing cards.
>vote titles: Marv Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson.

JOKER:
What? Are you? Of all the... ARRRRRGHH! Judy, you’re with me, Punch you’re on camera.

He passes the phone to Punch. Then, with the skill of a seasoned performer, the frustration melts off his face the moment the stream starts.

JOKER:
Good evening, Joker nation, so glad I could put a smile on everyone’s faces. Especially Mr. Claridge.

He outlines an exagerated fake frown with his fingers.

JOKER:
But I’m a sad clown today because despite the Laughing Fish leaping up in value like a Canadian waterfall, Uncle Sam still won't hashtag freethefish!

Punch turns the camera at you.

JOKER:
They even sent their goons to stop me. But I won’t be intimidated, no. I’m an *American* and I have *rights.* And lefts.

He pulls a remote out with his left hand and points it at the controls.

JOKER:
The feds have until the stroke of midnight to respect my art, or boys in blue will be boys in goo. HAHAHAHAH

He pushes a button and you and Pam drop slowly descend. Very slowly. So slow you-

JOKER:
Screw it, it’s midnight somewhere!

He flips the switch and the chain lowers quickly. As you plunge, he tosses the phone into the acid and walks away with Judy. But before he leaves he turns back.

JOKER:
Tell the Bat, it’s been a gas. HAHAHA
ISLEY:
Got any ideas? I’m pretty attached to my skin.
NIGHTWING:
You won’t be if I can’t figure this out.

You’re trained enough to get out of these chains, the only limit is time. If you rush it, you could try to get the Joker before he escapes.
But moving that quickly risks injuring yourself or Dr. Isley. If you slow down, you can guarantee your safety, but you won't catch up.

>Rocks...
Escape quickly and risk injury.
>...and Hard Places
Escape slowly and let The Joker get away.

>>5520565
>...and Hard Places

>>5520565

>...and Hard Places
Escape slowly and let The Joker get away.

Last thing we need to do is dunk Ivy.

>>5520565
>...and Hard Places
Joker will appear again. Scum like him cannot resist crime. And when he does, the Batman will be there to face him

>>5520570
Locking for ...and Hard Places

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>>5520565
>Pencils: Doug Mahnke. Inks: Christian Alamy, Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne, Doug Mahnke. Colors: Gabe Eltaeb, Tony Aviña, Rod Reis. Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
>Alt-text: A black-gloved hand unravels chains with a “chang” sound
.
NIGHTWING:
I can get us out, I just need time.

Pam looks at the acid below.

ISLEY:
We don’t have much of that.

The chains “chang” as you rattle them.

NIGHTWING:
We’re too high up now. When we get closer to the ground, I’ll swing you so you can jump.
ISLEY:
Isn’t closer to the ground also closer to the acid?
NIGHTWING:
It’s a broken neck otherwise, so get ready.
ISLEY:
What?!
NIGHTWING:
It’s called a standing jump. A basic move. Can’t be too hard for a genius like you, right?

She can’t see your attempt at a reassuring smile so hopefully, your tone can add some levity.

ISLEY:
What, what do I do?
NIGHTWING:
Take a deep breath. When we swing, jump forward and up. You got this.

You turn to Punch.

NIGHTWING:
Hey, does the Joker pay dental?

Punch gives you a silent scowl.

NIGHTWING:
Now!

You swing your legs forward and let go of the unraveled chains. Pam tumbles onto the grate but you have a softer landing in mind.

NIGHTWING:
Cause your gonna need it!

You double-kick your feet straight into the metahuman’s jaw. A hit like that would knock you out cold, but he’s barely winded.

NIGHTWING:
Really wish I had my churri right now.

Punch barrels at you, throwing a hail of hits. You’re quick enough to dodge but all he needs is one lucky hit to end you for good.
He’s smarter than Desmond was. Not leaving his back open for you to chokehold him.

ISLEY:
Over here!
Punch turns to see Pam shaking up a plastic bottle filled with green fluid.
ISLEY:
Duck!

She throws it. You dive out of the way but your slower opponent takes the improvised gas bomb straight to the face.

ISLEY:
Guess your lungs aren't as beefy as the rest of you.
BATMAN:
Birdwatcher: come in!
NIGHTWING:
Here you loud in clear Mr. Malone. Figure you saw the show.
BATMAN:
Your tone tells me the situation has been handled.
NIGHTWING:
Almost. I think Mr. Punch needs help taking his medicine.
BATMAN:
Standby, if you can wait that long.

Punch stands up, still coughing, and throws a series of wild swings through bloodshot eyes. None land.

NIGHTWING:
Hear that Punch? The Devil’s coming.

You counterattack with a series of blows, pushing Punch closer to a window.

NIGHTWING:
All yours.

The Clown stands up for a final desperate lunge, just to get a taste of Bat-boot as Bruce crashes through the window on him.

NIGHTWING:
And... scene.

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>>5522415
>Pencils & Inks: Bryan Hitch. Colors. David Baron.
>alt-text: A man in a suit with a bat-eared cowl, a long cape, and a bat logo on his chest, Batman, crashes through the window feet first. He uses his cape as a glider while glass shards fall around him.
>Vote Title: Laurie S. Sutton
ISLEY:
Sorry to spoil the fun but if Batman saw the stream the feds won't be far.
BATMAN:
She’s right. We need to gather as much intel as we can, while we can.
ISLEY:
I don’t think this guy will be that talkative.

She kicks Punch’s unconscious form. Inspiring you to look at the passed-out mobsters The Joker left behind

NIGHTWING:
We could try working... wait, where's Witts?
BATMAN:
Witts...

His eyes go spacey like they always do when he's reading through his cowl.

BATMAN:
Jonathan Wittleson. Land developer. Always just outside the edge of Gotham’s usual corruption.
NIGHTWING:
Looks like he was one step ahead. I saw him get shot in the chest but there’s no blood trail.
BATMAN:
*hh- A flak vest then. He couldn't have gotten far and he’ll have critical information on this operation.
ISLEY:
You guys are ignoring the sequoia in the room. There’s a metahuman loose with genius-level intellect and a lifetime supply of mutagen in his bloodstream. We have to reach him before someone else does or he does something dangerous.
NIGHTWING:
And the Joker’s on the loose hunting for him, too.

> You Choose Batman: The Terrible Trio
Vote on how to split Batman, Nightwing, and Dr. Isley between tracking The Joker, Mr. Witts, and/or Darryl. You may assign zero people to any potential target.

>>5522426
Batman goes after Witts. He will be wanting to take revenge on Joker and Black Mask both for what they pulled on him. Batman can pull the Kobra connection info and get some leverage that way, seeing as both him and Black Mask were communicating with them during the scene earlier. Nightwing can recap for Bats' benefit. Let's see how "just outside the edge" Witts here really is.
Meanwhile, Isley and Nightwing continue pursuing Darryl. As much as Joker is a threat, he'll be planning and plotting elsewhere. That mutagen is all on and in one man now, a fast and mobile target many criminal eyes will be on. Chances are if Darryl's humanity is still in there swimming among the mutagen flow, Isley will be the key to reaching out for that genuine drive towards research and helping the planet/humanity... despite the deception going on earlier. Nightwing is there to be muscle and to bring up Joker as a target of Darryl's hatred and negativity. After all, he's the reason the operation was blown up like it was. The mutagen and its potential consequences matters more than the Joker does here, and that mutagen is directly tied to the overall plot so far since the Talon and Owls debacle of the past main arc. The clown will have his day, but not now.

>>5522426
Batman tracks Witts, Isley and Nightwing can pursue Darryl. As >>5522442 suggested.

Locking for Batman going for Witts, Nightwing and Dr Isley going for Darryl.

Update later tonight

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>>5522426
>Art: WB Games Montréal (https://www.igdb.com/games/batman-arkham-origins/credits )
>Alt-Text: A man, Batman, in an armored suit modeled after a bat, holds a man over a rooftop.
>Dialouge Sample: Jonathan Nolan& Christopher Nolan.
>Vote Titles: Dan Jurgens. Bob Haney. Paul Dini.

BATMAN:
One man or the entire mob? He can wait. Witts is the key to the Syndicate and Darryl is the key to the mutagen.
ISLEY:
I’ll take the lead with him. You need an expert to handle what he’s become.
NIGHTWING:
And you’ll need one of us to keep you out of trouble.
ISLEY:
Last I checked, I was the one who bailed *you* out.
BATMAN:
You’ll go after Darryl together. Witts is mine.
BATMAN
Batwave, canvas Ace Chemical Warehouse 1, past two hours.

Even with a vest, a bullet of that caliber would leave significant injuries. If he’s on foot he’ll be close, the other option being getaway vehicles.

BATWAVE:
Six vehicles found within time range.
BATMAN:
Scan plate numbers and sort ownership records.

No associations with criminal activity for any of them, but only one car has purchasing records that passed through three hands for suspiciously high sums of money.

BATMAN:
I ID’d a possible target.
ISLEY:
And I’ll work on tracking the biosignatures of those seeds.
The Batblimp floats above and you fire your grapnel.
BATMAN:
Good job, both of you. You went through a lot but it will be worth it for the people out there.

They smile at you.

NIGHTWING:
Any time, partner.

You soar into the night with a rare smile on your face.
____
Once you tracked the car, catching up in the Batblimp was easy.

BATMAN:
Fire Batdrones.

Two drones pour from the blimp and line up with the vehicle.

BATWAVE:
Jonathan Wittleson: Identified.
BATMAN:
Fire on the tires.

The drones puncture two tires and the vehicle grinds to a halt on the backroad. You tether your armor to the blimp and dive at the car.

BATMAN:
Mr. Wittleson, we need to talk.

You grab him out of the vehicle and the blimp pulls you both to a nearby roof.

WITTS:
What the hell! Let me go!
BATMAN:
You had dealings with Black Mask and Kobra. I need to know about them.
WITTS:
I don’t know what you’re talking about, hel-!

You cover his mouth, you need to find a way to ensure his cooperation.
> Tortured Options
Drop him from the roof, breaking both his legs.
> A Choice of Dooms.
“You talk to me, or I drop you off with the feds.”
>Honor Among Thieves
“That’s a lot of loyalty for someone who betrayed you.”

>>5524197
> Tortured Options

>>5524197
> Tortured Options
Drop him from the roof, breaking both his legs.


Had to think about this one for a bit.

>>5524197
>Honour among thieves

Physical pain should be the last resort. It makes information gathering worthless

>>5524197
>Honour among thieves
A LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN

>>5524315
Explain your logic? I'm interested

>>5524537
The downside of torture like that is that your victim will tell you whatever they think you want to hear, to make it stop. In this case, though, anything Witts makes up must plausibly fit with what we already know, and he doesn’t know what we already know. If he missteps, we can poune upon the errors and terrify him into telling the truth.

Leaving the vote open due to the tie.

Have fun discussing.

>>5525358
I'll flip vote if it gets an update sooner. I'd rather we not backslide on our initial characterization of a more hardass/lethal Batman, but I'd rather get an update than dig in my heels.

Who would be up for a compromise?

>The Classic
Hold Witts over the side of a roof and threaten to drop him if he doesn't talk. He's going to the feds, but he chooses whether its with busted legs.

>>5525418
I would absolutely support this compromise.

>>5525418
Same here.

>>5525418
I'm >>5524546 on mobile. I'll back this

Locking for the classic, update today.

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>>5524197
>Pencils: Carmine Infantino. Inks: Joe Giella. Colors: Unknown
>alt-text: A man, Mr. Witts, smirking smugly.
>Dialouge Sample: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

You stare at that self satisfied smirk and dangle the scum over the roof.

BATMAN:
How are you getting supplies into the city?!
WITTS:
If you’re trying to scare somebody, pick a better spot. From this height, the fall won’t kill me.

You drop him and catch him with your other hand.

BATMAN:
I’m counting on it. You’re going to the feds either way. You decide if you can walk there or not.
WITTS:
Hmmph. Try me-AHHHHHHHHH

He lands on his ankles with a sickening crack. He’ll talk. You’ll make him talk. You glide down and lift him up.

BATMAN:
TELL ME!
WITTS:
Ack! Or what? You’ll break an arm next? Pull out that piece? *nnnnhg* You think I got this far without having some muscle put on me? I ain't scared of you.
BATMAN:
People are going to get hurt.
WITTS
Hah! Ha-*aargggh* Is that what this is? You think you’re a good guy with your fancy toys and scary mask? You’re just as much a freak as The Clown. And he’s got a better chance of selling his scam pixels than you do getting me to say shit.

You handcuff him and have the Batblimp prepare to pull you back up.

BATMAN:
Let’s see if you’ll be as silent at the CBI.
WITTS:
I doubt it. I have an *unh* assault to report.

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>>5526903
>Vote Titles: Bill Finger, Paul Dini, Doug Moench
>Art & Dialogue Sample: Darwyn Cooke
>Alt-text: A man, Bruce Wayne, stares at a giant ghostly figure shaped like a Batsuit.

You went straight to the Cave after dropping off Witts. No time to speak with Alfred. Only time for the mission,

BATMAN:
Birdwatcher, status update!
NIGHTWING:
I’m at Red’s lab. We’re working on the mutagen
BATMAN:
I told you to search!
NIGHTWING:
You were hunting an injured man, we were looking after a wallcrawling metahuman with super strength. Maybe with all of us, we could have found the target but-
ISLEY:
How did *your* search go.
BATMAN:
Intel was...inconclusive.
NIGHTWING:
With Black Mask out of commission, Witts won’t need to use his insurance plan. We’re back to square one.
ISLEY:
Not quite. There were enough samples at their lab that I can build an algorithm of their exhaust.
NIGHTWING:
Exhaust?
ISLEY:
This planet was an oxygenless rock before photosynthesizers evolved. They broke down the smog of early Earth into the air we breathe today.
BATMAN:
This new mutagen is plant-based, the gas it gives off might be unique enough to track it.
ISLEY:
My system is slow but it should-
BATMAN:
Send me the program, I can run it with better results.
NIGHTWING:
So what do we do while we wait?
BATMAN:
The Joker stole a list of Arkham patients and their families when he attacked. We need to stake out any potential kidnapping or blackmail targets.
NIGHTWING:
... How did you get the list?
BATMAN:
I leveraged the resources established in-
NIGHTWING:
You broke into the files. That information was private, sacred.
BATMAN:
It was already in the hands of a terrorist and I needed it to keep people safe.
NIGHTWING:
We still have to have principles.
BATMAN:
The mission is my only principle, or have you forgotten?
NIGHTWING:
Did you forget the night we met? I could have stabbed that Talon dead, but I believed in a better way.
ISLEY:
Shoud I be listentin to th-
BATMAN:
This WAS the best way.
NIGHTWING:
Are you SURE there was no other way? Did you think of talking to the people, or Arkham?
BATMAN:
We can’t wait for red tape to take action. We cross the lines others can’t because we have to.
NIGHTWING:
Have to, or want to?
BATMAN:
Di-Birdwa...
NIGHTWING:
We’ll send you the files. I’ll keep patrolling for meta-activity. Birdwatcher out.
BATMAN:
ARRGHHH!
You smash the panel. Why can’t he understand? Why didn’t Witts listen? No. Focus. Do what you do. What you always do. Create a reason. Discover purpose in a world gone mad.
The files were the right choice. They have to be...

BATMAN:
Batwave, show the most likely Joker targets from Arkham records.

You’ll go out tonight. Scope out a target. Stop The Joker before he makes his move. For the mission. For the mission...

>The Man Who Radiated Fear
Scope out Dr. Jonathan Crane
>Heart of Ice
Scope out Dr. Victor Fries
>Binary Brains
Scope out Dr. Lucious Fox

>>5526906
>Binary Brains

>>5526906
>>The Man Who Radiated Fear
>Scope out Dr. Jonathan Crane

Chiming in to say I'll wait another day for tiebreaks if it needs to be done.

>>5526946
+1; damn the "hack Arkham files" and "drop Witts" ended up cold. We're still progressing, but man this sucks. Could have been better if we swapped, and went Batman and Isley to Darryl and Nightwing to Witts.

>>5526906
>The man who radiated fear

I didn't think the files were a sure bet, but damn I thought that witts would crack.

Locking for The Man Who Radiated Fear. Update tonight.

>>5527600
>damn I thought that witts would crack
I did too. See >>5524546

>>5527600
>>5527715
I guess you could say he kept his WITTS about him.

>>5528893
You need to pick up the pepper for this Assault on good comedy.

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>>5526906
>Pencils & Inks: Travis Moore, Garry Brown. Colors: Hi-Fi Design, Nick Filardi
>alt-text: A man, Dr. Jonathan Crane sits on a Sofa chair deep in contemplation. His Shadow forms a smiling grisly scarecrow.
>Dialouge Sample: Grant Morrison. Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan.
>vote titles: Frank Robbins. Jack C. Harris

The odds of any of the three are nearly identical. You’ll have to go with your instincts. Crane is an expert in biopharmacology.
His interests seem to overlap with the Joker the most. The Bat-Blimp floats you over his apartment in the narrows.
Rather low rent given his doctorate, but it makes sense given what you read in his file.
Fired from his job as a Gotham University professor for bringing a loaded gun to class for a “lesson on fear.”
Got by afterward with petty drug manufacturing. Teaching High School now. Childhood trauma, fear of bats.
Desperation and skill of that caliber are a loaded time bomb.

BATMAN:
Batwave, drone report for 41st and Kane, one month.

Crane is a loner. No visitors. Except for two. Merton and Grady Harris. Small-time hoods. Both did stints in Blackgate for robbery.
You’ll have to wait until he leaves for work in the morning to scope out his apartment.

BATMAN:
Batwave- Imitate Problem-Solving Microsleep- Schedule 30.

The darkness overtakes you, and you descend into the void. Your home.
__
Shadow surrounds you like a warm blanket. It's time to get to work.

BATMAN:
The monster-man serum, T-99, the seeds. Mutagen techngoly is iterating. Evolving. It's a matter of time before someone figures out an optimal configuration.

A creeping laughter fills the void, and a white balloon with a red smile appears in front of you.

BATMAN:
And what’s his angle? He’s after money, but it's just a scam. He robs the mutagen seeds but then uses them on someone else.
ALFRED:
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
BATMAN:
Alfred? You haven’t been in my dream protocols for years.
ALFRED:
Perhaps I go where I am needed, sir.
BATMAN:
No. This means I’ve lost lucidity. I can’t even be sure if the time is r-
____
The Batwave alarm wakes you with a start. You haven’t been shocked by an alarm clock since you were 20.

BATWAVE:
Alert, potential hostile activity.

You'll have to deal with your mind later. The Mission comes first. The Harrises are at Dr. Crane’s apartment.
This is off-schedule. They don’t seem outwardly violent but they are clearly armed and Crane is showing signs of intimidation.
You could glide in to stop them, but it would risk daytime exposure and possibly cost you intel.
Or you could see how it plays out, riskier for Dr. Crane but more likely to help you get to the bottom of this.

> Batman’s Evil Eye
Keep watching from afar.
> Fear Times Four
Intervene

>>5529080
>Intervene

Ingratiate, Love and fear in concert bring about the great leader.

>>5529080
> Fear Times Four
In the daytime, helping to rescue him from criminals trying to kill him? It might lessen Crane's fear response to Batman, and instead put him on the path to allying with us. Though it might mean Mr. Freeze and others remain an enemy. As long as we keep Isley as an ally, it'll be OK

>>5529080
> Fear Times Four

>>5529080
> Fear Times Four
Ivy AND Scarecrow on-side would make for a very effective operation... And anyway, crime must be fought wherever it's found, right?

Locking for Fear Times Four
Update today.

>>5529080
>ALFRED: Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Dream Alfred is right

>>5530330
Don't be so sure. We don't yet know what sort of Joker we're dealing with. Not all of them have been objectiveless anarchists. Some get surprisingly schemey and can run an actual organized operation.

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>>5529080
>Art: Klar Jezebeth
>Alt-text: A soft-faced young man, Dr. Jonathan Crane, wearing a jacket with a ragged and torn shoulder
>Vote Titles: Doug Moench. Melissa Brides.
Batman is a creature of darkness, of the night. But if injustice is done in broad day, You will bring night to the sun.

MERTON:
Stop holding out on us Johhny. You gave your word, we have a code.
CRANE:
I-i-i- k-know. It just takes time and it's expensive.
GRADY:
Expensive? Well, let me give you a tip...
Just as Grady reaches into his pocket you crash through the window.
GRADY:
Wha-
BATMAN:
Bat-Taser!

Two targets. Two hits. The Harris Cousins go down, and Dr. Crane lands in a muttering heap.

CRANE:
Y.yy.y-y-y-y yourreeal...

He faints from fear, looks like your work is cut out for you. You enter Crane’s apartment.
You can take him and the Harris cousins to one of your Bat-sites.
Given the time of day and the sound from your takedown, you won't have enough time for a full investigation before attention comes.
In the flat, you see three items of interest. A computer, a locked chemical closet, and a bedroom so messy it looks like a bale of hay.

You have time to investigate one of the three options and escape. If you investigate more than one, the chances of being discovered skyrocket.

Choose any number. (Including zero). Each one chosen beyond the first increases the odds of discovery.

>The Frequency of Fear
Investigate the Computer
>Horror House
Investigate the bedroom
>Troubled Water
Investigate the chemical closet

>>5530912
Well we'll find out what sort of Joker is in our hands eventually

>>5531047
The Joker could be targetting him for his expertise. We got Crane's info from the Arkham files. My first instinct is to vote for the chem closet, but with how techy this Joker has been so far - mirroring our quest run Batman being a techy-bat himself - the computer might also be worthwhile. I don't know if his haystack bedroom is worth combing over with the limited time we have to do this. Do you guys think Batman leaving a calling card with a simple "Joker might be after you. Stay safe." be a way to make up for barging in on Crane's personal space? Knowing Joker is responsible for the one big thing he fears coming for him, even if explicitly for a beneficial reason... it might be enough to turn Scarecrow on Joker down the line if the seed of the idea is planted this early, as Isley would put it.

>>5531047
>Troubled Water
Mutagen's the biggest connection between the crimes we've faced so far.

>Grab Crane and go, after that; leave the Harrises for the cops
We want the target, not the hired help.

>>5531062
>Do you guys think Batman leaving a calling card with a simple "Joker might be after you. Stay safe." be a way to make up for barging in on Crane's personal space?
If you are concerned about Crane's response, I will note you can also vote not to spy around the apartment at all.

>>5531099
Nah. Definitely want to spy on his closet of spooky chemicals. He's still a criminal and we're still, like, three steps behind Joker.

>>5531062
>The Frequency of Fear
Investigate the Computer

>>5531047
>Frequency of fear
>Take Crane, leave the Harris boys

>>5531047
>Troubled Water
>Grab Crane and go, after that; leave the Harrises for the cops

Another tie.

Feel free to shill the quest to your friends in an attempt to break it. (This is only half a joke.)

>>5531068 is me, but I am willing to change my vote to break the tie per >>5532462
(My friends won't even listen when I shill MY quest, alas.)

>>5532462
Locking for Frequency of Fear. Update in a few hours.

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>>5531047
>art: Alison Blackwell
>alt-text: The arms and lower torso of Batman in his Batsuit are typing on a computer’s keyboard. Next to the keyboard, on a desk, is a cup of coffee.
>vote titles: Alan Grant. Elizabeth Hand, Paul Witcover.

Given the sounds of your engagement, you’ll only have time for one search. You can’t risk discovery at this point, not with the mission so at risk.
The Joker has shown technological affinity, Dr. Crane’s laptop could have insight into any activity.
The Batwave can blank the computer’s password and from there you can brute-force crack his password hashes.
It will take time, but you can make it. The first step is using his Lexmail to access his social media.
From there you can trace his activity—invoices for chemical purchases, and emails about past due payments.
High school teaching doesn't pay well, and Dr. Crane has been living outside his means.
From the looks of his apartment, he wasn’t spending it on luxuries.
Search history shows even after leaving Gotham University, he continued his research on fear.
Much of it is on the biochemical origins of fear responses.

BATWAVE:
GCPD activity detected.

Time to go, Batwave can trawl Dr. Crane’s digital footprint while you deal with more...physical methods.
The question is, how to engage? You could focus on intimidation and interrogation.
You have evidence to suggest criminal activity, and the threat of legal repercussions are powerful motives.
You could also present yourself as an ally, you saved him from the Harris Cousins, which could make him pliable to your influence.

>Master of Fear
Intimidate Dr. Crane
>Running with the Wolf
Present yourself as an ally to Dr. Crane.

>>5533028
A note. The past few updates have been shorter in text than usual. It isn't a deliberate choice to skimp out on the story.
This section of the quest is more choice-heavy than others, leading to me stopping to hold votes more often.
Part of me thought of just having Batman continue through the story until we got decent-sized updates but I felt it was cheating the players out of opportunities on what to do.
I am open to feedback on what you suggest I do next time it happens again.
It doesn't actually give you "less" quest, but I realize it does slow the pace of the adventure.

>>5533028
>Running with the Wolf
Joker stole his Arkham info (though so did we). Joker is tied to the mutagen, which is tied to the Talons from before. Joker might be targetting Crane for blackmail or kidnapping, like the class clown he aspires to be. Clowns are a common fear topic. Crane is an expert on fear.

Crane should know well that fear can also be caused by lack of knowledge, fear of the unknown. Telling him our angle on all this and how he relates to the situation, setting Joker up as the real person Crane should be worrying about... it might lessen his fear of us enough to consider cooperation, if not enemy Joker out of justified fear of us.

>>5533028
>Running with the Wolf

>>5533028
>Running with the Wolf

A curious situation.

>>5533034
These updates are perfectly good. No worries.

>>5533028
>Running with the wolf.

We can always go back to intimidation.

>>5533028
>Running with the Wolf

>>5533034
It's been fine by me, QM! Not all updates need to be long to be impactful.

>>5533034
I don't mind that much either as >>5533784 said. There's a lot of choices going on, but that's also a lot of points we're not taking that might change offscreen or rear their ugly heads at Batman as the quest goes on. It's still story progress

>>5533783
Locking for Running with the Wolf.
Update when I finish writing it. Starting now.

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>>5533028
>art:kaksel
>alt-text: In an empty cave, a silhouette of Batman, wearing his cape and cowl, stands in front of a computer screen
>Vote Title: David Michelinie

The Southern Bat-Site is bare bones. Nothing but walls and shadows.
You planned it that way because you expected to use it for interrogations, but today it will be used for a softer touch.
Crane sits in a chair in the center, it has locks, but you’re choosing to portray yourself as a face of comfort and safety, rather than one of fear.
You rushed him over here so, he should wake in a -

CRANE:
AHHHHHHH!!!!!
BATMAN:
Dr. Crane, you’re safe here.
CRANE:
Y-you’re here to kill me, to eat m! I-I
BATMAN:
Those men were threatening you, weren't they? I protected you from them. As I said, you’re safe here.

Signs of paranoia. It seems his obsession with fear is internalized. Though it’s hard to blame him when facing a look designed to cause terror. It will be tricky getting him to trust you. And you can’t keep him here forever.
Eventually, you’ll have to end the interrogation or he’ll shut down from fear regardless.

CRANE:
Where am I, what is this?

>Hazard’s Choice
Write in the first thing you say to Dr. Crane. You must balance getting information against scaring him off from answering at all.
When you suggest a write-in, I will reply if the write-in will increase, decrease or keep his fear level the same and then make it an option to vote for.
Crane will get more fearful with each question. The interrogation ends when his fear level hits 5 or you vote to end it.
>Dr. Crane Fear Level: 3

>>5535268
(Move away slightly, establish a bit of distance he can perceive.)
"You are here in my lair because you are targeted, but not by me. Somebody else sees fit to make you suffer, and to use you for their ends... and it is because of that that your worst nightmare rescued you. Here's an exam question, Dr. Crane: who could be behind you coming face to face with the night?"

>>5535286
>"lair"
>calling ourselves his "worst nightmare" and "the night"
You trying to increase his fear level, anon?

>>5535268
>Take a step back, put our hands up placatingly
"Welcome, Dr. Crane. You don't need to be afraid, at least not of me. The only ones who need to be afraid of me are men like the ones I rescued you from. I just want your help in scaring them away from you. Can you tell me who might have sent them, and why?"

>>5535295
Haha, yeah I kinda fucked that up didn't I? At least we get the choice to pick and choose our approach once we get enough write-in votes.

>>5535268
>"I'm Batman. Some guys were after you so I got you out of there to this cave. It's a bit of a mess. Wasn't really expecting a guest. Did those guys injure you?"

Bond over wierd lairs.