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>>5548812
The sewers are an impossible labyrinth of rusted metal.
A miracle of urban planning left to rot when white flight took the tax dollars across the river.

BOONE:
This thing could be anywhere.
TURNER:
Smith, what’s your scanner say?
NIGHTWING:
We’re getting closer... closer... Wait! It says we’re right on top of them!

The SWAT team points their guns at the lower levels.

BOONE:
Moment you see shit, light it up!

Turner’s ears perk a second before your do.

TURNER:
Wait! Did you hear the water?
BOONE:
Yeah, a river of thug shit. What else is new?
NIGHTWING:
Turner’s right. The pressure shifted.
TURNER:
The Croc isn’t below us, it’s... everyone get d-

WHHHOOOOOOSHHHH!!

A spiral of water blasts through the tunnel. You and Turner jump and grab on to handrails but the SWAT teams get flushed away.
Through the torrent, you make out flashes of green, then red. Then the screams-

SANCHEZ:
AGHHHHHH!!!
TURNER:
It’s in the water!

Gunshots ring through the waves before going silent.
By the time the flow has passed, the walkway is a ruined mess, and pieces of Sanchez are strewn across the room.

TURNER:
Jesus Christ
BOONE:
Can you hear us?! We’re down here! It got Sanchez!
TURNER:
The Walkway is shot!
NIGHTWING:
Not for me!

To everyone else, the jagged metal spears are death and chaos, but to you, they may as well be a staircase.
You flip from one pillar to another, descending into the abyss.

TURNER:
Kid!
NIGHTWING:
I promised you a croc, I keep good on my deals.

When your feet hit solid ground again, you follow the sounds of moaning.

GREER:
It broke my leg!
BOONE:
The hell you get here so fast? And why are you still wearing that stupid helmet?
NIGHTWING:
Does this look like the type of air you want to breathe in?
GREER:
Shut up and help me out!

The two of you brace the Detective on her one good leg and start walking.

NIGHTWING:
There should be an exit half a kilometer north.
BOONE:
Kilos?

It's odd. The deeper you go in the sewer, the less ruined the environment seems. Case in point, the giant well-minted bridge you just stopped at.

GREER:
Hell no, I’m not crossing water here.
BOONE:
Come on Greer, you know what’s on the line. Hey kid, check that scanner. Is the monster close?

On the line? What did he mean by that? Between Boone’s conversation with Turner earlier, and a SWAT officer turning up bisected in a neighborhood you usually couldn't pay him to come to. Something more seems to be going on.
The scanner says the Croc isn’t close. But if you lie and say it is, you might be able to work the situation to your advantage.

>The Hunt
”We’re safe for now” (Truth)
>Managing People
” It’s coming closer!” (Lie)

>>5548812
>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

>Batquest Issue #3: The Man Who Laughs Part I
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5502453/

>"Waving around that fancy badge might work with a drunk like Bullock, but we’re SWAT. Detective Flass was one of my guys."
>"it pays not to mess with my guys in Gotham."
>"Keep playing along and you’ll see Gotham has a lot to offer."
>Between Boone’s conversation with Turner earlier, and a SWAT officer turning up bisected in a neighborhood you usually couldn't pay him to come to. Something more seems to be going on.
>"Come on Greer, you know what’s on the line"
These are corrupt cops, aren't they. They're in on something else. We don't know where that SWAT guy that got bisected was at, but if he wasn't supposed to be there... and it was a neighborhood you USUALLY couldn't pay him to come to... then there's hard money on the line. These fucks are working for somebody else. They got solidarity, but its corrupt cop greed binding them together. Falsely promising them more money than whatever they're getting paid could get us a lead, but it could also turn them on us. And we're here, in the Croc's element. He's not on us yet, but that can change in moments. But if we lie and try to manipulate them, and they do try to turn on us, they'll be in a rock and a hard place. It's either they spill the beans and we save them, or the Croc has them for dinner - but Nightwing's a hero, and these cops still gotta be saved even if they're corrupt... that is, if we're not going to pull the good old "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you" on them like we have been this quest.

>>5548820
>Managing People
Wisen up and try to play this out properly. Exploit Greer's broken leg and self-preservation, especially after Sanchez became giblets right in front of them.

>>5548820
>Managing People

>>5549346
Locking for Managing People. Update tonight

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>>5548820
>Pencils & Inks: Francis Portela. Colors: Tomeu Morey.
>Alt-text: SWAT officer Boone screams at the one-armed corpse of a cop held in a doorway by straps.
>Content Warning: Death. Violence.

NIGHTWING:
They’re right behind us!
GREER:
Shit!
BOONE:
Grab onto me. I'll carry you across.
NIGHTWING:
Wait! Let me test the bridge.

You throw a birdarang at the structure. It’s sturdy, but for your plan to work, it has to come down.

CRASHHH!

GREER:
NO!
NIGHTWING:
I can get us across.

You pull out your grappling cachaba.

NIGHTWING:
AFTER you tell me what’s going on.
BOONE:
What the hell are you on, kid?! We’re about to die!
NIGHTWING:
What was Flass doing in Crown Point? How does this metahuman know you?

Boone pulls out his .45.

BOONE:
Take us across or-

You knock it out his hand and it tumbles down a drain.

NIGHTWING:
Now you’re unarmed AND a deadly mutant is on their way. Tick-tock goes the clock.
GREER:
You’re insane! It’s coming after us!
NIGHTWING:
Exactly. Coming after YOU. Why do you think a mutant crocodile is specifically targeting SWAT officers?
GREER:
You little...
BOONE:
It’s okay, Jackie, I'll tell it. Flass was a good cop but he had his... vices. He was slumming here to score drops. Whoever this monster is found out and blackmailed him. When Flass came down to handle it, he wound up split in half.

Boone inches his face to your mask.

BOONE:
That good enough for you. Fed?
NIGHTWING:
Let’s get across.

It takes two trips but the three of you cross the bridge you broke. When you turn the corner of the tunnel your breath is taken away.
Countless people wearing old clothes, huddled by hot pipes for warmth.
Salvaged microwaves, fans, and even Christmas trees line the tunnels.

BOONE:
What is this place?
GREER:
Hey, you! Are you working for the monster? Tell us where they are!

The people scatter into deeper tunnels.

BOONE:
Come back!

Boone runs ahead.

NIGHTWING:
Wait!

He disappears into a t tunnel and screams. Twice. You carefully follow and see him you see him impaled on a makeshift pit trap.
Hanging above his moaning figure, you see what startled him down the trap in the first place. A dead body.

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>>5550966
>Pencils: Vic Moya. Inks: James Stone. Colors: Matt James
>alt-text: A person with crocodile features, Killer Croc, stands shirtless in a sewer. A bat-shaped silhouette is far in the corner.
>Vote Titles: Peter J. Tomasi. Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson. Kyle Higgins.
>Content Warning: Violence. Mentions of Police Brutality.

BOONE:
Ahhh. It killed... it killed Hoolihan!
NIGHTWING:
I don’t think so...

You inspect the corpse.

GREER:
What are you doing? Help him out!
NIGHTWING:
If I pull him from those spikes he bleeds out. Whoever set that trap wanted him to live. Unlike whoever killed Hoolihan.
GREER:
Whoever? I’m tired of these games.

She pulls her firearm.

NIGHTWING:
This person was killed by small arms bullets. If I had to guess, they came from a police issue .45. Like the one you’re holding now.

Your mutagen tracker starts beeping and a smooth SoFlo accent booms through the tunnels.

CROC:
You invaded us. You hunted us. You KILLED us. And now. Justice is served.
GREER:
Where’s that coming from! Come out right n-AWWWWK!!

Greer is lifted six feet in the air by her good leg and smashed into the wall of the tunnel. She falls in a broken heap.

BOONE:
S--save me!!
CROC:
Did anyone save Peter Duggio? Or the Burroughs kid? You drained us dry and hunt us like animals.

The figure steps from the shadows. A seven-foot man, covered in reptilian scales and with a huge crocodile jaw.

CROC:
It's time we hunted back. I’m feeling generous, fed, so I’ll let you get out of here while we hold court.

The people reconvene around you. They look on n not with bloodthirst, but with awe.
You remember the warehouse, how you let Joker start his shootout against the mobsters. You’re under no obligation to protect the guilty.
But is this true justice?
You were raised in a world that said the law is justice, but after joining the Bat, every day you learn to question what you thought justice was.

> Give Blood
Let the people have their justice.
> No Justice
Protect Captain Boone.
> South Beach Connection
Try to talk down Croc.

>>5548820
(Apologies, the header was missed for this post)
Pencils & Inks: Francis Portela. Colors: Tomeu Morey
Alt-text: A crocodile-like person, Killer Croc, swims through a wave of sewer water and attacks a SWAT team.
>Vote Titles: John Francis Moore. Rob Williams.

>>5550981
> South Beach Connection
What exactly IS he? What's going on? And is he SURE he wants to draw GCPD heat down on this place and its vulnerable people?

>>5551007
+1

>>5551007
>Support

Gotta think of the long game. Like Bruce, this nightwing is more hard core and has no obligation to the guilty. But he's an emotional anchor and charisma where the bat is terror and cold calculation. We can probably empathise.

>>5551228
Locking for South Beach Connection. Update within 2 hours.

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>>5550981
>Costume Design: Maya Mani. Art: Andy Poon. Model: Michael Jai White.
>Alt-text: A man, Agent Turner, with tiger stripes shaved into his sideburns, black zippers on an orange jacket in the shape of tiger stripes, and two claw-like brass knuckles.
>Content Warning: Mentions of Police Violence

NIGHTWING:
Are you sure this is what you want to do? You’ll bring GCPD heat down on you and your people.

Croc tosses the broken body of Detective Greer at your feet.

CROC:
This WAS the heat. And now everyone will know. The old rules are gone. They took from us because they had the power to. Now

They raise a large boulder above their head.

CROC:
We have the power!

The crowd cheers.

CROC:
Gotham Underground! I promised you justice, here it is!

A person walks from the crowd.

CROC:
Mr. Duggio. This is the man who took your son from you. Who took his future. Tell me. And tell this “law”man. What is your sentence?
MR DUGGIO:
Death.
BOONE:
Oh god, please!
CROC:
I’ll tell you what imma do, fed. Imma crush this murderer flat, then you can drag what’s left of him and his friends out. And you can tell the cops, and the politicians, and anyone else who wants to fuck with us-

He prepares to throw the boulder.

CROC:
King Croc is watching!
TURNER:
KI-YA!!!

Agent Turner swings from the tunnels above, dragging a pair of bladed brass knuckles along Croc’s back as he falls.
Crock drops the boulder and knocks Turner aside. The Agent makes a backflip and lands on his feet in front of you.

TURNER:
Why is it that every time we meet we wind up fighting monsters together?
CROC:
Only monster I see here's about to get ripped to shreds.

The crowd moves in pushing you and Turner against a sewer wall. They’ve turned the tunnel into an arena. No, a courthouse.

TURNER:
No one needs to die tonight. Stand down and this can all be over.
CROC:
I’ll say it again ONCE since you weren’t here. WE’RE the one’s in charge here. In our land, YOU’RE the outlaws.

Turner speaks to you without taking his eyes off Croc.

TURNER:
The knuckles barely made a scratch in their hide. Anything in your bag of tricks to get out of this?
NIGHTWING:
Sort of. Hey King! What did these cops do?!
BOONE:
Are you? Ahhhg, are you serious?!
CROC:
People of The Underground, Who was Stolen?!

One by one, people in the crowd chant.

MR DUGGIO:
Peter Duggio
JADE:
Niles Burroughs.
CROC:
Captain Hoolihan. Cuz he had enough of it all didn’t he? The cover-ups and thin blue lines and shuffling problems around the precincts? Then he “goes missing” on a case. Thought no one would find him didn’t you?

Croc glares at Boone like he’s the only man in the universe.

CROC:
But Croc sees it all.
NIGHTWING:
There’s a way of handling things like this.
CROC:
If your system worked, we wouldn’t have men in capes trying to save us. We aren’t given Justice. It has to be taken.

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>>5552508
Croc whistles and the crowd parts.

CROC:

There’s the way out. You either take it or watch the show.

He picks up the boulder again.

CROC:
Because you aint stopping us.

CLINK--PSHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Canisters tumble down the tunnel, filling your surroundings with thick smog.
You recognize your partner's handiwork and call tell by the color and thickness what it is and what he wants you to do. The gas is

>Of Shadows and Fog...
A smokescreen, to cover your escape
>Cry For Blood
Tear gas, so you can attack Croc.

>>5552509
>Of Shadows and Fog...
I mean, this is a Batman who will kill and who doesn't trust cops. I'm down to extract the injured officers, but crooked cops already killed are no skin off 4chan Batman's back, I'd imagine.

>>5552528
But how will Turner react to this outcome?

>>5552570
I would guess POORLY, but are we really willing to bring in this alligator-man who seems to be the protector of Gotham's sewer-folk just to secure the support of a cool federali?

>>5552681
Yeah you're right

>>5552509
>Of Shadows and Fog...

>>5552509
>Of shadows and Fog

Justice delivered. Corruption earns it's own punishment.

>>5552528
Locking for Shadows and Fog... Update tonight

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>>5553393
>Art: Dermot Power
>Alt-text: King Croc stands in a sewer wearing a jean jacket and jean shorts with blood on his hand and the head of a cop in the water.

A smokescreen covers the tunnels. With limited ventilation, the humble lights the Underground uses is quickly blotted out by darkness.

TURNER:
I see the boss is here.
NIGHTWING:
Partner.

You launch your cachaba grapnel to a higher level and swing to safety, but while you are in midair you feel something large and scaley tackle you to another floor.

CROC:
The Bat might try that on other folks, but King Croc’s senses are better’n that.
NIGHTWING:
I don’t want to fight you.
CROC:
Good. Cuz you’d lose
.
He rips off your helmet, revealing your Nightwing mask.

CROC:
You aint a fed, are you?
NIGHTWING:
No.

Croc turns his head, listening to something above you that you can’t hear.

CROC:
And you’re working with the Bat.

Your silence is all the answer he needs.
He crouches in front of you with the ease of someone used to having to make harsh conversations go smoother.

CROC:
I get it. This city, this world, is fucked up. And we all have to find the best way we can do something about it. What you’re doing now? It ait it. There’s a movement growing. People all around seeing flying men and monsters and figuring out they don't have to take it anymore. You want real power, the power to change things? Check out Blossom Row.

He gives a final look up and jumps down into the darkness, just as the man who changed your life forever descends from the sky.

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>>5554674
>Art: Alex Garner
>alt-text: A ghostly hand holds a syringe full of liquid and skulls.
>Vote Titles: Matt Reeves, Peter Craig, Mattson Tomlin. Scott Snyder.

BATMAN:
We agreed we weren’t working with the CBI.

You swung back to the Batsubway Rocket in terse silence. But now that you’re safe, the words flow like water.

NIGHTWING:
No. You SAID working with the law was too risky. I took that risk and it paid off.

He pulls up a Map of Gotham on the vehicle’s screen.

NIGHTWING:
Blossom Row, an old name for 155th street. When the Arkhams planned the city grid it was the border between the working city in the south and the farms and mansions in the north. The rich would buy flowers from poor kids there, for hundreds of dollars.
BATMAN:
A place of charity.
NIGHTWING:
I think someone is giving out mutagen there.
BATMAN:
Someone like the Desmonds, skimming off the top?
NIGHTWING:
I don’t think so. This feels more... purposeful.
BATMAN:
No matter what you feel, you still exposed us by working with Turner.
NIGHTWING:
I got the biggest lead we had in a while while you were what, stalking mental patients?
BATMAN:
DON’T.

The silence returns until you arrive at Isley’s lab.

ISLEY:
I’d ask how it went but the looks on your faces are giving me the answer.
BATMAN:
Can you analyze this?
You hand her a sample of the toxin from the farm.

BATMAN:
It’s a hallucinogen. Ingredients suggested a mix of animal and plant hormones.
ISLEY:
I can try. Where did you get this from?
BATMAN:
That’s on a need-to-know basis. Right now we need a plan for 155th.
NIGHTWING:
Since he’s in “strong silent” mode I’ll just tell you someone’s passing out mutagen there.
ISLEY:
Where are they getting it from? Joker threw the city’s whole supply on Darryl.
NIGHTWING:
Wherever it’s from, if it’s based on Darryl’s research we should be able to find their stash with your tracker.

The computer highlights a section of 155th street.

ISLEY:
Another warehouse. Classic.
BATMAN:
We strike at midnight.

You look at the concerned faces of your “team” and something tells you it won’t be enough. You’ll need an edge. The farm toxin is a powerful weapon. Fear has always been your ally, now you hold it in the palm of your hand.

> "Fear is a Tool"
Bring Fear Toxin on the mission.
> Trust Fall
Leave all of it at Isley’s lab.

>>5548812
As a sidebar, I am aware the time between updates is lagging behind where I would like them to be.
Ideally, there would be one update a day, with maybe two if things happen to move very swiftly. Hopefully, the two-day gaps should be handled by now.

>>5554676
> Trust Fall

>>5554676
>"Fear is a Tool"
A gun killed our parents, but a gun can also mean power -- justice.

Fear toxin can be an abhorrent thing... Or, like a gun, we can redeem it.

>>5554676
changing to >>5555335 from >>5555158

>>5554677
Oh, and never fear You're a very regular and reliable QM. Keep up the good work.

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>>5554676
>Image Dialogue: Scott Snyder. Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors: FCO Plascencia. Letters: Steve Wands.
>Alt-text: Comic panels of a flower, Mr. Bloom, emerging from darkness. As it talks, it gets closer, revealing it is ringed with teeth. He says “There you are. Thank you for showing up. I’ve got what you came for. …I made it. It wasn’t easy. Come closer, and I’ll show it to you. It’s just for you.”
>Dialogue Samples: Scott Snyder. David Goyer.

This city is sick, fear is the cure. Batman was born to return Gotham to normal even if you have to be ABnormal to do so.

BATMAN:
Nightwing, you’re with me. Dr. Isley will give intel through the comms.
NIGHTWING:
The CBI got on our channel earlier, we’ll have to retune it.
BATMAN:
This is precisely why working with them was a mistake.
ISLEY:
Turner was the one who made contact, they were in regardless of what Nightwing did.
BATMAN:
Then that should have proved he couldn’t be trusted.
NIGHTWING:
You brought me into this because you trusted ME. And that trust is why we know where Blossom Row is. Are we a team or not?

The voice in your head speaks again. Mocking you for your dependence, perhaps your alliances *are* a mistake.

BATMAN:
We are. I’ll tune the channels. Get some rest before we head out.
____
An aging roof groans under your weight as you and Dick scope out your target. The Narrows are a withering garden of public housing.
What began as a haven for the poor decayed into an open-air prison. Without funding, its people are trapped in inopportunity.
Left to gaze at the shining towers across the river while their hopes and dreams die on the vine.
You needed Dr. Isley’s program to find Blossom Row. It’s not on any maps. Just a ghost of the kinder Gotham that died with your parents.
The one you’ll bring back.

NIGHTWING:
The signal is strongest to the north.
BATMAN:
That alley is NEXT to the warehouse. The stash spot could be in a gutter.
NIGHTWING:
Wait. Look at the foliage. There isn’t a spot of green on this block except for right there.
BATMAN:
Detective vision.

Your cowl's eyes explode the tight roads and alleys into a sea of cool blues.
And in the center, a glowing red hotspot of a humanoid figure, dead in the middle of 155th and Gardner.

BATMAN:
Good work, I’ll go in first. Cover me from the roof.

You feel the air thicken in your suit as you step into the alley.
An internal clock trained for years knows it's a winter night but your body feels a spring day. Whispers fall from the plants like pollen.

MR BLOOM:
There you are. Thank you for showing up. I’ve got what you came for.

Your hands itch for a weapon, but you know better than to escalate.

BATMAN:
Who are you? Where is the mutagen?
MR BLOOM:
…I made it. It wasn’t easy. Come closer, and I’ll show it to you. It’s just for you.

File: Mr Bloom .png (3.02 MB, 1500x2307)

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>>5556454
>Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors: FCO Plascencia.
>Alt-text: Mr. Bloon, a thin man with a blank white face that has a flower growing out of it, stands with hands outstretched in a field of flowers in front of Gotham City.
>Dialogue Sample: Scott Snyder
>Vote Titles: John Ostrander. Greg Rucka

The figure that creeps from the bush is a cruel echo of a person.
Fibrous limbs grow from an inhumanly long stalk, ending a face blank, save for a bouquet of teeth.

BATMAN:
Dr. Guiterrez! Are you okay?
MR BLOOM:
You’re calling for the seed, but you’re speaking to the Bloom. Mister Bloom.
NIGHTWING:
I’m coming in now! He’s too dangerous.
BATMAN:
No! Not yet.
MR BLOOM:
I can make you bloom too.

His fingers split like an okra pod, a single seed dripping from the tip.

MR BLOOM:
This one. This one is yours. If you sewed it in, it’d come to life.
ISLEY:
Darryl isn’t making the mutagen, he IS the mutagen.
NIGHTWING:
When Joker poured the seeds on him, they must have grown into him. His body is sprouting them!
MR BLOOM:
I heard of you. Before my Blooming. Fluttering around the towers like a gardener, pruning the weeds. But this city isn’t a garden, it’s a bloody meadow. Gardeners PRETEND to take care of you. Cutting your roots and culling your branches all to make a better harvest.
BATMAN:
You’re not well Darryl.
MR BLOOM:
This LAND is unwell. It cries from the harvest. They harvest us with their cops and prisons and ghettos. They pluck us bare and let us grow just enough to do it over again.

He turns the seed in his hand, staring at it with an eyeless gaze.

MR BLOOM:
My fruit ISN’T for the gardeners. From all over, people came here to Bloom. This city is growing. Wildflowers sprouting from decay. They trampled us like weeds but we’ll grow like vines. Crawling out the muck and choking out the parasites infesting us!

BATMAN:
How many people did you “bloom?” How many monsters are in my city?
MR BLOOM:
You say “monster” like an insult when you’re clearly eager to become one. Allow me to grant your wish!

Bone-white vines sprout from the concrete. Mr. Bloom isn’t hiding in this meadow. He IS the meadow.
You move on instinct, flipping through the vines and cutting them with your gauntlets. You catch your breath and draw your weapon.
This ends tonight.

>Seduction of the Gun
The deadly force of your .45s
>Cutter
The targeted precision of your Batarangs

>>5556480
>Seduction of the Gun

>>5556480
>Cutter

He doesn't have to die. He's not beyond help yet.

>>5556480
>Cutter

>>5556691
Locking for Cutter. Update within 24 hours.

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>>5556480
> Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors: FCO Plascencia.
>A mass of flowers spews from Batman’s disembodied head. His eyes are replaced with two flowers, one of which sheds a single tear.
>Dialoauge Sample: Scott Snyder
>CW: Violence

Your Batarangs slice through the vines like paper.
But for every two you cut town, Darryl sends three more. They snake around you, lifting you in front of him like a butterfly on display.

MR BLOOM:
A silly person with silly toys. How can you change the world if you can’t change yourself?

The vines dig into your suit. An orchestra of alarms goes off as his needle nails crack through the armor.

MR BLOOM:
Strip the bran and grow the germ. We’re going to create something wonderful together.
NIGHTWING:
The position is taken!

A birdarang arcs through the sky, exploding on Darry’s head in technicolor crimson. Dick swoops you aside from a grapnel as the doctor’s chlorophyll skin sizzles.

NIGHTWING:
Years of gaming taught me fire would be super effective.
BATMAN:
This isn’t the time for levity, Darryl needs to be stopped.

The plants around you sway, not from the red-hot updraft, but from the mutated life pulsing within them.
One by one the flowers sprout teeth and grow into a dozen duplicates of your apparent enemy.

MR BLOOM:
Do you see now? The gift of the Blooming? You cling to normality like a scared child. What do you think GOT US HERE?!

The plant folk strike! The cracks in your suit have turned it from a shelter to a cage.
Every flip pierces your flesh with kevlar and fiberglass.

MR BLOOM:
I can make you giants! Nightmare weapons to free us from this sick game!

Dick swats away a thorny branch but a vine trips him from underfoot.

BATMAN:
Look out!

You push him away, taking a greenhouse’s worth of wood straight to your already bleeding chest.

MR BLOOM:
A crocodile for the seas and a bat for the skies. The first unkillable weed.

The vines creep toward your mouth.

MR BLOOM:
We’ll make a new Eden. Just like in Sunday school. ‘Cept this time when the man comes to pick our fruit and ruin everything, we’ll pluck right back.
BATMAN:
Then allow me to -urk- demonstrate.

File: I am....jpg (1.23 MB, 3840x2160)

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>>5558677
>Art: Rocksteady Studios https://www.igdb.com/games/batman-arkham-knight/credits
>Alt-text: A horrific vision of Batman, surrounded by bats and fire. His eyes and bat-shaped chest emblem glow a demonic red.
>Dialouge Samples: Grant Morrison. Bill Finger. Henry Gilroy
& Sean Catherine Derek.
>CW: Violence

Your suit is broken, but you learned years ago broken things make for good weapons.
A flex of your hip digs the armor shards into your flesh, and into your canister of fear gas.

*PFFFSSHSHSH*

MR BLOOM:
Accckckckc!!!

The doctor drops you and his duplicates twist in a dance macabre.

BATMAN:
You’re right about plants, doctor. The grow. They live. They breathe.
MR BLOOM:
Whatttt isss...
BATMAN:
That’s fear. I’m breathing it in with two lungs. You’re inhaling it through an entire orchard.

An old friend creeps into your mind.

FEAR:
YES. FEEL THE POWER! EMBRACE US AS YOU DID BEFORE.

The flames and the thorns and the flowers and the concrete meld and twist together.
A haunting echo of the grids you grew up with, the winding paths and alleys people walk down and never come out of.

MR BLOOM:
Gardners! Gardners everywhere! Stay back, I’ll free us, free us all!!!
FEAR:
Let him have it! Like the scum at the farm! The Bloom is right. This city is wild and untamed. You ARE a gardener. Prune him, prune them all!

Your guns are screaming at you. They want to sing their sweet sad song.
The hymn that played all those nights ago that you’ve been dancing to ever since. You step through the flames.
You hear your skin sizzle in your suit but the pain just moves you forward. This city is full of monsters. Impure. You can scrub it clean.
One monster at a time. One bullet at a time.
Mr. Bloom screams at you through their flower face.
The petals burn like a sun or a bullseye. Just one shot. One shot after another until life can be what it was.

NIGHTWING:
B̸r̸u̸i̸i̶i̴s̴e̸e̷e̸e̴.̵.̵.̷.̸
FEAR:
No! Ignore it! DO YOUR DUTY.

A broken bird lays on the ground. A sad bleeding thing. Two wings fallen on the street. They started at a show, now they’re dying in an alley.

NIGHTWING:
N̶o̴-̴n̷o̷o̷o̶.̸ ̴D̷o̸n̶’̵t̴.̸

Whitepearl moviecirus ZorraInArkham CowardlyAndSuperstitious

FEAR:
Don’t let the past confuse you! Fear can’t scare you. You ARE fear!

BATMAN:
I...I...

You take a breath, inhaling the chaos and terror around you, absorbing decades of trauma and pain... and with a single exhale if only for a moment, you release it.

BATMAN:
I am justice.
You toss your gun to the ground.
BATMAN:
I am the night.

You walk to the broken bird and drag him from the flames. You look back at the burning meadow.
A vision of paradise going down in screams and flames.

BATMAN:
I am Batman.

You grapnel to safety, the voice in your head fading away along with your consciousness.

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>>5558687
>Pencils: Greg Capullo. Inks: Danny Miki. Colors: FCO Plascencia.
>Alt-text: A run-down city street, overgrown with plants.
>Vote Titles: Bryan Hitch. Peter J. Tomasi. Len Wein. Gardner Fox

ISLEY:
Mr. Malone?*chhhkk*Mr Malone?*sfffsss* BATMAN!

Daylight stings your opening eyes. This week proves the sun isn’t your friend.

BATMAN:
*Cough* Batwave: Status Update.
BATWAVE:
*Shskrkrkrklchkkkk*

Busted. Must have cracked right before you were saved by-

BATMAN:
Di-Nightwing!

Your ally lies on the roof next to you. His body less injured than yours but his mind wounded more from his lower tolerance to the gas.

NIGHTWING:
Bruce. Did, did we win..?

You look below, Blossom row is a pile of gray ash.
Just another Narrows fire the city couldn’t be bothered to deal with. But in its center, a sign of new growth, a single bush. Unburned.

BATMAN:
Doctor, are there any signs of Darryl?
ISLEY:
The scans still show the mutagen centered in the region, but its less concentrated. I don’t think Darryl’s dead, just...transformed. It’s like he’s spread out through the Narrows. Melded into the land itself.
NIGHTWING:
People... will be out soon. We need to check it out.

He stands on feet of jelly and flops down.

BATMAN:
Rest here. I’ll see.

You grapnel to the remains of the meadow and see Darryl's handiwork. In the bush, hundreds, maybe thousands of seeds.
Each a potential monster, or perhaps a hero?
Your first impulse is to destroy them. Power like Darryl and “Croc” had, it's a danger that shouldn't exist.
The city can't be normal while these seeds are in it.
But then the Doctor’s words echo to you. Batman fights to return the city to normal, but he himself is an abnormal being.
Power like this could be an amazing tool for justice.
But can you be trusted with this? Can any one person? You exist outside the law, but ultimately serve order. Don’t you?
There are scientists, authorities. If they can be trusted, perhaps that is where these seeds can do the most good.
Then there is the final choice. Doing nothing. Dr. Guiterez at his core saw himself as a man of the people.
This may be his last gift to them. He dealt with the devil to see his vision true but now this power can be in the hands of the people.
Unfiltered, untamed, free.

> Power and Glory
Take the power seeds to the Batcave.
>Superpower
Hand them over to the authorities.
>Balance of Power
Leave them out for the people of the Narrows.
>The Case of the Forbidden Super-Powers
Destroy them.

>>5558692
> Power and Glory
When you find miserable, poorly-educated, hungry people living in a warzone, indiscriminately handing out weapons isn't an act of justice or mercy.

Gotham cops are demonstrably untrustworthy. The CBI and US government aren't exactly better, as we discovered in France.

Destroying them... Well, maybe, but these could still do some good. Like hereditary wealth and childhood trauma, like guns, like exotic metamaterials or fear toxin. They just need to be used wisely.

>>5558705
+1; with the night comes fear, but with it also comes wisdom and overcoming weakness. Or some similar wise bullshit

>>5558705
This would be a great moment for Batman to recall not only the destitute people Croc was looking after, but what we saw in France.

>>5558705
I agree.

We as a batman are big on taking things and making them tools of justice. Our justice, but still.

Locking for Power and Glory

Update within 24 hours

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>>5558692
>Pencils: Rick Leonardi. Inks: Jesse Delperdang. Colors: Gregory Wright. Separations: Heroic Age.
>Alt-text: Dick Grayson sits in a hospital bed.
>Dialoige Samples: Christopher Nolan & David Goyer. Denny O’Neil.
>Content Warning: Mentions of Dosing

The fear gas proved it, any weapon, no matter how strange, can be a tool in your crusade to bring back Gotham from the brink.
The powers that be can’t be trusted with something this dangerous, you learned that in France.
And you can’t let it out uncontrolled into the streets.
No, you alone have the resources and the judgment to use these weapons for the good.
Between your funds and Dr. Isley’s genius, your war on crime with grow to new heights.

BATMAN:
Prepare your lab, the seeds are coming with us.
ISLEY:
What about Birdwatcher?
BATMAN:
I’ll take care of him.
________
An advantage of your heritage is that you can use the luxuries of the idle rich to further the mission.
Private doctors are used to not asking questions of rich men.
So when the team comes to treat your young assistant for unknown drug exposure, snickers, and judgmental eyes are the only threat.

DR MOON:
Mister Grayson has tested positive for scopolamine, likely laced with a glucocorticoid.
BRUCE:
Do I have to pay extra for English?
DR MOON:
I gave him synthesis inhibitors to calm the anxiety and physostigmine to deal with the hallucinations.
BRUCE:
Can I get some more of that?

He looks knowingly at Dick.

DR MOON:
Are you expecting this to happen again?
BRUCE:
You know how it is, Dr. Moon. You’re out at night, looking for kicks, someone’s passing around weapons-grade hallucinogens...
DR MOON:
People like us are misunderstood by society--as is generally true of great men. Your supplies and my discretion, are assured.

The vermin slinks into the shadows. His approval hurts more than the cracked ribs.
Men like Dr. Moon have always been around, you’ll purge them soon enough.
The important thing now is Dick’s health.

DICK:
Bruce...
BRUCE:
Save your strength. The doctors gave you medicine and left.
DICK:
What was that?
BRUCE:
The fear toxin developed by the potential Joker target I investigated.
DICK:
You dosed us.
BRUCE:
It was the only way to win. And we did. Darryl isn’t a threat and we have all the mutagen in Gotham. We won.

Dick turns away and part of you feels like the kind of man you pretend to be.

ALFRED:
I think Mr. Grayson needs his rest.

You leave your partner and meet Alfred on your way to The Cave.

BRUCE:
You served in the military, you know I had to do what I did for the mission, right?
ALFRED:
In Her Majesty’s service, we learned to trust our superior officer, because he had our best interests in mind, even when the Crown did not. You won the day with your choice, but you did so without informing your team of your plan or its dangers. He chooses to follow you on this journey, but for that to be a real choice, he must know and accept all the risks.
BATWAVE:
Joker alert!
BRUCE:
This can wait.

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>>5560609
>Pencils & Inks: Will Mortimer. Colors: Unknown.
>A man with white skin, green hair, and red lips, The Joker, laughs in front of a field of letters, including larger ones spelling JOKER.
>Dialouge Sample: Ed Brubaker

The mansion’s screens broadcast the painted menace in all his gaudy glory.

JOKER:
Miss Me, Gotham?! I take a week off and everyone acts like I’m Yesterday’s Yellowtail. Prices of my Goofy Guppies have gone limper than Murray Franklin’s stand-up. But don’t worry. I’ve planned a Showstopper So Stimulating you’ll need a cig afterward. And if you didn’t like me when I was spelling out my targets, you’ll REALLY hate this: If my Frozen Fish are still iced by Valentine’s Day, some Wonderfully Wealthy Gothamite will be the one whose Horribly Heartbroken. HAHAHAHAH!

Damn! Multiple targets. Even if you cross-reference the Arkham files, narrowing down who he’s going for in only a week will be a shot in the dark.
No. You can’t be discouraged. Remember, you ARE the dark.

BRUCE:
Batwave, monitor all Arkham patients with income brackets in the top one percentile.
BATWAVE:
Warning: Processing Time in Excess of 24 hours.
BRUCE:
Run it alphabetically! Start from A and I’ll work back from Z by hand.
ALFRED:
Sir! That level of work will surely break you.
BRUCE:
Just keep an eye on Dick and send a week's supply of nutrient paste to the cave.

You descend into the darkness and don your dark apparel. But why put on a mask here, when there is no need for disguise?
Does the suit make you feel powerful? Stronger than the scared boy you keep inside? Or is that scared boy long dead, the mask you wear nightly being your true face?
Regardless of who you are, what you do, must remain constant. The work begins...

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>>5560617
>Director: Matt Reeves. Director of Photography: Greig Fraser. Production Design: James Chinlund. Set Decoration: Laura Ng & Lee Sandales. Art Direction: Grant Armstrong, Oliver Benson, Trinity Tad Davis, Joseph Hiura, Joe Howard, Gary Jopling, Matthew Kerly, James Lewis, Will Newton & Maya Shimoguchi.
>Alt-text: Gotham City on a rainy night. A dense crowd is looked over by a massive mountain of colorful and brightly colored advertisements on giant screens

The hours and days bleed by. Your eyes fall to a haze of numbers and addresses of Gotham’s rich and unstable.
The suit begins to feel like a second skin.

ISLEY:
Mr. Malone, come in.
BATMAN:
Any updates on the seeds?
ISLEY:
The seeds are amazing. It's the people you should worry about.
BATMAN:
What are you talking about?
ISLEY:
Having them bond with the human body from the start was the missing piece. Each of these is a fully powered metahuman in one package, and plant testing shows a success rate far higher than Darryl’s prototypes.
BATMAN:
Don’t move onto animal tests yet. We have to avoid any meta disasters.
ISLEY:
The only disasters are the rich assholes running the world into the ground. Folks like us get killed by the thousands but Joker makes one threat and they go scorched earth.
BATMAN:
This line is for the mission, not your personal tracts.
ISLEY:
But this IS the mission! The one percenters are cutting their losses. Gothcorp pulled funding from the university. Shreck’s dropped their clean energy plan for a tax write-off, Waynetech...
BATMAN:
Enough! I brought you in for your scientific expertise. Not to enable your personal vendetta.
ISLEY:
You’re they one talking about vendettas?
BATMAN:
You can focus on your war against the corporate class on your own time. I have a killer to track.

Silence infests the cave. You’re pushing people away. The whisper in your head would tell you that’s a good thing; you moving past your fear of being left alone again.
But is this a self-fulfilling prophecy? Is exposure to the gas bringing out your worse impulses, or is it just shining a light on what was already there?
Enough with the self-reflection, you need to find The Joker.
There has to be some pattern to his assaults, even if it is all a “joke” to him.
If he sees himself as an artist, there must be some theme or gimmick that could lead you to his next target after Claridge and Isley.
Time for an educated guess. You think Joker is going to attack...

>Gothcorp
>Shreck’s
>Wayne Industries

>>5560625
>Gothcorp
They're more public than we are, aren't they?

>>5560675
Though... Hmm... Maybe Shreck? Max Schreck is preusmably a weirdo, and he's targeting people associated with Arkham. I mean, that also makes Waynetech eligible. I hoenstky have no idea.

Just to clarify, the clue to the answer to who Joker's target is is hidden in today's update.

A bit of an experiment in having the players do "Detective" work. I hope I didn't make it unfair.

>>5560609
>You won the day with your choice, but you did so without informing your team of your plan or its dangers. He chooses to follow you on this journey, but for that to be a real choice, he must know and accept all the risks.
SHOULDA TOLD HIM ABOUT THE FEAR TOXIN
FUCK

>>5560705
>"the clue to the answer to who Joker's target is is hidden in today's update"

>>5560609
>Wounded Wing
>>5560617
>Acrostic of Crime
"Acrostic: a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words."
>Miss Me
>Yesterday’s Yellowtail
>Goofy Guppies
>Showstopper So Stimulating
>Frozen Fish
>Wonderfully Wealthy
>Horribly Heartbroken
irrelevant?:
>Murray Franklin
>Valentine’s Day

>>5560625
>Gothcorp pulled funding from the university. Shreck’s dropped their clean energy plan for a tax write-off, Waynetech...

M Y G S W F H ?

>>5560705
Yo where's the damn vowels QM? >>5560739 I can't make words with no vowels

>>5560750
You're making the right move, just looking in the wrong spot .

>>5560781
Where is it? I looked at >>5560625 and saw
>M
>A
>T, I
>W
>H, E
>D, W
>T, F
>T
>B, T, G, S
>E, I, N
>Y
>Y, I

>S, Y, T
>B, I
>E
>T
>I
>T, Y

>>5560739
Last non-capital word in each sentence are I U A W

First letter of each sentence is M I P B A I

Full list of capitalized letters is

MMM
GGGG
IIII
YY
P
FFF
B
SSS
A
V
D
WW
HH
Ones that Appear more than once: M G I Y S F W H. Same list but with an I, which is its own word that is always capitalized. Thanks English. Dead end.

Let's convert the letters into numbers.

13
25
7
19
23
6
8
9

In the message, these letters correspond to

I
F
E
W
O
E
O
T (This corresponds to I)


More bullshit.

Fuck it, checking for Caesar Cipher

MYGSWFH Can translate to SEMYCLN and I'm not sure if this is a shitty vague ass clue or I'm going insane

Right, Semicolon Sentence has IFFVDWWGHH. Plugging it right in the Caesar Cipher

Will report back from the mental ward when I have something.

>>5560810
>when Joker's update causes the few anons participating to have their own brief Joker moments over word puzzles
lol

>>5560812
I will leave you to solve this yourself, swear to fucking christ

>>5560813
Bitch I'm at a loss too. Look >>5560781
>right move
>wrong spot
We have two hints from this

This is the difficulty with clues in quests.

There are SO MANY ways that the information can be interpreted. Sure, if there's only one step to a solution even a child could solve it.

But it becomes exponentially harder the more steps you add. Because at two steps, every possible transformation of the information gained in the first step has to go through a NEW transformation. And you don't know which iteration in the first step is the correct one, so you have to test EVERY POSSIBLE TRANSFORMATION.

The Enigma Machine, which stumped the Allies for most of WW2, had a randomized 3-7 layers of encryption that varied per letter. The lad who solved it was a fucking PHD who spent years on the problem and had access to the machine, and probably had help figuring out which step happened when.

You do not need to go very deep to get to military grade encryptions. Even two layers is more than most people can solve casually.

There's probably a decrypter program handed out by anything resembling an info apparatus that could do these 'Encrypt by hand' messages in a matter of seconds. I don't have one on hand to warp every category of information through every possible method of encryption two or three times.

>>5560828
The solution here is probably dead fucking simple, and we're just too autistic or retarded to see it

>>5560828
Note: This is not to say Riddles are Wrong, and Anons Can't Think. But fucking around with Encryption is not something that should be done casually, especially when there's so many methods of encryption out there.

Logic puzzles or 'step by step' investigations are better. Even interviews, though I suppose most would be harder to implement in a quest format.

Thanks for the feedback. I can see the mistakes in the puzzle set up and will incorporate the feedback in the future.

For now, let me try to make the current puzzle more fair.

If you take the initials of Jokers past target and pit it with the initial of the correct choice, you will spell a word The Joker said.

>>5560829
Also, I understand what site we are on , but there is no need for ableist language like that.
The puzzle had design flaws. It isn't a reflection on the compentancy of the readers that they are struggling with it.

>>5560929
>will incorporate the feedback in the future
Thanks
>initials of Jokers past target and pit it with the initial of the correct choice
Henry Claridge? Doesn't seem to line up any of the three options unless there's vowels I am missing somewhere

>>5560930
>no need for ableist language like that
I suggest you develop thicker skin, QM
>puzzle had design flaws
When people attempt multiple solutions with different permutations and none of them work, it isn't for lack of trying on their part that the puzzle will not be solved. Here, we did try a lot of things using what hints we had available (in this update, right move, wrong spot). We had no way to know Joker's past targets were related to the spelling of this one

>capcha: DJ40KR
Now even the capcha is clowning on me

>>5560929
This is the clue that ripped the puzzle open for me, along with >>5561024 and >>5560739

>>5560625
>The answer is Gothcorp.


He's gonna pull a "Showstopper so stimulating you'll need a CIG afterwards" Claridge, Iseley and now Goth corp.

Note that before we make an educated guess, it says "claridge and isley" were the victims. C and I.
the options are therefore CIG, CIS, and CIW.

>>5561050
>Showstopper so stimulating you'll need a Claridge Isley Gothcorp afterwards
I fucking kneel

>>5560625
I'm n/SW on mobile. I'm voting
>Gothcorp
As that guy put it

>>5561098
It's the only clean answer I can find.

options are CIG, GIC, ICG
SIC, SCI, CIS
WIC, WCI, IWC

WCI disturbs me, but with the clue it can't be Wayne corp industries. since he didn't say fuck all about wayne corp.
Of course I could have mistaken what he meant by "target" and use his last target Henry Clarige, HC.

But HCI, HCW, HCG all have similar lacks of appearance.

Locking for Gothcorp, the correct answer.

>>5561304
Thank you for being gracious about it. This was certainly quite a mental exercise

>>5561304
I can't believe I got it! I mean, by accident, but still!

Don't sweat the usual 4chan belligerence, Bro. I'm just happy that the playerbase hasn't be flipping shit about brown people and Roma and whatnot in your quest.

>>5561734
>spoiler
I for one like this quest for it. It makes things interesting, and they work well with canon and the new quest stuff and whatnot. It's clear the QM has done his research to a very high degree; mad props to him for being passionate and willing enough to want to do so. But I didn't expect the sort of retort post from him earlier. It isn't how I would expect from a QM running a quest on 4chan to react. I don't fault him much for it, honestly.

>>5561734
Sall good, I've been around enough that I'm used to that kind of response. I just stay true to my values and how folks respond is how they respond. Can't get caught up in worrying about how every thing you post is gonna look to an anonymous group.

In any case, update within 24 hours. If fans are a fan of obscure source material I think this next one is gonna be a fun dive

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>>5560625
>Pencils: Don Kramer Inks: Jay Leisten Colors: Hi-Fi Design
>Alt-Text: A man in a black and blue superhero suit, Nightwing, looks solemnly at cases with Batman suits in them that loom over him.
>Vote Titles: James Tynion IV. Francis Manapul.

Think Bruce. Look at his speech, analyze it to see if anything stands out. You can’t be bested by a criminal clown. ... That’s it!
His speech made heavy use of alliteration, words starting with the same letter. And he notably said, “spell it out.”
Henry Claridge, Dr. Pamela Isley. C.I. And then he said we’d need a CIG. G.

BATMAN:
Batwave, highlight Gotham city businesses and individuals with last names or business names starting with the letter G. Then filter by Arkham file connections.
BATWAVE:
Processing... One result found.

Gothcorp, place of employment of Dr. Victor Fries. It may seem like a wild guess, but you live in wild times.
They’re a rival to Waynetech so you won't be able to access their security. You’’ have to rely on old-fashioned infiltration.
Even with such short notice, you have enough time to monitor likely targets. Once The Joker strikes, you’ll be right after him.
The only question is if you should take Dick or not. You can’t lie, he’s had a balancing effect on you.
When he’s not around you find yourself going to extremes more often and more quickly.
On the other hand, even if his body is recovered, who knows where he is mentally?
You haven’t spoken to him since he left the Mansion with a clean bill of health.
The tension between you might be too high for a mission right now.

> A Lonely Place of Living
Execute the Gothcorp mission alone
> Better Together
Ask Dick to join.

>>5563022
> Better Together
Let's keep him better informed. Not go soft or anything, but make sure he doesn't get hurt unnecessarily.

>>5563022
>Better together

If we leave him out of it, we won't have Dick there when we get back.

>>5563078
+1

Locking for Better Together

While I have you, how many updates per week would you players like. I can try to aim for that.

>>5563831
5 to 14. That is to say: one a day most days is fine, tow day is superb. Less than that can drag, more than that is tough to follow reliably.

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>>5563022
>Pencils & Inks: Elliot Brown. Colors: Digital Chameleon
>Alt-Text: A brownstone apartment building.
>Vote Titles: Scott Snyder. Joey Cavalieri. Dan Jurgens. Alan Grant.
>Content Warning: References to Dosing.

You’ve been pushing Dick away long enough. If you leave without him now, he might not be there when you return.
You’ve made mistakes, it's time to take accountability for them.
A basic disguise keeps you from being ID’d when you knock on your partner’s apartment door.

DICK:
Bruce? What are you doing here?
BRUCE:
Can I come inside?

He lets you in. Despite his hefty Waynetech paycheck, the room is sparsely furnished. It's like he barely lives here.

BRUCE:
It was wrong of me to use the gas without telling you. It put you in danger and the mission at risk. I’m sorry.

He sighs and puts his hand on his forehead.

DICK:
When that stuff hit me, it felt like every healed or repressed trauma flooded back to me at once. And what it did to you... before I spoke up, it was like you weren't even human. But worse than all that, worse than the fear, than seeing you almost headshot Darryl while he was down after you taught me about restraint ... it was that you were the one who caused it all. It’s not even about the gas, this was just the latest blow-up. You’ve been off recently, what’s going on with you?

You turn your back to him.

DICK:
Bruce, I’m your partner. First thing we learned at Haley’s was that you can’t fly out there.

He points through the window.

DICK:
If you’re struggling in here.

He puts his hand on his chest.

DICK:
I can help you, but only if you let me. What’s going on?

> Death of the Family
I’m pushing people away because I’m afraid of being left alone again.
> Lonely In a Crowd
I’m afraid you’re holding me back.
>Breakdown
This mission is consuming me. It’s pushing me to extremes I’ve never considered. And what scares me most is how easy it all is.
>Heart of Steel; Feet of Clay?
I'm not talking to you about this.

>>5564693
>Breakdown

I'd like a further elaboration, if I may, but first and foremost is that the big thing which we were afraid of is ego, which more naturally fits with Death of the Family. I'm torn on either one, but I think that using this explanation will get us more ground.

As an elaboration, The mission is what's consuming us and that's *Fine* but what isn't fine is how little by little we're reaching further and further over and over what is good. We need our restraint, we're fighting to bring gotham back to normalcy not mete out pain and misery in return [see return of the caped crusaders vs dark knight].
Everything is a weapon, but if we're careless, as we're being and lacking in discipline, as we have steadily become, then we're not going to save gotham. We're going to become it's predator, which is what the gas keeps showing us.

If we can convey that to Dick, as well as how he isn't falling anywhere near as far or as hard, then it might give him and us some perspective.

>>5564735
+1, Dick's doing better than Bats is currently

>>5564693
>Breakdown
Makes sense, given we chose Ego for our fear vote.

>>5564762
Locking for breakdown. Writing update now.

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>>5566206
>Art:WB Games Montréal (Credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXiKjizxEI )
>Alt-Text: An office building in an industrial part of Gotham City. On its roof, a statue holds a pipe filled with ice. A sign says “Gothcorp: The People Company” Underneath an art deco logo of a stylized G and C.
>Dialouage Sample: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S Goyer.
>CW: References to Violence

BRUCE:
This mission is consuming me. Pushing me to extremes I’ve never considered. And what scares me most is how easy it all is.
DICK:
Bruce, I saw my parents bleed to death in front of me. I know what it feels like to want to take all the evil shit life threw at you and dump it back out.
BRUCE:
I only adopted the darkness. As a weapon. I expected to use it to fight banal evils, the predators and exploiters. But this Joker, to cause such terror for ...entertainment. It’s pushing me to the edge.

Dick puts a hand on your shoulder.

DICK:
Then I’ll go there with you. And if I see you falling over, I’ll pull you back.

You give a rare genuine smile.

BRUCE:
I’m glad to have you. I predict Gothcorp is Joker’s next target. We don’t have access to their security so having twice the manpower will help us stake out more locations.
DICK:
And what about woman-power? Should we bring the Doc in on this?
BRUCE:
We have her tracker already, and this mission is outside her expertise. Besides, I doubt she’d be in a rush to defend the likes of Ferris Boyle.
DICK:
It’s your call. But it wouldn't hurt to open up more.
BRUCE:
One step at a time, Dick.
____

The Diamond District looks as pretty as its namesake from up here.
And just like a diamond, no one notices the bloody history underneath. The wealth that built those towers and statues was built on sucking the city dry.
Your city dry. Defending the robber barons your father spent his life getting away from sickens you, but you can’t let that terrorist play his sick games any longer.

BATWAVE:
Silent Alarm Detected! Gothcorp tower.
BATMAN:
Birdwatcher, move to Site One, now!
NIGHTWING:
On it!

You split up to cover more possible targets. The Bat-Blimp is closest to the tower so you’ll arrive before Dick does.

BATMAN:
Release Batdrones. Scan for signs of forced entry.

No broken windows. No sounds of gunfire. Can’t even hack in to see where the silent alarm was triggered.
Gonna have to go old school. You grapnel to a statue and smash your way through a window. No time for subtlety now.

BATMAN:
Run metahuman scaner.

No results. You don’t have the floorplan but vaults are usually kept on the lower levels.
If The Joker wanted to “break hearts” that’s where he would go. You dash to the nearest elevator.

BATMAN:
Collapsible Bat-Sword!
COLLAPSIBLE BAT-SWORD:
Pshhhhhhzzzrrrrr!

The plasma blade cuts a bat-shaped hole in the door so you can glide down the elevator shaft.

BATMAN:
Bat-Wave, volume scan each floor as I pass it!

Silent alarms may elude you, but screams are universal.

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>>5566278
>Pencils & Inks: Dario Brizuela. Colors: Heroic Age
>Dialogue Sample: Sholly Fisch
>Alt-Text: Three humanoid figures with giant bat-like heads hold valuable items in their arms and look on with shocked expressions
>Vote Titles: Doug Moench. Gregg Hurwitz

Sword drawn, you grab an elevator cable with your gauntlet and swing to the nearest door, cutting it in two as you smash through.
In front of you, holding arm fulls of valuables are three... Man-Bats?

MAN-BAT #1:
It’s Batman! What do we do?!
MAN-BAT #2:
You have to ask? Run!

They bolt for the stairway. You’re not letting these monsters escape.

When you burst through the doors, you don’t see them around. They have a head start, but you can catch them.
A Bat-Drone can cover the other direction, but you need to follow where you think they went.

Do you follow:
>Up Above The Sin So High
Up the Stairs

Or

>Down,Down, Down
Down the Stairs.

>>5566281
(And while I didn't have room for an image, please see below for the Collapsible Bat-Sword! in all its glory.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucN3VhHOjnA

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1309749/

>>5566281
>Down,Down, Down
They're not real Man-Bats, and they said "run". They went downwards. They can't fly.

>>5566281
>Down,Down, Down
What >>5566292 said

>>5566293
Locking for Down

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>>5566281
>Art: Warner Bros. Animation (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10554034/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm)
>Alt-text: The Joker’s head emerging from a Man-Bat costume.

You jump down the staircase. These are no monsters. They’re your prey.
MAN-BAT #1:
It’s coming!
You land on one of your targets, immobilizing them without hurting. Much.
BATMAN:
Bat-net!

Two Batarangs launch wire mesh from your gauntlets. The cowardly robbers fall beneath its tangle.
You grab one by the neck and rip off their mask, and a terrified, un-mutated face stares back at you.

BATMAN:
Where’s the Joker?!
MAN-BAT #1:
T-top floor.
BATMAN:
Bat-Lasso!

With the goons tied together, you can move to your real target.

BATMAN:
Birdwatcher, Joker’s on the top floor. I’m grappling up but you’ll be ahead of me.
NIGHTWING:
Way ahead of you.
________
NIGHTWING:
Woo-hoo!

The Redbird rockets off a gargoyle before landing on the giant novelty pipe on the roof of Gothcorp tower.
Gotham Architecture is so useful it may as well be in your belt.

NIGHTWING:
Magnet tires on!

With an electric sheen, the tires of your bike stick to the roof, carrying you up the art deco facade to the top floor.
You burst through the window into a gothic attic that looks more at home in a clocktower than in a million-dollar building.
Pulleys and levers carry cargo along tracks in the ceiling.

NIGHTWING:
This is where they make blimp drop-offs. I think Joker’s here to rob them.
MAN-BAT:
HEHEHE!

A leather-winged monster flies under the ceiling tracks like a seven-foot pest. But you fought Man-Bat before.
Something about this one seems....funny.

NIGHTWING:
Birdarang!

You fire not at the Bat, but at a pully, and as suspected, this “monster” stops in place.
On cue, your partner emerges from the lower levels and presses a lever that lowers the “Man-Bat” to the ground.

BATMAN:
Time to end this nightmare.

The creature lands and Bruce rips off its mask, revealing...The Joker!

JOKER:
Hey, watch the pleather. This suit wasn’t cheap you know.

Bruce grabs the clown by the neck and slams him into a wall.

BATMAN:
Who were you watching?! Where are your accomplices?! ANSWER!

He’s getting that look in his eye, better cool him down.

NIGHTWING:
I don’t think that’s gonna work with this guy.
POLICE SIREN:
WOOP-WOOP
JOKER:
Much as I would love to play Good Cop Bat-Cop, it seems the boys in blue are here to spoil our fun.
I wonder which of us has the bigger rap sheet?
BATMAN:
We’re nothing alike!

He slams the clown hard enough to shake the crates hanging above you.

JOKER:
Puh-lease. A flair for the theatric. Avant-garde fashion sense, a taste for the latest tech.
And judging by your intern's nervous look, a healthy wariness of the law.
If you think we aren't playing for the same team, you’re the one that’s joking. HAHAHAHA!

NIGHTWING:
We have to go, now!

You both rush out the window and glide away. But even though the sirens and sounds of the police arrest, that laugh still creeps through the night.

>>5568424
>WOOP-WOOP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A572eclLc68

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>>5568424
>Art: Warner Bros. Animation (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519686/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ql_cl)
>Alt-text: Jack Ryder, a news reporter, stands with a microphone
>Dialouge Sample: Stanford Sherman

RYDER:
... known as “the Joker” was captured by police last night after attacking Gothcorp Tower along what eyewitnesses claim were several metahumans...
NIGHTWING:
Figures. We do all the work and the cops get the tv news stories.
BATMAN:
Stories are powerful. Those “man-bats” were a ruse but the internet is already an ocean of paranoia and conspiracy theories. It doesn't matter how fake they were, as long as people think they were real, The Joker has power.

Dick doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. Weaponized fear, misdirection.
Seeing him using the same methods you do disgusts you. The comms line ringing is a welcome distraction from the self-reflection.

ISLEY:
Guys, open this link, now!

Dick replaces the newscast with a Lextube video of the Joker’s sick grin.
He’s laying poolside with a colorful drink and a garish costume.

JOKER:
Well, Gotham, it looks like it's time for uncle Joker to take a well-earned vacation.
RADIO SOUND EFFECT:
Awwww
JOKER:
Don’t cry kiddies. We had some laughs, had some kicks. And as a special thanks to all my fans, I’ll give you a gift that will really make a splash. HAHAHAH. And who knows, maybe I’ll join ya.

The video ends. Up less than 30 minutes and views are already in the millions. His influence is growing.

NIGHTWING:
He’s behind bars, no way he could pull something now.
BATMAN:
There was no way he could do what he did without help. The Joker’s locked up but his support network is still out there.
NIGHTWING:
The CBI’s been looking into Johnnie Witts since I told him he was working with Joker, his accounts are clean as a whistle.
BATMAN:
And Joker’s moved on from the mob anyway. He talked about “chumps” like Black Mask. But I can’t find any suspicious activity from wealthy targets in the Arkham files.
NIGHTWING:
Maybe you’re looking at the wrong rich people. The Doc said the suits were panicking when Joker made his last threat.
BATMAN:
So if I search for similar signs before that announcement...
ISLEY:
You can find the scumbag funding him.
BATMAN:
Otto Drexel. On the board of Gothcorp but sold off most of his stock a day before the Joker’s third video.
ISLEY:
You said there weren't any signs of forced entry at Gothcorp, right? And Joker knew how to hook his Man-Bat harness into their crate lines.
NIGHTWING:
Holy tipoff, Otto set them up!
BATMAN:
Then it’s time I paid him a visit.

>>5568424
Ha! The deep cuts in this quest man. I swear.

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>>5568446
>Photo:Niko Tavernise. Director: Todd Phillips. Cinematography: Lawrence Sher. Production Design: Mark Friedberg. Art Direction: Laura Ballinger. Set Decoration: Kris Moran. Additional Credits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7286456/fullcredits
>Alt-Text: A grimy street on a Gotham City Day. Old cars drive past stores with broken neon signs and “Going Out of Business” Banners.
>Vote Titles: Alan Grant. Sam Johns. Scott Snyder

ISLEY:
Wait, don’t you see what this means? Gothcorp’s been backing Joker all this time. When you take down Otto, wat happens next?
BATMAN:
What are you saying?
ISLEY:
Drexel will be gone, but Gothcorp won't. They replace him with another suit and they or someone else does the same or worse tomorrow.
BATMAN:
When that happens, we stop them.
ISLEY:
We can stop them now. Dr. Gutierrez, the Croc, even you. We know the way things work isn’t working. We can’t keep cleaning up for the system every time it fails when it keeps failing us. Gothcorp is just like The Owls, Kobra, and the Mob. They need to be cut off at the root.
NIGHTWING:
You’re talking about war against a corporation.
ISLEY:
It’s what we’ve been doing, just scaled properly. If we just focus on people breaking the letter of the law, we can’t make anything better. We have the seeds, we have your technology. Who knows if anyone else at Gothcorp is working with Joker? I say we hit them now before they do anything worse.

The doctor is too far gone, moving against Gothcorp would be an escalation.
You understand the desire for vengeance and justice but it has to be tempered with pragmatism.
But then just how pragmatic have you been so far?
You’ve been fighting to bring Gotham back to normal, but “normal Gotham” was where you lost your parents.
Where men like Boyle built hells like the Narrows.
Where places of healing like Arkham were neglected in favor of a vicious police system.
You fought The Owls, Kobra, the Mob, hell even the cops at times. Is Gothcorp really that different?
Does it matter if the predators of the people wear ski masks or power suits?
Maybe your error wasn’t dabbling in the dark, but choosing the wrong targets. But even then, are you the right person for this crusade?
In many ways, you're a product of the same forces you would be fighting.
Does yet another rich man really have the right to decide what is and isn't justice?
If the law can't be trusted, who can? Whoever has the will and power?
Declaring private war on the corporate elite would prove that right. Or is that what you've been doing all along without admitting it?
No matter what you choose, the stance you take will color the mission for the foreseeable future.
Will you be Gotham’s defender or its healer? Or something different altogether?

>Corporate Nightmares
Agree to attack Gothcorp
>Ashes of Eden
Stop working with Dr. Isley and take the seeds
>Resolve
Refuse to attack Gothcorp but keep working with Dr. Isley

>>5568502
Yeah, it was fun sourcing that one. Wild that there were TWO scooby Doo Batman team-ups with fake Man-Bats.
How do folks feel about the difficulty level in figuring out they were fakes? Was it too easy?
I wanted to be really thorough with the clues so as to not repeat the cig incident.
Having them talk like in the comic seemed like it might be too big of a hint, but I am not sure if the artwork alone would have been a fair tell.
Also sorry for the split in the update times. Past readers said they weren't a fan and I don't want to drag the quest too long.
I'm going to test out ways to get my time management and sleep schedule together to make Batquest more enjoyable.

>>5569322
Fuck. This is. . heavy.

Batman of the comics has always fought for Justice and Vengence. Bringing his hammer down upon criminals of many stripes, as the worlds greatest detective.

But is this a slide into tyranny? Do we want to abandon the protector style?
I'm not sure of the moral answer. If we answer yes we are effectively deciding that we know better than the law and the law shall not bind us, even less than it did.
So what will replace it?

With all this in mind, I think it'd be damn interesting. Special forces Batman with his guns, taking the fight to EVERY form of corruption in Gotham.

>Corporate nightmares
>Write in; But when dealing with Corps, there are strict and inflexible rules of engagement. Employees of the corps are non-targets unless they take up arms against us, full stop, period point. We're not gonna beat up jimmy wage slave because wrong time and wrong place, the loss of their jobs will be bad enough if we go scortched earth.
>The Mission needs sketching out, an end vision that we can work towards and take targetted steps.
>And our targets must be demonstrably involved in the underhanded world of gotham's criminal enterprises. Gothcorp is, so it will be targeted.

and maybe try for a redeem rather than burn down method of attacking organisations. Punish bad behavior and praise/let alone good practices to make it much more risky to be a bastard.

>>5569322
>Corporate Nightmares
The world only makes sense when we force it to. From the moment we put on a mask, picked up guns, and started going against the police, we had adopted some measure of unilateral authoritarianism. If we refuse to turn it against anyone but those already on the outside of the system, we're only agents of that system. Sometimes justice is more important than the law.

>>5569330
I think it was maybe a bit easy, but then I watched both those Scooby Doo crossovers. I think it's definitely more within the scope of what we players are likely to get.

>>5569410
+1; do you think it'd be a good thing or not for Batman to bring up the points you mentioned above your greentext vote? The slide into tyranny, knowing better than the law, sidelining the protector role, and so on. I wonder how Isley would react to it, especially if we bring up that she was on the receiving end of said protector... how many times now? Two, three times Bats saved her ass from almost-certain death? Isley's focusing big picture, which isn't bad, but she's going TOO big picture is the bad. Ironically, by fixating too much on her anarchic impulses against the big corporations and ignoring the people themselves involved, she is literally ignoring the trees for the forest. I bet that could get her second guessing herself.

>>5569412
Bringing all this up too, maybe? I dunno, there's a lot to bring up here with a crucial decision point this moment feels like.

>>5569330
>TWO scooby Doo Batman team-ups with fake Man-Bats
When one crossover isn't enough
>How do folks feel about the difficulty level in figuring out they were fakes? Was it too easy?
The way they acted and behaved was what gave it away, naturally
>I wanted to be really thorough with the clues so as to not repeat the cig incident.
Nice you kept that in mind; it is appreciated
>Having them talk like in the comic seemed like it might be too big of a hint, but I am not sure if the artwork alone would have been a fair tell.
I never saw any of those teamup crossovers, but I liked how all that still carried some welcome levity with it, especially after how grim things have felt for most of this thread. Sometimes the job really being that easy is itself a cause for relief to Bats, perhaps
>I'm going to test out ways to get my time management and sleep schedule together to make Batquest more enjoyable.
Do prioritize your health over this quest, always

>>5569479
it should definitely be brought up. The doctor is growing more and more extreme, just as we have been. It's why I want a strict set of rules we made ourselves, because leaving us to our own devices we will keep sliding down that slippery slope.

I would think batman and company would be able to turn organizations like gothcorp against themselves or bait them into grossly illegal acts that would let them take the corp down without going full revolutionary.
Though I really wouldn't be surprised if gothcorp has a warehouse full of skeletons that would make the feds rip them apart if discovered and the only issue is making sure they don't corrupt the law process to get away with just a slap on the wrist.

>>5570286
Probably a great methodology. We WILL have to examine wayne enterprises as well, we can't allow our mission to act as or be perceived as batman covering for the company that sponsors him.

>>5569322
>Crush Them Like An Oil Baron
Use Wayne Enterprises to begin to compete with Gothcorp as Bruce Wayne and get to the bottom of their activities as Batman.

Locking for Corporate Nightmares. Update within 24 hours.

>>5570659
The update has been delayed to tomorrow.

>>5572173
Thanks for the heads up!

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>>5569322
>Image Dialogue & Dialogue Samples: Dennis O'Neil. Pencils & Inks: Bret Blevins. Colors: Digital Chameleon.
>Alt-Text: Two comic panels. In the first, a scared man, Otto Drexel, speaks off-panel to Batman, whose shadow looms over him. He says “I don’t have the money yet! You said you’d give me two days.” In the second, a close-up of the sweating otto says “How did you know--?”

BATMAN:
I agree. We can’t keep fighting symptoms of a problem without attacking its cause. Gothcorp and those like it have to be brought down.
ISLEY:
This is the right move.
NIGHTWING:
Are you sure about this? Back in Paris...
BATMAN:
We can’t be haphazard. We need rules a method, limits. Otherwise, we’re just another group with power enforcing its will through violence.
ISLEY:
What do you propose?
BATMAN:
Day-to-day employees have to be off-limits. We can’t target anyone forced to act through circumstance, and no one dies unless there’s no other option.
ISLEY:
Agreed. Now that we’re on the same page, let’s work out details...
______
The Palisades smell... clean.
Not the warm clean of a childhood home, but the sterile antiseptic of pesticide-ridden landscaping and immigrants burning their hands bare with bleach.
You’re uncomfortable with how close Drexel’s mansion is to your own.
You could have walked here—just another reminder of the world your wealth comes from, and your duty to fight it.
The security system is stronger than average. It took you a whole ten minutes to crack it. It seems Otto has bigger concerns than protecting his rare china.
You find your prey alone. You become one with the shadows, and let his fear do the rest.
DREXEL:
I don't have the money yet! You said you’d give me two days!
BATMAN:
I’m not here to harm you, Otto. I’m not the man you paid to attack Gothcorp.
DREXEL:
How did you know--?
BATMAN:
I am everywhere. The shadows are my eyes. The nights are my ears. No secret is safe from me. No sin is beneath my notice.
Consider this a warning for you and the rest of you vultures. I’m watching you.
DREXEL:
Oh God, what do you want?
BATMAN:
What else did you give the Joker?
DREXEL:
He-he just wanted the old sewage plans. I have them here.

He fumbles through a drawer and offers a USB.

DREXEL:
The city did a survey of the mess down there. Wanted to build new lines to the hood.
BATMAN:
But you killed it.
DREXEL:
Gothcorp has a stake in half the water companies. It-it was just business, how things are done!
BATMAN:
Not anymore.

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>>5573237
>Pencils:Andres Guinaldo. Inks: Lorenzo Ruggiero & Raúl Fernández. Colors: JD Smith
>Alt-text: Giant vines crash and crunch through an office building.
>Vote Titles: Michael Reaves. Dennis O'Neil, Dick Giordano, Kevin Dooley & Andrew Helfer.

Vines crack through iron. Thorns pierce glass. A monument to late-stage capitalism falls under a new Eden.

NIGHTWING:
You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, Doc?
IVY:
It’s Poison Ivy when we’re in the field, and if you knew half of what these guys got up to you’d be smiling with me.

Security ran out after a tree truck turned the welcome desk to sawdust. No paycheck is worth becoming plant food.

NIGHTWING:
Just make sure these meta-plants stay contained.
IVY:
Contained and then some. This building was giving off enough heavy metal to arm a battleship. The hyacinths alone will purify this air back to the 80s.
NIGHTWING:
Remind me to pick up my hairspray
BATMAN:
Mr. Malone to Birdwatcher and Poison Ivy: Drexel’s involvement was confirmed. Joker has access to the water line maps.
IVY:
That explains how he’s getting around without being noticed.
NIGHTWING:
We can’t all have stealth blimps. Gothcorp’s almost done, zero casualties and target's about to acquired.
IVY:
Ride’s coming up.

You drop a pair of meta-enhanced kudzu seeds on the ground.
With a drop of water, a verdant staircase crawls up what’s left of the tower.
Nightwing flips from coil to coil, stopping at the hole you made in the IT vault.

NIGHTWING:
Right where the scanners said it’d be. We take these computers home and we’ll know exactly what Gothcorp’s been doing. Mission accomplished.
____
And so it begins. Your opening salvo against the city’s elite goes off without a hitch.
You can move on to the remains of Joker’s gang, but one question remains. Should people know who attacked Gothcorp?
You’ve always used shadows and mystery as your weapon, being hidden has its advantages. But so too does fear, and crafting a legend of terror for your enemies.
Should you keep your activities a secret, or spread your image of fear?

>I am the Night
Stay hidden.
>Legends of the Dark Knight
Let everyone know The Batman attacked Gothcorp.

>>5573255
>Legends of The Dark Knight.

A public listing of crimes commited by Gothcorp. Air that dirty laundry like a writ of execution.

>>5573255
>Legends of the Dark Knight

>>5573266
+1

>>5573266
Support.

>>5573255

Locking for Legends of the Dark Knight.

I will try to update tomorrow.

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>>5573255
>Art: Warner Bros
>Alt-Text: A skyscraper with a Batlogo burned into its face.
>Vote Titles: Tony S Daniel. Robert Venditti.
>Dialouge Samples: Sam Hamm, Warren Skaaren. Mark Russel

BATMAN:
Birdwatcher, tell them who we are.
_______
You light a flare and drop it in a patch of mutated ivy.
Blue flames follow the plant's trail up the building, burning a shape into its face. A Bat.
_____
RYDER:
After their brazen attack on Gothcorp Tower, the figure known only as The Batman gave this message.
A Black and Blue bat appears onscreen, and a computerized deep voice booms as the bat pulsates.

BATMAN:
I’m Batman. For a year now I’ve watched this city, guarding it against the predators feasting on it.
The mobs and the owls fell by hand. The Joker lies defeated. And still, it isn’t enough. We might win a fight here. A battle there.
But we’ll never win only playing defense. That’s how they designed the game.
We might win an election here... a lawsuit there...but that doesn't bother them.
They’re playing by rules they make up as they go along. We’re never really allowed to score so they know they’ll win in the end.
I used to think I fought for justice, but justice is a lie we tell others. An unheeded prayer for mercy.
The weak calling for a time-out they’ll never get, no matter how much they pretend to be on our side. The truth is, I can’t give you justice.
But I can give you consequences. If we play by their rules, they win.
The only way to win is to let them know, we’re not playing a game. Proof of Gothcorp’s evil has been released.
For any like them who would prey on the weak- this is your one warning. The Batman is watching.
____
Toxic waste dumps into Gotham river, Union busting with physical violence, backing coups to get foreign mining rights.
Decades of sins the law overlooked or encouraged are laid bare. And if society won’t do anything about it, you will.
The Gothcorp files might be a fatal blow to them, but the most damaging information you have in reserves.
Gothcorp conspired with the US government to ship superweapons abroad.
Regimes that the White House decries on paper were sold weapons of mass destruction, and Gothcorp and its lobbyists got rich off the deal.
Releasing this information would do more than hurt Gothcorp, it would be a blow against the highest power in the land.
But those same powers know who you are. Waller, Chase.
If you held this information as leverage, you could intimidate the government from moving against you.
It’d be a cold war, the two of you circling around each other until one of you found an advantage.
But would such a move be compromising your morals, making you just another rich billionaire manipulating the government?
If you release the files, it could risk an all-out war against the state. Are you ready for such a step?

>Playtime's Over
Release the Gothcorp-Government files to the public
>Cold War, Part 1: Monsters Within
Blackmail the government with the files

Very tough choice. If we shoot first and release the files to the public, they will retaliate by releasing proof Bruce Wayne is Batman. The Owls knew about it from Lincoln Marsh back in thread 1's Talon arc, but the rest of the Owls all died to Black Mask at the thread's end and did not make it to federal custody to spill the beans. But surely somebody up in the government must know Batman's identity by now, like Waller and Chase as the narration points out. If they release it, then the Waynetech tower will collapse, and Batman's overhangs of bat safety with collapse with it. And let's not forget Isley will know Batman IS Waynetech - she must already suspect Batman is a rich billionaire by the resources he's demonstrated, but how willing to work will she stay in the face of the cold truth?

If we go the blackmail cold war route, they could easily decide to forego the cold war staredown to call Batman's bluff. They'll clean house and cook the books offscreen, then release the Batman identity evidence. The narration is right: by blackmail intimidating the government, Batman becomes yet another rich billionaire manipulating them. But the other rich billionaires play by their rules, perform a mutual song and dance with the system and the nation. Batman won't be. He said it himself. "If we play by their rules, they win."

My vote, in the face of this tough choice, is:

>(insert fitting Batman choice title here)
Discuss this dilemma with Nightwing.

If you guys got any better ideas, post em

>>5575682
I support asking Dick his opinion first. No more unilateral decisions which dramatically affect his life -- he at least gets to consult, if we've learned anything. But, in case HB needs an actual decision...

>Cold War, Part 1: Monsters Within

I just don't want it flavoured as something we keep secret from him or insist without his input.

>>5575325
>Naturally, consult Dick.
>But Cold war is my support

You can't put the cat back in the bag.

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>>5575325
Pencils: Phil Jimenez & John Cleary. Inks: Phil Jimenez. Colors: Adrienne Roy
>Alt-Text: Two men, Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson look at each other with respect.

This is a big decision. Too big to make alone. Acting alone has led you down paths to dark for even you to grasp. He has a right to be involved.

DICK:
This is heavy. Gothcorp was one thing but if the government comes after us, that’s it. We’re enemies of the state.
BRUCE:
There are... contingencies, plans we can enact if the powers that be ever target us. No matter what happens, I promise you, Dick, I’ll protect you.

Dick gives a long sigh.

DICK:
I’ll be fine Bruce. I chose this because I want to make a world where no one has to lose their parents like we did. If I need to go on the run or go to war for it, I’m up for it but it's more than me on the line. You're life, your legacy, your fortune...
BRUCE:
Meaningless in the face of the mission.
DICK:
You say that, but everyone, even you, has a right to draw a line. If it’s up to me, I’m ready for it. We’ll give any Chordane that comes for us hell and then some. But if you want to play things quiet for now, I’ll support you.

Does blackmail route Cold War Part 1 count as playing things quiet? If not, I want to do what Dick suggests and simply not mess with the government just yet. No releasing, no blackmail. Just hold these cards somewhere close and safe, but don't play them anytime soon

>>5576325
We took the fight to big corporate interest. If we don't give the government a reason not to reveal our identity, they WILL expose us.

>>5576347
Then blackmail it is!

Locking for Cold War

Last vote will be sometime this week .

>>5577059
I'm hype!

Also, any chance we can get a general recap at thread-end, just to clarify some plot points my brainlet mind cannot fully grasp.

>>5579825
(I'll use the remaining thread time to do an annotation of The Joker arc as well as a Q and A. I can add a recap. Sorry If the plot was too confusing , I'll focus on something more streamlined next time if need be.)

>>5580667
I think I mostly got it, except by J-Money attacked Gothcorp (or, rather, why a Gothcord exec paid him to attack his own company).

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>>5576289
>Pencils: J H William III. Inks: Mick Gray. Separator: Android Images. Colors: Gregory Wright
>Alt-Text: A woman, Cameron Chase, stands across from Batman in the dark. She shines a flashlight.
>Dialogue Samples: Robert Goodman, Dwayne McDuffie

It’s a cold night in Gotham.
Your suit tells you it’s keeping you at the optimal 20 degrees Celsius but you feel a chill in your bones so deep it's touching your soul.

CHASE:
What the hell, Bruce?!

Your old comrade yells from the rooftop, years of decorum melted away like the sleet she’s stepping on.

BATMAN:
I trust you know how this goes.

You toss her a USB.

BATMAN:
Secret Weapons. Illegal Cloning Experiments. Bypassing Congress.
CHASE:
Ha! So beneath the high and mighty act, you’re still just another spook. Blackmailing and blowing up buildings-we were supposed to save the world, not burn it down!
BATMAN:
Maybe you were so focused on saving the world, you forgot about the people in it.

You launch a grapnel across the street, turning your back on your past.

CHASE:
You know you’re choosing a side now, Bruce. You’re either one of us or one of them!

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>>5583195
>Art: Luciano Cavaleri
>Alt-Text: The Joker stands smiling in handcuffs and a prison jumpsuit
>Dialouge Samples: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S Goyer. Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm
>CW: Prisoner Abuse, Violence

MARIO:
Inmate A-012014, no chat in the line!
A:
I have a name.

What did that punk say? You pull him out the lunchline by the neck.

MARIO:
Names are for out there! You washed out from normal life, so now you’re here. With me. Your name is mud if say so-!
JOKER:
Ah-Mario! Mind scootching my milk closer to my face? I love to accessorize, but the iron bracelets make it hard to reach the straw.

This “John Doe” freaks you out more than the rest of the slab combined. Milk?
If it was up to you the sick freak and the rest of the scum here would get two in the head like they deserve.

MARIO:
Let me give you a hand.

You let go of the smart mouth and slam the clown facedown into the tray. If he wants milk, he can swim it.
JOKER:
*pshck*

You pull him up.

MARIO:
Come again? Couldn’t hear you.
JOKER:
I said you should be careful with stuffing my face, you’re the plumber after all! Ha-ack!

You slam the freak into the wall.
The bleeding hearts upstate won’t let you bring your own weapons here, but lucky you, Chief Bolton knows what these thugs really need.

MARIO:
You wanna laugh?! How bout I cut a smile on that face?

You stare into A-012014’s eyes as you press your pocket knife into the clown’s lips. It’s like the Chief says, you have to show them who's in charge.

JOKER:
Oh, while I’d love the makeover, I think you’d be fired for that kind of fun. Lord knows you and the familga need the paycheck.
MARIO:
What’d you say about my family? I’ll kill you!

You deck the punk hard enough to knock out a tooth and just keep going.
These pieces of shit think they can make a fool out of you! Think they’re better than you! Think they’re-

BOLTON:
Mario! That’s enough.

The Chief puts a hand on your shoulder as you stare down at the clown’s bloody face. At least you knocked a tooth out of that grin.

BOLTON:
(whispering)
We can’t have another body right now. The feds are on my ass.
BOLTON:
Frank! Take John Doe to the SHU. Mario, relax in the break room.
JOKER:
Lucky you! I hear the coffee is killer. HAHA!

You seethe the whole way to the room. Shitty Joker. Shitty dead-end job. Shitty burnt coffee. Wait, he said it was killer. That freak do something to it?!

MARIO:
Frank! Did anybody mess with the coffee?
FRANK:
Use your eyes, coffee's been gone since morning.
MARIO:
Ha! These freaks are getting to me.
FRANK:
I know what you mean. You should get that hand checked out, though.

You look at your bleeding knuckles.

MARIO:
Funny. Looks kinda like a smile. Heh.
FRANK:
What are you talking about?
MARIO:
A smile, like lipstick. Hahaha heh heh
FRANK:
Hey, I need some help here
.
Asking for help, so funny. Mister shiny in your pocket is all the help you need. Let’s put a smile on that face!

FRANK:
Stay back! Stay back!

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>>5583206
>Art: Daniel Kvasznicza
>Alt-Text: A prison built into a cliffside on a snowy night, guard towers shine spotlights into the shadows.
>Vote Titles: Frank Tieri. John Layman. Grant Morrison. Gregg Hurwitz.
>CW: Mentions of Prisoner Abuse

BATWAVE:
Alert!
RYDER:
...Reporting on an uprising at Blackgate Penitentiary. Sources say it began when a guard attacked employees and imamates with an unauthorized weapon. Blackgate and its security Chief Lyle Bolton have long been criticized by activists for alleged human rights abuses. District Attorney and Mayoral Candidate Harvey Dent decried the scenario as a failure of the prison system and called for peace. The highest profile inmate of Blackgate is the anonymous terrorist popularly known as The Joker who...
BATMAN:
It’s him. This is his big move. Batwave, overlay the sewer files with Blackgate.

As you suspected, several tunnels that could be used for an escape under the cover of a prison crackdown.

BATMAN:
Birdwatcher, I’m flying to Blackgate. If Joker gets loose in the sewer system, I’ll need you to move for plan C.
NIGHTWING:
Already on it. You sure you’ll be okay at Blackgate alone?
____
You’re not. This prison is hell spilled over.
Decades of broken dreams lost chances and untreated illnesses packed together in a pressure cooker of violence and forced labor. Putting Joker here was dumping a match on a gas fire. Magistrate private security runs operations here.
They tried to cover up lack of training with overwhelming force. And failed. They can’t handle this alone.
Which is why almost every cop and CBI agent is pooling at Blackgate, and away from the City.

>Gotham's Most Wanted
Fight alongside the prisoners in the uprising.
>Cycle of Violence
Fight against the prisoner uprising.
>Gotham Underground
Hunt down the Joker in the tunnels.
>The Pursuit of Happiness
Hunt down the Joker in the tunnels and ask agents Chase and Turner to pull back their forces from the prison.

>>5583222
>The Pursuit of Happiness
Some of these prisoners deserve to be in here. Fighting for or against them is too out-of-character for Batman, perhaps. I would rather pull the "Some of you CBI are alright. Don't come to Gotham Sewers tonight." on them

>>5583222
Nightwing is good, let's help those undertrained guards
>Cycle of Violence

>>5583222
>The persuit of happiness.

I don't want them getting hit with nerve gas.

>>5583229
Supporting!

>>5583222
>The Pursuit of Happiness

Kind of funny for Chase to call batman a spook when she is a full time spook.

>>5583469
Locking for The Pursuit of Happiness. Update today.

>>5583614
The last vote update is coming out jumbo sized, so it will show up tomorrow. Thanks for sticking through folks.

>>5584228
Thanks for running such a rad cape quest!

>>5584228
This quest is cool

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>>5583222
>Alt-Text: Batman with glowing eyes on a rooftop surrounded by flying bats, set against the moonlit sky
>Art: Keron Grant
>Dialouge Sample: Moira Kirland & Lana Cho
>CW: Prisoner Abuse, Violence

You look down at the violence with disgust. This isn’t justice, this is chaos.
You thought you fought for normalcy but if this is normal, you’ll have to become someone else. You’ll have to become something else.

BATMAN:
Turner, I know you have access to this frequency. We need to talk.
TURNER:
The big man himself. What do I owe the honor?
BATMAN:
I need you to pull back from Blackgate, more troops will only cause a bloodbath.
TURNER:
You think I don’t know that? I’m keeping the CBI outside the perimeter but I can’t order cops or private security out unless it’s a metahuman matter.
BATMAN:
Then I’ll make it one.

On the ground, Magistrate Security herds a group of prisoners together with riot shields. Those who try to escape the kettling are beaten with stun batons.

SKY:
KRAKABOOOM!!!

The Magistrates stop and look up. A massive dark cloud pulsates with thunder and red lighting.

SKY:
SCREEEEEE

Guards and prisoners alike cover their ears from the shrill screech echoing through the cliff. A swarm of bats erupts from the deepest caves of the mountain, covering the prison and blotting out the spotlights with leather and flesh.
At the center of the black tornado, visible from the glowing emblem on your chest, you descend.

BOLTON:
It’s The Batman!

Panic spreads through the yard as you grapnel down, as slowly as possible for maximum effect.
Magistrate’s cost-cut comms are easy to hack into.
TURNER:
CBI calling all public and private forces inside the perimeter: This is a metahuman ermegency, you are ordered to withdraw.
BOLTON:
Hell no! I can’t leave my prison to these animals!
TURNER:
That wasn’t a request. You can leave now or move in permanently when I arrest you for obstruction.

You can’t see Bolton’s face from up here, but you imagine the look wasn’t pleasant as he gave the order.

BOLTON:
Magistrate, pull back!

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>>5584966
>Boat Manufacturer: Glastron Industries. Photo copyright: Carter News Agency.
>Alt-text: A blue boat with a Batman logo and a siren. Its bottom is white with flame decals.

The theatrics of your descent and the light show from the Bat-Blimp give you enough cover to slip into a hidden crevice of the complex.
From there you follow Joker into pipes dug through solid granite.
Reports show that half the time the plumbing here doesn't work, though you’re sure Magistrate greases enough palms the inspectors don’t notice.
The Rock is too dense for a signal to get through, you’ll have to trust Dick can handle his job. Now to see if you can handle yours.
Even with the map the sewers are a maze. With his head start The Joker could be anywhere for his big splash. Wait, splash. Think like him. An “artist” prone to operatic destruction. Partial to chemical warfare.
If he had access to the sewer lines, the best target would be-

BATMAN:
The reservoir! Bat-wave! Calculate optimal root from these tunnels.
BATWAVE:
Offline mode calculation engaged. Completion estimate: 10 minutes
Too slow. You’ll have to think... creatively. You’re in pipes transporting water.
Joker’s video was on a pool and talked about a vacation. How does one transport by water on a vacation? A cruise! Of course.
The only way to the reservoir from here would be by boat. Now you can just follow water downstream until you make it...

BATMAN:
I’m out! Bidwatcher, Plan C is go. The target is the Gotham Reservoir!
NIGHTWING:
How are you getting there in time?
BATMAN:
Something I picked up overseas. BAT-BOAT!

You have a secret dock on every Gotham Island. Santa Prisca showed you have to take your crusade to land air AND sea.
With your hand at the wheel, your craft speeds toward the Gotham Dam, if you’re right you’re quarry will be-

BATMAN:
There!

A garish purple and green speedboat, probably stowed in the sewers for future use. He plays the fool but he’s a master of his craft.
You grapnel up the damn walls and into the control deck. The crew lays on the ground, unnatural grins stretching across pained faces. And before you, the vivacious violater himself The-

JOKER:
Took ya long enough, I was halfway to asking these stiffs for the Lexflix password.

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>>5584974
>Pencils & Inks: Jorge Jiménez. Colors: Tomeu Morey
>Alt-Text: The Joker stands in front of a computer screen vandalized with HAHAs painted on it.
>Dialouge Sample: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S Goyer. Tom Taylor.
>CW: Violence

You lunge but stand back as he holds up a vile like a shield.

JOKER:
Hands to yourself Bats. Don’t get any ideas just cuz it's the third date. Ha! I drop this and those two take their smiles to the grave.
BATMAN:
What do you want?
JOKER:
To talk shop with a fellow performer, of course! You think those squares could appreciate what I’m pulling off?
BATMAN:
Destruction?
JOKER:
ENTERTAINMENT! The ingredients for the greatest show on Earth literally fall out of the sky and these people were using it for what? Gangster crap?

He walks to the balcony and gives a wistful gaze at the city skyline.

JOKER:
This city deserves a better class of criminal. And I’m gonna give them a masterpiece.
BATMAN:
This isn’t a game. You’re hurting people.
JOKER:
Of course I am! They gave the Oscar to a cannibal for Pete’s sake! Folks spend all day doom-scrolling articles to get mad for fun. People love a villain because they want to be terrified, enraged, and disgusted. They see a larger-than-life baddie they can feel scared of through the safety of their screen and they forget the day-to-day torture they’re so desperate to escape. T-shirts, Halloween costumes, memes, everyone loves The Joker baby!
BATMAN:
Yarghh!

You push him off the balcony and hold him over the ledge. All this fear, all this suffering, he did it just for attention!

JOKER:
Yeah, now THAT’s the stuff. Perfect brooding anti-hero. Think we could get Eastwood away from the chair long enough to play you in the movie?
BATMAN:
I could end you right here.

Joker holds the antidote over the dam.

JOKER:
Go ahead. The Moritaray fall’s a bit cliche for my taste but you can't go wrong with the classics.
BATMAN:
NYARGH!

You pull him from the ledge and he rolls back into the control room.

JOKER:
I knew you wouldn’t spoil the fun yet.
BATMAN:
Fun?! Do you think I’m playing?
JOKER:
Bat, please! You run around in a logo-covered fursuit yelling out BAT in front of everything like an anime. This is just as much a show for you as it is for me. You tell yourself this about justice or revenge or skipping rush hour traffic, but the truth is, this is YOUR escape just like it is theirs.

A phone rings from his pocket.

JOKER:
Oooh, upload time! You’ll love this one.

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>>5585030
>Art: Dave McKean. Letters: Gaspar Saladino. Art-Dialogue: Grant Morrison
>Alt-Text: Comic panel of the Joker yelling “April Fools” & laughing
>Dialouge Sample: Ed Brubaker
>CW: Violence

He shows a Lextube video of him in the control room earlier. The views climb rapidly from 0.

JOKER:
Man, nothing like a little R&R to put some color on your face. 5 stars to the resort, they throw a SMASHING going away party. Ha! But before I head back to the old grind I thought I’d share my sunny disposition with my fans. Isn’t that right Chuckles?

He pulls the Jokerized dam employee into frame, speaking for them while puppeting their stretched lips

"CHUCKLES":
Sure is Mr. J. Can’t get enough of that Smilex!
JOKER:
And for the low low price of a cup of the City’s finest tap water, you too have a pep in your step, a sparkle in your eye, and a smile on your face. Hehehe!

The video clips to Punch and Judy rolling hauling barrels toward the reservoir.

JOKER:
By midnight tonight, every sink shower and bidet will be a one-stop trip to Jokerland!

You rush to the controls. It's five minutes to midnight, the system is too secure to crack that soon.

JOKER:
Batting up the wrong tree there, the pipes are locked. You can’t have just anyone coming in here and messing with the water supply!

You aim your gun at him.

BATMAN:
Stop it. Now.
JOKER:
Oh, this is out of both our hands. When the bing goes bong, the city dances to MY song.
BATMAN:
You think the people you’re blackmailing will keep paying after this?
JOKER:
Blackmail? I’m hurt. How could you ever think I’d be that basic? Didn’t I tell your intern I had sponsors lining up to collab?
BATMAN:
Don’t lie to me! I know you took the Arkham files.
JOKER:
That wasn’t blackmail, it was talent scouting! Oh if only you could see what I saw about those poor tortured souls, desperate for the excuse to cut loose I just gave them.

He stares into your eyes and his widen in realization.

BATMAN:
Oh you dirty dog, I KNEW you had it in you. What was your favorite story? That Martha gal, whoo! And I thought I had issues.

BAT-GUN:
BANG!

A bright red line shows on the clown where the bullet grazed his cheek.

JOKER:
See that’s just the kind of EMOTION I’m looking for here. In 30 seconds there’s gonna be a lot less of them,

He points at the dam operators

JOKER:
And a lot more of us.

KABOOM!

BATMAN:
Think again.

The Clown rushes back to the balcony and sees an exploded pipe.
Courtesy of King Croc swimming up with a handful of C-4.

BATMAN:
Show’s over, Joker.
JOKER:
You just shut down the city’s water supply.
BATMAN:
Better that than turning out like you.

His look of actual shock morphs into his sickest grin yet.

JOKER:
Aheh, aheh a HAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, this is-this is richer than I could expect. Punch, Judy! You gotta see this.

The massive metahumans burst through the walls throwing the barrels of Smilex at you.
You dodge and they smash open on the walls. Revealing countless slips of paper saying “April Fools.”

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>>5585057
>Pencils: Russel Braun. Inks: Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. Colors: Steve Oliff. Letters: Willie Schubert. Art Dialogue: Dennis O'Neil.
>Alt-Text: Comic panel of Batman laughing with HAHA text as seen in the internet reaction image.
>CW: Violence

JOKER:
You just turned Gotham into the world’s biggest Dune LARP, for nothing! HAHAH!
BATMAN:
ARGGHHHH!

You damn near blackout. No more jokes. No more detective work. No fancy gadgets. Just muscle and rage.
You barely hear your screams over the sounds of your bullets.
You know the Metahumans will survive the shots, but some dark part of you wishes they wouldn’t.

BATMAN:
*panting loudly*
JOKER:
Aaaaaand scene. Care to watch Gotham go goofy with me?
BATMAN:
The smilex was fake...
JOKER:
Are those big ears just for attracting mates? Have you heard a word of what I’ve been saying?
______
In a Gothcorp lab, a scientist washes his hands while looking at a picture of a woman.

JOKER:
(voiceover)
Normality is sad and boring.
_______
In Dr. Crane’s apartment, he huddles under the covers in fear with a cup of tea.

JOKER:
(v.o.)
An endless stream of fear and pain people put up with just to make it to the next distraction.
______
Chief Bolton washes his face in the mirror then angrily punches it.

JOKER:
(v.o.)
They didn’t need a chemical. They just needed an excuse to act how they REALLY feel.
______
The Joker kicks up his legs on a makeshift couch formed by Punch and Judy’s unconscious bodies.

JOKER:
This time tomorrow the city will be full of mirthful mayhem because “The Joker made me do it.” How’s that for secret stuff, Bugs?!

BATMAN:
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
JOKER:
Hey! What’s so funny? The laughs only come when The Joker says they do!
BATMAN:
I just realized. All this time I thought you were a criminal mastermind. When really you’re just a sad little man out to prove everyone is as broken as you are.
JOKER:
Little? I’m the Joker! The whole country knows my name! The whole world! I’m the Clown Prince of Crime! I’m -
BATMAN:
Just another loser hurting others to make himself feel better. Because you’re right, this world is full of shadows and pain and misery.
_____
At Blackgate, Harvey Dent walks into the prison with his hands up and is surrounded by the prisoners.

BATMAN:
(v.o.)
But it's also full of people who are doing something about it.

In the sewers, Croc and Nightwing carry jugs of clean water to the people.

BATMAN:
(v.o.)
Who see the pain around them, and instead of giving into it, become healers.
_____
You walk toward Joker.

BATMAN:
This city is sick. This world is sick. And that’s why we’re going to cure it.

The clown holds up the vial.

JOKER:
Stay back, or its curtains for the-

You smack the vial to the ground.

BATMAN:
Simple water. Like everything about you, it only seems important from a distance. But when you get close, you see it for what it is.

You stare him dead in the eye.

BATMAN:
A joke.

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>>5585105
>Art: Warner Bros Studios & Rocksteady Games (https://www.igdb.com/games/batman-arkham-city/credits)
>Alt-text: Batman holds a smiling Joker by the neck.
>Dialouge Sample: Akiva Goldsman
>Vote Titles: David Vern Reed, Bill Finger, Alan Moore, J.M. DeMatteis

JOKER:
No. No. No. No!
He frantically grabs the phone from his pocket.
JOKER:
You think your 4kids power of friendship-ass speech changes anything? I bet people are going bananas by now!

A news article says “Miracle Plants seem to purify water.”

BATMAN:
Another thing you were right about. People believe what they want to believe. So I choose to give them a better story.

Sounds of growth rumble through the roof and a waterfall of vines cascades down the balcony. Dr. Isley arrives holding two fruits

IVY:
Take two of these and call me in the morning.

You squeeze the fruits into the mouths of the smiling attendants and the grins fade.

BATMAN:
When the water tests come back negative, instead of a conspiracy, it will just prove the power of the “miracle trees.”
IVY:
I got roses to bloom in February, miracle is an understatement.

A slow cap echoes through the room.

JOKER:
Bravo. Bravo! A fitting end to our first epic encounter. I can’t wait to do it again.

He’s beaten, desperate to snatch a scrap of control from his loss. But you need to do something about him.
A younger you would leave him for the authorities to pick up, but even if Blackgate is off the table, can you trust what the powers that be will do with him?
The echoes of Fear in your head say the only solution to a problem like this is a bullet in the head, but do you have the right to be an executioner?
If the state can't be trusted with him you could try to contain him yourself. You have several facilities that could be adapted.
Jailer would be a new role for your mission, one you’re unsure if you should take on. Though if you’re dedicated to curing the city, perhaps medicine is the best option. Something broke this man, perhaps those at Arkham could help him like they did you.

>The Jail for Heroes
Personally jail The Joker.

>Public Enemy No. 1 Starts Jail Sentence
Hand him over to the law.

>The Killing Joke
Kill him.

>Asylum
Admit him anonymously to Arkham.

>>5585135
And that's the last vote! After this one there will be a final update. I'm interested to see what you're final choice will be with Batman's archenemy.

>>5585135
>Asylum
Arkham gets ONE shot at holding or reforming him in this continuity, as far as I'm concerned. if it fails, we're justified in killing or illegally detaining him on Round 2.

WayneTech is also going to HEAVILY invest in a rebuild of the facility to bolster its security apparatus, and fund treatment options for meta-criminals and the mentally ill, of course.

>>5585137
Badass finale. I'm so hyped we got Ivy on-side. I wonder if we can keep Crane stable-ish, too?

>>5585135
>Asylum

>>5585135
>Asylum
I fucking kneel. What a great update. You did Joker justice QM

>>5585135
It's really an amazing update, I fucking twist and turned from "how the fuck could we figure that? We're fucked." to "What the. . I have been bamboozed!"

>Asylum
One shot.

>>5585135
Honestly at this rate i am hoping we can keep most of batmans rogue gallery from going full villain. Although some like Croc seem to be right on the edge.

>>5585633
He's working with us now, and even before then his main concern was being a protector of the homeless and destitute from police corruption, right? If we're tearing down and rebuilding the system now, we may be on the same side. We aren't even a Batman with a zero tolerance "no kill" code, eliminating one pissible source of friction!

Locking for Asylum. Final Update within 2 days