Date: Sun, 6 Nov 1994 19:38:08 CST Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Jason R. Tippitt" Subject: "In the End," Part I, Chapter 1 (HL/Batman Crossover) ************************************************************************ I N T H E E N D . . . ************************************************************************ "In the End..." A Highlander/Batman Crossover Jason R. Tippitt, 1994 Note: This is the sequel to "Dark of Knight." If anyone needs a copy of that story, write me. This occurs in a continuity similar to that of Frank Miller's _The Dark Knight Returns_ graphic novel. Not *exactly* the same, but pretty darn similar. Warning: Not the kindest, gentlest story ever written. Cursing, too. Part One--The Gathering Chapter One ******* The gun went off in the alley, cutting down the doctor and his wife. The gunman, a boy of no more than ten years' age, stood watching with his eyes wide open as the middle-aged couple fell to the street. His partner, a girl the same age, grabbed his shoulder. "Grab their stuff, you asshole!" The boy fell to his knees, grabbing the wallet from the doctor and the purse from his wife. He was sobbing, unable to speak. The girl grabbed his jacket and pulled him to his feet. Off they went, the boy stumbling along backwards for the first few steps. The NYPD car got there too late. Both victims were dead. In the shadows above them, however, something dark flitted from building to building, calmly stalking the murderous children back to their leader's lair. The police didn't notice the stalker, its dark cloak trailing behind it, any more than they noticed the sleek black car parked against the curb a block away. Inside the car, Special Agent MacLeod lifted his minirecorder to his mouth and began speaking. "Fagin's children are becoming more and more bloodthirsty. I wonder if he realizes they're becoming killers?" He felt a familiar run down his spine. His gaze lifted up to the rooftops, in time to spot the hastily-moving figure. "It's a shame people don't look up at the nighttime sky more often; they miss so much by keeping their eyes on the sidewalk. It appears the rumors are true--Batman is still alive. And he's one of us now. Curiouser and curiouser..." He started the car and pulled out. "I hope Batman doesn't come between Fagin and me--the bandit could be *so* useful." ******* Above, Batman turned to look down into the streets. He wondered if this could be the last one--the attacks were coming more and more often of late, so there was every chance he and the one in the car were the very last two. Batman had taken three Quickenings just in the last two weeks--Felicia, Annie, and an assassin named Claudius (the last one just the night before). And now this man in the black car giving off a Buzz the size of the Empire State Building--or what that building's size had been before a terrorist bomb took it out the previous week. He would worry about the other Immortal when he had to; there were more pressing concerns on his mind. It was time to stop this gang of demon children before their crimes grew any more gruesome. They'd moved up to murder, and they were all around 10 years old. There had to be someone guiding them, and was time to put that sick animal down for the last time before any more children lost their innocence, any more souls were tainted. Across the rooftops Batman leapt, turning his attention to the hunt. ******* The kids brought in the "goods" as their boss had requested. They'd had to shoot Teddy, though--he wouldn't leave well enough alone, and the goods had been "damaged" before they knew it, bruised and shaken around. The boss was standing ready, sword in hand, when the kids came in, dragging the unconscious thief across the floor. "We're sorry, boss. Teddy--" The leader put his sword down. "You had to shoot him, didn't you?" "Yes. He wouldn't leave her alone..." "With a body like hers, could you blame him?" He bent down next to the burglar, touched her forehead. "You did good, kids. Now leave--and make sure no one disturbs us during our little *business meeting.*" The kids left the room. Their leader walked to the door and bolted it shut. He turned to face his captive. "You can stop pretending to be asleep, Amanda. It's been so long..." The Catwoman sat up. "My name's not Amanda, you idiot." Even under a blindfold, she knew exactly where he was...keen senses and the power to sense the Quickening made quite a combination. "You aren't Amanda?" "No one ever claimed exclusive rights on being a thief. She went straight, last I heard." "For MacLeod..." "I don't know. Are you going to kill me, Fagin?" "I want to...play with you first. You should know all about that, shouldn't you?" He dropped to one knee beside her. "Do you want me to make you purr, little kitten?" A clawed boot struck the man's nose, crushing it. In a second, the Catwoman's hands were free, and she pulled the blindfold off her face. "Did you think I'd been declawed?" Fagin stepped back, holding his nose. His hair was a sof auburn... he looked to be about twenty, but something in the way he eyed her said he was older--and not quite sane. "Very well, then...all work and no play..." He pulled a sabre from beneath his trenchcoat. ******* Connor stopped the car and surveyed the situation--a group of small children outside a YMCA-type club. "How charming." The kids looked at his car for a moment, then resumed playing cards. Connor punched a key on his on-dash computer. Metal detector picked up a lot of guns. The Highlander pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor. "Their folks will make more, I'm sure," he murmured as the kids scattered. ******* The Catwoman clawed Richard's face. "You ever see what happens when you corner a cat, Fagin?" He backed away, his face covered in red. "The fur flies," he spat, reaching for his coat pocket and withdrawing a black box. He squeezed a trigger and a tazer hit the Catwoman's chest, sending thousands of volts through her body. He stepped towards his paralyzed rival. "I wanted to propose peace between us, kitty-cat." He raised his sword. "But you weren't a very good houseguest. Maybe you need house-breaking?" The Catwoman looked up at the baby-faced Immortal. Her eyes showed pure hatred, screamed it in deafening volumes. "Goodbye, kitty-cat...maybe we'll meet again some day..." The sword came down, went back up, crashed down one last time. There was a sound of breaking glass in the front of the building; Fagin wiped his blade dry on his fallen foe's hair. Sheathing the blade, he ran to the door and into the "office." ******* Connor's car skidded to a halt in the middle of the living room. He pushed a button on the console and guns emerged from the hood, strafing the room. Young killers were cut down with no remorse on the part of the government agent behind the wheel. He stopped the guns and spoke into the car's PA system. "Fagin, we need to talk. Unless you want me to detonate this car and kill every last one of your kids...I can handle the blast, and so can you, but can your...personnel?" The door opened. A tall, thin man with a young face and raging eyes stepped into the room. His curly auburn hair was as unmistakable as his face. Connor gasped. "Well, well, little thief--all grown up, I see." "Connor, I presume?" "Yes. You're coming with me, Richie." "My name is Fagin. What makes you think you can take me?" "The machine guns pointed at your torso. I think they can put you down long enough for my sword to do the rest. But you don't want that, and neither do I." Above them, the skylight shattered. Batman landed nimbly between Fagin and the car. "You, in the car--who are you?" Connor looked at the vigilante. He spoke into the microphone again. "Batman, are you aware that you are a wanted fugitive?" "I'm not the same man as he was. Are you CIA?" Connor sighed and gunned the vigilante down. "Idiot." "Is he one of us?" Fagin asked. Connor crossed his fingers. "No. Leave him alone...we have to get out of here before the other police get here." A flick of a switch opened the back door. Bulletproof glass would protect Connor from anything short of explosives. Fagin climbed into the back and the car pulled out of the building. Connor hit a button and a small black orb was dispensed from the back of the car; seconds after the car cleared the building, an explosion collapsed the building. Fagin smashed his fist into the glass between Connor and himself. "Damn it, you said they wouldn't be harmed!" "No, I only said they would *definitely* die if you didn't come with me. Look at it this way, Fagin--there's no one to give the police your name. And besides, the way these mortals breed, there'll be a whole new crop in no time." Fagin sat back in his seat, twitching angrily. Connor flipped a switch, and within five minutes, the younger Immortal was gassed into a deep sleep. ******* Batman awoke to find himself pinned under a fallen beam. He managed to raise the beam off his body with a few minutes' effort. What little remained of his costume was covered in blood, both his own and the children's. Off in the dark, coughing. "Who's there?" Then he realized he was feeling a Buzz. It came from somewhere underneath him. "Hello?" He stumbled his way through the wreckage, suddenly feeling the floor give way beneath him. He landed in a basement. Water gushed from burst pipes; he thought he heard the hissing of leaking gas. "Where are you?" Then he saw them. Clad in purple, holding the dead body of a dark- haired girl no more than seven years old, the Catwoman. Her hands were gone, cut off at the wrist. The arms of her costume were stained with red, though her bleeding had long since stopped. "Bruce? Is that you?" "Who?" She looked at him. "I always knew you were Bruce Wayne, Batman. I just never told you." "I'm not him. I'm his replacement." Catwoman laughed, a sad laugh. "There can be only one, kid...maybe you ought to call yourself Robin again. So the Joker was telling the truth, Robin *did* come back from the dead. Even *he* thought it was a joke." Jason looked at her. "The authorities will be here soon, Catwoman. Let me help you--" "Take my Quickening." "What? I can't--" "Take my Quickening, then kill the bastard who cut off my hands. I have nothing to live for now...my livelihood is gone. This is crueler than if he'd taken my head, don't you see that?" "You were the first woman I ever had a crush on." She stood up. "Please, do it...better the devil I know than the one I don't..." "Either one's a devil." "But this way there's some dignity." He lay his hand on her cheek. "Selina..." "Jason, I'm begging you...don't let it be someone who'll rape me or torture me farther...there's no way I can win without hands to hold a sword..." He pulled out his broadsword. "You win. I don't like this, but--" "Maybe you *can* take his place." She looked at him. "Can you take my mask off? Let me feel the night air on my face one last time?" He uncovered her face. "You're so beauti--" She kissed him. "Let me see how you grew up, Jason." He bared his face to her, the wind cutting through to the bone, the tears flowing freely down his face. "Leave with me, Selina..." "They'll find us both and kill us, then. We might survive this way. Do it before you change your mind." She kissed him once more on the cheek, then stepped away from him, closed her eyes-- Jason clutched her body to his chest after the deed was done. He screamed into the night sky as the first wave of energy hit him. The clouds burst into rain as the gas from the burst pipeline ignited. They stayed that way until the storm was done, then he arose and donned the mask again as he heard sirens approach. The Batman fired his grappling line up into the darkness, snagging it on a gargoyle, then pushed the button that pulled him up out of sight and into the shadows. "Duncan, why didn't you tell me it would be this way?" ******* To be continued... Any comments or questions? Send to: WA81%UTMARTN.BITNET@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Thanks! =========================================================================