Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 18:17:11 CST Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Jason R. Tippitt" Subject: Stacking the Deck (Prelude to In theEnd...) (HL/Batman II) ************************************************************************ "Stacking the Deck" A prelude to "In the End..." ************************************************************************ A Highlander/Batman Crossover Jason R. Tippitt, 1994 Note: This is the prelude to "In the End," the sequel to my "Dark of Knight." (If anyone wants a copy of *that*, let me know). This can stand alone, I guess. This occurs in the future, some time after the conclusion of Frank Miller's graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns." One caveat: One scene here might disturb some people. Jason, Really Hoping Shari Doesn't Get Irked With This Tale :) ******* Night, day, all the same to the man. At least he thought he was a man. He guessed the itching feeling on his face was a beard growing. There was no way to scratch his face; his arms and legs were firmly held in place by tons of...something hard. Maybe wood. He remembered nothing of how he'd gotten in such a sad state. He sometimes feared he had gone quite mad, between the dripping of water on his head when rains came and snow melted and the occasional attacks on his feet by...well, he assumed they were rats, but he couldn't see the little bastards. There had been sounds of joy, sounds that seemed so far away they might be the voices of angels speaking to him. The man had felt he was approaching heaven by slow inches, but the sounds had gone away before the cold came. And although he felt weak, sometimes felt his heart or his lungs stop, he never died. Unless, of course, this was hell, but that made no sense because it would be far worse a fate to at least know why he was being tortured so, wouldn't it? The laughter had come back some time later, followed by the sounds of machines running and the tomb rattling. Could they be demons? The man hoped they would not find him--though if they *did* get to him, then perhaps his suffering could end. Tough call--to live was to die. Then one morning he awoke to feel a cold fire erupting inside his skull, his body tingling as if being administered a strong, not entirely unpleasant, electrical shock. He thought of shock treatment, then asked himself how he would know anything about that. The machines stopped. He heard men's voices, but couldn't tell what they were saying. It seemed as though a great deal of yelling was going on. In time the voices quieted. The machinery cranked up again, but faded soon...leaving him alone again with the rats and this feeling of God nearby, just on the other side of the tomb. Yes, that was it. God was outside, and He had driven away the horde of demons. His salvation was at hand. He just knew it. The man in the ground wondered for a brief moment if he might be Jesus, then decided probably not, because surely Jesus couldn't get amnesia. Could he? He made a mental note to ask God when God brought him up from the grave. Time passed. The tomb grew cooler. The buzz went away. Then the buzz returned, and the earth itself seemed to move. Free at last! LIberation was at hand! The man in the tomb wet his pants in his excitement--one more time wouldn't matter. Light began to poke its way into the cave, blinding him. When the dust he was face-to-face with a man more striking than any he had ever seen before, or imagined. He wore a blue suit with a red cape and boots. A red shield bearing the letter "S" against a yellow backdrop rested on the center of his chest. His eyes were hidden behind dark visors. The man in the tomb looked eagerly at his rescuer. "God?" The giant looked into the captive's eyes and frowned. "Him?" He looked off to one side. "Chief, he's--" Another voice, this one from out of sight. "Probably amnesiac, Agent Kent. You've done your country another great service. Now, why don't you go help out our boys in Corto Maltese like the President asked you to?" The voice was oddly accented--raspy but strong. Agent Kent shook his head. "As you wish, *sir.*" The last word dripped venom. "But I'm keeping an eye on you, sir." His feet floated off the ground, and he flew away, red cape flapping behind him. The newly-freed prisoner looked after his seemingly unhappy savior. "My Lord?" "No, just one of my people." The voice was still out of sight. "Heh-heh-heh. I mean, one of the United States' finest. So, how much do you remember?" "I don't even know my own name." The man tried to move his arms and was stunned to discover that he could. His legs, however, were still pinned. "Help me, please..." "In good time, we can be friends. In these days, however, time has almost caught up with people like you and me. Forever isn't such a long time anymore." The man stepped into the light. He wore a long brown trenchcoat and beneath it a crisp suit. In his gloved hands he held a shiny katana. His hair was cropped close to the skull, reddish-brown, offsetting blue eyes. "I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. There can be only one!" He raised the katana and brought it down as the man closed his eyes-- --and lived. The sword buried itself in a rat that had just decided the man's left ear would make a nice snack. "What?" "Say you will give me your life," MacLeod hissed. "There's a guy out there who's worse to this world than The Joker ever dreamt of being, and I want you to help me take his head." Blood from the rat squirted in the Joker's eye. "I'll do anything you want, man! Just let me out of here!" "You owe me your life. Those are the terms of our agreement. Will you work with me?" "Yes! Anything you want! Just get me out of here!" The man began to cry, his tears and the rat's blood washing down his face as one. "'Anything' covers a lot of territory, Smiley. Remember that." He began moving the last of the debris, helping the man who had once been a Joker out of his tomb. Or cocoon... ******* Obviously, to be continued... Hope you enjoyed it. I hope Shari hasn't keeled over by now. :) If you have any comments, please send them to me at: WA81%UTMARTN.BITNET@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Thanks! The actual story will start soon, I promise! =========================================================================