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Batman: The Long Halloween Part IX Mother's Day

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Batman: The Long Halloween Part IX Mother's Day

Batman
The Long Halloween
Part IX
Mother’s Day

Based off the Comic Book miniseries The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Gotham City
May

Arkham Asylum was pretty much deserted at the time of night Batman had stopped in to visit Mother’s Day was only a couple hours away, which meant Holiday was going to strike soon. Back on April Fools Day Batman had looked over all the suspects he could come up with and only one person stood out to him a name that Batman prayed for the first time in his career that he was wrong. He had come back to Arkham to talk to Julian Day also known as The Calendar man because of his desire to commit crimes that correlated with the Calendar. Both he and Jim had come to see him back in December looking for anything that could tell them about Holiday, now it was almost 6 months since then and this time he came to figure out why Holiday didn’t kill.

Julian’s cell was no longer plastered with pages from a desk calendar, now they were plastered with articles about Holiday. Once again Batman found him standing at the glass, his hands folded in front of his face waiting for him to show up almost as if he knew he would be coming to see him.

“Mother’s day,” Calendar man put his hands on the glass separating him from Batman. “You said you would have her by February, its May now. He’s making quite a name for herself. Calendar man is being forgotten and he doesn’t like it.”

“Why?” Batman ignored the shot Calendar man had taken, it was true that Gordon had said that they would have Holiday who ever he or she was by now, yet they had yet to get him. “Why didn’t she kill The Riddler on April Fools day? We found…”

“An outline of the Riddler made by .22 bullets,” Calendar man interrupted as he turned to the most recent article about the last Holiday attack. “Maybe he was taking the holiday seriously. No killing today fooled you.”

“Harvey Dent, what do you know about him,” Batman leaned forward towards the glass. “He was the one who locked you up, wanted you locked up the Jury sent you here.”

“A Gemini, he has a Birthday coming up,” Calendar man stroked his chin as he looked over the articles. “I should send a card. Do you think I can send a card?”
“You know don’t you,” Batman placed a hand on the glass.

“Let me out, let me out and I’ll stop the killing,” Calendar man turned back towards Batman and put a hand across from Batman’s. “Every mother has a son, every son a mother. Even you I assume, don’t let there blood be on your hands.”

“Tell me what you know,” Batman was growing tired of this foolish game; he even doubted Calendar Man knew anything. Before he could get any more info a guard stumbled into the room gasping for a breath.

“Batman, help, an escape,” The Guard fell to the ground with out revealing anymore. It didn’t mater though Batman knew what the problem was, it was the Scarecrow’s fear gas, that meant he had escaped.

“Happy Mother’s day,” Calendar Man whispered as Batman ran out of the cell block and towards the Scarecrow’s on the fourth level.

*****

The cell was all but empty by the time Batman arrived to see how Scarecrow escaped, all that remained was a whimpering guard infected by Crane’s fear toxin. The Window had been pulled open with what appeared to be a vine made out of straw leading down to the ground leading Crane to climb down. Picking up a piece of it Batman brought it up to his face, he remembered that Jonathan Crane had killed his own mother on Mother’s day years before starting the career of Scarecrow. He couldn’t have escaped on his own; he had to have had some help, which meant someone was hoping to unleash the Scarecrow on Gotham City. Reaching up to his temple he pressed the hidden button that activated the infrared lenses allowing him to see into the dark Gotham Night. It was long before he found Scarecrow on horseback riding through the field towards the city.

Leaping from the opening he activated the switch on his utility belt that turned his cape into a hang glider and glided his way towards Scarecrow, once he was close enough he deactivated the hang glider and used the momentum to hit Crane taking both him and scarecrow to the ground. The horse galloped off away from the two men as Batman reached his feet while The Scarecrow remained on the ground.

“Did you think you could get away,” Batman reached down and grabbed hold of the lapels oh his jacket. “Who helped you, tell me or I’ll…”

Before Batman could finish his threat the head of Scarecrow fell off revealing a decoy as Batman threw the remains away the Scarecrow’s fear gas started pumping out from the arms and legs. Reaching for his mouth and nose Batman tried not to breath before placing a re-breather over his face allowing him to breathe fresh air. Taking a look around Batman found no trace of The Scarecrow, who ever helped him escape covered all the bases right down to the decoy in plain view. He was getting sloppy, a year ago he never would have fell for a decoy, the holiday case was causing him to lose focus on everything else. Making sure the gas was neutralized Batman returned to the Batmobile and sped off towards the Batcave. He had an appointment to keep and it was almost mother’s day.

*****

James Gordon stood at the front doors of Wayne manor as he did so many times in the past few months. This time he was armed with an arrest warrant for Bruce Wayne, he didn’t like the idea; he was friends with the man after all. However he had his orders and there was a lot of evidence against him. However deep down it made no sense Bruce has stood against The Roman at every turn, doing all he could to keep Falcone from getting the city. He even fought to keep the Falcone crime family from using the Gotham Banks to launder its dirty money. After waiting what seemed like hours the doors finally opened revealing Alfred.

“Mr. Pennyworth, Is Mr. Wayne home?” Gordon asked knowing full well what the answer would be. “I have to bring him downtown.”

“I hate to sound redundant but Master Bruce isn’t home at this time,” Alfred gave the answer he had expected.

“You have to know I don’t want to do this,” Gordon bowed his head feeling even more uncomfortable. “He is my friend.”

“Surely there is some mistake though,” Alfred remained in the doorway. “Master Bruce has no connections to this Falcone person.”

“All the more reason to come with us and straighten this out,” Gordon reasoned.

“I understand that Mr. Gordon,” Alfred didn’t seemed moved by Gordon’s pleas. “But Master Bruce was very devoted to his mother; you must know how important this day is to him.”

*****

Across town Sofia Gigante stood on the edge of the Gotham River Bridge, below her the river was empty normally people would be sailing by on their boats. She was on a quest to find Holiday no mater the cost even if it meant killing a man. Held over the edge of the bridge in her grasp a well dressed Asian was terrified as he looked down to see the river below him. She had tracked him down through a series of people all leading her closer to Holiday. This man knew of a man who makes guns under the table in the back of some building. There was some talk that this man made the guns Holiday used in his killings.

“Give me a name,” Sofia squeezed her hand causing the man to gag.

“Goes by Gunsmith, he says once a month he makes a Custom .22 pistol for an unknown client. He won’t give me a name.” The man tried not to struggle to avoid slipping from Sofia’s grip.

“Where, give me an address and I’ll let you go,” Sofia demanded lowering her arm a couple inches causing the man to grab hold of Sofia’s wrist.

“Chinatown at Chong’s tea shop,” The man didn’t think at all giving her the info she wanted. “Please, let me go.”

Sofia paused for a second almost as if she were debating whether to let him go or not. She had the info she needed; hopefully it would lead her to who Holiday was. Opening her hand the man fell the 20 feet to the river below disappearing below the waters. Waiting to see if he surfaced Sofia peered over the side before getting into her car and drove off towards Chinatown.

*****

Batgirl was again on her patrol, it kept her mind off of her mother who had died a few years before as a result of her father driving off Star Bridge while drunk. It was days like this she missed her mother the most, it had been hard at first but thanks to James and his wife she was able to move on. She was even beginning to look at her as a mother before she left James taking their son with them. Now it was only her and James but things were getting easier, at least things were looking good between him and his girlfriend Sarah Essen.

‘Way to go Babs back to thinking about how bad you have it again, look around you have a job to do,’ Batgirl berated herself as she turned her thoughts back to the task at hand. She had been watching out for a store that had been hit a several times this month like clock work.

‘Not the smartest people in the world’ Batgirl peered through the binoculars as she waited for the criminals to show up. She had stopped in the store as Barbra Gordon to stake out the joint earlier that day, keeping a mental picture of every corner and shelf that could get in the way. It wasn’t long before the group of what appeared to be 5 teen’s showed up, the clerk behind the counter knew at once who they were. The Robbery was at hand; putting the binoculars away she fired a zip line into the wall above the doors and attached a cable to the quick release attachment on her belt. If she timed this right she should fly right in through the doors and be on the group before they even know what’s happening. Stepping off the ledge she flew across the gap, placing her hand on the release she counted the seconds as the doors came closer. At the last second she pressed the release and flew through the front doors feet first impacting with the look out before coming to a stop behind the four remaining gang members. Still crouched down she shot her foot out into the man who was unlucky enough to stand to close sending him to the ground groaning. Before they even knew what was happening two of them were taken out, getting to her feet she delivered a knee lift to the man who had come at her driving the breath from his lungs. Delivering a chop to the back of his head he fell to the ground out cold. The Leader of the group pointed the gun at her but thanks to years of training in Gymnastics she dove to the ground and somersaulted to where she was right below him. Kicking her feet up she sent the gun flying as she took care of the leader. It was all over with in a minute of her entering the store, only a young girl remained. She couldn’t have been older then 16 her clothes suggested she was a member of the top Spanish gang in Gotham. But it didn’t make sense, they didn’t take in anyone under 18 and they didn’t knock off corner stores. The girl looked at Batgirl her eyes full of terror but her face betraying none of it. Batgirl stayed between the girl and the door waiting for her to make a move. The faint sounds of police sirens could be heard as the girl looked around the store trying to find anyway to escape. Batgirl knew she would have to leave soon before the cops stopped her. While her dad had an off the books working relationship with Batman that didn’t mean what both her and Batman were doing was legal, the police had orders to arrest any vigilante regardless if they were Batman, Batgirl or some new comer. When the sirens were louder the girl panicked and charged Batgirl, who sidestepped the charge and tripped the girl causing her to fall the ground with a thud. Taking the time to secure the robbers she stepped outside just as the cops pulled up; pulling out her grappling gun she fired it off towards the roof tops and flew up away from the cops before they could stop her. Returning to where she hid her motorcycle she fired it up and returned to her hideout.

Entering the hideout, she started undoing her costume, pulling off her gloves as she entered the main area where she stored her costumes and hung out before going out. Before continuing any further she stopped when she saw an older man standing at the computer. He was dressed a little too nice to be a part of the area but there was something she recognized about the man as well.

“Hello Ms. Gordon,” the man said before she could say anything. “No need to be alarmed.”

“Who are you,” She asked looking around the room a feeling of fear crawling up from her gut at being discovered.

“No need to fear,” The man replied. “We have a friend in common; in fact you might say he has sent me.”

“Batman?” She felt her fears subsiding a little.

“Yes,” The man turned to face Barbra. “And I’m afraid you will be on your own for a while.”

“What, why?” Barbra was floored by what the man had just said.

“Events have transpired that hasn’t been foreseen,” the man stated. “But in a why plans have been made. Everything you need to know is on the computer, just open the file marked back up plan alpha zeta bravo.”

“I see,” Barbra walked over to the computer as the man stepped away.

“I must go, good luck to you Ms. Gordon,” The man stated as he left through the hidden door way.

*****

Sofia pulled up to the front of the tea house she didn’t notice the area was pretty much empty all she wanted was the Gunsmith. Entering the Tea House she paused at the smell of gunpowder, not something she was expecting to smell. Pulling her gun she walked to the back room where she could smell the gun powder even more. Opening the door she saw a basket of flowers in the ground addressed to mother next to a gun and some shell casings. All of Holidays clues were lying on the ground which could mean only one thing, Holiday had struck. But it made no sense The Falcone’s had no stake in this building why had Holiday struck here. Stepping further into the room she found a large Asian man laying in a pool of blood, three wounds in his chest. Next to him a box full of .22 pistols lay on the floor next to an open spot where it was clear that someone had removed a box not to long ago. It was pretty clear to her that she had just missed Holiday; he must have been killed just as she was driving up.

*****

Bruce Wayne kneeled at his mother’s grave as he placed her favorite flowers below the tombstone. He had come here every year since he returned to Gotham City on Mother’s day. He also came on her birthday, Father’s day and his father’s birthday, each time reaffirming his mission to keep anything like this from happening again. Now things were looking bleak his friend James Gordon was coming to arrest him. He had set up everything for Batgirl to take over until everything was settled. He could only hope it wouldn’t be to long with Holiday on the loose he couldn’t afford to be out of action to long. His years of training told him that someone was coming up behind him, remembering that he was Bruce Wayne he continued to kneel in front of the tombstone as if in prayer. Picking himself up he brushed off the dirt from his knees as he heard the man move closer from where he was waiting.

“Bruce,” Gordon stopped at his side. “You have to come with me.”

“I know, Alfred called,” Bruce sounded more somber then he normally sounded. Following Gordon he approached a near by Police car where Renee Montoya waited at the open door. Pausing at the side of the car so she could place the hand cuffs on him Bruce remained quite taking one last look at his mother’s grave as he entered the back seat of the Squad car.

*****

Barbra sat at the computer at her desk; she had inserted the disk and now stared at the menu screen. She didn’t know what to expect as she moved the cursor towards the films the man had told her to see, there wasn’t much she could get to yet other then the file and some blue prints of assorted weapons that could be of use. Clicking on the file the screen turned black before the Bat symbol appeared in yellow in the middle of the screen. Before long Batman’s voice began speaking as his face appeared where the bat had been he appeared to be in the Batcave which she had seen only once when he had come to take her. She wasn’t able to figure out where in Gotham the cave was though.

“Hello Barbra,” the recording of Batman stated plainly. “You are watching this because I have been or am about to be arrested by your Father, now when I say I, I do not mean Batman. I am going to let you in on the truth, don’t worry about anyone seeing this after you it is programmed to delete itself after one viewing before allowing you to view the rest of the contents to the disk. I am really Bruce Wayne; I became Batman to keep others from facing the same fate as my parents.”

“Wow,” Barbra was stunned by the news; Batman must have known she would be as well since he paused after making the announcement.

“I tell you this because while I am locked up you will need to protect Gotham City,” Batman continued. “I know I never really welcomed you but think of this as the official welcome. I am counting on you to help your father find Holiday and anything else that may come up. Alfred has already set up a cover story to explain my sudden disappearance and you will find everything you need at the Cave, directions can be found in the main computer at your hide out now. I wish you the best Batgirl and hope the charges will be taken care of quickly.”

Barbra watched as the message ended and as promised deleted itself leaving behind a collection of files on Holiday and the unknown vigilante she had been searching for. Running her fingers through her reddish blonde hair she ejected the disk and shut down the computer. Checking the clock she knew it would be another late night, with Bruce Wayne having to be processed. She knew she would never be able to sleep after hearing the news, to say she was shocked would be the understatement of the year she never would have thought that the wealthy playboy who was more known for who he was dating then his company that his father had started. Instead of trying to sleep Barbra started to work out.

Coming Next Time…

-Bruce Wayne defends himself
-Harvey receives a gift for father’s day
-Carmine Falcone teams with unlikely allies
-A Maroni becomes the latest victim in the Holiday case
-Dent receives a welcome break in the Falcone case

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