Issue #12

For part 1, read Batman #10...still on sale!
For part 2, read Batman #11...also still on sale!

Darkness. That's all that Batman remembered after the crash. His face was bloody, as was much of his mangled body, tangled among the wreckage. His cape was torn where various debris had penetrated. With a grunt, he attempted to free himself, but try as he might, he was unable to.

His cape was tangled around a few parts; he'd have to ditch it. He tried to twist in an ef-fort to gain leverage and the appropriate position so he could remove his tattered cape with ease. He couldn't twist enough to gain sufficient access, but he managed to free one side. He then twisted the opposite way in order to focus on the other side.

Let's see, Batman thought. I can try removing the attachment, and break my back in the process, or just tear it. The latter won, as Batman, with a mighty grunt, heaved himself forward.

The cape tore and fell from his body. He was out from under the plane wreckage. Sud-denly Batman realized that there was no sign of Robin. He frantically began scouring the wreckage for the lad.

One word escaped the Batman's lips. "Joker."

FDC presents"The Final Confrontation" Part 3
By Steve Swartz

Minutes before.

Bruce Wayne hurriedly changed from his civilian garb into the skin-tight costume of the Batman. An alert had just come over the airplane radio and the duo was about to leap in-to action. It seems a hijacker decided to take the flight from Washington, D.C. to Gotham City under his own command. *
[ * See Batman #11 for details -- Swingin' Steve ]

Tim stepped out of his civilian clothing and suited up just as quickly.
Robin neared the exit hatch of the small, cramped cockpit. "Wait," Batman said. He sped the plane up. "Let's get closer, so we can definitely snag the plane with our Bat-lines." Robin stepped away from the hatch and sat in his seat.

Batman piloted the downward-spiraling craft expertly, but it soon became clear that it would take more, much more, to bring their plane close enough to the other aircraft so their Bat-lines would reach. Batman gnashed his teeth in anger and frustration. "Work, damn it!" he cried, pounding the console with both fists. When nothing happened, he turned to Robin. Then he fell forward and was struck a vicious blow to the head by the control console, and slumped to the ground. Robin fell victim to the console soon after.*
[ * As seen last issue -- Steve ]

A lone man came from the entrance to the plane, where he was shadowed until the plane's departure. It was when the airplane was at fifty thousand feet that he made his presence known...with a twelve-guage semi-automatic.

"Hey! You can't -- " a stewardess said.

The gunman cut her off by grabbing her and holding the gun to her head.

"Nobody move!" he cried. "Or the woman gets it."

Hearing a commotion, the co-pilot stepped out of the cockpit. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked the gunman.

The gunman turned and grabbed the co-pilot as well. "Same goes for this joker. Oh, and speaking of Joker..." He looked toward the stewardess' ward. Out came a man who looked like a clown, replete with facial makeup, green hair, red lipstick, a white face. His eyes were veinous and he looked insane. He was wearing a stewardess uniform.

"Did somebody call me?" he asked innocently.

The passengers let out a collective gasp as Joker grinned, ominously savoring the effect. He began to speak. "You may be wondering what I'm doing here," he said. "Well, I'm here to crash the plane."

All pandemonium broke out as the airline suddenly became a metal coffin. Screams, shouts, tears and rampant claustrophobia ran throughout the airplane.

"SIT DOWN, YOU IDIOTS!" Joker screamed, flailing his spindly arms. They became quiet. "Better," he said. "Anyway, you are bait for Batman. You see, once he finds out that the Gotham-bound airline you are traveling on is being hijacked, the goody-goody Batsie..." He said his next words with an air of boredom as he yawned. "Will, as usual, valiantly come to the rescue of the poor, helpless victims." His last words dripped with sarcasm as he leered at the nearest face, a chubby man in the first class section. Joker poked the chubby man's midsection. "Well, well. Look at Pillsbury Dough-Boy here!"

He broke up laughing.

The next second his expression was one of the utmost seriousness. He picked up a microphone. "Hello," Joker said. "This is your pilot, the Clown Prince of Crime...the Joker. Our altitude is currently 30,000 feet...25,000 feet...20,000 feet...to pass the time, why not sing a song?" He paused. "Oh, I'm going down, down, down with my ship..." he said in a singsong voice into the mic.

"You're crazy!" one man cried as he stood, trying to fight the centrifugal force that was holding him back. One fist was clenched; his other hand gripped the back of the chair in front of him. "Want to crash the plane? You'll have to get through me first, Joker."

Joker yawned. He gestured to the burly man next to him, who in turn nodded to a henchman behind a strange-looking control panel. He pushed a large, red button which unleashed a horde of green gas through the air vents.

The man who was standing quickly began handing masks from the overhead compartments to the passengers beside him. But even these did not stop the inhibiting gas from reaching the lungs of the passengers, their faces by now frozen in grins of such epic proportions that the human face could not achieve even if it wanted to. The lips were outlined in red and their eyes bulged out of their heads.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" the Joker cried, tears streaming from his eyes.

Smoke billowed from the wreckage and numerous fires were ignited courtesy of the heat from the plane and the gas leaking from the engine. Batman frantically searched for Robin. He gritted his teeth, vowing to fight the smoke and the flames to his death if necessary. He wouldn't lose Robin again. *
[ * See "real" Batman #427 -- Steve ]

His sharp eyes suddenly noticed a green glove sticking out from under the fuselage. With a cry, Batman lunged at the boy's outstretched hand and pulled gently. Robin's body tumbled out, not unscathed, but not seriously hurt, either. It's a good thing he's a sharp thinker, Batman thought. If he hadn't cushioned me... *
[ * See last issue -- Steve ]

He picked Robin up with both hands and carried him to a safe spot more than fifty yards away, where the smoke and the fire wouldn't harm either of them any further. Batman gently set Robin down upon the ground and looked back at the wreckage, shielding his eyes with his hand. He turned back to Robin, who began to stir. Batman looked down at his costume and noticed it was ripped and torn quite a bit.

"Bruce?" Robin asked weakly. Batman smiled gratefully, glad that Tim Drake,

Robin, was alive.

"Yes, Tim...Robin. It's me. Just rest. You've got burns..."

Tim sat up dizzily. "So...do you," he said, pointing. Batman looked down at his singed costume and his chest, which was rapidly turning red. He looked back up at Robin. "So I do," he said.

Suddenly they both heard the shrill whine of an airplane nosediving. Batman looked up and realized almost instantly that this was not a plane doing stunts. He pulled a tiny set of binoculars from his utility belt, and looked at the plane. He read the registry number. It was the hijacked plane! And it was descending rapidly!

"Stay here," Batman grunted to Robin, who was unconsious because of the pain. Batman leapt to his feet. "You won't win this time, Joker!" he cried. His voice echoed off of the mountains that surrounded them.

He quickly dashed to the nearest slope and hurriedly began to climb it. He was about fifty feet up when he noticed that he could snag the plane with his Bat-line. He pulled out the hard plastic sheath it was housed in and pressed a button, releasing the tough mylar fiber with the grappling hook on the end. Five seconds later Batman heard a CLUNK and pulled. The Bat-line had caught!

He allowed himself to be pulled from his perch on the mountain and as he was being pulled along, he climbed the rope. Not five minutes later he reached his destination: the airplane's entry hatch. He tugged, the wind whipping his face, gravity threatening to hurl him down to the rocks below. He succeeded in yanking the door open and threw himself inside, slamming the door and locking it behind him.

"Oh, my God..." Batman gasped in shock when he saw the passengers. Their faces were frozen in a Joker-like grin, and they were all unmoving.
Dead.

"Joker!" Batman shouted. Joker and his henchmen appeared. "You'll die if you let this hit the ground! Let me -- " Batman was silenced by a left to his jaw from the burly henchman. Batman recovered quickly and sent the burly man flying. He incredibly slammed into the back wall. Batman and the others all stumbled as the plane fell to almost a ninety-degree drop. As he fell, Batman grabbed Joker by the throat and slammed him into the metal wall that was behind him. The henchman that had sent the poisonous gas seeping through the vents came rushing at Batman, metal pipe in hand. With a cry he swung it.

THWACK! The metal pipe struck the gloved hand of the mighty Batman, who yanked it out of the man's hand and threw it down the length of the plane. This thing's going down fast! I've got to get these losers out of here. I've got to get me out of here, too! Joker lay unconsious as did his henchmen. Batman quickly found a stock of parachutes and strapped the three criminals to one. Batman strapped one to his costume as well. He then opened the door, the wind once again threatening to throw him to the hellish depths below. Batman pulled the ripcord of Joker and company's parachute and kicked them out of the open door. With a last look of regret at the passengers, Batman leapt too, watching the plane as it fell to the ground and exploded in a cataclysmic shower of shrapnel and flames. He looked away. A tear fell down his cheek.

"The operation's going smoothly so far," a feminine voice said into a telephone receiver. "When Joker arrives, let him know that I've got the cash." She hung up the phone receiver and picked up a check she had written to herself for ten million dollars from someone else's bank account. She grinned slyly and chuckled.

Joker's gang reached the ground mere seconds before Batman did. But this was enough time for the Joker to regain his bearings and yank a pistol with an abnormally long barrel from his side. He aimed it at the now-grounded Batman and fired. A metal pole with a flag on the end that, in large letters, proclaimed, "BANG!", shot out, along with a concealed poison dart. The dart embedded itself in Batman's shoulder. Batman, already weary, dropped to the ground. Joker grinned with perverse satisfaction. He took a small two-way radio from a pocket and flipped it on. "Joker here," he said. "Pick me up, Rocky. Track me through the radio." He flipped it shut but kept it on. Minutes later another airplane appeared overhead. A long rope ladder fell to the ground, attached to the plane's outer hull. Joker gripped it and climbed on it as the plane lifted higher, bringing the ladder and the Joker with it. Batman stirred and sat up. "So long, Batsie!" Joker called, waving wildly. "Don't forget to write now!"

Batman grunted. "Damn! I let him get away again!" He smacked the two men still attached to the parachute on the ground to make sure they stayed unconsious. He flipped open a radio opf his own and hailed the Gotham police. I know this isn't that far from Gotham...maybe a half-hour or so. "Go ahead," a voice said through the radio.

"This is Batman. Track my signal and pick up two of Joker's henchmen. And if you could give me a ride, I'd appreciate it."

"Batman! This is Gordon," another voice said, cutting through. "Where are you?"

"I don't know, maybe an hour or so from the city."

"Joker's henchmen, you say? We'll be there as soon as we can! In fact..." Muffled voices. "We've got a 'copter tracing your signal right now..." Muffled voices again. "Looks like you're only a few minutes away. They'll pick you up and take you where you want to go."

"Thanks, Jim," Batman said. "I owe you one."

"No, Batman," Gordon said. "You've already paid hundreds of times over. Gordon out."

Batman grinned as he went to Robin, who was fully alert and awake. But he needs treatment. If I could only get to the Batcave... "Police helicopter's picking us up in a couple of minutes. You okay?"

"Yeah," Robin said weakly. He managed a small grin. He reached into his utility belt. "At least my Green Day CD wasn't ruined!"

The swishing of helicopter blades overhead was heard and the two heroes scrambled to the henchmen, who were in the process of awakening as well. One sat up. "Where -- ?"

Batman grabbed him by his shirt front. "Where's Joker's hideout?" he demanded, eyes piercing, seeming to look right through the thug. "Tell me."

"It -- it's in the outskirts of Gotham...in the Warehouse District..." The man fell silent, unconsious. The helicopter landed on the ground. Batman placed the criminals in first, where they were handcuffed, and Robin in the co-pilot's seat. Batman himself climbed in the back. The door was shut and the journey underway.

"Pilot," Batman directed, "to Gotham. Warehouse District."

"Course plotted and laid in, sir."

This guy's been watching too much Star Trek, Robin thought as he stared ahead.

"What's this?" Batman said, more to himself than to his fellow passengers. "A trail of smoke...? Obviously from Joker's airplane. Follow the trail," Batman said to the pilot.

"No problem," the pilot said as he adjusted their course.

A half-hour later they were at their destination: a former airplane hangar used a long time ago by the Army during World War II. The same hangar that I was in before! Can Joker actually be that naive as to go back to the same place that he was at before? He's insane! Batman thanked the pilot, who asked if the duo needed assistance. "No," Batman said, and the helicopter lifted into the air, with Robin still aboard. Batman had insisted that Robin get medical treatment in the city, at least until he returned.

I know this place thoroughly, Batman thought as he entered the dark building. He remembered exactly how to get to the secret basement. What he found, though, was surprising, even to him.

"Well, hello there, handsome," Poison Ivy said. She wore a skimpy green leotard, leaves fringing the edges. She extended her hand. "Welcome."

"What's going on here, Ivy?" Batman demanded through clenched teeth.

"Oh, no. I'm not going to waste my time explaining this whole thing so you can catch me off-guard!" she cried, arm outstretched. A vine whipped out of her glove. It wrapped around Batman's legs and he fell to the ground with a THUD. "Unh!"

He flexed his massive leg muscles and was free within seconds of his attempted captivity. He flicked a Batarang at Poison Ivy, which was attached to a rope. Batman used Poison Ivy's trick, and it was Ivy's turn to fall this time.

Batman stood over her, glaring at her. "Where's Joker?" he demanded.

Poison Ivy's legs shot up, catching Batman's neck in a scissor-like hold, as she attempted to flip him to the ground. Batman grabbed her legs and swung her, then threw her a few yards. She was unscathed.

"I've got more tricks, Batman," she said with an air of determination. She pointed a finger and a vine shot up through the ground under Batman's feet! Batman was flung to the ground as many more vines grew, enclosing him in a cage of branches. He gripped the branches and tore them, breaking free. He leapt on top of Ivy, binding her arms and seizing her gloves. He looked closely at them. "New gimmicks, eh, Ivy? You should know that I always win over evil." He stomped on them, shattering the devices hidden inside them. "Where's Joker?"

"In there," she said, gesturing to a tunnel leading into the dark recesses of the cavern.

He flicked the flashlight from his belt on and the cavern was instantly illuminated with the yellow beam. He stepped down the slanted path carefully, for fear of the Joker's nefarious traps. He heard the Joker laugh insanely farther down and he realized that he was fairly close to capturing him. Batman walked quicker, when suddenly a huge clown popped out right in front of Batman from a giant jack-in-the-box implanted in the wall. The clown's red nose was a bomb! Batman quickly dived out of the way as the bomb exploded, taking half of the cavern with it. Batman rolled down the embankment until he came to level ground. Joker stood, waiting for him.

"I gather you've come to take me," he said. "I knew you'd be following me, so I rigged that plane to conk out and die. I was hoping it'd kill you and your little bird off."

"You killed over one hundred passengers to get to me? To kill me? You...murderer!"

Joker smiled. "Oh, Batsie, you're so cute when you're angry...!"

That does it! WHAM! Batman lashed out with a right cross!

Joker swung wildly at Batman. Batman grabbed Joker's spindly arm and flipped him over his head and into the murky depths of the tunnel. Joker growled and rushed Batman, with a dagger in hand! Joker plunged the knife into Batman's chest!

Batman looked down quizically. Joker sheepishly said, "Whoops...wrong dagger. Heh-heh. Looks like I accidentally brought my rubber one instead of..."

Batman didn't give Joker a chance to finish. "Madman!!" he cried.

THWACK! "Murderer!!" BAM! "Lunatic!!" FWAM!
Joker's face was bloody and some of his ribs were broken, but Batman didn't

care. BAM! WHAM! WHACK! FOOM! By the time he was done, Batman was breathing heavy and his knuckles hurt from the impact of his fists on Joker's body. He sank to his knees, sweat streaming down his face, costume falling off of his body. It was like this that Commissioner Gordon found him and the Joker.

"It was like this," Batman said. "Poison Ivy masqueraded as Jack Drake's fiance, thus making it easy for her to embezzle from him. She forged a check for ten million dollars. This was to go toward future 'experiments' with her plants, among other things. Not to mention the fact that it was she, masquerading as Robin, that broke into Arkham Asylum...or, should I say, broke the convicts out." *
[ * See Batman #8 for further details -- Steve ]

Commissioner Gordon leaned on his desk and sipped his coffee. He grimaced. There's nothing worse tasting than cold coffee, he thought. Aloud, he said, "Where did Joker fit into all this?"

"He just wanted revenge on me for the many times I've foiled his schemes. He wanted to kill both Robin and I. He almost succeeded," he said, remembering pulling a bloody Robin out of the wreckage. "He killed one hundred and fifty people, passengers on the airliner he hijacked. He knew that I'd respond to the hijack call over the police band radio. Before I got there he made sure that there were none to witness his crimes. They were frozen with wide grins on their faces...he used his 'Laughing Gas'. They essentially laughed themselves to death. Not to mention that his henchmen were driving the car that threw the Batmobile off of the road." *
[ * See Batman #7 -- Steve ]

"So you're saying that Poison Ivy and Joker weren't in league with one another," Gordon said as he dumped his cold coffe into a drain.

"They were partners. Ivy would provide the finances to support Joker's mad, perverted revenge on Robin and I. Joker would in turn get rid of us, thus allowing both to create havoc in the city."

Gordon yawned. "With everything we have on those two," he said, "we could keep them in for a long time. Maybe even life."

"This time, see to it that they do indeed get life and not parole. You and I don't need two more thorns in our rear ends. We've got enough problems trying to keep the police force and the city in line."

"Thanks again, Batman," Gordon said. His back was to Batman. He knew that Batman had gone; and he knew that Batman had heard the thanks. He knew that Batman would once again be watching Gotham, constantly overlooking and overseeing it as the Avenging Angel of the Night.
He's the Batman, after all.

End.

Bat-Signals
And so marks the end of an era. I was off to a rocky start when I began writing the Batman series for Faux-DC. My terrible first issues certainly made an impression on readers: it made them not want to read the later issues.
It's a good thing that I didn't sacrifice quality for speed this time. You know, I actually enjoyed writing this issue, whereas with the previous issues, I pretty much just wanted to get them over and done with. Maybe I'll continue in this fashion from now on.
No letters, unfortunately. However, I'd like to continue writing Batman, at least for a while. Maybe a six-issue stint, who knows, but nothing as bad as what I'd written in early issues. I have a feeling you'll enjoy forthcoming issues, as Batman will be crossing oiver very frequently with Detective Comics, written by our own Editor-in-Chief Miry Clay Arceneaux, and his brother, Cliff Arceneaux.
Thanks for reading this issue, and please send all questions, comments, criticisms and LoC to solar_winds@yahoo.com. Thanks a bunch!
- Steve Swartz
4.5.1999
NEXT ISSUE:
It's a surprise! Stay tuned, though...I think you'll like what's coming!

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