The DCFutures FanFiction Group recognizes that Batman and all related characters are property of DC Comics. These stories are written for no profit, but rather a strong desire to peer into the future of the DCU. The stories and concepts presented herein, however, are property of the author. So there. **** BATMAN: DCF #27 **** Written and Directed by Erik Burnham darvey@rocketmail.com **** BATMAN created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger BATMAN: DCF created by Erik Burnham **** "On An Evening In..." **** Tim wasn't mad anymore. Not really. He'd read about this, actually, in a psychology class. Adopted kids sometimes lashed out with anger and irrationality when they were told their lineage wasn't truly theirs after all. He was now a statistic. It did, however, do him good to get out of Gotham City. To rest. To think. To plan. Where was he going with this life of his? There were so many questions that he had to answer before he could go home. So much to do before he could retake his place in Gotham. And his parentage was really the least of it. The Drakes were his family; they had always been, and they always would be. They raised him and loved him as their own; hell, Mary had bore him as her own child. He owed them his love. And he felt like he hadn't been living up to that debt with the shirking of his responsibilities at Drake Industries. Sure, Tim had been on hand for all of the important things that had come up in the last several months since his father, Richard, had died. But he wasn't really running the company; Ennis was. Not that that was out of the ordinary; Ennis had been a force to be reckoned with in the company for more than thirty years. He had earned the power Tim handed to him. ...But it was stressful, as evidenced by the frantic call he had received this morning from Donna Olsen. Ennis had suffered a mild heart attack. Ennis! That man had more spark than the Ottawa Power Sector. So Tim shouldered a little guilt as well. Maybe if he had shared some of the stress of running a large corporation, Ennis could have throttled back some and not had this heart attack. Maybe. Richard Drake had long warned Tim against the danger of questioning himself, of starting any thoughts with the words "maybe if...." It just wasn't the way to do things, Richard had explained. It only souped up the problems you had and, eventually, created more of them. Moping was out. ...Tim just hoped that the stripper he'd sent to cheer the old man up wouldn't cause another heart attack. **** "This is NOT ACCEPTABLE!" Justice screamed, uncharacteristically, to the man before him. Alucard Holmes cringed, also uncharacteristically. It's amazing how an unforeseen set of circumstances can bring out traits you didn't even know you possessed. "The failsafes didn't work. He was supposed to be incapacitated." Alucard related the facts calmly, never blinking as he stared into the cool black mask of Justice. "I was surprised he didn't kill me." "He is still lost. How could you lose him?" "We have him heading east out over the bay in the Batmobile. It shouldn't be able to make a transatlantic..." "He shouldn't have been able to defeat you, Holmes. No more guessing games, if you please." "Yes, sir." "Brief me on the rest of the situation." "Very well. After our encounter, I grabbed my... daughter and left the Manor as quickly as possible." "Her status?" "She suffered a miscarriage nine days ago. We're preparing her for a new insertion." "Don't bother; we'll work with what we have." "But, sir..." "No buts. If he was able to elude an organization that spans the globe, if he was able to best you, if he was able to overcome the mental failsafes implanted in his brain through sheer force of will... he is everything I could hope for him to be. Continue." "Clark and the ADM have returned to Gotham." "Is Kent entertaining thoughts of putting on the batsuit again?" Justice asked with a grin in his voice. "I doubt it." "So I thought. Go on." "The Batgirl is still proving to be an enigma." "A bit off-topic, aren't we?" "I'm sorry, sir. Nothing further on Tim Drake." "I disagree." "Excuse me?" "You are a clone of the greatest analytical mind the world has ever known, yet you fail to think of something as simple as a wiretap." Justice paused and sighed. "Your ideas are too complicated, Alucard. Our boy is in Rome. An employee of his called him this morning." "Called him?" "Yet you couldn't find him in three weeks' time." "I object to that statement! I was concentrating on more important things!" Justice stood from behind his desk now and began walking towards Alucard Holmes. "More important? MORE IMPORTANT? Let me just make sure I heard that right. You were attending to more important matters." "Yes," Alucard said, taking a step back. "There is nothing more important," Justice whispered as he neared Holmes. "You were a mistake. A pathetic schemer without the heart of Bruce Wayne, without the soul." "You made me!" "A coward who can't even accept the responsibility of his own shortcomings," Justice said, even nearer. "I gave you life. I gave you power. And this means nothing to you. Justice means nothing to you." Justice had Holmes by the throat now, hoisting him off the ground. "I should be apologizing to Bruce Wayne for desecrating his memory with a joke of an imitation." And then there was a deep gasping for air, the cracking of bones, and the sound of a limp body falling to the floor. **** Patty Hollander was enjoying herself again. Eurasia was just what she needed. The Belmont case had fetched her from NorAm eight weeks ago into a life of normalcy. There were no unsanctioned costumed champions trying to ruin her life, and the memory of Grover Bowles was finally starting to ease its way out again. Finally. Patty closed her eyes and let the gentle motion of the monorail soothe her. She focused on the humming as they wooshed over a magnetic track from Berlin to Rome. It was relaxing. Sound therapy, pardon the pun. Ah, Rome. Patty was taking a few days off from her legal battles. Where better to go? **** Espresso in a quaint outdoor Italian ristorante. Tim smiled to himself. It had been too long since he had experienced the real thing. Holocafes could only take you so far. "Timothy Drake, I presume?" The voice was smooth and low, with a small hint of the mischievous to it that Tim couldn't help catch. He looked up from his paper to see a thin man with long dark hair and a navy blue Keravin suit standing before him. "That's me. And you are...?" The strange man smiled in a way that made Tim think he should remember him. "Laufeyson," the man grinned, holding out his hand to Tim as he motioned to the waiter for a cup of coffee. "How've you been doing, Tim?" "Fine. Look, I have to be honest with you, Mr. ...Laufeyson? I don't remember ever meeting you, so..." "You haven't, Tim; you haven't. But I've known you for quite some time. Since before your folks died, since before you started wearing the funny costume, since before..." "Excuse me?" "...Since before the alien woke up in your 'basement.' I've known you for a good long while." "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Laufeyson." "I understand; this is just a routine deception on your part. Don't worry; I have no plans to tell anyone. It's much more interesting to let the game play out on its own." "I don't understand." "Let me be frank. You were created, Tim, by a man who possesses something that I must have. In you, he sowed the seeds of his own destruction. I see this, and I think he does as well. Thus, he seeks to control you. To mold you in his image, if you will. Luckily, I've been on hand to... well, to tamper with that plan just a little bit." "What?" "I've been throwing monkey wrenches into their scheme, Tim. Pay attention." "But why? Just for the sake of argument." "I loathe conspiracies, I hate legacies, and I despise order. Chaos is my bride, and mischief is our son. I prefer the zany, wacky, koo-koo ways of men who don't have their lives plotted out for them by some anal- retentive megalomaniac. It's hard for the world to have a chance when there's some fool strangling it with his rank-and-files." Laufeyson lit up a cigarette, tossing the match toward a no-smoking sign. "Life is meant to be lived. You're gonna help me make sure that's what happens if it kills you." "You're not drunk, are you?" "Oh, I used to be. On power, anyway. And then..." Laufeyson's voice trailed off bitterly before he caught himself. "...I found a new game to play. Watch out for the kid; he'll be popping up any time now. Ta." Laufeyson blew out another cloud of smoke and disappeared with it, just as the waiter arrived with his coffee. "Where did your guest go, sir?" the waiter asked. "What guest was that?" Tim replied, going back to his paper. **** "Master Clark?" Alfred's voice echoed through the halls of Wayne Manor once more. "I'm in the study, Alfred,." Clark replied. "Ah, there you are. Why the long face, sir? Are you going through a period of homesickness at last?" "I was just thinking... why did you leave your android body?" "It takes less time to clean this way, Master Clark... but I daresay I'm sure that's not what you were pondering so diligently." "Very observant." "It comes with practice, sir. I'm also an excellent listener." "Alfred, I feel... I don't know. Guilty." "Whatever for?" "This world... this isn't the way things should be. But I kept telling myself it wasn't my business, there were others fighting already, the sides weren't clearly defined... I was even afraid." "I see." "I was disoriented and... scared, and I sat by for months doing nothing. Nothing! J'onn told me about some of the things that have gone on since my absence. And he... he cleared my memory. I cannot in good conscience allow this man, Justice, to continue his activities. He is a mockery of everything I stood for, and I will not let that mockery continue." "Well, what do you plan to do about it?" Alfred asked from his anthropomorphic body as it strolled into the room. "That's just it, Alfred. How do you fight an enemy that's everywhere?" "Master Clark, if I may -- that's the easiest kind of battle to fight. No matter where you strike, you hurt him." "You may just be right, Alfred. You may just be right." **** Too many elements were escaping from his control. The loss of his island, of Dalton King, and of Alucard Holmes. They were invaluable in their time, and he wished that King hadn't lost his mind and that Holmes hadn't outlived his usefulness. But, if wishes were horses... And then there was the matter of Tim Drake. This was a situation that would require his own personal attention to fix. Justice would train the boy himself, as he had with the child. The child... there was an idea. "Send Robin to me," Justice commanded his ADM. **** END! **** NEXT ISSUE: You all demanded it - it's the BOY WONDER! **** GOING BATTY **** Letters! Here we go! (Keep 'em coming!) From:g.steele@excite.com To:darvey@rocketmail.com Subject:Kinda late Batman #25 commentsDate:Thu, 28 Jan 1999 19:54:49 PST Erik, Man, I just have to give you your "props." Batman 25 was, by far, the BEST issue of Batman to date. I mean, Tim? A clone? Shocked the hell outta me! And I must commend you on your overall writing. I've been with this series (and the DCF in general) since the beginning, and I must say that I've watched as your evolution has taken place. You started as a good writer, but now--now you're really living up to your potential. Each issue of Bats is better than the last, and you've shown definite improvement in your storytelling. I gotta admit, I'm jealous! Your fan, G. Steele P.s. Being a comic fan, I have a long memory....and if you turn this Tim Drake clone storyline into a "Spider- clone"esque plot, there is no part of the earth you can hide in that I will not hunt you down. ;-P ****Um... oh well, so much for my Scarlet Bat story with Tim Reilly....**** From:MSR77@aol.com Date:Thu, 28 Jan 1999 13:19:00 EST To:darvey@rocketmail.com Subject:Re: BATMAN: DCF #26 Comments Erik, Hey man another great issue here! It was interesting to see what everyone thought of Batman even with his disappearance. I was also surprised to see what Hobbs had a heart attack and I wonder how he'll turn out. I'm looking forward to the next issue and hopefully we'll learn more about this Maria character. Keep up the good work! Mike Rehor ****No Maria this time, but she will be popping up next time!**** And with that, I bid you adieu until next time! -Erik VISIT GOTHAM: http://www.geocities.com/area51/chamber/9727/gotham.html VISIT THE DCF DISCUSSION BOARD: http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=6074