Batman: We Own the Knight (mee-OWWwwwwww - Catwoman Report Card is up!)

Evil Eye said:

smalltime criminals like Lincoln Jarvis

Click to expand...

“Lest we forget.”

Gotham Gazette November 17th, 2008



Manhunt Vicki Vale

Police investigate the scene at Sprang Bridge last night

Shortly after eleven in the morning yesterday, the GCPD Major Crimes Unit received a phone call about urgent, confidential information. The voice on the line demanded to speak to Captain Harvey Bullock immediately. The result was a citywide manhunt for the Catwoman, thanks to information provided by the urgent caller – the Catwoman.

Plainclothes officers closed in on Café Noir at Port Adams in the blue district, where Felicity Esprit was sighted relaxing on a cell-phone, eating a sandwich in broad daylight. She was dressed in business casual clothing, and had dyed her hair red. As the police were closing in on their suspect, eye-witnesses report that she hung up her phone, grabbed her bag and walked out of the restaurant. When police moved to apprehend her, she dove into the water at the port and never resurfaced.

Less than an hour later, after repeated calls by dispatch to all police, fire, and emergency vehicles, trucks, and taxicabs had spread throughout the black, red, and brown districts, a cabbie abruptly stopped his car, in front of passing police cruisers, in the middle of the Sprang Bridge. Catching the attention of the police, he threw his doors open and ran in a mad pattern, dodging cars in fear. The backseat doors also opened, and a dripping wet Esprit bolted out in the opposite direction. Police shouted at her to get onto the ground, but when she pulled a gun out of her purse, they opened fire at her. She shot, not at the officers, but a grappling line at a large passing truck, yanking her through the air and sending her onto the roof of the vehicle.

Police pursued the truck, but when it stopped, the Catwoman was nowhere to be found. Spots of blood were found both on the bridge and on the roof of the truck, but with the trail dead, the rest of the manhunt was fruitless. Pessimists may say that the Catwoman called the Captain of MCU in broad daylight and escaped pursuit, albeit injured. Police reports indicate, however, that it is likely that she was hit by more than one bullet and that it could hopefully put her out of thievery commission for quite some time.

When questioned for comment, Harvey Bullock stated, “One of our boys put a bullet in her ass, and she swam clear down the pier in November. She ain't happy right now, I can tell you that much. Let Gotham City in general and all the freakshows take this as a real sign that these scumbags can bleed.”




Research Put on Ice By Stanton Kiel

Dr. Taransky's home, hours after the attack

Today the police received reports of explosions in the residental area of the brown district, and were shocked to discover that it was the home of Dr. Melvin Taransky, which has also served as his laboratory for many years.

As policed raced to the scene, Batman arrived in the Batmobile shortly after the explosions. While police secured the area, the Batmobile fired a harpoon into a nearby black Cadillac that was attempting to leave the scene, disabling it. Officers led by Harvey Bullock swarmed the Cadillac and arrested two men who, police say, are suspected members of the Chinese Triad.

The eminent cancer researcher was home at the time, but thankfully survived the initial explosions. Roughly a minute after Batman swooped through a window of the collapsing home, a small explosion blew out one wall of Taransky's home, and the scientist and vigilante emerged together. The police officers that were assigned to protect Taransky's home totaled two fatalities, while the rest escaped with various injuries.

This event raises a lot of major questions. After the Joker attacked Taransky at his home a few days ago, why weren't the doctor and his personal research lab moved to a safer location? Or at least given better protection from the police? And if those men really are members of the Triad, what would they gain from destroying a cancer researcher and his lab?

Throughout this crime wave the Triad -- though a gang estimated to be as large as the Italian mafia, the African-American gang, and the Eastern European syndicate -- has remained mercifully quiet, to all appearances at least. Have they been working secretly for some nefarious purpose this whole time?


Today's Population: 5,589,935

20:00




Good evening, Gotham City.

As you may have noticed, I recently took over for Mike Engel as host of Gotham Tonight. We cited that he was taking some time off, but, I'm afraid that was untruthful. We at GCN simply were unaware of his whereabouts.

Unfortunately, we have found out. The following is what is suspected to be a live recording of Mike's final moments. We received it in the mail this morning. Please be advised that this video is highly graphic, and parents are advised to change the channel or move their children to another room.

This is a Gotham Tonight exclusive.



The camera opens on the face of Mike Engel, whose head lolls forward. He seems to be unconscious, and he is blindfolded. A strip of cloth encircles his mouth.

Beside him stands a tall man in an unusual garb. He wears a gas mask to conceal his face, a black leather shirt that goes up to connect to the mask, black pants, boots, and a dark red greatcoat in the style of a British officer. His hands are gloved, and glint menacingly under floodlamps, as does the copper coating around his gas mask, and in one hand he holds a sawn-off shotgun. Atop his gas mask rests a black fedora with a red stripe.

He slaps Engel a few times to wake him up, and his voice is all too familiar.

Penny Plunderer: "Let's start the show!"

Engel: "What?"

Penny Plunderer: "Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Penny Plunderer with an exclusive scoop. I have captured a beloved figure in Gotham City. Our very own Mike Engel!"

He gestures to Engel like a game show's showgirl pointing to a prize.

Engel: "Oh christ? YOU???"

Engel: "You maniac!"

Penny Plunderer: "What's that? I'm sorry, but I can't hear you that well."

The Penny Plunderer leans to the side, putting his free hand to his ear.

Engel: "You're gonna BURN for this!"

Engel: "Gordon, Thorne, they'll all.... I'm important!"

Engel: "You, you can't just..."

Penny Plunderer cuts him off with a menacing laugh.

Penny Plunderer: "Well fellow Gothamites, I'll be honest with you about something. The Riddler sucks at torturing people. Where's the fun in torturing somebody if you remove their senses? I'm gonna use some funner torture methods for my interviewee, Mr. Engel!"

Engel: "What?"

Engel: "What are you.... going to do?"

Penny Plunderer: "Well, you mentioned it earlier. As for you being important, GCN could always get a new Anchorman. I think I could be a good replacement, wouldn't you think?"

Engel: "You're a lowlife maniac."

Engel: "You'll never accomplish anything."

Engel's voice quivers fearfully.

Penny Plunderer: "I've accomplished something alright, I've killed at least 300 people."

Penny Plunderer reaches down, scooping up a jerrican of gasoline and starts to pour it over Engel's head and shoulders. Engel coughs and sputters, spitting out the gasoline.

Engel: "AUGH! Jesus, what is this!"

PP says nothing, flicking a lighter and setting Engel ablaze. He writhes in agony, shrieking.

Engel: "AEEUUUUUUUUUHHHHH!"

Penny Plunderer merely watches his agony for a few seconds, before reaching down and throwing a bucket of water over Engel, drenching the flames. Engel sits forward, spitting constantly, gasping and moaning. His flesh is charred, smouldered, and steam rises from it.

Engel: "ughgh.... ngnhgh.... uhmmmgh"

Penny Plunderer: "Ah, still alive, good."

Penny Plunderer lifts the shotgun and tucks it under Engel's jaw, pulling the trigger without hesitation. Engel's head completely erupts, and splatters in each direction, all over the PP's chest, arms, mask, and the nearby wall.

Penny Plunderer laughs deeply.

Penny Plunderer: "Scratch that, 301 people!"

Penny Plunderer: "Now, before I end this, I want to give my fellow Gothamites a message. But first, I'll leave Catwoman a message on this tape: I have already won the match and you don't even know it. Even if you kill me, I'll still have the last laugh. I've just been sitting back and watching events unfold for the most part.

Next, I want to give a message to Ronald Phoenix, you know what you done to deserve the attack.

And finally, my message to my fellow Gothamites and it is this: Good night and good luck. Be ready for another installment of PP TV with your host, the Copper Count. "



...

Absolutely horrifying. That's all from me, Gotham City, but as always, you may lend us your voice in dark times if you wish. The phones are open.

Evil Eye said:

Even if you kill me, I'll still have the last laugh.

Click to expand...

Dead men tell no tales, Jarvis.

I know my worth. You measure your worth by a kill count; as you just showed the entire city of Gotham, anyone with a finger can pull a trigger.

You just can't seem to do this whole villain thing right, can you?! Nobody liked Mike Engel! He was a Bat-hater.

I just killed three hundred people

bweep bweep bweep bweep time warp time warp

Welcome back folks! Now for everyboday's faaaaavorite segment: Who gets to kill Black Mask? Why, whoever answers the riddle, of course!

When they're opposite they're natural,
when they're the same they're hard;
They only live in several,
with all their faces scarred.

The winner will have to get further details from me. If the winner does not wish to kill Black Mask themselves, then I will have it done.

And the answer has been given. It was Dice. The person has chosen to remain anonymous, and will kill Black Mask themselves.

Well it's been a great show folks. I feel like I've been on the air for months already! Stay vibin', America.

Black Mask writhes on the table and, as the lights dim, The Riddler injects him with something in the neck, then writes randomly on a sheet of paper on his desk.


Over black, you hear a voiceover:

Support the Riddler Show! Give any money you were thinking of giving Black Mask to him instead! Please donate to: Banco Castilla of Spain, branch 415, account number 2579901




The transmission returns to normal.

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird don't sing
Then I turn on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped awwaaaaayyyy

Cause IT'S MORE THAN A FEEEELLLINNNG, WHEN I HEAR THAT OLD SONG THEY USED TO PLAAAAYYYYY

Gotham Gazette November 18th, 2008




The Cat Still Has Claws By Vicki Vale

The site of Gotham Third National Bank this morning

At 8:29 PM last night, there were 24 bodies patrolling inside the locked doors of Gotham Third National. At 8:30 PM, there were 25 bodies inside the bank, and the doors had not opened. By 9:00 PM, communications outgoing from the bank had been severed, internal security devices had been disarmed, and the vault had been emptied. By 10:00 PM, the police had arrived, lower-floor guards had stirred unconscious upper-floor guards to consciousness, and it had been determined that the damage to the recording hardware would prevent them from recalling security footage.

Over $65 million dollars in cash was stolen from the vault, which had been broken into from underground. “It has always been a security point that Gotham Third National was built above the sewer lines, and it has never been an issue,” claims bank manager Chad Warden. “Never before has an attempt on the bank from the underground been successful. Laser security and pressure sensors trigger alarms inside the bank and send the vault into lockdown. Or at least, they should have…”

An empty vault means not only was all the cash stolen, but a number of the more than two hundred safety deposit boxes were raided as well. Documents citing the missing property are confidential under customer confidentiality terms, but it’s not hard to determine the value of what was stolen – various diamonds, jewels, necklaces, rings, and keys were left in their respective boxes. “The thief took what was valuable,” states Warden, “and apparently refused to steal what was sentimental.”

The mainframes in the security center on the second floor were literally blown apart. Behind a doorway covered in police tape, plasma screens hang cracked on the security center’s walls. In some areas, various wires were specifically targeted and severed; in other spots, electronics were cut en masse; in the back of the room, a spot on the wall remains charred from minute explosion. On the other side of this floor, the story in the recording mainframe housing room is the same.

Almost a dozen security guards show signs of forced incapacitation: one was rendered unconscious from the explosion, two were strangled, and the rest were tranquilized. There were no casualties. The police were very wiling to disclose information relating to the investigation: none of the guards remembered any conflict, there were no foreign fingerprints left at the crime scene, and the perpetrator has been identified as the Catwoman – the guard who suffered wounds to the head from the explosion was unable to receive medical treatment until the MCU CSI snapped a picture of the lipstick kiss-mark on his cheek.

Pressed for comment, MCU Captain Harvey Bullock had this to say: "Yeah, she robbed another bank. What, are you surprised? We know what's up with her by now, and it's just a numbers game 'till we finally catch her. She's stolen enough by now to retire for good, so it's pretty goddamn clear she ain't gonna stop. And neither are we, and that's how we know she's gonna end up right back behind bars where she belongs."






Commissioner Exiles Family By Tom Tucker

Commissioner Gordon pauses for a photographer during a brief interview

A somewhat unsettling -- but expected -- move has taken place, and one that paints an interesting portrait of the policing situation in Gotham City. Commissioner Jim Gordon has admitted to recently sending away his family -- wife Sarah Gordon, also an officer with the GCPD's Major Crimes Unit; son James Gordon Jr.; and local university student and judicial activist Barbara Gordon.

Questioned about the move, Commissioner Gordon only said that they were being sent out of Gotham City, and that he would not disclose any further details. He was quoting as saying having his family reside in the city during the worst crime wave in western history was "too much emotional baggage".

The Commissioner, newly-appointed by the late Mayor Rupert Thorne, insisted that this was not to be taken as any kind of submission to the theatrical terrorist acts of those like the Joker. Instead, he made it clear that this was merely meant to remove a persistent distraction and allow him to focus himself completely on his work.

While this is a reasonable enough explanation, one has to ask the question of how we can trust the Gotham City Police Department to protect our families when our own Police Commissioner cannot trust it to protect his own.


Today's Population: 5,589,919

0600

Good morning, Gotham City, and welcome to the Cold Room. This is your host, Louis Tarnidge.

Strange buzzes on the grapevine this chilly November morning. People seem to be losing faith in the heroes of Gotham City, and so shortly after the major victory over the Black Mask gang. I ask why? People question Commissioner Gordon, but where do you draw the line of hypocrisy? Don't soldiers that invade a region to remove a terrorist or a dictator pledge to protect the people of this region? I don't recall any such instances where the soldiers were endangering their families in the process.

That is what this has become. This ceased to be a crime wave and became a war long before the Joker and his goons murdered their way through a night club belonging to the Chechen and his Eastern European criminal syndicate. The very first night, the Joker declared war on our fair city. Third party despots like Black Mask have come since to try to shatter our common bond of justice, and monsters like The Riddler seem to inadvertantly join the Joker's crusade to prove human nature akin to his own.

This war has been long-standing, and it's admirable that Jim Gordon functioned for as long as he did with his family in the war zone. People that draw comparisons between his family and their own are inherently selfish -- they are not the protector of this fair, ravaged city, and are thus not targets for the likes of bastards like the Joker or his handler, Salvatore Maroni.

For your morning crime report, unreported in the newspaper was a sudden fire at Da Filippo, a restaurant known to be frequented by notables within the Falcone crime family. Police have not yet disclosed any details to the media, but it is suspected based on eyewitness reports to be quite similar to the bombing of Samovar a few days ago, and I would offer that it is a likely retaliation. I can only hope that Commissioner Gordon, John Scott, Harvey Bullock -- and yes, the Batman -- manage to conclude their campaign in this war before the Joker and the Italian mafia are able to do likewise... because I don't want to live in a city owned by the mafia. Not again.

And with the Joker helming the ship, I can only imagine it would be so much worse than last time.



Lend me your voice, Gotham. The phonelines are open.

“I’m running out of money to steal, Gotham. If anyone out there has their eye on a specific item that is just out of their reach, leave me a detailed message at [this e-mail]. Include your identity or contact information, and the item, and I will name a price. Artifacts, vehicles, identities, information... nothing is off limits. I am a professional, and I have high standards to how I conduct business... but I am growing very bored. And don't waste my time, or you may find something precious of your own missing.

“Alternatively, I am willing to pay ten million dollars to the first person who can bring me Lincoln Jarvis, the Penny Plunderer. Dead or alive, but the full, identifiable body. It grows to fifteen million if you are a private detective, professional hit-man, or masked vigilante. It grows to twenty million if you are a member of the Gotham City Police Department. I suspect I will be having too much fun with the first deal to spend time personally pursing the second one.”

1100

Welcome back to the Cold Room. An unfortunate interruption, there, by one of our resident criminals. I have little to say to it, we see this kind of behavior from her all the time. I can only ask that our fair citizens stay strong and don't bend to the will of this succubus, and let her play her games with the rest of her degenerate kind.

But that's not what I want to speak with you about this late morning, Gotham.

Just moments ago, WCRX received confirmation from our media sources that the former Batman suspect, who launched a daring escape from MCU after being captured and disappeared so long he was thought to be dead, has been reapprehended.

Thanks in part to ... Batman, of all people.

Details will take a while to procure from the police, but Commissioner Gordon confirmed that they were able to locate the White Van Kidnapper of a few days past, and his hostages -- including public defender Marvin Patience -- have been recovered alive. Gordon and an MCU SWAT team, with some help from the dark knight, were able to defeat the dangerous and violent criminal, who has now been confirmed an imposter.

Hot on the heels of some scathing press about Commissioner Gordon's decision to remove his family from his jurisdiction, and with the Black Mask gang just around the corner from an extensive prosecution at the hands of District Attorney John Scott, this is very good news for our ailing city. We can all breathe just a bit more calmly, knowing that this vicious psychopath is off our streets -- hopefully for good, and hopefully at the hands of our fair judicial system.

Could this be a new dawn for Gotham City?

I thought it would be fitting to play this tune from Radiohead to mark what I hope will be a swing of momentum.

Hello Gotham. I'm calling in to report a problem. I'm afraid I lost my cat. If anyone sees her, she's black furred and doesn't like fish. If you have any information on where I can find kitty please email me your phone number at the following address

Gotham Gazette November 19th, 2008



Wrath Bridled By Vicki Vale

Above, Left: The Batman imposter, now known as The Wrath, strikes an officer during his confrontation with MCU forces and Batman.
Above, Right: A security photo of The Wrath taken during his armed robbery of employees of Lau Shipping, Ltd. at the start of the crime wave.

Late in the morning yesterday, a police sting operation successfully apprehended the Batman suspect from the October 29th arrest and 30th MCU escape. Following a lead from the White van kidnappings, at Police Commissioner Jim Gordon’s suspicion that their target and the culprit were one in the same, and extensive surveillance, MCU and Gotham PD SWAT set up a sting operation at Dixon Docks Apartments, near Chinatown in the red district. The Batman suspect has been identified as Gabriel Ellis, and was taken down with extensive thanks to Jim Gordon himself, and an appearance by the original Batman.

Some sort of suppression explosions were set off beneath the Ellis’s apartment, at which point SWAT teams charged both the apartment and the floor below. After deploying widespread tear gas, the teams extracted Marvin Patience, high-profile public defender and one of the victims in the White van kidnappings. Farther inside, SWAT encountered Ellis and two accomplices who all leapt through a window of the lower apartment and attempted to escape outside. SWAT was temporarily halted by the discovery of Tim McClory, a 19-year-old student who was reported missing several days before the white van kidnappings. Outside, however, Commissioner Gordon and the Batman both intercepted the suspects – Damian Malcoms, an African-American sociology student at Robinson University who had been reported missing by his room mate; Donald “B.D.” Oman, a known drug dealer in the pink district under Roland Gambol’s gang; and Ellis, who has become known in the investigation’s inner-circle as the Wrath, a slang moniker based on his incredible brutality in his apprehension and subsequent infamous MCU break-out during which he reportedly broke an officer’s neck with his legs and threw another down an elevator shaft.

How the Batman entered into the picture is unknown, but his police assistance, especially considering high-profile criminals and also those caught by Jim Gordon, and the fact that Ellis impersonated the Batman, hints that he was involved from the beginning. The three suspects engaged a brutal fight with the masked vigilante and members of MCU, a fight that seemed to tip in each parties advantage a number of times. The Batman was able to repeatedly freeze his impostor in ice, who was each time subsequently relieved by his accomplices; as one of them was dog piled by SWAT and the other tranquilized by the Batman, however, the fight became a brutal mirror match between the two vigilantes, displaying the full extent of their martial arts capabilities and skill in close quarters combat. The tipping point, however, was Commissioner Jim Gordon.

At one point, the fight seemed at its end, after Wrath sent the Batman to the ground with a fearsome headbutt and prepared to deliver the coup de grace, before Jim Gordon leaped into the fight and onto Ellis’s back, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him away from the downed Batman. After Wrath struggled and tossed Gordon off of him, the vigilante was once again up and back in the fight. As the fight began to stalemate again, Gordon moved back and ordered his snipers ready to take a shot if one opened up, and as Batman knocked Wrath away, a sniper fired and hit Ellis in the leg. The fight continued until Batman was able to knock the wounded but still rabid man unconscious, before re-apprehending the larger of the two accomplices who broke out of custody during the fight.

Even after he has been apprehended, Gabriel Ellis is still a criminal mystery. Initially a citizen of Detriot, he popped up on the police grid a few times about ten years ago before going underground. He emerged in Gotham city as the Wrath and the white van kidnapper, though there seems to be no link between the kidnapping victims – McClory was a student at Robinson University with Malcoms, and Patience was a high-profile public defender known most recently for representing Kurt “Killer Croc” Tessle. It is only another mystery what was going on in that apartment, though rumor suggests applications of torture, martial art tutorials, and snuff films were found in the apartment. The final mystery, however, is if the GCPD and MCU will be able to keep Ellis in custody this time around, or if the Wrath will unbridle once more.




Justice Served By Rick Knight

Above, Left: John Scott awaits the defence's plea.
Above, Right: Wilson Blackmoore faces Judge Benson to hear his sentence.

Justice was served yesterday as District Attorney John Scott arraigned Wilson Blackmore, also known as the Occult Killer, who slayed dozens of people at WGNY, including Joe Carter and Kurt Stamps, better known as J.C. and Stemps, the beloved hosts of the Cool Morning breeze show “Shoot the Breeze.” In front of Judge Benson, with an audience of grief-stricken relatives and eager press, D.A. Scott settled for nothing less than a flawless victory and a life’s sentence in Blackgate penitentiary for Blackmoore, who appeared in court handcuffed in his prison uniform and represented by public defender Christian Pollock.

Scott swept the case immediately, skipping parliamentary procedure and approaching the bench immediately with an astounding amount of solid evidence and testimony that blew any plea of insanity straight out of question and demanding no less than life in prison, to which Pollack and Blackmoore accepted under conditions of regular psychiatric visits, conditions that Scott also brought to the table. The arraignment’s results were announced to massive cheers from the spectators, announcing another notable John Scott success.

Similiarly, John Scott reached another striking success in the court recently by arraigning over a dozen of the Black Mask terrorists simultaneously, including Noah Vannic, the alleged pilot of the plane that toppled Wayne Tower. Vannic, like Blackmoore, disappeared from a prisoner transport truck taking him from Blackgate to Arkham Asylum disappeared en route.

Brushing off his notable successes as his business and his status quo, D.A. Scott noted that he “plan(s) to personally be involved with all the major criminal (cases) in this city. Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, any of them. They will be put behind bars by my hands.”




Mysterious Reappearance at Gotham General By Stanton Kiel

Gotham General Hospital as of press time

Today there was a major shock at Gotham General Hospital today when a nurse went into an operating room to prepare it for a surgery only to discover the room had become a jungle of organs and blood.

Camera footage shows recently promoted chief of surgery Dr. Richard Denholm bringing a man into the room, then later exiting wheeling a body on a gurney, covered by a blood-soaked blanket.

Police are investigating. So far they have determined that the victim was Caesar Romanis, former president and CEO of Romanis Cosmetics, a company which went under seven years ago after a faulty product that caused a horrible skin burns. Apparently at the time Bruce Wayne, who already owned some stock in the company, had offered to buy the company to keep it afloat without changing any management, but Romanis refused. Roughly four years ago he sold off his family's estate, and little is known of him since then.

Dr. Denholm has been scare around the hospital ever since his promotion to Chief of Surgery.


Today's Population: 5,589,916

0600

Good morning, Gotham! You're with Louis Tarnidge, and I should hope you slept just a bit more peacefully knowing that Gabriel Ellis was in prison. To wake up and see the favorable results to John Scott's campaign against the Black Mask gang, with all of them denied bail and one of them already serving his incarceration... that was more than I could ever hope for.

Gotham City, I feel the tide changing. I really do.

A minor crime last night went unmentioned in the newspaper, however. A BMW dealership in the central black distict, dealing solely in luxurious motorcycles, had its entire stock of keys stolen. Yes, you heard me correctly... the keys.

The heist itself, of course, has all the trademarks we have come to know of the Catwoman. Incapacitated but living guards with little knowledge of what happened. Not a trace to speak of, forensically.

Oddly, the thief didn't even hang onto her loot this time. Using the GPS encryption installed into each key, the dealership was able to track their keys... to the bed of the Sprang River. Replacements have been ordered, and the general manager of the dealership insist that business has not been disrupted in any way.

So now I must beseech Gotham City's finest and Batman: Why have you allowed this criminal to walk free for so long? She was captured early in this crime wave, and her crimes have only escalated since her still nebulous release. Incidents like this show her eagerly toying with the forces of justice in this city, and I don't like it. It's a sour aftertaste to the victories inherent in Ellis's arrest and the indictment of Black Mask's gang.

Still, it remains nothing but a hiccup in an otherwise pure and new beginning for Gotham City. I have faith, and so should you.

“Louis Tarnidge, you will do better than to refer to me as nothing but a hiccup, a sour aftertaste. I will see to that, personally. I hope you enjoyed having a house and a 401(k), if your petty job even allowed you as much.”

20:00



Good evening, Gotham City, and welcome to Gotham Tonight.

Our viewers have responded to our last show with a great deal of inquiry as to the fate of the program after Mike Engel's tragic murder. However, in Mike's spirit, I promise that we will continue to pursue the tough stories through ground-breaking journalistic. I think we can all agree that he wouldn't want it any other way. As it stands, I am taking over for Mike.

He will be missed, and no person deserved a death like the one he suffered at the hands of Lincoln Jarvis, the Penny Plunderer. Thousands of fans gathered at his funeral last night, which went unpromoted other than through viral marketing to the purpose of staving off any future "demonstrations" from Gotham City's seedy elite. Mike Engel loved this city, and this city showed last night that it loved him as well.

Rest in peace, Mike.



Sure enough, in my first story as Mike's official replacement, we're breaking hard news. Those of you who read the paper this morning know that Dr. Richard Denholm is presently a man of great mystery. We haven't yet ascertained just what happened at Gotham General Hospital -- however, we have had a rather... unsettling revelation about Dr. Denholm.

This morning received a video from none other than the Joker. Enclosed was this message:

"Hello. This is a personal videotape created and sent to you by me, the Joker. If you put the videotape in, you'll clearly see that this is not a prank. On this videotape is me both revealing both who won the Riddle, who the Black Mask is, and finally who Hush is, all to the tune of an engaging drama. Hopefully you'll find it's professional enough to get picked up for a series. Best of luck!"


I am now going to play the video that we received. I would like to warn you that this video contains graphic violence, and should not be seen by children or anyone who lacks a strong stomach.





This song plays as the video opens, and you see a man in a white doctor's coat walking, surgical mask, and head mirror walks toward the operating table, where you see the masked vigilante, Hush, strapped down. Hush wears his complete costume, including his trenchcoat and bandage mask.

The Doctor walks toward an athletically figured nurse, who stands over Hush with a clipboard. She turns to the side as the Doctor approaches, and you recognize the Joker's makeup and smile.

Joker-Nurse: "Patient. Age 32. Name: Dr. Richard Denholm"

Joker-Nurse: "Isn't that right, Hush?"

Hush: "truth"

The Joker-Nurse sighs, then puts out his hand.

Joker-Nurse: "Scapel"

The Doctor reaches into his coat and hands Joker-Nurse a scalpel. Joker-Nurse brandishes it, as he walks around the operating table toward Hush's head and tears the bandages off of his face, revealing the features of Richard Denholm.

Joker-Nurse: "Look at me"

Joker-Nurse: "LOOK AT ME!"

Joker-Nurse grabs Denholm's chin and turns his head to lock eyes.

Joker-Nurse: "Caesar Romanis. That was Black Mask, wasn't it?"

Denholm: "I never knew his real name"

Joker-Nurse: "But Black Mask was the man you took to the hospital, was it not?"

Denholm: "Riddler remotely detonated him, killing him before I could save him"

Joker-Nurse: "The one you tried to save?"

Denholm: "yes"

Joker-Nurse: "Good"

Joker-Nurse: "And you've been working with the Batman?"

Denholm: "nope"

Joker-Nurse: "What a terrible lie"

Joker-Nurse tugs open Hush's overcoat, letting the flaps fall to the sides of his gurney, and uses the scalpel to slice open Denholm's undershirt, exposing his torso.

Joker-Nurse: "Hmm"

Joker-Nurse: "Strange"

Joker-Nurse: "There's skin here..."

Joker-Nurse: "Assistant, next sized scapel please"

The Doctor reaches into his coat and hands Joker-Nurse a medium-sized
hunting knife with a serrated edge.

Denholm: "Serrated edges are what you want. No sharpening that has to happen later"

Joker-Nurse: "Quiet you"

Joker-Nurse: "Performing opening cut"

Denholm: "Make sure the incision is at a 45 degree angle"

Joker-Nurse puts the knife to the base of Denholm's neck and cuts lightly, right down to his navel.

Denholm: "Interesting cut, doctor"

Denholm: "Doctor Joker, isn't it true that you are scared of Ducard?"

Joker-Nurse pauses and looks at Denholm.

Joker-Nurse: "You know"

Denholm: "Would you be upset if -- A deep, bassy black man's voice blatantly overdubs Denholm, saying: "I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY HERE." Denholm's lips continue for a few seconds after the dub.

Joker-Nurse: "You remind me of Robin"

He grabs the knife and Denholm's chin and gets right in his face.

Joker-Nurse: "I hated Robin"

Denholm: "BA--"

The video cuts out to:



This song plays over it. It lasts for over a minute before the video returns.




Joker-Nurse sticks the knife in Denholm's mouth, forcing his jaw closed against it.

Joker-Nurse: "Come on Denholm, since when do you get the chance to appear on TV, in a video that will surely be seen by everyone?"

Denholm: "more often than you think"

Joker-Nurse: "Just relax"

Denholm: "I'm the best surgeon in the world"

Joker-Nurse: "Be yourself"

Denholm: "I am"

Denholm: "you hack"

Denholm: "you're just like your father"

Joker-Nurse: "I never had a father"

Denholm: "you have your mother's eyes"

Joker-Nurse: "That's because I stole them from her"

Denholm: "hahahaha you wish"

Joker-Nurse: "You're a very somber person, Hush. There's no laughter in you"

Joker-Nurse: "What's wrong, Denholm?"

Joker-Nurse: "Hey?"

Denholm: "Hey what?"

Joker-Nurse: "Why die trying to fight it?"

Denholm: "oh come now"

Joker-Nurse: "It's just a surgery"

Denholm: "as the clown prince"

Denholm: "you should have a better sense of humor"

Joker-Nurse: "Come on, Hush"

Joker-Nurse: "Why so serious?"

Joker-Nurse slashes across Denholm's cheeks, opening them up in a glasgow smile.

After a moment, he reaches inside and cuts out his tongue as well, slopping it on a bedside tray.

Joker-Nurse: "Back to the surgery"

Joker-Nurse: "Assistant, I'm afraid this scapel isn't large enough either. Next size, please"

Denholm: "mmmph mmmph"

Joker-Nurse holds his hand out. The Doctor hands him a machete.

Joker-Nurse lifts it over his head, over Denholm's body, and pivots it downward. He stabs it into the base of Hush's neck and pulls down hard, slicing open his torso. Blood bubbles to the surface and begins to pour
out of his torso, sloshing over the sides of his overcoat and to the floor.

Joker-Nurse: "OH MY GOD"

Joker-Nurse: "THERE'S TOO MUCH BLOOD"

Joker-Nurse: "WE HAVE TO STOP THE BLEEDING"

Joker-Nurse: "ASSISTANT!"

The Doctor hands him an aerosol can. The Joker pulls out a lighter and starts to torch at the wound with a makeshift flamethrower. Denholm grunts, fist clenched tight and shaking.

Joker-Nurse: "OH MY GOD"

Joker-Nurse: "SO MUCH BLOOD"

Joker-Nurse: "OH MY GOD I CAN'T STOP IT!"

Joker-Nurse: "I CAN'T STOP IT!"

The blood cauterizes... somewhat.

Joker-Nurse: "WE NEED CRASH PADDLES!"

The Doctor runs out of the room and comes back a few moments later, wheeling in a defibrillator. Joker-Nurse flips it on quickly and rubs the paddles together, charging them.

After the current gathers, he puts one to Denholm's head and one to his crotch.

Joker-Nurse: "CLEAR!"

kkkzzzzsshh!

Denhom spasms and then drops heavy. Joker-Nurse stops and looks at his unconscious body, then pants, looking relieved.

Joker-Nurse: "Wait!"

Joker-Nurse: "Stop"

He drops the crash paddles frantically and holds out his hand.

Joker-Nurse: "Hammer time"

The Doctor hands him a sledge hammer, and he swings it in a full arc and smashes it down into Denholm's chest. The sickening crackle of bones reverberates hard in the room as the bleeding returns, and then some.

Joker-Nurse: "Scapel!"

The Doctor hands him a scalpel. Joker-Nurse takes it and goes back to Denholm's chest, doing random cuts and doodles into his organs and blood vessels.

Joker-Nurse: "I can't find it!"

Joker-Nurse: "I could of sworn I lost my watch there..."

Joker-Nurse: "Oh well"

He holds out his hand. The Doctor hands him a pistol. Without a moment's hesitation, Joker shoots Denholm in both legs, the crotch, the abdomen and, finally, the forehead.

Joker-Nurse: "Unfortunate outcome, Watson. Hopefully the next place we look for the watch will be more fruitfull"

Joker-Nurse cackles heartily as he walks over to the camera, stained and spattered by the vigilante surgeon's blood, and ceases the recording.







...

Truly, truly chilling.

When will this madman be stopped?

Gotham Gazette November 20th, 2008




Do No Harm By Roger Mortimer

Police remove the body of Dr. Richard Denholm from Norton Elementary School, where it was discovered by two children

Terror struck Gotham today as Gotham Tonight aired a video sent in by the Joker, showing his torture and eventual execution of Dr. Richard Denholm, also known by the alias Hush. The video was in the mold of a surgery, but the Joker instead tortured Hush, cutting the man open and burning him alive before crushing his rib cage and putting a bullet in his brain. There was a part of the tape where Denholm seemed to try to say something important, but what it was may never be known as the Joker had crudely edited the part out.

Besides being known as Hush, Richard Denholm was also know as a world renowned surgeon, and was recently promoted to Chief of Surgery at Gotham General Hospital before his death. Workers at the hospital, however, have said that Denholm seemed to vanish after being promoted, never once showing up to his job or a single meeting. The first time many of them had seen him was when he barged into the hospital with a man identified as Caesar Romanis, who Denholm claimed on the video tape to have been the Black Mask. According to the video tape, Denholm had tried to save the terrorist, but the Riddler remotely killed him, apparently annoyed that the Doctor had tried to not fulfill his end of the bargain. Why Hush would have wanted to save the Black Mask from his fate is a mystery, and is just one of many that are left in the wake of his death.

After the unusual incident at Gotham General Hospital, the Major Crimes Unit raided the home of Richard Denholm, though what was found, if anything, is being kept from the press.

The story of Denholm wasn’t finished with the tape, however. As students went to recess at Norton Elementary School, two children found a bag wrapped up with a ribbon. They opened it, revealing the gruesome remains of the Doctor that had apparently been dumped there by the Joker after he killed him. While the children’s names are not released due to them being minors, the principle of the school, Bruce Kirkpatrick, told the press that the kids were only six and seven years old.

“It’s a nightmare,” said Principle Bruce Kirpatrick. “It’s nothing no kid should ever have to see. I have no doubt that the Joker did this simply to try and traumatize the children.”

The school was closed down when the body was discovered, and will remain closed until further notice, though Principal Bruce Kirpatrick hopes that the school will be reopened soon.

“There’s no reason to keep it closed for any length of time,” said Principle Bruce Kirpatrick. “We have to keep living life. The Joker has made no threats against the school; he simply dumped a body here. It’s traumatizing, of course. I watched the Gotham Tonight airing and thought that it couldn’t get worse. It has.”

Colleagues of Dr. Richard Denholm were shocked at the discovery of his secret life.

“I can’t believe it,” said Nurse Lisa Waldon, who worked with Denholm at Gotham General. “He never seemed the type. He was always so kind. He cared a lot for his patients and worked tireless to help him. If he didn’t confess to it on tape I would have never believed it. What has Gotham come to?”

While the tape wasn’t confiscated, Gotham Tonight sent the tape to Gotham’s MCU of their own accord in the hopes of finding a clue to the Joker’s whereabouts.



Bank Rupt By Stanton Kiel

Gotham Fifth National Bank under heavy investigation this morning.

Gotham 5th National Bank has filed for bankruptcy due to irreconcilable losses from robbery. Unlike Catwoman style robberies, wherein the physical monies actually on-site have been stolen, this bank saw a different fate. It seemed to implode, because every single cent to the bank's name -- money that existed "on paper" only -- was somehow siphoned out from within. This includes money in transport, money in ATMs... everything. The currently suspected method is via a specially made computer virus, but that would require an inside job, and one from near the top.

About $165,000,000 was stolen, seeming to be the largest single theft so far in this crime wave. No one from MCU or the whole of the GCPD has offered a comment. If they know where the money has gone they are not telling us.

The 22-year-old prodigy Fifth National Bank Manager Ian Rockwell said, "This totally sucks. I kinda figured we'd get targeted eventually if this crime wave didn't stop. But I thought at least Fourth National would be hit first. You know, First and Second got robbed by Black mask, then Third National by Catwoman, obviously Fourth should have been next. I mean, come on. It's so gay."

This unprecedented type of crime--who knows how long it has been going on for, in the shadows--could mean new things for this crime wave in Gotham. There is, perhaps, a new criminal among us. As this theft seems so uncharacteristic of all the current 'super-criminals' and gangs it's possible any one of them is behind it.



Defrosted Cancer Cure? By Alexander Knox

Robinson Park's amphitheatre has seen a great many important announcements and performances in Gotham's rich history.

Doctor Melvin Taransky, known best in Gotham City as the criminal "Mister Freeze" may shortly be gaining a new kind of noteriety. Indeed, according to scientists and others who have worked with him in recent weeks, he is well on the way to developing a cure for cancer.

Although Doctor Taransky has become identified with the crime wave sweeping Gotham, he was a much different kind of criminal than the Joker or the late Killer Croc. His attempt to rob the credit union was an act of desperation, not malice. He did it in an attempt to finance the research he felt would save his wife, only after Phoenix Pharmaceuticalswhich he worked for, refused to finance the research. After a horrible lab accident which left him unable to survive in anything above freezing temperatures, he was at his wit's end. It was under these heavy burdens that Taransky resorted to the robbery of the credit union. He stole the money stored at the union, threatening the employees with a non-lethal "ice gun" of his own invention.

Taransky was eventually placed under house arrest, after DA Harvey Dent was forced to lessen his sentence due to mistreatment at the hands of the GCPD. Although it wasn't ideal, it was the first in a series of lucky breaks for Taransky. Due to his house arrest, he was able to continue his experimental research, making an apparent breakthrough and appearing on Gotham Tonight. It was here he explained that he had been able to cure his wife's condition very recently, speaking broadly about the meaning of this research in relation to battling numerous other diseases -- and also where he attracted the attention of Gotham's wealthiest citizen, Mister Bruce Wayne.

Although Wayne is generally seen as a playboy and dilettante, he has a passion for philanthropic causes. Mr. Wayne had his company initiate a hostile takeover of Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, halting the takeover only after Phoenix agreed to finance Taransky's research. Before long, now having proper facilities and funding, he had cured his own condition, and after that, he moved on to an even loftier goal - curing cancer.

Now, he seems to have discovered something so momentous that he is calling for a public press conference to be held at Robinson Park, just south of Robinson University. Taransky obviously thinks that whatever he is going to announce will be important enough to brave a public appearance, despite the dangerous condition of Gotham today.

Although there is much supposistion about the true nature of this press conference, so far Taransky has been tight lipped about the subject matter. Speculation runs rampant, from a completed cancer cure to a cure for some other disease. However, there is no evidence that Taransky has been working on anything outside of his work the cancer cure. Scientists who have worked with Taransky in the past speculate that he might reveal the range of diseases that this treatment can cure, however even they are not sure.

What is most important about this case is that it demonstrates that not all criminals are without hope of reform and redemption. Individuals like the Joker are rare. It is important for the justice system to be able to distinguish between cases of crime of desperation, and crime caused by an incurable mental condition. This message may not be popular in the midst of this crime wave, but it is one that bears notice. I'm sure Doctor Taransky would attest to that.


Today's Population: 5,589,915

See Gotham, there is something people don't understand. It's that I'm here for you. I'm not here to kill you, I'm here to help break you free. So to help you out I'm here to offer a much needed service.

You been arrested? A cop harassed you? A judge too harsh? If any of these things happened, or if there is just some official you hate, let me know. Email the name and what this person does, and what they did to you, at this email. And I promise you that justice will be served. Don't ask for me to kill them, just send the information. This way, if something happens and the cops read the email, you uh, heh, won't be liable for anything that that happens

Note to all: I'm going to be trying to start this game up again soon. The game left off on the Night phase, and so it should hopefully be up and running again by this weekend. Everybody needs to start thinking about stuff, because I'm hoping to get a word document going for all/most of the still-active players to track absolutely everything about the game, so that things will move in a more streamlined manner toward the end.

Life is still crazy for me, but this game also still matters to me. As such, I'm going to be cutting back on when I can mod. However, there will be a more reliable schedule as to when you need to be on/available, so it at least has the benefit of being able to plan for/make time for the game.

After a few full day/night cycles, I'm going to look into setting that End Date I toyed with before. Because this game does need to rnd, one way or another, so start thinking endgame. Seriously. Think about what you're trying to get done, and hit the ground running making the steps to make it tangible.

As it stands, the Day phase is going to be on Mondays. This is just the most convenient day for me to be doing the stuff. Night is... a bit more up in the air. I can't account for my social life, sadly, so I'll say tentatively that it'll be a semi-random day/night out of the weekend for Night phase. Sunday will be the most common, of course, since I'll be the least likely to go out on a sunday.

Don't think that this game will isolate you if you can't make it online on a particular monday, or if you think you're going to be really busy and miss the Night phase. That's what PMs are for... you can still make actions via PM, dangit! So if you know you're not going to be around, leave me a PM (entitled Day/Night Actions) with what you want to get done.

Get plannin'!

20:00



Welcome to Gotham Tonight, I'm your host, Lydia Filangeri.


In a bold move, Dr. Melvin Taransky has called a public press conference to announce breakthroughs in his experimental research. Believing he could cure all forms of cancer and other diseases, and having recently cured tuberculosis, Dr. Taransky has been showing us the future through his work in cryogenics. Thousands have shown up for the demonstration, packing Robinson Park to a capacity setting a Gotham record, just edging out The Beatles' final tour.

I understand we're about to go live, with Phoenix Pharmaceuticals CEO Ronald Phoenix introducing.



We see a Native American man in a beautiful suit walk up to the podium. We see this from the crowd level, looking up into the amphitheatre. He puts his hands out to hush the crowd.

PHOENIX: "It's been a long time since I began this escapade with Melvin Taransky. I remember one day he told me the key to a new dawn in medicine was ice. The cold. It sounded almost too good to be true -- that with the right investment, he could cure our race of disease. Truly rid us of famine and illness.

A fool I was, to lose faith in Dr. Taransky. But he never did. And he has shown us the pure power of human motivation, human accomplishment. Melvin gave his own health, and the life of his dear wife, to this project. This research. Don't fret his past actions, no. Look on to the future, for all the good he has done and will continue to do through Phoenix Pharmaceuticals.

Today, I'm bringing you the future of medicine. Mel, please take our hand, and guide us beyond the threshold of what the twenty-first century is really capable of."

He turns back, gesturing into the amphitheatre to a man behind him.

PHOENIX: "Ladies and gentlemen.... DOCTOR MELVIN TARANSKY!"

The crowd erupts like a supervolcano in camera flashes, cheers, and applause. Dr. Taransky exits, beaming from ear to ear. He enjoys the accolades for just a few moments before putting out his hand, stifling the crowd, albeit slowly.

TARANSKY: "Ladies and Gents... As you all know, I have an important announcement to make. All of you that have gathered here today will witness history being made.

And yes, as most of you have speculated, I have made significant progress on my research. Brace yourselves as I unveil--"

He pauses in the midst of cleaning his glasses, as SWAT officers move up behind him. They whisper to him, and he looks confused. Suddenly, Taransky ducks behind the podium.

Behind the camera, we here "What's that?"

We see the crowd milling to exit the park, and someone pointing to the sky. We see four crystalline cylinders dropping from the thick, dark clouds above. Dropping fast.

Suddenly, we see Batman flying through the sky. He blasts at the bombs with a freeze ray before--

A GIGANTIC BLUE FLASH SWALLOWS UP THE ENTIRE PARK, AND THE FEED GOES TO STATIC

Gotham Gazette November 21st, 2008




The Iceman Cometh By Summer Gleason

Above, Top: The awe-inspiring rear entrance of the amphitheatre.
Above, Bottom: A lonely bench frozen amidst the frigid miles of Robinson Park

The frontal penetrating assault of winter came chillingly upon Gotham City when we least expected it.

Dr. Melvin Taransky, recently canonized by the press, had promised to unveil miraculous breakthroughs in his advanced cryogenics research, funded partially by Phoenix Pharmaceuticals and Wayne Enterprises. Having recently made significant headway in reducing initially harmful side effects of his treatments, and having cured tuberculosis through the specimin of his late wife, Norah Taransky, it was to be a historic day. And so it was, in a fashion far more terrifying than anyone could have expected.

"Horrible... it blotted out the sky," said Robinson University student Ellen Harbinger. "Just this big blue flash."

This was the one thing eyewitnesses were able to recall in unison in the moment that shut down GCN's live coverage of Dr. Taransky's press conference. The final news footage broadcasted displayed what seemed to be an unearthly attack, as crystalline metal dropped from the sky. The Batman swooped in, and that was the last we knew of the inicident.

Until now.

Further investigation has revealed that the perpetrator was, in fact, Dr. Melvin Taransky. It is a very trying day for Gotham City, to see this hero of the people don the infamous persona of "Mr. Freeze" again, and yet what else could he be called? As the explosion covered every foot of the park in thick, frigid ice, Taransky and several accomplices managed to thaw themselves quickly. What happened here is speculative at best, but it was clear that certain people -- including Ronald Phoenix himself -- were being kidnapped, sent up winches leading to helicopters in the heavens. Current sources seem to suggest that District Attorney John Scott and Major Crimes Unit Captain Harvey Bullock were among those captured.

Though Batman managed to break free of his icy shackles, Taransky managed to match and ferret away the Batman, as he rocketed about via a functional jetpack and blasted his freezing chemicals in every direction. Batman's hasty retreat clearly underlines the horrors Dr. Taransky's research can cause in the wrong hands and with the wrong intentions?

But why? Contacted for a profiling, Arkham Asylum psychiatrist Dr. Alan Parkman suggested that the murder of his wife at the hands of the Joker, and the later attack by the Chinese Triads, could have dislodged the good doctor's faith in the City, or the people within it. He noted, however, that this is entirely speculative, and that the only thing that is clear is that Dr. Taransky could not be stable if he would doom his thousands of adoring supporters to a cold death to advance his new, apparently nefarious agenda.

Unexpectedly, shortly after Taransky fled the scene to escape G.C.P.D. air support, some kind of explosives seemed to rain in on the scene. Detonating in empty patches, an apparent mix of thermite and other highly flammable and oxidizing chemicals washed across the open field, coordinating in a manner just sufficient to melt the ice from many of the suffocating supporters. Although the efforts of this unusual event, currently assumed to be a contingency established by the Batman, and emergency services saved untold thousands of lives, the death toll in his harrowing incident is currently estimated at upwards of five hundred, and rising.

The excitement did not stop there, however. Dr. Taransky apparently fled farther north to Essex County, in the Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid. This story can be confirmed because most of Taransky's hostages were allegedly rescued by none other than the Batman, returning for a rematch to behold.

"They had all kinds of, like, [expletive deleted] man, it was like an alien abduction or something, God." said one brave survivor. "Taransky, he was just like, dunking people in this... pool. And oh god, man, there were all these people in pods. I dunno, man, it was just surreal."

"A hole in the wall just... just exploded," offered another jittery hostage. "I didn't know what was going on... it was just this flurry of gunshots and ... and that freezing fluid. Batman and Taransky, they were just all over each other. I was so scared."

"Something hit the wall, man, and then like, all the lights were out and everything," offered another. "Then BOOM, just fire everywhere, man, and then it just, that's when it started. It was just, just insane."

Correspondence with the media in the Lake Placid area confirmed that the compound was a former hunting and skiing lodge, being leased out as warehouse or personal space. The name of the leaser could not be pulled up for press time.

Commissioner Jim Gordon, when questioned, stated that he received a call with the D.A.'s location and worked with local authorities, but because of the location, didn't get there until after Batman. On the incident, he had this to say: "We mobilized as fast as we could, but Batman got there first. He came at Taransky like a bat out of hell."

When inquired to as to the status of John Scott and Harvey Bullock, Gordon responded calmly: "The DA and Harvey Bullock are safe. We'll release details as to their condition once we have them."

Of a purported seventeen hostages, thirteen were recovered. Fifteen accomplices to Taransky's actions were also turned over to the G.C.P.D. and Essex County Sheriff's Department, unconscious.

Firefighters are battling the blaze ensuing from the explosive fight, and the compound is still completely unapproachable. A mess of metal and the occasional explosion can be seen fron the compound's gate of police tape.

Dr. Taransky's current whereabouts are unknown.




Homefield Advantage? By Stanton Kiel

The aftermath at Falcone's palatial estate

At night the mansion belonging to Salvatore Maroni, formerly belonging to the deceased "Italian entrepreneur" Carmine Falcone was rocked by a major explosion. Upon hearing the explosion, which opened up one wall on the second storey of the house, curious and not altogether surprised neighbours watched from their windows at the fire.

About two minutes after the explosion, witnesses report that a cable supporting some sort of flashing red device fired into the air from the opposite side of the home from the explosion. This device connected with some kind of black jet-plane as it was flying past overhead. Shortly thereafter a man in a black cloak, holding another person, was then lifted by a cable into the air and vanished into the night sky. No witnesses could provide a detailed description of either of the men as it was too dark. The fire was put out by the occupants of the house and repairs began immediately.

While occupants of the house refuse to make any comment besides "we're fine" it's clear that there is more to this story. Salvatore Maroni, being the most prominent member of the household, was most likely the man taken by the mysterious kidnapper, currently hypothesized by this publication as being the vigilante known as Batman. A jet-propelled capture does not fit the modus operandi of the next most likely event, a gang-related kidnapping, though anything seems to be possible in this crime wave.

MCU and all other police departments are uniformly quiet on this incident, meaning they probably know exactly what happened. However, if this is the case, it means that Commissioner Gordon has made a judgment call and wants to keep the information from certain no-doubt unscrupulous individuals. Pressed for detail, Gordon relented: "We think it's the Batman." On further questioning, he noted that MCU and G.C.P.D. were able to secure a search warrant to enter the premises, where they found a multitude of illegal weapons and will be pressing charges.

And even more questions remain. If Maroni is indeed incapacitated, then that [allegedly] leaves the leadership of Gotham's prominent mafia family unspoken for, and in a time of extreme gang violence it could lead to a crisis. Or perhaps what people saw tonight has been the entirety of a bloodless coup. We may be seeing more violence in the days to come as opposing gangs try to take advantage of an opening, or as the mafia tries to intimidate its enemies out of trying anything.




A Show of Hope By Tom Tucker

Simon Webbe hopes to show a better side of Gotham

When we needed it most, one resident of Gotham City decided we need a ray of hope.

It is unlikely, of course, that local artist Simon Webbe could have predicted the horrors that would unfold at Dr. Melvin Taransky's press conference (see cover story). However, perhaps just this once, the stars have alligned in a positive manner for the citizens of Gotham. Webbe certainly seems to think so, as he has taken it upon himself to spread a message of courage in these dark times.

A renowned artist and significant contributor to local culture, Simon Webbe has been practicing his craft for almost his entire life as a resident of Gotham City. Graduating from Robinson University with honors and a degree in Art and Art History, he tackled the canvas, quickly becoming known for vivid cityscapes and hope amidst chaos. His art resonates more with us now than ever, and that may explain why one of his pieces, Smile, recently sold for a personal best of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

Contacting the curators of Bryce Square Garden, in the black district, Webbe worked with the popular Square's exhibition committee to set up an art expo of the pieces he has been working on just before the vicious crime wave and up until now. Questioned by the Gazette as to what he would unveil, Webbe simply offered: "Deconstructions of the monsters pervading our city for what they are -- cowards and monsters. I want to show the good of Gotham City, and the strength of the good. Evil is weak, because principles are what create true durability. Gotham needs to stand on its own two feet again, and refuse to give in to the demons and villains."

The date is still to be determined, but exhibition head Martin Belka said citizens can expect it to be well-advertised, and expressed Bryce Square's support of Webbe's message.

For such a truly pioneering artist, Webbe has the Gotham Gazette's support as well.


Today's Population: 5,589,315

0600

I hope you're wearing a scarf today, Gotham. It's a cold one, and no pun intended.

You know me. It's Louis Tarnidge, and this is WCRX - The Cold Room.

This is not an easy broadcast for me to make. My faith is shaken, Gotham City. It feels like months -- maybe years -- ago that I spoke of hope. Of a coming dawn. I had faith in the heroes of Gotham City, and I'm beginning to wonder just what a hero is anymore, and if the company we keep fits that profile, whether it is sufficient anymore.

I take nothing away from Gordon, Scott, or Bullock. And yet, God only knows what has happened to two of the three. I know we read the allegations of their fates with thin lips and a furrowed brow. It was a moment of unity for us, and of the worst kind.

I'm beginning to wonder if the justice system itself is simply ineffectual. And yet, that was the purpose the Batman served...

But here we are? Has the dark day finally come, where chaos and evil flood our streets and Batman simply isn't enough? Behind the cowl and the gadgetry lies a man, and I'm beginning to think he must be fatigued. I have to look back on the riots on the night of the Packers and Gargoyles game, where over a course of days nearly seven thousand people died either directly or indirectly from the gas released at the stadium.

The Batman dismantled those riots bravely, but where is the progress capturing this perpetrator? No, before I looked at the achievement of his heroic efforts, but now I can only think of them as damage control. Perhaps a hero is not enough. ... Perhaps nothing is enough, but if that's the case, then humanity itself has lost.

My sources in Essex County have startled me with the news that some have already been confirmed dead in the assault. I am disturbed not by these deaths, but by the possibility that Batman himself could be directly responsible.

Is this the length a hero must go to to stop a monster borne from a hero? How depraved could a man like Melvin Taransky become, a man so cherished and vital, a man this world needs in this era... And now a monster like any other? Are our good people proving better at the game of hate, fear, and evil than those that have inspired them? Paint me a picture of this grand truth, Simon Webbe, and maybe then I'll attend your exposition. Convince me that there's hope to be found here.

I'm sorry, Gotham. I'm just ranting.

Time to open up the phones. Where do you stand, in these times? How does your faith hold? Strong? Is this just another test? Have I given up too easily, or did I hold out too long? Is there hope beyond the horizon, or a continuation of this horrible eclipse?

Be heard, and be heard now.

Gotham Gazette November 22nd, 2008





Up in the Air By Summer Gleason

This grainy shot is the only one currently on record. It was taken by Victor Vance, a photographer that was taking skyline shots of downtown Gotham.

Someone is flying through the skies of Gotham City, and it is not Superman.

Downtown Gotham and the nearby municipal district rarely see trouble, especially in the daytime. This unspoken safety net was torn away in the late morning, yesterday. Noting a quick yellow and black object darting through the air, eyewitnesses did not expect the deftly moving colors to be a person. However, after pausing for a moment, the apparent rocketeer crashed right through the window of a second story apartment, where an apparent shootout with Gotham City Police Department officers ensued.

Both officers were with ultimately fatal burn injuries, with the occupant -- Cecil Drummond, who earlier saw tragedy with the unexpected murder of his partner Paul Hardy -- missing. However, Drummond would not be missing for long. Patching together several eyewitness accounts, it seems Drummond was taken by this jetpack pilot.

Workers of the Gotham Stock Exchange were startled when, roaming the streets on their lunch break, they were treated to the commotion of a man bearing Drummond's likeness plummeted from the skies above. The same pilot swooped down to catch him before the fatal fall could be finished, though the sound of Drummond's bone-breaking injuries from a partial impact reverberated throughout Springhill Drive.

"Like a wasp, or something," described stockbroker Alexander Mandis. "The costumed weirdos, I mean, it's almost becoming a part of day to day life at this point... but Christ, you don't expect them to just drop out of the sky like that in the middle of the [expletive deleted] day."

Mere minutes later, a flaming Cecil Drummond careened through the 101st floor office of Gothex Banking, in the C Buildings. Shocked employees saw the culprit speeding away into the sky, and called medical authorities as quickly as possible. Drummond was taken straight to Gotham General, but died of his severe injuries en route. He was 42.

Later on, residents of glorious Old Gotham were shocked by a similar scene on Graymalkin Avenue; shortly after the shocking display downtown, another violent break-in was staged at a luxurious estate. Upon digging further, the Gazette found that this was the home of Jonathon Davis.

After another violent attack, which left two police officers fatally injured, this assailant again escaped, this time taking captive Jonathon Davis's wife. Her brutalized and burned body was found roughly ninety minutes later, in an alley deep in the industral slums of the dark red district. Police were not forthcoming about any further details of the case, nor could Davis be reached for comment. However, a paramedic that arrived on scene did admit that a cellular phone was left atop the unfortunate victim, wherein the vicious rocketeer provided a name -- Firefly.

Upon further investigation, this publication has found that Cecil Drummond and Jonathon Davis share a common link -- both are presently employed by Gothex Banking, which at one point employed Lincoln Jarvis, the Penny Plunderer, as its General Manager. Police were similarly close-lipped some time ago when Paul Hardy was shot in the back of the head in his apartment. Interestingly enough, George Waters -- a man thought to have been murdered by the Catwoman -- was also a Gothex executive.

Who is this new villain, and what is his potential interest in the past of one of our city's great monsters? Is this an attempt to find Lincoln Jarvis? A sign of truce? Or something more sinister?

It seems as though our fair city is losing its heroes by the day, while the psychopaths are hiring.






Gargoyles Shattered By Alexander Knox

Local Gotham Junior Football League coach Ron Jeremy sits. Masked for safety reasons and health regulations, he expects the beloved sports complex to sit idle for an indeterminate time.

Gotham remembers the tragedy that unfolded earlier this month at Gotham Stadium. Now it seems that another, lesser misfortune has befallen Gotham and the Gargoyles. As of today, the activities of the team will come to a total halt. Their championship bid ends in failure, through no fault of the players or the city, but because of the plague of violence and madness that ravages this city.

The first blow came with the terrorist attack on their stadium, which led to thousands dead and many more seriously injured. Although the news was understandably overlooked in the horror of the event, among the many casualties on that day were over half of the players for the Gargoyles.

Then, when team managers attempted to contact the Gargoyles' owner, alledged mobster Roland Gambol, to find out how they should handle this crisis, Gambol was nowhere to be found. At first this seemed understandable, given the recent events. However, as the days wore on and Gambol remained totally absent, it became more and more clear that the Gargoyles situation was unsustainable. It remains unclear what happened to Gambol, but it is obvious that he is in no posistion to concern himself with the fate of his football team.

Now, with decimation in the ranks of its players and a total lack of support from the team's owner, the Gargoyles have had no choice but to declare that they would not be playing any football in the forseeable future. After calling a press conference, Dick Selick, the team's manager stated flatly, "Right now, there's just no way the team can continue to compete this year. To be totally honest with you, I don't know what's going to happen to the team. Maybe we'll be back next year. Maybe. Given the way things are right now, I'm not making any promises."

After Selick's statement, now ex-Gargoyles linebacker Bruce Ironstaunch stood up and made a more upbeat and apparently impromteu announcement, "Yeah, we got tackled pretty hard. Yeah, it's not gonna be easy getting back up. But ya know what? I'm not gonna go anywhere. I'm playing for Gotham, or I'm not playing anywhere. And you know what else? What's the point of Gotham having a [expletive deleted] billionaire if he can't spend a little money on something that gave Gotham something to cheer about. What else is he gonna do with it?" Hearing these sentiments, a number of Ironstaunch's teammates nodded in agreement.

Although it seems that Gotham's bid for the championship ends here, the determination of the players to continue fighting cannot be denied. We can only hope that someone will give them the oppurtunity to do so, and help to restore the hopes of the city in these dark times.


Today's Population: 5,589,346

since EE never talks to me anymore(=[) and its been like half a yr

im just gonna assume this is dead.

before everyone forgets what happened, we should like do a timeline or something. So we know what went down in this amazing game

The game has ended. It just hasn't been wrapped up in a package yet.

hows it gonna be wrapped up?

I suggest making a new user account taht everyone in the game got the password to. Then making a thread where the user could edit in stuff we did in the game. Maybe have a timeline format for the first post which wed all change. and then we cud post personal thoughts/other stuff on our normal accounts/game accounts

I keep trying to talk to you and you keep not answering my IMs.

I like that idea a lot though!

Basically I'm going to grade everyone on their player performance and also their win/loss and stuff like that.

I didn't exactly want to end the game, but the inactivity had just gotten... ridiculous. I replaced a few roles several times since the latest hiatus, only to be unable to reliably contact any of them. And the game was really on defibrulators ever since I lost my second Gordon player. At that point it was pretty clear it was just not a functioning game, but I didn't want to admit it to myself.

But this game should not be thought of as cancelled. It had a hell of a run, and a lot of craziness went down in it. I hope everybody had a great time. I had a great time running it, even if it drove me to the brink of insanity more than once.

Darn, I did a good job redesigning Penny Plunderer. I turned him from a stupid villain into a somewhat competent villain. So which Adventure game is next? Isn't it GAE?

I spent half a year unconscious :D

Man, my death was so bittersweet. Awesome way to go down, but if I had followed my gut on one single move I would have had a chance to kill the JokerXD

man i totally never actually got to do my job

Also, I challenge anyone to a 1v1 vs Dr. Freeze

I had the best time ever playing this game despite my inactivity.

Macman said:

Also, I challenge anyone to a 1v1 vs Dr. Freeze

Click to expand...

you should challenge my dexxy poo

he would destroy you <3

By the way, I might do some mini-adventure kind of things.

I can't think of a good analogy, really. Think of Batman: TAS in the WOTK-verse. Generally only one villain involved at a time. Just little "what-if" scenarios of things that might have happened eventually but didn't get to.

I can't promise anything in particular, in that department, though. Just because people being around is so unpredictable and unreliable, heh. You'll hear from me if something involving you could happen, at any rate.

So here's what I'm thinking I'll do: I'll just kind of bang out my "report cards" in batches. Players with a less involved history like Killer Croc will be done in batches of 2-4 or so. Players that had very involved and lengthy histories like The Riddler or the Joker will have an update to themselves. In between, as you wait on new updates, you can talk to and about that player, and their performance, and the stuff revealed in the report card, etc etc etc.

twas fun until i got kidnapped... i wish i didn't procrastinate on my actions so much though. I had lots lined up, including anti-kidnapping strategies >_>

Argh...I died in a pretty bad way.

Totally unexpected. And I chose the worst time to try and 'prove' my independence without Batman. ARGH.

omg Tom you are amazing, but plz no indie/anti-hero roles. You had me in loops in the begining.

Also, Gordon and Mr. Freeze sucks as reliable allies. Tom was like the only reliable player I could trust and he was the same person keeping me on my toes.

Too much hilarity went on my side of games. It didn't help that the mod was adding in on the gags. LOL

Also, I got kidnapped....TWICE.

Stupid Riddler...