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Batman: Eternal: Episode Eight - Royalty

by Mockingchu

Mockingchu Bruce makes a promise that he can't keep. Oswald makes new friends.
[Because I failed to publish and episode last week, I'm posting two today.]
“And that is why Wayne Enterprises is donating five million dollars towards the recreation of Gotham Zoo,” Bruce grinned, stepping away from the podium. The crowd clapped, confused.
“Mister Wayne, with this donation, will you be letting some employees go?” one reporter asked, thrusting a microphone into the air.
Bruce stepped back up to the podium, and put his hand up to silence the crowd.
“We shouldn’t have to let anyone go. We can afford this. I assure you.”

“Oh, we definitely have to let some people go,” Lucius said later that day, walking into Bruce’s massive office.
“Lucius, you know that we can afford a measly five million dollar donation,” Bruce chuckled.
“Clearly you’ve been more invested in your nightlife than in your company,” Lucius said, slapping a folder full of charts and graphs on Bruce’s desk, “Take a look at these.”
The graphs showed sales of products, and overall sales for the company, throughout the year. Ever since the Nobodies attacked, sales had plummeted. Money was becoming scarcer.
“Oh boy.”
“Yes. Unless you plan to take back your donation, we’ll be laying off a few people,” Lucius sighed.
“No. We can still afford this,” Bruce said.
“We can. Yes. But if sales continue to stay low, will we ever regain stability. Throwing millions of dollars at an old zoo won’t help, I’ll tell you that. It’d be a safe bet to just lay off a few hundred people. Cut back a few salaries. The rest we can just pray pays itself back. Charitable acts make a company look good.”
“Alright,” Bruce nodded.
“What departments will we be making cuts in?” Lucius asked.
“That’s up to you,” Bruce said, dismissively.
“Perhaps R&D?” Lucius suggested.
“Why R&D?”
“Well, we have an abundance of workers there,” Lucius explained, “The branch wouldn’t take a hit if we layed off some. Obviously, we can’t fire them all from R&D. Maybe some from the Aerospace division. The world has plenty of planes for the time being. And the Foods Division. That goes entirely. I’ve been petitioning to shut it down ever since it began. I mean, come on. Wayne Foods? What else?”
“That should be enough,” Bruce said, doing some quick estimated math in his head, “Closing Wayne Foods, and laying off a few people from Aerospace and R&D. Maybe Wayne Steel.”
“But we need to make it look like it’s for other reasons than we can’t afford the donation.”
“Obviously,” Bruce agreed.

“After a meeting with the board, Wayne Enterprises has decided to shut down Wayne Foods. I have a strange feeling that you won’t be too alarmed,” Bruce said. He stepped away from the podium for the third time that day. Lucius was looking at him with wild eyes.
“You forgot to tell them about the Aerospace, Steel, and R&D layoffs!” Lucius hissed.
Bruce ran back to the podium.
“Oh yeah. We’re also laying off five hundred people from the Aerospace, R&D, and Steel divisions.”
The reporters went berserk. Bruce gulped, and jogged over to his car. He drove away quickly.
In the car, his phone vibrated. Lucius. He answered it.
“Well that was…” Lucius began.
“Bad,” Bruce finished.
“Really bad,” Lucius agreed, “The press was a riot.”
“Oh come on,” Bruce sighed, “People get laid off every day.”
“Not five hundred people at once,” Lucius said.
“How come people weren’t upset about the Foods branch shutting down? People are losing jobs there too!”
“Wayne Foods is only one bistro in Gotham City that happens to bear your name. There are only about eighteen people working there.”
“Those eighteen people matter,” Bruce said.
“So do those five hundred,” Lucius said.
“Now don’t you get on me,” Bruce said, “You suggested the branches.”
“But you pledged five million dollars towards nostalgia,” Lucius said.
There was a tense silence.
“Bruce, you know I’m on your side,” Lucius finally said, “I have to be. You could have me fired too.”
Lucius hung up.
Bruce pulled back into his front driveway, and saw Oswald Cobblepot leaning on his car. A smoldering cigarette hung from the side of his mouth. He perked up when he saw Bruce. Bruce stepped out of his car, and walked over to his friend. The criminal. The murderer. The robber. The vigilante. Well, Bruce could let that last one slide.
The Penguin.
“Ay, pal,” Oswald grinned, clapping a hand on Bruce’s shoulder.
“Hey Oz,” Bruce said.
“Saw you on the news. Donating all that money to the zoo. Did our experience have something to do with that?”
“I had to do something about that place. I have so many great childhood memories there.”
“Once it gets spiffied up, maybe we can make some new good memories there. Two pals,” Oswald chuckled.
“Right. Two pals.”
“Everything alright?” Oswald asked.
“Totally,” Bruce nodded.
Oswald raised an eyebrow. He could tell something was up with Bruce.
“It’s the layoffs,” Bruce said, realizing Oswald was suspicious of something nagging at him.
“Ah. Don’t sweat ‘em. People these days will get riled up over the slightest things.”
“I guess so,” Bruce said. But really, he felt something tugging at his gut. There was something worse about these layoffs. Something… sinister.
“So do you wanna get lunch?” Oswald asked, “You missed out a few days ago, when you had to come back here. I met a group that was pretty cool. Three guys, two girls. One of the girls was pretty cute. They’re from Keystone City. Here for a few days. They had some pretty cool tattoos. Cards. An ace, king, queen, jack, and a ten.”
“Interesting. A Royal Flush.”
“Yup. I’m tempted to play them in Poker. I got pretty good while I was away.”
“What else did you do while you were away?” Bruce asked, “I never really got to ask about that. With you passing out drunk, then us getting attacked by Nobodies.”
“Not much. I turned over a new leaf. I quit the swinger lifestyle. Although, I picked it right back up when I came returned.”
“I can tell,” Bruce said, forcing a laugh.
“So what do you say? Lunch? I can introduce you to the ‘Royal Flush’ group.”
“Sounds good,” Bruce nodded.
Bruce and Oswald got in the car, and drove to downtown Gotham.
“Could you text them? I have one of their numbers. It’s under Ace in my contacts.”
Bruce nodded, and Oswald handed him his phone. Bruce punched in the password: 6-9-9-9.
“How’d you know my password?” Oswald asked.
Bruce gulped. He had been careless.
“A guess. 6-9-9-9 spells out OZZY in the letters underneath the numbers. Spelling with the numbers seemed like something you’d do.”
“You know me too well, Bruce,” Oswald grinned, “Tell Ace we’re going to Freddy’s. Just an old fashioned burger sounds good.
Bruce pulled up Ace’s contact, and shot him a quick text.
GOING TO FREDDY’S WITH BRUCE WAYNE. WANT YOU ALL TO MEET HIM.
Ace sent a reply almost immediately:
SOUNDS GOOD. WILL BE THERE SOON.
Twenty minutes later, Bruce and Oswald pulled up to an old Freddy’s sitting on a corner. There was only one other car in front. A Honda Pilot.
“That’s their car,” Oswald said, getting out of the car. Bruce followed him into the Freddy’s. A group of five people was ordering at the counter. The Royal Flush group.
One was tall and thin, with electric blue hair. The sides of his head were shaved. He was African-American. Another was average height, but very bulky. He had flowing brown locks, a chiseled jaw, and brown stubble. The third man was short, with average musculature. He had blond hair, and eyes that looked mischievous. One of the two girls had straight brown hair pinned up. She was tall, and very muscular. Her cheekbones jutted out from her face, and she had a sense of elegance to her. The second girl was short, and had the build of a gymnast. She was very pale, and had wavy black hair that only fell to her neck.
“There they are!” Oswald called out, joyously.
“Hey Oz,” the blue haired man smiled, “And Bruce Wayne.”
Bruce Wayne waved politely.
“This is Ace,” Oswald said, taking the blue haired man by the arm.
“Well, not really. That’s just my nickname. My real name’s Jaden. But we all go by our nicknames here,” Ace shrugged.
“I’m King,” the tall man with the long brown hair said.
“I’m Queen,” said the woman with the pinned up hair.
“Jack,” the blond haired man said, sticking out his hand, excitedly. He looked younger than the rest. He probably wasn’t even twenty.
“And I’m Ten,” the gymnast looking girl beamed, then frowned, “Not ten years old, of course. But, it’s my nickname.”
“I understand,” Bruce chuckled.
“I can’t believe I’m face to face with the real Bruce Wayne,” Jack clapped, excitedly.
“I’m not that big, am I?” Bruce asked, grinning. But the grin was a facade. Something was off about this group. He just couldn’t pin what it was.
“So what was that whole zoo deal about?” Ten asked.
“I’ll answer all your questions real soon, but I have to go to the bathroom first,” Bruce said, excusing himself to the restroom. On the toilet, he whipped out his phone. A quick Google search would clear up any suspicions he had. He typed “Royal Flush Keystone”. Immediately, articles about a group of bank robbers that called themselves the “Royal Flush Gang”. Bruce smirked. These guys weren’t even trying to hide their identities. They were broadcasting it to the whole world. Bruce walked back out to the group.
Bruce answered a few more questioned, then began eating his burger. During lunch, he learned that the Royal Flush gang had a very important job later today. But they wouldn’t say what. Bruce knew anyways. Robbing Gotham National Bank. After lunch, he told Oswald he wanted to go back home. The burger wasn’t agreeing with him. At least, that’s what he told Oswald. Really, he needed to head to Gotham National Bank as Batman.
As soon as he got back to the Manor, Bruce rushed to the Batcave.
“Where are you going, sir?” Alfred asked.
“Gotham National. The Royal Flush Gang is planning a heist.”
“Aren’t they from Keystone City?”
“Looks like they’ve expanded,” Bruce grunted, getting into the Batsuit.
“Shall I contact the police?”
“Go ahead,” Bruce nodded, pulling on the mask. He ran over to the red Lamborghini parked on a long metal road. He got in, and said the secret code.
“Thomas. Martha. Kane. Finger.”
His parents, and two other words that seemed important. He wasn’t sure why they appealed to him. They just did.
A panel between the front seats illuminated. He touched the center of the steering wheel with three fingers, and turned his hand. The middle of the wheel slid out, revealing a tiny black screen. Batman laid his thumb on the screen, and pushed the slide back into the wheel. The windows darkened, and a web of blue lines covered the car, casting a hue of black onto the once red car. Then, blue spikes shot out from around the wheels. Two turrets slid out in front of the wheels. And triggers rose from the sides of Batman’s seat. The Lamborghini had turned into the Batmobile.
Batman sped down the road, taking him away from the ground underneath Wayne Manor. Soon, he reached the end of the road, and shot through a waterfall. He slammed down onto a road on the outskirts of Gotham City. He snaked around the edge of the city, and edged into a secluded alleyway. He hit the panel between the front seats, and options appeared. He hit the button labeled “Open Batmobile”, and the top of the car slid open. He climbed out of the car, and the top slid back closed. He grabbed his grapple gun off of his utility belt, and fired a cable to the top of the short brick building to his left. He zipped up to the front, and worked his way to Gotham National Bank on the rooftops. Finally, he reached the bank, and perched on top of it. He put a finger to the temple of his cowl, and flicked down. Blue screens slid down in front of his eyes. They scanned the area with facial recognition, searching for the Royal Flush Gang. No matches. Then, he scanned for any abnormalities. Immediately, the screens locked onto a white van with the number ten, a “A”, and the words “King”, “Queen”, and “Jack”. They were already in the bank.
“Penny-One, I need you to get inside the bank,” Batman said.
“On it, sir,” Alfred responded through the comms they used.
Suddenly, one of the screens in front of Batman’s eyes flickered. It settled down, and Batman could now see the main hall of the bank through the security camera there. The main hall had a checkered marble floor, domed ceiling, and several ATMs along the sides. At the end of the hall was a row of bank tellers sitting behind barred windows. Behind them were the vaults. Batman once again scanned for the Royal Flush Gang. Again, nothing. So he redid the abnormality scan. And he spotted a group of five all wearing masks. They were almost blank, except for a marking on each. A ten. An “A”. And a picture of a King, Queen, and Jack. The gang.
“They’re here,” Batman said. He hooked a cable on top of the bank, and leapt off. He shot out from the bank, then swung through the air back towards the glass doors at ground level. He curled into a ball with his legs extended. He smashed through the window, and looked up. The six guards in the lobby all rushed at him with their pistols out. Batman pointed his grapple gun towards the ceiling, and he was pulled to the top of the room. Then, he glided over the group of guards. He landed in front of the bronze revolving door that led to the main hall. He stood up, and grinned. Then, he heard gunfire. The heist had begun. And the gang was doing it wild-style.
Batman rushed through the revolving door, and saw the Royal Flush Gang firing on the security guards and bank tellers. Everybody was screaming, and ducking behind anything they could find. Ace spotted Batman, and pointed to him, yelling. The entire gang turned their guns on him, and opened fire. Batman yanked his cape around in front of him, and stiffened it with an electrical pulse. The bullets slammed into the cape, but couldn’t pierce it. Batman took a few deep breaths, then charged at the gang, cape trailing behind him. The bullets kept coming, but his kevlar suit intercepted them. He grabbed Jack, and flipped him over on his back. King and Queen circled around, and shot at Bruce from behind. It offered no tactical advantage to them. Batman whirled around, and used both hands to throw a Batarang at both of them. The Batarangs hit their guns, nearly splitting them down the middle. Batman then grappled to the ceiling, and crouched on one of the beams.
“Penny-One, cut the lights,” Batman instructed. In a few seconds, the lights had gone dark. The entire bank was black. But the screens in front of Batman’s eyes allowed him to see in the dark. He swooped down, and swept out Ten’s legs from under her. But she sprang backwards, and landed on her feet. Batman advanced, throwing punches at Ten. Ten managed to dodge them even in the pitch black environment. Then, Batman felt a pair of arms around his throat, dragging him down. He tried to turn his head and identify his attacker, but he couldn’t move. The attacker pulled him to the ground, and squeezed tighter. Batman gasped for air. He saw Ten walking towards him, cockily. How could she see him in the dark so perfectly? Batman had no idea. What he did know is that he had to find a way out of this situation.
Ten knelt down beside Batman, and pulled out a knife. She put in on Batman’s lips, and smiled. She dragged it downwards, and blood quickly spread out over Batman’s lips. She reached his chin, and picked the knife up. She raised the knife, and prepared to plunge it into Batman’s face. Then, he was blasted back. Batman didn’t hear a gunshot. Then he realized that he couldn’t hear anything. He was on the verge of death. Then, the grip on his throat loosened. He gasped for air, then proceeded to go into a round of rapid coughing. He looked up, and saw Jim Gordon leading a group of eight cops into the main hall, all with high-powered flashlights. Batman smiled. Jim Gordon was back on his side.
Gordon ran over to Batman, and got down on his knees in front of him.
“Thank you,” Batman said between coughs. Gordon smiled, then got up and walked away from Batman. A few seconds later, Batman felt handcuffs being placed around his wrists behind his back. He tried to wriggle free, but Gordon snapped then closed.
“What are you doing, Gordon?” Batman growled.
“Avenging my daughter,” Gordon said. He helped Batman up, and walked him into the lobby, accompanied by the other six cops. They shoved him into a police car.
Batman had been arrested.

Batman sat alone in solitary confinement. His cowl had done its job. It was designed so that no one but Batman could put it on and take it off. But there was always a flaw in the system. There was only so long until the police pinpointed that flaw, and exposed Bruce Wayne as Batman.
Suddenly, Batman shivered. He was cold. Then he heard a crackling sound. He turned around, and saw the solid concrete wall turning white. The white spot spread through the entire wall. Finally, someone crashed through the frozen wall. A tall, lanky man. Wearing a strange mask. Half of his face was open, and sported black whiskers on his chin. The top of his face was covered by a black mask. And over his nose there was a long orange beak. The Penguin.
“Ay, mate,” Penguin said, “You don’t think I’d leave you locked up, did’ja?”
Batman was shocked. Did Penguin know…?
“Come on Bruce. We haven’t got all day,” Penguin insisted.
Yup.
Batman and Penguin ran through the broken wall. It led into another hallway, but all of the officers were on the floor, struggling to move. There was ice across their mouths, and binding their wrists.
“Thanks Oz,” Batman said, following Penguin out of the jail.
“No problem,” Penguin said, pulling Batman into his car. The two outlaws sped off.
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