Batman: Eternal: Season 3, Episode 20 - Liberation [PART THREE] - SEASON FINALE

“Charges are set,” Bane said, walking back to Riddler.

“Good,” Riddler smiled.

“No me gusta,” Bane grumbled.

“We’re striking him where it will hurt,” Riddler said, slightly shocked at the sudden compassion from his underling, “This was always part of the plan.”

“But the people,” Bane stressed.

“Not your people, are they?” Riddler inquired, “Or have you forsaken your own country to defend these employees?”

“No. Santa Prisca first,” Bane sighed, casting one last look at the skyscraper that was Wayne Enterprises’ Headquarters.

“Glad to know we’re on the same page,” Riddler smiled gleefully, licking his lips as his eyes sparkled.

The two were stationed across a busy street from the building, sitting on a small bench. Riddler, in everyday clothing. A nice, collared shirt with little emerald designs dotting it. Bane wore his fancy suit, per the norm.

The world around them continued on like normal, not realizing that their hero, their guardian, was about to fall.

Beginning with the source of cash and equipment.

Riddler pulled a small backpack out from under the bench, and tugged a laptop out. He logged on, and navigated to a secret file.

‘Blow it up?’ the file read in blinking red text.

Bane cast Riddler some nasty side-eye.

“Blow what up?” said a kid passing behind the two of them.

“Bane, deal with him,” Riddler said, “This is my moment.”

Bane stood up, towering over the boy, “I know you. You were with the child.”

“You were the one that took Nate?” the boy, Devon, from the night Damian had spent looking for Tim, said.

“Damian,” Bane corrected, “And yes.”

“Did you- did you kill him?” Devon asked, beginning to cower away.

“I am no executioner,” Bane stated, “I am a king.”

“Bane, I’m waiting,” Riddler sighed, “I need some time alone with myself when all is said and done. If this pipsqueak is still here…”

Bane started towards Devon. Then, a hot blast struck his cheek. He stumbled back to see Catwoman crouching on the ground, having just leapt from above.

“Gata,” Bane said, narrowing his eyes, “Sheath your claws.”

“Energy claws are hard to sheath, big guy,” Catwoman shrugged.

Suddenly, overhead, Batman soared towards the Wayne Enterprises building.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with deactivating charges,” Batman muttered through the comms system he’d established with Catwoman. He thought back to his situation with Green Arrow. It had been messy, but ultimately successful.

“Looks like I’m moving plans up,” Riddler sighed, typing in the detonation command. The command began to register, and the charges primed themselves.

“Clock’s ticking, Batman,” Catwoman grunted as she dodged a punch from Bane.

Batman clenched his jaw as he crashed through the sixty-seventh story window of his building. He tapped on his left cuff a few times, bringing up several options, as he rolled to a stop. He jabbed a small button on his cuff. The letter W.

He was now into the PA speakers around the building.

“Bomb!” he yelled, shaking with every breath, “Get out! Now!”

The few people scattered around the window he had crashed through were the first to react. They dropped their shocked expressions and began to scurry downstairs.

Across the street, the sparring match between Catwoman and Bane continued. Catwoman struck quickly, tearing the burly man’s nice clothing to shreds. Bane responded with ferocity. A small crowd had gathered to look on.

“Disperse, Gothamites,” Riddler instructed, standing on the bench, “This will all be over soon.”

“What, exactly?” called out a plump woman.

“Not what- whom,” Riddler grinned, “The Batman. The Batman will be no more. I will be the man who brought him to his knees.”

“It’s just who!” another man piped up, “Not a preposition, so just w-”

In one fluid motion, Riddler drew his trusty sphere from his pocket, let in unfurl into the question mark shape, and had it strike out at the man.

Straight through his chest.

It took no more coaxing for the crowd to flee.

“Any second, now,” Riddler sighed.

This was it. The ultimate problem. He had figured out Batman’s identity. Figured out how to bring him down. Figured out how to force other villains to help him. Well, that part hadn’t gone quite as well.

But here he was.

And then, he pondered some more. What happened… after this? Batman dead. Him on his own. With no purpose.

Bring down the other heroes? Superman? Clark Kent, that was an easy enough deduction. Defeating him? An overload of sonic energy. Riddler had figured out the majority of his powerset from the limited combat footage he had.

Green Arrow? Please. Oliver Queen. Another rich boy superhero. With a dead giveaway goatee. Defeating him would be even easier than Batman.

There was nothing left after this.

“Bane. Sit by me,” Riddler sighed, waiting for Bruce Wayne’s empire to fall.

“Busy,” Bane said, picking up Catwoman by the left leg and flinging her into a lightpole.

Catwoman swung around the pole, and used the momentum to drive her heel into Bane’s chest, sending a button flying off of his white shirt.

“Bane!” Riddler grunted, arms crossed.

“Busy!” Bane repeated, with more emphasis. He knocked Catwoman across the sidewalk.

Riddler sent a psychic command to his question mark scythe, and it lashed out at Catwoman. It sliced straight through Catwoman’s suit, even though it was crafted from materials of the planet Bilita.

Catwoman fell to her knees, clutching the nasty wound in her side.

“Your schedule just cleared up,” Riddler pointed out.

Bane dusted himself off, adjusted what was left of his suit coat, and sat next to Riddler.

“What comes next?” Riddler asked, looking up at the behemoth.

“I return home. You live on knowing that you bested the unbeaten man,” Bane said, breathing heavily.

Riddler looked down, then back up, to see a still standing Wayne Enterprises.

“It should’ve blown up by now, you know?” Riddler said.

“Yo sé.”

Inside the building, Batman was bracing for impact. There was nothing left for him to do.

But… no explosion came.

“Batman! You wanna get off the ground?”

Batman dared to peek up.

“Ti- Red Robin!” Batman exclaimed.

Red Robin [the red and green suit from rebirth… all these suits are confusing - Mock] and Tamara Fox stepped through a rippling portal. Tamara was decked out in steel restraints, with purple spandex to compliment them, and a pair of purple futuristic shades to top it all off.

“Yeah,” Red Robin smiled, helping Batman up, “We’re back.”

“Back and ready to help,” Tamara nodded.

“I’ve got a short-range signal nullifier,” Red Robin explained, holding up a tiny rectangular block, “Only thing stopping this building from blowing up.”

“How’d you know?”

“Explain later,” Red Robin promised, “Right now, I’ll work on keeping this active. Battle any attempts to shut it down.”

“I’ll hop throughout the building, get people out of here,” Tamara said.

“You-” Red Robin said.

“Go beat the Riddler,” Batman said, leaping back out of the window he entered.

Once Batman was gone, Red Robin gripped Tamara’s arms.

“This nullifier has only got a short lifespan, and it’s using a lot of that lifespan to wiggle its way into Riddler’s computer and shut down the signal entirely,” Red Robin said, “Soon as it goes offline, this building comes down. If it comes down to you or-”

“Tim, I’ve got this,” Tamara promised.

“Red Robin in the field,” he reminded her with a grin.

“Right,” Tamara nodded, kissing him, “Be right back. Gotta leap through space-time.”

“Just space, but whatever,” Red Robin said as Tamara vanished back through a portal.

Now back on the ground, Batman marched towards Riddler.

Bane stood up immediately, and made toward Batman.

Bane reached out, yanked Batman off the ground by his shoulders, and crashed his head into the hero’s. Batman swung his head back just as hard. A Newton’s Cradle between heads.

Bane staggered back, clutching his head tightly, thus dropping Batman. Batman drew three Batarangs from his belt, letting them slide between his fingers like Wolverine’s claws. He landed a glancing blow on Bane’s arm, steel sliding through flesh.

“Incoming,” Nightwing’s voice said over Batman’s communicator.

Nightwing dropped from above, with Robin, Son of Batman, following shortly. The jet hovered overhead.

Robin raced over to embrace Batman, completely disregarding Bane.

“Bane, this isn’t your fight,” Nightwing said, approaching the beast, “We know about Santa Prisca. We cleared it. Riddler’s forces are gone. Your home is free. Go back to it. Let us finish this.”

Bane’s eyes widened as he slowly put his hands around Nightwing’s neck.

“He’s lying!” Riddler screeched, finally getting up from the bench himself.

“Your call,” Nightwing said, staring Bane in the eyes.

“Kill him!” Riddler hollered.

“No soy un verdugo,” Bane’s voice rumbled, a rage emerging from within, “Soy un regalo!”

“Amen to that,” Nightwing smiled.

Bane released Nightwing, then jerked around to glare at Riddler. His nostrils flared as hot air blasted through them.

“Not my fight,” Bane said, practicing deep breaths, “Batman, make sure to whoop his culo. I must return to my people.”

With that, Bane stormed off.

“No thank you. Not even a helping hand as we whoop your culo,” Nightwing sighed, rubbing his neck.

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! I’m supposed to bring down the Batman! Destroy him by leveling Wayne Enterprises!” Riddler wailed, throwing his hands to the sky.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Riddler,” Batman said, standing up, a hand resting on Robin’s shoulder, “Batman isn’t Wayne Enterprises. It isn’t the gadgets. The suit. Any of that.”

Red Robin and Tamara lurched through a portal on Batman’s right, having allowed the device to hack into Riddler’s computer and completely reverse the detonation signal, as well as clearing the building of any civilians.

“The Batman is a people. The Batman is Eternal. We are the Batman.”

Riddler gulped as he took in the sight before him.

Nightwing, Robin, Batman, Red Robin, and a newcomer who could wield Phantom Energy. All ready to whoop his culo.

“Robin, let’s show your pops what we learned in Santa Prisca!” Nightwing called out, rushing Riddler.

In the split seconds between when Nightwing and Robin charged, and when their attack hit, something sparked again inside Riddler.

“My final challenge,” he smiled, cynically.

Nightwing flicked out his Escrima Sticks at different intervals, and Damian tip-toed up them quickly like stairs. He then swung his sword down forcefully, threatening to take off Riddler’s left arm.

Riddler stepped to the side quickly, and prepared a parry. Instead of sending a counterattack immediately, which Robin was expecting, Riddler calculated where Robin would land after he finished his strike. Just a few feet away, on the asphalt. He extended his question mark scythe to the street, slicing through Robin’s calf.

Robin shrieked, blood oozing from the gash. Batman raced over in a heartbeat, leaving Nightwing, Red Robin, and Tamara to deal with Riddler.

“Everyone’s seen Infinity War, right?” Red Robin made sure.

“One of your demands when we were in ARGUS custody was that they catch me up on pop culture,” Tamara’s shoulder slumped at the memory, “So I’ve seen alllllll of the superhero movies.”

“Execute Plan: Titan,” Red Robin said.

“This part I remember,” Tamara’s face relaxed as she opened a portal for herself.

“Don’t be a Star-Lord,” Red Robin reminded Nightwing as they charged at Riddler.

Riddler had been lying in wait. He knew exactly what was about to go down. Usually, the amount of energy required to tear open portals would be noticeable. But Riddler had noticed that the opposite occurred with Tamara’s portals. Smells and sounds seemed to vanish when a portal was about to open. So he waited for a dip in the volume from a direction.

Behind him. A bit to the left. His alien question mark weapon unfurled, striking Tamara the moment she sprang from her portal. She barreled across the sidewalk, struggling to hold onto consciousness.

Red Robin beat at Riddler with his bo staff, but every strike was masterfully countered. Nightwing slid past Riddler, and collected his Escrima Sticks, only to hurl them right back at the villain’s skull. Riddler hooked the stick with his question mark, and redirected them towards Red Robin, landing a direct hit on his ribcage. Red Robin was out for the count.

Finally, Riddler took down an unarmed Nightwing with a quick sweep of the legs. Using the question mark, of course.

“You forget, Thanos wins the fight on Titan,” Riddler said, kneeling down to get in Red Robin’s face, “In fact, he wins the war.”

Batman’s knee collided with the back of Riddler’s head, interrupting his victory.

“This isn’t over,” Batman growled, “You’ve still got me.”

“This is the part I’ve been looking forward to,” Riddler assured him, “My last chance to prove myself. To myself.”

Batman thought about how to approach this as he and Riddler circled each other. Riddler had known every move that everyone else had made. It was time to be unpredictable.

Batman strode over to Riddler’s laptop, and without hesitation reactivated the charges.

At that very moment, as if by some curse, the ground floor of Wayne Enterprises Headquarters blew out from underneath the skyscraper. The building began to tilt to the side, threatening to wreck a few blocks of buildings.

Then, something even stranger happened. The skyscraper was engulfed in a strange energy. Bursting with color yet colorless. Full of oxymorons. A Phantom Energy. Then it simply… ceased to exist. Banished from this dimension.

Riddler fell to his knees. It had been the act of a God.

That burst of shock was all Batman needed. He ran up behind Riddler, and began choking him out. Riddler’s face swelled up and became red as he lost feeling.

“You lose, Riddler,” Batman whispered, his breath strangely odorless.

“You…” Riddler croaked, “Phantom…”

Batman smiled as Riddler passed out. He loosened his grip on the lost soul.

Yes, the Phantom Energy was indeed still coursing through Batman’s blood. And if he focused, really focused, he could breach the safeguards put in place by the gift in his skull from Amanda Waller- the safeguards that kept him alive- and tap into the Phantom Energy.

Batman relaxed his mind, and the chip in his head began operating as normal again.

“Team, it’s time to evac,” Batman said as squad cars began to pull up to the scene.

Tamara, mostly recovered from her spook with Riddler, created a portal that sucked Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin all away.


- - -


Glasses clinked all around. Champagne for Bruce. A solid ale for Dick. A lager for Tamara. Coffee for Tim. Sprite with a cherry for Damian.

“To another crook in prison,” Tim beamed.

“Okay, but we all know what’s really going to happen,” Dick shrugged, a playfully smug look plastered on his face, “ARGUS is going to swoop in and detain Nashton and throw him on the Squad, where he’ll keep plotting against us.”

“Yeah, but next time you’ll have a portal creating badass,” Tamara smirked. When she remembered that Damian was sitting just across the Wayne Family Dining Table.

“Badass,” Damian snorted.

“Language! There’s the good and the bad,” Tim said, frantically, “But trust me, guys, Damian is picking up English quickly. He’s mastering contractions.”

“Pardon?” Bruce stifled a laugh, nearly choking on his drink.

“Tim, you’re supposed to be the smart one,” Dick said, covering up his face with his hands.

“What do you mean?” Tim asked, nervously.

“Contractions?” Tamara chuckled, “You maybe mean conjunctions?”

“Shit!” Tim slammed his palm against the table, “I knew I’d screw something up!”

“This is why you’re going to school, Damian,” Bruce smiled, “So you get a quality education.”

“Because our education system is so flawless,” Tim grumbled.

“Buzzkill,” Dick called out, taking another sip from his bottle.

“Speaking of buzzkill, I’ve got to go help my dad find a new home,” Tamara said, sliding her chair away from the table, “Relocating to the Atlanta building since you blew up his old workplace.”

“We’ll rebuild,” Bruce promised, “We always do.”

“Looking forward to the end result,” Tamara said, stepping through a portal.

“Hey, bro, could I just get a moment with Bruce?” Tim asked Dick.

“Damian, bedtime,” Dick piped up immediately, taking the boy out of the room.

“You’re awfully chipper,” Tim remarked when he had the room.

“We just shelved Riddler. The man he skewered survived. And you got your friend back. It’s a good day,” Bruce smiled, finishing off his champagne glass.

“Any news on Selina?” Tim asked.

“Gone,” Bruce admitted, “But I’m not too torn up about it, if I’m being honest. I liked the idea of her. A mystery seductress. I didn’t like what I saw when I dug deeper.”

“You mean a crazy cat lady decked out in alien gear?” Tim said, “I don’t know if I’d like that either.”

“I’m having Lucius head the effort to bring back Nora Fries. And Bane is back on Santa Prisca. I’d like to have you keeping tabs on him,” Bruce said.

“All those loose ends tied up in a bow,” Tim looked pleased.

“Cheers to that.”

“Cheers.”




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