FALLEN IS GOTHAM: Fallen Sons
Ra’s Al Ghul had waited for a long time to make another attempt on this city, it would have given him pleasure to know I was in a jail cell in Blackgate and watching on. He found the help he needed in Luke Grimsholm, a mentally unstable man who had committed a horrible crime out of passion that needed covering up and so he made a deal. Grimsholm was desperate to prove his value and so was given funding from the league of Shadows to appropriate the cities water supply company in order to later poison the city. Meanwhile the league of shadows made a deal with Harley Quinn to free her from enforced servitude at the hands of a shady U.S government agency. The real Muddler, aka Languodoc Phillips was also a member of Task Force X and on the same assignment. After scuppering a mission on a super yacht in the South Pacific and fleeing the agency they were picked up by the League of Shadows and freed from their incarceration. They were returned to Gotham as they requested in exchange for the location of the Osiris Virus. The league went after it and beat the Agency to recovering it from an oil rig controlled by an awol private military company that had stolen it in the first place.
Bane had been poisoned by the League with a modified version of the Contagion virus and was encouraged to steal from the Museum Science fair. In truth he was only another misdirection, the real crime at the Science Fair was the theft of a DNA coded ID badge belonging to a scientist present in the hostage crowd. The card was found in the wreckage at the museum several days later, a copy having been fabricated. The key card was given to Grimsholm who met with Ra’s in person at his fortress in Nana Parbat. Ra’s revealed his full plan to Grimsholm and also infected Grimsholm with the Ebola Gulf A virus to ensure he would carry out the mass sterilisation of the population within a set time frame. He gave Grimsholm full membership of the League of Shadows and the stolen DNA pass which would grant him access to a tech warehouse in Gotham containing an advanced chemical weapon dispersal device. Grimsholm returned to Gotham to acquire this device with the assistance of a League bodyguard and then followed instructions on how to prepare and mass produce the chemical agent.
The virus that Ra’s had obtained was very in demand because it was a Vector Virus with the ability to be tailored to target specific genetic code. In order to weaponise the Osiris virus to fulfil the specific purpose he had in mind he would need access to a chemical weapon scientist willing to help. By now the agency and my allies had most of these locked down but one had slipped through the net because he was already incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary. The league broke in and assaulted the prison giving the prisoners enough weapons to cause a riot and take over part of the prison. The league made the scientist talk to Ra’s own advanced chemical scientists and reveal what was needed. They then departed. Bane took control over the remnant of the prison his purpose fulfilled, he was told a specific man in the city had been administered the cure Bane needed and so Bane requested him as part of his demands to the police and began planning his evacuation.
While all this played out, the city underworld had gone to war with itself, whilst ‘the Fallen’ goaded more depravity and criminality. Inspired by the execution of the Black Mask by Dragonsong the Muddler and Harley Quinn had begun their own erratic gang under the name Pan and capitalised on the lost souls from the broken up gangs in Northern Gotham. The Muddlers gang cut swathes through the city and went directly to war with the Italian Mafia and eventually Dragon Song. DragonSong initially seemed a timid and cautious leader but in the wake of the escalating state of the city began setting literal fires and razing her enemies to the ground along with aggressive expansions.
The Penguin himself was supplying weapons and was involved in things I still don't understand fully but at some point shortly after his boat auction and accusations that Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow, The Muddler managed to get to the Penguin and replaced him with a failed British actor named Danny Lavéto, a close lookalike con artist whom Languodoc had met in his past. Danny must have had the cooperation of the Penguins real staff at the Iceberg Lounge or it would never have worked. With the Fenguins resources and connections the Muddler and Harley were poised to make a push to take over the city.
Razorwire appeared in Gotham and after a few other killings murdered Heidi Farnsworth, this pushed Grimsholm to want revenge and he began seeking to hire individuals to find and do the deed. Before he could push further he was activated by Ra’s Al Ghul and given the Osiris Virus and told to mass produce it and place it in the mains water supply. Meanwhile Ra’s created a distraction in the city and set about his contamination of the city with other toxins. Nightwing and Artemis were both hot on the heels of Grimsholm thanks to assistance from Harley and the Muddler and had been working with Catwoman to trace the Osiris virus, Bane and the scientist for months. After the Gargoyles run in with Solomon Grundy, Artemis pieced together that Grimsholm was up to something, her and Catwoman briefly managed to obtain the chemical dispersal device whilst it was in transit between Grimsholm and the league to have the virus added but they were forced to return it after Talia Al Ghul captured Selena’s psychologically damaged sister and used her life as an exchange. Ra’s Al Ghul was captured eventually and Artemis used her considerable network along with Oracle to organise the police and help Nightwing foil the majority of the bombs.
Solomon Grundy turned up at GPEN to kill Luke Grimsholm, why I am still not sure, but Catwoman who had been observing Grimsholm led it away with the help of a man named Johnathan Constantine, they took it in the direction of the HADES security robot AKA the Gargoyle MK.1 which was nearly destroyed in the fight but managed to put Grundy down.
The city quarantine had begun by this point and the city was stretched to contain the problems all across the city, Bane made his escape and Bruce Wayne was killed in the process. In actuality Clayface took his chance to get out of Blackgate in a way that he thought would keep Riddler happy. It couldn't have been how it was planned but they took their chance. Bruce Wayne was seen to fall to his death, his body was found, his DNA matched, he had no life signs, and he was buried. Clayface got himself out once he was in six feet of earth of course.
Grimsholm finished the creation of the Osiris virus and realised he needed to move quickly with the surveillance on him, but on the eve of making his move his bodyguard turned on him, unwilling to accept that he was worthy to fulfil Ra’s Al Ghuls plan he was cutdown by Miko Hansua his own bodyguard. Miko carried out the plan but through a combined effort of Oracle, Nightwing, Artemis, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy they managed to stop Miko and then get warning to the city. The damage had already been done and so a decision was made to forcibly vent the contaminated water in the cities pipes. Nightwing and Ivy I presume as Doctor Amanda Irving returned to the water supply plant and handed themselves in to Gordon. They vented the cities water and Ivy entered the pipe to recover and destroy the virus in the system. Residents were warned but the contamination zones and quarantine was escalated to another level.
PART THREE : GRIMSHOLM
Nightwing was arrested thanks to the demands of Mayor Hady, and his prejudice against vigilantes. In Northern Gotham the Muddler had also been captured, he had been locked in a recurring conflict with the Huntress who was determined to get Harley Quinn. The Muddler decided to bait her with an obvious recruitment day and finally deal with her. Unfortunately this didn't go as well as planned, someone else in Northern Gotham intended to take a slice of ‘Pan/The Muddlers pie and had decided to make the fake recruitment a bit more interesting by handing out extremely concentrated cannabis to some of the ladies attending to pass around. This made the Muddlers guards extremely ineffective, when the Huntress did show up the conflict spiralled out of control, the Muddler saved Harley by putting his own life on the line and as a result Harley was forced to flee the scene. The Muddler and The Huntress were both captured and taken into confinement.
Hady was ‘persuaded’ by Blackwater Securities and someone more powerful to allow Blackwater to sign up vigilantes to balance out the edge Gargoyle Securities and Dick Trunchbull had with its star labs designed robot. The Huntress agreed after speaking with a company representative and signed a contract to work her community service as a Blackwater employee. Meanwhile Nightwing and Ra’s Al Ghul were taken into the custody of Amanda Waller a government agent and removed from the city. The Muddler was sent to Arkham Asylum, already an escaped convict from Blackgate, and legal wrangling and games ensued to make sure he could pay for his new more serious crimes.
Inside the Asylum, The Muddler began to plot how to escape, whilst outside the Asylum, Harley Quinn, the Fenguin and The Middleman worked to break him out. The Muddler devised a scheme to takeover the Asylum from the inside with the help of lower security patients Jonathan Crane, Jarvis Tetch and Garfield Lynns. An effort to bait Razorwire into attacking the facility to speed things along was made but to no avail as Razorwire had been caught in the process of murdering an innocent and was killed by armed police at an apartment in Coventry.
Eventually the Asylum escape operation was put into motion after a heist was made and Harley assaulted the Asylum covertly with the aid of the hacker known as The Middleman. The Asylum was short staffed due to the quarantines effect on staff turnout and after setting a small fire The Muddler swept through the Asylum and took control of parts of the facility. Jarvis Tetch managed to construct some of his devices to ensure cooperation of the staff and to be able to make the Asylum appear to be operating normally. At some point Luke Grimsholm arrived at the Asylum assumed to have the intention of killing The Muddler but instead a deal was struck between them. They released a large number of the inmates and fled the Asylum, and now town is swarming with some of the worst killers and psychotics in the country.
PART FOUR : THE MUDDLER
‘… A lot has changed, a lot of new faces, which brings a lot of unknowns. Alfred is right, I can’t fix it all in one night, I’d be a fool to try. I need to deal with it one problem at a time, be prepared, be thorough just like the early days. To do that I need to start at the beginning…
For 13 months I’ve been watching a nightmare unfold around me and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Nigma played it well, a classic bait and switch is all in the performance. Arkham was the perfect place, a simple low level breakout while I was touring the facility, an ambush…
It being a public tour I had to play the part of the endangered dilettante and so they ushered me to safety…into a dark interview room… face to face with myself. The Asylum director Dr. Alyce Sinnar was the real surprise and unbeknownst to me had already slipped me a soft sedative, enough to slow my actions and inhibit adrenal release, I was overcome.
The switch was made and I found myself in Clayfaces cell deep in the Asylum high security wing. I wonder how long Karlo studied me for, how long Nigma had been planning this whilst playing the reformed man and earning my trust over the last two years. Karlo could not only play the part but he also had the ability to copy DNA unlike the other members of the Mudpack and this meant he and Nigma could back up the story, the question was how long could he get away with it for, especially wearing the cowl and pretending to be the Batman. He had to put it on or those who knew would get suspicious, which is why Riddler had to kill the Batman… A staged fight on a bridge, a masked gunman, leave it for someone else to eventually claim the kill, a shot, a tumble into the water on TV, Bruce Wayne catches pneumonia… a valid reason to cause a psychological break, enough trauma perhaps for the man to decide to ditch the bat. Just enough that Dick and Tim would buy it initially, but Alfred wouldn’t at all and none of them for long, that’s why they still had to get rid of the man too. A short recovery, a drinking habit, lashing out at those nearest, it’s a little cliché if you ask me but network tv has conditioned people to expect it. In the background Nigma concocted a war-game scenario, I hate to admit it but it’s something I might well have done in the past to test my allies when attempting to hang up the cape. I used to tell myself that I didn't want to be the Batman, I felt guilt because in truth there has always been enjoyment, the exhilaration of the hunt, the freedom, the challenge. But I learned more recently to embrace what I am.
Nigma nearly won, if it wasn't for Selina and Freya, and to some extent the deceased Languodoc Phillips and Luke Grimsholm for seizing the Asylum, I’d really be dead. The Riddler always needs acknowledgement, thats his biggest flaw, he had to keep me watching as his plan played out, not out of spite but because he needed to know he had an understanding audience. He lured Lonny Machin aka Anarchy, one of the worlds greatest hackers into his scheme under the promise of overthrowing civil authority under the guise of ‘The Fallen’, but quickly Nigma used Lonny and made him do things he wouldn't wish. The purpose of arming these rising criminals was to keep Nightwing, Robin and the police busy dealing with other matters whilst he turned Lonny into a unwilling captive and made him systematically take over portions of the city. Together they hacked Wayne Enterprises, the police department and monitored the Bat computer. Nigma also set about buying up subsidiaries of Wayne Enterprises under the alias Edward Nash in preparation for a takeover.
What Nigma didn't see was the more insidious monsters that would make their move once they realised Gotham had less protection.
PART TWO : THE FALLEN
THE STORY SO FAR
Several days later…
High above the city, a dark cloaked figure huddles in the shadows beneath a bright lit advertising hoarding displaying an image of the Huntress, she is advertising a home protection system on behalf of Blackwater Security. In the shadows beneath the sign a dark presence stares down upon a Chinatown alleyway below. The targets of it’s attention are two Asian men with gang tattoos knelt next to a red Camaro wrapped around a lamppost, they argue through hissed whispers with each other about how to get in a locked metal flight case that lies on the leaflet strewn ground between them. The vigilante in the darkness moves silently away from the roof edge.
‘Oracle, it’s me. I’ve tracked Harley’s car to Chinatown but she’s long gone. It looks like she may have crashed the vehicle intentionally, perhaps under duress. Some locals have found a flight case in the vehicle. I’m going to observe for a while before recovering it, I suspect it may have belonged to Languodoc Phillips. I need you to send everything you can dig up on Sylvine Tsong to Robin, I’m not convinced she’s involved in this but we need to make a profile anyway, since blowing up the Tricorner bridges she’s been quiet but she will need dealing with sooner rather than later and I'd like to know what I'm up against… ‘
‘Bruce are you sure you’re okay? Twoface nearly killed you yesterday.’
‘…I’ll be fine. You said Artemis wanted to meet me. Tell her I will tonight. I need to get the car onto the south island and hide it somewhere before things get any worse. Somewhere down here Inception has stolen tanks and a missile launcher and I need to know I can match it if neccessary.’
‘All of Dibners collectibles were decommissioned. You think Inception could get them working again?’
‘If he or an associate had cause to, yes. In the space of 2 hours he managed to steal a sportscar from nearly every Knights player on the team roster, and that was during a game night. Theres not a trace of any of those cars. He has contacts, powerful contacts, and people like Inception don’t care who they deal with. The Batmobile Oracle?’
‘Okay. Artemis has an ear to the memorial bridge operators, she might be able to get the Bridge down more subtly than I could. But she will want something in return, I know you don't completely trust her but she keeps proving she’s on our side. She and Selina broke you out of the Asylum when none of us had any idea. The Muddler would have killed you in that cell if he found you.’
‘He may have tried… Arrange for me to meet with Artemis this evening, I’ll ask her about the bridge myself. I’ve got a few questions I want to ask her about the sale of Amusement Mile…’
‘Okay will do, there’s still no word from Oliver, I’m going to see if I can get some help to find him just in case he needs help.’
‘Fine. If you hear from Jason ask him to visit the flat where Razorwire was killed, something in the crime scene report doesn't add up. I’ll be in touch.’
'Bruce... I just want you to know... it's good to have you back.'
"The feeling is mutual. Let's get started."
The dark figure returns to the edge of the rooftop to watch the two gangers below attempting to break into the case with a crow bar, whilst it watches on, the man behind the mask contemplates on the events that led to the smoking ruins and desolation of the city around him.
The Riddler launched his scheme to elevate himself to head of Wayne Enterprises, using forged documents created by Clayface Bruce to agree to sell his personal share, Edward Nash now owned an apparently legitimate controlling stake in Wayne Enterprises. He quickly set about laying his claim to the building and its assets.
The Riddlers plan was almost flawless but as I’ve seen time and again, you can never be prepared enough, there is always an element of chaos. In his case it was a chaos he wrought upon himself. Lonny Machin had taken the opportunity to send out for help in the only slight way he could under Riddlers nose, he sent an errant package to the Bank nightclub with an encoded GPS, the Riddler had spent a lot of interest in Artemis having stolen a large sum of money from both her and Selena Kyle as a way of demonstrating who was in charge. The Riddlers original plan to dispose of Bruce Wayne both as a public popular icon and literally was to set a contract for Deathstroke to kill himself Edward Nash now CEO of Wayne Enterprises and make it look as if Bruce Wayne had ordered it out of misery and regret for the loss of his company to Nash. Deathstroke was told that Bruce Waynes people knew his daughters location and were threatening to take her hostage if he didn't fulfil the lucrative contract to kill Edward Nash. The Riddler intended to once again use the help of the Mudpack and Deathstroke would make a serious attempt on his life, Edward Nash would have survived because it would not really have been him at all. Bruce Wayne would take his own life shortly after leaving a note to explain his actions, with the weight of public approval against him and the loss of everything he cared for and the guarantee of a much longer sentence in Blackgate. Nash would have control of Wayne Enterprises and destroyed the memory of both Batman and Bruce Wayne in my allies, my family and the whole world and he would have done it with me watching on. At the end he intended to come and gloat at his success in person, finally proving he had bested me in his obsession to prove his worth. When he became bored he would have killed me.
But of course that is not what happened, Clayface had already decided to prematurely end Bruce Waynes life in the helicopter incident with Bane at Blackgate so he could get out of prison sooner. There was no suicide note to explain things. To make matters worse Deathstroke didn't just abandon his task and rather than rashly hunting down Edward Nash to fulfil the contract with Wayne dead he smelt something was off and so he sought out the money trail leading him to Artemis. Together they figured out that Bruce Wayne was trying to kill Nash but Artemis knew Nash was the Riddler and so it made no sense. Artemis figured out that Clayface was involved having fought the Japanese Clayface, who was tending to Karlos apartment, with Nightwing a month previously. At the same time as this and with the Riddler busy with his games Lonny Machin had also reached out to several people that had been in contact with the Riddler in the hopes of getting assistance. Catwoman, Artemis and Ivy headed out to find the source of the GPS code that had been covertly delivered. It led to a Batcave outpost beneath Arkham Asylum, the hideout that The Riddler and Lonny Machin had been using since this all began.
Artemis, Ivy and Catwoman rescued Lonny but whilst there realised that something was amiss with the Asylum above, and from the images on the security feed. They decided to pay a visit up through the old foundations and into the Asylum buildings through a secret entrance near this cave. Once they entered they quickly realised that they were in High Security containment and that there had been deaths here, they saw from accessing a security feed that the Muddler had taken over the madhouse and was now working with a number of the more stable patients on some sort of plan or strategy. But before they left to alert the authorities they stumbled across a cell, Clayfaces cell, my cell. Artemis had already figured something was wrong with Nash and had dealt with a clayface so to see another Bruce Wayne piqued the Sirens interests enough to come speak with me. They saw the notes that the Director had falsified ‘my obsession with Bruce Wayne’ locked me in his form’ so they claimed. It was a simple matter to prove that I wasn't Clayface once they gave me a chance and Artemis knew to make me electrocute myself so I didn't have to reveal my identity to her as anyone other than the unlucky playboy.
They broke me out and I let Artemis’s people smuggle me and Lonny Machin back to the mainland where I promised to keep him safe at Wayne Manor.
The Riddler panicked when he realised that Lonny was no longer responding, and Deathstroke was close to figuring out he had been played. The Riddler sent an immediate request for the real Bruce Wayne to be terminated in the Asylum but of course Director Sinner was no longer in charge of the Asylum and instead The Muddler received the request. By then I was already out and making my explanations to Alfred and Tim.
The irony of it all is that the Riddler wanted to create a distraction and chaos to shield his own motivations but in doing so he encouraged Languodoc Phillips from being a pest and con artist to becoming something much more sinister and dangerous. The Muddlers psychotic wandering and flippant attention span led him from one scheme to the next and indirectly he caused not only the Osiris Virus falling into the hands of Ra’s Al Ghul and Luke Grimsholm which led to the events at Blackgate but he also facilitated my release from the Asylum.
In the end The Riddler muddled himself.
PART FIVE : RELEASE
Deathstroke is still in the city and hasn't made a move and I believe he will have every reason to take up a personal vendetta against The Riddler soon as a matter of pride. It’s strange he hasn't yet acted. For now i’m going to let Edward enjoy what he has gained so far because the fear will be creeping in. There will be time to restore my own life but the city must come first.
The other demons he created are still out there and some of it I don't yet understand;
Dragonsong blew up all 3 of the Tricorner bridges yesterday whilst I was dealing with Twoface and the Green Arrow was caught in the blast and hasn't been seen or heard from since. What was Dragonsongs motivation? She has cut off Tricorner from the mainland.
Aerial drones attacked the Iceberg Lounge on mass, no doubt this was a strike at the Fenguin but does that mean the real Penguin is free and alive, and where was he being kept? Did the Muddler have him the whole time?
Blackwater Securities lost a lot of troops in conflict with Dragonsongs gang during the Tricorner bridges incident and it has been announced that Lexcorp has officially bought a controlling stake in the company from the Janssen family, who have some interesting connections themselves.
Two face was intending to murder the entire city council until I managed to stop him. But now councillors are abandoning their positions and fleeing the city. Police are quitting their jobs and families are desperate to get out of the city. The president refuses to commit more troops into the city because of the quarantine, the conflicts it will cause with the mad men running amok, and disgruntled civilians in the streets, he is right it could quickly turn into more of a bloodbath. Mayor Hady was in talks to leave his mayorship and run for state Senator, it’s safe to say that his re-election would be a miracle. Jeremiah Janssen pulled out of the race due to ‘ill health’, he suffered a lot with the assault and disappearance of his son and the connections to Razorwire.
It seems most of the people who are tasked with running the city are fleeing whilst vultures like Luthor sweep in. The police are retreating under Gordon as more and more turn against them. The evidence locker at GCPD compound was raided by well equipped assailants and the dangerous equipment belonging to my enemies is out there in someone else's hands.
The underworld in the North of Gotham is being jointly controlled by Artemis people and the Ma Daley of the Irish mob, an uneasy alliance has been made to look after the people there and divide the spoils. The Muddler robbed the casino but Catwoman robbed the Muddler and made off with a lot of the money.
The South of Gotham is split between those who want to survive and those who want to exert authority. New borders are being set and I can see people are turning to and siding with either criminals like Sylvine Tsong or the private security companies holding their areas like gangs unto themselves.
People pool around the bridges leading into Northern Gotham setting up camps as they wait in line for a quarantine check or to be allowed across. Refugee camps now exist both here around and under the bridges and across churches, hospitals and Nightclubs in Northern Gotham and the mainland. A cure has been provided but the speed of its manufacture and distribution is not enough to arrest the decline.
Supplies being shipped into Gotham have been hit frequently or dock points seized by criminals. A large freight liner was blown up terrorists destroying the MK1 Gargoyle in the process, this has caused many tanker owners to think twice about shipping into Gotham and so now airdrops are primarily being used. Fighting erupts at these drop points. Water that can be trusted to be clear of contaminants is scarce whilst the mains supply is being fixed.
The Asylum has been retaken and Arkham Island shut off and reconnected with the North of the city.
Dick Trunchbull of Gargoyle security is dead and the security giant is now in the hands of an interim company secretary. Trunchbull resigned and confessed to the recent desperate kidnap and murder of criminals and homeless off the streets in order to seek a rare bone marrow match to save his daughters life as her condition rapidly declined. The Muddler and Luke Grimsholm are believed to have been responsible for Trunchbulls death but both were themselves terminated in self defence by the Gargoyle MK2 and Trunchbull himself. Why they were there is not understood. Harley Quinn escaped the scene alive, but is still missing. It is believed that Trunchbull was using his family connections at the Asylum to have them scour the patient lists for rare marrow types and perform the screening process in private. The Director of the Asylum was an associate of the Black Mask and was easily manipulated by those who knew the connection including both the Riddler and Trunchbull it seems.
Whilst they may be gone the remnant of Grimsholm and the Muddlers mess can be seen everywhere I look, but I know that they were just the beginning, the other monsters that the Fallen created are still out there building and waiting to make their move. Vultures circle and wait to pick at the carcass of Gotham.
A war that will decide the fate of this city has begun and the streets are infested with psychopaths who want to manipulate or swallow what’s left.
I’m not going to let that happen.
For 13 months i’ve been confined to a cell watching this Nightmare unfold. I’ve been looking forward to this moment and now i’m free back where I belong.
No matter where you hide… “I’m coming for you…”
“oh shit! you hear that?”
“It came from up there” the thug scoops up the case and draws the gun.
…
PART SIX : MONSTERS
SATELLITE TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED> RETURNING TO SNOOP MODE/AGGRESSOR=BATMAN/UNEXPECTED ERROR IDENTIFIED/ SATELLITE SYSTEM diagnostics= 0 / RUN SYSTEM/ BREAK ERROR:
SATELITE OFFLINE/ NANO SNOOP MODE INITIATED/ AUDIO RECORDING =1/ PREP REPORT; UPLINK TO AETHER INITIATED\data sending 100%/ TERMINATE SATELITE CONNECTION.