Sesame, DC presents "Knights of the Night"

[muppetwriter]

Hey, everybody! Muppetwriter here - back among the land of the living!

So, after some consideration, I decided to come back to the forum and handle some "unfinished business" with a particular story that I started in 2008 before I went M.I.A. for nearly four years. This story is the sequel to one I wrote for my fan fiction series - Sesame, DC - and it was based on The Dark Knight. The first story was based on Batman Begins, and you can read it here: http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/sesame-dc-the-gotham-grouchfest.26881/

But I'm back to rewrite the sequel (formerly titled "Nights of the Knights") with hopes of writing one for the next Batman flick, The Dark Knight Rises, sometime after. Some parts of the first half of the story will be similar to the narrative from how much of the old version I was able to complete before going M.I.A., but it is a totally new story.

Enjoy!

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Chapter One​

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When Louise Rogers, a 47-year-old retired detective of the Metropolis Police Force coming from a British background, came back to Gotham City to reunite with her stepson, Detective Sean Thomas, she never anticipated to be there longer than she expected. The city had a strong influence on people who never once lived there before, especially those with a clear conscience. Louise had been to Gotham enough times to avoid falling into the same depression that most of its citizens suffered every day. The trick was never to forget where you came from.

That was what Rogers believed happened to Sean as he stayed for nearly a year in Gotham, trying to help save it from the nightmare that it had already become. Almost twelve months – that was way longer than the five months that Louise had been there with her friends from Sesame Street (Elmo, Telly, Cookie, Rosita, Big Bird, Maria, Luis, Gordon, Bob, and Linda); she knew Sean had stressed himself to the point where he had literally become a whole different person, and she found out just how different he became one night that he, Elmo, Count, and herself went on a bit of an adventure…a pretty dangerous one.

Louise felt obligated to keep an eye on Sean, as he went out at night and practically did Batman’s job for him; he had been doing it for almost a year, “breaking” him into a hardened man. It really bugged Louise knowing that, because she had been living on Sesame Street with the notion that he had gone missing—or worse. There had to be some way of getting him out of Gotham and back to Metropolis where he belonged. While she was there in the city, Louise never once had the heart to tell him that Metropolis P.D. had suspended him on account of his actions in Gotham. Even if she had, Sean would not have cared; as far as he was concerned, Gotham was his new home.

Of course, the boys over at Gotham P.D. could not have cared less as they saw Sean as someone a lot worse than Batman himself. Everyone on the streets knew by then that the two were “partners in crime.” Wherever Sean went, Batman had to be close behind. However, the truth in the matter was that Sean and Batman had not seen eye-to-eye on things and each day seemed closer to ending their partnership. The stories that Count and Oscar told Louise about how they all used to be a marvelous team all those months ago impressed her, because they appeared to be like a dysfunctional family recently. These “tall tales” she heard about monks-in-training with a mystical dragon helping them save Gotham from a vicious plague sounded like something out of a comic book to Louise.

What happened in Gotham over the previous months seemed to still be taking effect as one name popped up very often as of late: Jonathan Crane. According to Sean, he was the key factor in that vicious plague that Oscar and Count told Louise about, and his negative influence was still running havoc in the darkest corners of the city. This was why Sean stopped by the Major Crimes Unit headquarters to dig up some information that evening—information that would prove useful in finding Crane and throwing him in prison for good.

While Elmo, Count, and Louise waited for Sean in the Volkswagen, Elmo shared with Louise how he used to have “adventures” with a different crowd: the gang from Mystery Inc. Together, they used to solve mysteries all over Metropolis with the exception of one that dealt with the disappearance of Superman, which proved to be too big for Elmo to handle.

“Elmo sure does miss his Mystery Inc. friends,” he said. “Elmo hopes to see them again real soon.”

Louise curiously asked him, “Where did they go after the Superman mystery was solved, Elmo?”

“Elmo forgets. They did say goodbye to Elmo before leaving Metropolis again and thanked Elmo for being such a good detective.”

Louise smiled at the little monster, rubbing my fingers through his furry red head playfully. “Oh, I’m so proud of you, Elmo. Maybe you can teach me some of what you learned from them.”

“Doesn’t Miss Louise know about being a detective already?” Elmo questioned.

“Oh, huni, I can never know enough about being a detective, even at my ‘old’ age.” Rogers reassured.

“Well, then Elmo will be happy to teach Miss Louise.” Elmo happily promised.

It was then that Sean had returned and climbed back into the Volkswagen, carrying a large envelope that he dumped on the dashboard upon situating himself behind the wheel; he looked devastatingly exhausted, but Louise would not bet on the fact that he felt that way. “What did you find out?” She asked him.

“Not very many people around in there tonight,” replied Sean. “Most of the on-duty crew is at the site of the bank heist earlier this afternoon, and the rest are scattered throughout the boroughs investigating an odd homicide, a kidnapping or two, and a few serious robberies.”

As Sean started the car, Louise was a little worried about all this talk over criminal activities in front of Elmo, who was sitting right in between her and her stepson. Louise knew she might have been old-fashioned, but even a very young monster like Elmo was aware of what they were discussing. “Uh…maybe it’s not such a good idea to discuss this in front of…um…” She slightly nodded in Elmo’s direction.

Sean gawked at her and took notice of her nodding. “Louise, you know Elmo’s been through so much in this city that he doesn’t mind a little talk here and there about what really goes on in it.” His eyes were back on the road in a millisecond.

Elmo then turned to Louise and said with a smile, “Yeah, Elmo doesn’t mind, Miss Louise. But thanks for thinking of Elmo.”

“You’re welcome, hon.” Louise gave a little smile, but only for the sake of Elmo knowing how fine she was about it; the truth was that it made her really upset to know that her stepson was thinking less about the people around him when it came to certain discussions. It was becoming like an everyday thing to him, as disturbing as it was for Rogers, and it was one of the reasons why she wished him to come back to Metropolis.

“Anyways, I got plenty of info about Crane from that new detective, Ramirez.” Sean stated. “He was last heard from somewhere downtown, making deals with the Russian mob, and methinks they’re making another one right now.”

“What gives you that idea?” Louise queried, and Sean only responded by pointing upwards toward the sky.

Louise looked out the window and noticed the infamous “bat signal” projected onto the clouds, directly from the searchlight situated on the rooftop of the building they just departed from. While it was still an awesome sight to her, it had become just another everyday thing to Sean, who was beginning to have a great deal of displeasure over looking at it.

“And I’d like to get there before you-know-who does.” He added.

END OF CHAPTER ONE​

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Two​

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A little while later, the team reached the downtown area, arriving at a dark alleyway that they parked into right across from a multi-floored parking garage that would’ve been jammed with cars during the daylight hours; because it was nighttime, it was as empty as the streets surrounding it. The perfect setting for a secret meeting—just as Sean had suspected it, and Louise was truly impressed to see how much his skills had improved over the months.

Sean looked through a pair of binoculars to see where the targets were; once he had found them, he was quick to share the discovery with the others. “There,” he said while handing the binoculars to Louise. “Right near the top level of the garage.”

Gazing through the binoculars, Louise saw where he was talking about and noticed two black SUVs parked across from a battered white van. Standing near them was a man with slicked back hair and a heavy goatee, accompanied by a group of men (presumably the man’s bodyguards) and three enormous Rottweilers. “So this is the guy we’re looking for? That Crane bloke?”

“No, that’s the Chechen.” Sean clarified for her, just as she spotted some men dragging one wearing rags and looking really filthy (like a human version of Oscar the Grouch) out from the back of one of the black SUVs.

“Is that guy Crane?” Louise asked again, and Sean took the binoculars from her hands momentarily to see to whom she was referring.

Once he looked through them, he grinned (the closest thing to smiling for him recently) and handed the binoculars back to Louise. “Not even close.”

Louise continued in looking through the binoculars to see “The Chechen” drag his prisoner to the white van. The van’s side door slid open and two newcomers dressed in overalls emerged, carrying metal kegs and guns strapped to their backs. As Louise was seeing this, she heard Sean turn on the radio, which was playing heavy static for some time before he adjusted the knob a few times. The voice of a Russian man speaking heavily accented English played over the speakers. “Look! Look what your drugs did to my customers!”

Louise’s light blue eyes widened as she moved them away from the binoculars and looked towards the radio, which was on an unusual A.M. station known as “000.1”. Looking back and forth between the radio and the view she was getting through the binoculars, Louise discovered how in sync they both were. “You mean we can listen in on their conversation through the car’s radio?”

“We know someone who built in a special device that can pick up practically any nearby sounds at just one single frequency.” Sean explained with that same grin on his face.

“Man!” Louise enthusiastically uttered before returning her focus to the situation in the parking garage just in time to see a tall, thin figure wearing a wrinkled blue suit and a burlap mask emerged from the white van. As soon as Louise had seen this bizarre figure, she dropped the binoculars in shock and gasped. “Oh, God!” Terrified, she tried to say to Sean as best as she could, “I…just saw…a guy wearing a funky sack over his head!”

Sean reached down and grabbed the binoculars, moving them to in front of his eyes and seeing what it was that Louise saw. Again, that grin crept across his weathered face and even a deep chuckle emerged from him. “Yeah…that would be Crane…a.k.a. ‘The Scarecrow’.”

Even the name frightened Louise to the point where shivers were up her spine. The burlap mask gave everyone the allusion that he was a walking, talking scarecrow. The history behind it all was vague to Louise, but she refused in daring herself to find out. She could barely believe what she heard next from Elmo: “It’ll be nice to see Dr. Crane again.” It was not the “nice” part that surprised her; it was the fact that he actually encountered this madman before.

“Elmo…y-you’ve met this man?” Louise asked, wondering if she even should have addressed Crane as a “man.”

“Yeah, Elmo met him. He was wearing his scary mask the last time, too.”

It was all starting to be too much for Louise to handle; she felt like saying something else to express her disbelief in all of this, but she was interrupted by the bone-chilling voice over the radio. “I told your man my compound would take you places. I never said they’d be places you wanted to go…”

“My business is repeat customers,” the Chechen retorted.

“If you don’t like what I have to offer, buy from someone else,” the Scarecrow said. “Assuming Batman left anyone else to buy from.” While he was talking, there came a low, growling noise through the speakers, which could be none other than the Chechen’s Rottweilers hungry for human flesh.

There was more dialogue sounding through the speakers, but the sudden burst of static drained out all voices. In frustration, Sean smacked the dashboard, hoping that would fix the problem; but it only seemed to make things worse. While he was smacking the dashboard, Louise noticed something ahead that brought a startled look on her face. Alarmed and frightened more than she had already been, Rogers glanced through the binoculars and spotted something familiar and bizarre at the same time: a Batman silhouette rising from around the corner – yet something was oddly different about it.

The shape was the same, but it seemed a little shorter and even feminine. The cape was even shorter also, going as far as the middle of the back rather than all the way near the ankles. This wasn’t Batman…it was more like Batgirl! Louise thought. Suddenly, there was the roar of a shotgun and a ragged, round hole appeared in the SUV, inches from the Chechen; and then, the female version of Batman looked like she started to get scared, running around the corner as four others dressed in different yet similar Batman costumes dashed all over the place.

Sean started to take notice of the chaos taking place and was not too pleased. “What the…?”

“Five Batmen?” Count von Count said, doing his thing as usual, only with a purpose at the moment.

Louise noticed how the Chechen knelt by the Rottweilers and snapped the leashes free from their collars. The dogs raced into the darkness. From an alcove leading to an elevator, one of the Batmen stumbled toward the down ramp. One of the dogs leaped at him and closed its teeth and jaws on the Batman’s butt. “ZOINKS!” was what he screamed upon being bit.

The word seemed a little alien to Louise, whereas it was entirely familiar to Sean, whose ears perked up as soon as he heard it. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” He then started up the car and drove out of the alleyway at high speed, heading into the garage and up the ramps leading to the topmost floor.

“What’s going on? Do you know these people?” Louise implored to know while trying to hold on for dear life – one hand clenching onto the dashboard and the other over Elmo, trying not to smother him in the process.

“Let’s just call them some ‘old acquaintances’!” Sean exclaimed, making hard lefts and rights while they were going higher and higher.

Just as soon as they reached the floor where all of the action was happening, one of the Batmen ran directly in their path. Sean pressed down hard on the brakes, but even that action deemed too late as the figure was instantly struck by the Volkswagen and knocked halfway across the air. With clenched teeth, Sean jumped out of the car and his companions followed after him, each of them hoping that the costumed person they hit was not seriously injured; he appeared to be fine as he rolled across the concrete, clutching onto his hurt arm. Despite his injury, Sean refused to go easily on him, grabbing him by the collar of his polyester costume and bringing him closer to his face.

Sean unmasked the Batman impersonator, revealing the face of a blonde-haired pretty boy who Elmo recognized instantly. “It’s Freddy! Elmo’s friend from Mystery Inc.!”

“Did he put you up to this? Why aren’t you in Metropolis?” Sean asked him with an aggressive tone that seemed to have greatly intimidated Freddy.

“I…we…I mean…” Freddy stammered.

Before the meddling kid could have said anything, there was a loud crashing sound as four large wheels smashed down onto the concrete in front of the Chechen, dust and floor spraying everywhere. It was the infamous Batmobile – still referred as “The Tumbler” to the ones who had driven it the most (such as Count, Oscar, and Sean). As soon as it had arrived, it seemed as if the whole situation just went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.

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END OF CHAPTER TWO​

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Three​

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Sean gestured for everyone to take cover behind the Volkswagen. The others did as he instructed while he roughly dragged Freddy over there with them. “AHH! Take it easy, will ya? I think my arm’s busted!” Freddy complained.

“Well, it wouldn’t have gotten that way, if you and your friends had just kept your meddling butts at home where you belong!” Sean yelled over the chaos that had erupted near them. “What were you thinking?”

“It was supposed to be a foolproof plan.” Freddy said. “Daphne was supposed to sneak in and scare them with a firecracker, while Shaggy and Scooby swung in from opposite directions to confuse them, giving Velma and me enough time to come in and trap them all with nets.”

While Freddy was explaining things, Sean pulled out his revolver and loaded it with fresh bullets. Ironically, his next question for Freddy was, “So who screwed things up with the shotgun?” Freddy’s only response was a dumbfounded look on his face.

Knowing he was not going to get any more answers out of Freddy, Sean looked to the othersas he finished loading his gun. “Count, Elmo…you boys stay here and watch over Mr. Wannabe over here, while I go and save some lives…maybe even spare a few.” Louise saw his humor was flattering and frightening at the same time, when it used to be light-hearted and full of life; despite this, she could not help but wonder what role she played in his plan.

“What about me?” She asked him, sounding slightly nervous as she did.

“You’re gonna back me up…use some of those moves you taught me back in the day.” He instructed, making Louise’s eyes nearly bulge out in surprise.

“Are you kidding? I haven’t used those moves since I was your age!” She was hoping he was really joking with her – that same old crazy humor he was known for having when he was just a teen; but the cold stare he gave her was too convincing to be taken as a joke; he actually wanted her to put her life on the line there and then.

Before Rogers could have protested again, Sean raised his free hand up as a gesture for her to keep quiet long enough to say, “I’ll disarm them before you can get the chance to take them down. If I miss anybody…” He paused for a second, reaching behind himself and pulling out another handgun that he tossed over to her. “Only use it if you really have to.”

Louise stared at the gun; her nervousness increased greatly. Never once did she take a life, whether it was something as small as a Twiddlebug or as big as a Snuffleupagus, and she did not plan on doing so that night. Louise Rogers would have allowed the criminals to annihilate her before she could ever bring herself to pull the trigger. With only a short amount of time to go, she and her stepson moved away from the rear of the Volkswagen and leaped into action within seconds. Sean did just as he promised and disarmed the men who carried weapons; of course, he did not do it as subtle as Louise thought he would – nothing seemed to be ever subtle with him anymore. It either had to be a broken arm, a bruised rib, or a bloody mouth to signify that the job was done; and that was just how he left the men after disarming them. Louise soon dealt with whoever was left, using whatever old-school tactics she had to take them down.

Meanwhile, Batman handled the others with just the same rapidness and lack of subtlety as Sean. One of the mobsters stood nearby, lining up his shotgun on the “Batgirl” Louise spotted earlier. Batman grabbed the weapon barrel and bent it downward as the mobster looked into the face of the real thing. It was the last thing the creep saw before getting smacked across the face by him.

With the life of the “Batgirl” spared, Sean took the opportunity to tackle her out of sight and unmask her in the process, revealing the face of a beautiful redhead that was Daphne Blake. “Freddy is hiding in the back of the car with Count and Elmo,” Sean sternly said to her. “I want you to get back there and stay there, until we’ve taken care of this mess! Do you understand me?” He talked to her so forcibly that she might as well have gotten what he said, otherwise it was her neck.

At the state of mind Sean was in, it would take a complete idiot to cross him; and that was exactly the type of person who tried at that moment when he crept behind him. Seeing the criminal, Daphne did not have to say anything to warn Sean of the approaching danger, seeing as how he twisted in time to take the mobster down with one swift punch to his throat and one fierce kick to the face to knock him flat on his back. “Whoa,” Daphne muttered after watching the action take place; she then headed for the Volkswagen while Sean and Louise searched for the last remaining members of Mystery Incorporated.

Not very many of the mobsters came into their path, considering that the real Batman was taking care of them all. When they came across the two Batmen that were being attacked by the Rottweilers, Sean and Louisenoticed Batman at the scene, using a pair of grappling guns to move the two imposters away from the dogs. Batman then stepped in, as a Rottweiler was already in the air, leaping at Batman’s throat; he kicked it in the belly and caused it to fall away, whimpering. The second dog closed its jaws on Batman’s gauntlet, but the Kevlar armor proved impenetrable. Batman swung the animal over his head and it fell to the concrete. As this was transpiring, Louise and Sean dashed over to the two Batman imposters that were saved and unmasked them to reveal the faces of a bushy-haired hippie with a patch of facial hair over his chin and (ironically) a brown, black-spotted dog.

“Shaggy and Scooby,” Sean uttered. “I should’ve known.” With another stern address from the stressed-out detective, the two troublemakers were on their way to join Freddy and Daphne behind the Volkswagen. Four down…one more to go, Sean thought with a hint of relief.

While Batman had been busy with the Rottweilers and Sean and Louise with the Mystery Inc. members disguised as Batmen, Louise managed to spot Scarecrow climbing into a van. “Sean, look!” She shouted, although the screeching tires were enough of a clue the van sped towards them.

“Move!” Sean yelled before they jumped aside in opposite paths.

As Louise hit the concrete with a hard thud, Sean put his gloved fist through the driver’s window of the van while it passed. Startled, the Scarecrow leaned away, unintentionally twisting the wheel; he righted it just in time to avoid smashing into a retaining wall, and the van skidded onto the exit ramp and began to descend. “You’re not getting away from me that easily!” Sean muttered right before another mobster came up from behind him; similar to the previous one, he sensed his oncoming attack and twisted in the right amount of time to block his attack.

Rather than repeat his other vicious attacks, Sean simply lifted the creep high in the air and walked over to the edge of the ramp with him; he waited, staring down at the corkscrew-shaped ramp, and then he tossed the mobster over the edge. The guy let out a terrifying scream as he fell. Louise’s eyes widened with horror upon seeing what her stepson had done to this man. Had he committed murder? Did he reach that point of no return? What was the point of that?

And then, as the Scarecrow’s van swerved out of the exit ramp, the mobster’s falling body landed atop it, crushing the cab. The van swerved and struck a wall. “Dear God!” Louise exclaimed, her words echoing throughout the garage, believing that Sean had killed the man with this fierce action. Fortunately, she heard him moaning in great pain, signifying that he was in fact alive, only severely damaged. The next thing she noticed was Batman walking right next to Sean and glaring at him intensely; his look never once fazed Sean, who only responded by returning the look.

It was obvious that Batman would have handled the situation much differently, possibly in a less violent manner; but it was that difference in actions and plans that was bringing the two men further apart. Not saying a word to him, Batman jumped over the edge of the ramp and expanded his cape into glider wings, slowing his fall towards the scene of the accident. Once he landed, he pulled a dazed Scarecrow from the cab and slung him over his shoulder. Sean did not once take his eyes off his “partner,” and not even the sudden appearance of another Batman silhouette caught his attention as it emerged from the shadows; it was the last Mystery Inc. member to find, Velma, who unmasked herself to show her look of dissatisfaction.

“I told Freddy this was a bad idea.” Velma admitted. “An embarrassing one, in fact.” And Sean, being the sarcastic one that evening, nodded in mock agreement.

A minute later, Sean, Velma, and Louise regrouped with Batman and the others just as Batman dumped the Scarecrow next to the Chechen’s injured accomplices, who Count counted to make sure they were all there. The Chechen himself had disappeared – all thanks to the failed plan of Mystery Incorporated. Sean and Batman were quick to let them know how much in the fault they were.

“We were just trying to help you guys,” Freddy said. “You know, just like the old days?”

“This isn’t like the ‘old days,” Fred!” Sean yelled. “Things are different now! Everything’s gotten much deeper than all of you can handle!”

“In other words, we don’t need help,” Batman said as he bound the Chechen’s crew with plastic ties.

“Not my diagnosis,” Scarecrow jested.

Sean stared at the Scarecrow as Batman fitted plastic ties over his wrists and ankles; he walked over to him as soon as Batman was done and pulled off his mask, revealing the face of Jonathan Crane, who looked surprisingly average and oddly handsome to Louise. All that time she had been expecting something like The Elephant Man, but to see how normal he looked left her surprised and even a little amused. After tossing the mask over to Louise, Sean addressed the Mystery Inc. kids again. “You five are going to high-tail your little carcasses out of this city by dawn! You don’t belong here and have no reason for being involved in all of this! This isn’t fun and games anymore!”

While Sean addressed them, Daphne looked in Elmo’s direction, waving at him and giving a little smile. Elmo waved back and smiled also, returning the friendly gesture. Here they were, reunited for the first time in quite a while, and having the most serene exchange in the midst of all the chaos that happened that evening. And who else to ruin the moment than the beyond-stressed Sean Thomas, who got directly in Daphne’s face like a drill sergeant and screamed, “Don’t ever let me find you out here again! Understood?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” Daphne acknowledged; she was almost to the point of tears.

Sean looked away from her and turned to Elmo, Count, and Louise, nodding for them follow him back to the Volkswagen. The Mystery Inc. gang were surprised; they did not knowwho he thought he was that night (Batman, perhaps?), but they were shocked to see how much he had changed over the months. After fighting the courage to talk to him, Freddy shouted to both Sean and Batman, “What’s gotten into you guys? Don’t you need us anymore? There are only two of you now. It’s war out here.”

Even Velma developed a backbone. “What gives you the right? What’s the difference between you guys and us?”

And then both Batman and Sean replied, “We’re not wearing miniskirts!”

Their unified comment made Daphne look down at her ridiculous female representation of Batman’s costume, which indeed included a miniskirt, allowing her legs to be bare and exposed. “I got it on sale at Party City,” she whispered in shame.

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END OF CHAPTER THREE​

 

[Bannanasketch]

Wow, already 3 chapters in. I'm going to go back and read the first one before I start this but thanks for starting it back up, Sean.

 

[muppetwriter]

No prob! Originally, it was all one chapter, but I decided to split it into three for pacing. The next one will be entirely different from the original in terms of narrative, but it will still have our SS gang and it will still be fun to read!

 

[The Count]

Very much gladdened to read your writings again. Please keep it coming and post when possible.

 

[muppetwriter]

Thanks, Count! (Love the new Walter smileys, btw! lol)

Ok, this is the chapter where the narrative takes a new turn from the original version. I'm putting more focus on the Mystery Incorporated characters this time, since I saw them as good protagonists next to Batman. Enjoy!

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Chapter Four​

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The next morning, Mystery Incorporated stopped by a diner in the gloomiest part of Gotham City – the perfect spot to have breakfast in the mood they were in. Near the booth that they were dining at, there was an analog television set perched above; a broadcast of the recent bank robberies that had occurred through Gotham played on it, but the gang could not have cared with the dismal way they were feeling after the events of the previous night. Scooby and Shaggy were barely eating the large quantities of breakfast that lied on their plates, fiddling with it by their forks instead. The way Sean Thomas treated them put a great negative effect on the group’s self-confidence; they were so depressed that they had not even switched out of their Batman suits, drawing a few stares in the diner.

Becoming more unsettled by the silence amongst them, Fred made a quick decision to liven the mood a little. “Hey, gang. Let’s not be so down about what happened. Let’s look at the good that came from it. We were able to put away the Scarecrow – probably for good.” The other members of Mystery Inc. murmured in agreement with Fred’s sentiment; but they still seemed down, much to the dismay of Fred. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

“You guys think we’re losing our touch?” Daphne asked.

There was silence over the group after the question was asked; finally, Fred spoke up and said, “No way. If anything, we’re better than ever before!”

“Oh, really?” A disgruntled Velma said. “So it wasn’t us that got our butts saved by Batman and Detective Thomas last night?”

Shaggy appeared to be uncomforted with one of the terms Velma mentioned in her witty remark. “Ugh…like, please don’t say ‘butt’ while I’m still recovering from gettin’ mine bit, Velma.”

“They were right to tell us to keep out of the affairs of this city.” Velma admitted. “We may’ve helped stop Ra’s Al Ghul and Dr. Crane from poisoning all of Gotham months ago, but Detective Thomas and Batman have everything covered here now – they don’t need us.”

“You’re right, Velma.” Daphne accredited. “We really are better off in Metropolis.”

In the midst of the gang’s moment of depression, the bell to the diner entrance jingled, but the pleasant noise was soon disrupted by the rude ramblings of Oscar the Grouch. “A rotten egg with burnt toast – that’s the ideal breakfast for a grouch such as myself!” His voice echoed inside his trashcan as he walked blindly into the diner with his furry green legs sticking out from the bottom of it.

The Mystery Inc. gang turned their heads just as Oscar entered with Elmo and Count von Count; the sight of them was enough to bring some happiness back into the otherwise depressed mystery-solving team. Standing up from her booth, Daphne waved to the Sesame Street residents and shouted, “Hey, guys! Over here!”

“Ooh! Ooh! It’s Mystery Inc.!” Elmo joyfully cried.

“Oh, brother. Those chumps?” Oscar said from within his trashcan. “I think I might skip breakfast now.”

As the three joined Mystery Inc. at the booth, Shaggy (who clearly heard what Oscar said) told the grouch, “Ya know, Oscar, you don’t always have to, like, criticize us when we screw up.”

Situating himself beside the booth, Oscar popped his head out of the trashcan and said to Shaggy’s face, “Of course I do. What type of person would I be if I didn’t?”

“A better one?” Velma said under her breath.

Before things got out of hand, Fred hurriedly changed the subject. “So, uh, what brings you guys here? I thought you’d be having breakfast at the Gotham Plaza Hotel?”

“Elmo doesn’t like the fancy food there.” Elmo answered. “They make their eggs real funny.”

“Like, I know whatcha mean, Elmo,” said Shaggy, “but an omelet is an omelet. Right, Scoob?”

Scooby licked his lips. “Right, Rhaggy.”

Daphne pushed her plate of scrambled eggs and bacon over to Elmo, petting him on his head as she had done so. “Here you go, Elmo. You help yourself.”

“Thanks, Daphne. Elmo prefers his eggs scrambled.” The furry, little red monster then went right away to eating the eggs.

“So is Bruce real mad at us for ruining last night’s bust?” Fred nervously asked.

“Not as mad as I would prefer him to be; but, yeah, he’s pretty miffed over what you meddlin’ kids did.” Oscar updated.

Fred groaned with extreme displeasure. “Oh, man. There goes one perfect chance of becoming Batman’s sidekicks.”

“Are you kiddin’ me? Batman would’ve never taken any sidekicks, whether it was you twerps or some other twerps! The only way you can ever get the Bat’s respect back would be to go after the Joker!”

Fred’s face lit up with genuine excitement for the first time in a while as he was struck with inspiration. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” Oscar asked, but it did not take long for him to realize what Fred was talking about. “Oh, no. You’d be crazy to try somethin’ like that!”

Velma and the other members of Mystery Inc. also caught on. “Fred, if you for a minute think we’re going after the Joker, then you’re just as insane as he is.”

“Velma’s right, Fred.” Shaggy spoke up. “Dealin’ with Scarecrow was one thing; dealin’ with Joker is a totally different thing, man!”

“He doesn’t even wear a mask – just that ugly makeup to hide those disgusting scars of his.” Daphne added.

“He’s no different from any other criminal we’ve faced before, but he is our ticket to redeeming ourselves in the eyes of Batman.” Fred declared. “C’mon, gang. We can do this. Oscar, Elmo, and Count can help us on this, because they’ve been with Batman enough to know everything we need about the Joker.”

Count nodded in agreement with Fred’s plan. “Ve’d be happy to assist, Fred. There is one meeting happening soon among the greatest mob bosses in Gotham.”

“Sounds like just the get-together the Joker would be drawn to.” Fred deduced. “Gang, we’re gonna go to that meeting as the toughest thugs ever.” This idea received a hysterical chuckle from Oscar, but Fred had chosen to ignore it. “Daph, we’ll need your help with the makeup and costumes – tattoos, goatees, scars…whatever we need to convince them that we’re one of them.”

Even though Fred’s idea sounded completely ridiculous, she did not want to pass on the opportunity of doing makeup and costuming. “Sure thing, Fred.”

“Velma, you’ll have to practice a little with moving without your glasses.” Fred suggested.

“You’re kiddin’ me, right?” Velma asked – from the monotone way she did, Fred did not catch on to the sincerity of her inquiry.

Instead, Fred continued mapping out his “master plan” for the group. “Scooby and Elmo will stay in the Mystery Machine while the rest of us take part in the meeting.” Fred was enjoying the plan so much that he could barely contain his giddiness. “Boy, this is one swell plan! We’ll be back in the good graces of Batman in no time!”

Oscar’s palm went to his face in frustration; he knew Fred’s plan would only lead to an even greater disaster than the one from the previous night.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR​

 

[muppetwriter]

Most of the dialogue in the chapter is the same as the movie - with a few exceptions to suit the family friendly forum - but it's mostly to show our heroes what they're dealing with. ​

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Chapter Five​

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The neighborhood around the Thomasina Arms had once been what the newspaper columnists of the day called “swanky.” It had since deteriorated to a mass of shabby rooming houses and cheap bars and a region of darkness due to the shattered streetlamps (presumably from rocks or bullets). The Thomasina Arms (or the “Tommy” as locals called it) had transformed from a home-away-from-home of visiting dignitaries to a single-occupancy hotel for the dreariest individuals who did not want to be seen any more than was necessary.

This section of Gotham was yet another that was right up Oscar’s alley – literally. The grouch and Count stood by the Mystery Machine and waited for Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Velma to get ready for the meeting that was taking place inside the Tommy. Oscar could not believe their disguises: Fred and Shaggy wore beards that were clearly fake while sporting “gangster suits,” Daphne wore a jet black wig and gothic makeup that accompanied a black, ripped tank top and ripped jeans, and Velma wore a bright pink wig and a leather mini-dress with her only makeup job being a black star painted over her right eye – following Fred’s plan, she ditched her glasses, which made her completely blind. Feeling the need to do so, Oscar asked the kids for the umpteenth time, “Are you twerps sure ya wanna go through with this?”

“Of course, Oscar!” Fred asserted. “Look at our disguises. We look tough as nails!”

“More like dumber than nails.” Oscar slammed. “Just let me do all the talkin’ in there, and we might just make it outta this alive, alright?”

From inside the Mystery Machine, Elmo stuck his head out of the window and said, “Be careful, Daphne.”

“Thanks, Elmo.” Daphne gave the furry red monster a kiss, accidentally leaving some of her shade of black on the right side of his face.

The four disguised members of Mystery Inc. moved out of the alley with Oscar and Count, crossing the street to head inside of the Tommy. With the exception of Oscar’s trashcan – which he refused to have checked, they were able to pass through the metal detectors without any opposition from the officials. Some of the burly men lounging in the lobby had bulges under their jackets; a few leered viciously at the Mystery Inc. kids, including one familiar face that they encountered recently: the Chechen.

Approaching them along with an aggressive-looking black mobster by the name of Gambol, the Chechen said to the group, “Have we seen you people somewhere before?”

“Yeah,” Oscar said, thanking his lucky stars that Fred and the other kids were doing exactly as he instructed and kept quiet. “We come for the north side of the city. Name’s Oscar – and these are my boys and girls.”

“You always go around with these freaks?” Gambol asked, eyeing Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Count.

Oscar groaned. “As much as it pains me to admit it, yes.”

“Well, keep your eye out for the biggest freak here – they call him ‘The Joker’.” Gambol alerted, prompting Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Velma to exchange cautious glances.

Everyone in the lobby then went to a shadowy flight of stairs and marched into a kitchen on the second floor where there was a small table; its surface was scratched and discolored. Around the table sat an ethnically mixed array of middle-aged men, most of them wearing expensive suits. As she and her team sat with the men, Daphne could almost see how much they stood out from the men with their disguises. We should’ve gone heavier with the hair and makeup, she thought as she sat in between Fred and Gambol. The blind Velma nearly sat on Gambol, who furiously told her to watch what she was doing. “I think I’ll just stand,” Velma insisted.

Two Chinese men brought in a television set, placing it on the table, and plugged it in. “What’s this? We watchin’ a ball game now?” Oscar’s witty comment brought on a few snickers, especially from Sal Maroni, a gangster who took over Carmine Falcone’s mob months earlier. The television screen soon flickered and brightened, and then everyone stared at the face of Mr. Lau, an Asian accountant. Judging from how several of the men around the table rose from their chairs and muttered complaints, Lau carried a heavy hand in their particular accounts.

“Gentlemen, please,” Lau’s voice was pitched low, barely audible. The men who had risen resumed sitting and Lau continued: “As you’re all aware, one of our deposits was stolen. A relatively small amount of sixty-eight million.”

“That’s relatively small?” Fred whispered to Daphne.

“You’d be surprised.” Daphne remarked.

“Who stupid enough to steal from us?” the Chechen yelled.

“I’m told the man who arranged the heist calls himself the Joker.” Lau revealed.

Maroni snickered again. “The two-bit whack job with the cheap suit and makeup,” he then gestured to the Mystery Inc. kids and added, “No offense to present company, mind you.”

“He’s not the problem.” Gambol said. “He’s a nobody. The problem is our money being tracked by the cops.”

“Thanks to Mr. Maroni’s well-placed sources, we know that police have indeed identified our banks using marked bills and are planning to seize your funds today.” Lau informed, which led to everyone in the room – with the exception of Oscar, Count, and Mystery Inc. – shouting.

The Chechen’s voice was loudest: “You promise safe, clean money launder.”

Lau waited for the commotion to cease before he continued. “With the investigation ongoing, none of you can risk hanging on to your own proceeds. And since the enthusiastic new DA, Harvey Dent, has put all my competitors out of business, I am your only option.”

“So what are you proposing?” Maroni asked.

“Moving all deposits to one secure location…not a bank. Obviously, no one can know but me. If the police were to gain leverage over one of you, everyone’s money would be at stake. As the money is moved, I go to Hong Kong – far from Dent’s jurisdiction – and the Chinese will not extradite one of their own.”

Giggling from outside the room could be heard by everyone; and what started as a giggle then grew into a chuckle. It was then the Joker stepped from an adjoining room, his laughter becoming a shriek. Bearing witness to the Joker in person for the first time, the Mystery Inc. kids grew cold; his laugh was so terrifying that it made them tremble horribly. Fred could barely keep still, but it was not from excitement but total fear. The initial plan he had in capturing the Joker was blotted from his mind.

The Joker stopped laughing and finally addressed the crowd: “I thought I told the bad jokes.”

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t have my boy here pull your head off.” Gambol indicated his bodyguard with the jerk of a thumb.

“Well, other than the fact that I have my own ‘boy,’” He gestured to the door he entered through and a tall, muscular man wearing a tight black shirt, dark gray jeans, and a clown mask entered, folding his arms and glaring over the audience of criminals, “How about a magic trick?” The Joker took a freshly sharpened pencil from his hip pocket and placed it, eraser down, on the table. “I’ll make this pencil disappear.”

One of Maroni’s thugs lunged and the Joker sidestepped, gripping the back of the thug’s head and slamming it down onto the pencil. The thug’s body went limp and slid to the floor – the pencil was gone. The murder drew mixed reactions from the crowd – most of the men felt indifferent, while others were slightly impressed, including the Chechen. Daphne whimpered with one hand over her mouth in shock of what she had seen the Joker do, while Shaggy was doing his best not to throw up; even Oscar was a bit fazed. Because of her blindness, Velma was left puzzled.

“What just happened?” She asked no one in particular.

“Magic,” the Joker answered her. “And, by the way, the suit wasn’t cheap. You should know, Maroni – you bought it.”

“Sit,” the Chechen said to the Joker. “I wanna hear deal.”

“A year ago, these cops and lawyers wouldn’t dare cross any of you,” the Joker began. “What happened? You started peeing in the bed? See, a guy like me…”

“A freak,” Gambol muttered.

The Joker ignored him and continued, “A guy like me…I know why you’re holding your little group-therapy session in broad daylight. I know why you’re afraid to go out at night – Batman. He’s shown Gotham your true colors. And Dent’s just the beginning.” He pointed to the television set that still broadcasted Lau’s displeased face. “And as for this so-called plan, Batman has no jurisdiction. He’ll find him and make him squeal. I can tell the squeakers every time.”

“What you think we should do?” The Chechen asked.

“It’s simple. Kill the Batman.”

The Mystery Inc. kids looked to each other fearfully of this proposition of the Joker’s; fortunately, none of the men in the room appeared to be taking him seriously, especially Gambol. “If it’s so easy, why haven’t you done it already?” He growled.

“Like my mother used to tell me, if you’re good at something, never do it for free.” The Joker stated.

“How much you want?” The Chechen queried.

“I want half.” The men around the table laughed, leaving the Joker to shrug and say, “You don’t deal with this now, soon Gambol won’t be able to get a nickel for his grandma…”

Gambol bolted to his feet, scaring Daphne right into Fred’s arms. “Enough of the clown!” He came around the corner of the table and stopped just as the Joker opened his coat, revealing explosives strapped to his chest.

“Let’s not blow this out of proportion.” The Joker cautioned.

“You think you can steal from us and just walk away? I’m putting the word out – five hundred grand for this clown dead. A million alive, so I get to teach him some manners first.”

“Let me know when you change your minds.” That was all the Joker said before strolling out of the room with his masked man.

Watching the Joker leave, Daphne leaned in closer to Fred. “Should we try and go after now, Fred?” Fred remained silent, much to Daphne’s confusion. “Fred? Fred?” No matter how much she said his name, he remained motionless.

Oscar turned as he heard Daphne try to get Fred’s attention. The grouch grinned and told her, “Ya still wanna go after the Joker? Be my guest.”

Daphne frowned. Clearly, this plan was going to be a lot more complicated than the team imagined, considering how deadly the Joker showed himself to be.

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END OF CHAPTER FIVE​

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Six​

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Oscar, Elmo, Count, and Mystery Inc. went straight to Bruce Wayne’s penthouse in the middle of Gotham City after the undercover mission they conducted at the Tommy. Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Velma were still shaken from witnessing the sheer insanity of the Joker; even Daphne was thankful that Elmo was not there, because he would never look at clowns ever the same again; it surprised her enough that Oscar was not as fazed over the Joker as they were. The only thing that helped put the group in relax mode was the gorgeous view of the sunset from the living room of the penthouse; plus, the tea that Alfred Pennyworth brought in did additional service.

“He’s gonna be angry with us, I just know it.” Daphne realized as she nervously took a sip of her tea.

“Ya think?” Oscar sarcastically grumbled. “I told ya meddlin’ kids this had nothin’ to do with ya. You shudda listened to me.”

“But we had to find Mr. Joker, Oscar.” Elmo said. “Batman would be proud of us for doing that.”

Fred let out a hopeful smile as he realized that the furry red monster had a point. “Hey, that’s right, Elmo. We might not have caught the Joker for Batman, but we did get a good enough look at him to help Batman go after him.”

“The Joker is no concern of mine.”

Everyone looked to the front door and saw Bruce Wayne standing near it; he barely made a sound upon walking in, being as stealthy as his winged alter ego. Alfred immediately went to Bruce and removed his jacket as he walked into the room to meet his former allies. “And he’s no concern of yours either,” he added to his previous statement.

“Bruce, you had to see this guy to believe how dangerous he is.” Fred said. “He slammed this guy’s head right into a pe…” He heard Daphne clearing her throat loudly and saw her nodding her head to Elmo, reminding him that he was in the room. “Well, uh, let’s just say what he did wasn’t very nice.”

Bruce grinned at the subtle way Fred described the Joker in front of Elmo, but it did not take him long to be serious again. “The man I’ve got my eye on right now is Lau.”

“The banker guy that’s moving the mob’s money?” Shaggy uttered.

Noticing his blunder, Velma roughly elbowed him in his side. “Shaggy!”

Unfortunately, Bruce took notice of what Shaggy said and was both surprised and upset. “What? How do you know about that?”

Shaggy awkwardly shrugged. “Lucky guess?”

“You all were at the meeting, weren’t you?” Bruce’s voice was raised high enough to equal that of Batman’s as he addressed the group. “You know what kind of danger you could’ve put yourselves into? You all are one of the few that know I’m Batman, and if you put that knowledge at risk with your lives, everything we’ve fought for these past months will have been for nothing!”

Elmo grew a little scared from the angry way Bruce was talking to them; he embraced Daphne, who took notice of the way he shivered and stroked him gently to calm him. Meanwhile, Oscar – who normally enjoyed seeing other people angry – stepped up in defense of the Mystery Inc. kids. “Look, Wayne, I hate to be involved as much as the next grouch, but ya gotta give these kids a little credit for goin’ after the Joker like they did.”

“The Joker is just a common crook who has a taste for theatrics.” Bruce described. “I’ll deal with him in due time. In the meantime, I’ve got to deal with Lau – and from what you just told me about him, Gordon’s not going to be very happy when he and his team move on the mob.”

“He’s already off to Hong Kong as we speak.” Velma notified. “How are you gonna…?” She stopped when she realized to whom she was talking. “Never mind. I’m certain you’ll find a way…if you haven’t already.”

“Just keep your word to me that you won’t go after the Joker again.” Bruce requested. “Things are already bad enough with Sean missing.”

Their ears perked on this news. “What happened to Detective Thomas?” Fred asked with great curiosity.

“Whatever’s up, I’m certain he’s got it under control.” Bruce remarked. “Just promise me that you’ll be out of Gotham before sundown.”

As much as they hated to make such a promise, Fred and the others nodded in agreement. “We promise, Bruce.”

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In keeping with their promise, as soon as the gang had left Wayne’s penthouse, they clambered into the Mystery Machine and sped away in the direction that led out of the city. The entire time they were quietly riding in the van, they could not keep their thoughts off of what Bruce Wayne informed them about Sean Thomas and how much Wayne did not seem to care of it. They also wondered of his stepmother, Louise, who had left Gotham earlier that day after failing to convince her stepson to return to Metropolis; she certainly would not have appreciated the idea of him being missing somewhere in the most dangerous city in the world. Never did Mystery Incorporated feel so displeased with abandoning so many mysteries in one sitting – primarily because they never abandoned a mystery before.

Just as Fred crossed an intersection where he had the green light, another vehicle smashed hard against the side of the van, rattling everyone and everything inside. While recovering from the crash, the people inside the other vehicle quickly jumped out; each of them wore clown masks and opened the doors of the Mystery Machine to haul its passengers out. The masked men tied up the hands of Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, Velma, Count, and Elmo; they tied all four of Scooby’s legs; they sealed Oscar’s trashcan shut at the top and bottom; and they placed black silk bags over the heads of everyone else. Once the group was bound and blinded, the masked men placed them all in their vehicle and drove away with them, leaving the wrecked Mystery Machine out in the middle of the street.

END OF CHAPTER SIX​