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***The old thread had to be deleted due to technical difficulties, so here's a re-post of the introduction and first chapter of "The Gotham Grouchfest".***
--------
It's been quite a long time since I've been back here on Muppet Central's fan fiction forums, so I'm not sure if very many still check out the amazing fics posted (I know I miss reading them!). Anyways, last week, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and read one of my oldest stories, "Sesame, DC: The Gotham Grouchfest," which I wrote 13 years ago! Where has the time gone?!
The story was basically a retelling of Batman Begins with characters from not only Sesame Street but a few Cartoon Network shows like Scooby-Doo, Xiaolin Showdown, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It had its flaws, but it was otherwise a fun remake. Ever since then, I've tried to follow up with my own versions of the other two films in the Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, featuring the same characters. I've had little-to-no success with them...until now.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm returning to the gritty world of Christopher Nolan's Gotham City with
, 
, and 
as they join with the Scooby-Doo gang and the Xiaolin monks for a revision of "The Gotham Grouchfest," as well as (at last) complete sequels based on those out of the Dark Knight Trilogy!
***********
Chapter One
My name is Lisa Thomas, detective of the Metropolis police force. So, what was I doing taking a bus all the way from the city that was like New York during the day to a city that was like New York during the night? Well, I was fixated on finding a guy named Bruce Wayne.
You may have heard of him. He had gone missing for nearly seven years, ever since the death of Joe Chill (the man responsible for the death of his parents). Chill was set to testify against Carmine Falcone, a mob boss who controlled the entire city of Gotham, in exchange for an early parole. Falcone wasn’t too happy with that deal, so he had someone kill Joe Chill, much to Bruce’s disapproval.
The last time I heard about Wayne was from Rachel Dawes, the current District Attorney of Gotham, when she accompanied Bruce before he confronted Falcone one night. According to Rachel, Bruce had death on his mind, carrying a gun that he planned on killing Chill with. I wanted to ask her more, but after a while, she just couldn’t say any more. From the look in her eyes, she was truly crushed about whatever Bruce had been going through over the years that passed after his parents’ death.
Just about everyone gave up on Bruce, going on with their lives and forgetting all about his. A man named Earle had even taken control of a company that was under his name, even going as far as to take it public.
Bruce was declared dead by Alfred Pennyworth, the Waynes’ kind family butler, which was the main reason why everyone moved on without him. However, I couldn’t buy that; it all just seemed too hard to believe, even if he had been gone for nearly seven years. I was so fixed on solving the mystery of his disappearance that I had a couple of friends of mine from Sesame Street to assist me: Oscar the Grouch and Count von Count. They both loved Gotham City (Oscar loved it mostly due to its lack of happiness), so it didn’t really take much to convince them to help me out.
Instead of taking Oscar’s Sloppy Jalopy (I had to be in Gotham as soon as possible), we took a Greyhound straight from Metropolis to Gotham, getting there in less than twenty-four hours. Most of the passengers sat in the back, due to the foul smell that grew out of Oscar’s garbage can, which he brought along with him for the trip. I can’t begin to tell you how hard it was getting both inside the bus.
Along the way, we met a group of kids from a place called the Xiaolin Temple. Their names were Raimundo Pedrosa (a street-smart boy from Brazil), Kimiko Tohomiko (an attractive, high-tech focused girl from Japan), Clay Bailey (an old-fashioned cowboy from Texas), and Omi (a small orphaned boy who was cute yet rather feisty and had a head that said, “Have a nice day”). They were accompanied by their faithful shape-shifting dragon, Dojo.
These kids were actually monks-in-training whose purpose for coming to Gotham was close to ours. They had connections to Bruce Wayne as well, which helped me greatly in my case, because they actually had proof that Wayne was still alive. When we were only an hour away from the city, they began to tell me about their encounter with Bruce Wayne in the Himalayan Mountains, where he was on an important quest…
Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Clay were riding over the skies of the Himalayans on Dojo, searching for a Shen Gong Wu – artifacts that possessed great magical powers – that were supposed to be around that area. They flew over the colossal mountains for several minutes, each of them quickly beginning to grow impatient. That was until Kimiko spotted a man in a field of blue poppies, picking one of them up off the ground.
“Hey,” Kimiko said. “Maybe that guy can help us find our Shen Gong Wu.”
“Are you kiddin’?” Raimundo argued. “How will he know what our Shen Gong Wu look like? He probably doesn’t know what a Shen Gong Wu is!”
“If we show him what it looks like on the ancient scroll, then I am sure he will assist us in our mission,” Omi presumed.
“Sounds alright to me,” Clay said, and Raimundo just scoffed at the notion, believing it to be far more of a waste of time than flying through the clouds in the chilly wind. Dojo, who was beginning to develop a bit of a chill himself, turned and flew towards the poppy field. The mini-monks bundled themselves up in their warm coats, as the cold wind breezed past them.
When they finally made it to the ground, they were greeted by an exhausted, freezing, and hungry Bruce Wayne, who looked as if he was on the verge of death. “Greetings, sir,” Omi addressed him. “We are sorry to bother you at this time, but we are searching for an artifact that is…”
“I can’t help you!” Wayne snapped with a very hoarse voice. “No one will help me. No one will help anybody.” The monks-in-training stared vacantly at Bruce, wondering if he had already lost his mind. Raimundo was just about ready to get back on Dojo and head off, but Kimiko grabbed him by the back of his pants and held him.
“Oh, come on!” Raimundo griped. “This guy’s already two French Fries sort of a Burger King Kids Meal!”
“He has fries from a king of burgers?” Omi questioned, totally oblivious to Raimundo’s figure of speech.
“The point is that he can’t help us…He’s far gone as it is,” Raimundo said. “I’d give him two hours before he finally keels over.” Wayne, angered and annoyed by Raimundo’s words, just kept on moving until he finally flopped down into the snow. The mini-monks came to Bruce’s aid, but he immediately brushed them off of him, which offended Raimundo even more and puzzled the others.
“I need to do this on my own!” Bruce defied, as he painfully got to his feet and tried to move forward.
“Let us help you,” Kimiko offered. “You can’t possibly make it over these cold mountains on your own.”
“I have to,” Bruce said. “It is…part of my mission…to make it over these mountains…by myself.” The kids watched Bruce continue to move across the icy ridges, some of them feeling sorry for the poor man. Raimundo did not once feel pity for the withering Bruce; he was focused only on finding the Shen Gong Wu, which he knew was an even more hopeless case than helping Bruce Wayne.
“Come on, guys,” Raimundo said. “Let’s get back to the real reason we’re out here: freezing our butts off.” Omi, Clay, and Kimiko didn’t appreciate Raimundo’s attitude towards Bruce, and his attitude was the reason why they put their search on halt, long enough to keep an eye on Bruce from the skies while on Dojo (who was just as concerned about Bruce as Omi, Clay, and Kimiko were).
“You kids actually helped that poor sap?!” Oscar nauseatingly criticized.
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” Raimundo agreed with the grouch, right before Kimiko gave him a rough punch in the gut that almost made Raimundo puke.
“Hey, I would’ve just left him alone and go after that Shan Han Su…or whatever it is that you kids called it, and get back home in time for supper,” Oscar said, with a wicked chuckle that creeped the mini-monks out a little. Seeing how freaked out they were, I attempted to calm them down long enough to tell the rest of their tale.
“Forget about him,” I said. “He’s always like that.”
“He has always been so green?” Omi unknowingly inquired.
“At least since 1970,” I joked, and everyone laughed, except for Oscar, who seemed very offended (as I wanted him to be).
“Hey, stay outta my personal life, Thomas!” Oscar bellowed.
I just waved off his negativity, focusing back on the mini-monks. “So, tell us more about Wayne. What exactly was he doing all the way up there in the Himalayans?”
“We did not know why he was up there,” Omi said, “but we did keep our distance from him, in order to see where he was going.”
Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay, and Dojo watched Bruce climb up the steps to the vast doors of a monastery that they truly found intriguing. Just as Bruce removed the cloth wrapped around his severely frostbitten right fist and attempted to knock the ice-covered wooden door, Dojo landed softly behind him and the monks-in-training jumped off the shape-shifting dragon, interrupting Bruce.
“What a marvelous monastery!” Omi exclaimed, and a stunned Bruce turned around in surprise to see the mini-monks behind him.
“How did…Where did you…?” Bruce stammered. Deciding not to bother asking, he simply just shouted, “GET OUT OF HERE!!!”
“No prob, Bob,” Raimundo passively conceded, turning to leave while Omi just stared at him puzzlingly.
“How did you know his name was Bob?” Omi asked him.
“It isn’t!!” Bruce yelled.
“Then what is your name, if you do not mind me asking, sir?” Omi inquired.
“If it’ll get you away from here, no…I don’t mind.” Bruce was a bit hesitant at first, wondering if exposing his identity to these kids would ruin his personal exile from Gotham. But, since they didn’t seem like the type who would come from the streets of Gotham, he didn’t fret any longer. “Wayne. My name is Bruce Wayne.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to make yer acquaintance, Mr. Wayne,” Clay said, and when he put his left hand out for Bruce to shake, Bruce just stared at it for a long time, not once putting his own hand out to return the friendly gesture. Clay, sensing of a bit of hostility still left in the air, held back his hand and moved away from Bruce.
Bruce’s actions began to offend Raimundo, who was twice as agitated as he was. “Dude, what’s your problem?” Raimundo asked him. “Something’s gotta have you acting so hostile, besides this cold weather.” He looked up at the monastery that Bruce was about to enter. “What’s in there, man?”
Bruce seriously didn’t want the mini-monks to get into his business, only because he wasn’t absolutely certain if their involvement would ruin his mission. But, he was at a point where he just did not care what would happen to him. He was tired, emotionally drained, and almost ready to let Death take his soul away to Heaven or that other place.
“You really want to know what’s in there?” Bruce challenged, and Raimundo nodded along with the other monks-in-training, just before he turned back to the door and again pounded against it with his frostbitten fist, his knocks echoing deep within. There was no response, and the monks-in-training were left looking to each other in confusion. Bruce lowered his forehead to the door, with his pounding accelerating into frenzy.
“I do not believe anyone is home,” Omi observed.
“THERE HAS TO BE!!!!!” Bruce desperately cried, just before he and the others heard a grinding noise from within. Bruce stopped and straightened up, watching as the doors swung open to darkness. He and the mini-monks moved forward into the low-ceilinged wooden hall that was lit with flickering lamps. As the doors shut behind them, they noticed a dark robbed figure sitting on a raised platform at the far end; it was Ra’s Al Ghul.
TO BE CONTINUED...
--------
It's been quite a long time since I've been back here on Muppet Central's fan fiction forums, so I'm not sure if very many still check out the amazing fics posted (I know I miss reading them!). Anyways, last week, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and read one of my oldest stories, "Sesame, DC: The Gotham Grouchfest," which I wrote 13 years ago! Where has the time gone?!
The story was basically a retelling of Batman Begins with characters from not only Sesame Street but a few Cartoon Network shows like Scooby-Doo, Xiaolin Showdown, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It had its flaws, but it was otherwise a fun remake. Ever since then, I've tried to follow up with my own versions of the other two films in the Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, featuring the same characters. I've had little-to-no success with them...until now.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm returning to the gritty world of Christopher Nolan's Gotham City with
, , and as they join with the Scooby-Doo gang and the Xiaolin monks for a revision of "The Gotham Grouchfest," as well as (at last) complete sequels based on those out of the Dark Knight Trilogy!
***********
Chapter One
You may have heard of him. He had gone missing for nearly seven years, ever since the death of Joe Chill (the man responsible for the death of his parents). Chill was set to testify against Carmine Falcone, a mob boss who controlled the entire city of Gotham, in exchange for an early parole. Falcone wasn’t too happy with that deal, so he had someone kill Joe Chill, much to Bruce’s disapproval.
Just about everyone gave up on Bruce, going on with their lives and forgetting all about his. A man named Earle had even taken control of a company that was under his name, even going as far as to take it public.
Instead of taking Oscar’s Sloppy Jalopy (I had to be in Gotham as soon as possible), we took a Greyhound straight from Metropolis to Gotham, getting there in less than twenty-four hours. Most of the passengers sat in the back, due to the foul smell that grew out of Oscar’s garbage can, which he brought along with him for the trip. I can’t begin to tell you how hard it was getting both inside the bus.
Along the way, we met a group of kids from a place called the Xiaolin Temple. Their names were Raimundo Pedrosa (a street-smart boy from Brazil), Kimiko Tohomiko (an attractive, high-tech focused girl from Japan), Clay Bailey (an old-fashioned cowboy from Texas), and Omi (a small orphaned boy who was cute yet rather feisty and had a head that said, “Have a nice day”). They were accompanied by their faithful shape-shifting dragon, Dojo.
~~~~~~~~~
Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Clay were riding over the skies of the Himalayans on Dojo, searching for a Shen Gong Wu – artifacts that possessed great magical powers – that were supposed to be around that area. They flew over the colossal mountains for several minutes, each of them quickly beginning to grow impatient. That was until Kimiko spotted a man in a field of blue poppies, picking one of them up off the ground.
“Hey,” Kimiko said. “Maybe that guy can help us find our Shen Gong Wu.”
“Are you kiddin’?” Raimundo argued. “How will he know what our Shen Gong Wu look like? He probably doesn’t know what a Shen Gong Wu is!”
“If we show him what it looks like on the ancient scroll, then I am sure he will assist us in our mission,” Omi presumed.
“Sounds alright to me,” Clay said, and Raimundo just scoffed at the notion, believing it to be far more of a waste of time than flying through the clouds in the chilly wind. Dojo, who was beginning to develop a bit of a chill himself, turned and flew towards the poppy field. The mini-monks bundled themselves up in their warm coats, as the cold wind breezed past them.
“I can’t help you!” Wayne snapped with a very hoarse voice. “No one will help me. No one will help anybody.” The monks-in-training stared vacantly at Bruce, wondering if he had already lost his mind. Raimundo was just about ready to get back on Dojo and head off, but Kimiko grabbed him by the back of his pants and held him.
“Oh, come on!” Raimundo griped. “This guy’s already two French Fries sort of a Burger King Kids Meal!”
“He has fries from a king of burgers?” Omi questioned, totally oblivious to Raimundo’s figure of speech.
“The point is that he can’t help us…He’s far gone as it is,” Raimundo said. “I’d give him two hours before he finally keels over.” Wayne, angered and annoyed by Raimundo’s words, just kept on moving until he finally flopped down into the snow. The mini-monks came to Bruce’s aid, but he immediately brushed them off of him, which offended Raimundo even more and puzzled the others.
“I need to do this on my own!” Bruce defied, as he painfully got to his feet and tried to move forward.
“Let us help you,” Kimiko offered. “You can’t possibly make it over these cold mountains on your own.”
“I have to,” Bruce said. “It is…part of my mission…to make it over these mountains…by myself.” The kids watched Bruce continue to move across the icy ridges, some of them feeling sorry for the poor man. Raimundo did not once feel pity for the withering Bruce; he was focused only on finding the Shen Gong Wu, which he knew was an even more hopeless case than helping Bruce Wayne.
“Come on, guys,” Raimundo said. “Let’s get back to the real reason we’re out here: freezing our butts off.” Omi, Clay, and Kimiko didn’t appreciate Raimundo’s attitude towards Bruce, and his attitude was the reason why they put their search on halt, long enough to keep an eye on Bruce from the skies while on Dojo (who was just as concerned about Bruce as Omi, Clay, and Kimiko were).
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” Raimundo agreed with the grouch, right before Kimiko gave him a rough punch in the gut that almost made Raimundo puke.
“Hey, I would’ve just left him alone and go after that Shan Han Su…or whatever it is that you kids called it, and get back home in time for supper,” Oscar said, with a wicked chuckle that creeped the mini-monks out a little. Seeing how freaked out they were, I attempted to calm them down long enough to tell the rest of their tale.
“Forget about him,” I said. “He’s always like that.”
“He has always been so green?” Omi unknowingly inquired.
“At least since 1970,” I joked, and everyone laughed, except for Oscar, who seemed very offended (as I wanted him to be).
“Hey, stay outta my personal life, Thomas!” Oscar bellowed.
I just waved off his negativity, focusing back on the mini-monks. “So, tell us more about Wayne. What exactly was he doing all the way up there in the Himalayans?”
“We did not know why he was up there,” Omi said, “but we did keep our distance from him, in order to see where he was going.”
~~~~~~~~~
Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay, and Dojo watched Bruce climb up the steps to the vast doors of a monastery that they truly found intriguing. Just as Bruce removed the cloth wrapped around his severely frostbitten right fist and attempted to knock the ice-covered wooden door, Dojo landed softly behind him and the monks-in-training jumped off the shape-shifting dragon, interrupting Bruce.
“How did…Where did you…?” Bruce stammered. Deciding not to bother asking, he simply just shouted, “GET OUT OF HERE!!!”
“No prob, Bob,” Raimundo passively conceded, turning to leave while Omi just stared at him puzzlingly.
“How did you know his name was Bob?” Omi asked him.
“It isn’t!!” Bruce yelled.
“Then what is your name, if you do not mind me asking, sir?” Omi inquired.
“If it’ll get you away from here, no…I don’t mind.” Bruce was a bit hesitant at first, wondering if exposing his identity to these kids would ruin his personal exile from Gotham. But, since they didn’t seem like the type who would come from the streets of Gotham, he didn’t fret any longer. “Wayne. My name is Bruce Wayne.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to make yer acquaintance, Mr. Wayne,” Clay said, and when he put his left hand out for Bruce to shake, Bruce just stared at it for a long time, not once putting his own hand out to return the friendly gesture. Clay, sensing of a bit of hostility still left in the air, held back his hand and moved away from Bruce.
Bruce’s actions began to offend Raimundo, who was twice as agitated as he was. “Dude, what’s your problem?” Raimundo asked him. “Something’s gotta have you acting so hostile, besides this cold weather.” He looked up at the monastery that Bruce was about to enter. “What’s in there, man?”
Bruce seriously didn’t want the mini-monks to get into his business, only because he wasn’t absolutely certain if their involvement would ruin his mission. But, he was at a point where he just did not care what would happen to him. He was tired, emotionally drained, and almost ready to let Death take his soul away to Heaven or that other place.
“You really want to know what’s in there?” Bruce challenged, and Raimundo nodded along with the other monks-in-training, just before he turned back to the door and again pounded against it with his frostbitten fist, his knocks echoing deep within. There was no response, and the monks-in-training were left looking to each other in confusion. Bruce lowered his forehead to the door, with his pounding accelerating into frenzy.
“I do not believe anyone is home,” Omi observed.
“THERE HAS TO BE!!!!!” Bruce desperately cried, just before he and the others heard a grinding noise from within. Bruce stopped and straightened up, watching as the doors swung open to darkness. He and the mini-monks moved forward into the low-ceilinged wooden hall that was lit with flickering lamps. As the doors shut behind them, they noticed a dark robbed figure sitting on a raised platform at the far end; it was Ra’s Al Ghul.
TO BE CONTINUED...
