Note- Just watched the animated movie 'Gotham by Gaslight' which got me thinking. Apparently set on Earth-19, an alternative world where Earth is still in the age of the Industrial Revolution. As usual Scarlett Johansson is Holmes, Emma Watson her companion and I am introducing Mae Claire as Selina Kyle. She is Catwoman in 2019. Feel free to imagine your own Bruce. DC Comics own Batman and Gotham related subjects. This just a parody intended for fun only.
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The year was 1889, the month November, when Scarlett Holmes and her trusted companion and faithful lover, Doctor Emma Watson set sail for America. They had left London to board the 'SS City of New York' passenger liner moored in Liverpool docks, British built of the Inman Line, and which was the largest and fastest on the Atlantic Ocean. They had set sail a week before Queen Victoria herself planned on her first visit to the Colonies and Mordred Holmes, Scarlett's older sister, had charged her with the task of making sure there were no threats of assassination or unrest. Once docked in New York City the famous private detective and her friend liaised with several of her most trusted confidants and discovered a credible rumour of unruly behaviour and threat to Her Majesty in one Gotham City.
"Never heard of it Scarlett. You?" Said Emma as she bit into a slice of apple pie.
"A modest Metropolis my dear Doctor, consisting of some 200,000 souls. Apparently it has seen a dramatic increase in criminal gangs operating unlawfully. I have heard of a costumed vigilante who prowls the night sky in search of wrong doers and miscreants in total disregard for the police department. Calls himself Batman."
Emma laughed heartily in the railway carriage of the sleeper train that journeyed to the said city. They were ensconced in the dining coach as it rattled along at sixty miles an hour through the snow covered landscape.
"Batman is it? A most unusual moniker to say the least."
"Quite. Anyway we should be arriving in the morning. We are to liaise with Mister Bruce Wayne, a self styled playboy and industrialist who has accrued the sum of one million dollars in personal wealth. We shall be guests at his Manor house."
"One million dollars! Rather like John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie."
"Yes, except Wayne is considerably young and quite the ladies man. He is considered to be the most eligible bachelor in the United States."
Scarlett sat back as she finished her cup of coffee and looked across the table at the angelic face of Emma.
"May I enquire my dear Doctor, as to whether you have made love on a fast moving railway train? The rolling of stock and the clatter of wheels over the sleepers is very stimulating."
"Then, my dear Holmes. Let us retire to bed this very instant."
The two young and very virile women left the dining coach and hurried to their berth as quick as their pretty legs could carry them.
x
Stately Wayne Manor was an opulent brownstone just on the outskirts of Gotham City. The Wayne family wealth had been accumulated from real estate and shipping generations ago and young Bruce had never known poverty. Oddly the large mansion had been built over a long network of caves which had been useful in colonial days for many reasons. Now it served two purposes. A home for thousands of bats, and a secret base for Wayne's alter ego, Batman. That costumed crime fighter and defender of the law.
"Why, it's so huge." Gushed Emma as she and Scarlett arrived in their horse driven carriage.
The two elegant ladies got out and were ushered inside by the valet at the front door. They were an hour late for the dinner party and made haste in their expensive gowns. The temperature was in the single digits and the air was decidedly crisp.
"Good evening and welcome to America. Alfred Pennyworth at your service."
The elderly and distinguished gentleman bowed gracefully as the women curtsied.
"Are you English?" Asked Scarlett.
"Most definitely, born and bred. Have a most pleasant evening."
Scarlett and Emma entered the warm house and saw dozens of others at the dinner party. Most of which were dressed in their finery, both ladies and gentlemen. The two English women had taken the whole afternoon to get ready. Scarlett had chosen to wear a silk and satin evening dress with a cream front and pink trimming around her very generous bust. Two panels on each side of the upper bodice had the erotic effect of pushing up her ample bosom so that all eyes were focused only on her breasts when engaged in conversation. The dress had short puff sleeves and a floor length hem. With her fair hair back and up her diamond shaped face with the prominent cheekbones was radiant and alert.
"You look so glamorous, my love." Beamed Emma as she gazed into clear green eyes.
"Thank you Doctor, you also."
Emma was a slight figure compared to the more curvaceous blonde but still looked most desirable in her pale pink and cream satin dress that reached the floor. Trimmed with tulle and lined with whale bone the front had laces that led the eye to her square neckline. Her exquisite neck and peaches and cream complexion were highlighted to perfection in her excellent choice of attire. Her fine hair had a braid that kept her tresses from her forehead and her groomed brows furrowed atop of her doe like eyes. A hostess presented a tray of champagne flutes and they both took one each.
"We missed dinner."
The guests were all now gathered in the main room with the enormous chandelier in the high ceiling. Dozens of gaslights helped light the room and a small group of musicians on a modest stage played light chamber music. Quite who the guests were was a mystery to Emma and Scarlett, but obviously they were affluent and noted in local high society.
"Ah, here comes our distinguished host if I am not mistaken." Noted Scarlett.
Emma looked to her left at the same time as about a dozen other young and giggly women also gazed at the square jawed man. Bruce Wayne was a dapper black haired man with grey, blue eyes and an enigmatic smile. Elegantly attired in a charcoal top coat and black trousers, immaculately pressed. He wore a white dress shirt with a gold vest and silk puff tie and his sideburns were full. He towered over Scarlett and Emma at six feet two and 210 pounds and they craned their necks to look him in the eye.
"Miss Holmes, and Doctor Watson I presume. I'm delighted you could make it. We have much to discuss."
To their educated English accents his baritone American tones sounded like music to their ears.
"Likewise, Mister Wayne. You have a beautiful home."
All three shared a brief moment that only they understood realising the gravity of the situation with the impending Royal visit. They huddled in a close group as other guests mingled around them.
"I have learned of a new visitor to Gotham, also English." He said. "A one Colonel Moran who has made contact with Baron Gruner who arrived not twenty four hours before. My reliable sources inform me that Moran has some singular luggage. A long narrow case which is twenty inches in length, perfect for the size of a regular rifle."
"Colonel Sebastian Moran!" Exclaimed Scarlett Holmes. "The right hand man of Professor James Moriarty himself. I consider him the second most dangerous man in England."
Moran, born in London in 1840, had served in the military and was an accomplished marksman and big game hunter.
"We have crossed paths before," continued the alert detective. "He has an iron nerve but a black heart. He has perfected a silent air rifle that fires revolver bullets, especially crafted for he and Moriarty."
"And the Baron?" Asked a curious Emma.
"Aldebert Gruner, a Russian born Baron who now resides here in America. He is particularly nasty to women, and is known for his loathing of England and our Royal family."
"Interesting. Do you suppose they are here for a special purpose?" Wondered Bruce.
"Mister Wayne, I do not believe in coincidence. Nor luck. Only pure fact and logic. Luck is an offensive word, an abhorrent concept. No, I think we are in for an intriguing couple of days before the Queen arrives."
"Bruce? Who are your new guests?" A light lilting voice interrupted the small huddle.
"Selina! Hi. These are special visitors from England. Miss Holmes and Doctor Watson. They are here to expedite the planning of the Royal visit. Ladies, this is Miss Selina Kyle."
The smouldering woman with the dark hair and slanted, almost feline eyes looked each woman up and down with a haughty stare. Her luxurious mane of jet black curls sat high on her head like a nest of vipers and her green eyed gaze mesmerised anyone who stared at her. Under her slinky evening gown of eggshell white was a lithe, slim figure that seemed as angular and flexible as a cat. At five feet ten she was a tad taller than the English ladies.
"Doctor? You look so young my dear."
"I served as a nurse in the Afghan war, things for me looked up thereafter. Are you and Mister Wayne acquainted?"
Selina shot Wayne a knowing look and then burned her eyes into Emma's.
"We are...aware of each other." She purred like a kitten and unconsciously made a gesture to her cute nose in the manner of a cat.
Bruce shifted uncomfortably as he became somewhat cagey.
"And Miss Scarlett Holmes indeed. I hear you like to solve a mystery or two by pure deduction and logic." Said the curious American woman.