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Chapter Text

Date: September, 9th, 2013

In front of a tall building with a sign that says, "Gotham City Police Department", and in front of the building is a spotlight with a symbol of a bat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," The Mayor of Gotham, Hamilton Hill, comes in front of the crowd with the Bat Signal behind him, shining bright in the sky."Tonight is about reality, about accepting the truth. And the truth is that Batman is not coming back."

Many people in the crowd looked conflicted and beaten, but somehow they knew that he is right. There's no point denying it.

He continues. "We have evolved beyond that time. Tonight, we shine the signal one last time before we close the chapter and begin our new one" The Mayor informs the crowd. "Take a glimpse at it, knowing that we will no longer have Batman to look over us. From now on, we will look after ourselves, no longer holding out for the hero that shall never rise again," The crowd of people goes silent before the Mayor shuts it off completely.

A young man looks on at the symbol being put away. He looked saddened. He wears a suit with a black tie, along with brown shoes.

He remembers when that signal was in the sky when the city had seen darker days. But he feels that there's no need for Batman anymore since most of its problems are fixed. All is well.

But we will never forget how that signal and Batman inspired him throughout all those years. Never.

"Drake? Drake!" A man's voice called for his attention. He got out of his head and turned to a woman and relaxed. She's a good cop, a hard worker, and a friend.

Beside her is an overweight man in a suit and fedora. He reminds Tim of a detective from the 1900s. He's lazy and his fingers are always found with donut glaze, but he's good at his job and has a good heart.

"Commissioner Montoya. Harvey." Tim smiles at them.

The Police Commissioner chuckles. "Very funny, Tim. Just stick with Renee."

Tim nods "Gotcha, just a fun poke." He says before his attention turns to the Signal, "You gotta admit; It feels weird not having him around." He gestures toward the Bat-Symbol making them all turn to uncomfortable silence. "I can't believe it's been three years," Tim mutters.

Harvey waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, we can handle our problems without that guy. Who needs him?"

Tim takes that into account but agrees. "Yeah. Who needs him?"

Renee then asks. "Okay, you guys are becoming a real snooze fest. How about we get a drink or something?"

They all agreed and they head down to a bar called the Stacked Deck. Renee and Bullock both get a strong beer while Tim gets a coffee. They roll their eyes fondly at Tim's coffee addiction, but Tim pays them no attention.

Tim says, "So, how're things going for you guys in the Departments,"

Bullock's the first to respond. "Not much going on. Not like the old days."

Renee takes that in. "Can you guys believe that Gotham's been peaceful for three years?"

Tim sips his coffee. "I can't. We don't have to worry about question marks being spray painted on walls,"

"Y'know," Bullock takes a swig of his beer before saying, "You could've worked with us. You would've been a great addition to the force."

Tim shakes his head but is flattered. "Thanks, but I like what I do."

"How's that going for you?" Renee asks.

"It's going well. Drake Industries has created affordable housing in Crime Alley and other areas of Gotham. But we still have lots of work ahead of us."

"As long as it gets my landlord off my back, then you have my support." Bullock jokes, making Tim laugh while Renee agrees with him.

He hears a car honk behind, instantly recognizing it. The car is a limo and the driver is a much older man with white hair.

"I gotta go," Tim pays for his drink. "This was fun. We should do this again when we're not busy."

Both Bullock and Renee agree as Tim walks outside to meet this man.

"Master Tim." He opens the door for the young man, entering the car.

"Thanks, Alfred." Alfred drives the car away from the bar.

"Shall we go home?" Alfred asks Tim.

Tim nods and Alfred drives the car to a tall manor with a golden gate blocking the entrance with the letter W at the center. Alfred puts in the code to open it and after parking the car, they go inside the manor to reveal a grand ballroom that has way too much space.

The manor is scattered with so much history and memories that Tim and Alfred feel nostalgic every time they walk up a corridor. The place has 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, a dining hall, a study, a billiard room, a gym, a lounge, a workout room, a movie theater, and a pool outback.

"Shall I make dinner, Master Drake?" Alfred offers.

"It's okay, Al. I can make it. You can get some rest."

"Should I remind you of what happened the last time you tried to cook?" Alfred smiles nostalgically as Tim groans. "All you had to do was cook a frozen pizza and you–"

"Ended up burning it, along with the oven." Tim finishes his sentence. "I was sixteen at the time and I've matured now," He pushes him down on the couch. "Just relax and I will handle the cooking."

Alfred was unsure, but he knew he was defeated. "Fine. But if you need help, I know you will…"

"I will call out for you!" Tim called out as he walked into the kitchen.

After Tim makes spaghetti with meat sauce, he puts some on plates for both him and Alfred and sets them down on a table.

Alfred comes in, looking impressed. "It appears you have learned from last time."

"I'm full of surprises." Tim puts the food on the table, along with a coffee for him and Alfred.

"Thank you sir."

"Alfred, we've been over this. You don't have to call me 'sir' if you don't want to." Tim politely tells him.

"Unfortunately, I cannot. As I am the personal caretaker of the Wayne Estate and you are the adopted son of Bruce Wayne, the Wayne title falls upon you, making you my employer and the master of this house." Alfred informs him.

Tim shakes his head. "I don't want to take advantage of you, Alfred. You're more than just a butler, you're the only family I have right now."

Alfred is touched by his words and smiles brightly. To Alfred, Tim Drake is his surrogate grandson.

"You've never taken advantage of me. You've always tried to take care of me when it should be the other way around. I apologize, sir, but me referring to you as 'sir' or 'Master Tim' is something you will have to get used to."

Tim knows he's right and he starts eating.

"Besides, it's not just me you have. There's also Ms. Gordon and her brother," He reminds Tim before wondering. "How are they doing, by the way?"

"Good. I'm gonna be visiting them Friday during lunch if you want to come." Tim offers.

"I can't wait."

They both eat their food together, enjoying each other's presence and company. After eating their food, they decide to go to bed.

Date: September, 10th, 2013

The next morning, Tim Drake gets up and puts on a suit and tie, along with nice shoes. He heads downstairs into the kitchen to see Alfred walking through the door with a box of donuts in his hand.

"Thank you, Alfred." He grabs his favorite donut, strawberry, and does his tie. He turns to Alfred.

"How do I look?"

Alfred smiles at him proudly like a grandfather. "Like a real estate owner making Gotham's home affordable."

He shrugs. "Eh, good enough."

Alfred chuckles to himself and gives him a mug. "Your morning beverage."

Tim enthusiastically grabs the mug from Alfred. The coffee Alfred prepares puts every coffee shop to shame

"I gotta go." Tim tells Alfred as he fixes his suit. "I'll call you when I visit Babs!" He walks out the door and gets in a car. It's a Chrysler 300 car. He drives it out of Wayne Manor.

He drives throughout the streets of Gotham City and views the people as they go through their everyday lives, such as walking their dogs, chatting with friends, and holding their offspring's hands in the morning. He feels affection for the city he tries to help as he grew up here.

He stops the car in front of a two-story building with a sign that reads, "Drake Industries". Before walking in, he straightens himself and gets into 'Proper Employer' mode. He walks into the front entrance but doesn't greet anyone. He's never really been a conversationalist.

He walks into his office and gets to work.

A black car drives into an estate that reads, "Arkham Asylum" and the drivers and passengers shudder. It's a godforsaken place, surrounded by misery and madness. The walls are dark and uncleaned, describing hopelessness to thoughts who enter the madhouse as a patient. But the tall building displays fear and blood to those who are employed there. From the Doctor who wishes to help their patients to the janitors who mop the floors.

Three men in black suits step out of the car. One of them says, "I never wanted to step foot in this hellhole."

"You and me both, Jeremiah. Let's get this over with." The other man says before looking around, missing a man. "Where's Francis?"

"Hey guys!" The man named Francis called them over to a cemetery. It displays many graves. "Get a look at this."

Francis directs their attention to one in particular; The tombstone reads 'The Joker. R.I.P.' However, someone carved a message that wasn't implanted in the tombstone by the makers; It read 'Who's laughing now, crackhead?'.

The men laugh at that last part.

"Goddamn freak. He got what was coming to him." One man said.

Another agrees. "Indeed, Francis." But his thoughts came back to him. "Gentlemen, we should focus on the task at hand. You know how he gets,"

Jeremiah agrees. "Of course, Davis."

They left the deceased's memorials and walked to the doors. They're locked. Francis finds a call button. He presses the button and a voice asks, "Hello?"

"Hi, we're Mr. Falcone's attorneys. We have an appointment to keep."

"Got it. Letting you in." The doors click and they know it's unlocked. They enter and they thank the gods that the inside looks better than the outside. It's cleaner and it's a waiting room with chairs and games to fill the time.

"I'm relieved that we don't have to go deep in this place. Do you know what that Scarecrow guy did two months ago?"

Jeremiah's question wasn't answered because a man walks in front of them. He sports a suit and a walking stick.

"Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Warden Sharp. We spoke on the phone." He shakes the hands of the attorneys. "Shall we?"

The three of them nod as Warden Sharp directs them down a corridor.

"I assume you have the paperwork?" Francis asks Warden Sharp.

"Indeed. Carmine Falcone has been a model patient. I see no reason not to allow him parole." The Warden tells them his thoughts.

Jeremiah smiles gratefully. "I'm glad you think so."

Warden Sharp returns his smiles and they make their way to a room with other people in professional suits. On the other side of the table sits an old man in a uniform that has the Arkham logo on the back of the shirt. He has a smile on his face that's very gentleman-like but also looks like he had anticipated this moment. Like he knows the outcome.

Tim Drake comes down the stairs of a nice that has staircase going up. On the left is a living room with a chimney and on the right is a kitchen and dining room. The house has furniture in it and the floors are wooden.

Tim Drake sits on the staircase and says, "There are bedrooms upstairs, one is a master bedroom that connects to a bathroom while the other one is a standard. The house is fully furnished."

A young couple follows him and is impressed.

"Well, I for one, this house is great. The bedrooms were huge!" The husband exclaims.

Tim chuckles but notices something. "You don't seem impressed, Holly."

The woman named Holly quickly protested. "Oh no, it's a wonderful house. I just think it might be out of our price range."

Tim nods. "Understandable. So what is in your price range?"

The couple thinks to themselves. "I would say somewhere around $30,000."

Tim nods. "Okay, so how about we split that in half and make it cost $15,000?"

The couple is surprised, making Tim smile. He stands up and walks to them. "What do you say?"

The couple takes a glance at each other and it's like they both know what they're thinking. The wife speaks up with an excited smile. "Okay! Deal!"

Tim clasps his hands together. "Splendid! I'll get the paperwork and we'll meet in my office." Tim tells them, to their agreement.

When he's around Alfred, he feels like that 16-year-old kid that first arrived at Wayne Manor but when he's at work, he's a respectable and a damn good salesman.

A man is outback a house, looking at a pool with clean and clear water. The pool is surrounded by evenly trimmed grass and a beautiful garden consisting of tulips and roses. A waterfall is also present as water leaks out of rocks and the water falls into the pool.

The guy asks, "How deep is this thing?"

Tim Drake comes up from behind him and says, "About Eight feet, Mr. Mulic. Of course, we have steps and levels to avoid drowning for younger swimmers."

The man named Mr. Mulic approves. "Does the pool come separately?"

Tim is ready to impress him again. "No, it comes with the house. No extra charge." And the man becomes impressed. A deal is made.

Tim Drake is in a different house with a husband and wife, along with their two daughters. They are all in the Living Room.

"The furniture comes with the house, along with the 20-inch screen. It comes with the basic channels."

The husband asks, "Do you think you could show us?"

Tim nods and he has a good feeling about the deal as he turns on the TV to Gotham City News.

"Hello Gothamites, Jack Ryder here," The family thinks the speakers are a great addition to the house.

Tim tells them, "Bluetooth speakers with great sound that you can turn down if it's too loud."

Then, something catches Tim Drake's ear. "A shocking revelation happened at Arkham Asylum where Carmine Falcone, a convicted Crime Lord, has been approved for Parole."

Tim stops in his tracks and forgets that the family of four is in the room and stares at the screen, not believing what he's hearing. He was put behind bars for a reason.

"He was considered a model patient and his lawyers, who will not be mentioned, believed he served his time, along with Warden Quincy Sharp."

One of the girls asks, "Who is he, mommy?" The adults don't answer back as they stare at the screen, conflicted that this is happening.

A man sits in his chair, staring at his TV screen, listening to the news. He too is hearing the revelation that Carmine Falcone is getting out of jail.

Another man walks over to behind his chair. "Boss, what do you want us to do?"

The man in the chair gets up and is fully revealed – He wears a white suit, polished shoes, and a black mask that conceals his face.

"We'll proceed as planned. This makes things better for us, ladies and Gentlemen!" The man in the black mask calls out to people.

They are in an underground base. The people he calls out to are all wearing different types of masks. Some men are loading weapons onto trucks and others are loading trucks with drugs.

"We'll take over the Falcone Crime Family right in front of Carmine and all of Gotham will see the fear…that the Black Mask creates!"

Chapter Text

Date: September 13th, 2013

Carmine Falcone sports a new suit, nice shoes, and an arrogant smile as he walks out the courthouse as a free man. Multiple reporters snap pictures of him and reports fight each other to ask him questions. 

Francis steps forward. “Our client has no comment at this time.”

Carmine stops them. “Now now, Francis. It’s the freedom of the press, so I can spare a few moments,” His lawyers nod as Carmine speaks to them. “I will have time for a few questions until I have be somewhere,”

One reporter pushes her way to the front. She has red hair and is wearing a purple jacket with black jeans and black heels.

“Vicki Vale of the Gotham Gazette. Any comment to those who believe that you bribed your way out of Arkham Asylum?”

Carmine makes a belly laugh before responding to Vicki. “My dear, those people you refer to are old business rivals and those people are thinking of the old me. I assure you, I have earned my parole and plan to reenter society as a free man.” 

“Mr. Falcone, Jack Ryder here,” Jack Ryder shoves Vicki aside to her annoyance. “I never got to ask you this before your arrest, but any comment on the Batman disappearance or the confiscation of the Bat Signal?”

Tim Drake sits in the living room, glaring at the screen. He can see Carmine smirk with satisfaction before he answers the question. “Yes, I do have a comment, Mr. Ryder. We have relied too much on that winged freak and I believe it’s time to get back to reality without the silly costumes and maniacs running this town. That is all.”

More pictures are snapped of him before the TV is shut off. Tim turns around and sees Alfred with the remote. 

“I was watching that.” Tim grumbles.

“I don’t think it’s wise to worry, Master Tim. The GCPD is currently keeping him under the radar. They’ll know if he slips up.” Alfred informs him as he offers a tray of biscuits.

Tim says one of the biscuits from the tray. “I hope that's enough, Alfred. For Gotham’s sake.” He takes a bit from the biscuits.

Carmine Falcone tells his driver to take him to the Falcone Shipping yard. He does as he’s told and he arrives at a dock where big ships are docked. 

He steps out of the car and walks to a man in a suit. He has white hair and wrinkles on his face. 

“Sal, good to see you.” Carmine shakes his hand.

The man named Sal is startled. “Should you even be here? Your Parole Officer–”

Carmine waves that off. “He’s been given a bonus. He won’t be a problem.”

Sal shrugs. “Very well. Shall we get onto business?” Carmine nods. 

“How is business since I was away?” 

“We did what you said. We’ve been running things while you were in the loony bin,” His curiosity peaks him. “Was it as bad as it sounds?”

Carmine scoffs. “Never saw that part of it. Since I was considered a prisoner and not a patient, I wasn’t anywhere near the freaks.”

Sal understands. “Right, I suppose it would’ve been that way since Blackgate shut down and everyone goes to that place after the guilty plea.” 

“I was given special privileges, so it was practically a vacation.” Carmine says with glee. “But now that’s over with, it’s time I take back the business.” 

Sal smiles. “I was hoping you’d say that. The drugs are on the ships, plus the weapons. Feels like old times, right?”

Carmine has a minute of nostalgia. “It does, doesn’t it? But now that the fermin problem is out of the way, this city is ours to take back.” 

In the corner, a woman is crouching in the corner with a camera in her hands. Renee Montoya is on their trail.

Back at his base, the man who calls himself Black Mask looks over the weapons supply and is satisfied. “Good, just make sure they're not conspicuous. We need to remain in the shadows for now.”

The masked men nod as a man without a mask starts running towards him yelling, “Boss, boss!”

Black Mask turns to the man and asks, “What is it?”

He takes a second to get a breath, a second that annoys his boos and knows he has to cut to the chase. “I was at the docks as you said and it doesn’t look good,” He takes photos out of his pockets. “Here’s what they have?”

Black Mask takes the photos and pats the man on the head. “Very good, Reggie. Now get some water or something.”

Reggie thanks his boss as Black Mask looks over the photos with an unimpressed look on his face until he notices something unusually. “Wait!”

Reggie stops in his tracks as Black Mask puts one picture in his face. “Who? Is? This?!” The picture shows a woman taking photographs of the docks. 

Reggie stumbles over his words. “I-I-I think that’s Commissioner Montoya of the GC-P-PD, sir!”

Black Mask doesn’t respond, only stares at the photograph that has been presented to him. One of his goons says with smug satisfaction, “Huh, looks like they're doing our job for us.” He laughs.

That gets Black Mask's attention as he turns around to face him. "We are NOT gonna let those pigs get him before we do!" The goons jump back. "If we are going to present strength in this town, then we will earn that strength by taking down the strongest animal in the jungle!”

One of the goons asks . "W-w-well, what do you want us to do, boss? Whatever it is, we’ll do it." The goon promises and the other nod in response.

Black Mask slams his fist on the table before laughing. This startles and confuses the goons.  "Oh this is better," Black Mask takes a lighter out of his suit jacket. He flicks the lighter on and lights up the photo as it melts in flames. "Boys, bring the car around! We're going for a drive!"

Tim Drake's car stops in a parking lot. He gets out after Alfed turns off the car and they both look at a building. It’s a tall brick building with a sign that reads, “Apartment Complexes, owned by Drake Industries.”

Alfred tells him, “Can you help me carry some of this, Master Timothy?” 

Tim says, “Of course,” He goes to the other side and grabs both of the freshly smelling pizza boxes as Alfred carries a bag that contains sodas and breadsticks. 

They make their way inside and it’s a nice building because Tim made it that way when he built it two years ago. They find the elevator and Alfred presses the button to the twelfth floor. This is a regular routine for Tim Drake as he’s been here countless times to visit a friend. 

The elevator door opens, revealing the twelfth floor. Tim and Alfred walk down until they stop at a door that reads ‘Gordon Residence’. 

The well dressed older man knocks on the door and a voice says from the other side. “Coming!” 

Tim and Alfred smiles as the door opens to reveal a young woman with long auburn hair in a light green sweater with long sleeves and blue jeans. She has on glasses that reflect her blue eyes and she sits in a wheelchair but that doesn’t stop her from wearing sneakers over her socked feet. 

She smiles with enthusiasm. “Hey guys! Come on in.” 

They walk into the penthouse and it’s big. Tim had this place designed with two master bedrooms that each have their own bathrooms, a kitchen that you can see when walking in, the floors with hardwear wood floors, a living room that has a big TV and couches, along with a balcony that comes with a great view. 

After Tim and Alfred set everything down on the kitchen counters, hugs are given by the woman.

“I know it’s just been two days, but it feels like forever!” Barbra says, making Alfred laugh.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Barbra. Work has been busy and all.” Tim scratches his head.

Barbra waves it off. “It’s fine. Work at the Library has been swamped too.”

Footsteps are heard and in comes a young man carrying a bag of ice. He has glasses just like Barbra, but he has brown hair and wears a brown coat and pants, along with a tie. 

“Hey, I got the bag of ice,” The man says before noticing the two men in the room. He smiles brightly. “Timmy, Al, great to see you guys have made it!”

He hugs Tim and Alfred before he puts the ice in the silver fridge. 

Alfred smiles. “You are the spitting image of your father, young Jimmy Gordon.” 

Barbra smiles proudly. “That’s my brother.” 

Jim hugs Barbra and digs into the pizza. “Eh, I try. So, how’s the Real Estate thing been going for you?”

Tim sighs in exhaustion as he collapses on the couch. “Busy. Very, very busy. But also rewarding.” 

Alfred pours himself a drink and says proudly. “Young Master Drake has created affordable housing for all of Gotham.”

Tim blushes. “Not all of Gotham, Al. It’s still a small company and we have ways to go before we reach all of it.”

Jimmy says, “Bruce would be proud! He must be smiling in his grave right now.” 

Tim pauses and his eyelids twitch. Something he said has made him…indescribable.

Barbra takes notice and clutches his hand in comfort. “He’s right, Tim. I think he would’ve.”

Alfred says, “Your father would be proud too, Mr. Gordon. You’re studying the law, hoping to become an officer just like him.”

Barbra giggles. “Who knows, you could be Commissioner too.”

Tim points his finger accusingly. “Hey, don’t try to steal Renee’s job. She’s a natural at it.” 

Jimmy raises his hand in defense. “Hey, they said it, not me,” He takes a bite out of his pizza. “Besides, things might be too crazy to join the Department.” 

Barbra puzzles. “What does that mean?” Tim and Alfred glance at each other, not knowing how she would take the news. 

“You didn’t hear?” Jimmy asks, Barbra shakes her head confused. “Carmine Falcone got out of Arkham on Parole.”

Barbra nearly chokes on her pizza. “Wait, what?”

Jimmy says, “That’s what I said! Let’s just hope Renee keeps an eye on that old bastard.” 

Barbra looks conflicted at the news. She becomes slightly pale and takes another drink of soda to wash down the news. Alfred clears his throat, hoping to change topic. “So how’s the library been for you, Miss Gordon?”

Barbra plays along with Alfred’s tactic. “Being a librarian has its perks. I helped a kid with reading today.”

Jimmy pats her on her shoulder. “That must've felt rewarding.”

Barbra smiles at Jimmy. “Not as rewarding as physical therapy is going to be next Tuesday.”

Tim asks, “Still going every Tuesday and Thursday?” 

Barbra reponses. “Yes, I am and it’s really been helping me get back on my feet.” She quickly recognizes the bad joke. “Not literally, it’s…it’s just been helping.”

It’s Barbra’s turn to have her hand comfortably squeezed by Jimmy. “I’m glad it’s helping you. You’ve been doing really well.” Tim and Alfred agree as Jimmy gets up. “Look, I know these three to four years have been…troubling for all of us. But I think we’ve been getting better and I think we all need to make a toast.”

Barbara agrees. “I’ll drink to that.” 

Alfred says, “To making ourselves better.”

“Here here!” Everyone shouts. 

Jimmy turns on the TV and the news still has nothing to talk about and still focuses on the whole Carmine Falcone thing. Tim Drake fades into the background as a memory from a long time ago starts to enter his mind.

The date was July 2nd of 2010. He was in an office but it’s not Real Estate related. No, he was taking cover behind a pool table as bullets were fired at him. 

Two men fired the guns that shot at him. “You’re dead, yah winged brat!”

He was 21 years old when this night occurred, but just because he was younger than most didn’t mean that he was defenseless.

He sees that below his feet was a floorgate that led him directly under the thugs. He crouched down and crawled until he was below the two men who fired at him.

“Is he dead?” One thug asked.

“We have to keep him away from the boss!” The other thug stressed.

“Good luck with that.” Remarked Tim Drake, who was below them. Before they could react, Tim Drake jumped out and attacked them. He knocked them both to the ground and they were unconscious for the time being.

On that night, Tim Drake wore a dark red combat suit that had the letter R on the right side of the armor’s chest. To hide his face, a black mask was worn over his face, black gloves and combat boots were also worn, along with a black cape that was two inches above the floor. 

He pressed a button on his cowl and through his eyes, it was called ‘Detective Mode’. It allowed him to see walls, infrastructure and people’s heat signatures. He saw that no one was in the other room besides the man he was looking for – Carmine Falcone.

He kicked the doors down and yelled, “Put your hands up, Falcone! Now!”

Carmine glared at him. “Red Robin. You do know that this is breaking the law, correct?”

Red Robin impatiently waved that off. “Cut the crap, Falcone! The GCPD has evidence of your operations! You lost!”

Carmine lost his cool and controlled demeanor and it was replaced with an angry and shaking old man. He reached for something on his desk. 

“If I’m going to jail, then I’m gonna atleast get rid of the last Vigilante in Gotham!” He pulled out a pistol.

Red Robin was unable to dodge the attack and was shot onto the ground.

Double R tried to stand up, but Carmine kicked him back to the ground.

"You got guts, kid, I'll give you that. But that's what you're gonna be giving out in a few moments!" Falcone puts the gun right in front of his face. "You're not Batman. Never were, never will be. Sorry, son…but you don't cross Carmine Falcone and get away with it!" 

As he was about to fire the trigger, Red Robin was able to get a shuriken out of his utility belt and strike it into his leg. "Ahhh!"

Tim found himself and pushed him onto the table and punched him multiple times as the gun dropped on the floor, forgotten.

The fight ended when the GCPD walked in the room, demanding that Falcone be brought to them.

Red Robin grabbed him and said, "You can have him." He pushed him to the cops and limped out the doorway.

One officer called out to him. "Hey kid!" Robin turned around and faced Harvey Bullock, who had barely aged a day. "You should get some rest. Maybe take off the suit for a while." 

Tim was surprised by his concern since he always had prejudice against vigilanties. but responded anyway. "Thank you…Detective Bullock." He breathed heavily and slowly limped away from the building.

Tim Drake is in the present and shakes off the memory. He quit being Red Robin because he couldn't save this city without Batman, his partner. He tried for a while but it nearly got him killed. One time, Alfred had to use a defibrillator to bring him back to life due to a heart attack.

He notices that barely no time has passed during his nostalgic moment. His eyes stare at the TV screen as it continues to give facts about Carmine Falcone. A question that doesn't have an answer yet keeps rattling in his mind; Did he do the right thing? Should he have quit being Red Robin?

*Ring Ring*

Tim jumps in fright as his phone rings in his pocket. Everyone stares at him in startelement and wonders if Tim is okay, especially Barbra and Alfred who know Tim Drake better than others know him and that includes Jimmy.

Tim picks up the phone. "Hel-Hello?"

"Hey, it's Bullock. You alright, you sound spooked." 

Tim responds with, "I'm fine, Bullock. What's up?"

"Renee wants us to meet at the pub. She said it was important."

Tim says, "Okay. I'll be right there." He hangs up.

"What's up?" Jimmy asks.

Tim grabs his suit coat. "Renee and Bullock want to meet up. I'll be back in a few."

Alfred stands up. "Would you like me to drive you, sir?"

Tim shakes his head. "No, I'll be fine. Just stay here and relax."

Tim walks out of the apartment without another word. 

"What the hell was that?" Jimmy asks in concern.

Chapter Text

Date: September 13th, 2013

Tim parks his car in front of the bar they go to and walks inside. He finds Bullock there first. They take notice of each other.

"Timmy, over here!" Bullock calls him over to a booth. 

Tim sits down next to him. "Where's Renee?"

Bullock shrugs. "I dunno. You tell me,"

The door opens to reveal Montoya as she quickly scans the room for them. She finds them and takes her seat next to Tim.

"If I knew you were so desperate for a drink, we would do this every night." Bullock remarks.

Renne gives him her famous death glare that sends shivers down his spine.

"We talk first, then drink." Her tone of voice was in no mood for discussion or argument. She brings out photographs of Falcone Shipping Yard.

Tim asks, "You've been stalking him?"

Renee answers back. "He's planning something, Tim. His ships have smuggled money, weapons and drugs into the Gotham Harbour."

Bullock takes a look at the photos and recognizes someone. "Hey, is that Salvatore Maroni?"

Tim takes a look at him. "I thought he was a regular business man?"

Renee gives him a pointed look. "Wrong. We thought he was a regular business man but he's been running Falcone's operations since he walked into Arkham."

Bullock and Tin have different reactions; Tim's reaction is self blame and conflicted. He realizes that what he did, did absolutely nothing and Falcone's operations have been going on for three years and he didn't notice. 

Bullock's reaction is different. He isn't finding blame and only feels anger rushing within him. He grits his teeth and asks Renee, "Did you get proof of this?"

Renee smiles as she pulls out a tape recorder and a search warrant. "All we need to do is go down to the Precinct and we can end this."

Bullock is ecstatic. "Sweet! I'll call ahead and tell them what's going on."

He gets up and walks outside to make a call as Tim wonders something.

"Why didn't you report this already?"

Renee puts her hands on the table. "Because you needed to hear about it. Because you need to know…that it's time."

Tim's eyes widen as he says in response. "No. I gave that up years ago."

Renee says, "It doesn't matter if you gave it up, you gotta come back. Or at least Batman does."

Tim's eyes widen again and he asks, "You mean I…?"

Renee nods. "I think you need to do this."

Tim places his hands on his head. "That is not my mantle. It was Bruce's and his alone."

Renee rolls her eyes. "You think people are gonna fear the witty and the good cop vigilante? No, people like Falcone and Maroni need to know that Gotham is not theirs." She says, making sure that her voice is lowered. 

“Why can't you deal with this? The GCPD is more than capable.” Tim asks, looking for a reason to say no.

“You saw how much weapons and drugs were on that dock,” She reminds him, pulling out the picture again. “We’re going to be overwhelmed to deal with this.” 

Tim shakes his head. “Renee, I can’t. I gave it up for a reason and it’s not something I want to live through again.”

She leans in to make sure that no one hears them. "Tim, when I found out that Bruce Wayne was, you-know-who, I was speechless but not as much when I found out Jim knew and do you know what he did?" Tim shakes his head in response "He told me not to tell anyone because this city needed him and it does right now. So the question is…are you going to step up or not?"

Tim takes in her speech and struggles to find an answer. He's not able to because Bullock is coming back and they know that they will have to talk about this later since Bullock doesn't know the secret. 

Bullock says, "People want to talk to us. C'mon."

Renee nods but Tim stays back since he isn't a police Officer. Renee gives him another pointed look as both Detectives leave without another word. 

Tim sighs and ponders Renee's words as they repeat in his head. "Are you going to step up or not?"

As the detectives leave the bar, what they don’t see is a white van focusing on them. 

“Want us to take the shot?” One man asks his boss, Black Mask, who is sitting in the passenger seat. 

“Not until they get to the Police Department.” Black Mask says, which makes the goons rethink their life choices.

The driver says, “But there’s tons of guys who are ready to shoot us on the fly and I thought you said be discreet.”

Black Mask turns to him and says, “We’re sending a message. Do it or you’re going home with a limp.” Black Mask viciously threatens him.

The goon gulps and knows he has no choice but to agree. He starts the car and follows the two enforcers of the law.

Renee and Bullock walk into the Police Department, making their way through the dozens of people going through paperwork, taking calls, eating donuts and doing what any protector of the law would do. 

“Get everyone in the hall. It would be better if I announce it.” Renee tells Bullock. 

Bullock agrees and he shouts and threatens and does whatever he can to get them all in a circle. 

“Everyone, I have news for all of you that will put an end to the Falcone crime ring once and for all! If I could get your attention.” Renee shouts at everyone. Soon, every police officer starts to look at her.

Black Mask’s van parks in front of the Department as another white van is trailing them – Another one of Black Mask’s crew members. He then orders the driver, “Drive through the building”

The driver again questions him. “But-but this isn’t the Batmobile!”

“DO IT!” Black Mask yells at him viciously again. The goon floors with his hands sweating as the car rams through the glass doors and into the GCPD. 

Every police officer yells in surprise as fifteen men wearing different sets of masks come out of the van and start firing rapidly in all directions. Police believe they have the upper hand until the other white van comes through the doors as, again, fifteen men wearing different sets of masks fire at the cops. 

It’s an all out Mexican standoff as officers and goons quickly get shot and killed. Black Mask comes out of the van with an AK47 and fires it at many people that aren’t his own men.

He gets one officer on the ground and he quickly starts pleading for his life and raises his hands defensively. “I got a kid! You don’t have to–”

Black Mask shoots him in an instant. He fires the weapons at other officers as they try to fight him off. “Oh, but I do, actually."

Tim Drake sulks in the bar as he ponders what Renee said to him. “Are you gonna step up or not?” 

He wants to, he really does, but the life of a crusader…broke him. It wasn’t memorable or the life of a comic book superhero. He lost things that we’ll never get back….Ever.

A memory that he kept at bay for so long is coming back to him, tearing his mind with unpleasantness. He tries to fight it by focusing on his coffee but it’s too late…he feels the tears coming up as he remembers that…awful day.

He was in his Red Robin suit, on the pavement as his ears rang from an explosion. He was tied in rope and a drug was put in his system that kept him from beating the crap out of the man who was doing this to him and his partner, Batman. 

Batman's suit was the exact opposite of Tim’s – His suit was dark and menacing as all of the suit was black and gray as it resembled a, you guessed it, a bat. The chest plate was gray but a bat symbol was at the very center. His combat boots were black as well, along with his gloves but his utility belt was as yellow as Tim’s belt. 

They saw a building that was labeled Gotham General Hospital collapse into a pile of rubble on the dirty streets. The body count that day was ranked up to two hundred and thirty five. It still strikes Tim's soul with fear and intimidation just thinking about the man who caused the destruction. 

He remembered the man who stood in front of him and Batman and the man chilled him to the bone. He was the devil with a twisted sense of humor – The Joker. 

He was a terrible excuse for a human being. He killed because he could, because he thought it was funny, a running gag. Tim remembered all the cruelty committed by that rabid dog that was The Joker: The Laughing Fish, The creation of Harley Quinn, placing laughing gas at a funeral, turning the fun fair into his base, every breakout from Arkham, every death, every scream…it was all on him. 

He wore a purple suit that stood out in the crowd, a stylish hat that sometimes was stuffed with a dead animal, his hair was green, along with his contemplative eyes that were filled with mystery and allure. His skin was white as milk from a cow, which he had eaten alive before once. 

And his smile…oh that smile. It was wide and red with the blood of his victims which was a big number, bigger than Ted Bundy’s or Victor Zsasz’s or any serial killer you could name from the top of your head.

He stood over them with a crowbar in his hand, practically skipping with glee as he watched the destruction he had caused with that smile plastered on his face. 

“Which one was it, Bats? Mercy Hospital or Maybe Gotham General? It’s harder to keep the chaos straight this late in the game!” Joker was obsessed with Batman. He even loved Batman more than his own girlfriend. But he was never interested in the man behind the mask since that would ruin the game for him. All that mattered to him was Batman. He did all to get his attention.

Batman and Robin weren't able to respond because of a drug that Joker implanted in them. They were unable to reply.

“Aww. Come on! You have to get into the spirit of this kind of thing to make it right. I made sure that the drugs wouldn’t affect your mind and just paralyzed you and your sidekick’s bodies.” 

He grabbed Batman by his neck and looked deep in his eyes. Batman’s eyes screamed murder. “Look, I know that this must be very hard on you, it’s hard on both of us! Do you have any idea how many charts I used to systematically kill an entire city? Well, I guess you wouldn’t because that’s your one rule, isn’t it? No killing, you and your pals?”

It was true. Batman did have a code that prevented him from killing anyone. Truth was, he was afraid. He believed that if he crossed that line, then there was no turning back and you would become just as bad as the monsters he fought.

Joker sighed. “Like good old Jimmy Gordon. Right at the end. I heard him shout it over the radio, over and over… ‘By the book. Bring him in by the book!’. Heh…but when I finally got to him…he understood. He knew that I had to go, I saw it in his face, in his eyes! You know, before they dissolved!” Joker laughed a spine tingling laugh that Tim pleaded in the present that he would never hear again. 

Both vigilantes mourned the loss of their friend. He was Gotham’s best man, their reminder that there are good people in a town with many twisted people. His children were Barbra and James ‘Jimmy’ Gordon Jr. They both mourned the loss of their father to this day.

That made both Tim and Bruce tilt our heads up at him as he picked up a trench coat and a pipe that held Gordon’s favorite tobacco. “He called for his little girl at the end, trying to tell her he loved her. Even though it was hard to make out what he was saying, I understood him making out ‘Bar, bar, bar’ ha ha ha ha ha. I saved the pipe for you though! It's still warm…”

He kicked Batman back on the floor and brought the crowbar close to his face before both vigilantes saw him getting serious, something he rarely did. “You see Batman…we’re running out of time, you and I. We have had lots of fun throughout these wonderful and blood infested years but we need to evolve, and fast, or we’ll miss our chance. There is no ‘by the book’ anymore. I burned the damn thing years ago, ha ha ha ha ha,” He continued with a laugh. “Right now, we need to figure out the breaking point.”

He raised his crowbar and swung it, but not at Bruce, but at Tim. He fell to the floor as he pleaded to god that the drugs would wear off soon.

“And this is my breaking point, Bats! It’s supposed to be you and me, no one else to spoil the punchline! Birds do not belong in our equation! I barely held it together with night brat and bat chick and I finally lost my patience with Robin the second,” That made Batman’s blood boil with the reminder of Jason Todd. He was the second Robin and the robin that Joker murdered with that exact same crowbar. 

“I thought it would’ve taught you a lesson on dragging friends into this crazy little game of ours, but it appears it didn’t.” He caressed Robin’s cheek very creepily. “Oh, but don’t worry, pretty birdy...Mr. J is going to whack that common scene in his thick skull when I’m through with you, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA AAAAAAAH!” 

He started swinging at Red Robin

Tim shakes that memory off with tears in his eyes. He has tried for so long to forget. He’s been to therapy and everything but no matter who he went to, no matter what he did, it was still a memory that leaked out of its cell and back into his mind. 

Tim goes up to the counter and requests another coffee to shake this off. His attention then switches to a television that has the GCPD on the front screen. 

“Hey, can you turn that up?” Tim asks the girl working behind the counter. 

She obliges and turns up the TV. Jack Ryder is reporting. “Gun shots have been heard from inside the Gotham City Police Department as this is quickly turning into a hostage situation! It appears to be a gang led by a man who’s calling himself The Black Mask. Supervillains are back in Gotham!” 

Tim stands up and dashes out of the Stacked Deck and into his car. He starts it and rushes to the GCPD. He doesn’t know what he thinks he can change or stop but he wants to do something. No more will Tim sit around, thinking that everything is okay. 

 “Lawrence!” Black Mask calls for one goon and that goons hands him a megaphone “Attention, Gotham’s finest! If you surrender your guns and weapons to me and the Commissioner of this fine establishment comes to me, I promise, no more blood shall be dropped!” 

Renee Montoya hesitates before she puts her hands up to where Black Mask can see her.

She could imagine him smirking behind his mask. “Good girl. Hand me your gun.” She slides her gun to him. Black Mask grasps the gun and gives her the megaphone. “Call them off and I’ll call my men off, Commissioner.” 

Renee nods and speaks through the Megaphone. “Everyone, this is Renee Montoya, your police Commissioner. Stand down, I repeat, stand down.” 

She then feels something pointing at her back and whispers through the Megaphone. “Do as she says or I’ll blow her brains out. And everyone will report to the lobby!” 

Renee can feel this maniac breathing down her neck. “You will stay with me. We have some things to talk,”

Outside, Tim Drake’s car stops at the back and he gets a good look at what he’s dealing with. Dozens of cars consisting of S.W.A.T. Teams, the media, ambulances, and pedestrians that are demanding answers. 

He finds an entrance as an officer tries to stop him. 

“Excuse me, sir, you can’t be back here.” The officer tells him.

Tim tries to get past him. “Both of my friends are in there.” 

The Officer firmly tells him. “And we’ll get them out. We just need to be calm.”

Tim groans and walks away, exasperated. He needs to get in there to try to do something, so he thinks of a way to get inside. Then, something clicks. When he was Robin, he had to go climb up the GCPD all the time and a plan starts to form. 

Back inside, the goons have all the employees from cops to janitors on the floor as hostages except for Renee Montoya, who is in the cubicles with Black Mask. 

She hands him the photos of the Falcone Shipping Yard. “Here. Just take them and go.”

Black Mask studies them before bringing out the lighter from his coat pocket and setting them ablaze. “Do you make any copies of these?”

Renee shakes her head. “I didn’t have time.”

Black Mask ponders for a moment. “I see. And did you tell anyone else about this,”

Renee starts to become impatient. “What is this about, you bastard? What do you want?”

Black Mask is slightly amused. He steps forward, backing her into a wall. He puts his gloved hands through Renee’s hair, entranced.

Tim Drake climbs out of an air vent that he has used during his Robin days. Batman showed him these for a training exercise. The lesson was to always have an exit strategy. 

Tim Drake dusts himself off and sneakily makes his way down the hall. 

She feels his gloved hand in her hair but also his other hand sliding up her leg. “Stop it.” Renee says, gritting her teeth. He doesn’t stop and things start to get very uncomfortable for Renee, so she grabs his hand and forces him to remove her thigh beofre things exculate. “I said, stop it!”

She twists his hand before punching him in his face with the other hand. The pain she feels in her fists is slightly worse than what she feels when she normally throws a punch since this pervert is wearing a mask. 

Black Mask shakes off the nerve and is slightly even more impressed. “You’re a fighter, I respect that,” He dusts his suit off and resumes as normal. “Y’know, the policing life is a drag. Nothing interesting happens anymore. We could use someone like you in our conglomerate,” 

She glares at him, not intimidated by him or his mask at all. She has seen enough of those in her line of work. “You and your buddies out there, you’re just thugs who think you own what’s not yours. You and Falcone.”

He chuckles. “Ah but there’s the difference between me and Falcone. I am feared while he is respected.”

“Sleepy time,” Tim silently says before the thug silently is taken down by Tim Drake. His mask is taken by Tim Drake so his identity is hidden.

“If you have no respect for Falcone, then why go through this much trouble? You could’ve let us put him back in Arkham.” Renee argues.

The gangster scoffs. “And let you pigs take credit? No, I have bigger plans. Humiliate him and then…take control of his empire.”

Renee’s eyes narrow. “So you’re just another fame seeker. Gotham has had enough of those.” 

Tim engages in another fight with a goon and is able to knock him down but his gun is fired due to accidental firing. 

Both Renee and Black Mask jump at the gunshot. He says aloud. “The hell?”

Renee sees that he’s distracted and pushes him to the ground. He gets up on his feet but is unable to dodge a throw from a nearby office plant by Renee. He falls on the ground and is dizzy, unable to stop Renee as she searches his coat. She finds a loaded gun and a radio that helps contact his team. She goes for his mask to see who he really is.

But she doesn’t get the chance since a voice is heard. “Hey!” A goon with an AK47 fires at her but she frantically dashes away to where she isn’t being shot and that’s to a different corridor. Instead of going after her, he gets the boss up on his feet. “You okay, sir?”

Black Mask gains consciousness, again, dusting himself off. “I’m fine.” He looks around and sees his hostage is gone. “Renee’s gone. Spread out and find her!”

Chapter Text

Date: September 13th, 2013

Renee Montoya, who is armed with a pistol, runs down the stairs, nearly dying. She opens the door to meet a man in a gang mask but he raises his hands defensively. 

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s me, it’s just me.” His voice sounds familiar to Renee and she quickly learns who this person is as he removes his mask. It’s Tim Drake.

Renee starts to erupt into questions. “What? The hell are you doing here?" She demands to know in a harsh whisper.

“Stepping up,” Tim responds, making Renee proud. Tim asks, “Are you hurt?”

Renee shakes that off. “Forget about me. We need to get the others out of here.”

Tim asks, “Where are they?”

“Downstairs, in the lobby. Being held by Black Mask’s thugs.”

“Do you know what he wants?” 

“To take over Falcone’s Empire,” Renee informs him. “He didn’t want us to steal the glory so he burned the photos that would’ve put him behind bars.” 

Tim takes all this information in and says, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think he’s gonna be highly disappointed when he goes to jail with Falcone.”

Renee smirks. “I was hoping you’d say that,” She tightens her grip on her pistol.

"We need to lure the thugs out of the room one by one and then we deal with Mask,” 

“So, Die Hard stuff?” Renee raises her eyebrow, making Tim chuckle. He always appreciated her humor. 

A voice comes through her stolen radio. It’s Black Mask. "Commissioner? You can hear me, I'm sure. Just pay attention; don't respond. Being a generous guy, I'm ready to strike a bargain with you: If you emerge from your hiding place with no desire to harm me, then me and my men will depart from the building. I'll start shooting at anybody I see if you don't, however,” Tim and Renee look at each other in concern for the other people. “You have 20 minutes. Tick Tock!"

Renee tries to shake off the terror and says, “He doesn’t know you’re in the building?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so.” Tim starts to gain confidence. “That means we can take him by surprise.” 

Renee shakes her head. “No, my men are still down there.” She starts to lose composure. “Plus everyone else in the building. The only way for us to take them all down is if we get back-up.”

Tim sighs in frustration as he too is losing his composure. He begins to remember how challenging this whole Caped Crusader stuff is and at times, it feels hopeless. 

Then, hope starts to glimmer as Renee looks up and says, “My office.”

Tim needs more details. “What about it?”

“I have a spare radio in my desk drawer that we can use to contact for help,” Renee explains.

Tim is catching on. “While giving the others outside information on how to help save the hostages.” Tim thinks it’s a good way to go but he deflates, to Renee’s confusion. “Your office is on the third floor and we have no idea how many guys are in this place.”

Renee considers his opinion but doesn’t think this will be a problem. “Then we better be quick about it.” 

Tim knows he isn’t going to say no to her since this might be the only way to save the hostages and stop Black Mask so they walk up a flight of stairs.

On the way, Tim thinks to himself about what he’s doing. He has to admit, he feels like it’s been a lifetime since he’s done something like this and he can’t help but feel like he should’ve done something like this sooner. This whole city has been eating through each other and he was here. He could’ve done something about this but he quit.

As he contemplates himself, another masked goon finds them and they engage in a fight.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to be down here!” The thug tells them.

 They are able to take him down quickly but as he gets on the floor, he finds a blunt object near him and he hits Tim with it. He falls on the floor.

Tim doesn’t know what's happening to Renee and the goon. All he knows is that he’s on the floor, his head dizzy and something is echoing in his head; The Joker’s laughter. 

It’s as venomous as he remembers and memories of that day start to floor back to him.

The Joker kept hitting Red Robin with his crowbar as he laughed and laughed. He always found other people’s suffering hysterical.

Batman watches this with a hint of water in his eyes, glistening. While he may not have been the best at showing it at first, he still cared and loved Tim Drake as…well, as a third surrogate son. 

The Joker struck him again. 

“Jkrrrr…plssse!!”

He ignored his rival and was ready to take the final swing at Tim Drake as the Boy Wonder laid on the floor, unable to get up from the drugs. One final swing from him could’ve killed him, it really could’ve. But that idea was thankfully stopped when footsteps were heard; 

A young couple with their daughter was walking down the alley, feeling carefree and lucky. The Joker grinned at this, another set of victims for the day as he forgot about Batman and Robin's existence and was merely focused on the family of three as Robin looked on, trying to shake off the drugs.

Batman was no different. He tried to shake from the rope, even so much as plead through his gagged mouth, unable to speak. But the Joker paid no mind and took out his gun from his coat.

“Are you sure this is the way to the car?” The woman asked.

“Yeah, I'm sure. I gotta say, I'm glad I was able to get off work today to be with you both.” The man said.

The young girl hugged her father. “I love you, daddy!"

The father picked up his little girl and lifted her in the air before putting her down and hugged her back. “I love you too, Holly.” He looked over to his wife. "Chole, how about we go get some ice cream?" He suggested, making the child grin with excitement.

Chole smiled. "I think that's a good idea."

The grinning freak walked up to the family, his itchy trigger finger barely resisting. “Ha ha ha ha, ain’t this touching? We should put this in the photo album,” The Joker laughed as he began to raise his gun. The family stopped in their tracks. "Say cheese!"

“Oh my god…RUN!!” The father yelled with fear for himself and his family. The Joker always knew how to put the fear of the devil into everyone in Gotham. The father tried to get them to run but it was too late.

*BANG* 

The gun went off and Arthur fell to the ground, clutching the part of his body where the bullet hit; His chest. His wife’s scream filled the alleyway. “ARTHUR!!”

*BANG*

The young mother fell to the ground beneath them, motionless as blood circled their body and the pavement. The girl’s face flooded with tears at the sight of his dead parents. 

“Mommy? Daddy!” Holly desperately and violently shook their bodies. “Wake up! Please wake up!”

The Joker took pleasure in this tragedy and crouched to Holly’s level and tightly put his hand around her neck, preventing any escape from the psychotic slayer. “Oh, don’t be sad, little girl. C’mon, let us see a smile.” 

Then, the flower on his suit squirted out gas that hit Holly's face. For a moment, it looked like it did nothing…before childish laughter was heard out of her mouth. She laughed uncontrollably and clutched her body as it ached.

She fell to the ground, unable to control himself. Tears started swelling before she, along with his parents, died as well but with a hideous grin on her face, similar to The Joker.

This enraged Batman as he too lost his parents at a young age but unlike Holly, he was able to live to tell the tale.

His viewpoint darted back from Tim Drake’s bleeding body to the dead family on the pavement and finally, to the crowbar that was discarded on the ground.

He ripped the rope and gag off of his body and yelled, “JOKER!!”

The Joker’s demented smile grew wider. “There we go. Hit me as you mean it, darling!”

Batman tackled him and began to mercilessly pound on his body. But Joker was used to this and laughed through the pain.

“Hahahahahahahahaha…”

“STOP!!” 

*PUNCH*

Joker coughed up blood and gave off a devilish smile. “Never! I’LL NEVER STOP, HAHAHAHAH!!”

“STOP!”

*PUNCH*

Joker fell to the ground but The Joker’s injuries were no different than all the others he had received in the past and just taunted Batman.

“Uuh! No, I’ll keep…”

“Stop!” 

*PUNCH* 

“Your family will be next!” Joker promised.

“No…you’ll stop!” To Tim, it sounded like Bruce was almost pleading for Joker to end this cycle of violence as he landed another punch on him.

*PUNCH*

Joker spit out both blood and a tooth from his mouth before turning back to Batman, who had grabbed him by his suit. “...You still don’t have the guts, don’t yah, Bats?” 

“Stop."

*PUNCH*

Joker sighed in defeat but his smile slowly started to form, despite the bloody chipped teeth. “Then I guess I’ll see you when I break out of Arkham…again!”

“Stop,” Batman could no longer yell. Now, his effort of commanding the clown was practically a whisper.

*PUNCH*

“Don’t you get it, Bats? This, all of this, it’s not going to stop. It’s never going to stop. It’s just going to be you and me, destined to dance together…in the pale moonlight…forev–”

*SNAP*

Joker was interrupted by the sound of his neck snapping. He fell to the pavement as the Dark Knight stood over him, shocked by his actions. 

Batman did it. He finally did it; He broke his code that night after Joker’s last and worst rampage of all time, maybe even the worst rampage done by anyone of all time. And let’s be honest, who could blame him?

As Joker landed on the ground, his final, dying breath escaped his body in the form of green smoke. Batman took in what he had done before looking back at Tim. He ran to Red Robin and held him in his arms. 

But Batman was badly beaten as Red Robin was. He struggled to help him and when all hope seemed lost, a black battle car pulled up in front of him. Dick called it the Batmobile and the name kinda stuck.

The Batmobile was both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit and capture vehicle that is used by Batman and Robin in their fight against crime. 

The door opened to reveal a young woman in a dark purple batsuit except for the cowl, the boots, and the cape, which are all black. On the streets, she was called Batgirl. But between her closest and personal friends and family, she’s Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the deceased Commissioner Jim Gordon. 

She hurried out of the vehicle and was frantic. “Oh my god. Batman, Robin! Are you okay?!” Batgirl stopped in her tracks when she saw The Joker’s lifeless body on the pavement. “What happened–”

“Help me get him in the car!” Batman cuts her off. She immediately grasped the situation and did as she was ordered. Both he and Batgirl carried Tim over their shoulders and into the vehicle. He then said, “Get in. We’re heading back to the cave.” She understood and jumped in the back seat.

The Batmobile drove away as Batman was both driving to their base and keeping a shoulder on Tim. “Breathe, Tim. Just breathe.” Batman said in a startled tone, afraid of what might happen to him “You’re going to be alright. I’m going to get you all fixed up.”

Tim falls back in his seat, his eyes slowly dazed before shutting.

“No, Tim! TIM!!”

“Tim, wake up!" Renee is shaking Tim rapidly. He gets his senses back and gets up. He breathes heavily as he awakens from the awful thing he had to re-experience. 

"Are you alright?" Renee asks Tim, helping him up from the floor.

Tim is stupefied. He doesn't respond automatically, instead, he takes moments to breathe in and breathe out while fighting back tears.

He doesn't know why these memories keep popping up since he thought he was over it. Ah, but Tim guesses that you can never get rid of the things that matter and that life definitely matters since he has somewhat reentered life as a vigilante. 

Finally, Tim answers after what feels like an hour. "I'm fine. How about you?"

Renee helps him up from the ground. "I took down a thug, so that's good."

Tim can chuckle. "Sorry I missed the action."

They continue to make their way through the halls before they stop at an office door that reads Renee Montoya – Commissioner. Both of them rush into the room and dig through the desk where they find a radio. Renee begins to tinker with it while Tim stands guard with Renee’s gun in hand.

Black Mask paces around a circle of people overlooking a watch on his wrist as three men keep a watch out, armed with Ak47s. 

He counts down. “Five…four…three…two…one,” Black Mask says aloud. This makes some of the hostages very tense as they lay on the ground. Black Mask nods his head to one of his goons. “Kill them.”

People gasp as the goons aim at them. Nothing is preventing them from pulling the trigger. 

“STOP!!” They turn to see Renee walking down the stairs, unarmed. “Don’t. Please.”

Black Mask glares at her before raising his hand. “Hold your fire.” The goons lower their guns. He walks up to her, getting uncomfortably close as Renee looks at him with disgust. “You made the right choice.” 

To his surprise, she is not scared or pleading for her life. She’s calm and collected with no trace of fear in her system. She looks like someone who’s in control of the situation. Wait a minute…

Tear gas is thrown in the room by S.W.A.T. Teams. The rival gang runs and an all-out shootout ensues. Bullock gets up and directs the hostages outside to safety. He then knocks a masked man down and steals their gun. “Say hello to my little friend!” He enters the battle against the Masked Men. 

Tim Drake, his mask still on, is also getting everyone out to safety. Bullock asks, “Who the hell are you?”

He doesn’t know that Tim Drake is under the mask and he thinks that’s for the best. He likes the guy and respects his detective abilities but Tim knows he has a prejudice against vigilantes and he doesn’t want to think of what he would say if he found out the truth. 

Tim says in a deep voice. “A Good Samaritan.” 

Bullock wants to ask more but he is shot in the shoulder. “Bullock!” Tim yells, forgetting to deepen his voice. He grabs Bullock and places him on his shoulder, dragging him out of the Police department as shots are fired in all directions.

Black Mask and a few guys hide behind a pillar, avoiding fire. The men yell at their boss. “We gotta get out of here!”

Black Mask considers it before he finds Renee Montoya, fighting back against all of the tear gas and bullets. He glares at her and turns back to his men. “She’s not leaving this place behind…Time for plan B.” 

The men’s eyes can be seen widening behind their masks. “Boss, that’ll kill us all!”

“I know what I’m doing, so DO IT!” Black Mask yells at them. 

The men ponder their options before one of them takes out, what seems to be, a detonator. Black Masks turns around in all directions, staring at the pillars and staircases, and says, “Light 'em up.”

Tim Drake puts Bullock in an ambulance. Bullock tells the cops and others that he’s a Samaritan doing good before Tim tells Bullock, “I’m doing back in.” In his deep voice.

Tim feels the sleeve of his suit being tugged on by a hand. He turns and sees it’s Bullock. He tries to speak. “Mask, he…has the pla..ce wired…”

*BOOM*

Tim couldn’t get a reaction because, behind them, an explosion goes off in the Police Department. Everyone from Doctor to Officer to Pedestrians is knocked back to either the concrete or the cars. They hear crumbling as the building’s roof falls into the building as everyone is panicking. Screams are heard as panic ensues in the streets of Gotham.

Tim looks at the damage in horror and races back into the fray, hoping that no one was hurt too badly. 

He gets back in, without remembering how he did so, and carefully walks into the damaged building. The once proud building standing as a pecan of hope and bravery is now nothing more than a dark and infested property that’s cluttered and filled with rubble and roofs that will fall on people in an instant.

He walks through hallways and spots several lifeless bodies of either Mask’s crew or the brave officers that are unable to go back to their families. 

Renee Montoya crawls out of a pile of rubble but is not concerned for her safety. She needs to know that at least others are okay. 

She then hears footsteps, it’s a man wearing fancy shoes. She leans back on a pile of debris and sees The Black Mask, his suit cut up and holding a handgun. He’s alone. 

“Yeah, sorry about the wreckage, Mon. But you left me with no other option.”

Renee sits up and spits in his face. “You bastard! You won’t get away with this!”

Black Mask removes the spit off his mask and wipes it on his suit. “I already have. And here’s a reality check for you, Commish,” He raises the gun in her face. “This bastard…has this entire city in his grip.”

*BANG*

Tim’s heart stops; He has heard a bullet shot and is in a state of panic. He travels down more wreckage as a voice starts to become clearer. 

It says, “I’m gonna leave you like this so you can take all that in,” The voice belongs to The Black Mask and footsteps are heard as they walk away. Tim runs and finds Renee Montoya on the ground, blood coming out of her stomach. Tim runs to her aid. 

“Renee, Renee!” He shouts.

She winces. “No need to shout, I can hear you.” Tim gets a kleenex out of his suit and tries to apply pressure on the wound when she stops him. “Listen…You have to stop this…You need to come…back,” 

Tim nods. “I know. Stay with me, I’ll get you help!”

She coughs. “Please, Tim…You’re all Gotham has…” Renee’s eyes start to water and stir. “You’re a good man…promise me…you’ll stop this…”

Tim looks down at her and her body. He knows that she’s right. That Black Mask needs to be stopped. But her making him promise makes this an even more dire situation.

Tim nods as tears blow through his eyes. “I promise. I swear it to you.” 

Renee gives a weak smile but it’s somehow comforting.  One final breath escapes her mouth before her body becomes still, along with her eyes. 

Tim knew that this was it. That she wasn’t going to make it…but that doesn’t make this less heartbreaking. He breaks down as he has lost another friend, a family member even. 

But she will not be forgotten. Tim will make sure of that. ‘ Her promise will be fulfilled.’ Tim swears to himself.

Chapter Text

Date: September 29th, 2013

“We celebrate the life of the late Renee Montoya,” A priest says aloud outside a chapel. It’s a close casket and everyone looks at it with sadness and discomfort. 

It’s two weeks after what happened at The Department, where they sit outside this cloudy day. It appears that even the climate knows that the world has lost a good soul. She inspired hard work and dedication and bravery, everyone knows this. She, like James Gordon, gave her life to serve the city that never gave back. 

Officers in uniforms with guns in hand shoot in the sky to salute the fallen hero. While she didn’t wear a mask or have a fancy car, she had guts. She was the greatest and bravest person on the force and no one will tell Tim Drake otherwise. 

Harvey Bullock, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon Jr, Alfred Pennyworth, Timothy Drake, Lucius Fox and along with dozens of other officers and admirers sit in their seats. 

Lucius Fox is a personal friend of Tim Drake and the Gordons. He was the supplier of Bruce’s technology and the Batmobile, so he’s kind of a genius. 

They are having a memorial gathering ot Wayne Manor where they all talk and discuss the matter of Renee Montoya and other matters. 

Tim Drake stands in front of a fireplace, leaning his hand on the mantle as he looks down at the flames, finding it hypnotic. 

He then feels a hand coming on his shoulder and he grabs the hand and pulls the person closely. 

“Hey, hey, hey. It's just me.” A man in a black suit raises his hand in self defense. 

Tim calms down as he sees who it is. It’s Lucius. “Lucius, I’m sorry,” Tim tells him, deeply meaning it.

Lucius shrugs it off. “It’s alright, Tim. Are you okay? You look spooked.” He asks him.

Tim turns to him and replies, “Yeah, I’m fine. Well, as fine as anyone can be.” 

Lucius nods in understanding and says, “C’mon, let’s get a drink at the bar.”

Tim agrees and soon, they begin to converse with glasses of champagne in their hands. “How are you holding up?”

Tim sighs. “Not well. I don’t know what to do.” 

Lucius sees his eyes glisten in the manor and he puts his hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be okay.”

Tim wipes the tears off his eyes. “Will it?” 

Lucius goes to answer before a woman’s voice cuts him off. 

“Yes, it will be.” They turn to see an older woman. “In time. I can promise that,”

Tim stands up and says, “Leslie. It’s been a while.”

Lucius shakes her hand, “Dr. Tompkins.”

She shakes his hand in return. “Mr. Fox. How are you?”

In response, he says, "Fine. Thank you." 

She turns to Tim. "Yes, it has been a while, Tim. I wanted to give you a hand, so I came tonight." 

He nods. “Yes, you did help us all during our time of need. But you don’t have to go through that again if you don’t want to.”

Leslie shakes her head, not wanting to hear it. “It’s my responsibility and we’re family.”

Tim nods again since that’s all he can feel like he can do. “Thank you, that means a lot.”

Leslie smiles. “It’s my pleasure. Don’t think it’s an obligation, just know that my doors are always open.” Tim thanks her again.

“Tim,” Lucius gives him a gentle hug which Tim accepts. He does his best to hold back tears, not wanting to cry in front of all these people. “Me and the rest of the Fox family are here for you as well,”

Tim walks away from them without another word. He finds Barbra and Jim sitting with Bullock as they talk to each other. Tim walks to them and says, “Hey.”

Barbara sits up from her wheelchair and faces him with her big beautiful eyes. “Hey,” She gives him a hug that’s very comforting to Tim. “I’m sorry. I know how close you were with her.”

“We both were,” Bullock leans in and says, “To Renee.”

Tim toasts. “To Renee,” Their glasses clink and they chug the alcohol down. 

Jimmy says, “She was a good cop. It was a shame about what happened.”

Bullock’s hands and fists clench and he says with gritted teeth. “I’m going to hunt down Black Mask if it’s the last thing I do!”

Tim remembers Black Mask and starts to grow a hatred for him. But he doesn't know who’s behind that mask, just like no one knows that Tim Drake was that Samaritan or that he saw Renee Montoya die in a destroyed department. 

Jim asks, “Do you know who he was?” Barbara gives him a pointed look since she doesn’t think that talking about this is a good idea.

Bullock says, “No, not yet. But we will.”

Jimmy then says, “Well, I’m glad that Samaritan guy came to help. He saved a lot of guys.” 

Tim nods, not knowing what to say. Barbra changes the conversation because she didn’t want to think about guys in masks. “We should all get together sometime. Discuss things.”

They all agree as Tim stands up. “I’m going to go to bed.” 

Barbara asks, “A-are you sure?” Tim is sure. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

Tim replies. “Yeah. Goodnight.” He says to all as he leaves. He goes into his room and changes into sweatpants and a T-Shirt. He lays in his soft bed with a sigh but he quickly learns he won’t be going to sleep anytime soon. He puts on the TV in front of him that’s mounted to the wall and changes to Jack Ryder reporting. “It’s been a week since the bombing of the GCPD Department where many men and women lost their lives, including Commisioner Renee Montoya. Who’s next to face the wrath of Black Mask?”

Tim changes the channel. “Black Mask and his crew, newly named False Face Society, have been rampaging through the streets of Gotham and no one seems to be doing anything about it!”

He changes the TV again. “Black Mask’s acts of violence have raised the crime rates up by a high margin. The Costumed variety of criminals have not been seen since The Scarecrow–”

 And again. “We have these costumed freaks out on the streets again and now I’m scared for my 13 year old son to walk home from school all by himself!”

 And again. “Bank robbery occurred today by the old Red Hood gang. The Black Mask and his criminal activities have inspired other old and new gangs to resurface–”

 And again. “ My sister came home one night in tears and her blouse and skirt all messed up!”

Tim finally has enough and he turns the TV off. He lies in bed, ashamed of himself. He thinks he has let the city down. He sits in his bed, not knowing what to do. 

While he does know that he made Renee a promise, he’s afraid; Afraid to lose everything he had gained. He has a good life but he knows that he can’t ignore the fact that the city is dying – The Black Mask and Carmine Falcone are making everyone’s lives worse for everyone else. 

Then, a memory comes back to Tim.

Tim Drake woke up in a dark and cold cave underneath Wayne Manor. It was Batman and Robin’s base of operations; The Batcave. 

It was a big cave that was fifty feet underneath Wayne Manor and it still is in the present time but it hasn’t been visited in years. The Batcave entrance is an elevator and in front of that elevator was metal floors where equipment rooms were filled with the gear and suits that they used when on Patrol.

There was also a Med Bay, a mat surrounded by workout equipment and a simulator that tests your fighting style, a parking deck for the Batmobile, a filing room for all their cases, and finally, a computer setup with tracking software. 

He laid on a med bay where Bruce Wayne sat beside him. 

“Are you okay?” Was the first thing Bruce asked.

Tim grumbled. “Everything hurts.” 

Bruce understood. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay.”

Tim wasn’t focused on that because he started to remember things. “Bruce, The Joker. Did you…?” He asked carefully and slowly.

Bruce froze at the question before saying, “Yes. Yes, I did.”

Tim asked. “Are you okay? I know you didn’t want to do it.” 

Bruce replied with. “I’m fine. While I didn’t want to do it, he went too far this time. He murdered…so many people this time and he swore he wasn’t going to stop. I had no choice.”

Tim understood. He didn't see how anyone was going to let him live. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you. I just want to know if there’s anything I can do.”

Bruce turned to Tim. “You can get some rest. You have a lot of injuries but it’s not as bad as the ones I’ve had.” Bruce joked, which was rare. 

Tim chuckled. “That’s comforting,” He started to get serious as he thought back to what had happened. “I didn’t think we were going to make it back there. I thought we weren’t coming home.”

Bruce sat back down in his chair and put his hand on Tim’s shoulder. “Look at me,” Tim turned to Bruce. “I will always make sure you come back. Whenever we’re on the field, your safety is my top priority.” Tim knew that and he understood. He didn’t respond because Bruce was still talking. “But there will come a time where I’m not here and you will have to find your own way home. When that day comes, you have to trust your abilities to win the battle. Can you do that?”

Tim took a moment before saying. “Yes, I can do that.”

Bruce smiled. “Good. Now get some rest. I called Dick, Kate, Stephaine, and Barbara. They’re on their way and Alfred is bringing down food.” Tim laid down in his bed, resting his eyes when he noticed that Bruce didn’t leave. Bruce asked, “What?”

“Nothing, I just thought you would be reviewing files or something.” Tim said, making Bruce nod. He always did that after coming back from patrol.

“That can wait.” Bruce stated as he sat in a chair next to Tim’s bed. “You can’t,” He then sat next to Tim until he fell asleep.

Back in the present, Tim lets the memory sit in. Finally, he realizes now that he has to do something; He made a promise to Renee and to Bruce and he plans on keeping it. 

He waits until everyone leaves and Alfred goes to bed and when that happens, it's 1:46 A.M. at night. He waits another 20 minutes before Tim gets up from his bed and leaves his room silently, not wanting to wake up Alfred. He tiptoes down the stairs and is grateful that the stairs don’t creak. If Alfred heard him then he would…his reaction would be unpredictable. He would never approve of what he’s about to do.

Tim walks down to a room Tim knows as Bruce’s study. It hasn’t been touched or opened by Tim in three years. It felt strange doing this after so long. But Tim tries to brush that off and focus. 

He gets the key from under the long red rug and unlocks the door, slowly. He steps into the study where the floor is dark oak, a bookshelf sits by the door, a wooden desk with a lamp with decorative flowers, two lounge chairs and a grandfather clock. 

His attention is on the clock as it ticks. After Tim silently closes the door, Tim walks up to it and stares at it with much hesitation before opening the glass.

“I’m ready,” He tells himself, ever defiant.

 He changes both hands to the number twelve and it slides open to reveal a mine shaft elevator. The password is this because it was the death date of Bruce Wayne’s parents. 

Tim steps on the old and rusty elevator and presses the button down. It makes an old noise as it lower and as does that, Tim can see the wall becomes once wood to dirt and then finally, to rocks from caverns. 

Tim’s hand quivers and his face hardens as the elevator finally comes to a stop to reveal the cave from his memories but once the technological advancement is now the dusty and old cave that has been covered by tarp. 

Tim steps off and looks around, stuck by nostalgia in all directions. Tim breathes heavily. It feels strange being down here after so long. He finds a light switch and he turns on all the lights, illuminating the cave and scaring the bats. They never did like sunlight after all.

He remembers how the cave had seen better days where there was no dust or peck of oldness but instead was state of the art. 

Tim starts to remove the tarp from the computers, the Batmobile, the equipment and everything else. He opens the equipment room and sees the Batman Suit in its display case. He stares at it and says, “I won’t let you down, Bruce.” 

Tim tries getting the Batcave back online. He knows he has a lot of work ahead of him before it’s all operational; He first has to update the software on the Computers, he has to test the Batmobile to see if it can be operational, see if the armours on the suits need to be fixed. If they don’t then he won’t mess with them. After all, why mess with a good batsuit if it’s already perfect?

Tim knows he's gonna have to talk to Lucius about all this and see if he can help out and he already can feel a massive headache coming along just thinking about explaining this to Lucius. He knows what he’s going to say and he’s not looking forward to it. 

Tim checks his watch and it's 3:44 A.M. at night. He goes back to the elevator, pushes the button, it takes him up, and he's back in the study. Alfred can't know about this either since he would go ballistic. So, in the meantime, this is his personal project.

He gets a cup of water and goes back to bed. 

Dick Grayson and Tim’s girlfriend, Stephaine Brown came into the Batcave, panicked. They found Tim in the med bay.

She was a young college girl, like Tim was when this occurred, with blond hair and a bouncing personality. She always kept Tim on her toes with her excitement and chaoticness that made Tim smile. She went by the name Spoiler and the newest vigilante in Gotham.

Dick Grayson was an adult vigilante and was the most experienced out of everyone in there, besides Bruce of course. He was the first Robin and Batman first crime fighting partner but when he came of age, he decided he needed to be his own hero, so he took on the title of Nightwing, residing in Bludhaven City. He was the surrogate big brother of the family, always there when you needed advice or simply to spend time with.

“Oh thank god you’re alright!” The first thing he did was give his Surrogate Brother a hug. 

Tim flinched and Stephaine took notice, “Dick, he’s still recovering!” She was stressed.

Dick quickly removed himself. “Sorry, Timmy. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Dick was always the gentle one in the family. You could always come to him for advice. And Tim loved him for it, he still does in the present time. “Are you okay?”

Tim regained his strength. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for checking in.” 

Dick said, “Of course. That’s what family does.” Tim smiled lovingly at the man he considered a brother as Dick sat down next to him. 

Stephaine, not wanting to hurt him, gave him a huge kiss on his cheek instead, making Tim blush and Dick grow a stupid grin at his brother’s expense. “How long until you’ll be fully healed?” She asked.

“Alfred said he might give me the thumbs up in the next week or so.” 

“Good,” Bruce’s voice came from the elevator. “I find it comforting to know that.”

“Bruce,” Dick got up and met him in the eyes. “What happened with you and–”

Tim nudged him in his shoulder. “I don’t think he wants to talk about it.”

Bruce shook his head. “No, it’s fine. They deserve answers,” Dick came closer to him and asked the question once more. “He was dying, Dick. The chemicals that made him the Joker were starting to eat him away from the inside,” Dick and Stephaine were surprised that the Joker was dying but kept their composure. "It was that which led him to take things too far...which is why he pushed me."

Dick understood and Stephaine asked, “Are you alright, boss?

“If you’re asking whether I’m going to slide down the slippery slope…no,” Stephaine nodded, relieved of that. “I’m not sorry he’s dead, it should’ve been done years ago. I won’t give him the satisfaction of becoming what he wanted me to be,” Bruce said aloud firmly and in defiance. 

Dick smiled proudly. “I’m glad to hear that,” He then asked Stephaine “I know Barbara was tracking you guys, but where were you and Kate when that happened? You had to have known you guys were in danger.”

Before Stephaine could open her mouth, Tim responded in her defense. “Before that, Joker poisoned Gotham’s water supply with his toxin and Bruce sent her and Batwoman to stop it. They got back and we sent them home. Kate since she was exhausted and Barbara for…obvious reasons,”

Dick quickly understood. “Okay, sorry.”

Stephaine waved that off and asked her boyfriend, “How’s Babs?” 

Tim sighed in sadness. “Not well. Her and Jimmy are at home trying to cope with the loss of her dad. He was a good cop.” He said regrettably.

Dick didn’t need to think twice. “No, he was the best out of all of them.”

Stephaine mumbled. “Which isn’t a competition, to be honest.” She asked “How did it happen?”

“He was the first one on Joker’s list. He came to his house and attacked him with Hydrochloric acid…” Tim paused, becoming too much for him. “...He was found by Barbra with his th-roat sticking out of his n-neck.” Dick came back to him and clutched him to where he wasn’t hurting him.

“Ha!” Bruce let out an uncharacteristic chuckle. Both sons of Batman and Stephaine turned back to him, half surprised by him and were incredulous that he thought that was a laughing matter, especially since he was Batman’s most trusted ally. 

Bruce was surprised himself but also disgusted that had happened. He cleared his throat. “I’m…I’m sorry. That wasn’t…funny.” 

Dick and Stephaine was unsure. He never expected that out of Bruce. 

Stephaine cleared her throat trying to change topic “So, Dick, how long are you in town?” 

Dick was still looking at Bruce, ever skeptical. “Probably for a week or two. I’ll travel back to Bludhaven a few times but I’m going to help rebuild the GCPD and I’ll be attending the funeral for Gordon.” 

Bruce said, “And the Wayne Foundation will be taking care of the damages.” 

Tim said, “And I’m going to get up and around.” Tim said, trying to get into a wheelchair. Dick and Bruce took notice and helped him into it.

Stephaine was concerned. “Are you sure you should be anywhere else but bed?”

Tim looked up to her. “How else am I going to go to the bathroom by myself? I should get used to moving without my legs.”

“How about we get something to eat?” Dick offered. “My treat.”

Tim smirked. “Hell yeah!”

“Watch your language.” Bruce warned him, making them cringe at what he had just said. 

“God, you are so old.” Stephaine lets out a laugh.

“You with us, B?” Dick’s nickname for Bruce was B. 

Bruce replied. “Unfortunately, I cannot. I have a meeting at Wayne Enterprises to discuss rebuilding the damages. You three go ahead.” 

They all understood and Dick helped roll Tim’s wheelchair into the elevator.

While the elevator went up, Tim asked, “I’m not the only one who heard him chuckle, right?”

Dick shook his head. “No, I heard him. I don’t want to say it; But I think somethings wrong with him.” 

Stephaine asked, “It’s not like it was intentional. Maybe you guys are overthinking it.”

Tim shook his head, “Maybe but it’s still weird that he laughs at death, right?” Stephaine couldn’t argue with that. “Do you think you guys can help me keep an eye on him?”

Dick didn’t need to be asked. “You can count on us,” The elevator stopped at Bruce's Study and they exited the elevator.

Date: September 30th, 2013

The next morning, Tim Drake wakes up and gets dressed. He meets with Alfred and has breakfast and tells him he's going to work but this is a lie. He's actually going to see Lucius Fox at his job. 

He didn't like lying to Alfred, especially since he has done so much for him in the past but, again, he knows that he will not agree with what he's going to do. 

Tim Drake gets out of his car and looks at a tall, glass skyscraper. Tim remembers how he used to be here with Bruce and Lucius in his youth. They would stand in front of this Koi Pond as they talked about their days and other topics that came to mind.

He is actually staring at it right now as he walks. Fish of all colors swim around, as if they're chasing each other. Tim walks away and goes inside into a lobby and waits for him since Tim called Lucius in the car, wanting to talk to him.

He sits in the lobby, trying to think of what to open with until a voice cuts his thoughts. "Tim!"

Tim turns to Lucius Fox walking up to him as a man follows him from behind.

Tim stands up. "Lucius, good to see you. And you are?" Tim asks politely to the person behind him.

The unknown man holds out his hand, giving him a casual greeting. "I'm Dr. Victor Fries." Tim shakes his hand before realizing that name.

"Fries? You’re the head of research and development, right?"

He nods. "Yes, I am,”

Lucius speaks up. "He works closely with me and our CEO." Footsteps are heard. "And I believe you are familiar with each other.”

Tim smiles in response. "Yes I am, Lucius." A man steps forward in a black suit and polished shoes. "Roman Sionis."

Chapter Text

Date: Monday, September 30th, 2013

Roman Sionis catches Tim Drake’s attention and he says cheerfully, “Timmy! How have you been, kiddo?”

Scratching the back of his head, Tim replies. "Okay, I-I guess."

Roman walks up to him and saddens. "Right, stupid question. I came to the Manor last night but Alfred told me you were asleep." He puts his hand on Tim's shoulder gently. "I just want you to know that you can always come to me if you need anything. You have a family with the Sionis’. Got it?"

Tim twitches a smile gratefully. "Thanks."

Dr. Fries adds to the conversation, "I take it no introductions will be necessary,"

Roman turns to Dr. Fries. "Trust me, my ties with this kid stretch back a long way. I did business with his father while he was around," Roman tells him

It’s true. Tim’s father, Jack Drake, was a businessman, as is Tim. But Jack didn’t have the same noble intentions as Tim does. He was more in it for the money and social status, as was his mother. 

While in business, they were friends with Roman Sionis, who was the CEO of Janus Cosmetics, a successful skincare company. When Roman met Tim, he grew a soft spot for him. He finds Tim to be a smart, responsible, self made man, despite his parents not caring about him.

Tim doesn’t really have many fond memories of his parents. He remembers being in the care of Ms. Mac, the family maid. She wasn’t as kind or considerate as Alfred is, far from it. She was more concerned about getting a paycheck than being a possible parental figure. It wasn’t until Bruce Wayne adopted him when he got an actual father and family that cared.

Roman Sionis continues to chat with Tim. "I haven't seen you in a while. We should catch up, get a coffee. What do you think?" 

Tim nods, impatiently. He loves Roman but he wants to talk to Lucius. “Okay, we will. Listen, as much as I want to keep this going, I just need to talk to Lucius real quick.”

But Roman understands, to Tim’s relief. “Ah, business as usual, say no more. Besides, I needed to have a word with Victor, if you don’t mind, Mr. Fox.” 

Lucius nods. “Of course, Mr. Sionis,” He turns to Tim. “Shall we?”

Tim agrees and they all go their separate ways after Sionis says, “Welcome to Sionis Industries. I'll be in touch,” 

Lucius walks Tim into his office where it’s well furnished with a desk in front of a balcony window, red and black carpet is added to the floor that they step on and a picture frame of Lucius’s family sits on the table.

Tim and Lucius sit down and he asks, “I saw how anxious you were back there. Is it that important?” 

Tim replies. “Yes, it is. I need to ask you something.” 

Lucius takes a guess. “Is it about Drake Industries? Because we would be more than willing to help you out if necessary.”

Tim shakes his head. “No, but thanks for the offer. I actually came down here to…to…” He trails off. He tries to find the words since he knows how this is going to end; With him getting thrown out of the office, but Tim has to do this. 

Lucius raises his eyebrows. “To what? What is it?”

Tim then found the words. “I need to talk to you about…a new suit.”

He sees Lucius get the point as he freezes in shock and stands up from his desk to close the door and lock it. He turns back to him with a shocked expression. “Why would you ever ask me that?”

Tim sighs. “Because there was a terrorist attack at the GCPD and I need to figure out who Black Mask is,” Tim tells him, slightly raising his voice.

Lucius shushes him. “Not so loud! We still have people working here.” He walks back to him. “And regarding your request, you should let the police do their jobs.”

Tim turns his chair over to him. “From what I saw, the Police aren’t equipped to deal with the threats that Black Mask brings.”

“And you are?” Lucius asks him, making Tim freeze. “You haven’t been Red Robin in three years and you think you can just put on a suit and scare them out of town?”

Tim argues back. “No, I’m gonna damn well try and…” He hesitatly continues, knowing where this next part will lead to. “...And it’s not Red Robin that I’m talking about here.”

Lucius doesn’t get it at first but slowly starts to, making him deadpan. “No.”

“Lucius–”

“Being Red Robin was one thing but putting on his suit and taking on his mission is another thing!” Lucius argues in a harsh whisper

Tim stands up. “People aren’t going to fear Red Robin but criminals will stop in their tracks when they see Batman.” Tim also lowers his voice.

“Well, you’re not him!” Lucius nearly shouts, making Tim go silent. Lucius nearly regrets telling that, but only nearly. “I can’t believe that you would even want to do this again after what happened.” 

Tim clenched his fists. “Do not bring that up.” Tim leans on the desk. He’s starting to regret coming here. “Look, I’m not trying to replace him, okay? I just want to stop The False Face Society, because the police can’t. I can’t do this without you.”

“Then it looks like you’re not going to be doing this,” Lucius informs him. He takes a look at Tim’s betrayed face, making his face and demeanor change. “Tim, I know you’re going through a lot right now but this isn’t the way to deal with this,”

Tim shakes his head, bitter but calm and collected. He knew this was what he was going to do, which is why he thinks it might not be the best idea to tell him about the cave being back on. 

Lucius continues. “You’re not well. Take a few days off work and get your mind put back together.”

Tim nods dumbly, wanting to leave. “Okay,”

He walks away. Tim feels defeated and he leaves the office, leaving Lucius to sulk. Lucius looks down at the photo sitting on his desk and holds it in his hand. He sighs sadly before placing it back down on the desk, clearly holding back emotions.

Tim goes back into his car but doesn’t do anything; He just sits there, thinking back to what Lucius said to him. “Well, you’re not him! I can’t believe that you would even want to do this again after what happened.” 

Then something hits Tim. Another memory circles back.

They were at Jim Gordon’s funeral. He was a good man and it was unfair for him to die as he did. Barbra and James ‘Jimmy’ Gordon Jr. mourned the loss of their father. 

When he was still around, he was Police Commissioner and was arguably the greatest one. He worked closely with Batman and his allies, Jim being one. 

He was friends with Renee Montoya and Harvey Bullock when they were both alive. All three of them were considered Gotham’s finest police officials, even if Bullock was a tad bit lazy.

Tim Drake was still in his wheelchair but he wasn’t concerned about that. All that mattered was looking out for Barbra. Ever since he met her, they became close. They were best friends, family even.

Kate Kane stood there, not knowing what to say. She never knew Gordon that well during her career as Batwoman but she was close with Barbara and Team Bats, so she was moral support. 

Kate Kane was an attractive woman with short hair. She was an excellent fighter and was in her prime when that day happened. She was Bruce Wayne’s cousin. 

Bruce was stoic and quiet, suppressing emotions. He was always good at that. But Tim felt like it wasn’t Jim’s death that bothered him that day.

After the Joker’s death, Gotham rejoiced. The civilians and victims of the Joker's crimes and escapades flourished and the worst threat to Gotham is gone forever. Some threw parties in their houses and on the streets and people even shot fireworks in the sky. The police thought this was getting extreme but Dick Grayson thought they had their right to party.

The criminals of Gotham also had their secret gatherings of parties where they talked about taking over the Joker’s hideouts and controlling his men. But some retreated to the shadows, afraid that they might be next since Joker wasn’t the only terrible psychopath in Gotham City. 

But despite that, Bruce didn’t find any joy in that murderous mountebank’s demise. While he was relieved that no more bodies were piling up because of him, he had to break his code to stop him. He felt like he gave Joker what he wanted. 

Barbra and James ‘Jimmy’ Gordon Jr. were different. After they found out what Joker did to their dad, they hated him with every fiber of their being, they still do now. However, his death almost put them at ease. It brought them closure but it didn’t bring their father back and that was the worst part for them.

Dick Grayson felt discouraged since he knew the Commissioner as the first Robin and even talked to him as Nightwing. He admired him and thought he was a hero, even though he never wore a mask. 

It was a closed casket because his face was melted. The eulogy helped, as Bruce observed. He walked over to Barbara Gordon as James Gordon Jr. was turned away by Dick so they could talk.

Bruce took notice of Barbara's demeanor, empty and sad, and he pulled her in for a hug as tears escaped Barbara's eyes, her tears watering Bruce's well-tailored suit. But he didn't care, he had hundreds of suits that could replace the one he wore that day.

"Barbra, I’m-I’m sorry…I was too late." Bruce said regretfully.

Tim Drake wheeled his way to them but kept his distance, not wanting to ruin the moment between them.

Barbara stepped back and said, "It wasn't your fault. Besides, you sent him to hell and I'll always be grateful for that." Bruce merely nodded. He didn't give a response yet. "He killed so many people, my father…Jason." 

Then the topic of Jason was brought up. Bruce then responded. "I know. I know,”

Tim joined in. "I’m sorry Barbara,”

Barbara turned to Tim in his wheelchair with pity and gave him a gentle hug. “You have nothing to be sorry for,”

Stephaine Brown had arrived next and embraced Barbara while holding a bouquet of roses. “I didn’t know what was appropriate.” 

Barbara smiled gratefully as she took them. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.” 

Kate came into the moment and said to Barbara. “I’ve known him for a long time. This city didn’t deserve a cop like him.” 

Jimmy Gordon, Jimmy was what he preferred to be called, joined in and says, “He was more than that. He was a father, a better father than a Commissioner,” Then, to their surprise, a smile formed on his face, making a few people confused while also slightly disturbed. “At least it's comforting to know that the clown is in hell.”

Some of the family members looked at Bruce but he didn’t pay them too much attention. Instead, he patted Jimmy on his back, trying his best to comfort him. 

Bruce stared at the grave of James Gordon, conflicted as a long silence filled the mood, no one knew what to say. 

Then, Bruce found his voice and said aloud. "It is comforting. It very much is,” And then, to the Batfamily’s surprise, Bruce’s mouth slowly formed into a smile.

Back in the present, Tim  Drake goes into his glove compartment and swallows two headache pills. He then hit the steering wheel in frustration, not knowing who to listen to.

On one hand, what Lucius said to him back in the office still repeats in his head. “Well, you’re not him! I can’t believe that you would even want to do this again after what happened.” 

Tim knows that he’s the only thing Gotham has left but, the truth is, he’s scared. Scared of losing more people. He can’t handle any more deaths, he can’t bear it. 

Then, his voice echoes through his head as he keeps on swinging. “Mr. J is going to whack that common scene in his thick skull when I’m through with you, ha ha ha ha ha ha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AAAAAA!” 

Tim shakes his head, violently, not wanting to relive any memories involving The Joker. That’s the last thing he needs or wants.

But then, Renee’s words come back to him, “Are you going to step up or not?”

*RING RING* 

His phone makes a noise and Tim takes it out to see what it is. He sees that it’s work calling him, wanting to know where he is. Tim ends the call and starts his car, driving to work. 

He has made his decision; He’s going to continue his crusade because he has to. He owes that to Renee, Bruce, and Gotham. He’ll do it with or without Lucius.

Outside a storage facility, Carmine Falcone gets out of his car where he meets Sal Maroni standing at the front entrance. They shake hands and go inside where their discussion begins

“Did Babyface take the deal?” Maroni asks his partner.

Falcone sighs in disappointment. “No. He wants to play the long game.”

Maroni nods in understanding. “We’re gonna remind him who runs this town.”

Maroni smirks. “Ah, a message. I like it,” Maroni answers with a chuckle. “It’s gonna hit him so hard, he’s gonna wish he’d stay in his stroller.” 

Carmine lets out a laugh. “That was good. Better than anything the clown said.” 

Maroni looks flattered. “Thanks,” 

The conversation ends when they greet a group of people wearing motorcycle jackets and motorbikes. They’re obviously a street gang. 

Maroni turns to Falcone, incredulous. “I get you why we’re doing this but don’t you think we might need people who are more…equipped as it were.”

Carmine shakes his head at Maroni. “On the contrary, the Street Demonz are perfect. No one will be able to track it back to us.”

A strong and muscular man steps off his bike and his hand clasps with Carmine Falcone’s. “Mr. Falcone.” He turns to the other guys on their bikes. “This man is our new boss! You do as he says, got that?”

A collective collection of ‘Yes, sir.’ and ‘Yes, boss’es are heard from the men. 

Carmine says to the strong man. “Nice to see we understand each other because I will be giving you and your buddies an assignment that I expect to be done before sunset tomorrow.” 

The strong man didn’t let it show but a part of him shivered at his commanding voice, clearly scared of the authority his voice brings. 

“What do you need from us?”

Maroni speaks up. “Alfonso Vincenzo, are you all familiar with him?”

One man takes a guess. “The hotel owner?” 

Falcone nods. “Yes, however The Logerquist Hotel is only a front for gambling which means your paycheck is going to be very generous.” 

The bikers’ jaws dropped in surprise. Their leader says, “So you want us to rob it and split it with you, sir?”

Falcone lets out a chuckle and shakes his head. “No, I want you and your friends to burn it to the ground.”

Some bikers, including their leader, understand the mission and will do it for the money that will be given by Falcone but two or three bikers have hesitation on their faces. One biker speaks up, “S-sir, the n-number of p-p-people that go there! T-t-they’ll get hurt.” The one biker stutters. 

“Are you questioning me?” Carimine accuses the biker, making him freeze. “What I’m telling you is not a suggestion but an order and no one says no to a Falcone! Nobody, got that?!” 

The Biker gulps and says very quickly. “Y-yes sir!”

The Roman glares at the rest of the bikers. “That goes for all of you,” He turns to their leader. “Can you keep them in check?”

The leader of the Street Demonz replies. “Not a problem, sir. We’ll get it done.” 

“You better,” Falcone snarls as the bikers walk away. 

The Street Demonz’s leader smacks the one biker on the head. “What were you thinking, talking back to the freakin Roman!” He berates him in a harsh whisper. 

Maroni looks impressed. “Nicely done,” 

Later in they day, hours after his disagrerment with Lucius, the sun sets on Gotham City as Tim Drake is in his office. He's on the phone with hotel manager, Alfonso Vincenzo. 

He’s a businessman with dark brown curly hair and hazel eyes that are covered by glasses. He’s about  5 feet 7 inches tall, which matches his gambling addiction. Whatever he wins, he uses it to make his hotels more usable to the richer people in Gotham. Tim never respected him and has no current plan to do so.

“What are you proposing, Mr. Drake?” The manager asks over the phone.

“That you sell me the hotel and I’ll offer you twice of what you paid for getting the place operational.” Tim informs him.

Alfonso thinks that’s a fair deal but he has something on his mind. “What is this building to you, Mr. Drake?” A silence arrives. Tim suspects he’s thinking of a response. “Another one of your cheap condominiums?” 

Tim hears the mocking tone in his voice. One of the reasons they never got along was that they have different views on how to use and spend money. “Something like that.”

“You really enjoy playing the cheapest businessman in the city, don’t yah?” Alfonso mocks him. “One of these days, you’re not gonna have any money left.”

“Unlike you, I put my savings into something all of Gotham can use. For instance, affordable housing.” Tim lets out, immediately knowing that insulting the guy you’re trying to make a deal with is a bad idea.

“Hey, if you have a problem with my expenses, then I suggest you take it up with my accountant.” Alfonso remarks. The conversation is interrupted by something made of glass breaking, possibly a window. He hears Alfonso’s panicked voice. “Oh my god! O-Oh my god!”

Tim is concerned. “What-what’s going on, Alfonso?” The line is cut.

Chapter Text

Date: Monday, September 30th, 2013

Tim Drake puts his foot down the gas pedal and speeds down many streets, hoping not to be too late. He pays no attention to the crowds of pedestrians and the shops and restaurants they go to. All that matters to him is getting to the hotel in time to save the people caught in the potential disaster and when he finally does get there, his eyes reflect dancing flames.

Tim Drake is allstruck as he stares at the once tall and extravagant building that shined is now a burning ghost of its past self. Its flames illuminate the night sky and are filled with smoke and ash as it burns in the bitter glow of twilight. 

Fire Departments are inbound and are prepared to save the days but Tim knows in his core that he can’t stand on the dirty streets of the city and do nothing. He has to step up. 

He goes into his car and grabs a ski mask. It’s a black mask that will hide his identity. He puts it on and he’s off with the slam of his car door. The building continues to burn as he jumps into the building with no moments of hesitation. 

People see this and shouts are heard;

“Hey, where are you going?” 

“It’s not safe!” 

“You got a death wish?!”

Tim’s in the lobby, if it could be called that anymore. Now it’s infested with black smoke and dancing flames that are almost hypnotic. Tim knows not to take the elevator and decides to take the stairs but he does so with extreme cautiousness. 

The second floor is cleared of anyone, thank god. But the third floor has three people hiding under a desk, not knowing where to go or if it’s safe to leave their position. Tim steps forward to them and says to them, “Follow me!”

The three people look at him with shock and awe. A hero has come to their rescue. They immediately get up, trusting the masked man in the suit. He directs them down the stairs as he says, “You go, I’m going to find anyone else!”

The three people thank him as they leave the building out of harm's way. Tim continues his search. He finds other people trapped and they react with more shock and awe, thinking that someone has come to save them. Even a little girl he saved thought that no one cares about people like them anymore. Thankfully, she’s wrong.

The masked savior thinks that’s everyone and decides he has to leave. The building is going to collapse in on itself. But his calculation was wrong. Tim finds two men in biker gear and sees them taking off their leaver jackets and helmets. He recognizes them as the Street Demonz. He shouts to them, “Follow me to get out of here!”

The turn and, not to Tim's surprise, more shock. But his surprise comes back when they take out guns and shoot him. He quickly ducks and hides behind a broken beam. He was not prepared for this and had no way of knowing that this would happen.

“Who was the guy?!” One biker wants to know.

“Is it just me, or did it look like–!” Another says with terror.

“No, do not say it!” The first responses.

Tim shouts, “Stop shooting, you lunatics! This hotel is going down!”

Then, a part of the roof falls, causing them to jump back in fear. Tim Drake is annoyed and takes this matter into his own hands. He jumps out and attacks them both. They fall to the ground easily, their heads spinning and rotating as Tim picks them up by their arms and dragged them out. The journey downstairs is risky but he’s not going any faster with two men on his back. 

Debris falls with the flames growing. Tim begins to cough, knowing there’s not enough oxygen in the air. The situation is becoming worse; His vision becomes blurry, his feet trample, and it feels like the two thugs he’s carrying are getting increasingly heavier. But while his body is almost out for the count, his will power isn’t. 

Tim looks for an exit but, to his fear, the fire spreads to the exit of the lobby. He looks for a way out but instead finds a fire extinguisher. The gods from above have given him mercy. He sets the two down and immediately feels his shoulders becoming more loose. 

He breaks the glass with a crack and takes out the pin and finally, he opens fire at the flames. The action creates an exit to the other side opposed to where he came in. He takes the two back on his shoulder and soldiers out of the room. 

He finds himself in the back of the hotel, where an outdoor pool is at. Tim puts them back down and puts his head in the water, hoping that it would help and it does. His head comes out and he takes in both the oxygen in the air and the water that has soaked him. But he feels a headache coming along, a small price to pay for saving lives. 

Then, to his surprise, water falls on him from above. He looks up and sees that the firefighters have put out the flames, to Tim Drake’s relief.

He takes off his mask and stuff it in his pocket, leaving the building and back to his car. Tim Drake breathes heavily as his heart beats just as heavily. He closes his eyes for a moment, needing a minute to himself. 

The Street Demonz drives back to the storage facility on their motorcycles, mixed feelings of both discouragement and stress fill in their thoughts. 

One biker speaks up, “That went well.”

Another biker looks at him incredulously. “Went well? Went well?!” He shouts, making everyone jump. “You call us losing two guys and wasting all of our resources ‘well’?”

“I was being sarcastic!” The biker retorts. “You think I wanted to do this job?”

“Well maybe if you weren’t accepting deals from The Roman, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess!” 

Another biker, who has remained quiet during this argument, speaks up and says, “You hear what he said; ‘No one says no to The Roman’.”

The argumentative biker is annoyed. “We could at least have the common decency to discuss deals with the old man. We torched a hotel and now we’re broke! Inside that place were maybe thousands of dollars burned to hell!”

“It appears you weren’t paying attention,” Carmine Falcone’s voice arrived from the entrance, carrying a duffle bag with him. The Bikers instantly went white. “I promise I would take care of you and I always keep my promises,” 

The leader speaks to Carmine. “Mr. Falcone–”

“No need for excuses. I get it,” Carmine turns to the rest of the bikers. “Some of you are wondering what profit is to be made, so I’m here to answer your question,” He throws the duffle bag to the leader. 

The leader of the Street Demonz curiously unzips the bag and his eyes widen with wonder. He takes out a roll of, what appears to be, drugs. 

“You’re giving us drugs?” One biker asks, expecting more.

“To sell,” Carmine clarified. “You’re now strictly sellers now, so no more robbing convenience stores. You all will come to me once a month and we shall split the profits 50-50.” 

The bikers smile with satisfaction. The leader offers him his hand to shake. “This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Their hands clasp and tighten as they both shake.

*KA-CHING*

“Thanks,” Tim Drake gives a smile.

“You’re welcome. Have a nice night.” A female cashier tells him. 

Tim nods gratefully as he walks out of a convenience store with a bag of cold waters and sodas in his hand, along with a few snacks. He stopped by this place because he needed something to rehydrate him after that ordeal back at the hotel. He goes into his car and begins to drink one water at a time. Tim ends up drinking three waters. 

He decides to call it a night and drives back to the Manor. He thinks to himself as he drives past many neighborhoods and can’t help but feel relieved that he got there in time to save people. He will have to look on the news to see the aftermath of that and he hopes that he was able to get everyone and if he didn’t, then he hopes that the FireFighters did their jobs.

He also thinks back to the two thugs he saved. He knows that they were Street Demonz. But why would they want to burn down a building? Usually, they focus on petty theft. But what annoys Tim the most is that he thought he put them away before he retired. Guess that’s another thing he failed at. 

Tim pulls into the driveway of Wayne Manor and steps out of his car where he finds that another car is parked in the driveway as a man leans beside the vehicle; It’s Lucius.

Tim raises his eyebrow in confusion but is also wary of Lucius being here after their discussion this morning. He walks up to him and asks, “Lucius, what are you–” 

Lucius cuts him off. “We need to talk,”

Tim nods. “Okay, but–”

“Now.” Lucius firmly states. Tim takes the hint and walks inside his house where Alfred sits on the couch in the lounge, a piece of paper in hand. Tim starts to get concerned.

Aflred turns to him and says, “Master Timothy, may you please sit down?”

Tim hesitantly obliges and takes a seat next to Alfred before setting the bag of snacks and drinks on the coffee table. Lucius is the first one to speak. 

Lucius says, “I told him about our discussion,” He has his arms crossed and is unable to read. 

Tim puts his hands to his head. “Why-why-why would you do that?” 

“Because I was worried,” Lucius tells him. 

Tim sighs but keeps his composure. “Well, thank you for your concern but I’m fine.”

Alfred picks up the remote for the TV and turns it on. It’s reporting on the fire. 

“This is Jack Ryder reporting on the Logerquist Hotel fire tonight with a shocking reaction from witnesses who gave their perspectives on what happened.”

“It was a guy in a suit, with a ski mask on his face!” One man, who Tim recognized from inside the building, says with a smile. “I was inside the place and I thought I was a goner when this guy showed me out of the building.”

Then, it cuts to a little girl’s perspective of the incident, who Tim also recognized. “He saved me and my daddy! To me, he looked like Batman!”

Back with Jack Ryder, he says, "While other survivors of the fire have different stories, they all have one thing in common: A man in a mask. Is this a new vigilante? Or was it The Batman, The Caped Crusader who disappeared several years ago–”

*CLICK*

Alfred turns it off and that’s when Tim realizes Alfred hasn’t given a reaction yet. 

Alfred turns to him and asks, “You saved those people?”

Tim’s hands fidgets as he responds. “Yes.”

“Why?” Alfred simply asks. 

Tim blinks in confusion. “‘Why’ what?”

Alfred turns to him and Tim sees that he’s not angry or sad. His emotions are unreadable. “Why did you do it?” Alfred clarifies.

Tim thinks for a moment how to respond before coming up with a response; The truth. “Because I made Renee a promise,” Both Alfred and Lucius pay even closer attention as to what he’s referring to. “She came to me with pictures that show that Falcone is still up to his old tricks and she said that Gotham needs Batman more than ever, that it needs me,” 

Tim takes a moment to pause since it’s a lot to rethink about what happened. “She asked if I was going to step up or not before….the GCPD collapsed,” Tim takes another pause. “I was there,”

Lucius’s arms drop as Alfred tries to comfort him, making Tim appreciate Alfred even more than he already does. “I went in to help save everyone from Black Mask but he blew up the building but that’s not what killed her. No, she was shot in the chest and by the time I got to her, it…it was too late…she was gone.” Tim sniffs, wiping a tear from his eye.

Alfre puts an arm around him as Tim continues. “That’s why I have to do this. Because I promised Renee. That and I’m not about to let this city burn because I refused to do anything!” Tim says defiantly and undeterred. 

Lucius thinks to himself as to what to do next. He knows what’s going on out there but he thought the police could handle it. But now he knows the rumor that Falcone bribed his way out is true, that means that he’s probably bought out the cops since it has happened before. He now knows that Tim Drake is right and he also knows that he owes it to Bruce to ensure Tim’s safety.

Lucius gets out of his thoughts and sighs. “I’m sorry.” Tim turns to him. “I shouldn’t have been so hard on you. I should’ve listened to you.”

Tim nods. “It’s okay. I get it.”

Lucius turns to him as if he’s reached a decision. “Well, if you are going out there again, then I guess we will need to make some changes to the suit.”

Both Tim and Alfred turn to look Lucius in the eyes. Tim speaks up. “Wait, are you…are you saying you’re going to make me a new suit?”

Lucius nods. “Batman is going to need protective gear on his person.”

Tim smiles brightly. “Thank you, Lucius!”

Lucius smiles in reaction to Tim’s change in demeanor before looking at Alfred. “That is if you approve?”

Both persons turn to Alfred, who is quiet. Tim looks apologetic. “Al, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I didn’t know how you would react. If you’re mad, I get it.”

Alfred finally looks at Tim with a smile but also a look of incredulousness. “Master Timothy, I’m not mad. How could I be mad at you for saving lives? I’ll admit, I was unimpressed when you kept this from me but I understand. And I couldn't be more proud of you for saving those people,” Tim lets out a sigh of relief before Alfred continues. “I will allow this on one condition…that I assist you.”

Tim is surprised. This is not what he was expecting. “You want to help me?”

Alfred nods in response. “When Master Bruce started this, I patched him up. I would be breaking tradition if I didn’t do the same for you, Master Timothy.”

Tim is touched. He can always rely on Alfred and his kindness. “Thank you,” He turns to Lucius. “Both of you.” Lucius nods with a kind smile. “Now let’s get to work,”

They all smirk as Tim gets up and leads them to the study. He notices that they are a little pale but Tim understands. They haven’t been down there in a long time and Tim wasn’t any better when he first came back to the cave. He walks to the clock, turns it, and it opens. They all step on the elevator and they all go descend together. 

The elevator lowers down to the cave and Tim’s the first one off. He gives the two a moment to take all this in, which is about 1-2 minutes. 

Lucius clasps his hands together. “It appears we have lots of work ahead of us,” 

Alfred takes out a notepad and pencil from his coat pocket, starting a list of things they will need. “We will need new medical supplies to treat future wounds, and speaking from experience, you will be getting those while on and after field work,” Alfred teases Tim, making Tim roll his eyes albeit agreeingly.

Lucius takes a step to the Batcomputer. “You’ve done some tinkering with this, I see.”

Tim stands next to Lucius, both looking at the Batcomputer. “Yes, I have but I haven’t gotten it back to its usually standard,”

Lucius pats him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll work on it together,”

Alfred chimes in. “I also think this place might benefit from spring cleaning, wouldn’t you say?” Tim and Lucius agree as Alfred looks at the vehicles. “Also, both the car and cycle are going to need to be polished.”

Lucius walks toward the vehicles. “Oh, it’s going to need much more than that. I’ll get out the blueprints for these things,” Lucius then asks, “Tim, any suggestions?”

Tim doesn’t respond at first. He’s too busy smiling at the plans that they have for the cave. He’s glad that he has them to help him. He then says, “Maybe we can mess with the acceleration, try to make it go faster?”

Lucius smiles. Tim knows that Lucius has ideas in that brilliant mind of his. But as he examines the car, he notices that Tim walks away from the vehicle and goes into the equipment room. 

Tim finds his eyes gazing at Bruce's old Batsuit and the friendly and relaxed atmosphere feels like it’s replaced with a tense and uncomfortable tone. 

Alfred asks Tim, “Are you sure you want to do this, Master Timothy.” 

Tim doesn’t face Alfred, his eyes are only on the Batsuit. “I’ve made my decision,” He then says, “But before we do that, there’s somewhere I need to go.”

He walks out of the equipment room when Alfred calls out to him. “Do you wish for me to take you there?”

Tim waves him off. “No thanks, I’ll be fine.” He jumps on the elevator back up and that’s the last they see of Tim Drake for the time being. 

Tim Drake steps out of his car after 4-5 minutes of driving to the Gotham Cemetery at 8:43 at night.

His car is parked outside the gate on the grass. He takes notice of the leaves; They are turning autumn red this September. He always loved autumn and it's a beautiful change of colors opposed to the green of summer and spring. 

But Tim digresses as he walks forward. He treads lightly around the other tombstones, trying to respect the dead and their burials. Tim feels pity for the ghosts of the past. Some people who were planted in this cemetery have died because of the evil in this city and, speaking from experience, Tim has seen quite a lot; He’s seen killer clowns, crime bosses with umbrellas, mutant clay monsters, and many more evil and corrupt men and women in Gotham.

But, he throws those negative thoughts away as he takes a few more steps toward a gray tombstone that reads, 'Here lies Bruce Wayne – From 1966 to 2010. Beloved father, son, mentor and friend'

Tim takes a deep breath as the autumn leaves blow in the cemetery. Despite the disconcerting reason he stands before the tombstone, it's almost calming for him to hear none of the explosions or the sound of Gotham's normal escapades and instead hear the appeasing sounds of the winds as they blow. 

Finally, Tim takes a knee in front of the tomb. He takes another deep breath, getting ready to speak to the tombstone.

“Hey Bruce. It’s been a while. Listen, I don’t know how you’re going to react to me telling you this, but…recently, I have made a decision.” Tim says, slowly. “I’ve decided to…take up your mantle. And I’m sorry. I really am.” Tim shakes. “For three years, Gotham has burned and I failed to see it. New threats have arised and old friends have come back.” He says, thinking about Black Mask and Carmine Falcone. "...Which is why I must come back too.” 

Tim knows that Bruce would’ve been disappointed in him, since he allowed this to happen. Which is why he’s going to make up for it. 

“I can’t promise I’ll be perfect…And I know I'm not going to be as great a Batman as you were and I'm sorry if I disappoint you…but I'll be damned if I let this city crumble because of my inability to act.” Tim angrily says before regaining his composure. “And if I die, then at least I'll be with you again in Heaven. I swear to you, I will save Gotham.” Tim promises to the deceased hero. 

He stands up and is ready to leave before turning back to the headstone. “I love you, Bruce. I’ll come by some other time and tell you about what I’ve been doing.” 

He then walks away from the grave and past all the other poor souls that are in Gotham’s grounds. He steps back into his car, taking in what he said to Bruce. He swears to him, he will finish what Bruce started.

Chapter Text

Author's Message: Hello. This is not a chapter.

Don't worry, it's nothing serious. I'm still continuing my plans and I plan to get back to work somewhere in January.

I just wanted to wish my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Unfortunately, I do not have a Christmas special planned or a New Years special planned since I started writing this in September, so I'm sorry I dropped the ball on that one.

I would like to thank my readers such as, ChaosDragon00, runningcloud, AngelaCatQuil, SAVIOR05, HRwriter897, Phillipe363, Rondo9, and badwolfkaily. You all have given some type of comment or Kudos and these simple things have really made my day. So, thank you all for keeping me going.

I would also lile to give a special thank you to two very special people; Phillipe363 & HRwriter897. These two were the magnificent writers who inspired me to write this story with their magnificent stories and content that have posted over the years. I recommend you check these two out if you haven't, because they are really great at what they do.

Again, thank you all and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'll be seeing you again in January.

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, October 4th, 2013

Tim Drake sits in the office of Lucius Fox where he and Tim are having cups of coffee. Lucius has a cappuccino while Time has a plain black. They discuss details regarding the suit.

"It took a week, but I am almost finished with it." Lucius inquires.

Tim takes a sip of his coffee. "Okay, thanks for helping out with this, Lucius."

Lucius gives him a smile as he writes something down on a note pad with a pen. "Right. So, any ideas on who you'll go after when this is complete?"

Tim sets his coffee down on the table before telling him, "Salvatore Maroni. He kept The Falcone Crime Family afloat, despite those three years of him in Arkham. If I get him to confess, then no lawyer will be able to get him bail again.”

Lucius smirks. "Sounds like a plan," He then sets his drink on the table and asks, "How does it feel, going back out there?"

Tim takes another drink before answering with an expression of contempt on his face. "To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. The feeling is indescribable.” He looks at Lucius with a look of understanding. Good old Lucius, Tim could always count on him for anything. He’s glad that he’s decided to help out.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

This conversation immediately stops and Lucius puts his notepad of suit ideas deep inside his work desk.

“Come in.” Lucius tells the knocker, who reveals to be his secretary. “What can I do for you, Trish?”

Trish clears her throat and says, “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Fox, but I have a call from Ms. Barbara Gordon to Mr. Tim Drake?”

Tim gives him a nod before Lucius tells her, “Put her on the intercom.” She nods and goes back to her desk. Lucius presses the button and speaks. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Barbara. Is Tim with you?”

“Yes, he is. Did you need him?” 

“I just wanted to ask if we’re still on for dinner tonight?” 

Lucius raises his eyebrow at Tim as he says, “Yeah, definitely. I’m letting everyone off early so we can hang out. Is Jimmy joining?” Tim’s secretly hoping that he’s not.

“No, he has a test to study for GSU. It’ll just be us.” 

Tim hides a sigh of relief. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”

“Alright, bye.”

“Bye, Babs.” He then ends the call. 

Lucius asks, “You’re going to tell her, aren’t you?”

Tim isn’t surprised that Lucius figured it out. He knows him so well. “She deserves to know before I put on the suit.”

Lucius nods but hides a shudder. He knows that it’s probably not going to end well. 

Tim takes his coffee and gets up from his chair. “I gotta go. Alfred wanted me to try on this new shirt.”

Lucius chuckles. “Alrighty then. I’ll be seeing you,”

Tim nods before he walks out of the office and says his goodbye to Lucius’ secretary. He goes down the hall and makes his leave.

Carmine Falcone gets out of his car with Salvatore Maroni accompanying him as they walk into a building labeled ‘Shipping Riley’. To the common folk, they are having a discussion with their friend, Sean Riley. But to themselves, they are meeting to discuss how to deal with the Black Mask problem.

Sean Riley is Gotham City's most notorious Irish gangster. Falcone has always been impressed with his way of eliminating the competition. The rest of the Irish Gangsters were forced to work under him and to those that didn’t want that, they left Gotham. To be honest, Carmine didn’t blame those that did. He was never a sharer. 

They walk into the two-story factory where Sean Riley’s workers are shipping the newest televisions, toys for children, and other daily essentials. But it’s all a front for his criminal activities; Manufacturing counterfeit money.

They find Sean and they shake his hand like old friends. “Carmine, Sal, good to see you. How about we talk in my office, I’ll have my daughter bring some wine.” Riley offers to them.

Sal grins. "Now we're talking." He takes notice of Falcone’s two henchmen. “Y’know what, invite them too.”

They go up to his office behind  the other offices and out of earshot. Riley seats them in lounge chairs as a young woman with blond hair follows them with a bottle of wine in her hand. 

“Peyton,” Maroni gives her a mischievous grin. Peyton, in return, gives him a disgusted look.

Falcone doesn’t pay her too much attention. She could never gain any real respect amongst her peers in the Gotham social circles, because she has always been looked down upon as just another ‘Mafia Princess’. A spoiled girl who has never made something of herself and has to rely on her daddy to get her something.

Peyton Riley pours out the beverages in wine glasses. “This, my friends, is Château Lafite-Rothschild from 1869. They don’t make them like they used to anymore.” 

As he gives them their drinks, one goon takes notice of something about the room; It has a display case across the entrance to the office. But what takes him aback is what’s in it; A wooden puppet wearing a suit, a fedora on its head, and a cigar in its mouth. 

“Um…what’s with the doll in your office?” The goon asks, making Maroni and Falcone groan like the adults they are.

Riley smiles as Carmine refills his drink, feeling an exhausted headache coming along. The most annoying thing about Riley is that he always loves showing this thing off to anyone who asks. 

“That, my friend, is the Scarface puppet used by Arnold Wesker.” He walks over to the display case and stares at it with content. 

“Who?” The second goon inquires. 

Sean turns to Carmine. “They’re from out of town, aren’t they?” 

Maroni nods. “Yeah, just got here from Missouri.” 

Riley nods. “So that’s why they don’t know the story,” He turns back to the goons. “Arnold Wesker was my most troubling business rival. He had this thing where he thought that this puppet,” He points back to it. “Was alive.”

The second good looks at him, incredulous. “No.”

Riley chuckles. “I assure you, he did. Scarface, as it’s called, ordered him around in harsh words like any other goon. I have tried for years to ax them both before the GCPD could or…other men.” He turns to Falcone and Maroni knowingly. They frown in memory of Batman. They’re glad that he’s no longer around. 

The first goon asks, “What happened to Wesker?”

“He was taken down by Batman and that gave me more than enough time to take over his operations.” He says smugly.

“Bet that must’ve made him mad.” 

“I wouldn’t know, considering he’s dead.” That makes the goons’ eyes widen and the other three grimace. “He was killed in his cell by the Chained Killer.”

“Who?” 

“No one knows he is.” Peyton tells the two. “His identity remains a secret to this day, much like Batman’s.”

“Exactly.” He smiles at his daughter. “He was found with his belly pumped full of lead.” 

“Jesus,” The second goon reacts. 

“If you think that’s bad, you should hear what happened to the other guys. They found Calendar Man with his throat slit and some bones in his neck sticking out while in a pool of his own blood.” He hides a laugh seeing the goons and his daughter’s reaction. “I pulled strings and got the puppet as a gift; As a symbol of my victory over him.” 

Falcone sets his drink on the table. “Are you done? Are we ready to talk serious business?”

Riley smiles sheepishly. “Yes, of course. That’ll be all, Peyton.” He tells his daughter.

Peyton hides an annoyed look as she leaves them to their talk.

Maroni gets the ball rolling. “Right, Black Mask. He’s new to the game, but he won’t be any trouble.”

“Small problems can lead to big problems,” Carmine argues. “He makes his appearance two days after I got out of Arkham, that can’t be a coincidence.” 

The second goon adds, “Plus, did you guys see what he did to that building? The Commissioner died !” 

Carmine nods in agreement. “Precisely. That’s why I want to know who this guy is.” He takes his drink and gets up from his chair, overlooking the view that shows the streets of Gotham. “I thought we have this city to ourselves without these buffoons in cosplay.” 

Riley and Maroni shift uncomfortably. They know that he has this hatred for men in masks. 

“I left Gotham years ago,” said Carmine, bitterly.

Maroni nods nervously. “We-we know that.”

“I left to begin a fresh turning point because of men like Batman, Joker, Scarface, The Penguin, and The Riddler. It was all too much and when I heard that four of them had died and one went missing – probably dead – I came back. I found a sense of hope, thinking I could regain my title and my pride in Gotham’s inner circle. But those hopes were dashed…when a bird put me in a cage for three years,” He feels tempted to throw the wine glass on the ground in frustration. 

Riley goes up to him, “Now, calm down, Carmine.” 

He turns to them both, making the two crime lords flinch and the two goons nervously looking for the exit. “I lost three years of my life. I lost three years of money. And when I finally get out, this new circus freak thinks he can come around and make a mess of what I’ve built.” 

Carmine turns to everyone as he continues. “He’s sorely mistaken. I want to find this guy. I want to know who he is behind that ridiculous mask of his and I want to reduce him to a mere mortal man. And when I kill him personally, I will hang that mask above my fireplace…my family has ruled Gotham before I or any one of us was born. He will not take what is mine!”

In Wayne Manor, Tim Drake and Alfred Pennyworth spar in the Batcave. Despite Alfred being old, he still has some moves. 

Tim says, “Y’know, I sometimes forget to remember that you were a war hero.” 

“Well, I was a member of Britain's Special Air Service for about 10 years, Master Timothy.”

“I assume that’s where you learned how to be a medic?’ Tim asks. 

“That, and among other things.” They continue to spar in the cave before Tim’s phone rings. They stop as Tim sees who has just texted; It’s Barbara. 

The text reads; I’m here. Where you at?

Tim texts back, Be there soon. Can’t find my wallet

“You’re getting better at lying, I see.” Alfred notices. 

“It’ll be useful for making excuses as to where I’m at every night. The good thing is, I won’t be lying to Barbara for long.” 

Alfred throws him a towel, “You might want to change into something more appropriate for dinner.” 

Tim nods and they head up to the Manor. The elevator grinds as it gets them up. 

“It’s official; I’m fixing that tomorrow.” Alfred declares, finally fed up with the elevator. 

Tim doesn’t say anything in response. He’s trying to figure out how to start the conversation with Barbara. He thinks, “Barbara, recently I’ve done something–” No, that would make her creeped out.

“Hey, you know that Samaritain guy on TV? It’s me–” No, that sounds like Tim’s bragging about it.

Maybe he should just come right out and say it, like, “Barbara, I’m trying to become Batman!” But Tim immediately shut that idea down since he thinks it's a good idea to slowly bring up the topic instead of bringing it up instantly.

Alfred sees that Tim’s been quiet for most of the time back up and, just to see if he’s been paying attention, he says, just as they are getting out of the elevator, “Sir, I've been thinking about taking some time off, maybe go to Hawaii. Thoughts?”

Tim nods dumbly. “Hmm,” Until he realizes what Alfred said and asks, “Wait, Hawaii? You hate temperatures above 85.” 

Alfred chuckles at his reaction before asking, “Trying to figure out what to tell Ms. Gordon?”

Tim sighs, as they leave the study and are walking down the hallways to get to Tim’s room. “Still thinking about it. I’m not even sure what her reaction is going to be.” 

As he enters his room, he sees Alfred putting on his ‘All-Knowing’ expression that has wisdom and the solution to every problem. 

Alfred finally tells the younger man. “Sir, you’re overthinking this. You thought I was going to ‘flip out’ but you were wrong about that. Maybe Ms. Gordon will have a similar reaction to mine.” 

Tim shrugs. He has a point. Besides, Barbara has never been the one to be so angered. Then again, this wasn’t under normal circumstances.

Alfred leaves the room as Tim gets dressed in a nice shirt that wasn’t buttoned and puts on a dress coat and jeans. Nice polished shoes, his watch, and his wallet completed his look. 

He leaves the room as Alfred gets the car pulled up, a black 2012 Dodge Charger. and Tim quickly gets in the back seat as Alfred drives out of the gates of Wayne Manor.

They sit in silence throughout the car drive and, no offense to Alfred, but Tim prefers it that way. He’s never been a big conversationalist and the silence helps him think of what to say to Barbara. 

As the car drives, Tim looks out the window to see the Gotham streets, but it’s not as peaceful as he remembers; The streets are dirtier and the neighborhood houses have broken glass, indicating house break-ins. 

This is why he must come back and where Bruce’s cowl and complete his mission; Because the violence is rising and no one wants to take a stand against it. So, it has to be him. He must defeat Carmine Falcone and Black Mask, the biggest rats in this town who think they can dirty a city that has been mostly cleaned.

The car stops in front of a restaurant called ‘The Condiment King’s Palace’. It’s a fancy eatery, owned by Mitchell Mayo. He’s an old guy who gave the entire Bat-Family headaches back in the day. He cringes at the memory of Mitchell wearing that ridiculous light blue costume and that overgrown pickle helmet on his head and those stupid ketchup and mustard guns. The only thing he got were fines and lawsuits before opening one of the best restaurants in the city. 

Tim gets out of the car when it comes to a halt. He thanks Alfred as he walks inside to meet a valet. 

“May I park it for you, sir?” 

Tim shakes his head. “No, thanks. Someone’s covering it.” 

The valet nods as Tim meets the host/owner of the club, Mitchell Mayo. he asks, “Do you have a reservation?” 

“Yeah, I’m here with Barbara Gordon?” 

He looks up, “Is she handicapped?” 

Tim narrows his eyes at him. “That’s offensive to me and her. But, yes.” 

“Follow me,” He tells him as Tim continues to glare at him for that comment he made.

He looks around the atmosphere of the restaurant, seeing people chat with family and friends. Some are drinking parties and some are family get-togethers. He finally finds Barbara seated at a table. She’s wearing a nice dress shirt and a black skirt. White shoes and socks cover her feet as they sit on the footplates. 

“Hey, Babs,” He kisses her temple as he takes a seat beside her. “Glad you could make it.” 

“Me too,” she smiles as she looks around. “I gotta say, this place is more fancy than we usually go to.” 

Tim tells her, “Well I’ve been kinda…nostalgic lately.” He tries to offer Barbara a hint as to what this meeting is really about, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

A waiter walks to the table and asks, “Can I get you anything from the bar?” 

Barbara tells the man, “I’ll have a Shirley Temple and he’ll have a coffee.” She then says, “Decafe.” 

The waiter nods as Tim complains, “Decafe, really?”

Barbara tells him, “It’s not good for you to drink all that coffee before bed. It’ll make you all jittery.” 

Tim rolls his eyes. “I run laps and exercise and stuff to tire myself out.” 

Barbara looks at him incredulous. “With the amount of caffeine you drink, I doubt it.”

Tim and Barbara share a laugh and it feels nice for Tim. This is what he’s always loved about Barbara; Her banter that reminds Tim that good people still exist in the world. 

She looks over her menu and Tim follows suit. They debate their options between themselves before finally coming up with decisions that they’re comfortable with. 

The waiter comes back, “Are we ready to order?”

Barbara hands him her menu back. “Yes, I’ll have the potato soup, but do you think you could put melted cheese in it?” 

Tim smirks. Barbara is a melted cheese lover and uses melted cheese on her pizza, potatoes, hot dogs and other meals.  

The waiter looks surprised. But Tim sees that, based on his body language, it’s not the weirdest request he’s gotten. “Sure, no problem.” He takes her menu back before turning to Tim. “And for the gentlemen?”

“I would like grilled catfish with mashed potatoes on the side.” Tim tells the man.

The waiter takes back the menu in a polite manner. “You got it. May I get you refills?”

Tim looks up at him, “Yes please.”

He takes the mug and he’s off. Tim and Barbara sit in silence for a while, but Barbara understands. She knows that Tim is more of the quiet yet observant type of person. 

But then again, Tim likes to talk to those he considers family, so they converse for a while about Barbara’s job at the library, Tim’s job at his real estate company, and, to give Barbara another hint, he stirred the conversation to the new gangs appearing.

“I’ve been hearing people talk about Falcone and all the new gangs piling up non-stop at the library.”

“Like Black Mask?” Tim couldn’t help but ask with a sneer. When he finds that guy, he is going to pound him to a pulp for what he did to Renee. 

Barbara looks at him with pity and sympathy. “Yes, like Black Mask.” She then has a look that shines with glimmers of hope. “But I heard that some new Samaritan guy is saving people, like in the hotel fire.” 

The waiter comes back with food. “You’re potato soup with melted cheese,” He hands Barbara. “And your grilled catfish.” 

Tim nods. “Thank you.” 

The waiter also adds, “And that Samaritain guy you’re talking about, I heard it’s Batman.” 

Barbara looks at him, incredulous. “Batman? I’m not so sure,”

Tim shrugs, giving another hint. “Maybe it is.”

The waiter speaks, knowing that he’s overstayed his welcome. “Enjoy.” He walks away.

Barbara turns to Tim and asks, “Batman? Are you serious?”

Tim says, “It could be.” He looks disappointed as he sees Barbara shrug off the conversation and begins eating. ‘C’mon, Gordon, you’re better than this.’ Tim thinks to himself before he begins eating his catfish. 

After they get done eating, they leave the restaurant. As he waits for Alfred to come with the car, Tim knows that hints aren’t going to cut it anymore. It’s time to tell the full truth. 

Tim says, “Barbara, dinner is not the only reason why I wanted to see you.” 

Barbara looks at him, confused. “Okay, then what was it?” She then grows concerned. “Did something happen?”

Tim tells her, “Yes, something has happened.” He looks around the street corners, hoping no one hears this next part. “I have–”

“HELP!”

Tim and Barbara jump in shock. They both have heard a scream, a woman’s pleading scream. They look around, wondering where they heard it from.

“There!” Barbara points down an alleyway where they see a woman being dragged down an alleyway. He quickly runs down the sidewalk to where they are. “No, Tim! Wait!” Barbara harshly whispers. But it’s too late. Tim has taken off.

Tim hides behind a dumpster to view the situation; A man with a gun stands over a woman in a tank top, shorts, and sneakers. ‘She’s a runner’. Tim says to himself.

The man in a dirty jacket and beard picks up her phone, but isn’t satisfied. He has a lustful look in his eyes and that’s when Tim steps in.

Tim doesn’t bother talking. He sees an opening and uses it to grab the man in a choke hold. He tightens enough for him to drop his gun on the ground. 

“Now you listen here, you scumbag.” Tim growls at the man. “If I ever catch you doing this again, then I am going to do much worse than this. Do you understand me?” The perverted man nods frantically, afraid of meeting the grim reaper. Tim drops him to the ground in disgust as the perverted man gasps for air. After he regains his strength, he desperately runs out of the alleyway.

Tim forgets about the man and walks toward the young runner, who is crouched down beside the alleyway’s walls, hyperventilating.

Tim gets on his knees. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re safe. He’s gone.” The young brunette looks up at him with her dark brown eyes twinkling with tears. She sobs as she gets up and grabs Timothy in a tight hug. 

“Thank you, thank you so much.” Tim understands her reaction. He used to get these reactions all the time when he was Robin. He gently pats her on the back and returns her hug.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe. He’s not going to hurt you.” He tells her, her tears wettening his shirt. But Tim doesn't care about his shirt. She’s allowed to cry in relief. 

He looks behind him, seeing Barbara Gordon sit in his wheelchair in shock. He knows that she knows the truth. 

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, October 4th, 2013

After Tim and Barbara take the runner to a hospital, he is asked by Barbara to go back to her house. Tim lets out everything; What happened to Renee, him going back to the Batcave, the hotel fire, and Lucius and Alfred being on board with this.

Tim knows Barbara deserves to know before he goes out there. He doesn’t want Barbara to look on TV, reporting that someone dressed as Batman is going around the city for her to automatically know who it is. That’s not fair to her.

Right now, they are seated in the living room of her house. Tim, wanting to break the silence, speaks. “Barbara, I know how crazy this sounds, but I’ve made my decision. I know that someone has to do this and since it’s not going to be anyone else, it might as well be someone with experience. I don’t expect you to be okay with this, I just want you to understand.” Tim tells him, slightly firm but straight to the point. But Barbara doesn’t respond. She just sits on the chair in a train of thought. Tim says, “Barbara, say something.”

Barbara finally looks up at him. “What do you want me to say, Tim? I get it. I get why you have to put back on the mask, I really do. I saw the relief in that girl’s eyes and maybe the rest of Gotham could use that same relief…but that doesn’t mean I’m not worried.”

Tim sighs, but he gets it. She understands why he must become the next Batman, but she’s scared for his life. 

“Tim, I hate to say it, but…my dad isn’t around to vouch for you anymore. People are going to come after you; Investigative Journalists, Reporters, Cops. the Mob…maybe people from Arkham.” Barbara stresses while Tim looks around awkwardly. “And I’m scared for you…” 

Tim takes a guess as to what she was about to say. “That I can’t handle it?”

Barbara shakes her head as Tim sees some tears building up in her eyes. “That you won’t come back one night.” She lets out a sob filled with stress and alarm. 

Tim looks at her painfully, not knowing what to say to make this better. Barbara has always been Tim’s best friend since he became Robin and he understands why her face and expression is consumed with terror. They were somehow able to rebuild everything that they lost and Barbara’s afraid that she might lose someone else, just like she did with her father and Bruce. 

Somehow, Barbara manages to pull herself together. She looks back at Tim with watery eyes that she is attempting to dry. “But, I know there's nothing I say or do that will change your mind and, to be honest, it would be wrong of me to do. I accept this.” 

Tim nods with uncertainty. He wishes that there is something he can say to put her at ease, but he feels that words are not going to help. 

She turns back to Tim, hopefully. “It’s been a long day. Talk to you later?”

“Y-yeah, of course.” They give each other a hug as Barbara wheels out of the room and into her bedroom.Tim knows that she’s trying to put on a brave face and be strong, which he appreciates. But he can tell that this is troubling her. He thinks that it’s time to leave, so he does.

Date: Saturday, October 5th, 2013

"MMMMM HMMM–AAAAHHH!" A man’s screams echo, despite him being gagged.

Right now, Black Mask is torturing GCPD's newest Commissioner, Peter Pauling, who thought he could get evidence on Black Mask. While his intentions were nobel, he will soon realize what happens to good people that meddle with his affairs.

He uses the Slicer's knife to leave him with deep scars on his flesh. Peter grimaces in pain, desperate for all this to end. He violently tries to shake the chains off of his legs to get himself off the chair and away from this torture. But it's too late because a Slicer's knife is being plunged into his knee cap cuts him off. 

Black Mask lets go of the knife, placing it back on the table of his torture tools. "Did you know that this knife was once used by Victor Zsasz?" He asks his hostage. "To be honest, I would've liked to meet him before his entire body was slashed by The Chained Killer" in the Asylum three years back." He picks up a pair of pliers and tells the poor man, "But that doesn’t mean I can’t have my own fun,"

The Commissioner sees the pliers, but he has no idea what he’s about to do with them. So, Black Mask educates him by using the pliers to remove a few of his toe nails. He screams through the tape and the saddest thing is Peter can't do anything to defend himself since he's chained to a chair with dozens of armed men on standby. 

He sets the pliers down and says, "Look, I know that this must be hard to take in, but this is me going easy. I can’t demonstrate my worst since people would ask questions. So, your nails and a few scars are the best I can do. You understand, right?” His hostage nods with watery eyes, wanting nothing more than to be liberated of this torment. Black Mask continues. “Good, now, are we feeling more cooperative?" He inquires as he strips off the tape that covered his mouth in a quick motion.

Peter desperately nods and shouts, "YES, PLEASE!" He has tears in his eyes, having a panic attack. "I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING; MONEY, GUNS, JUST PLEASE MAKE THIS STO-O-OP!" His whimpers make him stutter. 

Black Mask takes his pleads into consideration but for many moments. The anticipation is too much for Peter and he breaks down, worried about his outcome. What if he’s not satisfied and this ill treatment will continue.

Black Mask addresses his crew. "Looks like the GCPD is in our hands, boys!" 

The men cheer frantically, one of them shouts, "Whoo-Hoo, free guns!"

Black Mask chuckles before turning back to the Commissioner. "That is a part of our agreement, right?" The masked instigator of violence has Victor Zsasz's knife in hand.

The Commissioner nods uncontrollably. "Yes, of course! Anything you want! I swear!"

Black Mask pats him on the shoulder. "That'll be all for today." He then whispers in his ear. "We'll be doing this every Thursday. If you want to keep the rest of everything else, then you'll deliver what we ask. Capeesh?" Peter's eyes widen before he nods in forced understanding. Black Mask ruffles his hair. "Good boy. Gentlemen, get him out of here."

Two masked men take off the restraints as they drag the half-conscious Commissioner out into a van. 

Black Mask looks chipper than ever as he commands his goons. "My False Face Society, it's been fun. But we must put back on our masks."

All of the men in the room immediately go silent at their boss’s command. Each one of them takes off the masks from their faces, revealing who they are. Or so people think.

These masks represent who they really are, while the flesh on their skulls are a facade, a way to blend into the dozens of crowds of Gotham's people. His False Face Society use their masks to show off their real selves and because of this, they are honest with themselves and the type of people they are.

Black Mask takes off his real face and sees his mask in a nearby mirror; A mask of a businessman, trying to make Gotham better. But he knows better; Black Mask is his true self, the man who brings honesty by his False Face Society, Roman Sionis is his true mask. 

Same goes for everyone else in the room; Right now, they all look like workers of Sionis Industries but they're really psychopaths and money hungry. People may think it's evil, but those people aren't honest with who they are. His False Face Society are, on the other hand, completely and utterly honest. 

Roman Sionis, at least that's who he is for the time being, takes the true faces from everybody and leads them out their underground base hidden in an abandoned subway system. It's not exactly the cleanest place, given that he sometimes spots a few rats here and there. But it's not about cleanliness; It's about bringing back honesty.

He will be the first one to admit it; Those three years of peace were the worst thing that could've ever happened to Gotham. It pretended to be something it's not, as peaceful and boring as Oklahoma.

Gotham has put on a mask to hide the fact what it really is; A godforsaken hellhole. Where clowns run wide, plants kill people, and bats stalk the night. 

This is why he does this, why he created the False Face Society; To remove Gotham's mask and reveal its face. To bring back the freaks, the masks and the bat…Especially the Bat.

At Wayne Enterprises, Tim is on the phone with his friend, Dr. Leslie Tompkins. “I thought you deserved to know.”

“Well, I thank you for telling me. Honestly, I’m not surprised. How did Barbara take it?”

Tim's mouth slightly thins at the reminder of what happened last night. Ever since last night, Tim has been thinking and pacing on what to say to Barbara the next time they talk, so he could try not to worry so much. But even the power of caffeine could not give him ideas.

“She’s…putting on a brave face.” 

“Again, not surprised. Look, I’m open for a talk if you want.”

Tim nods. “Okay, I’ll schedule an appointment when I can.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I gotta go. Talk to you soon.” 

“Okay, bye.” Tim hangs up the phone and asks Lucius, "So, the suit's completed?"

"It most certainly is, Tim. I will have it ready for you this evening for you to give it a proper…test run." Lucius ends with a smirk.

Tim forms an identical smirk on his face. "Tonight, Gotham will know that Batman has returned. It's going to put Falcone and every other crime boss in a state of panic," Tim states. He then asks, “And the Batmobile?”

Lucius tells him, “I’ll be needing more time on that. It’s an old car.”

“How long are we talking about?”

“A month, perhaps. The Batcycle, though, is still functional and will work as a temporary way of transportation.” 

Tim nods, knowing what Lucius is telling him. “The Batcycle will work fine for the time being. Thank you,” 

*BZZZZZ*

The intercom buzzes and the voice of Lucius’ secretary, Trish, speaks through it. 

“Mr. Fox, Mr. Sionis is here for Mr. Drake.” 

“Thank you, Trish. We’ll be right out,” Lucius presses the button to end the line before turning to Tim. “So, what are you two going to be doing?”

Tim gets up and grabs his jacket from the back of his chair. “Roman and I are going to be working out at this new boxing arena gym he bought. He said he thinks Gotham needs to defend themselves for all that’s going on.” 

Lucius smiles. “Yeah, that sounds like him.” They shake hands as Tim exits his office. 

Tim is able to find Roman Sionis and Roman greets him with a pat on the pat. “Ready to go, kid?” Roman asks. 

Tim nods. “Yeah, can’t wait.” They walk together in the elevator and that's when they start to discuss in deep conversation. 

“So, how’s business?” Tim asks.

Roman tells him, “Funny you should ask because tonight, I hope to approve a new research project involving Cryogenetics.”

Tim looks at him with interest. “I thought you said that field of science was dead in the water.”

Roman shrugs. “I’m a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong. This guy, Fries, has sparked my interest in it. I’ve got a good feeling about him.” 

The elevator opens, but it doesn’t reveal the lobby. Instead, it reveals an underground parking garage with a wide collection of cars and vehicles either from a recent year or from a time before either of them were born.

 As the duo step out of the elevator, Roman asks, “So, which car are you feeling today?”

Tim ponders before saying, “The Mercedes.” 

Roman smirks. “Now we’re talking.” 

They both walk past Lamborghinis and Cameries and other cars before finally stopping at this one specific car; It’s a polished dark red Mercedes-Benz 300 from 1954. The doors are to be lifted to the roof of the vehicle. 

They get in the classical vehicle as the garage doors open. Roman starts the car with the keys he took out of the glove compartment and the vessel lets out a mighty roar as they drive out and onto the streets of Gotham. 

Tim relaxes as he and Roman navigate the avenues. It’s always fun when he and Roman hang out, it makes Tim feel like that sixteen year old teenager again.

He also can’t help but feel inspired whenever he thinks about all that Roman has done for Gotham; Increasing security at Arkham Asylum, putting more focus on medical related projects, and so much more.

Tim respects Roman Sionis and values him as a family friend and sees him for the good man he is.

The older business man stirs the car to the parking lot of a one-story gym with sparkling red bricks. The sign reads, ‘Philip’s Gym. Funded by Sionis Industries’.

The two businessmen step out of their vehicle and go into the building. Inside is a proud establishment with the newest equipment for weight lifting, stretching, and, of course, boxing with punching bags and other things any average gym would need. Plus, a smoothie bar. 

Tim and Roman turn in their jackets and wallets in the locker room and go to the area with punching bags and boxing gloves. They put them on and they begin to train. 

Roman holds the bag in place as Tim punches. Roman looks impressed and surprised. “Going all out today, aren’t we?” 

Tim shyly shrugs. He needs this as a training exercise when he hits the streets again. 

He punches again. Roman laughs before going to help him out. “You’re doing good, kid, really. But if you really want to do some damage, go for the weak spots.” He examines the bag and says, “Imagine this is the one person who you despise the most out of anyone you’ve met. Get a clear image in your mind and keep it.” 

Tim takes his advice and closes his eyes to get that clear image. There are many people he despises; Joker, Falcone, and dozens of other people he hates the most, despite some of the people he’s thinking of are either dead or reformed. 

But then, something gets his attention; A television news broadcast by Jack Ryder. “It has been weeks since the attack on the GCPD building by the new gang leader, Black Mask and his False Face Society. No new information has been revealed about this person’s whereabouts, but he is considered armed and extremely dangerous.” 

Tim, with his eyes still closed, feels his entire body clench as an image of the masked murderer comes clear in his mind. 

“Do you have it?” Roman asks the younger man.

Tim takes a breath before nodding, his eyes opening to the gym and Roman.

He nods. “Good, good. Now, there are multiple areas where a man can feel the most pain. For instance, here.” He lands his finger at the center of the bag. “Here is the Solar Plexus. Hit here and you knock the wind out of the slim ball. Try it.” 

Tim nods and gets in a fighting stance. 

*POW*

Roman holds the bag back. “Again.” 

*POW*

“Again.” Roman tells him once more, trying to build up a fire inside of Tim.

*POW*

“That’s the spirit, Timmy!” Roman almost shouts, proudly. 

Tim has a slight smile on his face. His imagination makes him excited and jumpy at the thought of bringing down Black Mask. 

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

But it doesn’t stop Tim from being exhausted. He lets out a sigh of exasperation as Roman pats him on the back. He tells Tim, “Alright, alright. That was good. Go get some water and then it’ll be my turn.” 

Tim nods and goes to the bar and pays for a cold bottle of water. After receiving it, he chugs it down to where it’s half empty. He goes back to Roman and sets his bottle down on a bench before holding the bag for Roman. 

*POW*

*POW*

*POW*

Tim asks, “Do you imagine anyone while doing this?”

Roman lets out a chuckle. “Oh yeah. All the time,” 

“Who?” Tim wonders. 

“The Board of Directors. A bunch of cheapskates.” Roman tells Tim, making the two laugh happily. 

Back at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox and Dr. Victor Fries discuss an idea in his office. “Nervous about your meeting?” 

Victor tells Lucius in a voice that shows he’s a professional man, but he’s friendly enough. “Not at all. I actually can’t wait to tell the Board my plans.”

"Just for the record, what do you wish to accomplish with this new Cryogenics program?” 

“Cryogenics can be the newest way to stall diseases and cancers in our bodies. Also, I hope to actually slow down the aging process. With this new form of Cryogenics, we could take the next step towards immortality.”

Lucius looks over files on Victor's work. Admittedly, he tells Victor, “The CEO thinks that this is something to look into. I, however, think that this is bending the laws of nature.” 

Victor nods. “Understandable. I know that this sounds unorthodox, but imagine what we could achieve if we had more time in our lives. The greatest minds of our history would have accomplished much more than they already did if the aging process and diseases wasn’t an issue.” 

Lucius is in deep thought. While he believes that this is something that could evolve the next step in human evolution if done well, it would be a huge if. The amount of danger that this could bring is something that needs to be taken into account. 

He lets out a sigh and tells Victor, “It shall be up to Roman and the Board of Directors whenever this program is approved. You’ll have to talk to him whenever he gets back.” 

The Mercedes parks in Roman’s private garage as Tim and Roman step out of the vehicle. 

“That was quite the workout, wouldn’t you agree?” Roman throws him his water bottle. 

Tim catches it. “Indeed. But I might need a good shower to drench the sweat off me.”

Roman and Tim press the button to the elevator and they step in. “Yeah, good idea.” The elevator door closes as they feel the steel cube go up. “Listen, I have a meeting with the Board of Directors. We’ll talk tomorrow?”

Tim gives him a smile and nods. “Yeah, no problem.” He then gives Roman a lie. “I’ll be working late at Drake Industries anyway.” 

Roman gives Tim a smile back as he pats him on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, y’know? Of all you’ve accomplished with that company of yours.” 

Tim looks at Roman, touched. “Thanks, Roman. That means a lot.” 

The elevator door opens and it’s back to private offices and other cubicles. Roman finds Lucius and Victor leaving the office when Roman asks, “The meeting is at,” He looks down at his watch for the time. “7:30. We’ve got 30 minutes, so we might want to get ready.” 

Lucius says, “I’ll meet you down there in a minute. I’ve got to borrow Tim.” 

Roman nods. “Just don’t be too long.” He turns to Tim. “This was fun. We’ll need to do it again.” 

Tim agrees and he and Victor walk away from sight. Lucius silently asks Tim, “You ready?”

Tim looks Lucius dead in the eye and says firmly, “Damn right, I am.”

They enter the elevator where Lucius presses three buttons; 19, 7, and 2. Put these numbers together, and it is the year that Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered. 

The elevator goes down, but not its usual down. It goes lower than it has ever gone before. Or, at least to what the usual person is used to. When the doors open, it reveals a hidden workshop with the bat suit at the very center of the room in a display case and the Batcycle parked in front of a hidden wall that leads to under the Gotham Bridge. The suit has been adjusted to Tim’s size.

Tim looks at the suit, firm and sure. It’s time.

“Help, someone help me!” A citizen pleads as four men push him into an alleyway. A thug punches him to the curb. 

“Shut the hell up! No one’s coming to save you, bitch!” 

“Let him go.” The same cold and vigilant voice from the bank commands. The group of four thugs look around them to see what that came from. Then, they finally find it; It’s walking towards them. 

Footsteps are heard as the man with the cold and vigilant voice walks towards them. While the four men look at it with fear, the innocent citizen looks at the man with hope as a smile grows on his face. 

To the thugs of Gotham, they don’t see a man but a devil ready to strike fear at their wicked hearts.

This devil has been given many names, but one has stuck out above all the others; The Batman and he has returned to put the fear of god in them.

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, October 5th, 2013

"And that's why I'm not allowed within five hundred feet of an elementary school." Reporter, Jack Ryder, tells his live audience. 

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha." The crowd laughs in response to the tale Jack had told them.

"Now, onto the crime rates. This month, we–hold on, ladies and gentlemen" He is interrupted by someone speaking through his headset. "I am getting reports of multiple sightings of a…a bat-like creature located near the east end." Jack says, allstruck and shocked as the audience, once loud and amused, are now silent and surprised. "A nearby witness has said that…this figure has left three men bruised in an alleyway."

His co-host looks at him, amazed. He asks, silently, “You don’t think…?”

At Wayne Enterprises, Victor Fries speaks in front of the board in a lit room with a long dark brown wood table that seats these ladies and gentlemen, composed of Roman Sionis and Lucius Fox. They, along with the rest of the board, listen to Victor Fries with great interest and curiosity. 

“As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, Cryogenics can be the way to help stall the diseases in our bodies without freezing you.” He sees that some of the board members are confused. So, he switches his PowerPoint presentation to a list of blueprints for a machine. 

“This machine is what is called a Cryo Chamber. It is powered by Liquid Nitrogen and–” 

*RING RING* 

 Victor was cut off by everyone’s cell phone ringing, sending alerts on their phones. 

Victor would be lying if he wasn’t annoyed at this interruption. “I thought I reminded all to mute your phones,”

One board member speaks aloud. “Some guy looking like Batman was spotted.”

Everyone, even Victor turns to him with awe. Lucius pretends to be surprised, but he’s really hiding a smile. Roman runs over to the man and asks with hidden glee, “What? Are you sure?” 

The Board member plays a news coverage. “It was Batman! I was being thrown around by these guys and this other guy in all black comes up to them and pounds on three of them with some sick moves!” 

Lucius then says to get everyone back on track, “Fascinating, but this is still a presentation.”

The Board member realizes this and quickly turns his phone off. “Sorry. Please continue, Doctor.”

Victor straightens up his suit and continues like nothing happened.

*BANG* 

At the Gotham National Bank, five men in black suits and Gorilla masks are armed with shotguns and other firearms. They fill bags and suitcases with other people’s cash, credit cards, and jewelry. Along with the Bank’s own cash as well. 

The security guards are either shot to the ground or are with the other hostages in the center, being watched by three of the Gorillas.

Two of the six men check the cash to make sure there are no tracking devices. They are positive that there are none. 

“All good!” One Gorilla man tells the group. 

The Gorilla men understand and then comes phase two of their heist. 

Outside, GCPD officers converge on the scene at the Bank. One man with blond hair steps out of his police car with a megaphone. 

He shouts through it, “This is Commissioner Peter Pauling! Come out with your hands up and no one will get hurt!” 

Harvey Bullock walks up to him and says, “Take it from me, Commish, playing peacemaker never works. But what does work is good old fashioned bruising.” He says, cracking his knuckles. 

Commissioner Pauling turns to him, with no use of the megaphone, “No one’s going to get bruised unless I say so.”

“Are we ready to go?” One of the men asks. 

All of them agree to exit the vicinity but before they can do that, a scream is heard. 

“AAAAHHHHH!!”

Everyone, including the hostages, jumped. The scream belongs to one of the Gorilla Gang members. Now they’re down to five. They search the room where he went missing, which is a cubicle. Luckily, they find him but he’s on the ground, unconscious. 

The men go to check on their fallen crew member while one stays back with the hostages. The three think this out.

“Who did this?”

“Someone must’ve gotten loose and is trying to play the hero. Spread out and find him!” 

The three men agree to fan out.

*THUD* 

The three men stop in their tracks. That thud came from the lobby, where the hostages are being held. They make their way to them where they see that another crew member is out cold. And then there were three.

One of the members exclaims, “What the hell is going on?!” 

“Did any of you see anything?” One of the Gorilla members demands to know from the hostages. They all shake their heads no. “If any of you are lying, you're all dead! You hear me?!”

“Guys,” The third member speaks in a small and quiet voice. They turn to him as he picks something up from the ground. It’s a metal and sharp object that oddly resembles…at bat.

The Gorilla Gang leader takes the batarang, as it’s called, and examines it with slight terror growing inside him. “It can’t be…” 

One of the hostages speaks up. “He’s back.” 

A Gorilla member points his gun at him, silencing the man. “Shut up! I-it can-t-t-t be…him. He’s d-d-d-dead! B-b-batman is dead. He has to be!” 

“Think again.” A cold and vigilant voice speaks from above. They slowly and hesitantly look up, hoping to god that it’s not true. 

“Get ready to breach the building in 3…2…1–” Commissioner Peter Pauling tells his men before the sound of a man being thrown out the first floor window interrupts him. The man lands on the ground, his body sore.

“What the hell?” One officer asks aloud. 

“Wait a minute!” The Commissioner revalutes the situation. “Hold your positions.”

“GET AWAY!!” One voice screams from inside before, “AAAAHHHHH!!”

*BANG*

One of the windows cracks to little bits before all of the men in Gorilla masks either run quickly to turn themselves in or wobble in pain due to broken arms or hurt legs. 

“We give up!”

“Get us away from him!”

“Please!”

The Police Force take out handcuffs to apprehend the culprits when Bullock spots something on one of the men’s right legs. 

“Hey, Commish, check this out!” He calls the Commissioner to a hurt man with a bloody leg. They send the man over to an ambulance when the medics take something out of the man’s leg; It’s a Batarang. 

The medics, nearby policemen, and the commissioner look at it with shock and awe as one of the doctors asks, “No way.” 

“It was a giant bat!” A gang member berates as he’s being led to a patrol car by an officer. “I didn’t think he was real, but he is!”

“You’d be surprised what is real in this town.” The officer snarks as he puts him in his vehicle.

Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni are in their office, having a meeting. This meeting wasn’t face-to-face, but through cellphone. It’s better for this person not to know their identities.

“So, Mr. Zeus, let's talk about how much money you’ll be receiving. Name your price.” Maroni tells the man over the phone as Carmine sits at his desk.

“I shall not utter one, nor will I receive any payment.” 

Maroni raises his eyebrow, surprised. “I’m sorry, but you don’t want compensation for your compound?” 

“I am not producing the Elixir of Life for something as trivial as payment. I am merely giving the people the chance to achieve higher feats than ever before. You are generous for offering, but I refuse. Keep whatever finance you make.” 

Maroni has his eyes widened in a shocked way, but he refocuses and continues the conversation as Carmine continues to observe this discussion. 

“No, it is you who is generous. But are you sure there isn’t anything we can give you in return?”

“Only to give the Elixir to everyone you speak to. From the rich to the poor.” The man instructs the man.

Maroni assures him, “Of course. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you and it shall be done.” 

“Of course. We shall speak again.” The man tells him formally before hanging up.

Maroni puts the phone back onto the machine and he ponders. “I just talked to the weirdest guy.” He says to Carmine. “He doesn’t want a paycheck. He told me to keep what we make.” 

Carmine is taken back and asks, “Did you say why?”

“He said, as I quote,” He says before putting on his best impersonation of the man he just talked to. “I am merely giving the people the chance to achieve higher feats than ever before.” 

Carmine’s mouth twitches into a smile at his antics before returning to his usual state. “This means that Mr. Zeus has higher goals than money.”

Maroni opens his desk drawer and takes out a sample vial of a gold-like liquid and smiles with wicked satisfaction. “Well, whatever it is, we’re going to be richer than before with this stuff. This ‘Elixir’ is new and untraceable.” 

Carmine nods. “Good. But we’re going to need to keep an eye on Mr. Zeus, just in case. Something’s off about him,” 

“Agreed.” Maroni then takes out a deck of cards from his suit pocket. “Well, that concludes this meeting, so how about we have some fun?"

Before Carmine could give a response, commotion is heard from the room outside of the doors of the office they’re presently in. 

“You gotta be kidding!” 

“You think they’re making this up?"

“What are we gonna tell the bosses?” 

The two bosses stand up and leave the office to go into a Billiard Room with an added bar and television set.

“Gents, what’s all this noise about?” Maroni wants to know.

One of out the three men in the room stands up and says nervously, “Sirs, you need to see this. Turn it up.” He tells the other guys.

The television’s volume is uppered as news reporters stir about the turn of events this night. “Reports are coming in of multiple sightings of what appears to be a giant bat figure. This figure has left multiple individuals beaten and bruised in alleyways and street corners. Witnesses’ stories have one thing in common; A dark figure resembling history's most famous vigilante, The Batman.”

Maroni is speechless as he watches this. He, like everyone else, thought he was dead. But as it appears, he is not. He’s back, alive and healthy and he can already feel a terrible storm coming their way. 

The goons weren’t any different. They heard this news broadcast before their bosses and it still feels like a semi truck has hit them straight in their faces. The darkest knight has returned like a ghost and, from a few past experiences, he’s seeking vengeance.

Carmine Falcone’s expression is unreadable, unpredictable. He feels his fists clench with rising irritation building inside his every being. 

Maroni sees this and, to avoid his partner’s temper, he tells the man. “Change the channel.” 

The goon turns back to him, after seeing the expression on Falcone’s face, he changes to a different station without question.

But it turns to another news broadcast, but this time it’s being reported by Viki Vale. “Bank robbery foiled by, and this is a quote from one of the robbers, ‘A man dressed as Dracula’. One man was found with a bat-shaped throwing star in his leg.”

The man desperately changes the channel again. “It was definitely Batman! These assbags were pushing me down and he kicked the crap out of most of them. I think one of them cried!”

And again. “Jack Ryder’s back folks and I’m here to tell you, The Batman has returned,”

*CRASH*

Everyone jumps up at the sound of a bottle being thrown. Carmine Falcone has enough and has thrown one at the television set. But he isn’t done yet, so he flips a desk and smashes a few more things in fits of rage. Carmine’s expression has gone from unreadable to visible rage and hatred for these circumstances. 

Then, Sean Riley runs through the doors and says, “Guys, turn on your TV, we have a problem–Carmine, what are you doing?!”

But he doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns around and goes back into the office before taking a bottle of whiskey in his hand. After the slam of the door, everyone is clear that he doesn’t wish to be disturbed at the moment.

“Wait, stop. Please,” A woman whimpers before she’s dragged by her ponytail. This woman is an attractive brunette, in her 17-18 years of life, and in a gray jacket and jeans. Her phone’s on the ground, thrown by her victimizer.

He’s big. Muscular and fierce. He drags her and she pleads for him to put her down. If it wasn’t for a batarang being thrown in his leg, the woman would’ve been thrown into his silver van.

The man falls to the ground, in agony. He looks down at the long range weapon and is allstruck. His lust for the woman is forgotten and is more concerned about his own well being. 

But his hope was taken away from him and was instead giving the firm fairness of justice when he’s kicked to the ground by the glided shadow of the bat. The man on his back looks up at the spector-like figure and is frozen in fear.

Batman wears an all black armor with the symbol of a bat visible on his chest, something thugs like the man beneath him hoped to never see again. A cape extends to his ankles as he walks towards him, stone cold.

Batman treads the concrete to confront this person. He crawls backwards, wanting nothing more than Batman to leave him be. But that won’t be happening anytime soon. The Dark Knight grabs him by the collar of his shirt and hoists him in the air.

“Don’t! Stop.” The man has the audacity to plead. 

“Look at her.” Batman tells her in a grim voice.

The man looks at him, confused. “Wh-what?”

“Look at her!” Batman repeats, demanding nothing else. 

The man winces and looks at the young girl he was about to abduct. He sees her taking a stand, but not making eye contact. She doesn’t have the strength to.

“Now you know what she felt. The hopelessness as every plea was ignored.” Batman informs the man before he throws him to the ground and slams his head into it. The man is now unconscious.

At the Gordon residence, Barbara and Jimmy Gordon are looking through their DVD cabinet.

“So, what are you up for?” Barbara asks.

Jimmy looks through the cabinet and takes out two DVD cases. “I’m thinking of either The Mask or Princess Bride.” 

Barbara thinks for a moment before saying, “The Mask” 

Jimmy agrees as he says, “Y’know, I still wonder how we went from a clever and hilarious film to utter garbage like Son of the Mask.”

Barbara groans. “I know! I’ve been told I’m smart, but even I can’t figure it out.” 

Jimmy smiles as he takes his seat next to Barbara on the couch and says, “Well, at least we still have the classics. Just gotta switch this to a different HDMI setting.” Jimmy mumbles to himself.

“Jack Ryder’s back folks and I’m here to tell you, The Batman has returned,” The news broadcaster informs his audience. 

Barbara’s attention immediately flashes to the TV, anything else is obsolete. She tugs on Jimmy’s arm and says, “Wait, keep it as it is.”

Jimmy does as she said and they listen to this together with the air of curiosity filling the room. “A supposed mugger was found hanging upside down on a lamppost with a gun located on the concrete. We now present to you coverage captured by a man who found this fascinating scene.” The man behind the desk switches to lousy camera footage from a phone. This video shows Batman, gliding away from the scene as he’s visible in the sky. “This is no rumor anymore, ladies and gentlemen. We have undeniable evidence that The Caped Crusader is back!” 

Jimmy looks at this report, goggle-eyed. He never thought that this day would come. Watching The Mask is now forgotten and he is instead focused on these turns of events.

Barbara’s reaction differs from Jimmy’s. She knew that this was going to happen, no matter how much she disliked it. She doesn’t want to tell Tim that he can’t do this, she just wants Tim to be safe and being the world’s most controversial outlaw is not her definition of being safe. But she’s aware that Tim must do this. All she can do is pray to the lord himself that Tim comes home. 

Back with Batman, he looks down at the incapacitated man with revulsion. In all his years of being Red Robin, this was the type of crime that made him sick. These weren’t even crimes but violations. A twisted way for a man or woman to take advantage of someone because they could. 

But he digresses and looks back at the woman who was once in distress. The woman looks satisfied at this beat down and secretly, Batman can’t blame her. 

He walks slowly to her, not wanting to cause alarm, and asks, “Are you okay?”

After her eyes depart from Batman’s symbol on his chest, she nods. “I am now, thanks to you.” She tells him gratefully.

While he doesn’t do this for the credit or any type of reward but it did feel nice, nonetheless. “Don’t worry, you’re safe.” He takes something out of his pocket – It’s a pocket knife. “Incase you run into something like this again, use this.” 

The woman takes it when they both start to hear police sirens in the distance and it starts to build up as the sounds become closer. 

As Batman takes out his grappling hook, the woman asks, “Are you back for good?” 

He takes one last look at her and he can see something in her eyes; Hope. It’s starting to grow in her. So to give it a boost, he tells her, “You can count on it.” Before grappling away from the alley. 

The police officers who have arrived step out of their cars and see the shape of the bat fly away. They are speechless. 

“That…wasn’t.” One officer says in disbelief. 

“I think it was.” His partner comments, a smile forming. 

“It was.” The woman confirms. “Believe me.” She then kicks the man on the ground in his side, still ticked about what he almost did.

Tim Drake, still in the Bat Suit, perches on a building. It overlooks the city he calls home. ‘It’s a beautiful view’. Timothy thinks to himself. He can see everything from up here, from Wayne Manor to Arkham Asylum.

They can’t have this. Carmine and Black Mask, they both don’t deserve this. They don’t get to spread the streets with their filth. The people of Gotham deserve better than that. 

Batman will show them that their actions have consequences. On Bruce’s grave, he promises that. Tim takes a stand on this building and he takes all this in. Tim is Batman now and he can’t let this city down, not again. 

Knowing that there’s more work to be done, he extends his arms and activates his gliding cape before taking a leap off the building. He’s ready to go to work.

Chapter Text

Date: Monday, October 21st, 2013

Two weeks later in the residence of stately Wayne Manor, Tim sleeps in his bed. He forgot that fighting crime from 10-2 can be languorous. 

His slumber is interrupted by Alfred opening the blinds to the windows, making Tim groan in annoyance. 

"Rise and shine, Master Timothy.” Alfred tells him while wearing his traditional butler suit.

Tim doesn’t want to get up and is still tired. He quickly drops his blanket over him like the mature adult he is. “Bats are nocturnal.” He whines like a child, making Alfred smile a bit.

“Perhaps but sleeping in until two o’clock is a bit much.” He then sets a plate of scrambled eggs with bacon on Tim’s bedside. “I’ve prepared breakfast.” 

Tim smiles gratefully at Alfred and sits up on his bed. “Alright, alright, I’m up.” He digs into his food.

“The news hasn’t found anything else to talk about besides Batman’s return.” Alfred informs him.

Tim smirks with satisfaction. “Good. Falcone and Black Mask will probably figure it out and it’ll either be they’ll run scared or I’ll take them down. Either way, Gotham will be rid of them both.” He says after he swallows a spoon of eggs, the plate is already half down.

“If it’s going to be the latter, then you’ll gain a few injuries; We’re going to have to come up with a cover story.” 

Tim nods but says as he takes a bite of his bacon, “I don’t think I can do what Bruce did. The eccentric millionaire, partying and drinking. I hate the taste of alcohol, it burns my mouth.” 

Alfred before he notes, “Yes, I believe that’s why you stick to coffee.” He takes a moment to think as Tim gets up from his bed and goes to his drawers to pick out a new pair of clothes. He then enters his bathroom to change and take a shower. 

Alfred hears the shower’s water running and Alfred takes the plate of bacon and eggs – now nothing but crumbs and smudges on the place – and leaves his bedroom without a word. 

The butler walks down the stairs of the mostly vacant house. His footsteps echo as he makes his way back into the kitchen and places the tray into the sink to wash later. 

Alfred looks around him and sighs deeply. He remembers when this house was less empty. Those days were happier than they are now. He smiles nostalgically as he reminisces about a past with what seemed to be the makings of a bright future. 

It was May of 2010, the day of Jim Gordon’s funeral. Alfred was preparing dinner for the family. The main course was Cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries. While he, Tim, and Bruce were the permanent residents, Dick, Kate, Stephaine, and Barbara came around for every holiday and family occasion you can think of. They were so well connected. 

As Alfred was placing food on the table, his gaze found itself on a picture frame. A Ebony wood frame that contained a photograph of a young boy with black hair and a red hoodie. He was sitting on a bench of the Gotham City Amusement Mile. Beside the young man was a younger Bruce as they both smiled for the camera. 

That day was when Bruce brought Jason Todd out to the Mile for the first time. It was a wondrous day when Jason tried cotton candy and road roller coasters, which he loved. It even made Bruce happy and happiness for Bruce made Alfred happy. 

Jason didn’t have the greatest life before meeting Master Bruce. He lived on the streets after his abusive father was arrested and his mother passed away. His former master had to make a life out of the one he was barely given and, unfortunately, that meant turning to a life of crime. Master Bruce found the young man stealing the wheels off the Batmobile and that takes stones to pull off, especially for his age. 

After apprehending Jason, Bruce took him in a few weeks later. He wasn’t trying to turn him into Robin, but trying to give him a home. That day at the Amusement Mile was the beginning of a fresh start for the young man before the area was taken over by…by the Joker.

‘Damn that monster.’ Alfred said to himself. Joker should’ve been murdered years ago and if he was, then Master Jason and countless others would still be alive. The Joker took what he saw as a surrogate grandson away from Alfred, from Bruce, and took away a young boy’s life so soon. 

Alfred unclenched his jaw and picked up the frame gentilly. He then said softly, “Your death is finally avenged, Master Jason. Now you may rest in peace.” 

Footsteps were heard and Ms. Kane entered the room. Obviously she had smelled food. But her crave for Alfred’s cooking turned to concern for her friend as she saw his face. It was like he was a puppy and someone had kicked him. She finally found the frame he was holding in his hand and she now knew. 

She delicately wrapped her arms around the older man. There are instances where words are not needed and this was one of those times. Alfred appreciated the comfort, but didn’t turn to her. All he could do was let out a few tears.

Kate nodded her head. “Let it all out.” She gave his head a kiss on the cheek. “I miss him too.”

Alfred placed the frame down and said, “My only wish is that The Joker’s rotting in hell for all he’s done.” 

Kate turned to him and told him, “He is. Gotham, hell this world is a better place without that mad man in it.” 

Then, other people started coming in to eat. Dick said, “Alfred, you never disappoint.” He tries to steal a fry, but his hand is swatted away by Alfred.

“You can have as many as you want when it’s on your plate.” Alfred sternly told him. Dick took a plate as the others came in. Stephanie and Barbara each took a can of soda as everyone else grabbed their food. 

When everyone got situated, that was when Master Bruce tapped his glass of water with ice cubes with a teaspoon to get everyone’s everyone’s attention.

*CLINK*

"I would like to propose a toast. To James Gordon, our friend. Without him, I don’t think Gotham would even be standing. He was the soul of this city; He was the perfect example that you don’t need a mask to be a hero. Your heart is more than enough.” All nodded in agreement as the two Gordons looked down in sadness. “To Jim.” 

“To Jim!” All but two chorused. 

“To dad.” The two Gordons chorused.

Alfred saw Bruce looking at Barbara and Jimmy and he saw a look of pity. Alfred knew exactly what he was thinking since they talked about it together a day before the funeral. 

After eating, they were all in the living room, quiet as the Gotham Library. No one said a word and to be honest, no one knew what to say. 

Bruce walked over to the offspring of one of his most trusted allies and asked, “Barbara, Jimmy. Can we talk?”

Both of them were curious as to what he wanted. So, they got up and were being led to the Billiard Room. Bruce chose this room so that they could have some space away from the others. 

When the four of them entered, Alfred closed the door behind them. Bruce turned to them as Jimmy was the first one to speak.

“Mr. Wayne, I just want to thank you for your hospitality.” 

Bruce looked at Jimmy and said generously. “Please, Jimmy. Call me Bruce. Mr. Wayne is too formal.” 

Jimmy let out a smile and it felt refreshing to Bruce to see a young man who had been through so much let out a smile. It filled Bruce with hope. “Thank you. That’ll take time to get used to.”

Bruce understood and said, “To what I wanted to speak to you about, I wanted to help support you and I don’t mean money.” 

Both of them are surprised yet confused. Barbara asked. “So, what do you mean?”

Bruce took a breath and told them, "I would like to offer you to stay in Wayne Manor."

Both young adults looked at Bruce with shock, but Barbara looked more touched than surprised. Bruce told them, “I know what it’s like to lose a father and if there’s anything I’ve learned from that, it’s that you don’t have to go through the pain alone.” 

They both looked at him, lost for words. Barbara was the only one who could let out any type of idioms. “We’re going to need to think about this.” 

Bruce smiled in understanding. “That’s completely fine. Take all the time you need. It’s not like anyone else is using this house.” He then did something that made them even more surprised; He hugged them. While they were surprised, they didn’t fight it.

Alfred looked at this scene, warmly. While Bruce always seemed like a cold and distant individual, he was actually a teddy bear with a heart of gold. It was guarded, but it was still golden. 

Bruce let go of them and told them, “Take your time, okay?” They both agreed. “Shall we return?”

The four of them concurred as they went into the living room when Stephaine brought out Monopoly to lighten the mood. Alfred saw Barbara finally smile. It was their favorite game to play and it brought out everyone’s competitive side. It always seemed tied with Master Bruce and Timothy, buying out all the land. They both knew that Timothy was going to be in Real Estate in the near future.  

However, Alfred found that everyone was seated by the living room except for Master Bruce. No, he found his surrogate son looking at them, fondly.

Alfred walked over to him and asked, “Not in the mood, sir?”

Bruce shook his head. “No, I am. I just wanted to get a good look at this.”

“What’s on your mind?” 

Buce let out a smile, but it wasn’t like the one at the funeral of the deceased Commissioner. It was sincere. “I thought I would fly solo forever, Alfred. It’s one of those things where I’m glad I was wrong.” 

Alfred smiled gratefully. “Me too, Master Bruce. Me too.” He looked at the group of people that sat at the table; Dick, Tim, Barbara, Jimmy, Lucius, Stephanie, and Kate. The family that they had built, despite their dangerous lives, turned out to be better than they could ever imagine. They then came into the Living Room and the game began that night.

Back in the present, Alfred looks at the Living Room as his trip to Memory Lane ends. He misses those days when this house was less empty as mayhem from the children and fond memories locked in embrace. It showed that his former master didn’t need to be alone, that he was more than capable of gaining happiness like anyone else.

But now all of that good stuff’s gone. Now all that’s left are rooms that haven’t been used in years that Alfred always walks into. He goes into those rooms and their voices echo. Sometimes laughter, but other times…their screams. 

All that’s left of his deceased loved ones are their ghosts as they travel through the walls of this depressing house. 

Footsteps come down the stairs, revealing Tim Drake in a suit. “I’m gonna head out. There’s this guy who wants to buy this condominium.” 

Alfred nods. “Very good, sir. I will go to the store for dinner tonight.” 

Tim smiles. “Thanks Alfred.” He then gives Alfred a hug before leaving, which Alfred doesn’t hesitate to return. "See you later."

Alfred nods as Tim leaves the house with the closing of the door. 

At Sionis Industries, Lucius Fox, Roman Sionis, and Dr. Victor Fries takes a walk down a hallway on the first floor of the enterprise. 

“So Victor, your Cryogenetics Program has been approved. How do you feel about that?” Lucius asks his long time friend. 

Victor says back, “I feel…stimulated.” 

Lucius nearly rolls his eyes at how formal he is as Roman starts to speak. “Well, what are we waiting for? I say we get some drinks and host a big get together.”

Victor Fries looks slightly flattered. “Thank you, but I can’t. My girlfriend wants to celebrate tonight.” 

“How long have you two been together?” Roman asks, invested. “Two years?”

“Three, actually.” Victor corrects. 

They continue to walk down hallways and offices when Victor Fries stops to find an interior window to look through. Lucius and Roman stop as well, seeing what Victor sees.

They all grow fond smiles. They see a woman with blond hair, teaching young children. Lucius knows that's Nora Fields; Victor Fries girlfriend/roommate and she's one of, if not, the best Special Education teachers that Sionis Industries has. She's always been a kind and understanding individual, never selfish.

Victor's heart melts, seeing his girlfriend helping these young offspring with much needed help. Nora’s the only one who’s been able to do that, melt his heart. She’s the only one who's been able to get past his defenses.

He gently taps on the glass to get his girlfriend’s attention. She looks at the window and sees Victor. They hear her say to the children, “I’ll be right back everyone.” She assures her students before she walks outside the classroom. She and Victor share a kiss. 

“Nice for you to stop by, honey,” She sees Lucius and she greets him. “Lucius, how’s things going on in Research and Development?”

Lucius shrugs. “Same old, same old. I heard about Victor’s approval and I thought I should congratulate him.”

Nora looks at Victor proudly. “It’s a big deal. More funding and attention from the board.”

Victor smiles. “Yes, I only hope we can get to human trials.”

Lucius’s mouth slightly frowns. “Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have a long way to go before that.” 

Roman nods. “Sorry Doc but he’s right. It’ll be up to me to dictate whenever human trials are given the green light.”

Victor nods. “Of course, Mr. Sionis.”

Nora, trying to lighten the mood, asks her boyfriend. “Any plans for dinner tonight? It can be anything you want.”

It appears that Nora is successful. Victor starts to smile again, thinking of the possibilities. “How about Olive Garden? It’s been a while since we’ve had Italian food.” 

Nora beams. “Sounds great!” She then remembers her class. “I got to head back. I’ll make the reservation as soon as I can.” She and Victor share a brief kiss. “I love you.” 

Victor, while holding her hand, tells her. “I love you as well.” 

Nora doesn’t want to let go of Victor’s hand, but duty calls. They reluctantly let go of each other and Nora gives a, “Bye.” to them all before entering her classroom. 

Lucius and Roman have grins on their faces, grins of adoration. “You two are so cute.” The CEO of Sionis Industries gushes.

Victor bashfully says, “L-let’s carry on with our discussion, shall we?” 

As Roman and Victor continue talking, Lucius is quiet, admiring Victor and Nora’s relationship. Usually, Victor is tense and formal but Nora is one of the few people, maybe the only one, to slip through the cracks of his guarded heart. He wishes them well and hopes that one day, they finally tie the knot and get married, maybe have a kid one day. Only time will tell.

In the Cauldron, Sean Riley’s main base of operations, he holds a meeting. A meeting that includes Gotham’s most…intriguing men who all have one thing in common; The Batman.

As stated, Batman is a commonality and he has proved himself to be a problem for all parties attending this get together. For every family and employee of said families. 

These families consist of himself, the Falcones, the Maronis, the Sullivans, the Ibanescus and the Fiascos. Most of these guys are either small time or big but they’ve kept themselves under the radar to hide from the former Commissioner, Renee Montoya, who had cleaned her precincts from corruption and was tough on crime. But her death has revealed new opportunities.

Each family is in different types of businesses; The Rileys produce counterfeit money, Asset misappropriation, and illegal arms.

Salvatore Maroni involved in smuggling goods into Gotham and trading some of those said goods.

The Sullivan Crime Family are Irish hitmen used by Carmine and are responsible for enforcing. This team consists of the leader, Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan, Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly, Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil. They haven't been called into action until now.

The Ibanescu Crime Family runs illegal dog fighters, cage matches, and prostitution. They used to do human trafficking, but that was shut down due to Renee Montoya and the GCPD.

The Fiasco Family is, arguably, the most resourceful of the rest, but that’s due to Howard Fiasco’s son, Lenny Fiasco. His codename is the Eraser. 

He’s a shy kid and is about twenty two years old. He’s responsible for cleaning up their crime scenes, along with anything else that can lead them to their own downfall. 

Howard’s business usually includes Money Laundering and working with Maroni in his smuggling ring. Howard apparently knows a guy from Star City that he works closely with. 

Salvatore Maroni, Howard Fiasco, and Sean Riley are Carmine’s biggest allies. With the help of The Eraser, they’ve been able to keep under the radar for so long. 

This meeting also consists of the leader’s most trusted men and women who are considered their second in command. Only those who are highly trusted by their bosses are in the room, while the other goons or thugs are back at their base of operations.

They all sit near a long oak desk with a coffee machine and the essentials at the center for all to reach. At the front of the table sits a dark oak gavel and sound block. Everyone except two people are here for this summit; Johnny Sabatino, the head of the Sabatino Crime Family, and his gang are not here, not to anyone’s surprise. He’s always been stubborn and doesn’t want to work with some of his rivals. 

The Sabatino Crime Family are the least welcomed of the bunch. They’re rivals who manufacture illegal arms but that’s kept under the radar due to, again, Renee Montoya.

The other one not present is Carmine Falcone, to everyone’s surprise. Maroni and Riley knew he was pissed about Batman’s return, but he didn’t think he was going to sulk all day. 

So, Maroni is forced to speak on his behalf since he’s Falcone’s most trusted ally. He seizes the gavel to begin this meeting. 

*BAM* 

“Order in the court, please.” Maroni attempts to lighten the mood, but not everyone shares his sense of humor. He clears his throat. “I’m gonna get straight to the point, we don't want to be here, but we have to be and we all know why. I’m afraid that Carmine isn’t going to make it so I will be speaking for–”

“Why isn’t Falcone here?!” Dragos Ibanescu, the leader of the Ibanescu Crime Family, demands to know. He stands up ferociously. 

Mostly everyone in the room agrees with Ibanescu. “He’s gotta know what our situation is."

Maroni grimaces at the reminder of his reaction when Batman returns before he regains his composure. "Gentlemen, I assure you, he is fully aware of our pest problem.” Some members in the room make a groan of annoyance. He tries to get everyone under control. “That’s why–that’s why he called this meeting so we can collaborate, so we can fix this issue.” 

Willie “Two-Times” O’Neil, one of the five members of the Sullivan Crime Family yells from his table. “I have a solution, we find and shoot him before he causes too much trouble!”

Many people from the table make loud noises of agreement yet some people remain incredulous. Riley argues, “If it was that simple, he’d be dead a long time ago.”

Peyton Riley speaks up. “I say we get out of Gotham and start somewhere fresh. We should take this chance to–” 

Sean Riley, her father, interrupts her reasoning. “To what? Drop everything and just give up?” He looks at her incredulously. “That’s not how we do things in Gotham, and stay out of this.” He coldly adds.

Peyton wants to glare, but she swallows her pride. She sheepishly says, “Yes, father.” 

Howard Fiasco stands up. “Hold on, maybe Peyton’s right. Maybe we should high tail it. As said, Batman’s not going to stop until we’re all exposed.” 

Dragos Ibanescu gains everyone’s attention “Look, let’s all face the facts; We’re not going to kill Batman, more powerful men and women have tried.” Pretty much everyone in the room gives a shrug in agreement. “I say we pull strings and get that Scarecrow guy out of Arkham. Besides Joker, he’s the closest person there’s ever been to killing–”

*BANG* 

A gunshot is fired directly at Dragos Ibanescu ’s head. It’s an instant kill due to the hole in his brain, visible to anyone who takes a peek. They turn to see Carmine Falcone has arrived, standing in the corner and wielding a Desert Eagle. 

Everyone is in complete shock, but all are able to tell that Maroni’s no longer in charge of the meeting. 

“They’re not the law,” Carmine says with a voice that sounds bitter. “Scarecrow, Joker, Batman, they don’t own this city…I do.” He walks toward the table and takes Maroni’s place upfront, making Maroni move aside. “We are not calling them to deal with this. We are going to demonstrate that Gotham no longer belongs to these freaks in cosplay.” He shoots a glare at Howard and Peyton, making them shift uncomfortably. “So running. Isn’t. An option.” 

Everyone in the room sits down as they feel an invisible yet cold and commanding presence illuminating off of Carmine Falcone. The older man looks like he doesn't want to hear the answer ‘no’ today, but rather wants nothing more than success and obedience from his allies.

Mickey Sullivan is the first one to speak after the arrival of his boss. "What's our first move on Batman?"

Carmine's eye twitches at the mere mention of Batman, but he continues like the professional he is. "Let's make one thing clear; We will kill him. Batman is going to be dead, like he should've been three years ago." He places his gun in his pocket and continues. "He can't continue his activities if he's outnumbered…So, we're going to unite the Underworld under my command."

Chapter Text

Date: Thursday, October 24th, 2013

It’s 12:25 at night. If the waters of the Gotham river are just a bit quieter, the entire skyline would be mirrored on it. But because of the waves of the cargo ships entering Gotham's new west docks, only the brightest of the city's lights gives the tip of the waves a light sparkle. 

The new west docks were built, somewhat on the outskirts of the city, to ease the incoming cargo traffic that generally would head for the Gotham Harbour. The project’s partly financed with money from private investors, who are given guaranteed exclusive rights of usage to certain parts of the docks. The biggest private investor is the Falcone Shipping Company, which piques the interest of Gotham's dark knight.

Tim Drake, Gotham’s current Batman, looks over a ship docked near the Gotham Harbour as men load multiple boxes of cargo onto a ship at a quick speed. Batman continues watching the armed men strictly guard the ship labeled the ‘M.S. Catania’. 

“Sir, I did a thorough scan of the ship and at least 20 men are on that vessel.” Alfred Pennyworth tells his young Master through the cowl’s communicator. 

“They must be desperate to get whatever’s on the ship away from Gotham’s limits.” Tim guesses. 

“Might I suggest you go in as covertly as possible? With the number of men, you are severely outgunned.” 

Tim nods. “You read my mind, Thaddeus.” Tim refers to him as his codename while on the field. He hangs up the call and jumps off the vantage point, gliding into action.

He gracefully lands on one of the many containers that sit on the masculine ship and begins his investigation stealthily. He estimates that this ship is about 965 ft long and this ship is able to contain 3,001–5,100. So, whatever is on this vessel, it's not gonna be good. Especially if it has something to do with Carmine Falcone.

He finds two armed men guarding the perimeter of a door. ‘That must be where Falcone is hiding the good stuff.’ Tim mentally notes. 

After he looks around to make sure no one is witnessing what he’s about to do next.

*BANG* 

One goon fires his gun, but misses due to his hands shaking with fear. This is starting to make Tim anxious. The last thing he needs is for the entire ship to know he's here. So, he attacks them at a fast pace but Batman keeps on conscious so he can gain some information.

Batman grabs the gun, throws it to the ground, and brings him back to the room. He pins him to the wall. "What are you transporting?"

The goon immediately gives an answer, not wanting to be hurt too badly by the dark specter of the night. "Exp-p-plosives! Some new t-t-t-thing that w-w-we were planning to s-s-s-sell to some g-g-g-guys in China.”

Then, noise is heard over a man's communicator in his coat pocket. "Rocky, what's going on? I thought I heard a gunshot."

Batman's eyes widened. Multiple men are going to come at him and he barely began going through this ship. So, he takes the radio and hands it to the man, having an ounce of sympathy for this troubled worker. "Tell them what they want to hear and I won't leave you like your friend."

The goon, seeing this is his chance, says to the radio, "Yeah, s-sorry. That was an accidental fire. Saw a r-at and I kinda used it to scare the thing off-f-f."

Luckily, the man over the radio lets out a frustrated sigh. "Jesus, Rocky! You nearly scared some of our guys to death. Keep us posted and don't do that to us again, okay?"

Rocky tells him, "G-got it." He hangs up, barely meeting Batman's eyes. 

"Good work." Batman takes out a pair of handcuffs from his belt and traps his hands to a plumbing pipe on the wall.

The man finally relaxes when Batman's focus switches to the cargo box in front of them.

The Dark Knight opens the top and it reveals that the man was telling the truth during Batman's interrogation. The explosive is no bigger than a rubik's cube "What do you know?" He asks the startled man.

The man tells him as he is still handcuffed to the wall, "I-I heard it was forty times w-w-worse than C-4. I b-b-bet that one th-i-i-ing could take down this entire s-s-s-ship."

Batman doesn't let it show, but he might be as scared as the man sitting in front of him. With that kind of power, it could…he doesn't even want to imagine what it could do.

Batman reconnects with Alfred but is careful not to make his identity obvious to the man he's with. 

"Thaddeus, take the scan analysis I just sent you and try to isolate its components. Maybe you'll be able to locate the rest of the explosives on this ship.”

"Of course, sir." Batman waits for a moment so Alfred can work. Finally, Alfred answers back. "The Computer found a trace compound of Uranium. Your scanner on your belt should be able to find it."

Batman nods, grateful. "Thanks." He ends the call and takes out a small beeper that's the size of a calculator. This tool is used to look for objects like ingredients for drugs, ect.

Before he leaves the room, he takes one look at the man, who has settled down but is still alarmed. "Stay here and out of sight." He tells him before making his leave to find the Uranium. 

His scanner takes him across the ship, where he's careful to avoid the other men. But the weirdest thing about the several signals is that one of them is…moving.

To Tim, that doesn't make sense because where would the workers be taking it? So, he investigates and makes his way towards it, still avoiding gunpoint. 

He still thinks that alerting them is a bad idea. These men are being paid fairly well to be out at this time of night.

"Jeez, I've never been up this late since I was in High School." He hears a man comment, making Tim smile in amusement. 

Another man yawns. "Let's just keep working. The sooner we're out of Gotham, the better."

"Did you guys hear about the boss?" Another of the man thugs asks.

One sighs. "Who hasn't? He's more pissed than ever, growing more gray hairs. He thought we were in control."

The second thug comments. "We are in control. All we have to do is kill the Bat, Black Mask and he'll simmer down."

The first scoffs. "Easier said than done."

The Batman leaves the area and while on his way to his target, he stops. An open container door, inside an open crate - identical to the one he opened a couple of moments before.

In front of the crate lies a man, he is not moving. Batman kneels down next to him - trying to figure out his condition, and feels for a pulse.

Batman closes his eyes, painfully. 'He's dead, but he's still warm. He must've been killed recently.' He mentally analyzes the crime scene. He notices strange markings on his neck. 'Bruises on his neck, clear scratch marks on his hands. He was fighting back while being strangled, but failed. His assailant must've been strong.'

He then realizes his wet clothing. 'His neck and torso are wet. Did his attacker come out of the water?' While looking around, he finds no sight of one of the explosives. 'The explosive is missing, the attacker must have taken it. Someone else knows about the shipment.' The dark knight analyzed.

He looks back to his scanner and sees that, strangely, the moving signal is heading deeper into the ship rather than finding a way off of it, and is instead heading towards the machine room underdeck.

In pursuit of the killer, Batman hurries to the machine room. The sound of the engine muffles all other sounds. The heat is oppressive - but he has been through worse. It is dark as well, but that worries him not - he does his best work in the dark. 

Slowly he closes in on the signature, by now it has stopped moving. To his surprise and growing panic, he finds the explosive material pressed against the ship's outer wall. Then he notices the copper wire that it's leading out of the block of explosives. Leading away into some unseen dark corner of the machine room. 

'Someone set up a bomb ready to blow.' Tim discovers. He starts to panic, not wanting to see where the wire leads. There will also be no time to disarm the trigger anyway. 

Fully expecting what would be happening next he prepares for the worst. All in a split second he jumps into cover behind one of the machines, when suddenly

*KABOOM*

An explosion ribs a sizable hole into the wall behind him. The shockwave of the explosion travels through his body. It feels like he was punched in the gut and against the head at the same time severely. 

He takes time to collect himself again. As he tries to stand up, his hand reaches into the cold water that is flooding the machine room and will surely sink the rest of the ship. 

'This is bad.' Tim says before finding out he's not alone. He is then kicked in his face by a brown metal-plated boot flying into his face.

Before he can collect himself, his attacker lifts him up. His attacker is a much larger man than he is and possesses a greater level of raw strength. Batman's trained eye takes in what it can, analyzing his opponent. An enormous muscular man, about 6,43 ft tall. He wears an orange colored diving suit. Parts of his suit are covered in metal, his gloves, and his shoes especially.

On his back are two large oxygen tanks, as well as some smaller propellers, most likely for navigating quickly through the water. His helmet is made out of metal and has two large eye holes covered by green glass. The multiple tubes that are connecting his helmet to the oxygen tanks remind Batman of the tentacles of an octopus.

Before he can come up with a battle plan, however, his attacker yells something at him: “INTRUDER!!!!” His voice is muffled, but he can easily detect anger in his voice. He then throws the Caped Crusader into the machines.

Batman lands back on the ground with a Thud, getting a clearer look at his attacker. He wears a leather harness that connects most of the metal parts of his diving suit. He also wears a belt, but he doesn't have time to figure them all out. 

He starts to fight this guy, to little effect. His attacks are weaker than usual due to this man's armor, but it still did something. They continue to dance when they realize that the floor they are currently on is unstable and the water is rising up to their knees.

The attacker retrieves back into the water by escaping through the hole in the ship's outer wall that was caused by the explosion. 

*BEEP*

The ship's alarm goes off, telling Tim that he doesn't have time to go after him since this ship is closer to sinking to the bottom if the Gotham Harbor every second that's wasted.

*BEEP*

The alarm continues to blare as Tim quickly runs out of the Machine Room and up the deck, where most of the men are escaping onto lifeboats, saving themselves. 

*BEEP*

Batman was going to escape, but then he remembered the two people he took down when he first got here. He can't leave them to drown, so he goes back for them to save them.

*BEEP*

He sprints across the deck and opens the door to where the man is still handcuffed. He's more scared than before. 

*BEEP*

"What's happening?!" The man demands to know.

*BEEP*

Batman takes out the key to the cuffs. "The whole ship is coming down. We're getting out of here."

*BEEP*

The cuffs come off and the man wastes no time to help the other guy. "C'mon, help me get him up."

*BEEP*

Batman obliges and puts one arm around his shoulder while the other man does the same. He weighs quite a lot, so their speed is not consistent with the speed of how long they got before this ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

*BEEP*

Then, the ship tilts to one side, making it more harder and adding more pressure on the two men carrying this stupid idiot off the craft.

*BEEP*

It also becomes increasingly difficult to walk as more water fills the ship from the hole made back at the Machine Room. 

*BEEP*

As he feels the water reach through his pants, the guy says, "Oh, we're gonna die!"

*BEEP*

"Pull yourself together, we'll make it!" Batman tries to assure the man who is graciously helping him out. But really, Tim is telling this to himself as his heart begins racing.

*BEEP*

They notice that a container is blocking the only way up to the deck, but it looks tall enough for someone to get on top and hoist them on the deck.

*BEEP*

"Help me get up there!" Batman tells the man. "Then, I'll get your friend up then you."

*BEEP*

They're working against time, as the waves are already about to swallow the ship's bridge. Left and right, containers are falling into the ocean - the sound of creaking metal is everywhere. Waves crash against the ship, spraying cold salty water over the ship.

*BEEP*

Batman and his new ally gets the unconscious man on the deck and onto a life raft. But when he goes back to the man, the water is rising to his neck.

*BEEP*

"Just get out of here, I'm not gonna make it!" The man tries to tell Batman, but he's not having it.

*BEEP*

"I'm not leaving without you!" Batman shouts as their hands are firmly clasped tightly.

*BEEP*

Batman uses all the willpower he has and more than that, even. His muscles are beginning to tire, but that doesn't phase him. All that matters is that this man gets to live another day.

*BEEP*

And when all hope is lost when the water starts rising to the man's mouth, the courageous hero lifts him up to what's left of the deck.

*BEEP*

Batman puts the man around his neck and onto his back. "Hold on!" Batman uses what's left of his running fuel to get off the deck and swim the three of them out onto a yellow life raft.

Batman breathes heavily, regaining his strength and oxygen with the two men beside him. He looks for land and, using his hands, he slowly starts to get this thing to swim forward.

His prayers are answered when he finds a boat, not as big as the Cargo ship, but it's more helpful; It's the Coast Guard.

Batman gets their attention by yelling as loud as he can and, to his relief, the boat turns to his direction. Many men help get him and the two guys on the boat as Tim sees that the Coast Guard has found many other people and brought them on this ship to get them back to the mainland.

Back at the Batcave, Tim Drake is getting an ice pack put on him by Alfred Pennyworth, his trusted surrogate grandfather. Lucius Fox looks over the Bat suit as it soaks in the corner.

He then says, "Well, I believe we've met our quota of injuries tonight. After you are done on the BatComputer, I suggest it's off to bed."

Tim, not wanting to argue with Alfred, agrees to his terms when a glass of hot tea and headache pills are given to him on a silver platter. "Thanks, Alfred."

The wise man nods. "Of course, sir." He finally lets Tim off of the medical bay and he watches Tim sit on the chair in front of the state-of-the-art monitor. 

"I'm sorry I didn't get that Scuba Suit ready sooner, Tim" Lucius says, regrettably. "If I did–"

Tim cuts him off, not wanting Lucius to feel guilty. "The Cargo ship still would've sank anyway and all that evidence on Falcone still would've gone to the bottom of the ocean. It's not your fault."

Alfed adds to back up Tim, "He's right. The man responsible is the one who hijacked the M.S. Catania."

Tim nods gratefully before looking over the news to see what people are saying about this;

"This is Vicki Vale, reporting LIVE from the Gotham Harbour where the M.S. Catania, Carmine Falcone's newest Cargo ship, has been sunk. The vessel sank deep into our city's ocean and 4 people unfortunately drowned."

Tim lowers his head in mourning for the lives he failed to save. He is now painfully reminded that Batman's not going to be able to save everyone…just like he wasn't able to save Renee. 

Alfred and Lucius stand awkwardly as news coverage continues. "The ones who did make it, however, say that they saw the vigilante known as The Batman tonight, saving two young men from the ship wreckage. We have one of them available for comment."

The feed switches to the man who helped Tim while on the ship. He's in a stretcher. "Yeah, it was Batman. When the ship went down like the Titanic, he helped me and my buddy and gave us to the Coast Guard." Tim sees tears glistening in his eyes as he continues. "Batman saved my life…and wherever he is, I would like to thank him for…for being there. Giving me hope when it seemed…hopeless."

That lightens Tim's mood as a smile grows on his face. He changed that man's life and, if he's lucky, he'll finally quit this life of crime. He's better than that.

The news coverage switches to Vicki Vale questioning Carmine Falcone, making Tim frown again. "Mr. Falcone, I'm very sorry about your ship."

Carmine shakes his head. "Me too. I just hope Batman will be able to avenge my cargo." He then looks directly into the camera, barely containing a smug smile. "Before this maniac hurts anyone else."

Tim's fists clench. Falcone wants Batman to catch the guy so he'll be distracted and Falcone can go on about whatever he's doing. 

But he can't deny, this case has become his top priority. That man in the suit has to be stopped at once. 

Alfred steps forward and gently asks, "Sir, can please put this aside until tomorrow? You need to rest."

Tim looks at Alfred's pleading expression and it looks like someone just kicked a puppy. So, he concedes. 

He gets up from his chair and says, "Yeah. No problem. We'll figure this out tomorrow." Tim hugs Alfred goodnight, along with Lucius. He then heads upstairs. 

Alfred looks at Lucius and asks, "Please tell me that you have the Batboat repaired." 

Lucius nods. "That's the one good news out of tonight. I'll have it ready tomorrow evening and no moment sooner. It looks like Tim is going to need it."

Alfred nods. "Thank you."

Date: Friday, October 25th, 2013

Timothy Drake wakes up the next morning in his bed, feeling tired as ever. He sleeps in for a few 30 minutes before putting on an overshirt and jeans. 

He looks at his watch strapped around his hand and he sees that it's 6:20 in the morning. So, he walks down the stairs to the study and opens the grandfather clock to get to the Batcave.

While the elevator takes him down, he notices that it's no longer making noise. He'll have to thank Alfred for fixing it. The elevator stops and he exits to the hidden cavern.

Tim Drake goes over to the display case where his suit is being contained. He takes out the cowl and brings it to the computer. Lucius had a camera put into this before Tim became Robin and it allowed Bruce to review evidence and moments from crime scenes and battles.

The young and newest crusader uploads the camera feed to the computer, rewinding it to the point where he met his attacker. 

The elevator comes down again and it's Alfred, bringing potato soup in a bowl, along with a spoon. "Down here already, I see."

"I'm trying to figure out who this guy is and what's his angle." Tim informs Alfred.

Alfred sits the bowl beside Timothy on his computer desk. "Perhaps it was an act of sabotage, sir." Alfred suggests. "Mr. Falcone always had enemies and some of them must not be fond of his 'rehabilitation' from Arkham."

Tim considers it as he digs in. After thinking, he shakes his head. "Falcone's enemies don't have the manpower or the resources to do something like sink a cargo ship."

Alfred says carefully, "Well, there is one enemy that comes to mind." 

Tim's spoon drops in the soup as he knows Alfred is referring to; Black Mask. As he shakes the idea down, he still feels his blood boil at the mere mention of him. 

"Mask made it very clear he wants people to know he did it. There's no evidence that points to him." Tim argues. Alfred nods in defeat. Tim then comes up with a possible idea as he eats his soup. "Maybe it's a new vigilante, wanting to do good?"

Alfred asks "But how did he learn about shipment in the first place? It was kept away from the eyes and ears of the GCPD, the news, and other sources."

Tim thinks that's a good question, one that needs to be answered. But first, he has the computer zoom in on the assaliant's mask.

Alfred remarks, "Planning on going Scuba diving, sir?"

Tim smirks. "Cute." He comments. "The attacker wore mostly custom-made diving gear. No chance of finding out where he got that from … with the exception of his helmet. His helmet had a very unique design - maybe I can find who in Gotham uses or supplies a model like that.”

He looks at the database, hoping to find a match and to his relief, he finds one and it puts his thoughts at ease. It might be the break he's been looking for.

"This was manufactured by a Swedish manufacturer." He tells Alfred. "Only one small insurance company in Gotham imports them. They specialize in insuring sea vessels. Everything from fishing boats to luxury yachts, they call themselves Fjord Insurances”

"Perhaps you should pay him a visit, sir. It might offer some clues to this man's identity." Alfred suggests. "Maybe you could be looking to expand your investment portfolio. Should I give them a call and set up a meeting for tmorrow?”

Tim nods. "That would be great, thanks Alfred." He then adds. "Oh, and tell Lucius to prepare the Scuba Suit and the Batboat just in case. Something tells me that last night won't be the last time I'm in the water."

Alfred nods. "Of course, sir."

Tim finishes his soap and thanks Alfred for making it. Alfred then asks, "Do you think that the company or its owner is directly involved?"

"For their sake, I hope not." Tim says. If they are involved, then they killed 4 people. If they are, then Batman could be paying them a visit after Tim does.

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, October 26th, 2013

On the busy streets of Gotham City, Timothy Drake parks his car in front of the premises. The site itself is in the harbor district of Gotham. It is not a big area, mostly what would be expected for a small to medium business. The premises is built directly next to the water, with a workshop hall directly next to some piers.

He sees the CEO of the company, Oswald Fjord. He looks ready for this meeting and is the first one to extend a hand to shake. “Mr. Drake, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Tim shakes his hand as Oswald then says, “I must say, this meeting was quite the surprise. What do you hope to achieve while working with us?”

Tim smiles. While he is here on business, he’s not lying when he said he wanted to invest. “Drake Industries wants to help out anyone we can. We’re not like Sionis Industries or Wayne Enterprises. The little guys need to stick together as much as we can.”

Oswald broadly says, “I couldn’t agree more.” 

Tim then says, “But I gotta say, for an insurance company I would have expected a more office-centric work environment. If I didn't know better, I would guess that you’re running a small-time shipyard.” The billionaire inquires.

Oswald nods. “I can see why you would say that. Things should get clearer if I show you how we actually run our operations around here, Mr. Drake. Shall we?” He gestures to go inside, which Tim agrees.

Inside the workshop hall, Timothy can see some small fishing boats as well as sports boats. Some are still set in the water, some lifted up by some steel frameworks. Each of the boats seems to be inspected by at least a team of four technicians. The entire workshop is overlooked by an office section that can be reached by a staircase to the right of the entrance. 

“You see Mr. Drake, most of the paperwork - the contracts and all that is done up there in that small office space. The crucial work that we actually do is to inspect the vessels and determine the damages. For that, we bring the smaller boats into our workshop. For larger vessels, we of course inspect them on site.”

“Ah - I see. A very thorough way of operating. But tell me, what do you do if a ship sinks? Do you engage in any kind of recovery to assess damages, then? ” Asked the young businessman. He’s hoping for more information about the diving gear he knew the company was importing.

“In the case of a sunken ship we usually engage in, what we like to call, on-site wreckage inspection.” Oswald informs him.

Tim’s interested. “What do you mean by on site?”

“We send out divers in specialized suits that then assess damages on the vessel on the very seafloor. Truly a marvelous piece of engineering. But it is very much needed. With sunken vessels it typically gets very hard to detect insurance fraud cases - but with our way of operating we almost completely eliminated that risk. Here let me show you one of our suits.” 

Tim looks at his operations with great interest. Like said before, he’s actually serious with his thoughts on investing in Oswald’s company. While Tim has taken on more responsibility being Batman, he still loves being a businessman. It’s been his passion since he was a teenager. 

They walk around as Oswald calls upon one of his workers. The Detective recoils in shock when he sees the diving suit the worker is wearing. The worker that stands in front of him wears an unsettling similar diving suit to the one the diver on the Falcone ship had worn when he had his first confrontation with the diver. 

Oswald and the worker look at Tim with confusion. “Mr. Drake, are you alright?”

Tim quickly gets back to reality and hides his emotions of surprise. “I-I’m fine, thank you. Um, would it be okay if we discussed this in your office?”

Oswald obliges and asks, “Sure. Can I have my assistant get you anything?”

As they walk in his office, Tim says eagerly, “Coffee will be fine, thank you.” Tim takes a seat on the first chair he can find. The office itself is nothing special, with a few file cabinets, a somewhat impressive desk, and a computer on the said desk. It fulfills all the expectations of standard office space.

Oswald takes a seat on the chair behind his desk and asks, “What do you think of the place so far?”

Tim says honestly, “It’s great. It’s very officiant.” He then asks, hoping to get some answers about the suit, “The diving suit looks incredible! How does it do underwater?”

“Oh, it does the job very well. It can go 250 feet and the oxygen supply is pretty standard as most diving suits go.” 

Tim nods in fascination and then says, “Is it adjustable to size because I'm thinking about getting one myself?" What Oswald perceives as a joke, Tim knows it's a tactic to find out more information.

But they laugh at the joke, nonetheless. Oswald says, enjoying this meeting, "Well, it is adjustable, to answer your question. It had to be after Davey came alone."

Tim blinks in confusion. "Davey?"

"David Jones. He was an old diver that worked here. He was really muscular."

Tim then asks, "Wait, Davey? As in Davy Jones's Locker?"

Oswald looks glad that Tim gets the reference. "Right? That's where the nickname came from and he seemed to like it. It also helped that he loved his job."

Tim finds this interesting. This David Jones could be his potential suspect. He asks for more. "Was he good at it? His job?"

"He was probably the best diver this company ever had." Oswald tells Tim. "He had a degree in nautical engineering. But between you and me, I think he loved being down there then he did being up here." 

Tim is now certain that he's the guy he saw on the ship. "What happened to him, if I may ask?"

Oswald takes a moment to, what appears to Tim, mourn. He looks quite saddened when he says, "He, um, went missing at an onsite wreck inspection two years ago. He's presumed dead."

Tim looks at him with sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

Oswald then tries to shake it off, remembering that they're having a meeting. "Thank you, but I'm fine. So, about the investment?"

Tim and Oswald spend the rest of the hour talking about cash flow metrics and business strategy. To others, this seems boring. But to Tim and Oswald, it is like participating in their favorite hobby. 

The hour has reached 9 in the morning, so they figure that it's time for Tim to leave. Tim shakes Oswald's hand and says, "I'll be in touch."

Oswald tells Timothy, "I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Drake."

As Tim reaches the door, he looks back at Oswald. "Oswald, we're gonna be working together. Call me Tim." 

With one last smile forming on Oswald's face, Tim leaves the office. "Nice guy." Tim tells himself. He's much more likable than the last Oswald he met. He always hated dodging bullets fired from his umbrella. 

But back to the matter at hand, he thinks about the information he learned as he enjoys his coffee and makes his way to his car. 

At Sionis Industries, Roman sits in his office. He is busy talking to his assistant, Alice Wonder. 

His office is, like all offices, well furnished. But his floors have Oriental Power red carpets instead of wood floors, there are no windows or balconies, and on his walls are cube wood panels that are either oak or dark oak.

His desk has a mini fridge behind the dark painted escritoire and on top are two computer screens with a keyboard in front of them that is attached to a mouse. A 55 inch tv screen is mounted on the wall beside his desk. 

"Alice, how long until my meeting with Victor Fries?" He asks the intercom.

"About 45 minutes, sir." Alice informs her employer. 

Roman nods. That should be enough time. "Okay, I'm going to be doing some work, make sure no one disturbs me until it's time."

"Of course, sir." Roman removes his finger from the intercom, severing their connection and ending the conversation. He sits in his chair and opens his desk drawer to take out a television remote. He turns his chair and turns on the 55 inch tv with a click.

A news broadcaster speaks directly to the audience. “Cloudy and heavy rain is what’s in store for us in a couple of days, cutting off this heat wave. In other news, multiple sightings of the Batman protecting our city have risen while sightings of the mad bomber and Gotham’s newest gang leader, the Black Mask, and his followers, The False Face Society, have lowered to absolutely nothing. We urge citizens to report any information as quickly as–” 

Roman turns off the tv with the same remote he used to turn it on. He leans in his chair, thinking to himself. 

Batman’s back. Gotham’s mask has been removed. It’s no longer living a lie clouded with deception. Gotham has been brought back to what it should be; A cesspool of corruption and greed. 

Roman looks over to a certain bookshelf and nods, knowing that it’s time. He walks over to the shelf with a deep breath, placing his hand on a certain book; "Removing the Masks that Bind Us", by John Randolph Price and originally published in 2001. 

He doesn’t take it out of the shelf, but merely leans it to 60 degrees precisely. The bookshelf makes a click sound, unlocking it from behind. The door reveals a hidden elevator that Roman is about to step into. 

But before he does, he goes back to his desk for the last time and takes out his signature black mask…but he doesn’t put it on.

Instead, Roman carries it in his hand and walks into the hidden elevator. With the press of a button, the elevator goes down. He leans his back on the door, feeling something, but…but he doesn't know what it is. He can’t describe it. 

The elevator door opens to reveal the underground subway system under Sionis Industries. It hasn’t been used in years since Bruce died. Roman steps out onto the old tracks and finds his members of the False Face Society; Most of them are employees of Sionis Industries.

“My False Face Society.” He calls their attention. “Today is the day we put our masks back on…permanently. Batman is back, the gang war has initiated, our mission is complete.” 

Most of them look saddened by this, like they wished to continue on, which Roman understands. When he took on the Black Mask title, he felt…at peace. Sure, he had to hurt a few people to get his way, but it was all for the betterment of Gotham, to ground it back to reality. 

One guy asks, while he takes his motorcycle helmet off. “So that’s it? We’re just going to disband and pretend that this never happened?”

Roman shakes his head. “No, we’re not. We will always remember what we accomplished when we see Batman and Falcone going at it. We did that, we brought Gotham back from the cage of denial that this city made for itself.” Roman then takes a box and lands it in front of them. “But as I said, that mission has been completed. There is no need for us anymore. So put your faces in the box and prepare to embrace the masks.” 

After a few moments of hesitation, they take off their faces and put them in the wooden box that will soon be kept under lock and key. After they do, Roman has the black mask in his hand and takes a deep breath. “Goodbye, Black Mask. Roman will be taking it from here.” He drops it in the box and finally locks it with the key in his pocket. 

He addresses his men, “We speak nothing of this. As of right now, what we have done will be remembered, but will never be spoken of.” Every reluctantly nods and, with all giving saddened looks, they head back up. 

But Roman doesn't. No, he just stands there, looking at the box of masks. This isn't a box he just picked out, no it belonged to his father. Guess you can say that his dad inspired him…well, him and Batman.

The date was August of 1991. His father was running a small bank robbing crew and dragged his own son, Roman, into his heists.

1991 was the final chapter of the crime lord's glory days. When men like Falcone had real control of Gotham. It was before The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin, The Ventriloquist, or Two-Face. When corrupted and gimmickless businessmen started to feel their once firm and tightened fists loose grip of the city they thought was theirs.

However, it was two years after Batman first began his crime fighting career and others like The Riddler, Catwoman, and The Calendar Man began to appear, but they weren't as lawful as him.

They were complete maniacs and freaks with question mark shaped canes, whips and holiday themed crimes. While Falcone and his family represented controlled corruption The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, The Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Calendar Man, The Mad Hatter, Catwoman, Victor Zsasz, Jane Doe, Clayface, and Clue Master represented the madness and carnage that Gotham brings.

That is why Gotham isn't a good place. Because it forces life to create men and women who just want to see the world burn and the streets of the city they terrorize painted with their victims' blood. Gotham has worn a face of anarchy and it's the truest representation of itself. Anything else that says differently is a lie to hide that fact.

Roman's father was a representation of insanity as well, but toned down to a very low degree. He was a gangster, a tough criminal mastermind who led a gang consisting of five people.

Vinnie John: A lean and fit man who was very charismatic. He was the driver of their getaway car and wanted to save his shares to buy an AMC Hornet, a rare vehicle that he desired since his grandfather sold rode it before he sold it when the Great Depression hit.

Joe Mayo: A fat man, but was a great shooter. He was saving his share so he could open a cake store. He was also the father Michell Mayo, who soon became the Condiment King in a few years.

Benny Robbinson: A tall guy who was very informative. He was an employee of the bank that they were about to rob. His share was for a debt he owed from gambling.

Roman Sionis: An anxious young adult, about 25. The same age as Bruce Wayne was, who came back from his tour around the world for 6 years. Admitally, Roman wasn't up for this. He hated that his father was forcing him to be a lookout incase cops showed up. 

Finally, his father, Charles Sionis: The leader of the crime syndicate. The main reason he started that gang was that his skincare company, Janus Cosmetics, was going through a financial crisis and he needed money to keep it from going bankrupt.

In the van Vinnie was driving, they were discussing the details. Benny told them, "Okay, there's a 60 second response time on this so if we're collecting anything, we gotta hurry it if we're ever making it back in here."

Vinnie uttered, "Got it, no pressure then."

Charles told his crew, "Look, this job will bring us more cash than we can all fit in our wallets. So, be prepared!" He informed them all.

The van was parked in front of the Gotham General Bank & Trust as people were walking in and out of it. It was a busy day that day.

Charles gestured them out of the van. "Let's get moving."

Roman trembled, but did as he was told. Again, he did not want anything to do with that job. Back then, he couldn't believe that his father even considered robbing a bank.

As Vinnie kept the van running, the gang of 4 men pulled out shotguns and pistols , but Roman was the only one who didn't fire a warning shot into the bank.

People screamed and the wisest of those people got down on their knees as Benny said, "No one makes a move and no one needs to get hurt."

All of them except Charles were wearing red ski masks on their faces. The father of Roman Sionis had on a red dome and a cloak while he wore a black suit and a bow tie. While he committed the many heists, he created the persona of The Red Hood. 

Red Hood went up to a bank teller and with a shotgun aimed at him, he told him, "Empty the register, now!"

The bank teller nods his head. "Okay, just don't hurt me." He unlocked the keys to the register. 

Benny looked down at his watch. "30 seconds!"

After a few twists and turns, he opened all of the registers and it all revealed huge stacks of cash. 

Red Hood yelled, "Alright! Go, go, go!"

Red Hood called all of them to stuff all the cash into black trash bags. They do so quickly before racing out of the doors.

The men were ready to jump in the van when GCPD police sirens were closing in. 

*BANG*

The Red Hood Gang opened fire on the police, sending a patrol car into a fire hydrant and that ended up causing a traffic jam. So, the police were forced to get out of their cars to continue the fight that had long since been dealt with.

Roman saw a 46 year old Jim Gordon get a shot at Benny, who fell to the concrete as his shoulder bled through his jacket.

"I got one!" Gordon shouted, despite the war that was going on out there. He kneeled, handcuffed him, and told the others, "Keep him in one of the cars while we deal with this!"

Roman yelled, "Benny!"

He was going to go back for Benny, but Red Hood grabbed him by his motorcycle jacket. "Leave him, we gotta go!"

Joe asked, "Where's the car?!"

*HONK*

They looked in a different direction and saw Vinnie in his van. "Don't just stand there, get it!"

They all hurried across the street, dodging bullets and incoming traffic. Finally, they all got in the van and Vinnie drove off, leaving the cops behind. 

While they were in the van, Charles said, "That was close." He then told everyone in the vehicle. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea it was gonna go down like that."

Roman coldy said, "Yeah, a 60 second window with limited time to escape. Great plan, dad." Back then, he was angry that his old man took all those risks and he angrily took off his red ski mask and threw it at him. "No more Red Hood Gang, no more of this! We are not doing that again."

Back in the present, Roman keeps staring at the box. This box once held his father's old Red Hood costume. 

Back then, he couldn't understand why Red Hood had to become a thing and he didn't understand why that costume was necessary. 

But he understands now. Costumed maniacs displays the ever growing chaos in Gotham and it shows that it's like no other city. That is what makes it honest.

And honest is what Roman has brought back to Gotham when he became the Black Mask. He'll forever know that he was the hero that Gotham needed to pull itself from its pit of deception.

Hours later, after Tim Drake gets off of work, he goes to the Batcomputer and sees what he can dig up on David Jones.

Alfred comes down and asks, "How was the meeting, sir?"

"Informative." Tim simply states. "I think I found this guys identity." He pulls up his background check on David Jones.

Alfred looks it over. "Hmm, gained a Master's Degree at Gotham University for Nautical Engineering, was named top student by his diving and swimming instructors, and deceased. Did they ever find the body?"

Tim shakes his head. "Nope. He was only presumed dead."

Alfred nods. "Yes, I believe your found your sabotager." 

Tim then says, "His last known address was in the East End. It used to be the most crime ridden city before Roman cleaned it up with Sionis Industries funding." 

"And Mr. Jones' home?" 

Tim pulls up a picture of it. It shows that most of it has sucken to the sea. "It's not looking too good. Roman said that house was too far gone, along with a few other houses that sunk."

Alfred nods, recalling the reson as to why this is. "Yes, land reclamation can be quite the problem." The old man walks away and looks down at a staircade that goes down to a port. "Mr. Fox made a quick effort to repair the Batboat, as it was called back in the day. Along with a new Bat Scuba suit."

Tim asks, "Did we put bat infront of everything?"

Alfred shrugs. "I suppose so. Either way, they're both operational for you. Your usual uniform was never suited for underwater excursions, anyway."

Tim nods."Thanks Alfred. I won't need it for where I'm going as some of the neighborhood is above sea level but I'll probably need it in the future. I'll be quick."

He then left to get dressed.

The East End has always one of the most struggling areas in Gotham, only really rivaled in poverty and crime rates by the Narrows. The neighborhood however that the Batman is currently in had to be one of the worst places, even in the East End. 

It's a special neighborhood nicknamed Atlantis because the very ground the neighborhood's built on is won through a complicated process of land reclamation. The process of land reclamation is nothing new for a crowded city bordering the open ocean as Gotham does.

A good chunk of Gotham’s districts are below sea level after all and would probably sink into the ocean if it were not for a complicated network of dykes. Atlantis however got its promising name as a PR stunt. 

The neighborhood was built during one of Gotham's major population booms. The Atlantis project promised many affordable housing options for low-income families, right on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now that dream is gone. Atlantis is a neighborhood mostly filled with ruins. Most of the social housing apartment complexes have been abandoned over eight years ago. By now the place is only a refuge for Gotham’s undesirables and those that need to hide in a place where no one will come looking for them. 

Despite the unpleasant population, most of the supposedly abandoned buildings still are places to stay for Gotham’s poorest and otherwise disadvantaged. 

The address that David Jones supposedly last lived in is an old, decrepit apartment building. Basically, a ruin surrounded by other ruins. The inside of the building is in a similarly bad condition to the exterior. Grime and decay can be found in every corner and on every wall. Most of the windows on the lower floors are broken and graffiti-covered nearly every visible surface. 

On the staircase leading up to Jones's apartment, Batman walks past a junkie that sits in his own filth - too phased out to notice it or the dark knight passing him. The door to the apartment is locked but even a weak man would have no problem breaking open the rotten wood. The inside of the apartment is mostly empty. The only thing it's filled with was a brutal stench.

The apartment consists of a large room that functioned as a living room as well as a kitchen. The entire room is a mess. In fact, by the state, the place is currently in it seems hard to believe that anyone lived here ever at all. The furniture's broken, there are cockroaches and rats in every corner, and dust and trash litter the ground. 

To the right of this room are two doors, to the left only one. Batman first took a look at the first door on the right - the Bathroom. The stench comes out of this room, although it'a difficult to determine by how much it has already set in every corner of the apartment. 

The room was filled with just as much grime as any other. The Bathtub is filled with brackish brown water, which is almost black. Inside, the decaying body of a man lay submerges, making Batman jump back. 

Regaining his composure, he begins an investigation. 'It looks like the body has been year for 2 years.' Tim says to himself as he notices thar he has injuries similarr to the dead man he fou d on the ship. 'It looks like he's been drowned as well. The water itself has a much higher saline value than tap water. The murderer turned the water he drowned him in into salt water? The body however is much smaller than the attacker was - is this David Jones or merely his first victim?' Tim asks.

He then finds something ass he takes a step back from the tub; Items that are arranged.

The hat of a ship captain in the center resting on a folded-together raincoat, a small seashell to the right, and a wooden miniature of a fishing boat to the left. The ordering of these items seems almost ritualistic. There is a name tag on the inside of the captain's hat - Harold Jones. The victim's name? The coat is definitely the victim's size, much too small for the attacker. Harold Jones? Is he related to David Jones? 

He continues his search around the place and he starts with the room to the right, which is a small bedroom. 

There's barley any furniture besides the bed. The decaying state of the apartment makes it difficult to determine any clues, but it does not show any evidence of anything noteworthy. All the damage seems to be easily attributed to decay.

In a small closet, Batman finds multiple collections of clothes. Some of them also has name tags - all tags showing the name of Harold Jones - except some small children’s clothes put away in a small box in a corner of the wardrobe. The name tags on these clothes reads - David Jones.

'So Harold Jones was David Jones' father.' Batman recalls. 'David Jones killed his father. Drowned him - but why? None of the clothes in the wardrobe are for women. So the two lived together, without a mother.' He can't help but feel sorry for a young man to live without a mother before he finds something. 'Wait a second - most of these clothes are older and show much greater signs of decay than the ones placed in front of the bathtub. These have not been touched for more than five years at least.'

Batman now knows that what Alfred says is true, that Harold did die earlier, but how? 'None of this makes sense,' Tim says in his mind, confused about all this.

Batman continues his investigation. The door on the left gives access to another bedroom; Clearly a kid's bedroom, or what used to be one anyway. Inside is a small bed just large enough for a twelve-year-old kid at max. 

Besides that, there is a desk in the room and loads upon loads of small little trinkets. The entire room is filled and cluttered with a random assortment of what looks like flotsam.

'I sure hope that this place wasn't like this when David lived here.' Tim remarks.

On the desk, Batman finds a collection of seashells and old pieces of wood covered in barnacles, glass and plastic bottles, old leather boots as well as random pieces of plastic. 'It looks like David was a collector when he was younger.'

The pieces of paper are wildly covering the desk with no order in between them. Some seem to be random notes - a lot of them are study notes relating to nautical engineering. Among them are rough sketches depicting the plans for a diving suit. It is the suit the diver was wearing - labeled as ‘King Kraken’.

Tim sighs. 'Guess the Gotham Gazette will have a name for this guy, after all.'

Other than the other things he has found, there's also a map of Gotham and the surrounding waters on the desk. Multiple shipping routes seem to be sketched onto it. As well as a small marked area several miles away from Gotham's shoreline. 

From the ink, the lines were drawn in and the dust covering the desk, Batman could tell that these lines have been drawn years ago. The bed is old but still intact, the imprint of the mattress shows the outlines of a much larger and much heavier man sleeping on the children’s bed, curled up into a small ball. The imprint fits the diver as well.

'David might be fit for Arkham when I find him. He continued to stay here even as an adult. It could be that he has severe mental issues. This seems more likley that King Kraken is not the proffessional for hire I thought him to be. He's acting on his own accord.'

When Batman thinks his investigation is done, he finds an old book in the corner of the room, surrounded by papers that were crushed and ripped from its pages. 

He picks it up and begins to read it. The handwriting looks child like, meaning that David has had this book at a young age.

“Tomorrow Dad comes back from one of his fishing trips. I can’t wait to see what he will bring me this time. The last present was the beak of a squid, that was awesome! The one before that was an old glass bottle. The trips always get longer, because Dad says he can trust me to stay on my own for longer now - but I still miss him. He was gone for two weeks this time. The kids at school say he is only gone so long to get away from me - but I know that is just because we have no money."

Tim starts to feel sympathy for David. 'Not only did he grow up without a mother, he grew into a poor family since they lived in the East End. His father, a fisherman, but not a successful one.'

Tim stares at the collection of trinkets on the table. 'These were given to David by his father.'

He continues reading another page and the next one's handwriting is better than the last one. David wrote this at an older age.

“It has now been eight years since Dad was taken by the sea. But I am not worried. The sea will give him back to me if she thinks it is right. She already has given me so many little trinkets. I am not sad - I just feel sorry for Dad. He missed so much. Me graduating, Me starting my studies, and me finding a job. The job is great - Dad would like it. I like it - Mr. Fjord lets me go diving as much as possible. It is great down there deep under the sea. I truly feel at home down there - away from all these people. Other people just take - take my money - take my joy - take take take take take…The sea always gives to me”

'So, his father really did die at sea.' Tim says to himself. 'Not only did he grow up without a mother, but his father was taken from the very thing he loves. It must've been lonely for David.'

Tim can relate. His father and mother was always away on business trips and he was in a house with a nanny who didn't care about him, but only about the money she would get. Then, for three years, he felt lonely without Bruce and most of his family members.

He continues reading another entry, but this one looks like the newest one and it's very rushed and was written with anguish.

"How could he do it? Ten years I thought the sea took him! I found it - last week I found it while diving in the Gotham harbor. The ship of my father! He sunk it - he did! Abandoned me- Intentionally - Insurance fraud - and then he just left with the money. Why? How could he? I found him - found him again - brought him here - had him explain- made no sense! Abandoned me - bound him to the water - now he is my again - I will be alone no longer! How coul- ”

The writing stops mid-sentence as a large ink drop covers a good chunk of the page.

Tim, having read this journal, peices it all together. 'So, his father didn't die. He commited Insurance Fraud and collected the money, abandoning his child and responsibilities. After David found the ship, he tracked his father down and brought him back to his old home and later, killed him. That explains the body in the tub.' Tim is now truly sorry for David as he looks around the bedroom and the trinkets on the desk. 'The collection of flotsam, staying in his childhood room, continuing his childhood logbook. The abandonment of his father left David Jones in a desolate state of mind. Without any other social contacts, he buried himself in obsession and ritual. When he discovered that it was intentionally done to him, he had an emotional reaction. He confronted his father - killed him as a result. He tried to turn him into one of the collected objects. The stress of that ultimately drove him over the edge. Begs the question of where does he hide now?'

Tim knows that he has to hunt David down, but he can't attack him the first chance he gets. Maybe he can try reasoning with him first. But fiest he'll have to find him.

'Now, if I were a mentally unstable, obsessed diver, where would I hide? Well, I would probably want to get away from people since that's where David feels more comfortable.' Tim tries to adapt his thinking to the logic of David Jones.

Then, he looks out of the window, trying to see what he sees when he kept on living in his old home. The view from Jones’s room shows some of the surrounding decrepit departments, but also Gotham’s shorelines and harbor district. As he sees the waves hitting the shore, he remembers the markings on the map. 

'Wait…' Tim starts to realize. 'He took refuge…below the waves.'

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, October 26th, 2013

After a quick visit back to the BatCave, Batman sits in the Batboat, a high-speed stealth capable speedboat that is parked in a small grotto in the BatCave. 

From there, Batman comes to access the Gotham River and eventually the Gotham Bay Area at nighttime. As Batman is speeding through the waves of the sea near Gotham, his Comlink activates. It's Alfred.

“Master Timothy, I see you are closing in on the location. I did some research and found out that eleven years ago the M.S.New Horizons, an Oil Tanker, sank there after a ship fire got out of control.”

“The wreckage of an oil tanker certainly is large enough to allow for large air bubbles to form. A skilled engineer, as I suspect David Jones is, could easily be capable of setting up a permanent base in the wreckage of that scale.”

"Perhaps, but do you really think that it is feasible, sir? Why would he prefer the company of sardines and sea urchins?"

“Jones feels betrayed by his father and the world. But with the ocean, he doesn’t have to feel that pain anymore. He feels more comfortable down there than up on the surface, that’s why he’s committing these crimes.” Batman explains.

“So the attack on the Falcone ship was him defending his home from trespassers?” Alfred asks, wanting to understand.

“Something like that, yes.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. Just be careful, sir. You are now going into his territory. There is no telling what awaits you down there.”

Tim assures him, "I'll be fine,"

He hangs up and with the Bat Boat's scanner, he begins his search for anything out of the ordinary. Finally, after a few minutes, the sonar of the BatBoat begins to locate the signal of the large oil tanker lying on the seafloor. However, there are multiple smaller signals surrounding the signal of the oil tankers. The signals indicate multiple smaller wreckage sides with significantly smaller ships that are randomly placed a few miles apart from each other. 

"Odd." Tim says before asking Alfred through his communicator. "Alfred, were any ships sunk around the area I'm at? I'm picking up multiple hits."

"Hmm, it doesn't appear to be, Master Timothy." Alfred says, to Tim's confusion. "I can't find any references about sunken vessels in this area."

Tim shakes his head. "Then, I'm going to have to go deeper to get to the bottom of this." Batman says.

"Very good, sir. Just try not to get tide down." Alfred jokes.

Batman rolls his eyes fondly. "How original, Alfred." Batman stops the BatBoat in between one of the smaller signals and the larger signal of the oil tanker. He then opens the roof of the Boat and before he dives into the cold waters.

His normal attire would not be very useful in this environment, so he wears a special underwater Batsuit. The suit leaves no opening and isolates him from the cold water. A small, flat oxygen tank built into the back of the suit allows him to stay underwater for close to 45 minutes. Beyond that, the suit has some extra strong tiny propellers built into the arms of the suit that allow him to traverse through the water at a faster speed.

Bruce had this suit made when Edward Nygma, AKA The Riddler, took over the city and flooded it. But that's a story for another day.

Slowly but steadily, Batman descends into the deep and cold abyss of the ocean. The waters isolate his thoughts, as he now is only surrounded by the sea. 

As he closes in on one of the smaller signals, he activates one of his extra-strong flashlights. The beam of light cuts through the oppressive darkness of the sea like a warm knife through butter. The light illuminates only a small area of his field of view, but it is enough to see the wreck of an old fishing boat.

The wreck is not old and could only have been on the seafloor for a couple of weeks. The ship was broken into two separate pieces - clearly caused by an explosion. The name of the boat is not quite readable - but there still is an emblem painted on the side of one of the boat's halves. The emblem shows the island of Sicily in a light blue circle surrounded by two strains of seaweed. The emblem of the Sicilian Seafood Company, one of Carmine Falcone's few legitimate enterprises.

Batman investigates the parts where the ship was ripped in two, these areas show a very fine trace of the same uranium used in the explosives on the M.S.Catania. The inside of the boat has also been picked clean without any further equipment inside.

'This boat was clearly sunk by the explosive Falcone himself tried to sell overseas.' Tim says to himself. 'With most of the exterior of the ship missing, it is clear that this was a test of how well his explosives actually worked. I am willing to bet most of the other smaller wrecks around here are just the same case.' Tim then starts to piece this puzzle together. 'So, Falcone tests his explosives by sinking a few of old and unneeded boats - unlucky for him this piques the interest of the psychotic hermit living in the oil tanker next to his testing site. That is how Jones learned about Falcone’s explosives.'

After his investigation of the small boat is completed, he takes course to the larger oil tanker. After a while, he begins to see the outline of the wreck. The colossus is even bigger than he imagined - but the wreck is mostly intact. 

On closer inspection, he can see some large metal constructions that have been welded onto the outside area of the ship that used to be the bridge. Batman swims up to investigate them. The construction clearly was not part of the original ship's design and was welded onto it after the ship sank. The construction is a network of pipes and cylinders, clearly something of an air filtration device. The Detectives hunch was right, Jones set up a base in the wreck.

Then, something grabs hold of him, pulling him down quickly. The sudden change in pressure takes the air out of his lungs, causing him immense pain. He tries to free his arms but to no success. As he looks down he sees the two large arms grabbing around his torso. It is the diver - it's Jones.

Without mercy, Jones pulled the Batman deeper and deeper until they both reached the sea floor. With some solid ground under his feet again, Batman used the strength of his legs to push himself and Jones over. Laying on his back, the grip of the diver eased enough for Batman to free himself. As Batman swam away a couple of feet from his attacker, he felt a sudden sharp sting in his back. He turned around to see his attacker already back on his feet.

In his hand, Jones held a harpoon gun that had already been fired. Batman grabbed around to his back and noticed the harpoon stuck in there. It barely pierced his flesh. What worried him however was the fact that it definitely pierced his air tank. He was losing his oxygen quickly. Batman knows that with Jones still nearby, he could never swim back up to the surface quick enough. He tries to turn around, heading for the entrance of the oil tanker, when Jones got hold of one of his legs. Now pulling the dark knight towards him. Batman however used his other leg for another well-targeted kick in Jones's lower abdomen freeing him from the grip.

Batman is finally able to get away and swims inside the tanker as bubbles escape his oxygen tank. He takes deep breaths after his fight with Jones. Battling underwater isn't easy, it slows you down.

He looks around him and investigates the tanker. Inside, the water filled a third of the wreck. The rest is filled with a pressurized air bubble. He crawls into the artificial grotto of steel before him. What used to be the storage room of the Tanker is now a basis of operation for David Jones.

There were multiple oxygen tanks, diving equipment, as well as a bed, and a desk. But mostly the room was cluttered up again with different kinds of flotsam. Seashells, old pieces of clothing, wood, old steering wheels, sea turtle shells, glass bottles - a true assortment of everything that could be found on the seafloor.

'This could be more evidence for the GCPD to collect.' Tim thinks to himself

But then, Davis Jones, still in his diving suit, comes back and is filled with rage. In his mind, Batman is an intruder and he's defending his home turf. The giant readies himself for an attack and this is where de escalation comes into play.

"David!" Batman shouts.

Jones stops in his tracks. He looks shook and asks, "How do you know that name?" Ths green eyes of his diving suit stare at Batman, giving Batman a chance to approach him.

"David, this isn't right, you have to see that." Batman tells him. "Look, I know what it's like…to feel abandoned by a parent. You feel like the only person that cares about you is…you." 

The diver just stares at him, silent for a moment before asking, "You know how that feels?"

Tim feels like he is making progress with him and nods. He raises his hands in surrender, showing that Batman means no harm for now. "Yes. We were both abandoned by our family. We were both hurt by the people who should've been there for you, I understand that. But this," He motions to this ship. "This isn't a healthy way of coping. People have died already, how many more have to suffer?"

The diver takes what he says into account and when Batman sees that he's making progress, Jones says, "...No. David Jones is no more. He was a scared and weak boy. My father wasn't in my family, the sea was. It has provided for me, given me things that my father couldn't. The sea surrounded him. Baptized him in salt water and turned him into one of her own. I am now the creature of the Gotham bay - the leviathan that is to be feared by everyone crossing into his domain - the King Kraken.”

Batman asks, "How does the sea provide for you?"

King Kraken reached around to grab one of the many pieces in his collection. He presents Batman with a Captain's hat, damped with seawater. Only on second glance does Batman notice that there's the body of a man lying between the pile of things, from whose head Kraken has removed the hat.

“I collected the trinkets of all who trespass on my territory.”

Batman feels like he's going to hurl. He knows that he has seen some messed up crap in his life as Red Robin but after 3 years, it all comes back to him how many bodies he's seen.

Batman turns to him, no longer surrendering and no longer the good cop. "Jones, turn yourself into the police or else."

King Kraken brings out his harpoon gun and aims it at him. "Make me, Batman."

Batman responds with a batarang to the harpoon and he's now disarmed. Their third battle begins;

While King Kraken is bigger than Batman and more muscular, Batman's more prepared and the better fighter. He now knows where to strike and what will leave the most damage. 

Batman strikes his leg and he falls, but King Kraken, knowing his surroundings well, grabs a nearby lead pipe and hits Batman in the head.

Batman’s forced to back off when King Kraken hits him again, this time it makes him fall to the floor. But when King Kraken goes to hit him again, Batman kicks the lead pipe out of his hand. 

Batman gets back up. “Jones, this has gone on far enough!”

“You do not understand, Intruder! The sea is my domain! Whatever finds itself beneath the waves belongs to me! Stay with me! You will never abandon me!” shouted the mad man.

Batman wipes the blood coming down his lip from the lead pipe assault. “Not gonna happen.” 

This irritates Kraken and they resume their war. As King Kraken launches a punch at the Caped Crusader, Batman grabs his arm and is able to throw him to the wall. 

Batman takes a moment to catch his breath while King Kraken grabs one, what he sees as a treasure of his; A small anchor that looks to weigh at least 15 ibs. He tightens the handle of it and he uses it as a mace. 

Batman acts quickly and catches it as Kraken takes his first swing. Batman goes for a weak spot on his armor, but Kraken has other ideas; He goes into his belt and takes out a small taser. 

*ZAP*

Batman yells in pain and is back on the ground. He used the custom-built high voltage Taser, which he instantly held against the iron chain of the anchor. Batman, still gripping the chain, was immediately affected by the electric shock, throwing him to the ground. Kraken, because of the insolation in his glove and boots, was left immune to the electric current.  

Kraken grabs Batman by the neck while he’s down. He takes him over to where the seawater crossed into the ship’s grotto.

“I will not be abandoned again!” Kraken swears. “You, like so many others, will be claimed by the sea, claimed by me. Then, the rest of Gotham is next.” 

He slowly begins to press Batman's head towards the water, as Batman tries to fight back by pushing himself up against the ground with his arms. But Kraken's sheer physical strength is enormous, so Batman starts to lose the battle. He knows he has only one chance left. 

The oxygen tanks.

With a sheer amount of willpower, Batman rips one of his explosive Batarangs out of his belt and aims it at the oxygen tanks located against the wall further back in the base.

*BOOM*

The explosion from the Batarang lets the oxygen tanks explode as well, ripping a large hole in the outer wall of the oil tanker. As the water rushes in, Kraken releases his grip.

Batman lifts his head out of the salt water and gasps for air. King Kraken pleads to the seas. “No! Don’t take what you’ve already given me!” 

Kraken yells out as he tries to grab hold of some of his belongings. The vast majority were being flushed out of the ship. Batman sees Kraken hold onto one of the explosives crates from the Falcone tanker as it gets flushed out from all the other things Kraken has crammed in his base.

Batman asks himself, ‘Did he raid the container ship as well?’

Batman has no time to stay any longer inside the oil tanker, as it is already almost completely filled with water. With Kraken distracted this is now the only time where Batman can hope to escape. He takes one deep last breath of air and then dives back into the water. He does not look back as he quickly rises back to the surface. The ascension to the surface is quick and because of the rapid difference in pressure also very painful. But he cannot waste any time. With no air in his tank, he cannot afford to get captured by Kraken again. 

Then, hope builds up when he reaches the surface. 

Back at the Batcave, Tim Drake is back at the Batcave while Lucius Fox and Alfred Pennyworth are there with him.

Tim asks, “How’s the suit?”

Lucius inspects the Diving suit and says, “Well, your encounter broke the oxygen tank beyond repair and I only have a limited set of experimental tech in the workshop. The best thing I can do is give you a more traditional oxygen tank.” Lucius tells him, regrettably. “They’re more heavy and it will restrict your movement a lot more, I’m afraid.” 

Tim waves that off. “It'll be enough to face Kraken again, thanks Lucius.”

Alfred speaks up. “Sir, going out again would be unwise. It’s 12 P.M. At night, a heavy storm is beginning, and the water waves are very rough tonight. Tonight won’t be in your favor.” 

Tim, again, shakes those facts away. “If I don’t, then Jones will hurt more people. I need to find out what he’s got planned if I’m to put him behind bars.” 

“He stole bombs, correct?” Lucius asks, Tim nods in response. “Then you’ll be able to track uranium using the Batboat’s sonar.”

Tim gets up. “Good suggestion, Lucius.” He puts back on his cowl and goes for his gauntlets, only to see that they’re not on the table. “Where are my gauntlets?”

Lucius walks away and returns with a new set of gauntlets that look like the original, but more electronic in a way. “I fitted these with tracking technology so in case traces of uranium are found in the ocean, you’ll be able to track them while swimming. This is the last of my experimental tech, so use it wisely.”

Tim smiles proudly and gratefully. “I will.” He sees that Alfred is still worried, so Tim puts a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Alfred. I’ve handled worse. I’ll be back tonight.” 

Alfred sighs in defeat and gives one of his sarcastic comments. “Well, as long as you don’t blame me for getting seasick,” 

Tim smirks in response before saying, “I’m not going out in the water just yet, I need to head to GCPD and give them information about this case.” 

Lucius says, “Harvey Bullock is still the Lieutenant. You might want to warn him first.” 

Tim puts on a voice modulator and calls him using an unknown number. Bullock picks up the phone. “Hello?”

“Detective.” Tim says, disguising his voice. 

“...It’s you, isn’t it? What do you want?” Bullock recognizes Batman's voice. 

“Meet me on top of the GCPD Building in 13 minutes.” Tim simply tells him. 

Tim goes to put on his suit and after he dons his scuba suit, Alfred asks, “If I may ask, why are you so determined to help this man, sir?”

After putting on his mask, he tells Alfred, “Because I know how he feels; To be lonely. To have to raise yourself when your mother and father are gone.” Batman tells them as Alfred and Lucius shift uncomfortably. They know that Tim’s parents were a sore subject. “If I can help him, I will.” 

Lucius asks, “And if you can’t?” As Batman enters the Batboat.

“Then Arkham can try.” Batman states as he drives the Batboat away. The currents turn heavy and rough as the boat drives right through them. 

But Batman doesn’t care, all he cares about is helping David get his life back in order. He might not be able to succeed, but it’s still worth a shot. Because, as Tim told Alfred and Lucius, he knows loneliness. He’s known it since…well, since he can remember. As he continues to drive, a memory comes back into his mind.

This was years ago, when Tim Drake was 11-12 years old maybe, it’s always been hard to remember your younger years. But Tim had a few clear memories that surrounded his childhood.

His parents were Jack and Janet Drake. Not much was known about his mother, but his father’s sister was Dinah Drake before she became Dinah Lance when she married Quentin Lance in Star City. 

Jack was the CEO and leader of Drake International and he, along with Tim’s mother, was away on business trips quite often. So, Tim was used to fending for himself, despite the fact he had a maid, Ms. McIlvaine, sometimes referred to as ‘Ms Mac.’

His family was rich, well they weren’t as rich as Bruce Wayne or Oswald Cobblepot but they were well off. They lived in a big house titled ‘Drake Manor’. An extensive house that always felt too big for Tim, just like Wayne Manor currently does.

One time, after Tim came home from school, the beginning of summer vacation had started. Tim Drake was excited to begin his holiday with a bang. When he got off the bus and walked into his old house. When he walked in, he saw that the maid, Ms Mac was putting luggage into the family truck. 

Tim had to ask. “Ms Mac, what’s going on?”

Ms Mac only gave him a sideways glance, she looked busy. “Your mother and father are going on a business trip.”

Tim looked regretful. These trips were becoming more and more current. He asked her, “How long?” In a gloomy voice. 

“About two weeks, I suspect.” Tim’s father said while he stood on the door frame. He had black eyes and small gray hairs growing in his brown hair. He also had two cases of luggage in both hands and he dropped them in the trunk of their limo. “We’re heading up to the airport now.” 

Tim nodded, used to this. His family was always terribly busy. “Okay, is there anything you want me to do while I’m gone?”

His father simply told him, “Only stay out of trouble.” 

Tim nodded and said, “Yes, sir.” Like an obedient child would. 

Then his mother came out of the house, loading the final baggage in the limo. She also had brown hair, but her eyes were bright blue. She gave Tim one kiss on his head and said, “Bye sweetie.” 

Jack looked at his maid, Ms Mac. “He is not to leave this house for any reason at all.” 

Mrs. Marc nodded. “Of course, sir.” 

Then, with one small hug given by his father, he closed the door to the limo and the driver inside drove them away to their destination, the airport. Tim watched them drive off with a hint of disappointment that he wasn’t going to be able to hang out with his family. 

He was then called back into the house by Ms Mac. After he entered the house, she shut the door with a silent slam. She then made her way to the kitchen.

“I will have dinner prepared for tonight.” 

Tim nodded. “Thanks.” Not wanting to do nothing today, he asked the maid, “Ms. Mac, after dinner is made, do you want to hang out?”

Ms. Mac simply said, ‘I apologize, but that isn’t in my job description.” 

Tim lowered his head in defeat and nodded. He then went back into his room and expected the summer to be long and boring.

‘And it was.’ Tim says to himself. That summer eliminated both fun and entertainment for two months.

This is why he wants to fight for David Jones, not against him. Because he knows what loneliness can do to a person. He remembers all the times he was left alone by his parents and it still hurts, knowing that his mother and father didn't care about a relationship with their only son. Luckily, Bruce was there to accept Tim in his family before…the other events happened three years ago. 

But Batman is also aware that David Jones might not listen, so he’ll be forced to take him down. But it won’t be easy, Davis’s suit is well-equipped. However, Batman is more prepared this time and he’ll stop King Kraken’s madness.

Chapter Text

Date: Sunday, October 27th, 2013

At the GCPD Building, Detective Harvey Bullock waits for the Dark Knight. He stands on the roof beside the Bat Signal, which is covered in long, gray, drapes.

"Detective." Batman calls out to Bullock, making him drop his coffee in surprise. He turns around and sees Batman stepping out of the shadows and towards Bullock.

Bullock regains his composure. "Oh, it's you.” He looks at his diving suit. “What, took swimming lessons?”

Batman ignores his comment and tells him, "The man responsible for the sunken ship, I have a name; David Jones."

Bullock rolls his eyes. "David Jones, Edward Nygma, Pamela Isley, Johnathan Crane; It's like these names can predict the future or something.”

Batman hands him a file containing all the information he needs. Bullock takes it and looks through it. "In it, you'll find an address to a house in the East End and in that house, you'll find a body and a notebook written by David. That's all the information you'll need."

Bullock closes it and closes his eyes in defeat. "Oh, what's the point?"

Batman raises his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"No matter what evidence you bring, the punishment will be the same; Arkham Asylum, where Jones' will be treated like a victim of circumstance."

"He is." Batman retorts. "He's a troubled man who's had a troubled life."

Bullock points a finger at him, like Batman has just proved his point. "And they said the same thing about Joker, Two-Face, Victor Zsasz, Scarecrow, and several others. Except none of them got better, they stayed contempt to who they are; Monsters at heart. Arkham has always been a revolving door for every maniac in Gotham."

"Arkham hasn't had a break out in three years." Batman argues.

Bullock leans his hand on the Bat Signal. "It's only a matter of time. You're back, aren't yah? They're going to want a piece of you."

Batman can't argue with him. He does have a point. The Arkham Rogues, as the papers called them, have always been a bunch of sadistic maniacs and most, if not all of them have a vendetta against the man who put them in Arkham and has foiled their plans more times than they could count.

He stares at the signal. "Y'know, there was a time when me, Renee, and Jim Gordon stood on the rooftop, waiting for you and your helpers to save the day and for three years, I thought we were done with that…Yet, here we are. Back again, waiting for you to save the day, we'll put them away, they'll get out of jail, and the process will start all over again." 

Batman has to ask. "What's your point, detective?"

Bullock turns to him in exasperation. "My point is we can't just give Falcone and Black Mask a hug, expecting them to reform. If you're going to run on rooftops again and if I'm going to avenge my friend, then we need to change our ways of dealing with these people."

Batman nods but says, "Maybe you’re right, but that's a conversation for another time. Right now, we can stop Jones from hurting more people. Renee would've said the same thing." Tim knows that she would've. She knew that she would've wanted to stop this guy, no matter what punishment was given. Because that's who she was, a good person, ready to law down her life to stop the bad guys. And she did.

Bullock ponders his speech, knowing he's right. He lets out a long sigh. "What do you want me to do?"

"Tell your superiors and the Coast Guard that I gave this to you and I want a S.W.A.T. Team.” Batman simply tells Bullock. “I don’t have an exact location yet but when I do, I’ll tell you where to go. I want your people to make sure that escape is impossible. Jones is going down one way or another."

Bullock nods. "No problem. You might want to get out of here before someone sees you." Before Batman is about to grapple away, Bullock says, "Just keep in mind what I said, alright? We can't go back to doing things how we used to, too many people have died because of that."

Batman grimaces at the reminder of the death toll before he grapples away into the dead of night and onto the Batboat. He takes one last look at the GCPD Building before starting his boat on the oceans overlooking police headquarters. 

‘Alfred was right, the storm is picking up,’ Batman says to himself as he steers the BatBoat through the area where Kraken's oil tanker base is located. 

The time is 1:25 A.M. in the morning. The waves make it much more difficult to navigate. Just a couple of hours ago, the sea was largely calm - now it’s an endless assortment of waves that rocked the BatBoat around.

Batman tries to focus on the sonar of the Batboat, despite the fact that maneuvering this vessel is so far a difficult task. He decides to go back to the location when he had his fight with Kraken, since he can still trace the bomb’s uranium signature due to the bombs Kraken still has.

Shortly after Batman arrives at the location of the oil tanker, he activates the specialized sensors to take up on the slight trace elements of Uranium that were found in the experimental new explosive - the signal was indeed very weak, but still enough to pick up on it. The concentration was strongest at the oil tanker base, with a weaker trail leading away from it. As Batman followed the trail for about a minute, he realized that it was leading back towards the city near the harbor district.

‘He knew I was on his tail, so he’s trying to move to another location.’ Batman figures out. He calls Alfred. “Alfred, search the area near the harbor district for any records of large sunken ships or abandoned warehouses near the coast. '' Batman orders through his communications device, but he knows not to sound harsh while saying these things.

“Right away Sir!” Alfred complies over the communication device. “…Mmm, according to city records, most sunken ships near the harbor are at their biggest the size of tiny fishing vessels. Nothing that would be able to host an underwater base. There are a few abandoned warehouses in the area - it is Gotham, after all. But the largest number of abandoned buildings in the general vicinity is located in the southern East End in the so-called Atlantis district.” Alfred informs his young master. And with that, an epiphany strikes Batman as he starts to speed along the trail he was following.

'I was wrong,' Batman discovers in horror. ‘Kraken’s not resettling, he’s expanding his territory. He hooks explosives around the weakest areas of his childhood neighborhood and everything and everyone around that area will be pushed into the sea.’

Eventually, the trail leads close to the concrete dykes that wall off a good chunk of the southern East End to the sea. With the storm, the waves crash and splash into the hard concrete - sometimes splashing so hard that some of the seawater came down on the other side together with the rain that got hurled down by the storm. 

“Master Timothy, Lieutenant Bullock is on the line. He wishes to speak to you.” Alfred notifies. 

“Put him through.” Batman tells him. 

Then, as expected, Lieutenant Harvey Bullock replaces Alfred. “Bats, I’m able to get S.W.A.T. Teams to help out, but I’m gonna need a location from you if we’re gonna help!”

Batman thinks that’s reasonable. “The Atlantic City neighborhood in the East End. Get everyone out of there and evacuate that entire neighborhood!” He hangs up and heads back to following the trail. But while he does, he can’t help but feel guilty for not telling Bullock that he’s Batman. 

But Tim knows that it’s probably for the best. If word got out to the GCPD that Tim Drake is a vigilante, then this entire thing would be for nothing. Batman knows that Falcone and/or Black Mask have moles in the department, even though he doesn’t know who yet. If he’s going to stop both crime kings, then the people who know who he is must be as limited as possible. 

But Tim digresses and focuses on the task at hand, tracking the uranium. The waters that surround Gotham are just as rocky as Alfred had warned. However, that isn’t going to stop Batman from defeating this crisis that endangers the entire city.

The Uranium trail does indeed lead to the concrete dykes around Atlantis. The BatBoat comes to a stop close to the shore. Batman opens the cockpit roof and stands up, which is quite the balancing act with how much the BatBoat got swept around among the waves. But Kraken’s down there below the waves, and Batman can’t waste any more time - so he took the jump into the deep and cold sea.

The ocean is cold tonight as rain drops begin to pour heavily. This rain might be a problem, but Batman goes deeper into the cold, aquatic abyss anyway. However, Batman does note that the waters around Atlantis are different from the waters wide out at sea where Batman first encountered King Kraken. Here, Batman can reach the ground after a couple of minutes. 

Large swaths of seaweed cover the ground with all kinds of trash and whatever else got thrown into the ocean by the people of Gotham. But on this night, even more than usual could be found below the water's surface due to some of the litter being heavy enough to sink to the floor. The storm caused the tides to rise to such a degree that the water’s surface now stood several feet higher than normal. Batman swims along the bottom of the dyke, looking for concentrations of the explosive, which he’s still tracking through sensors that were built into his gauntlets. 

‘Okay Lucius, let’s see if these work.' Tim really hopes they do, since he doesn’t know how much time he has left. 

*BEEP* 

Batman hears the sensor make noise; it has found the first explosive. ‘Lucius, you genius.’ Tim praises his friend and begins swimming towards the location of the bomb.

It doesn’t take long before Batman finds the first explosive. The bomb is a small waterproof box - directly put up against the concrete wall. Most likely a remote detonator and Tim believes that Kraken already set up a row of explosives along the bottom of the dyke.

Tim curses in frustration ‘Damn it! Kraken’s already set this thing to blow and it’s too dangerous to disarm them, I might not even have time to disarm them.’ Batman takes a look at the explosive before finding something out. ‘Okay, this isn’t a time bomb. It’s wired to be blown remotely. The only way to save everyone is if I find Kraken and the detonator.’

So, Batman swims for the lives of Gotham in this stormy weather and searches for the aquatic menace, sticking close to the ground in case Kraken spots him. However, Batman is at a disadvantage since Kraken has more experience in the ocean and Batman only has limited view of this pelagic domain. 

After a couple of minutes of sneaking through the seagrass forest that covered the seafloor, he finally locates the silhouette of the man he hunts for in front of him. Luckily, Kraken has not yet spotted him, but the madman’s walking along the seafloor away from the dyke with the detonator in his hand. 

‘He’s already set them up!’ Batman observes and wastes no time to kick him in his ribs. Kraken loses the detonator from his hand and that gives Batman plenty of time to steal it away and destroy it, leaving nothing but a crushed collection of wires, metal, and plastic into tiny bits. 

Kraken shouts in rage. “NO! YOU’RE PAY FOR THAT!!” Without losing any time, Kraken hurls himself forward and activates the propeller motor on his back. He picks up a lot of speed, enough to catch the Dark Knight off guard.

Lucius was right when he said that Batman’s equipment would slow him down. If Batman had lighter equipment on, if it was available, he would’ve been able to dodge the attack. The bat is in Kraken’s grasp as Batman struggles to free himself due to Kraken’s strength. He holds him tightly and is trying to crush his body. It’s even more difficult to move because of the stormy and rocky waters.

As Batman squirms, he notices the taser attached to his belt. He manages to get one of his arms near Kraken's belt and grabs the Taser from him, ramming it into the device Kraken wears on his back. The electric shock shuts off the motor that’s propelling the two men forward, and they both suddenly slow down just a few feet before the concrete dyke.

Despite the water slowing to impact, they still hit the ground hard. But Batman is the first to get up and kicks Kraken in the face. He covers his face, showing that it’s hurting. “You should’ve left me alone!”

Batman swims toward him and punches him in the face. “And then what? Let you hurt people?”

Kraken is fed up with this short conversation and he goes into attack. The water is slowing their movements but they’re still able to trade blows directly at one another. The battle in the seas is mixed; Batman’s the better fighter and more strategic than David Jones but Jones has more experience swimming in the water, so it makes him a fast opponent while under the cold waters. 

Batman dives and initiates a drop kick but Kraken catches his legs and throws Batman to a rocky wall. 

*PUNCH*

Batman is hit in his chest, making him feel numb due to Kraken’s strength.

*PUNCH*

Batman is hit again, the same spot. 

*PUNCH*

Again, Batman is hit in his chest. Clearly, Kraken is making this as painful as possible. Before Kraken attacks him again, Batman ducks and King Kraken’s fists hit the rocky wall that Batman’s back was on. 

Kraken’s fist bleeds blood and it floats in the deep blue sea. Batman lands another kick on David's face, making him stumble. Batman knows that this fight cannot go on any longer, no it must end. He has to get Kraken to the surface if he’s to be put away. 

*PUNCH* 

Batman does the exact same thing Kraken did to him and punches him in the gut. 

*PUNCH* 

Batman lands another blow to the sea dweller. 

*PUNCH*

And another but Batman thinks that’s enough. So, he brings the dazed swimmer around his shoulders. He’s quite heavy, making the process slow. Batman swims but the extra weight is aching his back. However, he carries on with Kraken. 

The water feels less cold as he treads the waters up the surface but he also feels that Kraken has gotten heavier. Tim supposes it’s due to buoyancy as he swims them both to a nearby street corner of Atlantis that are already running wet with the heavy rain downpour. Because of Kraken's immense weight, the landing is very sudden and rough. Both men need a short moment to get hold of themselves again before they can stand up. 

Batman lifts his arm and hand to his communicator and tells the man on the other line, “Bullock…I’ve captured David Jones. Get down here so you can book him.”

“With pleasure, Bats.” Bullock tells Batman before he hangs up

Batman makes progress, albeit rather slowly, to get up on his feet but he is once again brought back to the ground, roughly and harshly. David Jones, also known as King Kraken, has gotten back up first and is trying to strangle him to death.

“You…ruined…EVERYTHING!!” Kraken yells through his helmet. He breathes heavily as he continues to shout. “I’ll kill you, Batman!”

Batman struggles to get out any puffs of air as Kraken’s hands are tightly wrapped around Batman's neck. He tries his very best to remove Jones’ big hands off of him but his strength prevents Batman from doing that. So, he must hurry and come up with another plan of survival before he dies. 

Then, as Batman’s eyes start to drift, he takes out a Batarang from his belt and with as much strength as he has, he stabs him in his leg as the sharp batarang cuts through King Kraken’s well made costume. 

“Ahhh!” Kraken lets out a yelp in pain as Batman pushes it deeper into the skin. Kraken can’t take anymore and removes one hand off of the Dark Knight’s throat and grips the arm, giving Batman enough strength to kick David Jones off of him. 

Batman gets up while placing a hand on a nearby house wall to lean himself, still exhausted from what went down in the depths of the seas. Kraken wants to kill him, Batman can see it through his suit but he can only manage to get up on one knee due to the aching pain. 

“It’s over, Jones! Accept it.” Batman tells Kraken.

“This City - this neighborhood! It belongs to me - can’t you see? The ocean's wet claws are already reaching out for it!” Kraken shouts at Batman, clearly out of breath and exhausted from the fight.

Batman shakes his head. “This City isn’t yours, David. It does not belong to me, or to you, or anyone else! It belongs to everyone, much like the oceans.” Batman replies through the sound of the rain hitting the streets and the waves hitting the shore.

Then, to Batman’s relief, police sirens are heard from a distance as they come in closer, revealing police cars, S.W.A.T. Teams, and the Commissioner, Peter Pauling. They all raise their guns as the Commissioner shouts, “Put your hands where we can see them, we have you surrounded!”

Kraken stares at the back up and Batman, feeling numb. He feels defeated and broken as Batman says, “Don’t make this difficult, David.”

“You have taken everything from me ….. I am alone again.” King Kraken says, sitting on the ground, defeated. Two cops come over and lift him up, removing his oxygen tank and his helmet before they put Kraken into handcuffs. 

“Let me help you get better, David. You don’t have to be alone” Batman offers, trying to spark hope in Kraken for a better tomorrow, just as much as he was trying to spark it in himself and the rest of Gotham City.

“I was alone all my life… you don’t have anything to offer,” Kraken retorts as he’s escorted into the police car by the two officers. Batman watches them escort him inside their patrol car as they read him his rights. 

Batman looks at the unmasked diver with pity. Despite everything he’s done, even after everyone he’s hurt, he can’t help but feel sorry for him and everything he’s been through. 

Leinenuit Bullock and Commissioner Peter Pauling walk up to him, interrupting his train of thought. The Commissioner says, “Thanks for the help.”

Bullock looks at him incredulously. “Looks like he did all the work for us.” 

Batman disagrees. “You and your men got everyone out to safety. This victory belongs to all of us.” Pauling and Bullock agree to Batman’s words when Batman tells them, “I hope to keep in touch in the plausible future.”

The Commissioner says, “We’ll see.”

Batman thinks that’s the end of the conversation and grapples away as the heavy rain begins to pour on the very rooftops he runs on, or limps due to what he’s been through.

He contacts his trusty butler as he finds the Batboat stranded on the water. “Thaddeus, I’m heading home.” He jumps on the vessel and prepares to drive but he sees that it’s being remotely controlled.

“Apologies sir but due to your injuries, I think it would be best for your vehicle to be on autopilot for the time being. I’ve set the coordinates and it will return you home.” 

Batman doesn’t respond and lets the boat send him home. He’s in no mood to argue after tonight. All he wants to do is take a nice, long rest in his bed and get out of the rain. 

After what feels to be hours of water surfing, the bot drives through a cavern that Tim is very familiar with. The cavern is dark and cold, designed to be forbidden to anyone except vigilanties. The boat turns carefully through the cave and finally parks at a dock. Batman steps off with the help of Lucius Fox and Alfred.

Alfred says, “The limp should heal by tomorrow morning and you have no other injuries except for a few bruises but you’re used to those while on the field.” 

Tim says, “Alfred…bed, please.” 

Alfred nods. “Of course, young master. I’ve made chicken soup for you. I would suggest a shower but I think you’ve had enough water to last you a few days.” 

Tim takes off the cowl and cape. “Yeah, no kidding.” 

Lucius says, “Tim, what you did tonight, it was…Bruce would’ve been proud.” 

Tim looks at him, touched and appreciated as Alfred joins in with a proud demeanor of his own. “Indeed, we’re all proud of you. Now let's get you fixed up, shall we?”

Tim nods in agreement and goes to another room to take off the suit.

It’s…David Jones has lost track of how long it’s been. It might’ve been weeks, maybe a month but that’s all he can speculate. All he knows is that he’s in a big truck, strapped to a gurney and stripped of his suit as the truck drives through the night. He can’t see anything. He doesn’t know where he’s going or why he’s there. All he knows is nothing. 

Then, the truck comes to a stop but where – he didn’t know. He tries to get out but the gurney has him strapped tightly, preventing any escape. He hears a door slam, probably the driver’s and the back doors open, revealing darkened woods. 

Two men in hospital uniforms get David out of the truck but he’s still in the gurney. He’s wheeled on the stone concrete and David Jones finally sees where he is; Arkham Asylum, the grim psychiatric facility that he’s heard ghost stories about in his youth. 

The two men in hospital uniforms get him up the marble stairs of the institution when the dark oak doors are opened by two security guards armed to the teeth. One of them asks, “The Warden’s coming down.” 

The two men understand and bring him into a reception area as janitors clean. David stares at the bucket of water used for cleaning and he says, “Water…water.” 

“So, we have another obsessive one, do we?” They turn to see Warden Quincy Sharp and a tall, white haired man with round spectacles placed on the edge of his nose. This man goes up to him and says, “Hello, Mr. Jones. I am Doctor Byron Meridath and I will help you re enter society as a sane man.”

David doesn’t care about him or what ‘help’ he gives, if any. All he cares about is leaving this horrid place and going back to where he belongs. “You want to help? Let me go. The ocean…it’s all I have left.” 

Warden Sharp joins in. “Don’t think about escaping anytime soon. No one escapes Arkham Asylum.” He looks to the two patient transporters. “We’ll take it from here, thank you.” 

The two get the hint and they leave the Asylum as quickly as possible. Clearly, they don’t want to be there. Neither does David. He knows he doesn't belong here in this…hellish location.

Security guards come and they wheel the gurney down hallways after hallways. “While here, you will be treated with the most respect, Mr. Jones. However, there are rules here that you are expected to be followed by the letter.” David Jones feels that the deeper they go, the more…hopeless and remorseless Arkham feels. They go down offices and a cafeteria and even a library. Those places didn’t seem so bad…but they aren't the seas. The sea is his true home and Batman has taken the one thing he had.

Batman…the intruder. He will pay for what he has done. King Kraken will escape somehow and he will make sure that the bat is drowned. 

They reach an entrance with an iron security gate that appears to be static. This part of the asylum has security guards and cameras around every corner. Was it to keep people out or to keep something in? The answer is soon given to him when the guards open the gate, revealing cells with metal doors and locks. 

He looks around him, feeling himself drift away from his home and is instead in a cold and unforgiving part of the world, surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings that is Arkham Asylum. 

He sees the doors have name tags on them and these names are what surrounded the legends and horrors of Arkham. 

Blake, T.

Crane, J.

Doe, J.

Flannegan, O.

Fowler, C.

Quigona, J.

Rayne, E.

Tetch, J.

Valentine, L.

‘The last names are in alphabetical order.’ David discovers. He also finds other rooms but they look ancient and it looks like they haven’t been used in three-to-four years. These are all famous names that have painted Arkham and Gotham red with blood.

Baker, J.

Brown, A.

Day, J.

Dries, C.

Dekker, P.

Dent, H.

Dumpler, H.

Goodman, V.

Karlo, B.

Long, T.

Isley, P. 

Nygma, E.

Quinzel, H.

Rankel, A.

Stirk, C.

Smith, J.

Tepes, N.

Wesker, A.

Wylie, A.

Zsasz, V.

David Jones is put in his own room as he finishes examining all the rooms he can currently see. The security door reveals a small room with a nicely made single bed with white sheets and pillowcase and a red blanket that covers the entire bed. Beside the bed is a wooden bedside table with one single drawer and on top of said table is a gray jumpsuit with the Arkham logo on the back. 

David Jones feels cornered and afraid, afraid of the noises and muttering and screaming and shouting of the other patients. He curls himself in the corner of the room, muttering over and over, “I don’t belong here, I don’t belong here…” 

*DRIP* 

David stops at the sound of the dripping. At first, he thinks it’s his imagination and carries on to his muttering. "I don't belong–"

*DRIP*

Another dripping sound and David's curiosity is peaked and he soon discovers that the concrete walls are barren and damp. A steady stream of water drips from the ceiling. So, he curls up in his cell, catching the water drop by drop in his hands. Until, with the puddle in his hands, he feels some resemblance of familiarity.

Chapter Text

Date: Thursday, October 31th, 2013

David Jones sits under the window in his cell at Arkham Asylum, trapped in a straight jacket. The rain stopped a few days ago but he keeps hoping. He wants–No, he needs to feel the water again. It's the closest thing to family he has left. 

*BEEP*

The door to his cell opens, revealing two guards that are armed with shotguns. Behind them is Dr. Byron Meredith, armed with a clipboard and a pen. He says, "Mr. Jones, it's time for your first session."

David Jones doesn’t look at them but only looks at the ground, not wanting to talk to anyone. He tells them, "Leave me alone."

Dr. Meredith shakes his head. "I was afraid of this." He turns to the guards. "Gentlemen, escort him to my office."

The guards enter the cell and grab Jones by his arms forcefully. "Get off me!" David Jones tries to command but the enforcers ignore him and drag him out of the cold cubicle as he continues to struggle. 

It's quite the challenge for Jones to be restrained, even with the straight jacket on him. He's quite muscular and strong, making him able to knock one of the guards into the dirty wall of the Asylum. Because of this, more guards are forced to seize him.

"Settle down, Jones!" One of the guards shouts in frustration.

Dr. Meredith agrees. "Yes, it will be better for yourself if you calm down."

Jones doesn't listen. He continues his attempts to get away and leave to wherever but the guards, now consisting of 4, aren't having it. It makes it harder for the patient to escape. They drag him to an office door, labeled Dr. Byroon Meredith.

The doctor uses his ID card around his neck to open his door and bring Jones into the office. It's a casual office with a long, brown, Bladen sofa that can seat 3 people and dark red carpet. At the very end of the office and right in front of the couch is a brown armchair with a single rectangular pillow. Dr. Meredith takes a seat on this armchair.

He says to the guards as they take a now calm David Jones and set him on the three seater couch, "I apologize for the trouble it took you all to get him here."

One of the guards waves it off. "It's alright, Doc. Me and my boys love a challenge. We'll be outside if you need us."

Dr. Meredith nods as they exit through the doors. He then takes out a recording device from the drawer of his desk.

*CLICK*

He presses the button to activate it and speaks. "Hello, this is Dr. Byron Meredith and today, October 31st, 2013, I have newly admitted patient David Jones, also known as King Kraken." He says to the recorder before facing Jones directly. "So, Mr. Jones, how has your stay at Arkham been treating you?"

David Jones doesn't respond. What's the point?

The Doctor asks, "Mr. Jones? Did you hear what I said?"

Jones groans and decides to enlighten Dr. Meredith since Jones knows he's not going to let up until he has a response. "If you must know, I feel miserable," Jones confesses. "Out of place and trapped in this…horrid place."

Dr. Meredith nods, pleased with his patient being responsive. "I apologize for that, Mr. Jones. But I assure you, being here will be beneficial. But please elaborate further, how do you feel out of place?"

David Jones then says, "Because everything is so…different. It feels louder when people talk and the smallest of lights feel brighter. The sea was always so peaceful…until Batman ripped me away from it." David Jones says with gritted teeth. 

His hatred for Batman is visible to the doctor. "So Batman really is back. Interesting." He writes something down on a notepad before asking, "It seems to me you prefer the trenches of the Gotham Harbour than you do up here."

David Jones looks at him with a firm nod. "I do. The sea is…calming."

Dr. Meredith understands, trying to be friendly to the patient. "Is that why you attacked a cargo ship?"

David remembers the cargo ship, the night that he first met Batman. If he'd known that he was going to stop him, he would've drowned him that night. But he tells the doctor. "...Yes. I had to defend my home."

Dr. Meredith shakes his head. "What makes you think the bodies of water belong to you?"

David Jones looks at him, questioning the audacity that he has. "The seas don't belong to me, I belong to the seas! It's the only home I have left!"

Dr. Meredith is taken aback and tries to diffuse the situation. "Alright, I'm sorry. That question was rude of me to ask." He switches tactics. "You said it's the only home you had left, how is that so?"

David Jones shakes his head, violently. "I don't have to answer you!"

Dr. Meredith sees that his patient doesn't trust him. He appears to be betrayed and closed off from the world. Curiosity peaks him and he asks, "How did it feel?"

Jones looks at him with a confused look on his face. "How did what feel?"

"How did it feel to be King Kraken, to wear the suit the GCPD currently had in their possession? Did it feel fulfilling?"

Jones blinks in surprise. That's an interesting question, one that he doesn't quite know himself. So, he says the only thing he can. "I-I guess it felt…I don't know."

Dr. Meredith nods. "It's often troubling to find an answer to these types of questions." He thinks of another question before coming up with one. "What about relationships with people? Do you have any?"

Jones shakes his head. "I haven't had a relationship since my father."

Dr. Meredith hides a smile. He feels he's getting somewhere. "And what was your relationship with your father like?"

Jones pauses for a moment before showing a nostalgic smile as he remembers his youthful days. "It was good, great even. He was a fisherman, went on lots of trips. But he always came back and brought me things from his trips. From seashells to a ship in a bottle." But then he starts to grow angry when he remembers what happened next. He lets out, "But that was before he faked his own death."

The Doctor opens a file and says, "Yes, the provided evidence says that your father faked his death to collect insurance money and he moved away to Central City. When was this, Mr. Jones?"

"About a year or two maybe. It's been so long since then." 

Dr. Meredith lets out an, "Hmm." In a train of thought before saying, "And that's what you meant when you said the seas were the only home you had left. The seas didn't betray you like your father did. Did you feel comforted by the environment you love so much?"

Jones looks at him, stunned by his competence. He heard that most doctors in this place were the reason this place's a failed institution but this doctor…he's not like the rest. 

He then says, "Yes. I felt…at peace."

Dr. Meredith shows an all knowing smile. "So that's what it felt to be King Kraken; You felt like it's protector and those ships you sank were defending your home." He writes something else down on the notepad before he asks, "But that little incident with your childhood neighborhood, what was that about?"

Jones pauses for a moment, thinking. He starts to ask himself why he's talking to him. Why is he answering these questions? So, he decides to put an end to it. 

"We're done here." Jones simply says.

Dr. Meredith blinks before insisting. "But Mr. Jones, we–"

I said we're done!" Jones repeats, interrupting the doctor. 

Dr. Meredith sighs in defeat and looks at the clock. "Very well, then. It's time for lunch, anyway." He stands up from his chair and walks over to the door, signaling the guards. "Guards, take him down to the cafeteria."

"Yes, sir." One of the guards says and they go to pick him up. "Alright, up you go."

Jones shakes them off. "I can get up on my own accord, thank you." With the straight jacket still attached to him, he gets up and the guards lead him out of the room. The doctor is the only person currently in the chamber. 

Dr. Meredith says to the recording, “The patient is, so far, unresponsive to therapy. The courts have diagnosed him with Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. I will be adding potential Schizoid Personality Disorder, and Antisocial Personality Disorder to his file. We will have to hold more sessions if we are to prove this. End of recording.” He then presses the button to his recorder, turning it off. 

*CLICK*

In the cafeteria of Arkham Asylum, a group of three takes a seat on a chair in front of a round table. This group consists of three people;

One of them is a muscular man with blond, messy hair and blue eyes. He appears to be the youngest out of the three, probably in his mid 20s.

 The second is a lanky and spindly man with hazel eyes and brown hair but has bits of gray. He has browline glasses that cover his eyes and he looks to be the oldest of the group, probably in his late 40s. 

The last one is a man with, once again, blond hair but with blue eyes. This man is slender and his age appears to be in between the other two men. 

In front of these three men are trays of lasagna and a foam cup with coffee. The muscular man says excitedly, “Hell yeah! Lasagna.” 

The slender man nods. “Probably the best food on the menu.” 

The lanky and spindly man isn’t interested in the food. Instead, he engages in conversation. “I heard that Valentine is in Solitary. Rumor has it he was caught with a butcher's knife.” He stabs a fork into his food and sticks a bite full of lasagna into his mouth before continuing. “That’ll be the last time he’s given kitchen duties.” 

After the muscular blond stares at the lasagna and then pats the lanky and spindly man on the back, making his glasses come to the edge of his nose. “You did a damn fine job on this, old boy! I didn’t know you could cook.” 

After the spindly and lanky man adjusts his glasses, he says, “Many of us have our own hidden talents. But we’re usually used to hiding them because we’re so scared.” 

Both men roll their eyes, used to the man’s cryptic way of thinking. The blond and slender man asks, “Is the Common Room still closed?”

The muscular blond shakes his head in disappointment. “Yeah, it still is.” 

The blond and slender man groans in annoyance. “It’s been a month since they shut it down. How long is it gonna be until they reopen it?”

The lanky and spindly man adds, “Y’know, if you joined me in the library then you two wouldn’t be as bored.” 

The blond, muscular man retorts, “I said almost the exact same thing when I offered to help you lift weights in the yard.” They then notice David Jones, the newest inmate of Arkham Asylum, get his tray of food and take a seat at a round table by himself. “Wonder who the new guy is?”

The blond and slender man shrugs, “I don’t know but he looks more buff than you.” He jabs at his friend, making the muscular man glare at him. 

The lanky and spindly man takes a look at him, appearing to be in a deep train of thought. “He looks distant from everyone else. Maybe he's so used to being alone, he prefers it."

The slender man shakes his head. "Oh, you're always over analyzing things." Then, something catches his eye. "He's out already, who knew?"

The other two take a glance as to what he's talking about and they see a short man in a green beanie hat holding a tray of lasagna.

The muscular man lets out a chuckle in surprise. "Wow, that was quick. After what he did to his doctor, I didn't think they would let him out so soon."

The lanky and spindly looks back at them in curiosity. "What did he do?"

"He tried to stick his tongue down his doctor's throat." The muscular blond tells him but the lanky man doesn't look surprised.

"She was blond, wasn't she?" The other two nod their heads, chuckling at the story. "It's a shame. Jervis is a talented mind yet he can't get over his Alice in Wonderland fetish."

They see the man wearing the green beanie hat named Jervis walk over to David Jones' table and ask, "Good sir, could I sit please sit here? I'm afraid there aren't any other tables."

David Jones looks up from his food before he gets the chance to eat it and steals a glance at the man. He recognizes the man from the news when he was a child. He heard rumors and stories other children made about this particular man and those stories always involve a blond girl. 

He says, "You're the Mad Hatter, aren't you?"

Jervis lowers his head, humbly. As if he has the large, green hat he used to wear. "An astute assumption. I am indeed The Mad Hatter." He looks back at the chair. "Anyway, may I sit here?"

David Jones lets out a sigh before telling him, "Sure. Go nuts."

As Jervis sits down in the vacant seat, he says, "Go nuts or go mad? There's a difference, you know?"

David Jones raises his eyes in confusion but waves it off before asking, "So, how are you doing?"

Now it's Jervis' turn to be confused. "How am I doing what? How am I eating? Because I'm not eating but I'm talking to you. How am I sitting here at this table? Because you let me sit here and so I sat."

Jones looks at him, weirdly and goes to say something but he instead shakes his head. "Nevermind, forget it."

Jevis shakes his head as the three other inmates look at this exchange in amusement. "But I can't forget such a nonsensical question. So please, elaborate."

Jones groans in exasperation, not believing he has to put up with this. So, he clarifies, "I meant how are you feeling today?"

Now everything starts to make sense to Jervis. "Oh, well why didn't you say so? You should say what you mean." He then tells him politely, "I'm feeling just fine today, thank you very much for asking. And how are you feeling today?"

He says very clearly to avoid another confusion, "I'm feeling out of touch with the world but I'll live."

Jervis nods. "Yes, you will live, you have plenty of years left to live. But the prior, I know exactly what you mean."

Jones looks at him with interest. "You do?"

Jervis gives another nod. "Oh, yes I do. Once upon a time, I was free. Free in this nonsensical world and in this even more nonsensical city we live in. But for three years, I've been confined to this mad house with law and order and it's all so confusing!" Jervis raises his hands in the air.

The slender blond says to his two friends under his breath, "The new guy dug his own grave, ignore them." The others agree as Jervis continues his rant.

"It's ironic, really. We're in a madhouse yet there's laws and rules and restrictions." He then shows some resentment. "Oh, why did that wicked Robin have to take Alice away from me and confine us here? Maybe the Dodo bird sent him."

All David Jones can give is an incredulous look of bewilderment and disbelief. He can't believe that someone who's been here for three years is out of his mind. 

He then regains his composure and says, "I have no idea what fantasy world you're living in but no robin put me in here." He then mutters in a fit of irritation. "But a bat certainly did."

Jervis looks him straight in the eye, having heard that muttered part. "What? A bat?"

That then gets the table of three's attention. They are interested because the word bat was involved. 

Jones clarified, "Yeah, Batman put me in here,"

Batman. Batman. Now that's a name the three inmates of Arkham haven't heard in years. Actually, that's a name all of Arkham's patients and inmates haven't heard or spoken in three years. 

"Look, I don't want–"

The lanky and spindly man gets up, putting his food down on the table and leaving his friends so he could strut to the table where David Jones and Jervis Tetch sit. "He's back? Batman's back?" The lanky and spindly man demands to know. 

David Jones looks up at him, a little peeved that he came over here. "Yeah, he did."

The unknown man glares at him. "I thought he was dead."

Jones looks annoyed at this conversation and says, "Well, he came back like a month ago, alright?" He puts his fork down on the table and tells both he and Jervis harshly, "Look, I don't want to talk to anyone." He then sticks a fork into his food. "So why don't you–"

The lanky and spindly then slides his arm under his tray, angry and shouts, "I'm talking!"

Jones' tray falls to the floor, attracting everyone's attention. From the guards to the inmates. The two friends of the lanky and spindly man get up from their seats and walk over to this.

"What did he look like?" The man demands to know.

The muscular man puts a hand on the lanky and spindly man's shoulder and says, "Man, if you keep this up, then you're gonna end up in Solitary. Why don't we just–"

The lanky and spindly man turns his glare back to his blond, muscular friend and it makes him flinch. The blond's friend is usually calm and in control of every situation but when he's mad, he's terrifying.

He steps back and removes his hand from the spindly man's shoulder and he watches his friend continue like there were no interruptions.

"What did he look like?" The man asks again.

Jones looks at him, confused. "What?"

"You said you saw Batman, so you would know what he looks like. Unless you're delusional." 

Jones gives the man a glare. "I'm not–"

"Answer me!" 

One of the guards comes up and asks to know, "Hey, what's going on over here?"

The blond and slender man tries to assure him, "Nothing, officer. We were just–"

The lanky and spindly man. "Shut up!" He shouts before turning back to Jones. "What did he look like?"

Jones lets out an angry groan, not believing that this man has the audacity to treat him like this. But he answers, "All black, black cape, looked like a bat because it was Batman!" In hopes to get this guy off of his back.

One inmate points an accusing finger at one of the guards. "You said Batman was dead!"

The guard says, "Alright, everyone calm down!"

"Get away from me!!" One of the inmates shouts.

Some of them turn to see that some, if not most of the inmates, are in a constant state of panic. Some are shouting, some are crawling to the edges of the rooms, and some are attacking others in fear. It makes the guards go to those prisoners in hopes of calming them down but they end up attacked as well.

The unknown lanky and spindly man looks at this scene with contempt before turning back to David Jones with widened eyes and a face that makes David Jones remember exactly who this man is.

He now knows who he is and it makes him frozen in terror. Stories about this guy surround him, making the most hardened of people pray they never meet him. But those types of people end up screaming in the dead of night. 

David Jones is able to get one word out and this one little word explains who exactly this man is as clear as day. 

"...Scarecrow."

The lanky and spindly man lets out a sadistic smile as he grabs David Jones by the collar of his Arkham prison uniform. "Be scared. Be very scared."

And the riot continues, the lanky and spindly man claws Jones in his face, creating a red, bloody, claw mark. 

In retaliation, Jones throws the lanky and spindly man off of him and throws him across the table he once sat in front of due to his great strength. Jones tries to make a run for it but the blond, muscular man grabs him and a brawl ensues between the two.

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat," Jervis sings as he sits in his chair crisscrossed while the fight continues.

David Jones punches the muscular blond in the face right before he tackles Jones onto a table and starts to beat him with his fists.

"How I wonder what you're at."

A security guard brings out a taser from his belt when the man called 'Scarecrow' uses a table to pounce on him. The guard falls and the lanky and spindly man zaps the guard with his own taser.

"Up above the world you fly,"

Another security guard actually gets bitten in the neck by one of the crazed lunatics.

"Like a tea tray in the sky."

Then, more guards come into the cafeteria to help break up this madness. Guards end up restraining Scarecrow but some are actually hurt by the once reserved inmates and now are the crazed animals.

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat, Oh, how I wonder what you're at…”

The lanky and spindly man is chained to his bed while in a straight jacket in Solitary on the night of Halloween in Gotham City of the year 2013.

The Solitary Confinement cell is dark and windowless. The only light that comes through is if someone opens the door to the cells which can only be done from the other side. The floor has dirty Galactic Slate Black tile and a dust bunny sits in the corner of the dark room, along with the bloody body of a mouse that the man in this cell has killed.

"Batman." The man in the cell mutters. "Batman." He can’t believe he’s back and he was so liberated that he was gone. Truth is, he always despised Batman because he’s a fraud, a charlatan. He pretends to be the Master of Fear but the lanky and spindly man knows better. He knows because he too used to fear that flying rat, fear the punches to the face by him. But as he grew more experienced, he realized that a punch and a one way ticket to Arkham was all he would get. 

The lanky and spindly man doesn’t believe that Batman killed Joker all those years ago. He knows that there are lines that Batman fears to cross. He, however, doesn’t have lines and if he did, he’s crossed them all. There are worse things than death and the lanky and spindly man has committed those acts too. He refused to let Batman return with his title as the Master of Fear. 

Then, bright light illuminates the room, making the lanky and spindly man blind for a moment. He then sees Warden Quincy Sharp, pissed as ever, alongside two armed security guards.

"Johnathan Crane, the warden is here to see you." One guard tells him.

The man named Jonathan Crane gets up from the foot of the bed and stands up straight in the center of the room. He then tells them like he's reminded them of this a hundred times, "That's Dr. Crane, if you please."

Warden Sharp enters and lands his cane on the ground roughly in anger. "That is the very last time we give you kitchen duties, Crane! That is also the 8th time you've somehow managed to smuggle fear toxin in this Asylum. Just how do you even manage to make that crap?!"

Crane keeps a cool and calculated dementor, even in this situation. "Now, technically anyone could've gotten their hands on my formula and used it in the kitchen earlier today." He then tells the Warden, "But I must say, I think it was unfair of you to put my friend down here."

Warden Sharp argues, "Your muscular friend, Thomas Blake, assaulted David Jones, our newest patient. The only ones who aren't in Solitary or the Infirmary are Jervis Tetch and your slender friend, Otis Flannegan." 

"That's not important right now. What is important is the secrets you’ve kept.” Crane accused.

Warden Sharp looks at him, confused. “What are you babbling about?”

Crane shakes his head, impatiently. “Batman! He’s back!”

Warden Sharp widens his eyes, shocked that Crane has learned this. Then he realized, "So, that's what that whole fuss was about in the Cafeteria. I see."

"That's why you closed the Common Room because if we were to watch the news, then we'd know the truth." Crane puts it together.

"I knew it would unsettle the most violent inmates, much like yourself." Warden Sharp insults him. "You can hardly blame us."

Crane shakes his head at the idiocy. "Keeping the truth hidden from patients doesn't usually go well. I should know since I am a psychiatrist. A brilliant one, even."

"That's funny. I thought a doctor swears not to do harm?" Warden Sharp raises his eyebrows.

Crane rolls his eyes at the attempt to insult him. "Any doctor who breaks the reality of their patient is doing harm to them, I would say."

"Enough!" Warden Sharp snaps. "After this incident, we are tripling security. We are also moving you to a new secure cell."

Crane asks, "What new cell?"

Warden Sharp lets out a smug smile. "Crane, your standing in it."

Crane sneers. “Doubling security won’t help you, Quincy. I’ll escape soon enough.”

Warden Sharp says definitely. "No you won’t. We’ve kept you in here for three years and I’m sure we can keep you in here for more. Crane looms at him, fuming at the audacity. "As long as I live, you’ll never see the outside of this Asylum."

He makes his leave when one of the guards says, "You poisoned one of my crew and another got bit in his neck. In my opinion, you deserve much worse, you scum!”

Crane shakes his head and runs for the door but it closes in front of him. He starts banging on it, enraged. "You cannot keep me from him! I am the TRUE Monarch of Fright! He knows nothing of fear, he fears death while I've committed worse! I will find and I WILL KILL HIM!!" He finishes banging on the door and takes a step back, beginning to mumble to himself. "He will know fear. He will know fear." He then ends with, "Gotham will fear The Scarecrow again."

On Halloween night, it's 8 P.M. at night. Young children with wacky and 'scary' costumes go house-to-house in pursuit of candy and sweets while being escorted by their parents. 

On one particular street corner, a young couple sit in their house while watching Christmas movies. They've never been fond of this holiday and much prefer a much more holly and jolly holiday that they can't wait for.

This young couple in their two-story Bungalow house are Victor Fries and Nora Fields. They are seated in the living room as they watch 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

Victor says as he holds his girlfriend/roomate in his arms, "They don't make these types of movies anymore."

Nora shakes his head. "No but that's why they're so special; Because they'll be remembered above all others."

Victor looks at her with a heart warming smile, as does Nora. They both lean in for a kiss.

*DING DONG*

They turn to the door and that's when Nora gets up and grabs a bowl of halloween candy, consisting of Kit Kats chocolate bar and Hershey's milk chocolate. Victor follows her when she opens the door.

It reveals a group of trick-or-treaters; A group of three, five if you include the mother and father.

"Trick or Treat!" The three children shout, making Nora and Victor smile fondly.

Nora says, "Hey guys, great costumes." She compliments as she hangs out one of each candy to a 5-year old girl dressed as Disney's Cinderella. "Two for the lovely princess," 

"Thank you." She playfully bows to her, making Nora giggle.

She hands one of each candies to the girl's younger sister who is dressed as Black Widow from the first Avengers movie. "Two for the Secret Agent,"

"Thank you." The 4 year old tells her. 

She nods and sees their older brother wearing a Batman costume. She smiles brightly and gives him two candies, "And two for the Superhero."

The young boy asks her, "Have you seen him out tonight?"

Nora shakes his head. "No, I haven't, buddy. But I think he'll show."

Victor says to entertain the child, "I'd sure like to meet him, though."

The father says, "Alright kids, we have some more houses to go tonight so say goodbye."

The three children all say, "Happy Halloween!"

Nora waves, "Alright, bye guys! Stay safe!"

The group of 5 leave their front porch as Nora feels…unwell. She holds back something and it makes Victor worried.

He asks, "Honey, are you alright?"

Nora gives a nod. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She then notices another group coming their way. "Hey, can you hand out the next batch? I have to go to the bathroom."

Victor assures her "Of course." And she goes back into the house and up the black stairway while using the brown railing. She walks on the gray carpet and goes into the bathroom. 

She opens the toilet seat and takes a knee before violently throwing up in the toilet. She feels her stomach growl in pain and her breath consisting of puke. Not knowing if she's about to throw up again or having the energy to get up at all, she just sits by the toilet.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Nora, may I come in?" Victor's voice is heard across the bathroom door.

Nora lets her head up and says in a weak voice, "Sure."

Victor opens the door and she sees that he has white washcloths in his hand, some medicine, and a glass of iced water. "I brought you something,"

Nora looks at him, appreciative of the man she loves. "Dr. Fries to the rescue yet again. Thanks."

Victor kneels down to her and says, "And as your doctor, I suggest you stay home tomorrow and call in a sick day."

Nora shakes her head, thinking of her job. "I can't. My kids–"

"Might end up sick if you're anyway near them." Victor interrupts her. He regrets the tone he's using but he knows he's right. 

Nora sighs in defeat. "Okay, you're right. I'll stay home."

Victor then says, "And so shall I. I can't let you stay home by yourself."

Nora argues, "You have a project going on, I can't ask you to do that."

Victor shakes his head and lurs his hand on her hand, grasping it. "And you'll never have to."

Nora looks touched, using what little energy she has to hug her boyfriend. Victor gladly hugs her back but he's sure not to hug her too tightly.

She then says, "I love you."

Victor then says without any hesitation in his voice. "And I love you too." He suggests, "Now, how about we help you into bed?"

Nora accepts and Victor carries her into their shared bed to rest for the night.

Chapter Text

Date: Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

The Gotham City ‘Archie Goodwin’ International Airport’s very busy today, as usual. This international airport is located just west of the city on the other side of the Gotham River. It’s a beautiful location and it’s a great view when taking off in a plane. 

On the runway of this said airport, Carmine Falcone waits for two planes to safely land. He stands behind a black, slick, gleaming limo as the driver of this majestic vehicle sits idly by. 

Carmine told his associates back at the meeting that he was going to unite the underworld under his command and he shall. For three years, Gotham’s crime world has been divided and kept to themselves. Originally, they thought that Batman’s disappearance revealed new opportunities but Renee Montoya’s firm stand on crime and the corruption-less Police Force took those ideas out of their minds. 

But now things are reversed; Montoya’s dead, Batman’s back and the latter is forcing Falcone to deal with this problem. He refuses to let freaks like Batman and Black Mask run his city.

Coming off the plane is Ekin Tzu, the leader of The Lucky Hand Triad from Okinawa, Japan. The man is wearing a professional blue navy suit with a black tie wrapped around his neck. His hair is black and his eyes are brown. He has with him a black watch around his arm and two men with him, presumably his bodyguards.

The Lucky Hand Traid is the biggest trader of Heroin in their country. The relationship Tzu and Falcone have is one that is strictly professional while also being beneficial to all parties involved in their…morally gray exchange. 

Tzu steps off of the airstair and shakes Falcone’s right hand. “Carmine.”

“Ekin, how lovely it is to see you in my fair city.” Carmine greets him politely. 

Tzu removes his hand from Carmine’s grasp. “From what I’ve heard, this city has proven otherwise.” 

Carmine’s eye twitches but takes a breath to calm himself. “Ekin, I–”

But to his surprise, Tzu lets out a charismatic laugh. “No, it’s fine. Things have been running smoothly back in Okinawa but that’s the problem.” Carmine gives a raised eyebrow in confusion. “I like challenges and Gotham is rumored to be…extraordinary.”

Carmine lets out a laugh of his own. “The understatement of the century, Ekin.” He pats him on the back and leads him to his limo. The bodyguards follow. “May I offer you some champagne? You must be exhausted from your flight.” 

Ekin nods, humbled. “That would be great, thank you.” The driver opens the door to them and Ekin gives the door opener a nod of gratitude but Carmine doesn’t pay him any attention until they enter the limo with the body guards. 

Carmine orders. “The Bowery, quickly.”

The driver nods. “Yes sir,” The driver starts the car and it drives with everyone in it as they enjoy one of life’s great joys; Alcohol.

As a beverage is poured into his Vodka glass, he asks, “Aren’t your friends joining us?”

Carmine shakes his head. “No, they’re busy at the moment?”

Ekin skeptically asks, “Doing what?”

A voice message is played. “Hey, this is Alfonso, Alfonso Vincenzo. If you're trying to find me, don't bother. I've decided to relocate. After the fire of my hotel and everything else that's been going on, I've had enough of this town. Las Vegas has more opportunities when it comes to resorts, so that's where I've relocated. The Fiascos are now incharge of the hotels I left in Gotham. Don't try to contact me in any way, I won't pick up."

In a funeral home that's owned by Howard Fiasco, he and his son, Lenny Fiasco, listen to this message as the older man grows a satisfied smile on his face. "Good work, Eraser." He pats his son on his back, proud. 

He turns around to look at a body on a gurney. This body is overweight, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, dark brown curly hair and hazel eyes. When he was alive, he used to be a business man named Alfonso Vincenzo.

After he refused their offer to join Falcone's side, they burned down one of his hotel's but after Batman reappeared in Gotham, they decided they needed more territory and fronts for their more questionable businesses. Vincenzo wasn't gonna hand them over willingly, so they went for the more violent approach and that ended with ricin being put into his system. 

Lenny Fiasco asks, fidgeting his hands, "The voicemail was completely fabricated. No one will know that it’s been faked in any way. And if anyone calls up to Las Vegas, they will hear someone who sounds like Mr. Vincenzo.” 

His father smiles like the Cheshire cat and says, “Good, very good.” He looks at the cremator and says, “You know what to do next.” 

Lenny nods and wheels the gurney with the corpse on top into the prepared cremator. He shuts the door as regret washes over him. 

He doesn’t want to do this, to live this life. He doesn't want to clean up blood and bodies for a living just so he can keep his father's hands clean. But he knows he doesn't have a say in the matter.

But he digresses and Lenny tells his father. “It’s been set to 2,000 F. Now, as usual, we wait 2 hours and 30 minutes for it to be completely burned.” 

Howard looks satisfied. "Well done," 

Back with Carmine, he tells his partner, Ekin Tzu, "Tying up loose ends. You know how that goes."

Tzu nods. "I see. Say no more." He takes a sip of his beverage. 

Tim Drake sits behind his desk at Drake Industries. He listens to the news that's being reported by Viki Vale. Roman Sionis is with him.

"It has been a week since Roman Sionis, the CEO of Sionis Industries, reorganized security at Arkham Asylum after a riot took place in the cafeteria during lunch time. The man who caused this riot was said to be ex-Dr. Jonathan Crane, AKA The Scarecrow. This man has been said to be one of the long list of evil men and women born in Gotham City."

Tim listens to this as his leg fidgets from underneath his desk. 

Viki Vale continues. "Roman Sionis, the provider of Arkham's security and Quincy Sharp, Warden of this establishment have both given their own comments on this incident."

The TV view switches to Roman Sionis at a press conference. "Look, Crane just took us by surprise is all. There's no need to place blame on anyone. I assure you, this matter has already been handled and both the Warden and I have agreed to put more guards in the building and daily searches will be given."

Tim turns to Roman, who's in the second chair. "I really hope that's enough."

The TV view then switches to Quincy Sharp. "I apologize for this outbreak but I would like to inform the public that no one died, luckily. We have also put Patient Crane in a more secure cell to ensure that this won't happen again."

Tim covers his head with his hands in distress, thinking of this. "I swear, these riots are getting outta hand. Every time this happens, my heart stops. I feel like I might have a heart attack, I hate it!"

Tim remembers his conversation with Bullock on the rooftop "It's only a matter of time. You're back, aren't yah? They're going to want a piece of you." He's scared that one of these days, those monsters will be back on the streets again to hurt more people. He's not the only one who feels this way, all of Gotham's hearts stop as well.

Roman hands him a mug of coffee. "You can't keep worrying about this forever, the company will see to it that the bastard's shackles are tighter."

Tim takes the mug and sips on it before saying bitterly, "If his shackles were tighter, then maybe a guy's neck wouldn't get bit. Thank god he survived."

"To be fair, no one knows how he's making his poison." Roman defends himself before sighing in defeat. "But you're right, we should've been more careful."

Tim nods before changing the subject so they can avoid a confrontation. 

They talk for a while before both go silent. They both aren't the most talkative people, not because they're shy but rather observant. The older man sits back in his chair as he continues to watch the TV in the corner.

Secretly, Roman had always admired Crane in a way. A genius psychologist that, in no time, became one of Gotham's most sadistic sociopaths. He's one of the men who represent Gotham's chaotic nature. The type of nature that Gotham spreads to its citizens.

Roman chuckles to himself, thinking of the irony of this. He remembers when he didn't see the value of the masks, or rather faces, that some of Gotham citizens wore. He's grateful to his father for teaching him.

He remembers the day that he did. He grows a nostalgic look as a memory comes back to him.

The date was August of 1991, three days after that embarrassment called a bank robbery. Their informant was in jail and Roman was stressed out, admittedly.

He was at Janus Cosmetics, his father’s skincare company. It was named after his mother who sadly passed away due to lung cancer. That's precisely why neither of them smoke cigarettes. 

The company mainly focused on ache, lotions, and face care products. It was successful before Roman's mother died. That's the reason why his father started the Red Hood gang, because of his mother's passing. She was ten times better at running the company and both Charles and Roman knew it. Charles made some poor decisions that cost them a great amount of money so he was forced into a life of crime and created the monocle known as The Red Hood. 

So, they hired people for his gang who wanted to keep their jobs at Janus Cosmetics but each of them had greater goals and they needed money to fulfill themselves. But Roman saw that this whole thing was getting riskier and riskier after every job. The cops got closer every time to arresting them during their crime sprees and one of them ended with Benny Robinson put in cuffs. 

One night, Charles tried to encourage Roman to do one last job but Roman wasn’t having it.

“After everything that went down the other day, you want to do it again?” Roman asked him, incredulous.

“We’ll be fine, I found this other bank. All we need to do is–” 

Roman turned to face him. “Forget it, Dad! This isn’t worth it.”

Now it was Charles' turn to be incredulous. “It’s not worth saving your mother’s business? The business that both of us have spent many sleepless nights trying to keep it from going under?” His voice raised.

“Oh, don’t even start with that crap, Dad! You made bad decisions that I heavily objected to and, surprise, I was right!” Roman fired back, making Charles silent but he hid silent rage inside of him. “I was right from the beginning but you didn’t listen! You never listen to me. I told you to do it exactly how mom did it but you didn’t listen, I told you that dressing up in that thing was only gonna make things worse and once again, I was frickin right!” The son pointed to the Red Hood dome and cloak as it laid still on a nearby table. “You do realize that if Benny squeals, we’re all going to prison.”

Charles found his voice. “That’s not going to happen, Benny’s an acquaintance of mine, he’s not going to talk.”

“Whenever in tough situations, people will always tell the truth.” Roman argued before he said, “Maybe that’s what we should. Maybe we should just turn ourselves in.”

Charles looked at him as if he was stupid. “That’s your solution? Go to Blackgate? That’s not what Janus would’ve wanted from us!”

“No offense Dad but I don’t think she would want us to dress up in ridiculous Halloween costumes and pretend to be 30s gangsters.” Roman retorted.

“First of all, it’s not ridiculous and two–” Charles tried to say but he cut off, once again.

“Yes, it is ridiculous! It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.” Roman picked up the dome and cloak to demonstrate his point. “Y’know, it’s bad enough that Gotham has guys calling themselves The Calendar Man and The Catwoman but now you decide to do the exact same thing, dress up like a freak, and it’s placed more heat on us than normal criminals. You could’ve followed Carmine Falcone’s lead and did crime in secret but no, you had to paint a bigger target on your back.” Roman exclaimed sarcastically. 

“Which is why it’s important!” Charles blurted out, making Roman both surprised that he raised his voice to a degree since he’s usually calmer than this and also confused as to what he was talking about. Charles saw that confusion and decided to elaborate. “Son, I see growth when I see it and I know that these supercriminals are the next big thing. Hell, The Riddler, Calendar Man, and Catwoman are already slowing down the mob’s businesses with their unpredictability. Plus, they don’t have to hide who they are while Falone does.”

“Tell that to the masks that they wear.” Roman remarked. 

“They’re not masks, son; It’s their faces.” That made Roman even more confused but Charles continued. “Take Falcone for instance; He’s a businessman by day while being a criminal racketeer and murderer by night. He sticks to the shadows, hides from the law like an animal when they’re scared. But guys like Calendar Man, Catwoman, Riddler, Mad Monk and King Tut don't hide. They know they’re off the rails and they accept it, embrace it even. They don’t deny their true nature and neither do I.”

Charles walked to the Red Hood dome and cloak and picked it up for Roman to see so he could make his point. “When I wear this, I’m killing two birds with one stone; I’m fighting for my wife, your mother while also proving my point.” 

Roman took his moment to dwell on his old man’s philosophy and admittedly, he had no idea what the hell he was talking about. All he knew was that his father lied when he said he was doing it for the family, he was also doing it for himself. 

Charles saw the look of his face and asked, “You don’t get it, do you?” It was more of a statement than a question but it still came out as the latter. Roman shook his head but Charles wasn’t mad but rather understood. Looking back on it all, Roman thinks Charles understood because of how young Roman was. “Don’t worry, you will. You’ll understand one day.”

A moment of silence entered the room of their old penthouse before he decided to get back on topic. “I’m gonna be honest with you dad, I don’t know what any of that crap meant and I don’t care, I really don’t. All I care about right now is how we’re going to save my mother’s company.”

Charles nodded. “I know,” He then gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, alright? I know that this is my fault and know that we’re running mostly on luck, I am fully aware. But if we don’t get more money then we’re gonna be forced to accept Wayne’s deal and let him buy out our company. I don’t want that, Janus Cosmetics doesn’t belong to the Waynes, it belongs in our family.”

For the first time in that argument, Roman had to agree with his old man. While he admired Thomas and Martha Wayne when they were still around before they were shot in that alley, he despised their son with a burning passion. He didn’t take things seriously and was instead focused on being a billionaire playboy than acting responsibly with his family's business. He would do worse with Janus Cosmetics than his father would. 

He finally conceded. “...Finally, something we agree on.” He massaged his eyes to force himself to stay awake that night and he said, “Okay, one job and it will be our last job. This time, I will be calling the shots.”

Charles agreed. “Thank you, son.”

“I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for Mom.” He replied harshly before he turned to the phone on the table. He dialed a number and said to the phone, “Vinnie get the others and meet us at Janus Cosmetics. We need to talk.”

After one more conversation with his father, he took the keys to the car and they met up at the company after hours. After everyone got there as fast as they could and the discussion soon became. They all told their ideas as to how to handle this and what place to rob. Soon they all came up with a plan.

“The V Magnum Diamonds company .” Roman stated. “They make $250,000 a year and it’s August, the 6th month, meaning we’ll probably get away $1,500,000, meaning this will be our biggest job ever.” 

Vinnie John said, "I'm down for this."

Joe Mayo raised his hand to ask a question. "So, does this mean no Red Hood costume this time?"

Roman wanted to say yes and he was about to but the look of his father's face made him hesitate. While his respect for his business strategies had decreased to a degree, his love for his father will never follow suit. Despite the man's flaws and faults, he was still his father.

He finally let out a sigh and said, "...No." That made his father look up at him. "The Red Hood is a crucial part of this plan. He demonstrates authority and unpredictability, which will make people corporate when we go in there." He saw a look on his father's face that shined with appreciation. In response, Roman offered him a nod. 

Vinnie spoke up. “Excuse me but if Benny does squeal about your daddy then maybe someone else should wear the costume this time.” His suggestion made Roman’s wheels turn. Truly, it made sense. 

He looked at his father for a response and saw him as if his wheels were turning as well. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He finally said but he hid disappointment that it was not him wearing the red dome and cloak.

“So Roman’s going to wear it?” Joe asked.

“No.” Roman stated, almost immediately. He wasn’t planning on being a hypocrite by wearing it.

Vinnie then said, “Don’t worry, I have a plan. I know this guy who wants to join up.” 

Charles asked, “Is it really a good idea to let more people in on this?”

“He won’t blab, he’s too desperate for cash to do that.” Vinnie argued.

Roman thought it over and said to his old man. “If we don’t interact with him or show him our faces then it might work.” 

Charles Sionis nodded and asked Vinnie, “Who’s the guy?”

Vinnie crossed his arms and said, “His name’s Jack…Jack Napier.”

Back in the present, Roman sits in the office of Timothy Drake as his moment of deja vu ends. He hated how that job went so jumbled disorderly. Everyone got the short end of the stick, especially Napier. He still feels bad for the poor bastard.

“Roman, you okay?” Tim asks, making Roman pause the TV and look back at him. 

He sees Tim’s worried look because he hasn’t said anything for a while and it makes Roman feel…unhappy. Admittedly, the best part about the mask of Roman Sionis is Tim Drake. Roman sees Tim as the son he wishes he had but he never told him that because he knows that Burce Wayne was his true father. 

He also has to admit to himself that hates the fact that he had to hide all of this from him but he knew that if he did find out, he would never forgive him. On his father’s grave, Tim Drake will never ever learn the truth. 

Roman nods. “Yeah, don’t worry kid. I’m fine.” He then stands up. “Sorry kid but I gotta go. Lucius and Victor wanted to show me something in the research labs.”

“Don’t worry, I get it. Duty calls. I’m probably going to be working over time anyway.” Tim tells him truthfully.

“That’s like the 4th time you’ve had to work overtime.” Roman points out.

Tim shrugs. “Yeah, I’m looking into new opportunities for Drake Industries.” 

Roman nods in approval. “And you should. If you take your time, you could be bigger than me one day. See yah.” He leaves Tim’s office without another word. 

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, November 8th, 2013

Victor Fries paces in his experimental research lab, thinking of all the ways this could go wrong.

The experimental Cryogenics research laboratory feels like stepping into a different century. The technology is advanced with a silver workstation with equipment for every scientific use you could think of. In the very center of the room is a cryo chamber of Victor Fries design; A glass cylinder closed from top to bottom. It hasn’t been used yet and it won’t be used until human test trials are underway. 

“This is ridiculous, I shouldn’t be worrying.” Victor looks at one of the workstations as a small white mouse with a glass helmet sits. Connected to the glass cage is a tube that is also connected to a chemical tank. “I went through the data and this should be a success.”

*BEEP* 

Victor’s phone makes a noise, alerting him that two people are outside his lab and are requesting to enter; It’s Lucius Fox, Roman Sionis, and heads of the Board of Directors. Victor looks nervous but does his best to hide it as he goes to the steel door that only opens from the inside of Victor’s lab.

“Glad you all could make it. Come on in.” Victor steps aside so they could enter his laboratory. They all look wowed by this laboratory before Victor gets their attention. He gets a tape recorder and activates it. “This is Dr. Victor Fries, the Head of Research and Development here at Sionis Industries. The date is November 8th, 2013 and with me, I have my partners, Lucius Fox and Roman Sionis, the latter being the CEO of this establishment. I also have the Head of Directors with me.” He presses some buttons on a computer. 

“No need to introduce us, Doctor. Just begin the test.” One of them tells Victor.

Dr. Victor Fries nods and says, “Very well. This will be the very first experiment with this Cryo technology as I hope it will slow the aging process and also help eradicate diseases in our systems. To start off, I have Demetri the white mouse in its glass cage connected to a tank of cryo vapor.” He informs everyone in the room. “The test will be to put the animal into cryostasis and if this is successful then we will begin human test trials, theoretically of course.” 

“Just as a formality, what exactly is cryostasis?” Roman asks. 

“Cryostasis is deep freezing the body of man, woman, child, and animal without it being encased in ice. Instead, the cryo vapor is put into the chamber and has the person or animal in suspended animation without the person or animal being endangered in any way. Now, let’s begin, shall we?” Victor walks to the glass cage and takes a pair of round, silver goggles that make him resemble a mad scientist. He prepares the test and makes sure that the oxygen supply for the rodent is prepared.

“Doctor, wouldn’t the animal drown with all that liquid building up in the cage?”

Victor nods. “Yes, Demetri would suffocate. But I took precautions that his glass helmet is around his head. If a human were to enter the chamber, then he and/or she would be given a Capnography Mask. It’s also worth noting that while in the chamber, the subject will not need food since it would feel like a deep sleep to whomever enters.” Everyone nods in understanding, growing more interested as Victor explains this. The Doctor places his hand on a lever and says, “Be calm Demetri, this won’t hurt a bit.” 

The lever is pulled down and the Cryo Vapor floods the cage as Demetri the white mouse tries to swim. The crowd grows worried and so is Victor. He nervously unbuttons and rebottons the top button to his overshirt. He doesn’t dare to blink as he believes he could miss something with just one blink. 

Lucius stares at this scene in bewilderment. This was one of the things he feared when Victor came to him with this; The unorthodox experiments and tests that Lucius believed that was bending the laws of nature. If this went bad then they could be looking at animal cruelty as a potential lawsuit.

But to Victor’s relief and the crowd’s surprise, the mouse stops trying to swim and is instead falling to a deep sleep. The Cryo fluid has done its job and the experiment was a success. Victor takes a step towards the glass cage and places his hand on the cage and there’s only one thing he feels as he feels the glass cage.

“Cold.” Victor says aloud. “It feels…cold.” 

Roman stares at this scene and can’t believe his eyes. There’s only one thing he can do.

*CLAP*

Victor turns to Roman Sionis and sees him clapping his hands together.

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

Victor soon sees the entire gathering of board members and businessmen giving him a round of applause. Victor doesn’t know what to say and gives a shy, “Thank you.” 

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

“Thank you, everyone.” He soon replaces his shy demeanor to a more professional and stoic persona as he addresses the tape recorder. “I would call this experiment a success. I will monitor Demetri the white mouse’s condition just in case. End of recording.” He turns to the others and asks, “So, do I have permission to proceed with my work?” 

One of the members of the board says, “Doctor Fries, what you demonstrated today was extraordinary. We will discuss this and we will get back to you.” 

Victor nods, understanding what they are saying. “Very well then. I believe that’s all the time we have today.” 

The Board agrees and they make their way out of Victor’s lab when someone pushes their way past the crowd; It’s Nora Fields. She finds her boyfriend and she rushes to him. “Victor, that was amazing!”

Victor catches her and asks, “You were watching this whole time?”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I know how much it matters to you.” Nora tells him, making Victor touched that she took time from watching her Special Education students just to see this.

Roman pats him on the back. “You pulled it off Victor! Fantastic work!”

Victor removes his round goggles and says, “Thank you, Mr. Sionis.” 

Roman points at him. “You know my name; Use it.”

Victor didn’t expect that and he says, “Thank you…Roman.”

“How about dinner tomorrow night?” Lucius suggests.

Nora quite likes that idea and says, “Good idea, Lucius. I’ll set something up.” 

“How about Chez Vous? I hear they have a great menu to choose from.” Roman proposes.

Victor hesitates before he says, “Y-yes, that…that would be nice.” 

*RING RING*

Before Nora could ask what’s wrong, she gets a call on her phone. She answers, “Hello?” She has a conversation with the person on the other line. “Sorry, they need me back in class.”

Victor understands. “Go on, we’ll talk later.” They share a kiss before Nora leaves the room.

When she’s gone, Lucius asks, “I saw you hesitate. What’s wrong?”

Victor’s clearly hiding something. “Nothing, I just had other plans.”

Lucius asks, “What plans?”

“I prefer to keep it a secret.” Victor tells him.

Roman shakes his head. “Oh c’mon. Just tell us.”

Victor lets out a sigh in defeat and looks for anyone eavesdropping. Luckily, he finds no one and that’s when his nervously shaking hands take out a blue box from his doctor’s coat. He passes it to the two gentlemen in which they catch it. Roman opens the box to reveal a diamond ring inside. 

They look surprised as Victor fiddles with his hands. “Well…what do you think?”

Lucius looks at him, his eyes beaming with joy. He says excitedly. “Victor, that’s amazing! When are you gonna ask her?”

“Hopefully, tomorrow.” Victor tells him.

Roman clasps his hands together. “Well, this gives an even better reason to celebrate. I’ll book an even better place, maybe make it a party. Then, you can propose to Nora.” 

Victor looks at him with shock but says, “No, I couldn’t make you spend that much money.” 

“Then it’s a good thing it’s my decision.” Roman tells him.

Lucius tells him, “She’s gonna love it, Victor. She really will.” 

Victor nods. “I hope so. I need to make tomorrow night perfect.”

They talk for a while longer before Lucius and Victor have to put up the used lab equipment. Roman takes his leave and messages Tim Drake on his phone. The text says, ‘Dr. Fries’ experiment went well, so we’re celebrating. You up for a little socializing tomorrow?’ 

‘Sure. Give me time/place.’ Tim texts back to Roman.

Tim Drake wears a blue short sleeve buttoned over a white t-shirt and his legs are hidden by blue jeans. Jimmy wears almost the exact same outfit but his short sleeved buttoned shirt is red rather than blue. Barbara Gordon, Jimmy’s sister, wears a gray jacket over a black shirt and black pants.

Their current location is the AMF Windsor Lanes bowling alley. Tim Drake bowls with Jimmy Gordon and his sister, Barbara Gordon. So far, the score is 56 for Tim, 34 for Jimmy, and 47 for Barbara. The second game has just begun. 

Barbara set this up so she and Tim could be on better terms. While neither were mad at each other, they haven’t talked to each other for a while since Tim told her he was taking up Bruce’s mantle of The Batman. Admittedly, she feels like she should’ve done it sooner and Tim’s near death experience with the King Kraken case was her driving force to try to make things right between the two of them. 

Jimmy thinks this is just a fun outing for the three of them and he’s grateful for that. Studying at The Gotham City University's quite stressful and it’s nice to get his mind off for a while and loosen up. He also bought nachos and sodas for everyone.

Jimmy rolled the ball down the wooden floor and hit seven pins. “Yes!” 

“Nice shot.” Tim congratulates him as he and Jimmy highfive. He turns to Barbara. “You’re turn, Babs.”

She wheels herself to the machine where the bowling ball returning machine is located as Tim and Jimmy pour themselves a drink of Dr. Pepper from the pitcher. “I’m glad we got to do this.” Jimmy admits.

Tim smiles. “Me too. How’s your studying coming along?”

Jimmy lets out a groan like the mature adult he is. “Exhausting.”

Tim chuckles. “Yeah, that’s how I left when I was studying to be in Real Estate.”

“But I bet you loved it.” Jimmy remarks.

Tim raises his eyebrows. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” He takes a sip of his Dr. Pepper.

“No offense Tim but you are the biggest workaholic I've ever met.” Jimmy smiles at Tim’s expense as he takes a sip of his own cup.

“I’ve heard that I think that rumor is greatly exaggerated.” Tim argues.

“Tell that to the amount of coffee you drink!” Barbara chimes in, making Jimmy laugh and Tim frown. “How many cups do you drink, 10?” 

Tim rolls his eyes, thinking they’re being overdramatic. “If I had as much coffee as you guys think I do then I’d be dead.” 

Barbara rolls her ball down the lane and to the two men’s shock, she hits all ten pins. “YEAH!!”

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

Tim and Jimmy give her a round of applause. Jimmy says, “Don’t get too cocky, sis. Because I’m gonna whoop your ass!”

Barbara gives him a mocking glare. “Not if I whoop yours first!” Tim smiles at the sibling’s competitive side.

Tim steps forward. "How about I whoop both your asses and we'll call it a night?" He has a smirk on his face as he prepares his ball. He aims it in the middle to get a strike.

*RING RING* 

As Tim's about to throw it, his phone rings. He looks to see who it is and as soon as he sees who's calling, he knows he can't ignore it: It's Alfred.

"C'mon Tim, just let it go to voicemail." Jimmy urges him but Tim simply doesn't listen and walks to a distance.

"Hello?" 

"Sorry to interrupt, Master Tim but the location of the drugs have been found."

Tim takes this in and looks back at the Gordons, who are waiting for him to play. Tim closes his eyes in frustration but he knows that he has a responsibility to Gotham and that outweighs his own personal interests. He says to Alfred, "I'm heading there now. Send me the coordinates."

"Right away, sir." 

Tim hangs up the phone and shifts uncomfortably to what he says to the Gordons. "Sorry but I gotta go."

Jimmy looks at him and asks, "Go? Go where?"

"The office.” Tim says simply, not having the time to go in vivid detail. 

Tim sees that Jimmy is about to ask for more information but Barbara stops him. “Let him go, Jimmy. You know how much the company means to him.” She gives an interceptable wink that only Tim catches.

Jimmy looks disappointed that they won’t be able to play but he tells him, “Yeah, I get it. Work comes first.”

“I promise, we’ll have a rematch soon.” He then turns to Barbara. “Babara, kick his ass for me.” 

Jimmy shouts, “Favoritism!” as Tim leaves with a smile. 

When Tim exits the outside of the accommodating bowling alley, he in turn enters the cold nights of Gotham City as collective sounds of crickets, traffic, horns, people and ambience. He adds another sound to the list; The sound of a car being started up as soon as the keys are put in.

Tim drives away from the bowling alley, cursing himself. Leaving Jimmy and Barbara there was the last thing he wanted to do tonight but as Jimmy himself said, ‘Work comes first’. 

Carmine Falcone and his pals have been spreading drugs on the street and it’s gotten out of control. It’s bad enough that Marijuana is being traded around but now there’s Heroin and the new drug called the Elixir of Life, all addictive and affordable drugs at affordable prices. If Tim could get a sample of the Elixir of Life then he can find out where it’s being made and will be able to put an end to one of the drug rings.

Tim ends his thoughts as he pulls up to a steel warehouse owned by Drake Industries. The doors are locked until Tim puts in the numbers, 05 - 05 - 2013; The day Batman returned. 

The doors open and Tim drives his car carefully into the building as the door closes behind him and when he parks his car, the floor lowers to an underground room filled with equipment and tools needed for crime fighting. Tim steps out of the car and finds the Batman suit waiting for him in a display case. 

Tim Drake changes out of his casual attire and into the black and gray armor, cape, and cowl. Batman wraps his yellow utility belt around his waist and presses a button on the said belt, activating the warehouse’s other feature.

The car is changed out for a different car, one that’s more appropriate for Batman’s nightly patrols and this car goes by the name The Batmobile; The Batmobile is a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle, a personalized custom-built pursuit and capture vehicle that is used by Batman in his fight against crime. 

Batman steps into the Batmobile and drives it into a hidden exit. It’s essential because people might see Tim enter this warehouse and then Batman comes out minutes later. Instead of that happening, Batman drives through a different exit and comes out from underneath the Gotham Bridge. 

Batman is finally out on the streets of Gotham and in an essential vehicle that’s finally fixed by Lucius Fox, the genius of this operation. He presses the button on the dashboard. “Alfred, set me the location.”

“Sending it to you now, sir. I would also like to apologize for calling you at a bad time.”

“It’s okay, Alfred. Batman needs to stop this deal and he can’t do that at a bowling alley.” 

“Of course. Good luck, sir.” Alfred hangs up before he gives him the location of the drug sample. Batman drives through countless neighborhoods and avoids pedestrians walking and minding their own business. He still needs to get better at driving the vessel but he thinks he’s an average driver. 

Batman stops the car a block from a business called the Gotham Sporting Goods Shop where every instrument used for sports is sold, along with protective gear and workout equipment. Batman gets out of his vehicle and grapples onto a nearby rooftop to get a better view of the place for this stakeout.

Driving on the street is a delivery truck and crew. Batman recognizes the delivery crew as the Irish hitmen known as the Sullivan Crime Family. This team consists of the leader, Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan, Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly, Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil.

“Those men work for Falcone.” Batman remarks. “He’s getting everyone to work under him, from small to big time racketeers.” Batman slowly strolls on the building he’s on and spies on the Sullivan Family wheeling giant packages into the Gotham Sporting Goods Shop. “That must be where the drugs are being hidden.” He stretches out his arms and glides off the building as the shadow of a bat is seen on the streets of Gotham.

Batman lands behind the building of the sporting goods shop and finds the backdoor to the store. He takes out a tool used to unlock the door silently without detection and enters the emporium. Inside is a wide storage space of quality items that aren’t usually in the shopping or checkout area. 

Batman finds the crate that was delivered by the Sullivan Crime Family pretending to be delivermen. It’s a wooden shipping crate with a silver lock on it. He has no problem removing the lock from the crate and opening it. 

However, he didn’t find drugs or money or anything illegal that he could trace back to the Sullivan Family or Falcone; All he found was a new collection of bowling balls protected by styrofoam. 

*FLICK* 

The light switch is turned on by Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan as he has a meatball sub in his hands. When he notices Batman, he lets the meatball sub fall on the floor as sauce splatters the ground. 

‘So much for being discreet.’ Batman thinks to himself as he cracks his knuckles. Donny Boy goes for the gun in his hoister and is about to fire at the Caped Crusader. Batman lunges at his gun welding arm and twists.

*BANG* 

Donny Boy’s gun fires and it will soon alert the others in the sporting goods shop. Batman grabs Donny Boy’s entire body and throws him in through the door that leads to the checkout counter. Now that definitely alerts the others.

“He’s here!” Several members of the Sullivan Crime Family shout.

“Get away from my brother!” Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan yells at Batman as everyone brings out their guns.

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

They all open fire at him, every member of the Sullivan Crime Family except for Donny Boy, who Batman has with him behind the counter that he’s currently hiding behind. They all then stop shooting to save ammo within their guns. 

“We got you surrounded, Batman!” Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil says with defiance and courage mixed with arrogance. “You got nowhere to run!”

Batman then gets an idea, takes out a smoke pellet from his utility belt, and throws it. When it lands on the floor beneath their feet, it releases a white vapor of smoke that will temporarily blind their senses, giving Batman enough time to surprise them and remove their guns.

The Dark Knight jumps from out behind the register and pounces on Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil. He throws him into a shelf that holds baseball bats and anything else related to the sport. 

“I hear him!” 

*BANG*

The shot that was meant for Batman instead hit the wall, putting a hold through it. He dashes at Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, the man behind the shot, and punches him in his Solar Plexus, knocking the wind out of him.

‘Thanks for that lesson, Roman.’ Batman says to himself before he brings Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy to the floor. 

‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly is able to find him despite the smoke and throws a punch at him. Batman easily catches the man’s fist, grips his arm, and goes to break it. 

But that plan goes south when Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, the leader of the Sullivan Crime Family, hits him in the head with a baseball bat. It makes him let go and falls on the floor.

Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan helps ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly up from the floor and says, “God, I’ve wanted to see this for so long. You, on the floor, about to meet your–” Batman interrupts him with a kick to his kneecap, making him scream in pain. Batman grabs him and throws him into the cash register. ‘Dappy Kevin’ Kelly isn’t able to get a hit on him since he’s punched in the face and knocked out. 

Batman walks up to him, grabs him by the scruff of his delivery suit and he says to him, “The next time you want to kill me, don’t waste your time talking.”

Sirens are heard from the distance as the shop illuminates in red and blue. That sends a message that it’s time for Batman to leave.

“Five men were assaulted and put in hospital beds tonight by The Batman.” Carmine Falcone sits in his office with Salvatore Maroni as they both watch this. “These men’s names will remain anonymous but they’re under the employment of Carmine Falcone, formal crime boss of Gotham City. Mr Falcone was available for comment.”

The camera view switches to Carmine Falcone. “Batman’s living in the past. He goes out there, running around rooftops, attacking people, and he tries to look into me even though I have no interest in being a 40s gangster. His childish fantasy world has come to an end and he’s trying to relive it.–”

*CLICK*

Carmine smiles with content as he turns off the TV. He says, “Well, I could use a drink. You?” He asks his partner.

Maroni looks at him confused. “You seem happy for someone who nearly got caught tonight.”

Carmine’s smile grows wider. “I knew he was gonna focus his efforts on me, that's why he came back in the first place.” He pours himself a drink of scotch, alongside Maroni. “ But that’s the problem. He’s popular with the public, they idolize him, they worship like some kind of…of…” He tries to think of an example. 

“Bat god?” Maroni suggests.

*SNAP*

Carmine snaps his fingers at points at him. “Exactly! A Bat God! But, they won’t do that if the city is turned against him. So, I spoon fed him clues that made him look like a complete fool.” 

Maroni has a look of realization and nods. “Ah, that’s very clever. But you do realize you're gonna have to pay Sullivan’s and his crew’s hospital bills, right?”

“He knew that he would show up at the Shopping Goods store, he knew what he was gonna end up with tonight. But that was part of our agreement, along with paying them all overtime.”

“And the stash of the Elixir of Life? What happened to that?” Maroni asks his partner as he takes his drink.

Carmine sets his drink down and has Maroni follow him. He has him walk to where the wooden chest of bowling balls are, the same chest that was at the Sporting Goods Shop. Carmine takes out one of the black bowling balls and he reveals something very interesting about it.

The top of the bowling ball comes off like those fake, plastic easter eggs but only this bowling ball reveals a stash of hidden drugs that are named the Elixir of Life. 

Maroni looks genuinely shocked. “Is it...?”

Carmine takes another bowling ball and the same thing happens; Taking off the top reveals a hidden stash of the Elixir of Life drugs. “Every single one of them.” 

Maroni has his jaw opened with surprise. “You made a fool out of The Batman.” 

Carmine gets his drink back and says, “If he wants a war, then I’ll give him one he’ll never forget.” He takes a swig of his alcohol.

In the Batcave, Tim Drake sits in his chair in front of the Batcomputer as the Batmobile is parked behind him. He sits pondering to himself. 

Alfred comes over to him and says, “Don’t fret, Master Tim. You’ll get him next time and you'll find the location of the drug manufacturing place soon enough. You always do.”

Tim doesn’t face him and simply…smiles. That smile soon turns to silent laughter. “Oh, Alfred. I didn’t mess up tonight, he played right into my hands.” 

Alfred looks at him confused. “I beg your pardon, sir?”

Tim decides to explain. “Let me elaborate; The Carmine Falcone I’ve always known would never do something this reckless and stupid. No, he must’ve had a plan.”

FLASHBACK

“When I was at The Gotham Sporting Goods Shop, I discovered one of the bowling balls were hollow, meaning that they weren’t real bowls and that they were hiding something inside of them like plastic easter eggs. So, I did the only thing I could do at that moment.”

The light switch was turned on by Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan as he had a meatball sub in his hands. When he noticed Batman, he let the meatball sub fall on the floor as sauce splattered the ground. 

Before Batman did anything, he slipped a small device into one of the finger holes of the many fake bowling balls.

When Tim finished his story, Alfred looked at him shocked. “You placed a tracking device in the crate.”

Tim types something up on the Batcomputer. “That and it’s also a listening device.” He presses one last button.

“So what was all this about?” Maroni’s voice plays on the Batcomputer. 

“Zeus wants the Elixir of Life off the streets for the time being. We had an idea of how to make it better.” Carmine’s voice explains as Alfred still looks at this display shocked. “He wants everyone of his Elixirs to be transported back to him. Everyone of them is going back, along with this crate. So, make sure no one touches it.”

“Not a problem.” Maroni assures him. 

Tim turns off the Bat Computer and says, “I have a name and I will soon have a location as to where this Elixir of Life is being made.” Tim tells the older man before he gets up from his chair and says, “Falcone has taken a lot from Gotham but if he thinks he can deprive this city from being drug free…he’s sorely mistaken!”

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, November 9th, 2013

There’s one of many things that Tim Drake has never been fond of and that’s nightclubs. The loud music, the drinking, the partying; It all makes his head spin. Unfortunately for him, that’s where he’s forced to be for a strict reconnaissance mission tonight.

The night club that the young protector of Gotham is currently located at is known as Mount Olympus, the biggest and most popular nightclub and bar for Gotham’s common men and women, along with the richest families in the entire city. It became as big as it did when the Iceberg Lounge was shut down after Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin, died.

This nightclub is like many others with its disco lights, heavy drinking, and drug distribution but the theme mainly focuses on The Greek Gods of Olympus from Greek Mythology. The interior of this establishment resembles a white palace, sparkling with ancient history as if it stripped right off the page of the books read by all. 

While Tim can admire the commitment this guy put into making this place resemble Mount Olympus, he still wishes that he had to do this mission somewhere quieter. With all this loud music and dancing going on, he can barely hear himself think. 

What’s worse is that this place has a place where someone dressed as Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and her female children are paid to give people ‘private massages’ as to put it nicely, despite it still being inappropriate no matter how you phrase it.

However, beggars can’t be choosers. This reconnaissance mission is related to the drugs being traded to various individuals, rich or poor. The drug is called the Elixir of Life and the wooden crate Tim placed tracker on is being delivered to this place tonight. Tim decided to get here before they did so he could be ahead of them but he’s quickly regretting that decision since he’s been in this loud bar for the past 10 minutes. 

To pass the time, he chooses to get himself a drink and get up from his black barrel chair and has to squeeze past dozens of people just to get to the bar. He faces a woman wearing a split knee, sleeveless white greek goddess costume, a crystal tiara on her head, and high heels. She has black hair. While Tim wasn’t planning on saying it to her face, she’s very pretty.

Tim Drake takes out his wallet and places a 10 dollar bill on the counter top. “Coffee, black.”

“Not much of a drinker, are you?” She asks.

Tim shakes his head. “Not really, no.”

Then, as he takes a sip of his beverage, a hand lands on his shoulder that catches him off guard. His eyes look at the hand as he turns around to see a woman dressed as Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. A sudden pause stops Tim from saying anything as the need to reboot follows.

Before Tim can even get a word out, the temptress puts both her hands on his shoulders as she stands in front of him. “Hmm, you’re cute…and tense.” She rubs his shoulders and says, “How about I help you relax, hmm? How does that sound?”

In all his life, Tim never thought he’d be in this situation. He stutters as he struggles not to blush. “Um, w-well uh…M-ma’am, I-I think I-I really should um-um…” He tries to clear his throat.

“Leave him alone, Lily.” The waitress tells the Aphrodite cosplayer, making her turn to the waitress. “You’re scaring him.” 

Silently, Tim is thankful to the waitress. Lily, the Aphrodite worker, pouts but she says to Tim quite seductively. “Come to me if you change your mind.” She playfully pokes his nose and struts off. 

Tim takes a few deep breaths, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. He turns to the waitress and says, “Thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it.” She tells him. 

“Sir?” The voice of Alfred coming through Tim’s comm link makes him slightly jump in surprise. “The crate with the tracking device has arrived in the club.”

Tim’s even more thankful because he can finally do something constructive instead of being seated at a counter. He tells the waitress. “See yah.” and quickly leaves.

But not right before he hears the waitress silently mutter, “Lily’s right. He is cute.” The comment makes Tim’s face more red than it already was.

“You should’ve gotten their numbers, Master Tim.” Alfred tells him. 

Tim can hear the amused teasing in his voice and quietly says, “Shut up.” Without any real edge to his voice. Tim stands in the corner to avoid both the security detail and any more women coming to flirt with him, if any. He tries not to act suspicious as the music continues to echo throughout the club.

As Tim drinks his coffee, he sees a familiar wooden crate enter the establishment being pushed by some familiar faces that Tim beat up the other night at the Sporting Goods store. These faces are Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil and Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, the least bruised of the Sullivan Crime Family however black eyes are still visible. 

They go through the crowd when Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy stares at one of the female workers in awe. That earns him a slap in the back of his head by Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil. “Hey, focus! You’re here on business, not pleasure.”

“Why can’t it be both?” Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy remarks with a sly smile.

Despite the loud and obnoxious music being played over the loudspeakers, Tim’s able to hear what they’re saying. He sits at a nearby table and pretends to enjoy the music while they wheel in the wooden crate containing disguised drugs. Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil talks to two twins that look identical to Anicetus and Alexiares, the guards and gatekeepers of Mount Olympus. 

Due to the loud music being played in this nightclub, what they’re saying to each other is inaudible to Tim. But he can make out that the two members of the Sullivan Crime Family are supposed to be here to return the crate to the owner of this unique establishment. 

The two look-alikes to Anicetus and Alexiares let them go through so that they can wheel the wooden crate to a private office.

At the luxurious restaurant titled The Ocelot, Roman Sionis has booked a table for their group of people consisting of Lucius Fox, Victor Fries, Nora Fields, and the entire Board of Directors. 

“Thank you so much for this, Mr. Sionis.” Nora thanks Roman.

Roman smiles at her. “First of all; It’s Roman to you. Second of all; Don’t mention it. Tonight’s a big night. Right Victor?”

Victor catches his look as he clutches the blue ring box in his gray lapel coat underneath a white long sleeve overshirt and tie. 

Nora has on a sandy pink dress that Victor thinks makes Nora look even more beautiful than she already is. She also has on a pearl necklace around her neck and her hair is down. Everyone else is wearing suits and business attire. 

The waiters show the gentlemen and Nora to their table as both Roman and Victor stay back to discuss details on tonight’s festivities. Roman says, “Alright, lets go over the plan.”

Victor nods. “Yes, the music that’ll be played by the violin quartet will be Canon by Johann Pachelbel. It’s one of her favorite violin songs.”

Roman nods. "Wise choice, doc. Now, pick a seat. I'll deal with the rest." Victor agrees and takes a seat next to Nora. Roman walks away from this and calls someone. "Hey, are you here?"

Tim Drake sits in the back of a car while his faithful butler and family member, Alfred, sits in the driver’s seat. The younger man has his phone in his hand and a high tech laptop in his lap. Instead of driving to a location, they are across the street from the nightclub known as Mount Olympus. 

Tim’s on the phone with Roman Sionis. “Not there yet. I might actually be late, now that I’m thinking about it.” 

“What, why?” Roman asks over the phone.

Tim quickly thinks up an excuse for his tardiness and says, “Me and Alfred are getting some recipes ready for Thanksgiving. We’re out shopping.”

“Oh, guess that makes sense.” Luckily, Roman has been fooled by this lie. “Alright, just tell me what you want to eat and I’ll order for you.” 

“Thanks Roman. I’ll have a Cheeseburger and fries.” Tim tells him, thankful for his understanding. He then quickly asks, “Hey, would it be okay if Barbara comes along?”

“Sure, it’s been a while since we’ve talked. Just don’t wait too long to get here. Bye.” 

"Bye." After Tim hangs up the phone, he leans back in his seat and groans. “Oh, god. I’m gonna be so late tonight.” 

Alfred turns his position to face Tim Drake while in the car and tries to assure him, “I’m sure Mr. Sionis will understand, sir.” 

Tim nods but is still uncertain. He hates lying to Roman this way, him and Jimmy, and Bullock. Maybe he should just be honest and tell everyone the truth. 

‘No.’ A firm voice in Tim’s head says and Tim has to agree with it. If anyone found out that they knew he’s Batman, then they would try to get to him through his loved ones. He can’t have that so much as it pains him, he has to keep this a secret no matter how much he dislikes it.

Tim asks, “Who runs this place?”

“A man named Maxie Zeus.” Alfred answers him.

Tim lets out another groan in annoyance. “The Elixir of Life, Olympus and this guy is called Zeus; I think we might be dealing with another delusional one.”

Alfred solemnly nods. “Well, let us hope he proves to be easier to deal with than David Jones was.”

“We can only hope.” Tim responds before the young detective clicks some buttons on his laptop. “Now, let us see what’s going on in there.” 

“Your arrival is quite unpunctual.” A formally firm voice informs someone. 

“That’s Mr. Zeus, sir.” Alfred tells Tim as he listens in on this conversation.

“Sorry sir. The bosses wanted to make sure we weren’t followed.” Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil tells him.

“A wise choice. Is the Elixir here?” 

“Don’t worry, it’s all in the truck. Admittedly, they’re a little peeved that they had to stop selling this for a while. Said they were behind schedule.”

“I may not know who your employers are and while I may only speak to them on through private numbers, I estimate they will come to terms with my decision. The Elixir cannot have flaws if it’s to give eternal life.”

Tim’s just hearing this conversation but he has already gathered two things; The man is clearly delusional and since he doesn’t know who his employer is, there’s a good chance this might not be traced back to Falcone. 

“E-Eternal life?” Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil repeats in confusion. “Buddy, this isn’t–”

“Excuse me? I am not your ‘buddy’, William!” Zeus retorts.

“Alright, just calm down–”

“SILENCE!” Zeus shouts, making Tim and Alfred jump. “You dare speak to me in such a way again and I’ll smite thee down with the power of thunder! You will speak to me with respect and only when I say so.”

Tim and Alfred share a look as they listen to this. “Yeah, he’s definitely getting an insanity defense.” The young man remarks.

“Indeed.” Alfred agrees. 

“Your mission is complete, you have no place here in Mount Olympus. Be gone, both of you.” The man named Zeus commands the two members of the Sullivan Crime Family.

After hearing this, Tim Drake turns off his computer and says, “He doesn’t know who his employer is. There’s a good chance I might not be able to trace this back to Falcone.”

Alfred solemnly nods “Unfortunately, yes. However, you will be able to get dangerous drugs off the streets so there’s some silver lining.”

Tim shrugs. “I guess.” However, he’s still unsure.

“Perhaps we can deal with this tomorrow?” Alfred suggests. “Shall we go home, sir?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, The Ocelot. Roman’s expecting me.” 

“I’m sure we would understand if you miss it.” 

“Roman has done a lot for me, it’d be rude of me not to show up.” Tim says, suggesting a tone that leaves no room for argument.

Alfred hears this tone of voice and drives to The Ocelot. 

Victor feels well as he sits with his wonderful girlfriend/roommate and holds her hand underneath the table, eating food with the rest of his colleagues at the company he works at.

His life has been nothing but grand. He has a fascinating and endearing job, his studies never disappoint him, he’s surrounded by good men who want to see his Cryogenetics program flourish. 

But the best thing about his life is his beloved, Nora Fields. She’s been the warmth of his days, the only woman who could ever make him feel…complete. Her kindness motivates him after every challenging day at Sionis Industries. Meeting Nora is, without any doubt clouding in his mind, the greatest thing that has ever happened in his life and marrying her would only make him feel more right with the world.

Roman Sionis stands up from his table, finding that a young man has arrived. “Timmy, Barbara, over here!” 

Victor turns around to see that a young man and woman have arrived in nice clothes, clothes that are only best suited for special events. The young man named Tim Drake says to Roman, “Sorry I’m late.” 

Barbara Gordon's wearing a nice dress shirt and a black skirt. White shoes and socks cover her feet as they sit on the foot plates of her wheelchair as Tim Drake wears a dark black suit and tie.

Roman waves it off. “It’s fine, kid. Just take a seat.” He turns to Victor and Nora. “Doc, Nora, this is Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon.”

Barbara shakes his head. "Hello, Roman. It's been a while." She says to Roman, to which he agrees. Barbara has to admit, she's always respected Roman and admires him for who he is. It's no secret that Gotham's filled with corrupt men and women who only care about money and riches but Roman isn't like those people. No, he actually cares about this city and, like Tim, sees him for the good man he is.

“Is he the one you’re always bragging about?” One of the Board members asks Roman.

Roman nods with pride. “The one and only.”

Tim blushes. “There’s nothing to brag about."

"Denial." She says in a sing-songy voice.

Tim gives her a mocking glare but proceeds like he didn't just hear her. He shakes hands with Victor. “I’ve read your work, Doctor. I think it’s quite fascinating.”

Victor raises his eyebrows. “You understand my work?”

Tim shakes Nora’s hand. “I may be in the real estate business but I do understand the science that addresses the production and effects of very low temperatures.”

Roman pats him on the back. “He could’ve gotten into Harvard if he didn’t love this city so much.”

One member of the board leans in and says to Victor, “Victor, we’ve talked about it and…we would like to offer you grant money to start this project as soon as possible.” 

Nora beams before Victor, who just sits in his seat stunned. She hugs him. “Victor, congratulations.” Victor thanks her and they share a brief kiss.

Tim Drake looks at the two couples and can tell their love is genuinely pure. It reminds him of what he once had with…Stephaine Brown. Her innocent personality, her blond hair, and her smile. It always made Tim laugh. Those were good times.

One particular memory comes back to him;

It was three years ago, May of 2010. Three days after Commissioner Jim Gordon’s funeral, Tim Drake was regaining his strength after nearly dying from The Joker’s crowbar swings.

Tim had to use crutches to get around and it was a great difficulty. He had to remind himself to step up with his strong leg first, bring the crutches up, one in each arm, place his weight on the strong leg and then bring his weak leg up. 

In the Manor, Tim was going to crutch his way down the stairs of the gigantic manor and he knew he had to do that very carefully to ensure he didn’t tumble down. He took a breath and prepared himself.

But he didn’t have to since Stephaine Brown, his girlfriend at the time, held his hand. She had her blond, clean hair pulled back in a very cute and pretty way. He turned to her as she smiled at him. “Need help?”

Tim looked at her, grateful. “Yes, please.” 

She nodded. “Together. One…two…three!” Stephaine stood behind him to make him feel more secure. But he had to lift his arms up himself. But as they went down the stairs, Stephaine didn’t leave his side and corrected him if he was going too fast. 

When they got to the bottom floor, Tim said, “Thanks, Steph.”

Stephaine Brown offered a smile and a kiss on his cheek. “No problem.” She then said, “Guess what; I have stashed some Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream in the fridge. Wanna bowl?”

Tim thought that was very appetizing. “Sign me up.” They made their way into the kitchen as Stephaine still observed him to make sure he wasn’t overwhelmed. She then said, “I thought Alf said to take it easy for a few days?”

“I can’t sit in bed doing nothing, I have to do something.” Tim told her and she understood.

She shrugged. “Alright, I guess that’s fair.” They went into the clean and organized kitchen as Tim, with the help of Stephaine, took a seat in one of the chairs before she went to one of the cabinets to get some bowls and silverware. She went to the fridge to get out the carton of ice cream.

Tim then asked, “Hey, where’s everyone else?”

Stephaine took a moment to think before saying, “Dick and Kate’s on patrol, Babs and Jimmy are at home talking about whenever or not they want to move here, Alfred went grocery shopping, and Lucius and Roman are at Wayne Enterprises, going over remodeling plans after…y’know.” She finished, awkwardly referring to Joker’s last attack on Gotham, titled ‘The Final Joke’ by the Gotham Gazette. They always did like giving people and events nicknames like the many patients at Arkham and whatever they did once they escaped. 

Tim nodded in understanding before saying, “Still can’t believe Bruce and Roman are working together.” 

Stephaine chuckled as he set two bowls of cold ice cream on the table with silver spoons in each two bowls. “Me neither. I still remember when those two were at each other's throats. He might’ve been Bruce’s real nemesis.”

Tim gave off a chuckle as well, remembering those days as well. He knew Roman long before he met Bruce Wayne. He and his father were business partners but Roman despised Bruce with a passion, didn’t believe he was anything but a spoiled rich brat making an ignominy of the Wayne Family’s legacy, more specifically Thomas Wayne’s legacy.

Roman told that to him, actually. He slapped him in Bruce’s face, called him a drunken fool and his parents would be ashamed of him wasting money by partying and drinking instead of doing something useful with his family’s fortune. That night sparked Bruce Wayne’s first ever bar fight.

But after Tim was adopted by Bruce Wayne, they made an effort to get along, even finding common ground and were a good duo in the corporate world. But Roman never knew that his playboy billionaire persona was a mask to hide the fact he was Gotham’s vigilante. In Tim’s opinion, Roman Sionis never saw the use for masks and always showed his true self, never leading a double life. But in Tim’s opinion, that’s what makes him a good man; He’s honest.

But Tim existed out of his thoughts when he asked his girlfriend, “Where is Bruce?”

Stephaine took another moment to think before she realized, “I…don’t know. I haven’t really seen him that much since the party we had a few days ago.”

Tim grimaced. He was worried that Bruce was going through his brooding phase again. Bruce swore to everyone he was done pushing people away and he was making great progress, he was even seeing Selena Kyle again and she was making her way to the good side of the law. With Commissioner’s Gordon’s death, Tim really hoped this wasn’t a relapse.

Tim took a bite of his ice cream, enjoying the moment with Stephaine Brown. “Maybe I should go check on him?” Tim suggested. 

Stephaine said, “Maybe that would be a good idea. While he’s the big, bad Batman, everyone still needs a shoulder to cry on every once in a while."

Tim couldn't agree more since there were a few times where he had the need for a family member to help him out whenever he was stressed. 

The afternoon was spent with Stephaine Brown; the best girlfriend Tim could've asked for.

He then went down to the cave to check in on Bruce…That proved to be one of his biggest mistakes of his life. He wasn't prepared for what he learned or what happened after. He especially wasn't prepared for what…what Bruce became. 

But those happy thoughts quickly turn to uneasy feelings, feelings and memories that Tim has spent three years trying to keep away. Tim shakes his head faintly. ‘No, no, no, Tim. Don’t think about her, don’t think about what happened and DON’T think about what he made you do.’ Tim mentally tells himself. 

“Tim?” Roman’s voice makes him slightly jump. He has a look of concern. “Are you alright?”

The young businessman immediately says, “Yes, I’m fine.” Before taking a sip of iced water. He has to tell Roman because he doesn’t think he’d be able to look Tim in the eye if he knew what he did after Joker’s death…what Bruce did. 

He catches a glance at Lucius, who understands his emotions. How couldn’t Lucius understand? He’s been through quite a lot too.

Alongside Barbara, who had her fair share of scars during those three years of peace. Hell, her biggest scar is visible right now; Her sitting in that wheelchair instead of being able to walk like everyone else. It's not fair.

Barbara sees Tim's face and immediately knows what he's thinking. She doesn't say anything but only gently takes his hand to potentially comfort him.

These silent thoughts come to an end when Victor whispers to his employer, “It’s time.”

Roman smiles and says loudly to everyone, “Music?” He gestures to a group of violinists. They begin to play a song that’s unfamiliar to Tim since he’s never heard of it before.

But Nora has. She looks at Victor with fondness. “Canon by Johann Pachelbel. Oh, Victor.”

Victor holds her hand while he clutches something in his coat, making Barbara and Tim understand what he was about to do due to them being the Detectives; Victor's going to propose and the two detectives can’t help but smile as fondly as Nora.

As Victor holds her hand, he begins to speak as everyone at their table watches on. “Nora, you have been the most important and greatest aspect of my life and it is for the reason–”

*COUGH*

But he stops talking when Nora starts to cough. Not just any normal cough but a violent, serious cough that makes Nora use a napkin to cover her mouth. Victor forgets what he’s about to say and goes to her side. “Nora, are you alright?”

But Nora doesn’t respond. Instead, her coughing ceases and she removes her red napkin that now has her blood on it. Nora looks at it with widened eyes and says, “I n-need to go to the bathroom.” She stands up, very shaky and trembling. She puts a hand on her head as everyone at the table and some spectators of the restaurant watch this in confusion and worry.

Barbara starts to get her phone out. "Should I call an ambulance?"

Nora waves her hand in a motion. “I’m fine…I’m…I’m…” She then reveals blood dripping from her nose before she collapses on the ground.

Victor catches her in time and shouts in fright, “She’s having a seizure, call 9-1-1, now!” 

Countless people in the room bring out their phones and dial emergency services. Victor stays with her the entire time, seeing her stiff body and arched back. “Nora, stay with me. Stay with me!” He gently pleads.

After two minutes of watching this scene, an ambulance comes rushing in and paramedics swarming into the expensive restaurant. They request for Victor to step aside for them to assess the situation.

They quickly bring her onto a gurney and wheel her in the ambulance as Vicor follows. "I'm going with." He says, leaving no room for argument. The paramedics let him in and Victor sits by Nora's unconscious body. "You're going to be okay, you're going to be okay." Victor repeatedly tells her. But really, he's telling himself that.

At Gotham General Hospital, Dr. Victor Fries sits in the waiting room with Lucius Fox and Roman Sionis at his side. He's pale, terrified for her life. He doesn't know how this happened or why but all he wants to know now is if his beloved girlfriend/roommate is alright. Nothing else matters.

The doors to the main part of the hospital open to reveal a doctor who's currently employed at the hospital. He asks loudly, "Victor Fries?"

Victor stands up as Lucius and Roman follow. The doctor hesitates whenever or not to let them in but Victor honestly couldn't care. He doesn't care if they accompany him, he doesn't care if they leave right now. All he cares about is Nora.

The doctor eventually gives in and lets them past and leads them down the hallway of Gotham General. He starts to ask a series of questions. "Dr. Fries, have you noticed anything odd about your girlfriend?"

"Like?" Victor asks.

"Like her condition, if she had any flu or headache?" The doctor clarifies.

Victor thinks back before saying, "She did have the flu on Halloween and had to stay home for a week for so."

The doctor nods and writes on his clipboard. "I see. And have you noticed if she's eaten anything?"

Victor thinks of an answer before saying, "Well, she didn't eat that much during her sick week but I thought that was just a symptom of her flu."

The Doctor looks at him painfully before stopping them at a room where Nora's visible. Through the looking glass, the three of them see that Nora's hooked up to machines. This scares Victor even more.

The Doctor takes a deep breath before telling him, "Dr. Fries, we did a blood work on her and tested to see if she has anything life threatening."

"And?" Lucius asks.

"...And it came back positive with…Yellow Fever."

Victor stands there, panicking with widened eyes. "W-what? What's Yellow Fever?"

"It's a disease that is spreaded by animals, most commonly infected by mosquitoes from Africa and South America." 

Victor shakes his head, not understanding. "But me and Nora haven't been to those places."

Roman leans in. "Doc? Remember that vacation you and Nora took a week before October 31st?"

Victor's eyes widen again, remembering that they went to Peru before he went to work on his Cryogenetics Program. It's all coming back to him, realizing that Nora said she got bitten by something while on the trip. 

He feels just as unbalanced as Nora did in the restaurant and asks, "...How bad is it?"

The look on The Doctor's face confirms it for him. He knows what he's about to say but he silently pleads to god that he's wrong, that this will wear off in a few days. 

But he's wrong.

Instead, the Doctor says, "...It's fatal."

Victor stares into the abyss of nothingness as his eyes are wider than ever before. Lucius and Roman try to get details out of this, but Victor barely listens. The only thing he catches is, "She might have 5 more days, 10 if we're lucky." Before he too faints and collapses on the ground.

Chapter Text

Date: Monday, November 11th, 2013

On the streets of Gotham City, two men in suits wait in an alleyway for their buyers to arrive. With them, they have a bag of small vials containing the drug known as the Elixir of Life. 

The alleyway was titled Crime Alley after the generous philanthropists Thomas and Martha Wayne were shot and killed by an unknown assailant in 1976 in front of their 8 year old son, Bruce Wayne. It was once dirty, polluted and littered with trash, muggers, and homeless people with nowhere to go but due to Tim Drake at Drake Industries remodeling the place, it’s the safest area to move a family in, and has a fully functional homeless shelter and soup kitchen.

To add to all that, it’s right across the street from The Monarch Theater, also bought and remodeled by Drake Industries and turned into a proud and glimmering theater that plays both new and old movies because in Tim Drake’s mind, the oldest movies are always the best and the newest generation of children and adults should have the chance to see wonderfully made films like The Godfather, The Mask, Titanic and Rocky. 

The two men in suits thought that this was a good location for their meeting due to it being the last place anyone would expect a drug dealing to be located at. They light cigarettes as they wait for them to arrive. After taking a drag of his cigarette, one of the two men asks in annoyance, “When are they getting here? I don’t want to be out all night.”

“They’ll be here.” The other man with the crooked mustache assures him before taking a look at the theater and the clean alleyway. “You gotta admit, the Drake kid did a damn fine job of cleaning all this up.” 

The man with the bushy beard nods his head in agreement. “Yep, he certainly did.” 

“I heard Maroni wants to go to war with Drake.” The crooked mustached man brings up.

The bushy bearded man looks at him, interested. “Really, why?”

“He wants to buy up more property, probably so he and Falcone can have covers for their activities and Drake building and buying places for the public makes that pretty hard for him.” 

“...Drake’s gonna end up dead within a couple of months, isn’t he?” The bushy bearded criminal rhetorically asks.

The crooked mustached man takes a breath out of his cigarette and asks him, “What do you think?” He and his partner then notices a group of 4 people coming up to them with looks of hunger. “You all took your sweet time.” 

One of them waves his hand in annoyance and asks, “Do you have it or not?”

The bushy bearded man takes out the zip lock bag of the Elixir of Life drug and says, “You know the deal.”

The sight of the addictive drug immediately makes them dig through their pockets and they all hand them either stacks of organized money or crumpled up dollar bills. Either way, they wanted the drug. The two dealers gladly give them the zip locked bag of drugs in exchange for the delightful cash. 

The crooked mustached man goes to give him the zip lock bag when he suddenly lets out a scream. “AAHHH!” Everyone looks at the crooked mustached criminal, clearly startled by this outburst.

The bearded man, his partner, comes to his aid to see his hand is bleeding due to a sharp throwing weapon being thrown at him, dropping the money on the ground. His hand leaves a large, red, bleeding slash wound on his hand as a batarang lands on the ground.

His partner finds the batarang and says quickly, “We need to get out of here, now. Go, GO!” He runs but is caught by a grappling hook on his leg and is hoisted in the air.  “AAAAHHHH!” HE screams as he hangs upside down.

The crooked mustached criminal goes for a gun in his pocket but a familiar dark voice says, “I wouldn’t if I were you.” He looks behind him to see that The Batman has taken an intimidating stance on the pavement. He walks closer to him and the group of buyers consisting of 4 people, who all step back in fear. 

Batman, as brutal and threatening as always, takes the zip lock bag that contains the Elixir of Life. That makes the four people shouting, “Hey, we were buying that.”

Batman glares at them. “This is filth.” He turns back to the crooked mustached criminal, who winces at the sight of him, and says, “And how dare you spread these disgusting vices?!”

One of the addicts takes out a pocket knife and shouts, “I’m not telling you again, man. Give. Us. The bag!” The other addicts follow his lead and take out a weapon or just find anything that they can use as a weapon. 

Batman really doesn’t want to fight these people. They aren't the usual street crooks that he leaves behind for others to arrest. So, he chooses to say, “You need to step away.”

The man with the knife says, “I’m not afraid of you, Batman. Now GIVE IT!” The man lunges at him with the knife but Batman grabs his arm in a quick motion and throws him away, bending the knife to render it useless. The gathering of drug addicts gang up on him, hoping to stop him but Batman simply throws a smoke pellet on the ground. 

They all cough and are struggling to see, clearly distracted. Batman takes this opportunity to grapple away with the crooked mustached criminal so he can have a few more words with him. He takes him up to a rooftop where he can bring him to his knees and make him see those addicts he was trying to sell to. 

“Look at what you’ve done.” Batman tells him. “You may not have made this, but people like you are responsible for making sure that crap gets on the streets, creating more people who crave it when they shouldn’t.” 

“Batman, please. I-” He tries to say before Batman cuts him off.

“If you say you have kids, I’ll break your arm.” Secretly, Batman has heard that excuse so many times, it’s not even funny. If guys like the crooked mustached criminal have kids then why are they out in Gotham, doing stupid crap like this instead of being there for them. He grabs him by his suit jacket and says, “I'll let you off if you do two things.”

The man quickly nods. “Anything!”

“One: I never want to see you doing this again. If I catch you selling another drug, I will come for you. Second: I want you to tell Falcone that Gotham doesn’t belong to him.” Batman tells him.

The man frantically nods. “Okay, I promise. I swear, now let go man. Please!”

Batman thinks he gets the point and he brings him back down to the neighborhood streets. When the thug catches his breath, Batman tells him, “I’ll be watching you.” Before grappling off into the night. 

In the office of Salvatore Maroni, he, Sean Riley, Carmine Falcone had just listened to their friend Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil tell them about their meeting with Mazie Zeus. Carmine is seen massaging his temples as he tries to calm himself down. “So, let me get this straight; Maxie thinks that he’s an actual god? He actually thinks he’s THE God of gods?”

Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil sits in his well furnished office, his black eye still visible after his confrontation with Batman. “Um…yes.”

Carmine only says, “...I see,”

“Uh…Carmine?” Maroni asks, looking extremely nervous. 

Falcone takes a moment to respond. “Do we still have the Bourbon, Sal?”

“In the cupboard.” Maroni points. Carmine slowly gets up from his spot and goes to the cupboard, pouring himself a drink. He turns back to the two and says, “Maroni…we’re gonna have to detach ourselves from Mr. Zeus for a while. Indefinitely, actually.”

Maroni knew that was gonna be his response. He only says, “Yes sir.”

Sean Riley looks at them like they’re completely insane. “Wait, our sales are gonna take a massive dive.”

“We have that farm making Marijuana. we’ll be fine.” Maroni tells him, not wanting to anger his partner.

“But The Elixir is our most successful one!” Riley argues. “It’s at an affordable price and without it–”

“I am NOT!” Carmine slams his fist against the wall, making both the three men go silent at this rage. “Working with delusional men children like Zeus! Freaks like him think they own this town just because they put on a halloween costume and get an insanity defense, well they’re WRONG!” He breathes heavily and catches his breath as Two-Times sits uncomfortably in his chair. Carmine readjusts his suit and tells the three men, “This isn’t up for discussion. No one goes back to his club and no more meeting up with him. Do you understand me?”

They all say, “Yes, sir.” In unison. 

Carmine looks satisfied. “Good.” He then adds, “I need to take a walk.” He takes his leave with the bottle of bourbon, no one daring to stop or undermine his athority.

“Did you get the recording?” A dark voice asks.

“Yeah Bats, we did.” The voice of Detective Harvey Bullock tells him over a phone line. “I’m gonna meet you there so I can make a legal arrest.”

He nods. “Okay, see you then.” The young man hangs up as he races to the location.

Tim Drake, the current Batman, drives in the Batmobile. He’s heading to the Mount Olympus nightclub with firm conviction. He has decided that Gotham will no longer have this ‘Elixir of Life’ on the streets. Sure, he’s stopped drug dealings but he needs to take it off the market, make sure that no one is going to manufacture it again. 

He parks the car in front of the bright nightclub and steps out of the vehicle, heading into the nightclub. The excessive dancing and drinking is very familiar to Batman but this time, it starts to dial down due to his entry into the nightclub.

Everyone stops to look at him, shocked and surprised that he’s in a place like this. The music shuts off; The Batman has become the center of attention. 

“Oh my god, it’s him!”

“I’ve never seen him up close before.” 

“I thought he was a myth!”

“What’s he doing here?”

“God, he’s so hot.” 

Batman ignores the people talking and chattering, especially the latter statement, and asks, “Maximillian Zeus! Where is he?” But his question isn’t answered. Instead, he is met with a few security guards dressed as Greek Mythological figures but Batman doesn’t care who they’re supposed to be. 

5-6 dressed security guards gather around him, holding weapons that resemble the type of Mythology this club is themed. He's surrounded as some spectators get their phones out, hoping to record a fight…And a fight is what these people will get.

Usually, he would take the quiet way in but this is meant to be an example, a statement that dangerous drugs will not be tolerated in Gotham. No more will people spread these disgusting, dangerous, and addictive drugs and get people hooked. This ends tonight.

Batman starts this brawl with a swift kick to one of the guard’s stomachs. 

In the back of the nightclub, Maximillian Zeus, the owner of the establishment, sits on a stone whitened throne with a bright yellow lightning bolt staff in his right hand. He sits on his throne with contempt and in deep thought.

The Elixir of the gods has been passed out to the people of Gotham City, this horrendous town that reminds Zeus of The Underworld, the realm that his dark brother rules with an iron fist. Like Gotham City, The Underworld brings misery and nightmares to life. So, as the fair and generous that Zeus is, he came to the mortal realm to bring this conurbation some happiness. 

This happiness comes from the Elixir of the gods, a mixture that makes people see the bright side of life. Sure, it’s very addictive and people can’t seem to get more of it but that’s like most mortal possessions like money and even something as simple as chocolate. Along with that, this ‘nightclub’ as mortals prefer it as, is opened to all people. From the rich to the poor, all getting a chance to drink, party, and have their own fun with Aphrodite and other beautiful women.

As he continues to enjoy this peace, a follower of his named Alexander walks up to him with an electronic in his hand. He takes a bow, pleasing Zeus. “Do you wish to speak?” Alexander silently nods since he knows that he can’t speak until given permission to do so. “You may speak, mortal.”

Alexander immediately says, “Thank you. We have an intruder upstairs.” 

That gets Zeus’ attention. “Elaborate.” He orders.

He answers by taking out his electronic square called a ‘computer’ and it shows ‘footage’ of a dark figure fighting off his guards. He has to admit, he admires his courage and determination. But that’ll be the only thing he’ll be giving him besides a lightning bolt to its every being. 

Zeus recognizes this demonic freak and shouts, “A spawn of Hades! My brother has sent it to be rid of me.” He grasps his lightning bolt in his hand. “I will send it back to the depths of Tartarus as a warning.” 

Batman throws one guard on the counters of the bar, making drinks and cups crash to the floor to break due to it being made with fragile glass. A scuffle like this is the type of fight that will give the many spectators lots of views since most are currently recording this on their phones.

One guard brings out a knife and strikes Batman with it, leaving a scratch on his suit. Batman retaliates by punching him in the face and slamming him in a table. Another guard comes to the battle and grabs him in a choke hold. Batman grunts but removes him by hitting him in his side and twisting his arm.

*BANG*

Detective Harvey Bullock has arrived, fires a bullet into the roof and shouts, “Alright, party’s over! Everyone out!” Everyone seems to get the point and evacuates out the building, leaving only paid henchmen to fight this battle. Detective Bullock tries to push past the group of people making their way out of the club. “Out of the way, you morons!” 

Batman grabs a thug by the scruff of his greek costume and makes sure he doesn’t escape. “I want a word with your boss, where is he?” He demands with a growl. Bullock points his gun at him. 

The man points to a backdoor as Bullock says with satisfaction. “Ah, the Bad cop, Bad cop routine. Works every time.” Bullock handcuffs him to a table and they make their way to the backdoor, where they find themselves in a basement; A whitened wall and greek themed basement with workstations that are, to the detective’s guesses, where the drugs are made. They find Maxie Zeus in his throne with a weapon in his hand, a lightning bolt staff. 

Bullock tells him with a gun pointed at him, “Stand down or I take you down!” 

Zeus looks offended. “You dare command me, mortal?!”

Bullock shrugs. “Yeah, I do. Drop the weapon and put your hands up!”

“Your drug ring has ended.” Batman adds. 

“If you wish to fight against me, then your wish shall be granted.” Zeus grips his staff. “But be warned…you’re in for quite the shock!” He raises his arms at them, expecting a bolt of lightning to attack them. 

But it doesn’t. No lightning attacks them. Batman and Bullock look at each other, confused. 

Zeus tries again. “I command thee to strike them down!” He shouts at the sky, raising his arms at them again. But once again, nothing happens. "What but…but how?!"

Batman shakes his head. "Because the only commonality you have with the god you think you are is the fact you have the same name and nothing more." 

"Face it, yah nut job. You're not a god and you're as human as the rest of us." Bullock adds.

Zeus shakes his head, refusing to believe it. "No, that-that's true. That's impossible!" He wields his staff and shouts, "I don't need my powers to destroy your insignificant lives!" He charges at them, preparing a confrontation.

But Detective Bullock has had enough and switches his gun for a stun gun.

*ZAP*

The self proclaimed god of lightning, Maxie Zeus, is hit with a stun gun, making him stunned and fall on the floor. Batman, who was preparing for a fight, looks at Bullock amazed. 

Bullock sees his face and asks, “What, you think I wanted to be out here all night fighting these wackos? No, I want to put him in cuffs and then go to sleep.” 

Batman shrugs. “Fair. This one’s all yours, along with the credit.” 

Bullock looks at him, touched. “Thanks, Bats. Now help me get him up, he looks really heavy.” 

Batman nods and goes to pick him up when he suddenly shouts, “Get down!"

*BANG* 

Batman tackles Bullock on the ground as men in both well tailored suits and Greek costumes with guns and other selections of weapons all carry Zeus and bring him upstairs, albeit slowly due to the man’s hulking body. 

The four men who do stay behind are the ones who are currently hunting Batman. “Come out and face us, freak!”

“How dare you assault the great Zeus himself?!” Another man shouts.

Batman and Bullock look at each other, preparing to work together to take down these delusional, dangerous thugs and killers. The first thing that they do is take down the two men in suits wielding guns by throwing batarangs and firing bullets into their gun wielding hands then they charge at them with heavy resistance and strength, going all at them to put them down on the ground and placing them unconscious. 

They have defeated the four men, so they rush up the stairs of the basement entrance and go back into the nightclub that was once crowded with people and prostitutes but is vacant and littered with liquor spills and glass bottles/glasses. While they were able to shut down the drug ring and remove the source of it off the market, they were unable to prevent the escape of the delusional head of this narcotic yet financially successful business. 

When detectives and crime scene investigators got on the scene, only Bullock stayed to give a statement. Batman had left.

Maxie Zeus is currently in a van, being driven to some…he doesn’t even know where. But right now, Zeus doesn’t care. All he cares about is how to get his powers back…But what if they were right? Was he just as human as everyone on this planet?

No. He can't believe that to be true. He swears to himself that he will change the minds of those who consider him 'crazy'. 

Tim Drake sits in the chair parked in front of the Batcomputer with his Batsuit still on his person except for his cowl, which is placed on his workbench. 

Alfred comes up behind him and asks, "May I request you go to bed, Master Timothy. With Mr. Maroni and you are buying properties, you will need as much sleep as you can get."

Originally, he didn't want anyone as a rival for Drake Industries but he knows that Maroni and Falcone are going to use those places of interest for their criminal dealings. The young detective knows that this has the potential to be catastrophic but Tim has no choice but to fight for the rights to those place so they can be used for good instead of any other unethical businesses that Maroni hopes to start up.

Tim finally answers. "Not yet, Alfred. I need to do something real quick." He takes out his phone and dials Barbara's number. "Hey, Babs. Listen, I need a favor from you."

At the GCPD building, Commissioner Peter Pauling has been summoned. "Sir, you're gonna want to see this." A police officer tells him. "Someone has hacked into the Emergency Broadcast system. It's playing on every station."

"Someone's trying to send a message to the city." The Commissioner realizes. 

Another police officer joins in and says, "This reminds me of the time The Riddler did the same thing and created his own game show. Do you remember that?"

Harvey Bullock tells him, "Shut it, I want to hear this."

On the emergency broadcast network, The Batman is seen in front of the screen all suited up from his armor to his cowl. He speaks directly to the television. "Citizens of Gotham City, I'm sure you know who I am. But to those you don't…I am the man who will save this city from the tide of filth that has been brought back to haunt you."

In the Union Square, commonly called Gotham Square, groups of people look at the televisions as Batman continues to speak. "While The Elixir of Life ring has been put to an end, there is more work to be done and I will continue that work until this city no longer needs me, until the peace that we once had has been brought back."

While others look at this with appreciation and inspiration, Carmine Falcone looks at this with his bottle of bourbon gripped in his hand, hiding a hidden rage.

Roman Sionis watches this in his office. 

"For three years, Gotham had peace, tranquility and it was moving on. But that peace was unfairly taken from you when corrupt individuals decided that just because I was gone, they could ruin the sound mind that this city once had."

Roman doesn't know why but this is really pissing him off. 

Salvatore Maroni and a few other gangsters and men watch this.

"Those people are wrong and they will soon learn that…when I deal with them personally."

They all feel themselves shutter in a quiet panic.

Barbara Gordon and Jimmy Gordon watch this in their apartment. 

"This city doesn't belong to them nor does it belong to me. It belongs to you, to the people of the city we call home."

Barbara looks at this with a hidden pride. She's glad that Tim asked her to hack into the emergency broadcast.

"My promise to you is that I will be dedicating my time, my body, and my life to this city. The city that I grew up in, the city that was always meant for more than what it has become.” 

In Arkham Asylum, the patients of the institution watch this with a burning hatred as they see that the once dead Caped Crusader is now alive and well, bringing the hammer down on those he considers the scum of Gotham.

Ex-Dr. Jonathan Crane, David Jones, Jervis Tetch, Otis Flannagan, Thomas Blake, Carl Fowler, Josephus Quigona, Jane Doe, Erasmus Rayne, and Lazlo Valentin all swear to themselves that whenever they get the chance, they will escape and they will kill this guy once and for all.

Batman finally says to the people of Gotham, “Another promise I make is that I will not abandon you again. I am The Batman and I have returned…to save this city.”

Chapter Text

Date: Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

"For three years, Gotham had peace, tranquility and it was moving on. But that peace was unfairly taken from you when corrupt individuals decided that just because I was gone, they could ruin the sound mind that this city once had." 

Roman Sionis can still hear Batman's speech in his head as he paces in his office with a bottle of liquor, still heavily disagreeing with what the vigilante said. 

"My promise to you is that I will be dedicating my time, my body, and my life to this city. The city that I grew up in, the city that was always meant for more than what it has become.” 

"No, no, no!" Roman shouts ad he bangs his fists against his desk. He now realizes why he's so angry, why Batman's speech has filled with this much anguish; Because it's not true.

Gotham City was never meant for more than this, it was always meant to be sick and corrupt. It has been for those things and more for years and the fact that he's filling people's heads with childish fantasies, it disgusts him.

Gotham's not a good place, it never was and Roman knows this better than most. He's known this since…since the night his father died; The same night the last robbery of The Red Hood took place.

The date was August of 1991, a week after Roman and Charles' argument. It ended with Roman taking charge of their next heist, their last heist. 

The target set was the The V Magnum Diamonds company, a mining factory that mined rough diamonds out of the earth to be sorted, polished, cut, and sold worldwide. It was a very successful business and one of the biggest diamond mining companies in the United States of America and if Roman and his crew placed it right, they would've all gone home with $160,000 dollars each.

Speaking of the crew, it all consisted of the same members but with an additional member of the gang, Jack Napier; A nervous and skinny man who had hopes of being a stand-up comedian but mainly joined up to support his pregnant wife. He was the one who was wearing the Red Hood dome and cloak.

Before they left for the robbery, they were in an abandoned parking lot, getting ready and equipped for the robbery. They couldn't have their meeting at Sionis Industries because they all thought it would be safe for them not to tell Napier who was calling the shots. While they worked with him, he didn't know his or Charles' names and only knew Joe and Vinnie's names but not who they worked for. 

Roman and Charles wore red ski masks to hide themselves from Napier and the people who they were about to rob. Joe went up to Napier and asked, "Hey, are you still with us?"

Napier stood on the concrete, quiet and stoic as he wore a black suit over a white vest and white gloves. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, just thinking."

Vinnie took the cloak and dome and told him, "Hey, put a smile on that face. By tomorrow, you'll have more money than you ever imagined. All you have to do is just stand there while we do the rest."

Charles nodded. "It's like we're practically giving you money by cutting you in on this. Now, put it on."

"Right now?" Jack asked. "Will I be able to breathe?"

"Not unless you smoke." Vinnie remarked.

Napier let out a chuckle as the dome was halfway over his head. "Heh. That's a good one."

Roman said, "You have some good jokes too. You might have a future after this."

Jack Napier sighed. "I don't know, sometimes I wonder if I should've been a clown instead of a comedian." The red dome and cloak was fully put over him.

Roman knew his father didn't like anyone but him wearing his Red Hood costume but unfortunately, this had to be done. 

Vinnie asked Jack, "There, you see, friend?"

He wore the Red Hood costume and even Roman had to admit, it looked weird seeing it on a different person. Napier said, "Yeah but everything's red. And there's a weird smell, maybe garlic," Roman chuckled, his father always did love garlic bread. "And my voice sounds echoey."

"Shut it and get in." Joe told him as they all helped him into the back of the van before they drove off to The V Magnum Diamonds company it was both a factory and an office building. It would be quite a while before police response teams came to the other part of the city and no one had ever dared to rob such a popular business before The Red Hood Gang.

Before they entered, Roman told Jack Napier, "Stay close."

Napier quickly nodded. It looked like he didn't want to pass on a sweet opportunity like the one had been given. 

They were all given revolvers, Smith & Wesson Model 29s to be precise. Napier held it with a hint of anxiousness and discomfort, clearly shown by his shaky hands but he had to keep a cool head. 

"Let's go." Roman told them all and they, except for Vinnie who was the getaway driver, immediately got out of the van and jogged to the entrance of the building as Jack Napier walked carefully due to the foggy vision the red dome gave him. However, the door was locked from the inside.

*BANG* 

But there are solutions to every problem and Joe helpfully provided us an entrance to get in the building and light up the place with bullets and shouting. Every worker in the building screamed in terror, all of them never expected a robbery at their own business. 

Jack Napier nervously said, "J-just keep your heads down, comply and no one needs to get hurt."

Charles pointed his gun at one of the receptionists. "Where are you guys keeping the money?"

The man behind his desk hesitated. "I-I don't know."

Both Roman and Charles pointed their guns at him. "Wrong answer."

"O-okay, I'll take you to the safe just don't hurt me." He pleaded.

Charles brought him up from his seated position and allowed the receptionist to lead the way. "We'll load the money, you guys stay here." He told Joe and Jack, to which they nodded.

The receptionist led them to a backroom with a small mini safes in the walls, all viewed by the three men. "Unlock them, quickly." Roman told the receptionist. Admittedly, he felt bad for putting him in that situation but he thought it was the last illegal thing he had to do.

The vaults opened, revealing stacks upon stacks of bills. Both Sionis' looked at each other with glee. They loaded them all up with bags brought by them and quickly said to the others as they walked out, "Fill your sacks with as much bills as you can muster." Jack Napier and Joe Mayo hurried to fill their sacks. 

They finally got done and they emptied out every safe and vault that the place had, so they ran out the building. "C'mon, hurry the hell up!" Vinnie shouted at the group.

Jack Napier tripped and fell. "Ah, I can barely see anything!"

"Get in or we're leaving you behind!" Vinnie shouted at 'The Red Hood'.

Napier finally got in and they finally drove off. Charles sat beside Vinnie, the driver, as everyone else sat in the back.

They all clapped and cheered, thinking they all got out safely and rich. They then discussed what they were spending their earnings on and it was either to support their families and their businesses, to start their own, or to just buy expensive cars. Everything was grand and they were home free.

But that all changed when a certain someone pounced on the top of their van, startling everyone. “What was that?” Joe asked.

Their question was answered when a dark, brooding figure got in front of their van. Despite that night being dark, he was still visible to everyone in the getaway car. It was Batman, a much younger Batman who was in his 2nd-3rd year of being a vigilante, an outlawed vigilante that even the police were trying to hunt. Back then, he was thought of as a myth, a fake ghost story like Santa Clause or Bigfoot but no, he was very real and they learned that on that dreadful night.

They all screamed in terror and pointed their guns at him, except Jack Napier who hid in a corner. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Carles, Roman, Vinnie, and Joe fired their revolvers at him but he quickly ran on top of the vehicle but most of the guys still tried to shoot at him.

“I didn't take a risk for my wife just to get caught by a MAN DRESSED LIKE A BAT!!” Jack Napier shouted, surprising everyone since he was so quiet and cowardly. 

“You said this as full proof!” Joe shouted at Roman.

“Well, I’m sorry but I didn’t expect a folk tale to come after us!” Roman defended himself.

“Just keep driving, maybe we can lose him!” Charles told Vinnie.

But Vinnie didn’t answer back. Instead, his eyes were directed at the van’s roof. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Police cars and officers were ganging up on them, hitting them with their cars and firing their own weapons at the tires, hoping to slow them down.

"Stop your car!" An officer shouted at them through a loudspeaker. "Pull over and gives yourselves up!"

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Everyone was either shouting at each other or firing and reloading their weapons but they were so occupied with doing all that, they didn’t notice that we were driving into a ditch. They swerved down the road, drove through an electric fence and toppled.

*CRASH*

To Roman’s view, everything was dizzy and an ear piercing sound could be heard by him. He couldn’t stand and for a moment, he forgot who he was and what they were doing. Roman struggled to get up from the dirt infested ground that he was currently on and red and blue colors were surrounding him. 

Finally, Roman got up by using the now broken and dented van that was upside down to steady himself. He looked around him and saw that the others were on the ground but Vinnie and his father were nowhere to be seen. 

He found Jack Napier, still in his father’s Red Hood costume, getting out of the undrivable getaway vehicle and asked with a groan, “What happened?”

Vinnie opened the driver’s door and crawled out, cutting himself from the window’s broken glass. “Someone help me out here.” He groaned.

Roman helped Vinnie up but slowly due to him still unable to see through the Red Hood dome while Roman helped Joe out from inside the flipped over and diminished white van. But Roman was unable to find his father and it made him panic.

“W-where’s dad?” Roman asked, forgetting to disclose his real name from Jack. 

Everyone looked around and began searching for him when Joe noticed the swarm of police cars at the surface. While the lawmen didn’t see them, the man in the ditch could. “We gotta get out of here.” Joe told everyone.

“Not without the boss, we’re not.” Vinnie retorted. 

Roman looked around the front of the vehicle when he finally found his father, on the dirty trench’s ground.

“DAD!” Roman shouted in worry and he quickly helped him up to see that he wasn’t in good condition; His face was bruised and bloody, and his leg somehow had a glass shard in it. He turned to the others. “Help him!”

Joe and Vinnie helped get Roman’s father over his shoulder. The anxious silence was cut when Napier said aloud, “I know this place.” 

Everyone looked up to see where they were located at; The Ace Chemical plant. 

“I used to work here as a lab assistant. We can cut through here and escape.” Napier suggested. 

Everyone mentally debated their opinions to themselves, all leading to them knowing that they had no other option. Charles was bleeding, police men and cars were getting closer to them and who knew where Batman was. He might have been looking at them at that moment. 

Roman said to Napier, “You lead, I’ll carry him,” He gestured to his father who was over his shoulders. He then told the others, “Get your guns just in case.”

They nodded and went back to their van to look for their revolvers. “I wouldn’t worry. This place never had any security when I was here.” Napier’s voice echoed through his father’s old costume. The other two found their weapons and handed Roman his gun before Napier led them through a backdoor into the Ace Chemical plant. 

The entire place was dark and gritty with catwalks over giant vats of toxic, green chemicals. Napier waved his hands in front of him to tell where they were going. The journey passed the vats were displeasing, to say the least. It felt like the entire place filled everyone’s nostrils with the smells of the dangerous liquids that were in that place.

Roman looked at his father, trying to tell him. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise, we’re all gonna be okay.”

Vinnie hid a limp as he walked with his revolver held tight. “We are never pulling off another caper after this again.”

“Amen.” Joe added, nodding his head in agreement. 

Napier said. “Okay, we go through here, pass the filter tanks, and the road is just beyond the partition.” Napier pointed in a direction. 

“I think we might just get away with this.” Joe stated as they continued to move through the plant.

“Y’know this place looks even worse in red?” Napier asked. “It looks like–”

“Hey, don’t move!” A voice shouted, making them all turn to see a security guard up on the catwalk with a flashlight illuminating the dark plant.

*BANG*

Everyone ducked behind anything that they could and more bullets were fired.

*BANG*

*BANG*

“You asshole! You said there was no security!” Roman snapped at Jack.

“They must’ve altered things since I’ve left.” Napier said in his defense.

*BANG*

A bullet hit a pipe, making white gas escape from the filter tank.

Napier held his hands to his dome. “It’s so loud!” He complained. 

“For god’s sake, run!” Joe screamed in panic. “This whole thing is screwed up. Run!”

*BANG*

*BANG*

More bullets are fired in all directions as Roman and the gang tried to navigate their way through the plant. Roman made an effort to protect his father and he joined the all out gun war.

*BANG*

*BANG*

The four of them made it through a corridor but no one knew where the hell was the way out of Ace Chemicals. 

“Which way?!” Roman shouted at Napier, who was moving his arms around as he steadied himself on a railing.

“I-I can’t see where I’m going!” Napier said.

Vinnie had enough of him and said with his gun raised to his head, “Ah, you useless son of a bitch!”

“NO!” Roman shouted. While Napier wasn’t the most helpful that day, he didn’t deserve to die.

*BANG*

A bullet was fired but this time, it hit someone. It went through Vinnie’s head, making him fall on the platform as blood flooded through his down dead brains. They turned to see two more guards in front of them. Napier only covered the dome with his hands in an effort to block out the loud sounds of guns fire.

“No, we’re not the guys you want!” Joe shouted at the cops before pointing to Napier. “He’s our ring leader, he’s the Red Hood!”

*BANG*

But the guards didn’t seem to care and continued to open fire at them. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

Both Roman and Joe made an attempt to get them to back off. 

*BANG*

Roman shot one of the guards, point blank. He gasped as he saw the guard’s now dead body fall on the ground. It was the first time he had ever killed anyone. Roman, with Charles still over his shoulder, carried his father away from this scene as Joe helped cover him.

*BANG*

The last thing Roman saw before he ran off with his father on his back was Joe’s bleeding body with a bullet hole directly in his head. Jack made his way up some stairs. 

Roman didn’t have time to look for Napier and was more concerned about getting his father to safety. He hid himself from the guards when he finally found a door that had a red sign that said ‘Exit’ above it. 

Roman would’ve leaped for joy if his father’s life wasn’t on his shoulders and made a run for it when he heard Napier’s voice. 

“Stop, please! NO! Stay away!” Napier’s panicked voice echoed through his father’s red dome and cloak. He was on an industrial catwalk, giving Roman a perfect view of Jack Napier and who he was with.

The Batman was on the other side of the catwalk, the Batman was in direct view of Jack Napier, a man who tried desperately to explain himself. It was at that moment, Roman knew that his father was right; He was right about this city and what it had in store. The look at Batman made him shutter but he saw him as someone who was…embracing himself. Like, whoever was behind that mask was the real mask and the Batman’s cowl was this person’s realist and truest face.

“It’s a setup, wait! Please!” Admittedly, Roman felt bad for him that night. He was only trying to support his family and it led to all that and worse. Batman took out handcuffs, silent but no less threatening. “I’m not a crook, I swear!” He started to remove the Red Hood dome and cloak when his feet tripped on the red cape and he fell on a broken and rusty railing that broke off the catwalk. 

“AAAAAAHHHHH!” Jack Napier fell off the catwalk with a scream but despite Batman’s best efforts to catch him, he fell into a red vat of chemicals.

*SPLASH*

Roman stood there for a moment, regretting ever bringing Jack Napier into the fold. If he had, then he would’ve still been with his pregnant wife. Sure, he wouldn’t have had as much money but he would still be alive. But Roman gained the courage to readjust his father’s position on his shoulder and he carried him out of the chemical plant through the exit door. 

The outside of the place was free of police cars since they were on the other side of the Ace Chemical Plant. He took his chance to gain some distance from the plant and all the chaos.

“S…son.” Charles let out a small word in a weak voice. 

“Dad, don’t worry. You’re going to be okay.” Roman told him. To be honest, he was also trying to tell himself that.

“Set…set me down.” Roman didn’t think that was a good idea since they still needed to get away. But when his father said, “Please…” He did as he was told.

Roman sat Charles down on the concrete in the middle of the road. He gasped when he saw his injuries. “This is all my fault, I’m so sorry.” He believed himself to be responsible because he was the leader of that job and he let it go so down hill. Even the previous jobs never went that bad, neither did Batman ever interfere. “We need to get you to a hospital.” He took out his old phone, a Motorola MicroTac Classic, and began dialing emergency services.

But Charles’ hand stopped him. “No…don’t call anyone. You need…to get away with…this.”

Roman nodded with uncertainty. “And I will, we will.”

Charles shook his head, slowly and weakly. “No, only you…Son, I’m sor…ry. I shouldn’t have started this…”

Roman shook his head. “That doesn’t matter now.” As tears started to build up.

“Yes, it does.” Charles firmly said, as firmly as a weak man could be before his feeble face grew more softly. “You must escape…you must…live your life. You were always better than me, always…will be. You can carry on your mother’s business…you can live on.”

“Dad…” Roman shook his head, not wanting what had happened

He let out a cough. “I…I love you, Roman. Please…be better than me…son…Be better…” He told him before his body became dangerously still for Roman’s taste.

“Dad.” Roman said, growing increasingly scared at his father’s loss of consciousness. “Dad!” He shook him, hoping to wake him up. He then tried CPR, first on his mouth and then on his chest. He kept trying everything he could think of to get him to wake up but it was no use. His father died that day, along with The Red Hood. “Dad, no…NOOOOOO!” He shouted in the night sky as tears flooded down his face. 

He hugged his father’s dead body, not wanting to let go of him, not wanting to lose what he had left of his father. While Charles Sionis wasn’t the greatest businessman in Gotham or the world but he was the greatest father he could’ve asked for. 

“Please…be better than me…son…Be better…” His last request was the only focus on his mind and that’s when he decided to fulfill his father’s wish and get away with the robbery. And he did. He did get away with it.

He found a driver that came up on the road, paid him not to tell anyone with the bag of money he was able to get away with, the rest of it either being in the destroyed van or in the Ace Chemical Plant, and the driver drove him home so he could get one of his family’s cars, drive in it with his father’s dead corpse and wreck it.

Back in the present, Roman removes some tears streaming down his face and grips his knuckles tightly. That night was the worst robbery in history and it ended badly for everyone included, Jack Napier getting the short end of the stick due to his fall and death in the chemicals. But something that always makes Roman question what happened was that Napier's body was never found.

What's even more strange is that Roman thought he heard faint laughter that night as he carried his dead father away. He doesn't know if it was his imagination or if it was real. He could never quite figure that out.

But he digresses as the thought of his father comes to mind. His father wanted him to be better but that night…his father showed him the truth. Masked maniacs and vigilantes were always destined to take over Gotham and they did until Batman killed The Joker and the Chained Killer killed everyone in the Asylum from deranged super criminal to every doctor, guard, and nurse. From Two-Face to Dr. Joan Leland.

That was what started those three years of Gotham wearing a false face, a fake facade. Because the Super criminals disappeared.

They were the ones who ruled this city, not old relics like Carmine Falcone and the mob but right now, Batman is filling up everyone’s heads with false promises of a safe Gotham, something that this city will never be. Roman knows that he has to do something but he can’t do anything…But he knows someone who can.

“Violent crime is simmering down due to Batman’s speech that continues to inspire people. To be honest, it actually made me feel something as well.” At the Gotham City News networking station, Jack Ryder talks to his audience. “Now, up next is–”

*BANG*

“Oh, my god!” Jack Ryder leaps back at the sight of one of the camera crews on the floor, dead. The turn to see who fired the bullet and both they and everyone else gasps at the sight of the man.

“Is that him?”

“I thought he was gone!”

“It can’t be!”

“What are we gonna do?!”

It’s Black Mask in his black skull mask, a clean white suit, and polished black shoes followed by his gang, the False Face Society. The Black Mask hasn’t been seen since the death of Commissioner Renee Montoya and the bombing of the GCPD building but he’s back and he, along with his False Face Society, is here to restore Gotham’s chaotic order and make Gotham City, the city he grew up in, honest once again and no police officer and no bat is going to stand in his way.

Chapter Text

Date: Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

In the laundry room of Stately Wayne Manor, Tim Drake has a discussion with Alfred. “I can’t believe I even agreed to it. It’s a complete waste of time.” 

Alfred nods as he folds freshly dried clothes. “Mr. Maroni wants to have many locations to himself, sir. If you have this meeting with him then it could give you info on his plans for Gotham.” 

Tim shrugs. “Maybe you’re right. But we both know that he’s not gonna want to divide this city evenly and it’s not like I want to buy every location in Gotham.” 

Alfred grows a smile in amusement. “I can very well see it, sir. You could rename Gotham ‘DrakeVille’.”

Tim chuckles. “Very funny, Alfred.” 

Alfred then gets a look that shows he’s just remembered something. “Oh, Mr. Sionis called. He said he’ll be working late tonight so you and him are going to have to reschedule your planned hang out.”

Tim nods. “Very well. I think I'm going to go on patrol and then I’ll go to bed. It’s been quiet for a few days and I can take this time to do some much needed reconnaissance on Falcone and his operations.” Tim explains to the older man.

Alfred nods. "Of course, sir. You mustn't let the costumed variety of Gotham's seedy underbelly become your main focus."

"No kidding. Admittedly, David Jones and Maxie Zeus took my focus off of Falcone." He admits before adding, “But I still have to find Maxie Zeus. He got away after our confrontation at his club and he’s a danger to himself and everyone else.”

Alfred agrees as Lucius Fox runs up the stairs. “Mr. Fox, my apologies. I didn’t hear you come in.” 

Tim sees his expressions and body language and he can tell that Lucius came here to tell him something due to his heavy breathing. He rushed here in quite the hurry. “Lucius, what’s wrong?” 

“Check the news.” Lucius tells him and he drags the two of them to the closest television in the house, which is the Living Room. 

*CLICK*

“Hello Gotham, long time no see.” Tim freezes at the voice. It's been so long since he and the rest of Gotham have heard from him. But his eyes and ears aren't deceiving him; The Black Mask has taken over The Gotham City News Studio. "Now, I know what you're thinking: 'How could this be?', 'I thought he was gone!', 'Who is it under the mask?, and 'Where does he get his wondeful suits?'" He mockingly speaks directly to the camera as he's seated with his legs on the TV Host's table.

Tim clenches his fists, anger building up at Renee Montoya's killer. He says to his two friends stonly, "I'm heading out to deal with this." 

Tim runs out of the Living Room as Lucius and Alfred follows him down to the elevator, all forgetting to turn off the television.

Back in the Talk Show studio, Black Mask sits with his legs on the table, the chair he's on leaned back as his False Face Society is armed and watchful of the countless hostages he has in the audience seats.

Black Mask has a gun in his hand as he continues to talk directly to the cameras. "Well, I assure you that I'm back, along with my wonderful friends." He turns the camera to his False Face Society, who look excited to be on TV.

Tim Drake puts on his Bat suit in quite the hurry and contacts Harvey Bullock. "Bullock."

"I see what's going on. We're outside the building. The freak's gang only let The Commissioner in, he's trying to play negotiator." Bullock informs him on the situation.

Tim shakes his head as he puts on the cowl of Batman. This isn't going to end in a negotiation but only in him waking up in a hospital bed to discover that every bone has been broken. "I'll be right there. Keep me informed on the situation." 

"Will do, Bats. Hurry it up, will yah?" 

Batman doesn't respond but hangs up. He can't waste time having meaningless conversations but he has to deal with Black Mask, finally. He won't lie that this is personal.

He gets in the Batmobile and drives off, leaving Alfred and Lucius at the cave to listen to Black Mask on the Batcomputer.

"And speaking of friends, I have a new one joining us tonight." Black Mask tells the audience.

Back at the studio, Black Mask plays the part of Talk Show Host and he says excitedly, "He's the replacement of the deceased bitch known as Renee Montoya, I bring you…Commissioner Peter Pauling!"

He's pushed onto the stage as one of Mask's henchmen play sound effects.

*CLAP*

Commissioner Pauling, stripped of his guns and weapons, hesitantly shakes the hand of Black Mask as the clapping dies down. 

With Batman, he drives in The Batmobile as he speeds through neighborhoods to get to his location. He hears this on his miniature screen located on the dashboard.

"Thanks for joining us, Pete. Can I call you Pete?" Batman can tell that Peter Pauling is nervous due to his trembling.

"S-sure, no problem."

Harvey Bullock paces outside of the GCN Station/Studio as swarms of police cars, S.W.A.T. Teams, News Vans, and civilians gather around the tall, 36 story skyscraper that has an illuminating sign that reads Gotham City News.

One officer says, "Let's hope that he knows what he's doing."

Bullock doesn't answer back and just watches Black Mask, his blood boiling with rage as he talks with the Commissioner. "So Pete, my friends have told me about the circus outside. What's your thoughts on it?"

"Well, your show has gained a lot of attention." Commissioner Peter Pauling nervously replies. "But I'm glad you let me in because we just want to talk."

Black Mask lets out a chuckle. "Well, it's called a TALK show for a reason."

*LAUGH*

Another sound effect plays as the Commissioner pleads. "Please, just let these people go. No one needs to get hurt, we can solve this with peace."

Black Mask sits in the chair, quiet and stoic but an anger visible to the Commissioner. Finally, he lets out a scoff and says very threateningly, "...Peace…Peace…I really hate that word. It's the most untrue word in the entire dictionary."

Most, if not all, of the hostages and the Commissioner look at him, both curious and confused to what he's saying.

Batman parks his Batmobile at the entrance to the News Station/Studio and demands answers. "What's going on?"

Bullock gets in front of him. "He's still in there. We get in unless we want hostages dead."

"Do you know what peace really is, Commissioner?" Black Mask asks Peter Pauling. 

Peter doesn't know what to say. "I..I um…uh."

Black Mask waves him off. "Don't worry, I'll tell you; It's simply a delusion," He firmly tells the Commissioner, surprising him. "It's nothing more than a childish fantasy fulfillment that people always try to achieve,"

"So they can cloud their minds into thinking that everything is just fine, so people can possess some version of sanity in their lives." 

In the Batcave, Alfred and Lucius watch this with great interest in this man. 

Alfred thinks that he's gonna be the next greatest threat to this generation's Batman.

Lucius thinks the same but he can't help but ask himself if something about this Black Mask seems…familiar.

"It's a childish notion," Black Mask's inner fire and hate is visible to the audience as the looks of fear and hidden disgust fill the studio but some can't help but wonder if he's right.

His attention is turned to the captive audience. "...And for three years, that's what you all did."

"You all plastered the word 'peace' on all of Gotham's street corners and glued a mask on its citizens so you can live in your own fantasy world and give Gotham something that it's not meant to have: Peace. You all disgust me, yah know that?" 

Batman's disgust is shown as well. While he hated this man since Renee's death, his hate doubled when he heard this speech he's making. He's just accepting this is what Gotham is when it has so much potential for more.

He's heard enough and he grapples to the top as Bullock shouts, "Hey, where are you going?!"

"But don't fret." Black Mask talks to the camera.

At a TV department store window, citizens of Gotham hear this man talk. "The Black Mask is here to give Gotham the reality check it so desperately needs!"

"And I will spread as much guns, drugs, and prostitution to do so!" Black Mask declares as Carmine Falcone, Sean Riley, and Salvatore Maroni watch this on their TV, each of them knowing that this man will become a future competitor. 

"But I can't do it on my own."

On the streets of Gotham City, members of The False Face Society pass out different types of masks to people as they feel inspired to Black Mask's twisted version of honesty.

At Arkham Asylum, the most disturbed patients of the establishment watch this, feeling inspired by this man's commitment. 

Ex-Dr. Jonathan Crane grows a smile, knowing that Black Mask is correct. Gotham is a fear ridden and godforsaken city.

"That's why I ask you all to join me, to restore Gotham's chaotic nature, and make it true once again."

"Gladly." Lazlo Valentin smiles wickedly as he pulls out a knife and stabs one of the guards with it.

"Aaaahhh!!" He shouts as another fight breaks out between the patients and the guards of Arkham Asylum.

Black Mask feels a rush of energy as he finally speaks his mind and reveals the truth about Gotham to its people.

"No more will Gotham be shrouded in denial!" Black Mask declares to the audience.

"YEAH!" The members of The False Face Society shout in agreement. 

"No more will Gotham wear a mask!" Black Mask shouts like a politician. "For now on, this city will wear its truest face; The face of corruption and madness!" 

The audience is mixed with emotions; Some are shocked and disturbed that this man actually believes that his philosophy holds merit. They would even go so far as to say that his sadism might surpass Joker's twisted sense of humor. 

However, others have to admit he does have a point; Gotham has had its fair share of deranged individuals such as The Calendar Man, Victor Zsasz, The Mad Hatter, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Penguin, Professor Pyg… The Joker and more just kept on popping up no matter what Batman or his helpers did. 

Commissioner Peter Pauling looks at him in horror, not believing how much of a monster he is and this is the same man who tortured him for weapons…and Black Mask has come back to haunt and use him once again.

"And if you don't like it, tough! Because that's what Gotham will always stand for!" Black Mask finishes his speech, feeling quite exhilarated that he's putting Gotham back to the way it was when Gotham was perfect and true. "A cesspool of misery and despair!"

*SHATTER*

Batman breaks through the window behind Black Mask as he throws smoke into the building to distract the armed goons.

Batman kicks Black Mask to the table, making him wince in pain.

'Good.' Batman thinks. He wants this to hurt. He's wanted Black Mask to feel pain ever since he killed one of Batman's most trusted friends. 

Black Mask says through the mask, "Batman, the greatest denier of Gotham's harsh realities."

Batman shakes his head. He doesn't give a damn about this lunatic's philosophy. All he cares about is taking him down with a few broken bones.

Black Mask takes out his gun but Batman throws a batarang at his gun wielding hand. "Ah! Damn it."

Batman walks up to him and grabs him by his suit jacket but is interrupted when The False Face Society run at him with their fists and guns. One throws their hands around Batman's neck and puts him in a choke hold but Batman throws him onto the table.

Another comes at him and is able to get a quick punch in the face. However, Batman quickly disposes of him by tackling him to the ground.

Another member aims an AK-47 at him, ready to fire.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Batman dodges the bullets and fires his grappling hook at the firearm, yanking it away from his hands. Finally, he lands a mighty punch to his face as he hears his nose break.

Everyone in the audience seats are finally able to get to the exits and make for their lives.

Batman's so distracted by this that he doesn't see nor have the time to react to Black Mask hitting him with a chair. It knocks Batman off balance and it gives Black Mask the time to ram Batman's head into the table, making his nose bleed.

He picks up his gun off the floor.

*BANG*

Black Mask shoots Commissioner Pauling's kneecap, making him scream and fall to the ground. He turns his attention to Batman, who's able to get up and punch him in his gut.

Black Mask gets the wind knocked out of him and Batman's about to continue but more False Face members come on the stage and help Black Mask up.

Batman takes on new members but no matter who he hits, no matter what form he used to incapacitate him, they keep showing up. It confuses Batman before he realizes the reason for this branch in numbers; Some members of the audience have been inspired by Black Mask and decided to join his cause.

Batman's finally able to get back to Black Mask after the exhausting amount of henchmen but it's not an easy task to land a hit on the masked idealist. The Black Mask is a skilled fighter and is able to hold his own against the vigilante. 

It’s a brutal fight, each land quite a significant amount of bruises and blows to each other. However, what they don’t know is that they are fighting someone who they hold very dear to themselves; 

Behind the grotesque skull mask is Roman Sionis and he doesn't know that he’s currently in a bloodthirsty duel between the one person he considers as a son.

And behind the black cowl is Timothy Jackson Drake, unknowingly wanting to hurt the man who’s inspired him in the business world and who he considers a generous and courageous man.

They each don’t know these pieces of information but if they ever do, their relationship will shatter like the broken pieces of glass that’s scattered on the studio’s floor, unable to be fixed or put back together.

It’s a difficult conflict and well fought brawl between the Caped Crusader and Gotham’s newest gangsters but Batman's outnumbered by the growing number of followers have decided to be a part of The Black Mask’s rain of terror. They gang up on him, allowing Black Mask to run off into a door that’s labeled ‘EXIT’. 

"NO!" Batman can't let him get away, not after all he's done. So, he throws off more members of the False Face Society and runs after him, despite the injuries inflicted on him due to his fight with Black Mask.

Batman wasn't prepared for the anarchy that's being unleashed upon Gotham; He finds that houses and buildings are on fire, the police are overrun, and The False Face Society are growing more powerful and malicious. 

People fight for their lives but some of these fights lead to their mutilated corpses painting Gotham's streets red with blood.

Police cars and policemen alike are being beaten up like pinatas at a birthday party, all by new and old members of Black Mask's False Face Society. 

Black Mask has unleashed angry mobs and deranged maniacs on the streets of Gotham, people who were doing just fine without Black Mask filling their heads with his warped philosophy.

Batman tries to find Black Mask past all the fire's and smoke, along with the horde of angry people. But he's found and tackled by violent recruits to Black Mask's insane cause.

Batman had no choice but to attack them due to them coming at him first, however he's sure not to wound them beyond a few scraps and bruises. 

"You see, Gotham?!" Black Mask shouts through a megaphone as he stands on top of a police car. "This Gotham when its mask is removed! This is Gotham when it's honest and sincere!"

"MASK!" Both Batman and Bullock shout at him, both feeling intense hatred for their friend's killer and desire vengeance, especially after what he's done tonight. 

Black Mask sees them coming at him, so he has one of his men toss him his AK-47 back.

"Look out!" Batman shouts.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Batman is able to dodge the bullets, unharmed and unscathed but Black Mask has shot and killed multiple pedestrians that consist of both the remnants of Gotham who are clutching onto life and the followers who have made the mistake of including themselves in the ideals that Black Mask has spread across the entire city.

Including, and not limited to, Harvey Bullock, who’s blood is escaping out of his body quite rapidly.

“Harvey!” Batman shouts in concern as he lifts him on his shoulders to get him out of here.

But a man in a mask hits him on the back with a metal bat, making him fall on the concrete now even more dirty and infected with blood and corpses as Bullock’s condition gets increasingly worse.

“The Mask is right. We represent the truth!” The man wielding the metal bat shouts as he goes to hit the defenseless hero again.

*FIZZ*

S.W.A.T. Teams have brought out tear gas onto this devastating horde of violence to both subtract the growing deaths and to possibly incapacitate the people responsible for this atrocity. 

“STAND DOWN!” A member of S.W.A.T. screams. 

*WHIRL*

Police helicopters show up to help out with this as Batman gets Bullock back over his shoulder. He’s able to find Black Mask, still on top of the broken and dented police car. He says through the megaphone, “Be seeing you, Bats!” Before he jumps off the damaged vehicle and makes his escape.

Batman wants nothing more than to go after him but with Bullock injured, he has no time. He’s not losing another family member. 

He grapples with Bullock on his shoulder and gets him far away to a group of ambulances that are tending the wounded. Batman puts him on a gurney.

“We’ll get him to Gotham General.” The paramedic tells Batman before she gets in the driver’s seat and drives off.

Batman looks back at the chaos, not believing that this is happening. He takes out his grappling hook and decides to do all he can to help, knowing that it’s going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, November 15th, 2013

“All units, riot taking place on Murphy Avenue in the Upper East Side. It’s getting wild down here, send reinforcements ASAP!” An officer of the GCPD shouts to his radio as he covers behind a police car.

*BANG*

A man comes in front of him, takes him by surprise, and uses an AK-47 to shoot and kill him. His body lies beside the police car, dead and motionless as body stains drench his police uniform.

Riots ensue on Gotham’s streets as people run wild. S.W.A.T. Teams are in the area, holding off the attackers.

This riot is one of the many that has taken place since Black Mask’s speech 2 days ago. His philosophy has encouraged many of Gotham’s citizens to follow his example, even if it means to rob and kill the entire city of Gotham.

These riots result in many convenience stores either being robbed or set ablaze, along with bodies found dead and/or even eaten on street corners and alleyways. 

The men who instigate these riots are seen to wear the different variety of masks worn by The False Face Society, created and led by The Black Mask but these are newcomers, people who have been converted to Black Mask’s twisted act of self righteousness. The current group of rioters consist of 9 men and women who are starting wildfires and firing their guns rapidly at anyone they can. 

They also chant loudly as they do all they can to spread chaos and violence.

“We are Gotham’s truth!”

“Black Mask is right!”

“He is our TRUE savior!” 

“Change isn’t possible!”

“Gotham is sick!” 

More police cars and S.W.A.T. Teams show up to ease the growing tensions, two of the many enforcers of the law are Commissioner Peter Pauling and Detective Harvey Bullock.

The Commissioner starts barking orders. “Set a perimeter. I don't want anyone else coming in or out without my permission.” 

“Yes, sir.” Officers say as they do as they are told.

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

The angry and deranged group of rioters open fires at the Gotham Police. They all shout, “We are the truth! You can’t deny us the truth!”

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

An all out war begins between the police and the False Face Society. While the authorities have better armor, the False Face Society have the upperhand due to their growth and strength in numbers.

*VROOM*

A car drives in but not any car; The Batmobile. It makes the policemen look on in relief and the False Face Society look at the vehicle in excitement. 

“Oh, this is going to be fun!” One of the exclaims. 

The Batmobile drives back the policemen and their vehicles and in front of the rioters.

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

*BANG* 

The rioters wearing different varieties of masks open fire at the Batmobile but it doesn’t attack or defend itself. It just parks in front of them, quiet and turned off. 

The rioters stop for a moment and investigate the vehicle, preparing themselves for a possible attack. 

But it doesn’t come.

However, The Batmobile begins a silent attack by sending off a loud sound of vertigo and it causes sudden internal and/or external spinning sensations to all both the rioters and the Gotham Police.

They all try to cover their ears, not sure what the hell is going on. But this causes the perfect distraction to use against the rioters that they can’t prepare themselves for what comes next.

Then, out of the darkness comes Batman, dark and brooding as ever, beginning to place attacks on the soon to be unarmed men. The vengeful specter of the night comes at them in a flash as the rioters struggle to fight off both him and the sound of vertigo coming through the Batmobile.

Batman’s cowl blocks out the noise of vertigo so he has no problem keeping them down on the ground. All he has to do is stomp on a few groins and commit some elbow strikes to the backs of a few necks. 

But many refuse to go down without a fight as they ready their guns and metal baseball bats and attack the vigilante. 

Batman catches the baseball bat from the man wielding it and uses it as an offensive weapon against the rioters. 

The rioters pull out AK-47s and are ready to fire as Batman’s prepared to jump out of the way.

*BANG*

The Police force are currently fighting off the rioters and are helping Batman out. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Both Batman and the Police force are able to fight back against the rioters until they are no longer a threat and they’re on the pavement, wounded and injured. 

Admittedly, Batman was quite brutal when putting them out of commission. 

The Police get them up on their feet as most of the rioters scream in anguish. 

“We are the Saviors!”

“Us and Black Mask!”

Batman stares at them, disgusted and pissed. They think they're making Gotham honest by killing and causing mayhem. So, the next thing he knows is that he’s grabbing one of them and throwing the assailant on the ground hard.

“Ow!” He shouts in pain as he looks at Batman. “Hey, what’s the big idea?!”

The Commissioner goes to stop this but Bullock puts his hand in front of him to stop him as Batman unmasks the assailant.

Batman lifts him from his feet and puts a tight grip on his neck without choking him. “How did you get those weapons?”

The assailant coughs before he lets out with a smug smile., “We bought off Ebay.” 

*POW*

“AAhhh!” The man screams at the brutal fist that has injured his side.

“Let’s try that again.” Batman forcefully tells the man.

“The Mask, he…he came to us. He gave us weapons to use. I don’t know where he is or how to find him. You got to believe me!” 

“I do.” Batman states before he throws him back onto the ground hard.

Bullock goes to put cuffs on him as he tells the man, “I hope what you did was worth it, pal.” 

“All units riot in the Cauldron District. Send reinforcements!” The radios of Bullock and The Commissioner says. 

Batman grimaces. This makes the 8th riot tonight. He gets in his Batmobile and drives off to the location.

“Black Mask, Supercriminal, sociopath, and The Allegory of Truth.” Jack Ryder states to his audience as he covers a story. 

Alfred Pennyworth cleans in the Batcave as he listens to this, still shaken by what Black Mask has unleashed upon Gotham.

“These are one of the many nicknames he’s been giving after his break in and take over of my studio just two days ago.”

The TV changes to a recording of Black Mask’s speech as a recap. "You all plastered the word 'peace' on all of Gotham's street corners and glued a mask on its citizens so you can live in your own fantasy world and give Gotham something that it's not meant to have: Peace. You all disgust me, yah know that?" 

Alfred grips his fists in frustration as he hears the recap. He’s done this, he has made Tim Drake return to his bloody crusade when he was living a normal life with his family. He despises this man with every fiber of her being.

Back with Jack Ryder. “While Batman’s statement might’ve inspired hope and courage to Gotham, Black Mask’s statement did the exact opposite by spreading chaos and fear on our streets.”

*VROOM*

Alfred hears the Batmobile coming into the cave before the vehicle is in view and parked in its spot. Out comes a tired and exhausted Batman, who goes into the changing room to remove the suit. 

“But the riots on our streets are not the only issue; Numerous escape attempts from Arkham Asylum have taken full force, forcing Warden Quincy Sharp to increase security to its highest degree.” 

Alfred goes to turn this off but a voice stops him. “Don’t turn it off, Al. I need to hear this.”

Tim Drake comes out of the changing room minutes after entering.

Alfred finally speaks. “Yes, sir. Before you head upstairs, I request to check in on your injuries and then you can eat the chicken soup I’ve prepared for you.”

Tim Drake’s too tired to even argue and he says, “Yeah, sure.” 

Tim sits on the bed in the med bay as Alfred takes a look at him. The news keeps playing as Alfred gets out the bandages.

“CEO of Sionis Industries, Roman Sionis, has this to say.” The view switches to Roman Sionis at another press conference. “Look, we’re doing everything we can but we’re stretched thin as it is with remodeling Arkham security and all. But I will say this; I will be opening more self defense classes and gyms to keep us vigilant with all these lunatics running wild.”

Tim sighs. He doesn’t blame Roman for being stretched thin with everything that’s going on. However, he is grateful that Roman is trying to help defend citizens from the riots by opening self defense dojos. 

“Due to these riots and acts of violence initiated by The Black Mask, Mayor Hamilton Hill has issued a city wide curfew. In his words, he believes that The Black Mask is the type of criminal that Gotham hasn’t seen since The Joker.” 

Tim grimaces as Alfred continues to patch him up. “He’s got a point.” Tim says.

Alfred turns to him. “Hmm?”

“The Mayor.” Tim confirms for the older man. “The False Face Society, they’re not like the usual street crooks. A mugger’s after a wallet, it makes sense. Black Mask and his followers, they’re not interested in money. It’s just random violence. There’s no humanity in them at all, just like Joker, Zsasz, Crane, Valentin, and many others.” Tim explains, making Alfred solemnly nod. “I thought all I had to do was bring down Falcone and be done with it all, I didn’t think all this would be happening.” 

Alfred puts a hand on his shoulder in an act of calming his master/surrogate grandchild. “Yes, some men just want to watch the world burn. But you’ll defeat him, I know you will.”

Tim looks up at him. “How do you know?”

“Because that’s what you do.” Alfred tells him without any hesitation in his voice. “That’s what you’ve always done.”

After a moment, Tim shows a small smile after two days of constant stress and tiredness as he tries to clean the mess that Black Mask has made. 

‘Black Mask’ Tim thinks bitterly. Words cannot describe how much he hates him, how much he wants to hurt him and words cannot describe how elated he’ll feel when he removes that mask from his face and finally learns who’s hiding behind that masquerade disguise. 

But the one thing he absolutely needs to do is…prove him wrong. The Black Mask thinks that Gotham is a cesspool of misery and despair, always in a constant state of decay but Tim knows that Gotham has the potential to be more than this. It can be better, it will be better. 

After Tim Drake is patched up by Alfred, he finally lets him go upstairs to eat something. They take the elevator upstairs and go into the clean kitchen. As Tim eats the delicious chicken soup prepared by Alfred, papers are put beside him.

Tim takes a look at the papes in curiosity and he sees that they are budget reports from Drake Industries. “I thought you should know that these need to be looked at.” Alfred tells him as he sits besides him at the dinner table. “Also, you should be reminded of your meeting with Salvatore Maroni tomorrow at 12:30 P.M.” 

Tim massages his tired eyes. “Reschedule it.” He can see Alfred giving him a disapproving look. “With Black Mask, the riots, and everything else that’s going on, I don’t have time for the company.” 

“With respect, Master Tim, you must make time.” Alfred says to the younger man. “Maroni wants to buy up properties across Gotham and we both know what he’ll use with those. Also, Drake Industries could do some real good for Gotham if given the chance.” 

Tim thinks on this for a moment and Alfred has a point. Falcone’s criminal operations are still active and it’s still a massive problem, along with Maroni and every other party involved. 

He finally nods to Alfred. “Alright, I just need a suit ironed for tomorrow.” Alfred gestures to a suit on one of the many chairs of the kitchen table. Tim gratefully says, “Always prepared for everything. Alright, I’m gonna head for bed. Good night, Alfred.” 

Alfred nods. “Good night, Master Tim.” 

In his two-story Bungalow house, Victor Fries is unable to sleep on his couch due to his distressed state.

No, distress in a gross understatement. Something as heartbreaking as this is…undescribable. His girlfriend, the love of his life, and the one he was going to propose to is on her sick bed in the hospital. 

‘Damn Yellow Fever.’ Victor Fries says to himself quite bitterly as he sits on his couch with a blanket and a pillow. 

He can’t sleep in his bed anymore, not without Nora. Every time he enters the room where he and her would sleep together, intimate or not, he remembers that Nora won’t be there. That instead of being alive and well, she’s in Gotham General…dying.

Lucius Fox and Roman Sionis have sent their condolences but that doesn’t make him feel any better, it only makes him feel worse and it reminds him of the aching pain in his heart that Nora isn’t coming home ever again.

As Victor sits on his couch with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face, he begins to hate himself for not noticing the signs of her ill health. He has only himself to blame for not getting her into the hospital sooner and if he did, then she might’ve had a chance at saving her.

At first, he was ecstatic that his project had been given the green light but now he would trade that away for more time with her. 

Victor Fries’ eyes widen in shock and resolution. He sits up on his couch and says aloud, “My project.” 

He quickly gets up from the couch and makes his way up the black stairway with optimism slowly building in him. He runs into his office and goes to his deck that’s stacked with papers and blueprints. 

He reviews them thoroughly, making sure that there’s no mistakes or miscalculations to his plans. 

But for the first time in days, a welcoming surprise is visible through these papers, reports, and blueprints. It’s a great deal of relief.

The Doctors currently employed at Gotham General may not be able to save his beloved, but he can. With his knowledge of Cryogenics and with the Cryo Chamber he’s building, he can stall the disease in her system and body. 

He can save his beloved.

Victor spends the entire night going over plans and ideas for this work. 

Date: Saturday, November 16th, 2013

The next morning, Tim Drake’s in his car being driven by Alfred. He parks the vehicle in front of The Drake Industries building. Admittedly, it’s been a long time since he's focused on the company. 

“Thanks, Alfred.” 

“Good luck, sir.” 

Tim nods as he exits the car and goes into the building to meet his workers. “Good morning, Mr. Drake.” Someone greets him.

“Morning.” Tim says. “What’s the time?”

The man takes a look at his watch. “12:47, sir.” 

“Is everything ready for the meeting?” Tim asks his secretary. 

“Coffee has been made, donuts have been bought, and we’ve put in some extra chairs.” He tells him.

Tim nods. “Good.” He steps into his office and sits at his desk, waiting for their arrival. 

It takes 15 minutes for Maroni and his party to come but they get there on time. 

Salvatore Maroni comes in with a cocky smile. “Mr. Drake.” He greets with a hint of sarcasm. He offers a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, son.” 

Tim shakes his hand. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t refer to me as ‘son’, Mr. Maroni.” He tells him with an edge in his voice.

Mr. Maroni looks surprised by that edge in his voice but regains his composure. “Very well, then. How about we start, huh?”

“That would be prudent.” Tim agrees and says to the others in a nicer tone. “Help yourselves to a fresh pot of coffee. We also have donuts.” He finally turns his attention to Maroni. “Mr. Maroni, since you organized this meeting, why don’t you get the ball rolling?”

He answers by saying, “I’ll cut straight to the chase, Mr. Drake; There are properties that we’re both interested in and we can’t have them both at the same time.”

Tim nods. “Agreed. So, what properties are you interested in?”

Instead of answering, Maroni pulls out a map of Gotham City and lands it on Tim’s table. On the map, he has marked very particular locations and places. 

Tim takes a look as Maroni says, “Now, the ones I want are the vacant aquarium, a mall, run down homes, and the old fairgrounds. It hasn't been used in years since…you know who used it as his old base."

Tim hides a grimace at the hidden reference to Joker and says to the businessman, "I'm afraid we hit a crossroads. I put an offer on the mall last week and it was graciously accepted.”

Maroni blinks in surprise before arguing. “What? But I offered him the same amount of money it took to build the place.” 

“And I doubled that offer.” Tim retorts, making him and his party of people have comically sized widened eyes, making Tim struggle to hide his smile. “When it’s operational, the mall will employ 25,000 people.” 

Maroni lets this news digest and he says, “Very well.” 

Tim takes a look at the map and makes a decision. “The Aquarium’s looks interesting.” 

“No.” Maroni says immediately. “I called dibs on it first.”

“We’ll see which offer the owner accepts first.” Tim tells him before looking back at the map again. He frowns at the sight of a circled area. “You want to buy the orphanage?”

“It’ll make a great hotel.” Maroni tells him. “And it’ll offer more jobs than an orphanage ever could.”

“And it’ll bring in more money, right?” Tim takes a jab at his ego, making Maroni frown. “An orphanage would be more beneficial for the city and for orphaned children.” 

“And a hotel won’t be more beneficial when tourists come to town?” Maroni asks, incredulous. “Besides, your business is small, you can’t have as much money to finance renovation costs and to double offers.”

“You’d be surprised.” Tim remarks. 

Maroni pauses for a moment until he scoffs. “How could I forget? You were the adopted son of Bruce Wayne and when he kicked the bucket, you inherited his fortune. Is that how you started this business, by using someone else’s money?”

The younger businessman closes his eyes to calm himself before reopening them to glare at Maroni and it’s not just a normal glare, but a full-on Bat glare which makes Maroni rethink his words very quickly as a shiver runs down his spine.

Everyone in the room has the same shiver go down their spines as they now have learned that while he’s the youngest in the room, no one should underestimate Timothy Jackson Drake.

“For your information, Roman Sionis, Alfred Pennyworth, and Lucius Fox are the only three people on this planet that use his money and/or have access to it.” Tim Drake states to him, firmly and with a growl. “I only ask for permission to use those accounts when I have no other option. While I do make money as head of my company, that’s not what’s important to me. Unlike you, I don’t waste my time and energy on hotels and other locations tailored for richer families such as yourself and ‘reformed’ crime lords like your friend, Falcone.” 

“Now wait just a minute–” Maroni starts before he’s cut off.

“I spend my time and energy on ideas and locations that prove to be more productive and beneficial to families who weren’t given the same opportunities like us. So don’t lecture me with your snide remarks when I have proven time and time again to be more than just a rich kid flashing his wealth across Gotham.” Tim tells him, still keeping a firm grasp of this meeting. He then adds with an even deeper and colder growl. “And don’t you ever talk about my father in that manner again, Mr. Maroni. Do you understand?”

He'a referring to Bruce Wayne, not Jack Drake. Bruce was more of a father than Jack ever was.

Salvarote Maroni takes a moment to regain his composure before he weakly says, “Y-yes.”

Tim mentally smiles at him, wiping that smug smile off his face before he says, “As much as I would love to continue this meeting, I have other things to attend to.” 

That was a lie Tim has told, he just wants him out of his company. 

He continues. “Since we cannot reach an agreement or a negotiation, we will just have to solve our differences with bidding wars. Have a good day, Mr. Maroni.” 

Maroni can take the hint in the stern attitude he’s displaying and he leaves the office, along with everyone else. 

Tim needs a moment to calm himself after that but he’s glad that Alfred talked him into this. 

Black Mask isn’t the only cancer in this city. Falcone, Maroni, and the other crime lords think that they can do whatever they want just because they’re above the less powerful people. Well, both Tim Drake and Batman will soon give them a lesson that they will never forget. 

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, November 16th, 2013

The Cryogenetics expert named Victor Fries gets out of his car with a suitcase in hand after he parks it in the parking lot of the Sionis Industries building. Normally, he wouldn’t be here on the weekend and would be at home, having some hot chocolate with…Nora. 

Victor still feels the overweighting sadness of his girlfriend’s condition at Gotham General Hospital but he has to push forward. He’s doing this for her, to make sure that she can live another day. 

He puts his security badge around his neck and walks in the building where he’s greeted with stares consisting of confusion since they thought he was given an excuse of absence and sympathy since they have heard about Nora’s situation but Victor pays none of them any attention and instead goes to the elevator with his suitcase gripped in his hand.

Dr. Fries presses the elevator button to the floor Roman Sionis’ office is on and as it goes up, Victor takes deep breaths to calm his nerves and prepares for what he’s going to say before the elevator door opens and Victor steps out to be greeted by more mixed stares of confusion and sympathy.

Roman’s assistant, Alice Wonder, locates Victor Fries coming out of the elevator as he asks her, “Where is Roman Sionis?” 

She looks up from her computer and she says, “He’s in his office right now. May I take a message?”

Victor shakes his head. “No, I would like to see him.”

"I’m sorry but you must have an appointment.” 

Victor doesn’t have time for this and just walks past her desk. 

She gets up. “Sir. Sir, you can’t go back there!” She tells him, chasing after him as Victor opens the door to his office.

Roman Sionis looks at Victor in surprise. “Victor? I thought you were taking a leave of absence?”

“Well, now I’m back and that’s all that matters.” Victor says impatiently. “Mr. Sionis, I must speak with you, alone.” He darts his eyes with the assistant. 

Roman decides to humor him due to his curiosity getting the better of him. “Leave us.” He says to Alice in a voice that leaves no room for debate.

Alice cautiously nods and shuts the door behind her, leaving only Roman Sionis and Victor Fries in the office together. Roman solemnly asks, “How is she?”

Feeling that aching feeling in his gut, he takes a seat in front of Roman’s desk. “...Not well, not well at all.” He admits. “The doctors at Gotham General are positive that she’s going to die…But I can’t allow that.” The Doctor firmly finishes.

Roman looks confused. “Doc, it’s out of your control.” 

Victor shakes his head. “But what if it was?” He brings his suitcase to his desk and shows the CEO of Sionis Industries the blueprints and plans that involve both his research and his girlfriend.

Roman looks at this and can tell that Victor is sure of that and nothing will make him back down. He asks Victor, “What’s your plan?”

Dr. Victor Fries begins to tell Roman SIonis his plan in vivid detail, as if he’s rehearsed this, which he has.

Tim Drake passes paperwork to a Directress of one of Gotham’s most troubled orphanages. The Directress is a 62 year old woman, Ms. Amanda Chang. 

They sit in an office, away from any prying eyes or eavesdroppers. She looks through it and she gives a nod, a hmm, and a satisfied expression on her face. “Mr. Drake, this is a very generous offer.” 

Philanthropist and Realtor, Tim Drake, nods. “Yes, it is. I try to make my offers as fair as possible.”

Ms. Chang nods. “As you should. This is a lot more fair than what that hack, Maroni, offered.” She sets the papers down. “But what will you do with the orphanage if I agree to the offer?”

Tim thinks that’s a fair question and he honestly tells her, “You don’t have to worry, I wouldn’t be changing this place into a hotel or anything like that. I would keep an orphanage but with a few renovations.” Tim takes notice of the walls around him and he sees that some have holes in them, probably due to decay and such. “A fresh coat of paint, some drywall repair guys,” He trails off. Ms. Chang thinks for a moment as Tim tells her, “You don’t have to consider it now, there’s plenty of time.”

But Ms. Chang says, “I accept.” 

Tim looks surprised. “Really?”

Ms. Chang nods. “Yes. This place isn’t looking its best, I’ll admit. And if it doesn’t get better, these kids might end up on the street.” 

“I won’t allow that.” Tim firmly says. “And I’ll make sure that these kids find good families.” Ms. Chang doesn’t change her mind and she signs her name on the contract, feeling a sense of hope for the children of this rundown establishment. Tim offers the older woman a kind and comforting smile. “Splendid. I’ll get some people to work on this.”

Ms. Chang asks, “And if it’s not so much trouble, do you think we could make one of the old rooms a library?” 

Tim nods. “That works for me. I also want your opinion on this. This is more your orphanage than it is mine.” 

Ms. Chang offers him her hand to shake. “It’s ours now, Mr. Drake.”

Tim gladly shakes her hand in agreement. “Please, call me Tim.” Before he gets up from the chair and makes his leave out of the old and dingy orphanage. 

While he does have responsibilities as Batman, he knows that Drake Industries can do just as much good for Gotham, maybe even more. So, he has decided to create a new program for Drake Industries named The Drake Industries Renovation Program or DIRP for short. 

He would’ve done it a lot sooner but his company started 3 years ago and he wanted to use his company’s money and not Wayne Enterprise/Sionis Industries money.

The first step is reconstructing old abandoned buildings that were once used as hideouts for super criminals. Those buildings could be beneficial for Gotham and could employ hundreds and/or thousands of people, therefore preventing people from turning to a life of crime. 

Like the orphanage behind him as he gets back into his car. If the children who live in the orphanage are taken care of, then it lowers the chance of said children turning to a life of crime.

Another plus side to this plan is the fact that Salvatore Maroni won’t get the chance of using these places as fronts for his criminal operations. These rundown places have the potential to be more than just hang out places for the rich and powerful.

While he would love to go to his and Falcone’s penthouses and threaten them, he needs evidence to put them away, otherwise they’re just gonna be more pissed than they already are. Plus, Tim knows how Falcone and Maroni’s lawyers are. Their arrests need to go back by the book. 

Tim gets in his car and he looks at a notepad of locations and other places that both he and Maroni are interested in. He goes over the places and he decides to look over an old building that he believes that could make for a good rehab facility. 

He turns the keys to his car and drives off. 

Back with Roman Sionis and Victor Fries, the CEO sits in his chair as he ponders for a moment.

Dr. Victor Fries wants to put his girlfriend, Nora Fries, in his Cryo Chamber and start human test trials early. The Doctor believes that his research could slow down her disease, maybe even save her. To be honest, it does sound enticing to Roman.

But not because he wants to help Victor Fires out but because he’s interested in his technology. He has an idea for a way to spread Gotham’s truth but it’s risky. If it’s played the wrong way, then it could have him and his company exposed. However, if it's done right, then it will continue making Gotham honest. 

Roman finally turns his chair to him and he says, “Okay Doc, you got yourself a deal.”

Victor looks at him in awe. “Really? Oh, thank you–"

Roman raises his hand to silence him. “Uh, uh. Don’t celebrate just yet, doc. There are three rules we need to go over first.” He says as he holds up three fingers.

“Anything.” Victor says. He’ll do anything to save Nora.

“One: You do what I say. No complaining, no questioning.” Roman firmly states.

Victor nods. “Yes, sir.”

“Two: We keep these experiments a secret.”

Victor wants to ask why but the first rule prevents him from doing so. Instead, he says, “Yes, sir.”

“Three: you have to do something for me.” Roman states to the desperate doctor.

“W-what do you mean?” Victor has to ask.

“You’ll see.” Roman bluntly tells him. “Agree to these three and I’ll gladly fund your research.” 

Victor immediately says, “I promise, I’ll do anything you ask.”

Roman looks pleased. “I know you will, Doc.” he presses the intercom button and says, “Alice, I’ll be having a talk with Dr. Fries. Make sure no one disturbs me.”

“Yes, sir."

Roman removes his finger from the intercom, severing their connection from him to his assistant. Next, he goes into his desk and takes out a black mask and slowly puts it on his face with a deep breath.

Dr. Fries stands up in shock, not believing what’s happening right before him. Roman Sionis is The Black Mask?! No, this can’t be possible.

He almost shouts, “What the–”

"Shh…" The Black Mask places his finger over his lips, signaling him not to alert anyone outside. He looks over to a certain bookshelf and nods, knowing that it’s time. He walks over to the shelf with a deep breath, placing his hand on a certain book; "Removing the Masks that Bind Us", by John Randolph Price and originally published in 2001. 

He doesn’t take it out of the shelf, but merely leans it to 60 degrees precisely.

*CLICK*

 The bookshelf unlocks it from behind. The door reveals a hidden elevator that Black Mask is about to step into. 

"Where does that go?" Dr. Fries asks, warly.

Roman gets in the elevator. "Get in and I'll show you."

Dr. Fries, fighting his uncertainty, walks in the elevator beside him. He sees him press the down button and the elevator lowers itself as the office walls close before them. Dr. Fries refuses to make eye contact with the masked man since he doesn't know what to expect. He's already killed Montoya.

"You're scared, are you?" Black Mask asks him. Dr. Fries struggles to answer, not knowing what to say in response. "I think your silence speaks for itself." He turns his head to Dr. Fries. "It's comforting that you're scared, it shows that you'll be a loyal wolf to my pact."

The elevator comes to a stop and the doors open. "Shall we?" Black Mask leaves the shaft as Dr. Fries follows. The theatrical inspirer of fear leads him to a large underground lair, with multiple masked men in different varieties of masks but all in suits. Some men are loading things in trucks, some are in a shooting range testing weapons and guns, and others are taking a smoke and/or lunch break. 

Dr. Fries looks bewildered at the sight of all this illegal activity, something that he never thought in his wildest dreams he would be a part of. He turns to Black Mask, "What is all this?"

"Your new side job." He informs the Doctor. “How do you feel about weapons powered by Cryotechnology?” He asks him rhetorically.

With Carmine Falcone, he hosts a meeting at his penthouse. This meeting consists of Gotham’s most prestigious yet corrupt and shady crime families such as The Maronis, The Sullivans, The Fiascos, and the new leader of the Ibanescu Crime Family, Tony Bressi. He was proudly put in that position after Falcone shot and killed the former leader, Dragos Ibanescu. 

They have decided to up their game due to Black Mask and his ever growing riots across Gotham City. He made it perfectly clear with his speech that he was going to do all he could to ‘spread the truth’ as he called it and that truth involved guns, drugs and prostitution, all inevitable competitors for Falcone and the rest of the syndicate’s criminal empires. Falcone wants to make certain that he won’t cause too many problems for their business. They plan on finding The Black Mask and killing him.

Killing The Black Mask is a task that has been given to The Sullivan Crime Family, the Irish hitmen used by Carmine Falcone only and are responsible for enforcing his set of rules and criminal engagements. This team consists of their leader, Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan, Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly, Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil. They are looking forward to the assignment.

Joining their little Crime Syndicate, as some people on the streets call it, are their three newest members; The Sabatino Crime Family, lead by Johnny Sabatino and husband to Peyton Riley and is the only reason why he hasn’t shot and killed practically everyone in the room. He only agreed to a truce if he and Peyton married. 

Another member is Ekin Tzu, the leader of The Lucky Hand Triad from Okinawa, Japan. 

And finally, their third and final newest member of the Crime Syndicate is Henry Ester, the owner of a farm outside of gotham that produces Marijuana.

Carmine has the floor while everyone else will only be allowed to speak when given the permission to do so. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I appreciate you being here today. I wanted to hear updates of how things are progressing.” He turns to Ekin Tzu. “How are your side of things?”

“The Heroin is being made and is currently ready to be given to any paying customer,” Tzu informs him. 

Carmine nods. "That's good, that's good." He then turns to Tony Bressi. "How are you settling in, Bressi?"

Tony Bressi feels overwhrlmed with excitement that he's being addressed personally by The Roman and adjusts his tie to show off a proffessional manner. "Very well, thank you, Mr. Falcone. I also thank you for offering me a seat at this table tonight."

Falcone nods before saying to him icily, "But don't get too excited. You still have a long way to go before you earn the trust of this council completely. Any actions involving the dog fights, cage matches, and prostitution rackets must be approved by me." He also turns to Henry Ester. "That also applies to you too, Ester. Understood?"

Bressi and Ester quickly nod thdir heads and utter with slight terror under their breaths, "Yes, sir."

Falcone nods then turns to Johnny Sabatino, "Sabatino, I'm glad we were able to get over our misunderstandings and unite our businesses."

"Me too, Carmine." Johnny Sabatino admits. "With everything going on right now, we'll need all the muscle we can get."

Most of the men at the table grimace at the slight reference to The Black Mask and the riots he's started. Falcone just sits in his chair, unphased and impassive before turning to Riley. "He's correct, Sean. With your gun making factories combined, we'll be better equiped for the war that will come."

Henry Ester looks out of the loop as everyone else in at the table look well informed. "Um, war? W-what war are we talking about?"

Falcone turns to Micky 'The Mink' Sullivan and they each have a silent conversation before The Mink clears his throat, indicating thaf he has the floor now. "Me, the rest of my crew, and Carmine have decided that now would be a good time for Black Mask to be out of the picture. We plan on killing him before he can become stronger."

"Good." Ekin Tzu comments. "We won't have much complications after he's dead."

"Well, there is one complication that comes to mind." Maroni remarks before putting two finger above his head to symbolize a bat, making a few people at the table let out a chuckle.

Carmine doesn't seem to be amused and says, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Falcone states, taking back the floor. "The Black Mask has proven to be a bigger threat than The Batman can be to us. But one things for certain, we will bury him and his operations before The Batman or The GCPD can." His calculated gaze turns to Maroni. "You just worry about buying more places that can used as fronts. Speaking of that, how did your meeting with the Drake kid go?" He inquires.

Maroni sits in his chair, uneasily but is prepared to give Falcone the bad news. "Our meeting, admittedly, didn't go as well as we would've hoped." He waits for Falcone to say something but he remains silent as he continues to listen to him. "Drake's also interested in the places we've set our eyes on and we couldn't, uh, come to an agreement, I'm afraid. We will have to, um, bid for them when the time comes."

Falcone lets out a sigh of disappointment. "I am not pleased by this, Sal, not at all. We cannot waste our time and money on a pointless Real Estate rivalry between you and an inexperienced child."

Maroni rubs the sweat coming down his head. "I apologize, Carmine, I really do. But that meeting proved me that while he may not be actually related to them, he has the blood of The Wayne Family in his veins."

"I will be the judge of that when the time comes." Falcone affirms Maroni. "But for now, you will do everything in your power to ensure we have, in the public's eyes, honest businesses."

Maroni nods. "Of course, Carmine."

Falcone then turns his gaze to The Mink. "Micky, I want Black Mask to be executed publicly, for everyone to see." He sees some confused looks, so he elaborates. "When we kill him with this approach, the people he's brainwashed into his cause will see him as not a god nor a symbol but as a man. Batman will also be executed like this when his time comes." He turns back to The Mink. "But bring me his mask. It will make for good decor on my wall above my fireplace."

The Mink nods with confidence and conviction. "Yes, Carmine. It will be done, I promise."

Carmine lifts his cold glare for a moment as he puts a comforting hand on The Mink's shoulder and says to him, "You and your family haven't failed me yet, Micky. I don't expect you to do so now."

The Mink almost blushes at the praise he's just received by his employer and says, "Thank you, Carmine. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Carmine gives him a nod. While he hasn't been the best at showing it over the years, he respects Mickey and the rest of the members of the Sullivan Crime Family and values them as members of his family. Micky, his brother, and the others haven't failed him in their years of working alongside him and he doubts they ever will.

"Ahem!" Maroni breaks the silence and Falcone goes back to his former, icy, calculated self. "I would like to suggest an idea I had."

Falcone gives him the permission to speak.

"Protection rackets?" Maroni suggests, making everyone, including Falcone, nod their heads in agreement.

"Very well. We can start that up, no better time than now." Falcone declares before ordering. "Just make sure that it's untraceable to us."

Maroni nods. "Of course, Carmine."

"Is there anything else worth reporting or suggesting?" Falcone asks the group. While he may be tough, he's also fair. He listens to other people's suggestions and decides if they are optionable or not.

Riley raises his hand. "I have one."

"What is it?" Falcone wonders.

Riley clears his throat and says carefully. "While Black Mask should be our main focus, we cannot wait for Batman to hit us, we all know how determined he is."

Falcone shrugs. "Fair. So, what are you proposing?"

"We give the Commissioner a bonus and he sends a task force after him." Riley proposes. Some like the idea, others are hesitant.

"A task force isn't gonna kill Batman." Johnny Sabatino argues.

"No, but it will slow him down and get him off our backs for a while until Black Mask is dead." Riley argues back.

Falcone ponders this for a moment before saying, "The concept of Bribary is risky. The person can either take the money and play along or we'll just be revealing ourselves to the person and accidently expose ourselves." Riley opens his mouth to argue but Falcone raises his hand to silence him. "But if it's planned out, then it will slow the bat down. I'll consider it and report back to you when I've decided." Falcone decides.

Riley nods in understanding. "Yes, Carmine."

Seeing that there's else to discuss, Carmine ends the meeting. "Our meeting is adjourned. No more discussions."

They all get up and make their leave.

Tim Drake practices throwing batarangs in the Batcave training area as the sunsets on Gotham City. 

"Anything new developments, Master Tim?" Alfred asks, carrying a tray of coffee, French Onion Soup, and heachache pills.

Tim decides to take a break and eats his soup while sipping on his coffee. "Not much. Me and The GCPD are preparing for more riots tonight and are on high alert. So expect me home late tonight."

Alfred sighs. "I figured as much. I only hope that Gotham will be merciful tonight."

*BEEP*

The Batcomputer goes off, indicating that another major crime is going down somewhere. Tim checks it out and he says aloud, "Riot happening in Otisburg. I gotta get down there."

Tim goes to suit up and after a moment later, he's in the Batman suit.

Batman says, "I'll be back."

Alfred comes back with a Thermos coffee cup and the container of heachache pills. "I figured you will need it."

Batman takes them and says, "Thank you." To Alfred and gets in The Batmobile before driving off.

On the streets of Gotham, Batman and GCPD officers fight off a group of rioters that cause chaos and rapidly fire bullets at anyone they see. From police officers to people trying to run away from the scene.

Batman grabs one of the rioters and throws him on the ground, finally defeating him with a well placed kick to his face.

Two riots aim their guns at him and will not hesitate to kill him.

*BANG*

Luckily, The GCPD has his back and fires back.

Bullock takes down the last one, ending the new string of riots on the city's streets.

The Commissioner looks down at a dead body on the ground due to the rioters. He says with guilt aching from his voice, "Another death."

Batman nods sadly. These riots are getting out of hand.

*EEE OOO EEE OOO*

Fire Trucks are racing down the same streets Batman and the police are on.

Bullock asks in confusion. "Why are they in such a hurry?"

"All units, we have an 11-71 on Gurn Avenue, Randolph Orphanage in Otisburg. Send reinforcements!" The Commissioner's radio says.

Batman knows the name of the Orphanage; It's the same orphanage he bought and was planning on renovating. "Fire?"

"Yeah." Bullock confirms as he gets in his police car. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!"

Batman nods and he gets in his Batmobile, racing to the burning building.

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, November 16th, 2013

The Batmobile parks in front of the now burning Randolph Orphanage in Otisburg. The man of the hour, The Batman himself, steps out of it and takes about 3-4 seconds to take a look at the damage before rushing toward the Fire Chief. “Is there anyone in there?”

“We got out everyone we could.” 

Batman hears Ms. Amanda Chang counts the group of children to make sure that no one’s missing but she quickly becomes frantic. “Where’s Mary? And Adolfo?”

“HELP!” Everyone, from the children, to the local firefighters, police, and Batman look up to see a little girl frantically waving her arms in front of a window. “SOMEBODY HELP, PLEASE!!” She pleads before ducking out of the way from a piece of the roof coming apart.

“I’ll go in. You and your men stay back.” Batman orders, not wanting these people who have families to die in the fire. Wordlessly, he grapples into one of the building’s windows and dives head first into the danger without a milisecond’s hesitation.

One of the FireFighters asks, “Why the hell should we listen to him?”

The Chief sternly looks back at him. “He’s been saving more lives before you or me were born, son. He’s got this."

The building is worse inside than it was from outside. The entire building is engulfed in flames, danger lurking around every corner, and black smoke congesting the entire orphanage and the night sky. 

“AAAAHHH!” Batman hears a young child scream and he quickly runs on the fragile and heated floor. He lets out a cough but he fights on due to the child’s life being the only thing on his mind.

Batman has a bit of an upper hand since he has been here before when he met Amanda Chang as Tim Drake. So, he knows where the children slept. He follows the whimpered cries of the young girl and it leads him to one of the bedrooms that hasn’t been burned to a crisp, luckily. 

Batman finds the young girl named Mary, who’s about 7-8 years old, hiding under her bed while holding onto another scared little boy who’s much younger than her, about 4-5 years old. Batman guesses that it's Adolfo. 

Mary looks relieved that he’s here while Adolfo looks like he’s seeing a ghost. “It’s okay. He’s here to help.” Mary soothingly says to Adolfo, despite her being tremendously scared of dying in the burning building. 

The Dark Knight helps the two kids out from under the bed and he says in the gentlest tone he can muster, “Don’t be scared. I’m going to get you to safety. But we have to hurry.” 

He decides that carrying them would be the best and quickest way to ensure their safety, so he does just that before he makes a run down the stairs.

Well, that was the plan before the stairs were set blaze. The situation is growing increasingly worse, along with the fire as it expands to the 4th floor, leaving with limited options of getting the two children out of the building…except. 

Batman takes a look at a window that leads to the patio out back of the orphanage. He looks around to see if there’s another alternative that doesn’t include putting the kids in any more danger but he sees that if he doesn’t do this, then they’re all going to die. 

Finally making his decision, he says to the two children he’s currently carrying in his arms, “Cover your eyes and lower your heads.” 

*SHATTER*

Launching out of the window, The Batman gets the children out of the burning environment as he uses his cape to hide the children from the pointed shards of glass. Purposely, Batman lands on his back to shelter Mary and Adolfo from the fall but he can't help but grimace due to the rough landing.

Concerned, Mary and Adolfo get off of Batman and help him up to his feet. "Are you okay, sir?"

Batman shakes off the pain and he says, "I should be asking you both that. Are you two okay?"

For a moment, they don't respond but Batman understands. This was a traumatizing experience for them since they both could've died tonight. Then, Mary and Adolfo wordlessly wrap their arms around Batman, giving him a hug.

It catches Batman off-guard but he embraces them to give them some type of comfort. "You're safe. I promise."

They then let go and that's when Batman sees something…or rather someone in the distance. 

It’s tricky to see who he has at first due to the smoke that’s coming out of the orphanage but when it slightly clears, it reveals a man wearing an all-black fire proof suit and mask, with the exception of his goggles' lenses being a dark shade of red. On his back is some type of portable flamethrower that's hooked up to the gun he's wielding that shoots out the dangerous flames.

While Batman can't see his face, he can imagine a satisfied smile on his face as he lights the orphanage on fire.

The arsonist sees Batman and the kids and stops burning the orphanage. He tilts his head in surprise and interest. "Well, this makes things more interesting."

The kids hide behind Batman's cape as Adolfo asks with a tremble in his voice, "Who-who is that?"

Scared for the lives of the children, Batman tells them both, "Get out of here. Go to the police and run. Run now!"

They do as they're told and they quickly sprint away from this, to Batman's relief. Now that they are no longer in danger, Batman can investigate this with less worries of innocents getting caught in the crossfire. 

He turns to the arsonist with a threatening type of body language and demands to know, "Who are you?"

“Call me…Firefly!” A raspy voice proclaims loudly for Batman to hear before aiming his gun at him and presses the trigger, firing a red and orange wave of hot fire against Batman.

Wide eyed, Batman leaps out of the way and takes cover in a corner of an alleyway, the same alleyway that the two kids ran down to safety. 

Batman can't take cover in an alleyway forever and he can't attack him directly since this 'Firefly' will not hesitate to burn him. He has to be smart about how he handles Firefly.

He takes out a batarang from his utility belt and throws it at Firefly but, to Batman's shock, he simply burns, reducing it to rust. 

"Is that all you got, Bats?!" Firefly taunts the Caped Crusader before he makes a run for it by jumping over a fence to the other side.

Quickly, Batman pursuits him on foot as he too jumps over the fence and goes after him.

*BANG*

*BANG*

GCPD officers have been informed about the commotion thanks to the kids that Batman rescued. The group of officers, consisting of 5 men, aim their guns at Firefly as he stands in the middle of the road.

"Put your hands up!"

"Drop the weapon!"

"Do it, now!"

"Let's all take it easy, alright?"

"We said hands up, freak!"

Firefly doesn't do as he's told, big surprise, and he aims his gun at the policemen.

"Get out of the way!" Batman shouts at the men.

But it's too late; Firefly shoots flames at them, setting them and their cars ablaze. The officers scream as 4 of them are literally on fire and the other 2 are wounded.

Batman runs as fast as he can to this scene of terror as the other members of the GCPD and the fire department take notice of this and go to help. 

"Burn baby, BURN!!" Firefly shouts in exhilaration as he continues to light shit up.

"Get back! Everyone, back get!" The Commissioner shouts at his officers so that they can avoid the fates that the previous members of The GCPD have met.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

The remaining police officers continue to fire upon him but they are met with more flames of red and orange.

To Batman's estimate, the fires of Firefly stretch to about 70 feet as they're attempting to burn everyone and everything in its path. While Batman hasn't formulated a plan to deal with this guy yet, he can say for certain that he's more dangerous and destructive than David Jones was when he nearly sank his children home and neighborhood.

But back to the matter at hand, this needs to be dealt with now. So, while Firefly is distracted by the Police Officers, Batman throws a batarang at Firefly's hand, knocking the gun from his shooting hand and defenseless.

"No!" Firefly shouts before Batman kicks him in his Solar Plexus, bringing Firefly to his knees. Batman then throws him to one of the 3 destroyed police vehicles. 

Batman picks Firefly up and he removes his mask, revealing a blond haired man with the facial expression of indignation. 

"You need a new hobby." Batman comments, his hands gripped on the scruff of Firefly's suit.

Firefly then takes out a cigarette lighter from his suit and he says to Batman with a smug grin of satisfaction, "Not a chance." Before throwing it in the air.

It lands on a pool of gasoline that has dripped by the now burnt and destroyed vehicles.

"Ah, shit." Batman hears a police officer say aloud.

*KA-BOOM*

The police car explodes, as do the other police cars and it leads to the catastrophic explosion that sets half the block ablaze. Everyone is either knocked back by it and on the ground or have been burned alive due to the explosion. The latter are either dead or will suffer from 2nd and/or 3rd degree burns for the rest of their lives.

Luckily, Batman's one of the people who have been knocked back by the explosion and is on the pavement as his ears peirce and his vision blurs of red and orange smoke. His face sweats of exhaustion and blood drips out of his lip due to his cutting it when he hit the curb, which is boiling hot.

"See ya around, Bats!" He hears Firefly shout from afar. Despite his blurry vision, he can tell that Firefly has used the chaos to his advantage and is escaping as everyone else either burns to death or is about to burn to death.

Batman won't allow anymore people to die because of this deranged arsonist. Fighting the numbness in his system, Batman gets up to his feet and assesses the situation while also getting his vision back under control. He can see that the fire has spread to numerous buildings and electrical lines, which makes the situation even worse if he's being honest with himself. 

The closest person he sees that is endangered is the Police Commissioner, who is trapped inside a police vehicle that 's upside down at the moment. It can go off at any given moment as the Commissioner coughs violently and it appears he has a concussion, which is causing him to be confused at the moment. So, without a moment's hesitation, Batman runs toward him.

He forces the police car door open and pulls The Commissioner's nearly unconscious body out of the vehicle. Batman then carries the critically injured unconscious Commissioner over one of his shoulders and runs to an area where it's safer than here.

The arsonist known as Firefly watches this scene from a far distance where no Police Officer or FireFighter or Bat will spot him. His only current wish right now is for him to have some popcorn so he can fully enjoy the show. But then again, the flames are more than satisfactory for the arsonist.

The sight of those helpless people stuck in the flames, the FireFighters and The Batman utterly useless against all those burning buildings and flames, it's just so absolutely exhilarating for him! He's already gotten started on the fires and he feels that nothing else he will do in the future will top this. But he's going to try, anyway.

Call him a monster, call him a freak, it doesn't matter what anybody thinks at this point. He's just being honest with himself to whom he truly is. He's just finally taking the mask off his face and he feels so much better because of it.

He learned that from The Black Mask when he made that little speech on the television two days ago and he can still remember those beautifully spoken words in his mind;

"You all plastered the word 'peace' on all of Gotham's street corners and glued a mask on its citizens so you can live in your own fantasy world and give Gotham something that it's not meant to have: Peace. You all disgust me, yah know that? But don't fret. The Black Mask is here to give Gotham the reality check it so desperately needs and I will spread as much guns, drugs, and prostitution to do so! But I can't do it on my own. That's why I ask you all to join me, to restore Gotham's chaotic nature, and make it true once again."

And he has. Firefly has joined Black Mask's cause to bring honestly back to Gotham, so he can be honest with himself and oh boy, does it feel great?! He's never seen anything else so beautiful, the flames on those rooftops and numerous buildings. 

The flames are like angels and they're dancing in the pale moonlight and everybody else will be dancing with them soon enough.

Firefly takes one last look at the flames before he walks away. This is only the beginning.

Gotham will burn.

So says The Firefly.

One Hour Later, Alfred Pennyworth prepares the Med Bay, expecting quite a number of injuries after tonight's…developments, to put it kindly.

*VROOM*

Alfred turns and sees The Batmobile has entered the cave and parked at its usual stopping point and no sooner, out comes the driver; The Batman. 

Batman is worn out and has some small yet very noticeable burns, cuts, and bruises surrounding his face and his Batsuit is as worn out as the wearer is with some burnt marks of its own, along with some tears, holes, and is covered in dust and dirt marks, especially around the upper legs.

Alfred rushes to his aid and helps him out of The Batmobile as it's turned off and parked. "Let's pray to the heavens that your injuries don't look merely as terrible as your suit does."

Tim takes off the cowl and rests it on a nearby table. "We can only hope, Alfred."

Alfred sets him in The Batcave's Infirmary, where the suit is taken off and Tim is given some sweatpants as Alfred takes a good look at him and his health.

The process of stitching and bandaging takes only 10 minutes due to Alfrdd being heavily skilled at this part of the job. The old man lets out a sigh of relief. "Luckily, you've only received minor injuries, a few scars but nothing I can't handle. I've seen much worse." 

Tim winces. Yes, Alfred has seen him, Bruce, Barbara, and every other member of this family at their worst after a fierce night patrolling Gotham and tonight is no exception. 

Tim nods. "Thanks Alfred." He gets up from the cot and makes his way to the computer. 

But Alfred's voice makes him stop in his tracks. "And where do you think you're going, Master Tim?"

Tim can detect the tone in his voice; Cool and collective yet stern and stoic. He tells Alfred, "To the computer so I can figure out who was behind tonight's disaster."

"Like hell you are." Alfred retorts.

"But–" Tim tries to say but Alfred silences him.

"Your injuries, while not life threatening, will get worse and drastically more painful if you do not take it easy. I refuse to let you go to work or do anymore investigating until you've had food and a minimum of 8 hours bed rest." Alfred firmly states.

Tim sighs in defeat and turns to the elevator. "Alright, I'm heading up."

Alfred follows him with a smile on his face. "I believe that would be wise, sir."

They enter the elevator and they head up the Manor.

"We need to get out of Gotham, Johnny." A panicking Peyton Riley tells her husband, Johnny Sabatino. 

"Like hell we do." Sabatino says.

At their penthouse, Peyton Riley and her husband, Johnny Sabatino, have an argument about the current state of Gotham.

Peyton believes that this city has gone to hell with Black Mask and his False Face Society running around and thinks that they should leave.

While Johnny Sabatino believes that they've just begun with their business and they'll make much more money if they stick around in Gotham and under Falcone's protection. 

"Johnny, this rivalry with Black Mask has gotten out of control. Carmine is completely on edge and we have Batman on us like hawks." Peyton tries to reason with her husband.

Johnny waves her off. "Ah, the Bat is too occupied with freaks like Kraken and Zeus and we'll be too occupied with that new Firefly guy."

"Which is even more reason to leave Gotham. Firefly burned down an entire neighborhood tonight and who knows what Black Mask might do next!"

Johnny goes to his cabinet to pour himself a drink but finds there are no more bottles. "And why aren't you telling this to your dad?" Peyton goes silent. Johnny grins. "Because you know he'll just wave you off, don't you?"

Peyton winces. Her father never lets her speak her mind but instead calls upon her when he needs her, not when he wants to be with her. Finally, she finds her voice. "No, because he listens to whatever that prick Falcone has to say and does whatever he tells him to." She rubs her temples in exhaustion. "God, he's gonna run this family into the ground."

Johnny silently turns to her, growing more irritable and that makes Peyton nervous. "What do you know? It's not like you're in charge of the business." He then comes to a realization. "Wait a minute, you're trying to step up! You think if you start calling the shots, everybody else will start sucking up to you."

Peyton shakes her head, enraged. "You asshole! How dare you insinuate–"

*SMACK*

Peyton falls to the ground, hard. She holds her stinging cheek as she looks at her husband in horror with tears in her eyes. 

But she doesn't let them fall down her cheek. She's been hit too many times for that.

Johnny shouts at her. "No, how dare you think you can just demand what we need to do. Since this hasn't gotten into your thick skull, let me repeat; Whatever dreams you have of ruling at your father's side are nothing but pathetic delusions! You will no longer speak until I say so, nor will you insult me again, is that clear?!"

Peyton, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry, nods her head as she picks herself up on her knees. "...Yes."

This doesn't satisfy Sabatino and he angrily and forcefully grabs her chin and pulls her close. "No, it's yes sir until I say otherwise. GOT IT?!"

She flinches and she says in a hoarse whisper, "Y-yes, sir."

"Louder!" He shouts.

"Yes, sir." She raises her voice.

Sabatino nods, satisfied but still visibly pissed. "Good. You dwell on that, I'm going to get a drink, I'll be back in two hours." He grabs his keys but turns to Peyton when he opens the door. "And when I get back, where something…sultry."

Peyton nods, her eyes still watered but she still fights on. "Yes, sir."

*SLAM*

After a minute of him gone, she then lets the tears stream and she cries as she feels like a complete tool. 

Because that's what she's always been; A tool for someone else to use and hit around. Her father only wants her around when she's useful like when she was forced to marry that douchebag, Sabatino. It wasn't a match made in heaven nor was it an act of love. It was simply a way to make peace between the Riley and Sabatino Crime Families. 

Her childhood wasn't the greatest either. She was born and raised into a crime family that doesn't respect her as a human being but as an assistant. She could never think for herself or prove her worth because it was shown as a desperate way to get attention. 

And with her 'beloved husband', she's nothing but a sex toy or a human punching bag whenever he's drunk or when he's just bored. And what's worse is that her father doesn't care. As long as it puts the rivalry between the two families to an end, why does it matter?

Peyton wishes she could prove her worth somehow…but she can't. Not without betraying the family.

Before she has to change into something more…appealing for tonight, she decides to do the one thing that she finds calming for her after these types of situations; Watch a movie.

She finds comfort in two types of movies; A Gangster movie or a Romance movie.

 A gangster movie like The Godfather, Public Enemies, GoodFellas and/or Scarface. She likes to escape in those movies and pretend she's like the mob bosses who shoot people when someone looks at them funny. She wishes she could do that, she wishes she could be a tough criminal mastermind. Someone who someone both feared and respected.

A Romantic movie like Pride & Prejudice, Titanic, and/or Romeo & Juliet. She likes to imagine herself being those women who are in healthy relationships with good men, men who would never raise a fist to their partner and instead treated them with compassion and love.

That's all she has, to be honest. The ability to dream a better life than the one leads.

Chapter Text

Date: Sunday, November 17th, 2013

Alfred Pennyworth prepares breakfast, making tea and buttery crumpets. 

After making the food and putting it on a silver platter, he takes it into his hands and carries it off to Tim's room, walking up flights of stairs and walking down corridors to do so.

He comes to Tim's door.

*KNOCK KNOCK* 

"Master Tim? Breakfast is served." Alfred says but gets no response. He asks again, "Master Tim?" Once again, no response.

He carefully and slowly opens the door, not wanting to disturb the young master's sleep.

Luckily, it doesn't come to that because he's not in the bed. The bed is vacant and made. 

Alfred has an unimpressed look on his face, knowing where he is. He walks out of the room, closes the door and goes to the study that once belonged to Bruce Wayne, his former master, puts in the code, and rides down the elevator to The Batcave.

And he discovers he's right once again. He finds Tim Drake in his chair, in front of the Batcomputer, going over last night's events.

"Morning Alfred." Tim greets him without turning to him and rather keeps his eyes on the computer screen.

Alfred sighs. "This is going to be a regular occurance, isn't it?" He puts the food down and asks him, "How long have you been down?"

"Long enough." Tim simply says. 

Alfred can tell that he's thoroughly engaged in this matter and has neither the time or the interest to engage in a conversation but Alfred understands. The younger man has never been much of a conversationalist. 

Tim Drake goes over to the display case where his suit is being contained. He takes out the cowl and brings it to the computer. Lucius had a camera put into this before Tim became Robin and it allowed Bruce to review evidence and moments from crime scenes and battles.

The young and newest crusader uploads the camera feed to the computer, rewinding it to the point where Firefly was unmasked by Batman last night. He scans the face and goes through the database, looking for anyone with this I.D. 

Finally, he finds one. "Gotcha. His name is Garfield Lynns." He informs Alfred. 

Alfred thinks for a second before saying, "One moment, I think I remember that name. I believe he was a Pyrotechnician."

"Correct." Tim confirms as he uses the Batcomputer to get information about the arsonist. "It says here he's a prestigious effects artist for big budget films and everytime he was involved in a project, he would increase the budget."

"And would Mr. Lynns have a psychological evaluation we could look at?" Alfred asks.

Tim goes through the information but shakes his head. "No but it doesn't matter. I'm going to give the information off to Detective Bullock so he can confirm this before we do anything else." He calls Bullock through a private number and uses his voice modulator. "Detective?"

"Morning Bats. I'm guessing this isn't a social call." Bullock says over the phone.

"I found out who Firefly is; His name is Garfield Lynns. He's a special effects artist for movies at The Gotham Movie Studios."

"Alright, I'll take a background check to make sure we're not making any mistakes." Bullock tells him before adding, "Oh, and uh, thanks." He begrudgingly says before hanging up.

Tim puts down the phone. "Now all we have to do is wait."

Alfred nods. "Very good, sir. In the meantime, I suggest you eat. Your crumpets and tea are getting cold."

Tim nods. "Thank you, Alfred." He begins eating.

Commissioner Peter Pauling is in his office, trying to clear up the whole Firefly mess that happened last night. He's on the phone with the District Attorney, Linus Hampton.

"Look, we're doing everything we can but with the riots caused by Black Mask and every other illegal activity going on, we're stretched thin." The Commissioner tries to reason with The District Attorney.

"Has there ever been a time where we're not stretched thin?" Hampton rhetorically asks. "What are we currently doing to find this Firefly?"

"We've diverted two precincts from up north to Old Town in the harbor and Canine Units are currently scouring Midtown. We'll find this arsonist soon enough." The Commissioner informs him.

"Good. Our next target will be The Batman." Hampton declares.

Commissioner Pauling disagrees with this since Batman might be the only chance to restore order to Gotham…along with freeing himself from Black Mask's hands. 

He says to the District Attorney, "Sir, with all due respect, I wouldn't be talking to you right now if it weren't for Batman."

"We wouldn't be here AT ALL if it weren't for Batman!" The D.A. firmly shouts, making Commissioner Pauling wince. "Now you find him and arrest him! This freak show ends now!"

*KNOCK KNOCK*

A bearded man in a police uniform enters his office, hoping to have a word with him. The Commissioner sees this as an opportunity and says to the phone, "I'll see what I can do. I gotta go."

"Hey, wait–"

Commissioner Pauling hangs up and asks the man, "I'm sorry about that, Mr…?."

"Philip. Philip Dans," He introduces himself. He holds out his hand for him to shake, to which he does. "Was I interrupting something important?"

Commissioner Pauling shakes his head. "That? Oh, no. You actually did me a service, getting me off the phone. But, as you know, things are quite busy so let's make this fast. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I just wanted to see if you were alright after…" Dans trails off. "What happened with Firefly?"

The Commissioner smiles kindly at him and says, "Well thanks but I'm fine."

Dans nods before taking something out of his pocket; It's an envelope and he sets it down on the table.

The Commissioner looks at it with both interest and confusion. "What's this?"

"My employer would like to offer you some…compensation for your injuries. In the envelope is an invitation to a get-together he's hosting tonight." Philip answers before adding, "And he put in a little something extra."

The Commissioner then finds, to his shock and awe, $2,000 dollars along with the invitation to a dinner party. He tells Philip, still shocked at the dollars in the white envelope, "Well, thanks. Tell your employer I'll be there."

Philip Dans looks glad. "Great. The place is on the invitation."

The Commissioner nods before asking, "Wait, who's your employer?"

"It's on the card as well." Philip tells him before taking his leave.

Peter Pauling looks at the invitation and it reads, I, Carmine Falcone, request your presence at Little Italy."

In the lab of Dr. Victor Fries, he works on…something that would be described as controversial.

It's a Cryogenic Grenade Launcher and when fired, it will fire a powerful blast and explosion of cryogenic ice. Victor has done the calculations and he, when fired, will either kill them instantly or their bones will shatter and they will probably plead for death.

It'a a haunt that terrifies Victor, makes him shutter at the thought of such an unsavory demise; A demise that will, undoubtedly, be brought upon hundreds of people who live in this city. It's not a thought that makes Victor smile with glee, it makes him feel shame and disappointment in himself, knowing that he's created the dangerous weapons.

This was not supposed to happen. His designs were never supposed to be used for such evil and cruel delusions of honesty and that removal of Gotham's mask, as his employer and exploiter, Roman Sionis, so delicately put it for all of Gotham to see. Doctor Fries' ideas involving Cryotechnology were supposed to help people with incurable diseases, not encase the victims of Black Mask in ice.

As Victor continues to put the finishing touches on the weapon, he comes to a conclusion; He doesn't recognize Roman Sionis at all. Once upon a time, Roman Sionis was once the man who supported the Doctor's idea of saving lives, the man who helped set up the party where he was going to propose to Nora. But now that he saw that grotesque mask of his that he wore, he now asks himself this question: Was that kind and gentle man even real? Or was he always a monster? 

He should leave. He should tell the police everything or, if he can, tell Batman everything. Tell them the type of man Roman Sionis is and this entire nightmare can be over…but he can't. This is not about his needs. It's about Nora's needs. 

If he completes this and every other weapon that Black Mask requests, he can have all the funding, all the resources, and all the permission needed to save Nora, the love of his life. While both he and Sionis may have fallen from grace, she doesn't have to. She can still live her best years and then, Victor will quit his job and move far, far away from Gotham and then, he'll be able to propose and after that…he'll just have to cross that bridge when he gets to it.

*BEEP* 

Victor’s phone makes a noise, alerting him that a man is outside his lab and is requesting to enter; It’s Roman Sionis and while he waited anxiously for his arrival the last time he entered his lab, he now begs for it to be someone else.

He takes a deep breath before opening the steel door, allowing Sionis entry into his lab. He asks, "Is it ready?"

"Yes, sir. The you-know-what is fully operational." He says in hushed words to avoid anyone eavesdropping.

Sionis nods with satisfaction. "Good. Put a tarp on it or something and we'll bring it downstairs."

Victor obeys, guilt and shame still felt inside of him, and puts the gun in a silver suitcase. They walk out together with Dr. Fries carrying the case with him as they enter Sionis' office after he bluntly tells his Secretary to go away.

Victor tries not to make eye contact with him as Sionis puts on the persona of The Black Mask and they go into the elevator and go downstairs. 

They enter the unclean and abandoned underground subway system and, to Victor's disturbed shock, he sees Mask's thugs with guns, guarding five men strapped in chairs.

"You don't need to wear a mask." Black Mask informs Victor. "These guys won't be alive long enough to blab about you."

Victor stops breathing for a moment and asks in a quiet voice, "You're going to kill them?"

"Just hand me the gun." Black Mask orders him but Victor hesitates. "Now!" 

Victor flinches and having no other option, he opens the briefcase and gives the sociopath the Cryogenic Grenade Launcher. 

Black Mask takes it with glee and he finally addresses his captive audience. "I know who you five are." They look at him with fear. "You chumps are the hired help to various crime lords, the most notable one being Carmine Falcone; the oldest thug in this town." The hostages try to squirm out of the chairs but to no avail. "But I also know that you're as useful and resourceful to the old geezer as a gun with no ammo. So being the generous guy I am, I've decided to cut the extra baggage from his ranks." He starts to charge up the weapon and takes several steps back while gesturing to his men and Dr. Fries to do the same. "Plus, you make for good target practice."

He fires the gun and a grenade emitting blue mist is shot at their strapped feet. 

*BANG*

After Dr. Fries comes out of his place of cover, he has to hold back the throw up in his mouth, clearly disturbed by the results of his weapon.

They are completely encased in frozen, sharp, and deadly ice. Cold mists emits from it, making nearby goons shiver and their teeth chatter.

Black Mask takes a deep look at this and looks at the gun with admiration and pride. "That. Was. Awesome!" He touches the sharp tips of the ice. "Yes, this will be very useful in the future as long as it's not used as much." He turns to Dr. Fries. "You can make more generades, right?"

After takes many deep breaths and avoiding any more contact at the armageddon that has happened, he tells Black Mask, "Y…yes, I can."

Black Mask pats him on the shoulder. "Good job, Doc. Now how about we head back upstairs."

For the first time in his life, the title 'Doc' or 'Doctor' has left a bad taste in his mouth. A good doctor swears not to do harm, it's an oath of nobility. But he created the gun that has indirectly caused these 5 deaths and he now knows that he no longer deserves to be named the title of Doctor.

Harvey Bullock pulls into the entrance of The Gotham Movie Studios in the East Coast where a composite-building stands proudly and glimmerous. This building consists of privately-owned facilities used to shoot films and it's also where famous movies were made such as The Terror, Sleepy Hollow and Gothic. It is one of the most famous movie studios in the country but not the most used outside of Gotham due to the city's controversial crime rates. 

Bullock finds a security guard in front of the entrance. "Yo, pal!" He calls out to him in his car, pulling out his police badge to the security guard's narrowed eyes. "GCPD. I need to talk to a manager, director or anyone related to a guy named Garfield Lynns."

The security guard nods and he says, "Drive in. I'll take you inside."

Bullock puts the badge away and he says, "Much obliged." He pulls into the gate of the extravagant studio and he has to admit, 15 year old him would be gawking at the fact that he's inside this place due to him loving mystery and horror movies back in his teenage life.

But now that he's lived through stuff that makes them look like life fan made videos put on youtube, he's not exactly nerding out at the moment. 

He finds a place to park and he gets out of the car. He asks the security guard, "So who do I talk to?"

"I'll take you to them, sir." The security guard assures him and he leads him into an office building and after going down some long hallways, he leads him into an office. 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

The door opens to reveal a room of directors and writers. One of them says with an annoyed voice, "What? This better be important."

Bullock steps in with his badge visible to the group of people, he rhetorically asks, "Would you consider a visit from me important?" He then says, "Harvey Bullock, I'm with the GCPD. I'm here to talk to you about an possibly insane nutjob named Garfield Lynns."

Using his keen observation, he can see that the wince the director has given indicates that an incident happened that involved the man named Garfield Lynns. It also means that the studio will be determined to keep the possible said incident out of people's mind. But he's used to be getting secrets out of people to solve crimes so this is like a regular Tuesday for him.

The Director then says to the security guard, "Leave us." 

He nods and walks away.

Bullock closes the door and states, "So, you're familiar with Garfeild Lynns."

A writer speaks up. "He sounds familiar. What's the significance?"

"You've heard of Firefly, right?" Bullock asks them, much to their confusion turned to shock.

"W…wait, Lynns is Firefly?!" A director asks in disbelief.

"It's a working theory." Bullock simply tells him. "I was hoping you could tell me why a guy with a promising career would turn to a life of crime."

A casting director speaks up. "Okay, if this is going to turn into an interrogation, I think I wanna get my lawyer down here." Nods of agreement follow that statement.

"Feel free to do that." Bullock uncaringly tells them as he pulls our his phone, "I'm just gonna give my superiors a call."

"Wait!" A director stops him, making Bullock mentally smirk. He was right, there is a cover up going on. The director then says, "I don't think there's any need for lawyers or Commissioners to get involved. This can be a casual conversation."

Bullock shrugs, playing along. "Alright." He puts the phone up, to some hidden relief by the writers and directors. "What was Garfield Lynns like?"

"Well," The Director ponders for a moment before telling him, "Every project he worked on, he doubled the budget every time. He was a man of perfection."

Bullock nods. "Uh-huh, and did he ever show any signs of aggression or…Pyrophilia?"

"N-never." Most of them immediately say, nearly shout.

'Liars.' Bullock muses.

An assistant hesitates. "Well, uh…" He trails off but shuts up to multiple stares.

"Would you like to know how I know you're all lying?" Bullock bluntly asks them to their shock and freaked out expressions. "You're all sweating, stuttering, hesitating and you guys seriously don't want anyone else from GCPD finding out so I'm going to give you two choices; You can either tell me everything right now and I'll put in a good word for you all or I can give Vicki Vale or Jack Ryder a call and they'll dig up the truth you all are so desperate on burying and knowing the determination those two have, they'll definitely release it for everyone to see and/or read. Your choice."

They all stop and then comes the uncomfortable silence until finally the assistant speaks up. "We were filming a movie that's titled Bullets and Blood; It's a gangster movie, or it was. In charge of the special effects was Lynns."

Bullock feels pleased that he's getting information. "Go on."

The Director speaks up, sweat still visible on his face. "Well, when we were doing a scene, he noticed that Lynns had too many incendiaries when doing this effect."

Bullock doesn't like where this is going and he takes a guess. "Someone got hurt." He states.

The writer now speaks up with a nervous tremble in his voice. "...An actress got burns over…80% of her body,"

Bullock grimaces. "Jesus."

"Wait until you here the end of it." The assistant tells Bullock. "Us and Lynns had an argument over it while Lynns just stayed in the corner, lighting a cigarette. When we got his attention, he asked us, and I quote, 'So, what're you gonna do with the footage?'." The assistant finishes his story. 

Bullock feels his disgust for Lynns go up tenfold after heating this disturbing tale. He understands now that it doesn't take a detective to understand that they're dealing with a sociopath. He exits out of his train of thought and asks, "What happened to him?"

"We fired him." The director stresses. "A guy like that working for us, that's even more burned up actors and actresses to pile up." 

"I see." Bullock replies. "And when was this?"

"Last Wednesday." The casting director informs him.

"The same time when Black Mask made that whole 'Gotham will always be sick cesspool of a city' speech." Detective Bullock figures out. "He was clearly inspired by it. But why did you guys keep this quiet?"

"Can you imagine the press if that ever got out to people?" A writer asks. "We would've gotten sued if it was discovered that an employee deliberately ruined an actresses career."

Bullock nods, understanding. "So you did it all to protect your career, I see. But what about that actress? What happened to her?" 

"Luckily, she didn't sue us and we're currently paying for her hospital bills and we have a shrink on standby because she has years of therapy ahead of her, obviously."

"We're also paying for her surgeries and skin grafts." The casting director adds as he rubs his temples in exhaustion. "You can imagine the costs."

Bullock nods once more. "Alright, gotcha. Look, you're not the most corrupt piece of work I've seen in my life so I'll put in a good word for you all. But you guys need to give me something I can use to find this freak."

The director goes into his filing cabinet and pulls out a file. "Here's everything on him; Name, home address, it's all in there."

Bullock looks pleased. "Alright, this was very useful." He then passes them a card. "Here's my card. Call me if you remember anything else." He walks out of the office and as soon as he leaves to his car where he won't be eavesdropped on, he pulls out his phone, calls the unknown number, and asks, "Bats? Bats, are you there?"

"What did you find, Detective?" The voice of Batman asks, getting straight to the point. 

"He's definitely the guy. I'll tell you everything tonight? My place, six o'clock?" Bullock ends with a joke.

"Good work. We'll meet tonight near the old Bat Signal." He then hangs up.

Bullock puts his phone away and drives out of the vicinity of the Gotham Movie Studio.

Back in Victor Fries, he continues working on Cryogenically powered guns and explosives, much to his disdain and guilty conscience. 

*BEEP* 

Victor’s phone makes a noise, alerting him that a man is outside his lab and is requesting to enter; It’s Roman Sionis again. He opens the door and asks, "Yes?"

"She's here." Sionis tells the scientist.

Hearing this, he immediately gets up from his desk and says to the secretly sadistic CEO, "The designs are on the computer. I'll finish them after…this." Victor trails off.

Victor nods. "Gotcha." They head out of the lab together, Victor still hiding the nervousness within him. 

Somehow, Sionis made sure that this area is clear for the moment of truth, as it were. When Fries gets what he wants, finally gets what he came into Sionis' office for in the first place. He heard a rumor that he…persuaded some people at Gotham General to hand her over to us and Victor doesn't want to think about it. He's seen and heard enough of The Black Mask's cruelty for one day. 

Victor goes to a loading bay where an ambulance is parked labeled 'Gotham General'. Out of the back doors are two of Black Mask's men and…Nora, asleep in her hospital bed as her skin resembles that of jaundice. It makes Victor feel ill, seeing someone who was once full of life now suffering because he didn't see the signs before.

But he can make up for his mistake. He can fix the problem, Victor swears to himself that he will.

Victor stays by her side at all times as the two masked men under the employment of Black Mask wheel her out. "Be careful!" Victor shouts at them, ever protective of Nora.

They bring her into the building as Victor talks to her. "Nora? It's me. I promise, you're going to be fine. Just stay with me." He says in a soothing voice. Finally, they bring her into Victor's lab where a Cryo Chamber awaits in the far back of the room.

The Cry Chamber looks like a cylinder with an opening where the subject will be put into. It has a dark gray exterior and at the center is a window, able to see the person inside of the Chamber when they are put in it. Victor opens the Cryo Chamber and takes a deep breath, preparing himself. 

He sees that the two thugs are about to lift her but Victor pushes them away. "You don't touch her!" 

They raise their hands in an ‘I come in peace’ type of gesture and they back away.

Victor changes his cold expression to kind and comforting in a matter of seconds when facing Nora. He gently picks her up from the hospital bed and he repeats to her, "It'll be okay, Nora. You're going to be fine, I promise." Before placing her in the Cryo Chamber. He then gently places a Capnography Mask around her and hooks the mask to a supply of oxygen. He does this very gently so Nora isn't awakened and not to cause her any harm. That's the last thing on his mind.

He kisses her on her cheek and tells her, "This will be over soon, I swear." He takes one last look at her before silently closing the Chamber door. He checks at many times as necessary to ensure there are no mistakes to this procedure. When he knows he hasn't, he says aliud, hoping that Nora hears this. "I love you, Nora."

He then presses the button and the Chamber is filled with the Cryogenic liquid he created. It fills the chamber, making Victor feel nervous. But to his relief, it worked. Nora is in Cryostasis and now, Victor now has all the time in the world to perfect the cure for her life threatening ailment. 

While he hates what he had to do for Black Mask to make this possible and he has had to sacrifice his doctoral title to ensure her safety, it needs to be done. 

Chapter Text

Date: Sunday, November 17th, 2013

Commissioner Peter Pauling steps out of his car  and faces a restaurant titled Little Italy . It's a nice and fancy restaurant in Park Row, the richest district tailored to the most wealthy of families.

The Commissioner doesn't consider himself rich like Carmine Falcone or Salvatore Maroni, so he's never gotten the chance to eat here before now. So, he was flattered when he got the invitation from Falcone but he also can't help but wonder what made Carmine put $2,000 dollars in the card. 

He enters the restaurant where he finds it very vacant with only one person besides him seated at a table; Carmine Falcone. He has a broad smile on his face when he sees the Commissioner. He stands up and says to him, "Commissioner Pauling! I'm glad you could make it." He holds out a hand for him to shake.

Commissioner Pauling shakes his hand. “Thank you for having me here tonight, Mr. Falcone.” 

Falcone smiles kindly. “Not a problem. As the city’s Commissioner, I figured you needed a break from all that’s going on, especially that nasty business with…Firefly.” 

Peter doesn’t say it but he can indicate a barely hidden level of disdain emitting from Falcone. He’s heard a rumor that this man doesn’t take kindly to costumed supercriminals, probably due to the fact that when he was still in his Mafia days, the likes of The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and others from the long list put him out of business with their unpredictability and them always escaping from Arkham Asylum. But he doesn’t share these thoughts with Falcone since it’s none of his business. 

They take a seat at a table and they order some drinks. They then begin to converse with each other about whatever comes to mind but the Commissioner can’t help but take note of the fact that Falcone brings out Batman whenever he can. 

“So, Batman saved you?” Falcone summarizes after Commissioner Pauling finishes his story about Firefly. 

He nods. “Yeah. I wouldn’t be here tonight if not for him.” 

Falcone’s eye twitches and after a moment, he says, “I don’t think we’d be here at all if not for Batman.”

The Commissioner chuckles. “Funny. The DA thinks the same thing.” 

“Then he must be a wise man.” Falcone comments before setting his drink down with a tired sigh. “Y’know, I’ve been in this town since the beginning. My family was well respected for their businesses and sometimes even feared for the power they held. People might’ve had a problem with us but who would you rather have controlling Gotham City – Me or the freaks? At least we never summoned plants from the ground.” 

The Commissioner takes a moment to think about what Falcone’s saying and he does have a point. While he never actually lived in Gotham in that time, he did arrive when the freaks had control over it and he’s always asked himself why the national guard or the US government never got involved in cleaning up this chaotic town. It’s one of those questions where he asked himself if Black Mask was right in some way.

He lets Falcone continue as he grows a bitter expression. “All of this started because of Batman, because he was the first costumed freak and like any movement, he inspired the others to follow in his footsteps but with their own styles and gimmicks.” He takes a large gulp of his whiskey. 

The Commissioner raises his eyebrow at his way of thinking. Batman creates his enemies? “Um, sir, that argument sounds circumstantial at best. I mean, Victor Zsasz would’ve created his tally marks with or without Batman.”

Falcone sets his drink down and has an expression that looks like a teacher prepared to educate their student. “Harvey Dent. Sure, he would have suffered from DID without or without Batman, that was his fathers doing and he didn’t scar his face but would he have really put on a two toned suit and shot places up with twin pistols if not for him?” 

The Commissioner’s mind begins to turn at this. 

“And Edward Nygma. He lived to outsmart Batman and without him, he would’ve found some other way to seek the attention he so craved before he finally got his head out of his ass and reformed. Would he have been a healthy individual? Probably not but he surely wouldn’t have robbed banks while wearing a green suit and bowler hat.” He declares to the Commissioner. “And what about Johnathan Crane? He dressed up in a spooky costume and used fear as a weapon. I wonder where he got that from?” He asks sarcastically, already knowing the answer. “And the piece de resistance - The Joker. He was obsessed with Batman and sought him out to battle over and over.” 

The Commissioner speaks up. “So, you’re saying that without Batman, the city would’ve been crime free?” 

The older man shakes his head. “No. Not crime free but the city would’ve been in better hands than these so-called Supervillains. Have you ever realized that no other cities have supervillains like ours? That’s because Batman gives them the permission to put on ridiculous costume and play Cops and Robbers and now we have these new freaks for this generation like King Kraken, Firefly, Maxie Zeus…Black Mask.” He finishes with gritted teeth and fully revealed disdain. “He’s Gotham’s newest costumed gangster and without Batman, he would’ve never had put on that mask and inspired so much chaos. Batman has to be taken down for everyone’s sake.” He then turns to the Commissioner. “And that’s where you come in, Commissioner.” 

Commissioner Pauling stares blankly at him. “Sir?”

Falcone stands up in front of him. “Admittedly, I didn’t call you just for a drink and chat. I have summoned you in the hopes of you sending capable and competent men to arrest Batman or at least slow him down to where…someone else can deal with him personally.” 

The Commissioner has wide eyes at this news. This is practically a confession that he’s still a crime lord and he wants him to send a hit squad after the man who saved his life? 

He takes a breath. “I appreciate your concern but he saved my life from Firefly. Besides, he might be the only one capable of taking Black Mask down.” 

“You let me take care of him.” Falcone coldly orders. “And you could save more lives than Batman ever could. I suggest you think about that, Commissioner. Good night.” He then heads for the exit.

The Commissioner stands up, courage building up. “Mr. Falcone, you do realize you’ve given me more than enough to suspect you of going back to your criminal roots. I am obliged to warn the GCPD about this meeting.” 

Falcone doesn’t turn to face him. He only says with his cold and calculated voice still intact. “Did you know that less than half of crimes are solved in The United States?” The Commissioner is taken aback by this information that feels like it came out of nowhere. “...Your disappearance might be one of them. You have 24 hours to make your decision.” He then leaves the building and Peter Pauling to think about this, his heart racing. 

He’s already being stabbed and scared by Black Mask. Now he has Carmine Falcone threatening him.

Carmine steps in his car with Ekin Tzu in the back with him. “How’d it go?”

“We’ll see how it turns out. It’s a win-win either way. Either he’s in our pocket and a taskforce is sent or we send him to that cremation place that Fiasco owns and a taskforce is sent.” Carmine explains his reasoning. 

Tzu nods as he says with respect, “I was surprised you didn’t send any more cash his way.” 

“Money doesn’t solve all problems. Sometimes a firm dose of realism is all it takes for things to go your way.” 

Lieutenant Bullock is on the GCPD rooftop, standing beside the Bat Signal, which is covered in long, gray, drapes. In front of him is Batman, looking as dark and brooding as usual. The past detective informs him of what he’s learned from his interviews with the directors and writers from the Gotham Movie Studio. 

Batman finally says, “I see. Good work, Detective. I’ll take it from here.” 

“You’re gonna go after him guns blazing?” Bullock asks, looking at him as if he’s stupid. “You don’t think it would be wise to bring some backup?”

Batman thinks for a moment before he nods. “You’re right. Tell your superiors to surround the place. He’s not escaping custody this time.” He then glides off the rooftop. 

Bullock lets out a sigh. “Godspeed, Tim.” He says to himself after Batman is gone and out of earshot.

It wasn’t that hard to figure out who was under the mask. He knew Tim Drake was Batman when he first called him during the King Kraken case. But he’s not telling anyone though. Despite his dislike for vigilanties and costumed wackos in general, he knows that the GCPD is overrun by Falcone, Black Mask and others. 

Gotham City needs Batman. For now, anyway.

*VROOM*

Batman’s back in the Batmobile and driving to the apartment when he calls Alfred. “Alfred, look up an actress named Cassie Freinse.”

“One moment, sir.” Alfred tells him through the video chat. “Right, she’s a talented actress, went to Julliard in New York and came here to Gotham to star in her first big budget movie titled Bullets and Blood when an accident occurred, severely injuring her.” 

“80% of her body was burned, correct?” Batman asks. 

Alfred looks at him in awe. “Yes, she was. How did you know? Wait, does this have something to do with the Firefly case?”

Batman nods. “It does. I’ll explain later but for now, I need you to send her a donation to get her into the best hospital, best care, and the best physiatrist that can be paid for.” 

Alfred nods. “Of course, sir. I suppose you would wish this charitable donation to remain anonymous.” 

Batman lightly smirks. “You know me so well. I’m heading to a warehouse that Lynns’ has in the city and the GCPD is going to cut him off.” 

“Proceed with caution, sir. Mr. Lynns is a formidable foe, he’s not planning on going down without a fight.”

“Neither do I.” Batman answers back to him before hanging out and focuses on driving to the warehouse.

Commissioner Peter Pauling is on a phone call in his office. This phone call isn’t with anyone related to work, no it’s a private number but, to both the Commissioner’s fear and discomfort, it’s with The Black Mask.

“S-sir, he wants me to send a hit squad on Batman and turn the city against him.”

“And what did you say to him?” The voice of Black Mask asks.

“I haven’t given him an answer. I wanted to tell you first.” The Commissioner informs him.

“Huh, I guess you do have some brain cells.” Black Mask remarks, making Commissioner Pauling wince. “I knew this was going to happen, that Old Man Falcone was gonna make a move. I just didn’t think it was gonna be something like this…Heh, I wish I thought of it.” 

Commissioner Pauling is taken aback. “Sir?”

“Here’s what’s going to happen – You are going to accept his deal and get a warrant or whatever to get Batman heated down.”

Commissioner Pauling asks, “You don’t seriously think that we’re gonna be able to bring him in?”

“Of course not but at least he’ll be distracted enough. I have future projects planned and I don’t need Batman spoiling the fun yet.” 

He says to Black Mask carefully and in a whisper, “Sir, B-Batman saved my life. I-if I were to do that, I’d be–”

“Oh, you’ll get over that little footnote soon,” Black Mask waves him off before he says in a low and threatening voice, “Unless you want a few more scars to hide? Hmm?” 

The Commissioner gasps, feeling more scared of Black Mask than he is of Carmine Falcone. He says, desperate not to feel anymore pain, “No, sir. I’ll do what I’m told.” 

“That’s what I thought. But for questioning me, I’ll have to consider what to do with you when we meet again. In the meantime, get the job done.” He then hangs up.

Commissioner Pauling feels like he’s going to have a heart attack, like he’s in that dark tunnel with…him and his friends. They’ve left deep scars in him and they’ve removed toenails violently just to get him to corporate and give them as much guns and ammo as possible. He’s scared, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do because there’s nothing he can do. He can’t go to anyone about this or they’ll kill him on the spot. They made that very clear. 

He breaks down in his office, letting numerous tears drip from his face. 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Hey, Commish!” The moment to himself is ruined by the voice of  Lieutenant Harvey Bullock. 

Commissioner Peter Pauling quickly breathes in and out and brushes the tears off his face before opening the door to greet Bullock. “What?”

“We gotta lead on the Firefly case.” He hands him a file. “You can look over it in the car. He has a warehouse in Burnley on Nolan and Burton street.”

The Commissioner lets out a humorless laugh. “HIs warehouse is in Burnley? Cute. Let’s go.” 

Bullock nods and they walk out together as Bullock points at the Commissioner’s face. “Hey, you alright?”

“I’m fine.” The Commissioner states, curtly before they leave the offices and they go downstairs to get in a car. 

Batman steps out of his vehicle and onto the roads of Gotham as he faces a warehouse that’s presumed to be abandoned by others but The Dark Knight knows better. He knows that Garfield Lynns is using this place for his own personal uses.

He goes inside to find the place vacant but with only a few supplies of flammable material lying around and scatters unorganized. 

‘Looks like Firefly was experimenting and trying to figure out how to start the most dangerous fires.’ Batman thinks to himself, using his detection skills. He also finds old takeout boxes from Big Belly Burger, Domino’s Pizza, and KFC. ‘He must’ve been living here for quite some time after he was fired from his job.’

*CLICK*

Batman hears a noise from behind him, so he turns around before shock builds up. He’s not alone – Garfield Lynns is in the same warehouse as Batman and he’s geared up for a fight as he throws an object at him. 

*BOOM*

Batman is knocked back due to the small objects that had been thrown releasing a small yet very dangerous fire in the room. Batman gets up as the fire begins to spread.

“What do you think, Bats?” Firefly asks, looking exhilarated that his new weapon has worked. “They’re something new I came up with. I’m calling them ‘The Blazing Embers’. Is it too on the nose? Tell me the truth?” 

Fires circle the room as Batman retorts, “Not bad for a special effects artist.” 

Firefly stands there, shocked but he shakes it off with a cackle. “I guess it was only a matter of time that you figured it out. I only wish I was able to burn more things before the truth came out.” 

“I’m locking you away, Lynns!” Batman snaps.

“You can try, Batman. But you just don’t hold a candle to me!” Firefly fires back as he throws another Blazing Ember directly at Batman but he’s able to throw a Batarang, sending it off course and far back. 

*BOOM* 

However, the explosion still goes off, making the fires more dangerous and big. Batman tries to run at Lynns so he can tackle him to the ground but the fire continues to spread, putting both Batman and Firefly at a distance and separating them from any attacks.

The fires grow closer to Batman as the Caped Crusader looks for a way out of this. Firefly continues to either throw more Blazing Embers to make the situation more deadly or watches with anticipation as he imagines Batman burning in the very thing he loves to. 

“Is that suit flame proof, Batman?!” Firefly mocks, letting out another laugh. 

Then, the entire warehouse lights up as Police Helicopters aim their search light at it. Someone from the copter shouts, “Stand down! I repeat, stand down!” 

Firefly looks annoyed at this and he says, “Burn in hells, Bats!” Before exiting the building.

Batman coughs up a storm as oxygen leaves the room due to the ginormous flames that grow continuously throughout the warehouse. But he doesn’t give up his search for an exit as he knows that Gotham still needs Batman and there’s more work to be done before his death. He’s not holding onto dear life because he wants to live but because it’s what Gotham City needs from him. 

He then gets an idea; He grabs a hold of his cape and he uses it as a means to block the bright flames away from him as he runs through the smaller ones and back towards the exit after dusting himself off.

“Great, Lucius is gonna have to make some repairs on this.” Batman grumbles in annoyance as he exits through the door.

*WEE WOO*

*WEE WOO*

*WEE WOO*

*WEE WOO*

Batman sees that the outside of the warehouse is in shambles with burn marks and injured or…dead police officers due to skin burns that were gained by battling the dangerous arsonist. Police cars escape the scene as helicopters take chase through the skies and Ambulances roll up to help the injured or to stuff people in body bags.

Batman gets back in the Batmobile and quickly contacts Detective Bullock. “Bullock, what’s happening? Where’s Firefly?”

“He got into his car and we’re chasing him now but he’s throwing some kind of fire grenades. Do you think you could be a pal and HELP US OUT?!!!” Bullock screams.

“I’m coming. Just get Lynns off the streets and away from innocent people.” Batman orders before hanging up and racing towards the scene, fast.

Lieutenant Bullock and Commissioner Peter Pauling are in a squad car together as they and several other officers of the Gotham City Police Department are in a great pursuit of Firefly, who’s driving a red and black Toyota Camry and throwing his newly crafted Blazing Embers at police cars and the roads in general. 

*BOOM*

One of the Blazing Embers goes off and it sends one police car off the road to flip on its roof. Bullock could only watch. 

“Dammit!” Bullock curses as he continues to give chase. “We gotta get this guy off the road.” He then gets an idea as he comes to the realization that he, the other officers and Firefly are near The Giordano Botanical Gardens and it’s not very crowded at night, at all even. He turns to the Commissioner. “You thinking what I’m thinking, Commish?”

The Commissioner connects the dots inside his head before giving a nod. “I think I got the gist of it, yeah.”

Then, Firefly throws another Blazing Ember onto the road.

“Turn, turn!” The Commissioner shouts in panic. Bullock quickly stirs away, barely avoiding the explosive weapon.

*BOOM*

Luckily, no one got hurt by that last explosion but more people will definitely get hurt if this matter isn’t handled quickly. 

Commissioner Peter Pauling takes out his radio and he says to the other line, “When I give the signal, ram your car into his and get him off the road and into the Botanical Gardens!”

“Copy, sir! Just tell us when.” The other line responds

Bullock takes out his gun and, carefully still stirring his vehicle, aims at one of the tires of Firefly’s car.

“Firearms training, don’t fail me now.” Bullock says to himself before pressing the trigger down.

*BANG*

*POP*

“Yes!” Bullock cheers in celebration at the sight of one of the wheels being shot and the car furiously stirring out of control.

“NOW!” Commissioner Pauling shouts over the radio and then, he, Bullock and several other officers ram their vehicle into Firefly’s, sending him through a fence and into The Giordano Botanical Gardens

*CRASH*

Firefly’s car crashes into the old Botanical Gardens, abandoned by Gotham because it was one of the numerous hideouts used by Pamela Isely, also known as Poison Ivy. No one goes near the place because of the constant fear of one of the plants coming alive and killing those who cross on the past supervillain’s land. Even something as small as grass can make people hesitate and run away from The Giordano Botanical Gardens as fast as they can, never to turn back.

It’s been long since condemned and abandoned, much like the old fair grounds that was once used by The Joker and no one wanted to go there due to the constant reminder of the sociopathic clown and the dark cloud that he’s brought over Gotham. To this day, even his laughter makes the strong willed men shutter in fear. 

GCPD officers surround the condemned gardens and Police Helicopters shine their searchlights on the place. The Commissioner and Bullock get out of the car as Commissioner Pauling gives out orders. “Surround the area now. No one gets in or out except for us. Search every inch of this garden and find him.”

One patrol officer speaks up. “Sir, we can’t go in there. Ivy’s plants might still be active.” 

Bullock rolls his eyes, annoyed. “I had no idea our department was full of pussies. Man up! Ivy hasn’t been in Gotham for years.” 

The Commissioner nods, grateful towards Lieutenant  Bullock. “He’s right. Get down there, all of you. Now!” They all get out of their cars and surround the place.

Firefly steps out of his vehicle and he says, “It wasn’t supposed to go down like this but you PIGS have forced my hand! Tonight, I’m setting the woods on FIRE!!” He throws a Blazing Ember at the GCPD Helicopter.

*BOOM*

The explosive hits the helicopter’s tail rotor, making it spin down of control and pilots shouting, “We’ve been hit! Mayday! MAYDAY!!” 

Commissioner Pauling shouts to everyone, “Get back! Get out of the way!” They take cover before anyone gets hurt as the helicopter crashes.

*CRASH*

*BOOM*

The helicopter is destroyed and everyone inside is either dead or burned alive. Firefly continues to either throw Blazing Embers at cops or simply use his flamethrower to get the job done.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Police officers fire at Firefly but his flames are growing too big for them to handle. 

“Roasted pigs. Just the way I like ‘em!” Firefly mocks as he lets out a series of cackles and flames from his weapon. But then, a sudden jolt of pain hits his arm, making him let go of the trigger and his dangerous weapon. “AHH!!” He then realizes that a batarang has been thrown directly into his arm and he loses focus of the cops and tries to get the throwing weapon out of his arm. “I’m gonna kill that flying rat and burn him alive!”

Then, the shadow of a bat hovers over him and, looking up, he sees Batman gliding towards him with a grim and angered look on his face and for the first time since he’s seen Batman, he’s actually afraid. Firefly is then kicked in the face and sent to the grounds of the Botanical Gardens. He tries to get back up but Batman grabs Firefly’s head and sends it straight into the ground very hard. 

“You’re done, Lynns.” Batman sneers as he grabs him and brings him to the GCPD’s custody. He then sees the damage that has been caused because he got here too late; Numerous officers have earned themselves heated burns, some are dead and burned alive and the Botanical Gardens is in even more ruins than it already was. All that added with the helicopter crashing into a street.

Batman looks saddened by the loss of these brave men or just the civilians that were caught in the crossfire. “This is all my fault. I should’ve gotten here sooner.” He says aloud in self loathing and discouragement. Then, Bullock walks towards him and Batman has to ask. “How many…?” He trails off. 

Bullock lets out a tired sigh and with a heavy heart, he says, “About 6, maybe 12.” He then says with a firm voice and gestures to all the damage caused by Firefly. “This is what I meant, Batman. This isn’t your fault but this guy’s only punishment will be Arkham. Something has to change, we need a better solution to these monsters.” 

As of right now, Batman can see Bullocks point of view. 

The Commissioner walks towards Batman and he immediately says to the vigilante, “I will not tolerate vigilantes in my town anymore.” He turns to other officers. “Arrest this man, now!”

Batman wasn’t expecting that but the next thing he knows it that countless GCPD officers have their guns trained at him.

“Hands up, Batman!”

“You got nowhere to run.”

“We said hands up, Bat-Freak!”

“Are you out of your mind, Commish?!”

“Stand down, Bullock!”

Having no other alternative, Batman raises his hands high in the air for all of the GCPD to see…before throwing a smoke bomb onto the ground, clouding the air and their vision and escaping into the night.

When the smoke clears, Lieutenant Bullock incredulously asks the Commissioner, “The hell was that?”

“What was necessary.” The Commissioner vaguely states before turning his attention to Firefly. “Get that bastard to Arkham.” 

The officers pick him up as Garfield Lynns is removed of his mask and his weapons. He says threateningly, “The Bat…will burn for this. You all will!” The GCPD Officers ignore his threats and throw him inside an armored truck, handcuffed and neutralized as a threat.

The Commissioner is then approached by a member of the S.W.A.T. Team. “Sir, do you want us going after Batman?”

The Commissioner shakes his head. “No, we’ll get him next time. I hereby issue a warrant for Batman’s arrest. Either we chase him out of Gotham, we arrest him or he’s a deadman walking.” 

Honestly, those words hurt The Commissioner more than anyone will ever know. He admires Batman and respects him, but now he’s being forced by both The Black Mask and Carmine Falcone. God, he feels like such a coward. But what choice does he have? Neither crime lords will hesitate to kill him and Black Mask is far more…intense and sadistic than Falcone is. 

As much as he dislikes going along with this, he has to in order to live another day.

Chapter Text

Date: Thursday, November 28th, 2013

In the laboratory of Victor Fries, he and Roman Sionis look over plans for cryogenic weapons. 

Fries picks one of them up and shows them to his boss. "This one is designed for short ranged attacks, providing a high level of durability, reliability, and ergonomic design."

Roman nods. "Alright, this looks good. A commendable job, Doc."

Victor nearly winces at the name 'Doc'. A Doctor swears not to do harm but all this…it's evil. There's no better way to describe it. He no longer feels worthy of the Doctoral position.

"So, any plans for the holidays?" Roman asks him, having the gall to act casual.

To be honest, he had nearly forgotten that today is Thanksgiving, the day to be thankful for what you've been blessed with. Normally, he and…Nora would be cooking together, creating plentiful meals of warm and delicious foods, such as turkey, mashed potatoes and their favorite, a black forest cake made from scratch. They didn't have any relatives to share the day with, so it was one of their favorite holidays, along with Christmas and New Years. 

But now, things are different. Nora is on her death bed and Victor is creating dangerous and deadly weapons in order to get the resources to find and/or create a cure for her life threatening ailment. But that doesn't mean that he won't make it special for her. He can take her out of the chamber for a short period of time so they can eat and talk together but the time they spend together will be limited. 

Finally, he answers Sionis. "Not really, sir." He lies. He doesn't think Sionis needs to know what he does in his personal time.

Luckily, Sionis has bought his lie and says almost mockingly, "Feel bad for you. You gonna visit Nora later?"

Victor nods. "Yes, I am." He doesn't lie on that part. Since Nora was put in his lab, he's made sure to visit Nora before going to sleep since she deep sleeps in her cryo chamber in Victor's lab. 

Sionis shrugs. "Alright." He grabs his jacket from behind a chair and he says, "As usual, make sure you lock up the lab. I expect the weapons to be made by Monday."

Victor nods. "Yes, sir." With one last nod, Sionis walks out of the room, leaving Victor alone in his laboratory.

Roman Sionis parks his car in the driveway of stately Wayne Manor and gets out of his vehicle with a container of mashed potatoes in his hand.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

He knocks on the door and waits for an answer. Luckily, he doesn't have to wait for long since Alfred Pennyworth opens the door with a welcoming yet professional manner.

"Welcome, Mr. Sionis." The old man greets him and lets him into the impressive house.

Roman walks in the door. "Thanks, Jeeves. Happy Thanksgiving."

Alfred smiles. "And to you as well." He then spots the container. "Ah, I see you brought Master Tim's favorite."

Roman passes it to him. "Indeed, I did. Speaking of which, where is the kid?" 

"He is personally making sure his charity is successful."

Roman has a spark of pride within him. Every Thanksgiving, Tim donates freshly made turkeys to those who can't afford food and/or an oven to make the food. He's been using his and Barbara's homes to make sure that delicious foods are given to those who need it. While he does have a few fundraisers every once in a while, Timothy is the one who handles the fundraisers.

"When will he be back?" Ro.an ponders.

"He told me he'll be done and back in time for the festivities in half an hour." Alfred informs him. "In the meantime, Master Tim told me to allow you and the others to get started without him."

Roman shrugs. "Sounds good to me. I'm starving." They walk in the dining room where he is met by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who runs a free clinic in the Narrows and is a trusted friend of Tim and Alfred, along with Barbara Gordon, James 'Jimmy' Gordon and Lucius Fox, all of whom are here at this Thanksgiving feast. Harvey Bullock and Luke Fox, Lucius Fox's son, is also here and is said to have come back from the military.

Barbara sees Roman and she waves. "Roman! Happy Thanksgiving!"

Roman smiles widely. "Barbara! As I live and breathe, Happy Thanksgiving." He turns to Jimmy Gordon. "I don't believe he met, young man." He holds out his hand to shake.

Jimmy shakes it. "James Gordon Jr. but I prefer Jimmy. Tim talks aboit you quite often, Mr. Sionis."

"Please, Mr. Sionis was my father. It's Roman." He turns to Lucius Fox and his son. "Lucius, glad to see you could make it and good to see your son was let out early."

He and Lucius Fox shake hands. "Yeah, it's been a while since we've got to see each other."

Luke looks apologetic. "I'm sorry about that."

Lucius turns to him, not angrily but proudly. "Don't be. You're serving our country. I couldn't be more proud."

Luke smiles. 

Harvey Bullock asks Leslie Dr. Leslie Thompkins, "So, how's the clinic?"

Leslie shrugs. "It's going well enough. The Narrows aren't as bad as they used to be, which is a good thing."

Bullock nods. "Yeah, I remember the days when all kinds of mob shit flooded the streets in that place." 

Leslie grimaces at the memories. "Me too." She then clears her throat and says, "Let's not talk about that, just to make sure we don't spoil our dinner."

No one seemed to have any problems with that and they begin to eat but not too much since they want to save some for Tim, who still hasn't arrived yet.

At the home of Carmine Falcone, they're having their own kind of party together. The mob boss himself is making food. He points at Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy. "You add the sausages." 

Slick nods. "Yes sir. Thank you for inviting us tonight."

"After all you've done for me and my family, I say you've earned it." He tells him, making Slick go pink. Falcone turns to Mink, "We have much to be thankful for."

The Mink smiles. "Indeed, we do." He lifts up a glass of wine. "I would like to propose a toast, if you're okay with it." Carmine lets him make his toast. "It hasn't been easy for us over the years but I am very certain that we will come out on top. What I am trying to say is that I'm thankful for this second chance we've been given."

*CLINK*

"Cheers!" They all cheer and lift their glasses together. 

Carmine nods. "I couldn't have put it better myself." In all honesty, he considers Micky and the rest of his crew as family. In all their years of serving him, they haven't once failed him. Besides, they're the only family he has left after his wife and sons left him in disgust and his daughter, Sofia…died. But he doesn't think about that and continues to push forward, as his daughter would've wanted.

Then, in comes Salvatore Maroni. "Happy Thanksgiving, folks! I bought cheesecake since I didn't know what to bring." He chuckles awkwardly.

Carmine shrugs. "That's acceptable. Put it on the table."

Maroni does as he's told and he asks, "So, what are your plans for tonight?"

"You're looking at it." Falcone states as he continues to cook. "We're making dinner and then we'll eat. You can stick around if you want but don't think you're staying the night."

Maroni shakes his head. "I wouldn't dream of it. Thanks for the offer but I'm hosting a charity event at my restaurant. If I get on everyone's good side then everyone will be coming to me for a place to live, not the Drake kid." He explains, finishing it with a bitter tone. 

Carmine nods, understandingly. He knows that the Drake kid and Maroni are at odds with each other and as much as he hates it, he'll have no choice but to play peacekeeper between the two if it comes to it.

Donny Boy speaks up. "We're going drinking after we eat." He turns to Falcone. "You and Mr. Maroni and welcome to accompany us as well, Mr. Falcone."

"As flattered as I am that you invited me, I cannot." Falcone refuses. "I have other arrangements." 

The Mink knows what arrangements those are. He's only one of the very few people who know where he goes on these types of holidays. All though, he doesn't tell anyone since it's not his secret to tell. Plus, Falcone would lose trust in him if he did and he would rather be shot and killed than lose that said trust. 

The main reason why Falcone keeps this 'arrangement' a secret is because it would make him look weak and not the feared crime lord everyone knows him as. 

In the laboratory of Victor Fries, he and his girlfriend, Nora Fields, eat Thanksgiving food together, cooked by the devoted man himself. They sit on Ralene chairs, in front of a table with a lovely white table cloth on top and roses in a water filled vase with plentiful meals of delicious foods that fit the Thanksgiving theme. 

"I hope I did alright with the cooking." Victor says to her. "You were always better at it than me."

Nora shakes her head, smiling. "You did excellent, darling. I noticed you used a new flavoring for the turkey."

Victor nods. “Yes, I added some lemon and thyme flavoring in them. I was experimenting.” 

Nora takes a bit out of her food. “Well, it was definitely a success–” She starts to cough violently. 

Victor immediately rushes to her aid and gets her some water to drink while helping her swallow it. “Here, drink this slowly.” She does as instructed and she swallows the water. “Are you alright?”

Nora regains her composure and says slowly, “I’m…I’m fine, Victor. Thank you.” After a moment of hesitating, she asks him, “Honey, how long will this treatment last?”

Victor is silent for a moment before he sighs. “Months, perhaps. It’ll take time, I’m afraid.” Nora nods, understanding this situation but she looks gloomy. “Hey.” He says soothingly as he gently holds her yellowish hand. “I know that this isn’t the most conventional way to treat your Yellow Fever and I can’t possibly imagine what you’re going through right now but I promise, this will work and I will not rest until I perfect a cure that will end your suffering. That is my vow to you. I’m not leaving your side, never.” 

Nora looks at Victor with fondness and admiration gleaming more brightly than your yellowish skin due to her Jaundice. She lets out a sad yet almost hopeful smile. “I am so lucky to have you,” 

Victor shakes his head, his hand still holding onto Nora’s. “No, it is I who is lucky. Lucky to have you in my life.” 

They stare into each other’s eyes and they kiss, which is possible since Yellow Fever isn’t contagious through lip contact and violent coughs. 

*DING*

They turn to a clock, which is going off. Unfortunately, both Victor and Nora know what that means.

Victor turns to her, apologetic. “Looks like our time is up.”

Nora nods before she sighs. “I wish we had more time.” 

Victor shares her thoughts and says to her, “Unfortunately, my dear, time hasn’t been on our side lately.” 

Nora takes that in and she knows he’s correct, no matter how much she dislikes it. Nora gets up from her chair with Victor’s help and they walk, albeit slowly, towards the Cryo Chamber. He aids her by lifting her arms and legs into the machine and finally, makes sure that she’s well adjusted in the device. 

“I promise, we will fix this.” Victor swears to her. 

Nora slowly nods, about to stir into a deep sleep. “I believe you. I know I’m in good hands.” Her eyes start to drift.

He wastes no time putting back her Capnography Mask around her and hooks the mask to a supply of oxygen. With one last kiss on her yellowed cheek, he closes the door and activates the machine and the liquid refills her chamber.

At the Gotham Cemetery, Carmine Falcone stands in front of a gritty and gray tombstone. It reads, ‘Here lies Sofia Falcone. Born in 1972 and died in 1994. Beloved daughter.’

Normally, Carmine doesn’t allow weakness to be visible towards his enemies and colleagues but everytime he comes here, he feels…weak, wounded. His only daughter, gunned down because of the war between him and the freaks of Gotham. 

He never wanted her or any of his children involved in his business. He wanted to give his family something they deserved; Normalcy. He couldn’t give himself that because he didn’t deserve that. To be honest, he doesn’t really want that. He’s in this game to win and he will win.

But back with his daughter, his beautiful baby girl, it felt like yesterday when he was changing her diapers and teaching her to walk, along with his sons, Mario and Alberto. Another lifetime ago was Carmine guiding them and keeping them safe in this city, which was so much simpler since it was before the freaks came along. Gotham was better under his control. At least he was able to keep this city from being attacked by clowns, riddles, puppets, and other abnormal things. His children were able to live freely from them while also being under his protection and no one dared cross him back then.

But now, things have changed and everyone’s out to get him. A memory comes back to him when he and his family were first attacked by the freaks of this city.

The date was May 23th, 1992 and he was hosting a charity fundraiser for the Gotham police at his mansion before it was shut down when he was sent to Arkham Asylum. To some, the fundraiser was simply to encourage and aid the police in the growing battle against The Batman and the freaks of Gotham but it was really to get the police pursued towards his side because he felt like he was losing influence with them since Oswald Cobblepot showed his ugly flippers in Gotham’s inner circle.

The 1990s was when the chaos started. Batman showed up in May of 1990 and The Mad Monk was the very first costumed freak to show up in Gotham City and next came King Tut, The Painter of Death and the other freaks appeared in a city that once had order under Falcone's rule but all that went to hell when Batman showed up.

Many guests who arrived wanted to donate to a good cause or who just wanted some free drinks and food. Those guests consisted of Dr. Thomas Elliot, one of the head surgeons in Gotham.

Another guest was Bruce Wayne or the Prince of Gotham as he was called before he died, god rest his soul. He was described as a drunken buffoon, always partying and drinking the most expensive wines but deep down, Falcone knew that he deeply cared about Gotham but he shielded himself off from everyone besides that butler of his. 

Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, the Director of the most controversial institution in the United States of America, Arkham Asylum was another figurehead present that night. He was a guest he didn't like having because it was his job to keep those freaks inside but he and the rest of the insane asylum were so incompetent, they couldn't keep King Tut behind bars. 

Two other guests he wasn't fond of were Captain Jim Gordon and the man who would become the next DA, Harvey Dent. Those two were always sniffing around his charities and businesses, hoping to find evidence against him.

Truth be told, he was grateful to Joker for killing Gordon and that's the only time he'll ever express gratitude towards that monster. However, Dent becoming Two-Face was a major blow to his operations and he was one of the reasons why he had to pack up and leave, much to his dismay.

Roman Sionis, who was someone that Carmine Falcone personally got along with since they both were men of business. In the present, he took over Wayne Enterprises, so he's clearly doing something right.

And the other more 'richer' families were Jack and Janet Drake, both traveling businessmen and archaeologists. They said they had a 2-3 year old son, Tim Drake, who they left at home to attend that nightly gathering on the dock. They were close partners with Roman Sionis.

Carmine’s daughter and son, Sofia and Alberto, attended because Falcone wanted them close to him to avoid any competitors using them as…leverage over him. Several men and women had called him paranoid in the past but he prefers to think of it as thinking one step ahead. 

He took to the stage and said over a microphone, “May I please have your attention?” Everyone simmered down to hear the older man. “I organized this party tonight because it was me acting as a concerned citizen. I have seen how Gotham's police force has been running themselves rampont lately and I knew they needed all the help they could get. Because I know that vigilante's aren't the ones to be trusted to defend our families and you all know that there’s nothing more important to me than family.”

That part was true. He had made some regrets in his life but one of his greatest moments was raising both his daughter and son, Sofia and Alberto. He saw them standing behind him, both with wine glasses in their hands, cheering him on.

He gave them a slight smile and nod before continuing. “Thank you all for being here and for your generosity. I see many familiar faces in the crowd, such as Captain James Gordon.” 

*CLAP*

“Mr. Mayor,”

*CLAP*

“And Bruce Wayne.” He turned to the billionaire in the crowd, who was leaning against a wall. “Bruce, it gives me great joy to see you after so long." He then said to the audience, "I knew his family, y'know. I knew his father, the great Dr. Thomas Wayne. He saved my life once, something I'll never forget or repay. He had inspired me to act in the city's best interests," He turned back to Bruce. "Your father was a great man, a better man than I'll ever be and it wasn’t fair for either him or your dear mother to go out how they did. I only hope that this charity and beyond has made them proud. To the Waynes!” 

*CLAP*

Bruce was speechless and stoic but Carmine could detect an aura of disgust leaking from his face as a forced smile widened. It made Carmine feel sad in a way since it was never his intention for Bruce to hate him. He always had respect for the Waynes ever since Dr. Wayne saved his life long ago. Back when he and Maroni were at odds with each other, Maroni’s father shot Carmine and that started a gang war between the two families. Since they couldn’t go to a hospital, they went to the only person they could think of; The best surgeon in Gotham, Dr. Thomas Wayne, the father of Bruce Wayne. With the Doctor’s help, Carmine’s life was saved. 

It’s the main reason why Carmine Falcone despised the theories that he hired an assassin to kill both Thomas and Martha Wayne. Carmine did nothing of the sort because it would be a disgrace upon their family after what they did for him in his moment of need. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne believed those rumors, causing him to keep his distance from the Falcones. Carmine may be guilty of a lot of things but he only wished he could have proved to Bruce that he had not caused such a tragic accident before his death. 

But as the party progressed and everyone mingled, something happened that night, something that only could be described as one of Carmine Falcone’s most humiliating moments in his entire life as Gotham’s unofficial king.

*BANG*

*BANG*

They all heard gun shots that came from another room. Falcone was more annoyed than startled since opening fire in your house doesn't exactly give any kind of great impression. Then, a door above a balcony barged opened and a bodyguard was thrown onto the railing, his gun dropping to the floor.

Falcone and every guest in the room looked up to see a young woman in a costume. No one knew her name back then and it remains a mystery to this day. All they know is that she went by The Catwoman.

Catwoman was the greatest cat burglar in Gotham and possibly one of the greatest thieves in the world. She wore a black skin tight leather suit with dark lightweight running boots. A cowl was on her head that had two cat ears sewn into the sides of it, black gloves with metal fingertips were worn on her hands and on Catwoman's side was a handle to a brown thin, leather bullwhip. Her black gloved, metal finger tipped right hand gripped a large bag of money, stolen from Falcone’s safe under his bed. 

This was the first time someone ever dared to steal from The Roman and it caused others to follow in her footsteps similarly yet differently. The people of Gotham were starting to gain some courage against the crime families and it was the freak’s fault. 

But Falcone calmed himself down and said loudly towards the Sullivan enforcers, “Gentlemen, this young lady is trespassing on my property. Escort her out, now.” 

Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan, Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly, and Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil all nodded and they ran towards her, secretly armed with pocket knives and loaded guns.

Slick said, “Just put down the cash and you can leave.”

The Catwoman merely grinned like a cheshire cat. “Oh, where’s the fun in that?” She took out her whip and swung it at Donny Boy’s legs and tugged, making him fall on the ground, back first. Mink took out his gun and aimed at her but Catwoman kicked it from his hand, landing on the ground near the guests. Dapper Kevin and Two-Times team up and attack her but it was a futile attempt as Catwoman jumped above them and kicked them both down. Slick tried to punch her but Catwoman caught it and kneed him in his stomach and finished him off with a punch to his face.

Dapper Kevin, Mink, and Two-Times got back up and were ready to fight again. She said with a cocky tone of voice, “Now, now boys. There’s plenty of me to go around.” She attacked them with her whip and it slashed some parts of their faces but Two-Times was the most hurt since it hit him in his eyes. 

The Mink grabbed her and pinned her against the wall and was about to go for his knife when Catwoman stomped on his left foot hard, grabbed him by the arm and threw him into a flower pot. Dapper Kevin crawled for his gun but she kicked him to the floor.

Donny Boy stood up but simply leaped at him and kicked him back down, still managing to land gracefully. 

The crowd looked amazed by the scene and chattered about it;

“Did you see that?”

“That was amazing!”

“You go, girl!” 

“Costumed criminals, vigilantes, mob gangs, I love Gotham city at night! There’s never a dull moment.” 

At that moment, Carmine Falcone was flabbergasted that someone managed to take them down. Never in his life did he ever see anyone succeed in a fight with them. To this day, it had been The Sullivan crime family's most humiliating defeat but now that Falcone had grown older and wiser, he realized that there was no one anybody could have done to stop her, so he hasn’t held it against them. 

But he regained his focus and he went up the stairs to put an end to this when another attacker made an attempt on Catwoman but it wasn’t a henchmen or a thug but a young man with glasses, black greasy hair, and blue eyes. This young man was his son, Alberto Falcone. In Carmine’s opinion, he had a bright future ahead of him. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard and was an Oxford Rhodes Scholar.

He came at her, swinging a wooden cue stick but Catwoman was more agile and kicked the stick in half. She then punched him in his face, making his glasses crack and shoved him to the wall and trapped his hand under his boot, making him drop the other half of his stick. “Cat got your tongue?” She playfully asked Carmine’s son.

Alberto struggled to escape. “You dumb bitch!” He growled.

Catwoman looked surprised. “No one has ever accused me of being dumb.”

“You’re dumb for coming here tonight. You’ll be dead within the week, you hear?” Alberto warned her. 

Then, Sofia Falcone, the brother of Alberto and the daughter of Carmine, charged at her. Her long, brown curly hair reached to her shoulders and her brown hair burned with rage.

Alberto fell to the ground in agony as Carmine went to help him. "You alright?"

Alberto wiped blood off his face. "I'm fine. Don't let her get away with this, father."

Carmine had a grim and cold face. "I don't plan on it, son." He took out a silver knuckle buster and planned it through his fingers as he walked towards Catwoman, who was still fighting Sofia. 

Sofia was much bigger, muscular and ruthless. She knew when to get her hands dirty while Catwoman was one of the more honorable freaks in Gotham. But that didn’t stop her from using her claws.

*SCRATCH*

“Ah!” Catwoman’s sharp, silver claws scarred Sofia’s knee and headbutted her, making Sofia stagger back and unable to prevent Catwoman from kicking her in the face. 

“Sofia!” Carmine shouted, alarmed. He then grew angry at how this woman was embarrassing them, so he threw a fist at her with his knuckle buster. But Catwoman dodged it and struck his leg, making him fall to the ground on his knee. 

*SCRATCH*

Her claws struck Carmine’s face, creating scars on the left side of his cheek and blood dripped from the silver claws and from Carmine’s face, both landing on the once clean floor. 

Carmine’s hand covered the now bloody side of his cheek. “My face!”

And with a smug and somewhat beautiful smile, she sent one last fist flying directly into his stomach. Carmine Falcone was unable to get up and was defeated. 

Catwoman said, “Well, that was quite the workout. We’ll have to do this again sometime.” After getting the bag of money from the floor, her attention turned to the crowd, which were still watching with open-mouthed astonishment. “I don’t think we’ve been fully introduced…I am Catwoman, hear my roar!” 

As James Gordon came running at her with a gun, Catwoman leaped onto the crystal chandelier and lunged herself out a window, escaping into the night with a bag full of green riches.

Back at the Gotham Cemetery in present day, Carmine Falcone caresses the side of his cheek where the scar is still visible to this day, finally finished recalling the tale when Carmine realized that the freaks of Gotham weren’t just some minor annoyance to be ignored. 

They are dangerous and unpredictable and he’s ashamed that it took him until that night to realize it. If he knew what he did now a lot sooner, then he would have killed Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman and all the others in a week and Sofia…she would still be alive.

She was a casualty of the war between him and the freaks and her death was when he lost his will to continue the war. He soon left Gotham and allowed Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, and Joker to run it however they wanted. It was a decision that hurt his pride but he knew that he was outmatched.

But no more. He won’t run away this time, he won’t fold because of some unpredictable madman. Black Mask is the only freak who holds any real power in Gotham, the others like King Kraken and Firefly are small fish in a big pond and Falcone will be the fisherman that batter and fry Black Mask and Batman.

Tim Drake walks into Wayne Manor and finds everyone else in the dining room, eating, talking and laughing about whatever they were discussing.

They all see him and they look thrilled to see him. “Tim!” Most of them cheer.

Tim smiles. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I’m sorry that I’m late.” 

Alfred shakes his head. “Oh, not to worry, Master Tim. We’ve saved you some food.”

Tim gladly sits down after giving several hugs to Alfred, Barbara, Roman, and others and he shakes hands with Lucius Fox’s son. “Luke, is it? Your father has told me much about you.” 

Luke blushes and gives a non heated glare at his father. “You’re always bragging about me, Pops?”

Lucius shrugs. “I don’t see any reason not to.” 

“So, how was the charity thing?” Barbara asks Tim.

“Very successful.” Tim declares with a proud smile. “Many people have fresh food for Thanksgiving this year.” 

Roman pats him on the back. “That’s my boy. Brucie would be pretty proud right about now.”

“I hope so.” Tim answers. 

Leslie speaks up. “Tim, I would like to thank you for helping out with the clinic. It’s never been in better shape.”

Tim shrugs. “Of course, my pleasure.” He turns to Jimmy. “So, how’s school coming along?” 

Jimmy says, “It’s going well. I have Straight A’s and things are just…well.”

Tim and Jimmy fist bump. “That’s what I like to hear.” 

*CLINK*

Everyone turns to look at Alfred, who stands up. “I would like to say something, if you please.” They all give him their undivided attention. “I would like to say that it warms my heart to see you all here today. I know that most of you have busy schedules, like school, business, the military and other things, but in light of this holiday, I am truly happy to have you all here. I am thankful for all of you.”

“Cheers!” They all drink to that. 

Tim knows that his life as Batman will be difficult but he knows that he can get through it. He’s gotten through worse in the past with the help of this family and he will get through any other challenge. 

He is thankful for this family and he always will. 

Chapter Text

Date: Sunday, December 1st, 2013

At the home of stately Wayne Manor, Tim Drake is in the living room, watching TV. On the screen is Commissioner Peter Pauling, on a stage at City Hall as he addresses reporters, journalists and countless other people who either support the decision he’s about to make or are questioning Commissioner Pauling’s competence.

Commissioner Peter Pauling says to several cameras for all of Gotham to hear, “Citizens of Gotham, there is no denying that our city has become more dangerous than it ever has in three years. Masked rioters and gangsters harm our city in an effort to spread a twisted message of a Gotham in a permanent state of chaos and death.” 

“But I say differently. I say we shall no longer live in constant fear of clowns, scarecrows, plants and serial killers with gimmicks. Today, The Gotham police end the ties made with vigilantes that Commissioner Gordon started. Today, true change is brought to Gotham and it starts with the man who started all this. The lawless vigilante who has escalated the crime rates and inspired others to follow in his footsteps and enact violence. On this day, I put out an arrest warrant on The Batman.” 

Tim feels a headache coming along and swallows some pills with the help of a large mug of coffee as the Commissioner continues with his speech. “Today, I make a promise to you, the people; Your police force will restore order to the city we call home…The GCPD will end this cycle of violence and pain.”

Pictures are shot and taken of the Commissioner, along with several policemen and women, including Harvey Bullock who doesn’t look as determined as everyone else. 

*CLICK*

Tim turns off the television, coming to the realization that coffee and headache pills aren’t going to make him feel better about all this. In all honesty, this annoys Tim beyond words. The Gotham Police actually think that this is a good idea and not a complete waste of time and resources on their part and it’s not like they’ll succeed. Tim doesn’t know if this sounds arrogant on his part but he’s dealt with worse and he and several other members of the Bat Family have had plenty of experiences with an unhappy police force. 

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel annoyed or exhausted. It would’ve been so much easier for Tim and everyone else if Batman and the Gotham Police worked together, rather than hating each other. At least he still has Bullock as an ally but Tim doesn’t want him to lose his job by associating with a masked vigilante. 

He gets up from the couch and walks around throughout the halls of the manor, thinking to himself. He rubs his tired eyes as they become heavy. 

Why is this so difficult? Sure, Tim knew that dealing with both Falcone and Black Mask was going to be difficult but he wasn’t expecting things to escalate to such a degree. He wasn’t prepared to deal with King Kraken, Firefly, Maxie Zeus, and every masked rioter that has been causing chaos throughout Gotham. 

Was this what Bruce felt? When he first became Batman, did he feel as exhausted and tired as Tim does when the costumed variety of criminals showed their faces? Tim knows that he probably did but…he wishes he was here to tell him himself.

His walk stops at a photograph of him and Stephaine Brown, feeling numb. He misses her. He misses all of them so much. If they were here right now, Tim wouldn’t feel as…lonely and lost as he does. She had the type of personality that could brighten up the darkest rooms. Even Bruce’s mouth twitched into a smile when he grew amused by her antics. 

Tim frowns as a memory comes back to him, reminding him of a simpler and happier hour.

The year was 2008, two years before The Joker’s death and…everything else that happened before that. The family was still together, consisting of Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, Dick Grayson, Lucius Fox, Stephaine Brown, and Kate Kane. 

Back then, Wayne Manor was more full with people and less quiet than it is in the present. Tim, Alfred, Bruce, and Stephanie were the permanent residents while Kate Kane had her own penthouse, Barbara Gordon lived with her father and Dick Grayson resided in Bludhaven. 

Tim Drake and Stephaine Brown were on the streets together as Red Robin and The Spoiler. Spoiler wore a dark purple cloak, a white eyed black mask, and an overall purple suit with all black gloves, boots, and utility belt. 

While she may have been optimistic when around normal people and her loved ones, she was more serious and courageous on the streets but she was a bit of a show-off. 

That night, Red Robin and Spoiler were patrolling by themselves and were making their way to the Gotham Museum of Art, where a robbery was taking place. The perpetrator was Julian Day, also known as The Calendar Man. He was stealing famous paintings and then was attempting to set them on fire. He took the two vigilantes by surprise since they didn’t know that April 15th was World Art Day. 

“Are we sure it’s even a real holiday?” Spoiler questioned as they perched on the Museum rooftop, overlooking the scene through the skylight.

Red Robin shrugged. “I suppose so. Either way, this is an opportunity to put Julian away for good.” 

“I’m really glad that Arkham finally got their shit together. There hasn’t been a breakout in almost a whole year. Can you imagine that?” 

It was true. Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, the former warden of Arkham, had died under mysterious circumstances and a more competent doctor named Joan Leland took over and enforced new, stricter policies upon the Asylum, preventing escape attempts and actually curing patients like Art Wylie, Arnold Wesker, and eventually even Edward Nygma, who became a private detective in his own right. Harvey Dent was also slowly starting to make choices without the use of his coin, which was the happiest news that Bruce had gotten since Jason Todd died.

Dr. Leland came along after Victor Zsasz escaped Arkham yet again and it ended with him kidnapping children and young teenagers to participate in gladiator fights, where they would kill each other for their survival. It all came to an end when Zsasz kidnapped James Gordon Jr, Barbara's brother and Commissioner Gordon’s son, and made him participate in the twisted tournament. No one had ever seen Barbara so angry and filled with disgust until she, in her Batgirl suit, pounced on the deranged sadist and nearly killed him before Batman got her to stop.

“You’re both here. Good.” Batman’s dark and brooding voice was heard, becoming visible to them on the rooftop. He turned to Red Robin, “How many are in there?”

“About 15.” Red Robin responded. “3 are armed and outside, keeping the police busy and the others are inside, putting the paintings in a pile to soon burn.” 

“Is this like those ‘you break it, you buy it’ type of situations?” Spoiler asked.

“Yes. Besides, Selina will most likely be pissed.” Batman answered, a hint of amusement in his voice before asking Red Robin, “Any hostages?” 

“No.” The teenage vigilante answered. 

Batman nodded. “Good, this will be easy. Get ready to take them down.” 

“Bet I can take down more thugs than you two can.” Spoiler challenged before jumping off the roof to find an entrance into the building.

Batman sighed in exasperation “She needs to get her showboating in check.” 

“She’s still new at this. Don’t tell me Nightwing and Batgirl weren’t like this when they first started out.” Red Robin pointed out. 

“Have you ever met Nightwing?" The voice of Kate Kane, also known as Batwoman, remarked. She landed on the rooftop close to them. “He’s still as confident as he was when he first became Robin.”

She wore a black Kevlar bodysuit, which had a dull red bat on her chest, along with a utility belt of a similar color. A black cape extended down from Kate's shoulders to her knees and a cowl that covered her head, with two pointed ears on the side of the intimidating armored mask. 

Kate Kane was the third vigilante that was inspired by Batman and came to the team not long after Dick Grayson became the First Robin. She had military experience but was forced to resign due to her being a lesbian. Out of all the members of the Bat Family, she understood and followed orders the most and only disobeyed when it called for it but that was only a small number of times, not even hitting double digits. 

"Alright, enough." Batman said. "We have a job to do. Everyone, get ready to attack and remember; No artworks get destroyed." Everyone nodded and they all got closer to the nearby skylight. 

*CRASH*

They jumped through it, taking the goons and Calendar Man by surprise as Batman glide kicked Calendar Man, preventing him from lighting the several pieces of artwork on fire. 

The Calendar man wore a red trench coat, white numbers of the calendar printed on the interior and his pants were the same color but his shoes were dark gray. Abbreviations of the months were tattooed around his forehead, fully shown due to him being bald. 

Calendar Man got up and said, “Kill them. Kill them all!” He ordered his men, making them all attack the caped crusaders with baseball bats and any other weapons that they had. 

Batwoman knocked out one thug with one punch when he came up behind her and threw him to the ground before kicking a man in his kneecap, making him fall over.

Spoiler punched one in the face and tripped him. Admittedly, she was a tad bit slower than the rest of the other vigilantes due to her inexperience on the field but she could hold her own and she got better before…she was killed. 

Red Robin took out his bo staff and spun it at his enemies, five to be exact. It would’ve either stunned them or lowered their defenses so Red Robin could bring upon the finishing blows that would incapacitate them. 

Batman fired his grappling hook at one of his enemies and brought him closer to him, giving the World’s Greatest Detective the appropriate amount of time to throw him to two other thugs. 

Up above on a balcony, Batman spotted a sniper, aiming his gun at him. Batman went to dodge it when Spoiler threw a batarang at the firearm, dropping it to the ground level. She then grappled to the balcony and prepared to face him as the goon took out a knife and started to swing at her. Spoiler carefully blocked it, punched him in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and finally, she shoved him into a brick wall. 

Red Robin saw Batman give her a nod in approval and Tim knew that secretly made Spoiler’s day, getting praised by The Dark Knight himself, something most if not all the Bat Family felt giddy about. Red Robin took another thug down with an uppercut with his bo staff. 

He said through the comms, “Guys, don’t forget we still have to find Day.” 

"Don't worry, we won't let him get away." Batwoman assured Red Robin.

The four of them took on more goons and thugs that were armed with guns, baseball bats and any other hand held weapon that you could think of. It was quite the workout, they wouldn't lie. lie to anyone but they had faced and dealt with worse, so that wasn’t any real hassle. 

“You will not get in my way!” Calendar Man shouted, grabbing a flame thrower he brought along with him and said, “In the spirit of this holiday, these paintings must burn!”

“Are you even sure World Art Day is a real holiday, because I’ve never heard of it until now.” Spoiler commented, making Calendar Man furious.

“It IS a real holiday!” Before he could pull the trigger, a batarang is thrown at the gun, making it tumble before Calendar Man could do any damage to the paintings. 

The person who threw the weapon at him was Barbara Gordon, also known on the streets of Gotham as Batgirl. She appeared in front of the criminal and said, "Guess Judgement Day came early."

He looked furious that another of his crimes was foiled. "If I'm going down, I'm taking one of you with me." Calendar Man sneered as he pulled out a firearm but Batgirl initiated a Roundhouse Kick to the criminal's face, making him fall to the ground, unable to harm anyone else. 

The other bats came up to the balcony and Batwoman said with an approving smirk, "Nice kick."

Batgirl smiled. "Thanks." She turned to Batman. "Sorry I'm late, I was dealing with Paul Dekker. He was stealing quilting supplies from a Walmart."

"Don't worry, you made it just in time." Batman assured her before he added, "That kick was well done, by the way."

Red Robin placed handcuffs around Calendar Man's hands and forced him to get up. "Today isn't your day, huh?"

Calendar Man sneered. "Shut up, brat! I'll get even, I swear."

"I doubt that." Batman commented. "Dr. Leland is more capable of housing you and the others better than Dr. Arkham ever was."

Batgirl firmly grabbed him to avoid escape. "And unlike Victor Zsas, you won't be getting out anytime soon."

Red Robin grimaced. She was still peeved about that, even to the present day. Neither was anybody else but she and Commissioner Gordon took it the hardest, considering that Jimmy was kidnapped and nearly killed by that monster.

They dragged him away from the paintings and towards a police escort, where Commissioner Gordon and other police officers awaited.

‘And that was the last crime committed by the Calendar Man.’ Tim thinks to himself before silently wincing. ‘...Before he was murdered.”

Not too long after The Joker’s death, The Calendar Man was murdered by The Chained Killer in Arkham Asylum, along with Arnold Wesker, Paul Dekker, Harvey Dent, Dr. Joan Leland and every patient, guard, doctor, and nurse. Only a small number of men were able to escape The Chained Killer’s wrath, them being Johnnathan Crane, Jervis Tetch, Otis Flannagan, Thomas Blake and some small timers.

But the memory holds importance to Tim because it reminds him of how simpler things were, how less depressing this life is. In the past, Tim didn't have to do things alone. He had Bruce, Kate, Babs, Steph, and Dick to aid him. They weren't just a team, they were family. The only family that ever gave a damn about Tim, unlike his mother and father.

But now, things have…changed. Tim has been left alone to win this fight against the mob, Black Mask, the supercriminals, and now the Gotham City Police Department. Claiming victory has become his responsibility and he’s the only one capable of dealing with these threats. Now, he’s not complaining. He knows that taking over Bruce’s mission was never going to be easy and he has no plans on backing out, he just wasn’t expecting things to go so askew. 

In all honesty, he just wishes that things ended differently for Tim and his family and that Joker didn’t push Bruce as far as he did. If he didn’t, then Bruce wouldn’t had…ended how he did. 

“Master Tim?” Tim nearly jumps in shock at the sound of Alfred’s voice. He hadn’t heard Alfred come in. The older man has a look of concern. “Are you alright?”

Not wanting to worry Alfred, Tim lies. “I’m fine, Alfred.”

“Tim.” Whenever Alfred uses first names, it indicates that he’s not playing around. Tim’s not surprised, Alfred’s always been able to read this family like an open book. 

Deeply sighing, Tim takes a seat on a chair and he says to him, “I am…conflicted at the moment, Alfred. I wasn’t expecting things to go this way.”

Alfred’s silent for a moment before he says, “I remember those exact words.” 

Tim looks up at him. “From who?”

“From Master Bruce.” Alfred answers before beginning a tale of the old days. “He too felt stressed when the likes of The Mad Monk, The Calendar Man, The Riddler and…The Joker showed up. He wasn’t expecting things to evaluate to such a degree, the mission never intended him, you or anyone else dealing with such unpredictable characters. But, I’m going to tell you what I told him when he started to doubt himself, young sir.” 

He places a hand on his shoulder and continues, “Challenges occur in everyone's lives, sir. The difference is how we respond to those challenges. You can either adopt the attitude 'There is nothing I can do' or you can see the challenge as your call to action."

Tim takes this in for a moment. He takes a deep breath before offering a smile to Alfred. “Thanks, Alfred.” He gets up. “You’re right. While I never intended the mission to go this way, it doesn’t matter. The mission is what the mission becomes and I'm done sulking. I'm going out." He stands up and walks out of the room.

Alfred nods proudly. "Very good, sir."

Maxie Zeus sits in their new hideout, contemplating to himself on what to do now. 

He has lost his powers. He doesn't know how but he's mortal now. He has to rectify this injustice at once.

And he knows exactly how he's going to do it.

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, December 6th, 2013

In a secret location, Mazie Zeus goes over the plans to get his lightning back. While it may seem unorthodox and he’ll have to rely on machines made by men instead of the gods, beggars can’t be choosers. 

He turns to his subjects, who all bow graciously before him. “My loyal followers, it is time for this city to realize the existence of the gods.” 

“Yes, oh great Zeus.” They all chant. 

Zeus nods approvingly before he turns to a table that has blueprints for a pair of gauntlets that creates electrical powers.

Tim Drake is bored out of his mind but he pretends to be mildly interested since he has to keep up appearances. 

Classical music plays in the grand ballroom of one of Salvatore’s luxurious penthouses. Salvatore Maroni has decided to host a public party for the richer and wealthier individuals to attend. Not that Tim has ever found enjoyment in them but rather thinks that these types of things are a waste of time and planning. Though, Tim isn’t surprised since this is Salvatore Maroni he’s talking about and men like him aren’t considered to be the most responsible, especially since he is a crime lord working with Carmine Falcone. 

Maroni is also Tim Drake’s newest rival in the world of Real Estate, which has caused some issues in Tim’s plans to renovate Gotham and make it better for those living here since men like Maroni are more interested in making money than using it for others benefit.

Silently, Tim has to chuckle at the irony of this; Salvatore Maroni has both Tim Drake and Batman as rivals and they’re both interfering with the Mob’s plans. 

Tim takes a small sample of deviled quail eggs from the hors d’oeuvres plate that one of the waiter's as he says, “Please enjoy.” Before walking off.

Then, Tim is caught by surprise with a hand around his shoulder but is put at ease when he whispers to him, “Why wouldn’t we? It’s the only reason we came.” They snort together but they do their best to hide it to avoid causing a scene. 

Tim happily turns towards him, instantly recognizing the face of Roman Sionis. "Nice to know there's at least one person here who'll make this less boring.” He says, relieved.

Roman shrugs. “I couldn’t let you suffer by yourself. But if I had a dollar for everytime I’ve had to attend these things, my bank account would double.” 

Tim chuckles. “No kidding

“Timothy Drake!” The voice of Salvatore Maroni booms excitably, clearly making a spectacle of it. “I knew you couldn’t turn down my invitation.” 

“Mr. Maroni.” Tim greets him, neutrally.

Maroni looks around him and asks, “What, no plus one with you? No lucky gal or even the old man to keep you company?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, he’s always found these things boring.” 

“Can’t imagine why.” Roman mutters, sarcasm leaking from his mouth.

Maroni shrugs. “Well, his loss.” He then recognizes Roman. “Roman Sionis, as I live and breathe. I’m honored to have you here tonight. I hear sales have been going swimmingly.”

Roman waves it off. “Ah, just trying to make sure the Wayne legacy gets the respect it deserves.” 

“As for your family, I’m sure.” Maroni guesses. “I hear Janus Cosmetics was going through quite the rough patch back in the day.” 

At first, Tim’s worried that Roman might try to fight this man in the parking lot due to the jab at his family but is pleasantly surprised when Roman retorts, “Not as worse as playing runner-up to Tim Drake, I expect.” 

Maroni sneers at that jab while Tim maintains a calm presence but on the inside, he’s growing red in embarrassment. Roman’s always bragging about Tim and his accomplishments. 

Maroni decides to ignore Roman for now and talks direction to Tim Drake. “I’m glad you decided to come. Now that you're here, we can continue our…business discussions."

Tim shrugs. "Honestly, not much to discuss. We can't come to an agreement, so bidding wars it shall be."

"Well, that's where I came up with an idea." Maroni takes a breath before saying, "I want to buy your company, the whole thing."

That certainly takes Roman and the younger businessman by surprise and yet, it's an unwelcome one. If this douche actually thinks he can have his company, then he has another thing coming. 

Tim regains his composure and says, "I see. Look, can I be brief?"

Maroni raises his eyebrow. "How brief?"

"Go to hell." Tim says before he and Roman walk up.

"That's brief." Maroni deflates. 

Roman silently laughs. “Kid, I’m so proud.” He pats him on the back as Tim looks pleased. “C’mon, let’s go get a drink or something.” As they go towards the bar, Tim is then bumped into by someone, sending wine and alcoholic liquids onto his suit. Roman looks annoyed. “Hey, watch it, pal.”

"I'm terribly sorry." Tim looks up and sees that it's none other than Carmine Falcone, looking as old yet powerful as ever, gaining a few timid glances from nearby guests. Instantly making Tim realize that he purposely bumped into him for whatever reasons. Pretending to be ignorant, he takes out a handkerchief and says, "Here, I'll get that for you."

"I'm good, thanks." Tim refuses, keeping his temper in check. 

But Maroni forcefully grabs him by the arm and hurries him away, dabbling at the stain with his own handkerchief. "Nonsense. Let's go to my office and we'll get you cleaned up."

Roman goes to follow them but Tim gives him a look that basically tells Roman ‘I’ll handle this’. Roman instantly gets the message and goes towards the bar as the doors to Maroni’s office closes behind the three of them.

The impression that Maroni’s office brings is that it fits the crime lord’s personality; Will go to great lengths to pay for the finest things in life while not sparing a dime to those who need it. Zebra Wood is installed into the floors and gray stone covers every inch of the walls, except for a window that’s currently covered by long, red drapes. His desk is made of imported Italian maple, from the looks of it and his chair is made of genuine leather, which is vacant at the moment.

Maroni throws him a white towel. “Here, that should help.” 

“Thanks.” Tim says, remaining as polite as he could possibly be. After doing his best to wipe the stains off of his suit, he gets straight to the point. “Mr. Maroni–”

“Please, call me Sal. Everyone who works with me does.” Sal tells him. 

Tim resists the urge to roll his eyes and says, “I didn’t say it was an agreement. I said the opposite, actually.” 

Maroni waves that off. “That’s only because you haven’t seen the deal yet.” He opens his desk drawer and takes out a stack of paperwork, sliding it over to Tim before the young man in the room starts to look over it. 

Tim takes about 5 minutes to look it over and he has to admit, this is a pretty standard and alarmingly generous contract. If he wasn’t as wise or rich, he’d sign it but he knows the type of men Falcone and Maroni are, so there’s no way in hell that he’s going to sign this. 

Tim puts it down and asks, “Why is he here?” Turning to Falcone, who’s pouring himself a glass of whiskey. 

“Me and him are partners.” Maroni answers. “We’re not only in Real Estate but we also import goods, ship ideas. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.” He vaguely trails off.

Tim takes a breath and says, “Mr. Maroni, this is a very generous offer but there’s one thing I must tell you.” 

Falcone raises his eyebrow. “Oh?”

Tim puts the contract down and stares at both of them in the eye with an unfriendly and unwelcoming glare “I don’t do business with crime lords.” 

Falcone sighs as Maroni looks uncomfortable, as if he can detect that an argument will begin. “Mr. Drake, I assure you that my rambunctious days are over.” 

“Do you take me for a fool?” Tim bluntly asks. “Because unlike Gotham and the parole board at Arkham, I am not gullible, nor am I deceptable to bribes. I have too much self respect to be working with men as unethical as yourselves and even that word of choice is an understatement.” 

“Hey, show some respect, kid.” Maroni sneers. “

“If you’re expecting me to respect corrupt and deceitful businessmen, I’m afraid that you’re fighting a losing battle.” Tim states curtly. “And the same goes for you going anywhere near Drake Industries.” He throws the stack of paperwork back at Maroni. “Thanks for the deal, Mr. Maroni. You know where you can shove it.” Tim goes to the door.

“Drake.” Carmine’s voice stops him and after letting out a tired sigh, he says to him, “I knew your adopted father. He was a good man, through and through and right now, showed the same amount of hostility towards me as you do now. It’s out of respect for him that I don’t want to get wrapped up in a war with you. I think we’re all too busy for that.”

Tim is silent for a moment before he bitterly lets out, “And was it that same respect that led to Thomas and Martha Wayne being shot in an alley?” That gets a reaction out of Falcone as Maroni stands in the corner of the room, disturbed yet intrigued by the accusation that Tim Drake has thrown at him. He turns back to him with a cold glare. “He always suspected you had something to do with it but he could never prove it. If I find anything that traces you to that night, you’ll rue the day we met.” He then exits the room, leaving the two crime lords alone in the office. 

Maroni rubs his tired eyes. “Well, that went well.” He sarcastically says in great annoyance. He turns to Falcone, who is silent. “We could always call the Sullivans and have them ‘persuade’ him.” 

“No.” Falcone states and he gets up from his chair. “You’re right, Salvatore. While he’s not related by blood to them, he’s a true Wayne and out of respect to his family, we shall not do any physical harm to him.” 

Maroni takes this in and he says, “Okay, so bidding wars will be the only way to get this kid off our backs.” He then asks, “What Drake said about the Waynes–”

“Don’t think anything of it.” Falcone coldly commands. “Their death was merely coincidence and bad luck. I had nothing to do with it.” 

“Okay, okay. I believe you.” Maroni quickly concedes. 

Tim takes a moment to compose himself. When dealing with people like that, he has to remind himself to remain calm or else he'll let his anger get the best of him. 

But he meant what he said in Maroni's office. He remembers Bruce telling Tim stories of what Gotham was like when Falcone and the rest of the mob had control of Gotham, before super criminals like Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow and so on and so forth were as dangerous or even around. Bruce mentioned that he always speculated that Falcone was responsible for The Wayne's murder because Thomas and Martha were making Gotham better and healthier and it's because of this theory that Bruce has always resented Carmine Falcone but he could never prove this theory. So, Tim's gonna try to figure out who the gunman was to honor Bruce since Bruce was unable to bring him to justice. After all Bruce had done for him, Tim owes him that much. 

"So, how'd it go?" Roman asks, finally finding him in a corner of a the room.

"What do you think?" Tim rhetorically asks. 

Roman lightly smiles and says, "I saw Maroni coming out. You should've seen him, it was like he was a baby and someone had taken his lollipop away."

Tim lightly chuckles. "I can imagine."

*RING*

Tim's phone chimes and he sees that Alfred is calling him. "I'm sorry, I gotta take this." He answers the phone and asks, "Hello?"

"Sir, there's a break-in at Wayne…I'm sorry, Sionis Industries' Applied Sciences department. Reports say the men are calling themselves 'The Children of Zeus'."

Tim groans in annoyance. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I'll be right there." He turns to Roman, "Roman, I–"

Roman raises his hand. "Don't be sorry. I know that whatever it is, it's gotta be important.” He leans towards him and says, “You get outta here, I’ll handle this crowd.”

Tim gratefully smiles at him. “Thanks.” He then makes his leave and away from the crowd. 

In his laboratory, Victor Fries looks at Nora Fries with pity and determination. He will find a cure for her Yellow Fever even if it kills him.

He then takes out the wedding ring from his Doctor's coat and he heavily sighs. "When all this is over, I can give this to you and offer you my hand." He puts it back in his coat pocket. "But for now, we must live in absolent hope."

*RING*

Victor sees his phone vibrating on his workstation and he answers it, seeing that it's Lucius Fox. "Yes?"

"Victor, lock yourself in the lab!" Lucius Fox's voice panics.

Victor's confused. "Lucius, what are you talking about? What's going on?"

"Just do as I said. You're in danger!" Lucius orders, still panicking.

Then, the power to the lab goes off in a quick flicker. 

Immediately understanding the danger, Victor hangs up the phone and goes over to Nora’s cryo chamber, checking in on her with scared body language but for now, she fine. “Just hold on, Nora. I’ll fix this!” 

He quickly goes over to his workstation to activate the auxiliary power. 

In the Batmobile, Batman drives the fast car towards Sionis Industries while on a video call with Alfred. 

“Alfred, give me a rundown of the situation.” 

“Yes, sir.” Alfred responds. “It seems that Mr. Zeus is back at it again, trying to steal something from the Applied Sciences division. One can only speculate what he would want but whatever it is, he needs to be stopped. But be warned, I learned from the surveillance cameras that show the entrance to the building that there are about 10 men, all armed with either assault rifles or machine guns.” 

Batman nods. “Noted. I’ll handle this.” He then hangs up the call as he asks himself, “Since when did a Greek mythology themed gang rely on guns?” 

“Move aside, mortals.” Mazie Zeus commands a group of people as his army of greek themed goons make their way into the Applied Science Division, which is a large room of great space but with a large number of racks for the use of storing items and other related items. 

Roman Sionis is an individual of the said group of workers and scientists but he says calmly, “No one has to get hurt, Mr. Zeus. We can talk this out.”

Zeus nods. “I am glad you said that, Mr. Sionis, because I command an item in this division to be given to me.” He takes out the blueprints for the pair of electric gauntlets.

Both of Roman’s eyes widen. “How did you–”

“Telling you how I discovered this would be a waste of time.” The ‘God’ of Lightning curtly states. “Now, unless you want these humans to get hurt, I suggest you do as I say.” 

Roman slowly nods and he is forcefully brought to his feet and is forced to tell them where the two pairs of gauntlets are. 

Then, a smoke pellet is rolled onto the ground, releasing a strong white vapor that will temporarily blind their senses. 

“The hell is this?” One goon asks aloud, already panicking. 

“The spawn of Hades is here.” Zeus realizes. “Distract him while I get what we came here for. Remember, he prays on your weaknesses, he wants to think you're weak. Prove him wrong.” He then walks away with Roman Sionis. 

“Yes, master!” They all say in unison.

As he tries to wave the white mist away, one goon asks, “How are we supposed to see anything in all this smoke?!" 

"That was the general idea." The dark voice of Batman retorts before initiating a kick to one of a follower's face, knocking him down. 

"I hear him!" A follower shouts.

*BANG*

A shot's been fired but luckily, it didn't hit anything. Batman then punches the follower straight in his nose and strikes another into his knee, making him fall on the ground.

For the most part, the smoke has cleared up and there are 2 followers left to defeat. What surprises Batman is that they aren't really scared of him as more of being in awe that a 'spawn of hades' is here.

"You will not go near our master!" A follower shouts and he comes at him with a sharp dagger but Batman catches it and he throws him to the ground. 

The last follower in the room aims his gun at him, ready to fire.

"Not him, a hostage!" A follower commands as he lays defeated on the ground. "Shoot a hostage!"

The armed follower nods and trains his gun at one of the hostages. 

Quickly, Batman throws a batarang at his gun, making the follower drop it to the ground and Batman finishes him off by taking out his grapple gun, firing a hook onto the follower's toga and he sends him to him and finally, punches him hard. 

The hostages rejoice at their defeat and have a few things to say;

"Oh, thank god!"

"Thank you, Batman!"

"We're saved!"

"I have some cash in my wallet if you wanna take some as a reward."

But Batman doesn't take his money because it's not about that. He instead asks, "Where's Zeus?"

"Right. Here." The voice of Mazie Zeus says calmly. 

*ZAP*

Batman is sent to the ground by a sudden charge of electricity but the Caped Crusader is undeterred and searches for where the bolt came from; He finds Mazie Zeus in his white toga but with new, golden gauntlets on his hands and he has a look of contempt as he looks directly at Batman. 

One follower weakly says, "M…aster…please forgive us, we couldn't…stop him."

Without even looking at him, Zeus waves that off. "I didn't expect you to. Now be quiet, I have more pressing matters to attend to." He says to Batman with a firm and unwavering tone, "I know why you're here; To steal the lightning of the gods from its rightful master and I will not have that. If you kneel now, repent for your heretical actions, I, a benevolent and merciful god, shall show you clemency."

Getting back on his feet, Batman says to him, "Counter proposal; If you take off the gauntlets and stand down, I promise you that you'll have the finest medical attention."

That doesn't make Zeus feel better, no it actually angers him. "That is why I had to get my powers back; To wake up the morals of Gotham to the existence of the god that walks among them and I will be given the respect I am due and make this cursed city the new seat of Olympus…but I can do that once you're out of my way!"

*ZAP*

Zeus fires lightning from his gauntlets again but Batman is quick to dodge it. Batman knows that he can't endanger the hostages, so he shouts, "Come and get me!"

*ZAP*

Batman dodges another attack as he leans him out of the room and into a spacious cubicle room.

*ZAP*

Zeus continues to strike electricity at him as Batman sheilds himself behind a desk.

*ZAP*

Batman dodges another attack before throwing a flash bomb near him. 

*BANG*

"Aah!" Zeus is blinded by the flash of light, giving Batman enough to land some punches to either his face or his stomach. 

*ZAP*

Batman is hit with another attack of lightning, sending him to the wall.

Zeus stands up and says to Batman, "At first, I thought you to be a spawn sent by my brother but now I see that I was mistaken…It is you, isn't, brother? Like myself, you have descended to the mortal plain!"

Having none of this nonsense, Batman trips Zeus to the ground but that doesn't stop Zeus from attacking again. 

*ZAP*

Batman narrowly dodges the attack and throws a batarang at him, creating a cut on his right cheek and drawing blood. He then takes out his grappling hook and tries to get him towards him but Zeus, using all his strength, tugs the grapple line and makes Batman come towards him by force and then slams him to the ground. 

Using his electrified gauntlets, he keeps a tight grip around his neck. The Caped Crusader can feel the electricity around his neck but luckily, his suit is protecting him from the shocks becoming too much for him but that's only temporary since he can't withstand the shocks forever. 

"Even if you are my brother, I will not allow you to stand in my way!" 

Batman knees him in his stomach, stunning Zeus for a moment and giving Batman the opportunity to get Zeus off of him and having a moment to overcome the electricity. Zeus gets up and charges his gauntlets but Batman kicks his face and finally, initiates a knee strike to him, sending him to the ground. 

Batman takes this moment to attempt to remove the shocking weapons from his hands and he does so without any difficulty but Zeus is still conscious and has this to say; "Brother, it mustn't…be this way."

Batman looks at him with pity. Despite the trouble he caused, he still believes himself to be a Greek god from mythology. He softly says to him, "I'm not your brother, nor are you a true god. You'll see that soon, I promise."

*RING*

Batman's communications are heard and he answers after learning it's Bullock that's calling him. "Detective." 

"Bats, get outta there now! They're coming!"

Interrupting this moment is a helicopter outside the window. The vehicle is owned by the GCPD. The spot light illuminates the room and The Dark Knight can tell that it's armed to either arrest him or potentially kill him.

Then out comes a canister of tear gas that fogs the entire room.

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, December 6th, 2013

Then out comes a canister of tear gas that fogs the entire room.

Batman quickly puts on a gas mask over his face. It’s one of the key tools in his arsenal due to facing several enemies who had used different varieties of gasses and fumes, the most distinguishable one being former Dr. Jonathan Crane, also known as The Scarecrow.  

Batman looks back at Maxie Zeus, who is still passed out and probably even more so due to the tear gas. 

*CRASH* 

Concerned for his safety, he throws a nearby office chair through one of the windows to clear some of the smoke out of the room.

*CRASH* 

The next thing that happens is several S.W.A.T. teams busting through the windows in tactful gear, armed to the teeth and ready to take Batman down. 

“There he is!” A member of S.W.A.T. shouts and Batman, seeing that he’s outmatched, makes a run for it.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

“Yes!” Victor Fries cheers in a prosperous shout. The power has been restored to the lab and Nora, who is seated near Victor’s workstation, is safe. She woke up due to her Cryochamber turning off when the power outage happened. 

Nora looks around her, smiling at the outcome. “You got it back on, that's great. But darling, how did it happen in the first place?” 

"Faulty wiring. Nothing to be concerned about." Victor lies, which pains him but he doesn't want to worry her. "Alright, the chamber is back up and running, so it would be wise to put you back in before–" He turns around and what he sees silences Victor with fear and shock.

Nora has found blueprints for a cryogenic weapon or rather Victor forgot to hide it away due to his focus on Nora's wellbeing. She turns to Victor hesitantly. "Victor, what is this?"

Victor stands there for a moment, unsure what to say. He then walks towards her and says, “Nora, that isn’t…”

She looks up at him with an uneasy look of shock. “A Cryo Grenade Launcher? Victor, please tell me this isn’t what I think it is?” 

Victor is still silent before he finally says quietly, “It is.” 

Nora looks back at the blueprints before she demands to know, “Who put you up to this?”

Victor looks at her. “Nora–”

“I listened to you talk about every possibility on how your research would help people and your doing so with my Yellow Fever.” She points out. “I can’t see you being a weapons manufacturer, that’s not who you are. So who put you up to this?” 

Victor wants to tell her that no one did. That he did it all for himself but looking at her with those pleading eyes makes him hesitate and feel even more awful than he already does. He simply can’t lie to her, not anymore. So, he finally says after many moments, “...Sionis.” Nora recoils in shock and disbelief. “Roman Sionis wanted me to use my research to create weapons in exchange for him funding all this.” He explains, gesturing to her Cryo Chamber.

Nora shakes her head. “He seemed so nice.” She comments before asking, “Why?”

Victor lets out a breath before confessing, “Because he is The Black Mask.” 

Nora is speechless. She stands up from the chair to get some breathing space and Victor hangs back because he doesn’t know if Nora wants to be around him as of this moment after what she has learned. He’s afraid that she will see him differently, as some kind of monster that lurks underneath someone’s bed.

But when she turns back to face her, he doesn’t see any look of disgust or hatred towards him. All he sees is a look that reflects inquisitiveness and determination to get answers. 

She says, “Tell me everything.” 

“I can’t.” Victor sadly responds. “I’ve told you too much. If Roman or his partners hears us–” 

“Victor, please!” She raises her voice but due to her condition, it’s barely as loud as her normal voice. “I need to know what’s been happening since…and I need to know what he’s made you do.” 

Victor takes a long breath and says, “Okay. I’ll tell you everything, you deserve that much. But you might want to sit down for this because it's a long story." 

*SHATTER*

Batman jumps out of a window and glides out into the night.

"He's getting away!" 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

He dodges bullets and glides rapidly away from this dangerous situation as Alfred speaks to him through his com links. “Alfred, I’m getting out of here.” 

“I would hope so, sir. Thankfully, the GCPD have yet to discover the Batmobile’s position. It would be wise to return to it.” 

“You read my mind.” Batman responds before hanging up and landing on a rooftop to get out of the GCPD Helicopter’s line of fire. But to avoid any potential and probable problems with the aerial vehicle, he throws a batarang directly into the searchlight, breaking it and removing its clear view of the buildings and streets. 

After making sure that he’s lost vehicle, he begins running on the rooftops and finally stopping at a position where he’s overlooking the vehicle. It’s parked in an alleyway not too far from Sionis Industries. 

He jumps down to it and enters the vehicle before taking off his gas mask and setting it aside.

“Unhand me, mortals! You dare lay your hands on me?!” 

Commissioner Pauling observes Mazie Zeus in handcuffs as he’s being put in a patrol car, along with his followers, who all struggle and try to fight off the officers to aid their master.

Harvey Bullock says to the Commissioner, “I may not be Batman’s greatest advocate but you gotta admit, he saved the hostages and neutralized the threat.”

“Yes, he beated up several mentally ill fanatics. That definitely deserves praise.” Commissioner Pauling sarcastically. 

Bullock turns to him, incredulous. “What would you want him to do? Give them hugs and beg them to stop?” 

Pauling turns to face him. “I would have wanted him to turn himself in and let us handle this.” 

“All units, Batman has been spotted in a black…tank, driving away from Sionis Industries.” Commissioner Pauling's radio says.

Commissioner Pauling picks up his radio. "10-4, heading your way." He shouts to every officer, "Get Zeus and his followers to lockup. Everyone else, follow me. They spotted Batman!"

Bullock takes a breath, hating that he has to hunt down a friend. 

*VROOM*

With great acceleration, Batman drives his vehicle past several buildings and across the paved roads of Gotham. 

“Sir, several GCPD cars are moving in on your location.” Alfred warns him. 

“Don’t worry, Alfred. I’ll lose them.” He then hangs up so he can focus on the matter at hand; Getting away from the Gotham City Police Department

*WEE-WOO*

Six police cars and 3 S.W.A.T. vans begin to follow The Batmobile with great persistence and speed but honestly, the Gotham Police are the ones that drive more recklessly by driving through trash cans and narrowly avoiding innocent bystanders who are just casually minding their own business. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

And firing their guns at The Caped Crusader’s vehicle to no effect. Not even a dent or a scratch is left on the superior vessel. Batman is easily outmaneuvering them due to the Batmobile’s capabilities and acceleration but he’s still careful as to not hurt anyone. 

He turns his car when he’s met with a corner of a street.

*CRASH* 

A police car isn’t able to stop in time and has come into collision with a newspaper stand, removing him from the race.

 *RING* 

Batman sees that it’s Bullock and he answers. “It’s not a good time.” 

“Evidently, you’re right. Listen, I’m driving by myself and I wanted to tell you not to hold back.” 

Batman blinks in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“C’mon, it doesn’t take a detective to know that your car has a few tricks up its sleeve. Do what you gotta do to get outta here. Just don’t me in the hospital, alright? The bills are outrageous, even on my salary.”

Batman nods. “Understood. Thanks.” He hangs up.

*RING*

This time, it’s Alfred. Somewhat annoyed, he answers and asks, “Alfred, now’s not the best time.” 

“This’ll be quick, sir. I just wanted to tell you that Miss Gordon has successfully removed bystanders off the roads.” 

Batman blinks in surprise. “Barbara? Is she in the cave?” 

“Indeed, sir. She thought the cave was where she would be the most effective in aiding you in this pursuit and it appears that she was correct.”

Honestly, Batman’s more surprised than he is thankful towards Barbara. He knows that Barbara hasn’t been in the cave since…Bruce died and her paralysis and being in the cave doesn’t exactly remind her of any fond memories. Hell, he knows that being inside the Manor is challenging enough for her as it is since after what happened with Bruce and so forth, she refused to move in Wayne Manor but she kept a brave face whenever holidays came around and any other special events, despite the fact that Tim has offered on most, if not all, occasions that they could host the said events somewhere else. 

Batman returns to reality and he says, “Give her my thanks. I’ll be done in a minute.” He then hangs up and after checking for any bystanders, he activates the smoke screen button.  

At the back of his car, a dark cloud of smoke lets out, making the officers stir out of control but Batman makes sure to have it dialed back to where they won’t be killed during this tailing. While he thinks that these men are somewhat idiotic for even attempting to do something like this, he still doesn’t want to hurt them to where they’re in a body cast for months on end. 

It causes several vehicles to stop to avoid a potential crash, giving Batman enough time to drive away to more safer surroundings.

Batman thinks to himself about his options. “Two S.W.A.T. vans and one patrol car. I need to get rid of the former first and then I can focus on losing the latter.” He looks down at the Batmobile’s controls and gets an idea. “Let’s see how you fair with this.” 

He activates a button that lets out an elongated trail of slippery oil.

*STEER*

It causes all the land vehicles to spiral out of control and they are forced to stop following the Batmobile. 

*VROOM* 

Batman steps on the petal with more force, making the car go faster. 

Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni watch the Gotham news and it shows the car chase going on. 

Maroni looks surprised but pleased. “Well, it looks like Pauling was useful after all.” 

Falcone nods. “Evidently, yes. With the GCPD after him, he’ll be too preoccupied with everything else to focus on our empire.” 

Maroni then lets out a breath, signaling both exhaustion and disappointment. “It’s unfortunate that they aren’t gonna arrest the freak anytime soon.” 

“I didn’t expect them to.” Falcone tells him. “I always knew that this would provide a distraction for us but this is only a short term solution and if we are to succeed, we must find a more efficient way of removing our enemies.” He then takes a pause before turning to Maroni with eyes of steel and persistence. “But I promise you, Salvatore, the day will come when Gotham is ridden of all the freaks.”

*VROOM* 

The Batmobile has entered the cave and parked at its usual stopping point and no sooner, out comes the driver; The Batman. 

Tim Drake takes off his cowl where he’s met by Alfred Pennyworth and Barbara Gordon. Barbara sits in front of the Batcomputer before she starts to wheel herself towards Tim. “Are you okay?”

Tim shrugs. “Eh, I’ve been through worse.” He then says to her, “Oh, and thank you for helping out tonight, Babs.”

Barbara offers him a kind smile. “Anytime. Don’t feel like you're alone in this, okay?”

Tim looks at her with a thankful expression. “Okay.” 

Alfred clears his throat. “Master Tim, I suggest you remove the suit and we’ll see how bad the damage is this time and after that, I’m going to give Mr. Fox a call and ask him to look at the Batmobile for possible damages or dents.” 

Tim nods. “Good idea, Alfred.” He then walks off towards the changing room. 

Barbara watches him go off before her kind smile drops and is replaced with a grim demeanor. It’s been a…long time since she’s seen that suit close up, along with being in the Batcave once again. She never thought that she would ever in her wildest dreams have to return here but she saw Tim being chased by the Gotham Police and she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. She had to help Tim and she had to be here to make sure that he was okay after being electrocuted several times. 

An uncomfortable silence fills the Laboratory of Victor Fries due to him finishing telling Nora everything that has happened since she had passed out in that restaurant almost a month ago. Victor left no detail out due to already feeling guilty of lying to her and she requested the truth to be said, so he granted that request. 

Nora sits in Victor’s swivel chair as she digests the information she’s just been given. She has a look of consternation on her face but she hasn’t said a word for a while and has only listened to the unsettling tale that Victor has had to tell to the diseased woman. 

“Nora?” Victor speaks to her after several moments of heavy stillness and quietude. 

She finally looks towards him and asks, “Why did you think I was worth all this?” 

The question makes Victor hesitate. Secretly, he searches for an answer that won’t make Nora resent him. He couldn’t bear it if she did. Finally, he says, “I was trying to save you.” That doesn’t seem to satisfy or please Nora in any way. “We’re almost there, darling. Your Yellowfever will be removed and all this will be over.”

“So it’s okay for others to die as long as I get to live another day?” She asks him, incredulous. 

Victor doesn’t have a response. 

“If what you’re saying is true and I have no doubt it is, Sionis will kill who knows how many so he can make Gotham ‘honest’ again and you’re okay with that?” 

“What do you want me to say?” Victor asks her, his voice shaking. “Yes, I’ve felt lower than I’ve ever had when that…monster asked me- No, forced me to do this and I have never had a lower opinion on myself than I do now. I swore not to do harm but now, I know for certain that I’m not worthy of being recognized as a Doctor, but…I can’t live in a world without you.” 

Nora looks at him with sympathy and remorse. She takes his hand and she says, “I’m sorry. I never realized what you’re going through.” 

Victor shakes his head and tries to assure her. “I chose not to tell you so I wouldn’t worry you. You're going through much worse right now.” He puts his hands on his face. “I don’t know what to do.” 

“Honey.” She speaks up. “We have to tell the police.” 

Victor looks at her as if she’s insane. “If we tell anyone about this, he’ll kill us both!” 

“I can’t let people die or go through hell just for me!” Nora argues, her voice shaking. “It’s not worth it, I’m not worth it.” 

“Don’t say that, please.” Victor pleads to her. 

“If it means that-that sociopath won’t hurt anyone else then I’ll gladly give my life up.” Nora tries to tell him. 

Victor stands up and walks away from her, turning his front towards a wall, not daring to look her in the eyes. He feels like he's hyperventilating and the need for breathing has become even more necessary than it normally is.  

Then, he feels a calming presence in the form of a Back Hug. While he feels fear and hopelessness, Nora's kind gesture of protection makes him calm himself and take several slow breaths. 

“Victor.” Nora speaks to him with a calm voice as she gently gets him to turn towards him, offering a kind smile as she does so. “It’s okay.” 

After letting out a sniffle and wiping away a tear, he violently shakes his head. “No, it’s not! It’s NOT! You don’t deserve this!” 

“Neither do you.” Nora replies, still maintaining a calm yet kind tone and body language. 

Victor doesn’t respond. All he does is allow some wet tears to fall before Nora gently strokes them away with her yellow finger, to which Victor holds with his hold unstill palms. He takes a glance towards the yellow digits and then back at the blueprints for the weapon Sionis wants him to make. He needs to make a decision on what he’s going to do. 

But for now, he simply enjoys this moment with the love of his life because as of right now, it feels like all the chaos and heartbreak has suddenly been put on hold and he can finally catch his breath for one moment.

In the Batcave, Barbara Gordon stares at something she never thought she’d be seeing in a long time; Her old Batgirl suit. 

The costume is displayed on a mannequin in a brightly lit display case in the Equipment Room of the Batcave, along with every other suit and early concept of Batsuits and armor from the past, including the suits that once belonged and were worn by Bruce Wayne, Kate Kane, Stephaine Brown, Dick Grayson and all three of the Robin suits. 

Barbara’s suit in particular is dark purple except for the cowl, the boots, and the cape, which are all black. 

“I haven’t seen you look at that in a long time.” The voice of Tim Drake comments aloud, walking behind her in sweat pants and a towel over his shoulders and with a few bruises on his chest, most likely a resort of his nightly activities. 

After a few seconds, Barbara says, "It's been a long time since I've been down here but I don't regret it. I knew I had to do something to help you."

"And you did." Tim assures her. "You prevented any bystanders from getting hurt. You're a hero, even without the suit."

She shakes her head. "No, you're the hero and you've been one since you took on Bruce's mission." She then turns to her former costume. "...I was more useful to people when I was wearing that." She then sighs before telling Tim, "Before Black Mask made his debut, I was as peaceful as Gotham was. Jimmy and I were good, your company was stable and I never laid eyes upon another killer clown…but now, I'm worried sick about you and the toll you're taking." She turns back to Tim. "If I wasn't confined to this damn chair, I'd probably be out there with you."

"Batman and Batgirl; Gotham's newest Dynamic Duo." Tim says, thinking about it. "I'd like that…"

Barbara gives him a small smile before telling him, "But while I am scared for you, I'm also proud of you. You're a damn good Caped Crusader, Tim. Don't let anyone tell you anything different, okay?"

Tim smiles at her and he takes her hand. "Yes, ma'am. Now c'mon, Alfred's making food."

Barbara nods. "Yeah, I can stick around for that."

"May I help you, sir?" A GCPD officer asks a man as he sits behind a desk in the confines of the Gotham City Police Department.

"Yes, sir. My name is Victor Fries and I need to report several crimes."

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, December 6th, 2013

The confession of Victor Fries proved to be as long yet not as painful as it was when he told it to his girlfriend/roommate, Nora Fields. On the contrary, for Victor, the second time felt somewhat…freeing. For the first time in a long time, he thinks that Sionis’ tight grip has loosened and he’ll soon get what he deserves. 

He sits in the office of Commissioner Peter Pauling and, similarly to his confession towards Nora, he left no detail out. He told him every death he witnessed that was by Sionis’ hands, every weapon he was forced to produce and lastly, he has given the blueprints to the Commissioner to the Cryo Launcher, as Sionis dubbed it when he first made it for him. 

“Nora found the blueprints when I took her out of the Cryo Chamber and when she asked, I eventually told her the truth, as I am to you right now.” Victor completes his confession. 

“Well, that’s…something.” The Commissioner digests these pieces of information before turning apologetic. “I’m sorry that he put you through that.” 

Victor waves that off. “It doesn’t matter what he did to me, nor does it matter what happens to me now.” He leans into the table and says, “You can arrest me and lock me up anywhere you want, hell, send me to the gas chamber, I don’t care. But Nora is innocent in all this. When this is brought to court, I expect Nora to be given extreme care…until she passes.” Victor takes a moment to pause. He has made peace with the fact that Nora wants to die peacefully but it doesn’t make it any easier for him. But it will make it easier for Nora and that’s all that matters to him. “She deserves better than what I’ve given.” 

He can see a look of sympathy forming on the Commissioner’s face but Victor doesn’t care. Sympathy doesn’t exactly help the situation he and Nora are currently in. But Commissioner Pauling soon gets his thoughts together and says, “Thank you, Dr. Fries. This has been very helpful to us. I’ll start creating a case against him right away.” 

Victor nods. “Good. That monster needs to be put away.” He then gets up to leave. 

“Doctor.” Commissioner Pauling stops him. “I just want to say how brave you are by doing this. The thought wouldn’t even have crossed others minds.” 

Victor doesn’t respond. All he does is give a slight nod and leave without another word before leaving the Gotham City Police Department with a sense of…pride within himself. The nightmare is over. Black Mask is going to jail, nothing will stop this from happening. 

Roman Sionis is the Black Mask. That’s something he never thought was possible but it makes sense. Who else would have the resources, time, and money to do the things he’s done. It all makes sense like a perfect puzzle piece. 

…Unfortunately, it’s a bunch of puzzle pieces that’ll never be put together again. He’s thought this out for 25 minutes and he knows that there’s no way out of this. Hesitantly, he dials a number and waits for the other person to answer. 

“I swear the god, Pauling, this better be important.” 

Commissioner Pauling clears his throat and tries to make his voice steady and less shaken with fear. “Sir, an employee from Sionis Industries has given me evidence against you.” 

“WHAT?! Are you shitting me?!” The voice of Black Mask rages in fury before he takes several breaths and precedes to threaten the Commissioner. “...You better listen to me right now very carefully. If you want to keep your toes, then I suggest you give me a name. Right. Now!” 

The Commissioner doesn’t answer, a moment of remorse builds inside of him. He knows what this monster of going to do to Dr. Fries if this is carried out but…what choice does he have? Black Mask is going to kill him if Pauling doesn’t do what he says, he and his friends made that very clear and the process wouldn’t be slow and painless but rather the exact opposite. 

His tormenter’s demented and impatient voice brings him back. “Well, don’t leave me in suspense. Who was it?!” 

Finally, he says, “...His name is Dr. Victor Fries.” 

Roman Sionis pauses in shock of the name just given to him. He’s in his office at Sionis Industries with the door closed and locked so no one would disturb him. He takes several moments to dwell on this new piece of information given to him by the spineless Commissioner.

“Commish, I’m gonna have to call you back.” He hangs up and takes several moments to dwell on this new piece of information given to him by the spineless Commissioner before feeling a sense of rising anger building up. 

Recently, he has made his office sound proof and right now, he’s grateful that he has because he needs to vent out of frustrations. 

*CRASH*

*SMASH* 

He begins throwing objects across his room in anger, such as throwing glass cups and other objects that make a mess of the once impressive office but now is scattered with broken objects like shards of glass, cracked picture frames, and even a sofa being flipped over. 

He then proceeds to grab his office phone and is about to throw it before realizing what it is and is reminded of how useful it’s going to be. After calming himself and placing the phone back on the table, he dials a number and when the other line answers, he says, “Summon the men.” 

Back in the laboratory of Victor Fries, he tells Nora, “The deed is done.” 

“So he’s not going to hurt you anymore?” Nora asks.

He takes her yellow hand. “He won’t hurt any of us anymore and that goes for all of Gotham. When you awake, you’ll be in a hospital with the best care, I promise.” 

Nora nods. “I believe you. Victor, you left your coat here.” She turns to his white Doctoral coat as it’s behind a chair. 

Victor sees that he did and he says to Nora, “Thanks.” He goes to put it on but notices something; The box is missing from his pocket. 

“And this slipped out.” Nora then shows him the ring box that Victor was going to present to her back at the restaurant before all this happened. She looks up at him with a smile that Victor hasn’t seen in such a long time. “You were going to ask me to marry you.” 

Victor nods, his eyes shining. “Yes, I was. But then…I never got the chance.”

Nora sniffles, her beautiful smile still present and her hands clasping the ring box. “Victor…You wonderful, brilliant man. Without question, you made a deal with the devil so I could get better and while I don't necessarily like it, I understand. You did it because you love me and you’ve been there for me every step of the way, even before all of this happened.” She gestures towards the lab that they’re in. “You’ve been loyal and thoughtful and always put my needs above your own. It’s an act of kindness and love that I never thought I deserve or ever repay but it is for that very reason that…” She takes a breath and as if her smile has become even more lovely and inviting, she tells Victor with love and fondness, “I’d be truly honored to be your wife.” 

Victor’s touched and it’s at this moment, he knows that this is practically their wedding vows since it’s most likely that they might never be able to share them in the near future. So, he gets on one knee and says his vows.

While they aren’t written or scripted, what he’s about to say is even better because it’s from his heart. 

“At one point, my life felt cold in this world and city we live in. My parents were always distant and never truly understood me, so they sent me to boarding school at a young age. I thought I was destined to be alone," He then places his hand on Nora's yellowed cheek. "That was until I met you. You showed me that kindness and generosity can exist in my life and you've demonstrated that point very clearly ever since I met you. The truth is, Nora…you're my warmth, the sun that shines brightly in my future and with your hand in marriage," He takes back the ring box and opens it, revealing two beautiful diamond rings, glistening brightly. “My life would shine even brighter.” 

Nora weeps with happiness and joy, both forgetting the tragic circumstances that brought them here. He takes out one of the rings and helps Nora slip it through her fourth finger on the left hand. She examines it, impassioned. She turns back to Victor and she says, “I, Nora Fields, take you to be my wedded husband.” 

Victor smiles. “And I, Victor Fries, take you to be my wedded wife.” 

“In sickness and in health, til death do us part.” They both say in a loving unison before they kiss each other with the same amount of love and care. 

*COUGH*

After they reluctantly depart, Nora Fries begins to cough, awaking Victor back to the reality that they live in and quickly go to her aid. “It’s okay, breath. Breath.” Victor soothes her. 

After Nora calms down and catches her breath, she asks Victor, “It’s time, isn’t it?”

For the first time in a few hours, Victor turns to the Cryo Chamber with sadness returning to him and doesn’t say anything to her, only giving her a reluctant nod. 

Wordlessly, Nora gets up from her chair with Victor’s help and they walk, albeit slowly, towards the Cryo Chamber. He aids her by lifting her arms and legs into the machine and finally, makes sure that she’s well adjusted in the device. 

Before Victor puts the Capnography Mask around her, Nora cups Victor’s left cheek. “Don’t be sad. It’s gonna be okay, darling. All of this will be over.” 

Victor nods and says, “I know. When you wake, you’ll be in a hospital, I swear.”

Nora smiles. “No need to assure me. I believe you.” 

Victor lands a kiss on her temple and tells her, “I’ll see you soon.” He wastes no time putting back her Capnography Mask around her and hooks the mask to a supply of oxygen. He closes the door and activates the machine and the liquid refills her chamber.

She is then put back into a Cryogenic sleep. 

Solomningly, Victor places his hand onto Nora’s Cryo Chamber as if he’s reaching out for her hand. “Rest well, my beloved. When you awake, we shall be in a better place.” 

*KNOCK KNOCK* 

*POUND*

The silent moment between Victor and his wife is interrupted by an abrupt pounding on his door. It shocks him because he expected no one to be here tonight. Using the security cameras from his phone, he looks to see who it is and he widens with fear. 

“Dear god.” 

After the laboratory door bursts open, two armed men in different varieties of masks aim their guns at him. 

“Sorry, Doc.” One masked man mockingly says. 

“But you brought this on yourself.” The other goon finishes. 

“Oh, Victor.” The voice of Black Mask speaks up as he enters the Lab. Seeing him, Victor immediately gets in front of Nora’s Cryo Chamber to shield her. Even though he’s wearing his black skull mask, he can feel the anger inside of the dangerous madman. “Why are you making me do this? We had such a good thing between us!”

Victor is so shocked at seeing him, he's speechless. 

For some reason Black Mask is amused by this lack of speech. "You've got to be the dumbest son of a bitch on God's green earth! You thought that I was gonna go down that easily? Did you really think I didn't have moles in the Police Department?"

He didn't account for that and he feels like a fool for not doing so.

Black Mask’s amusement is replaced with anger. "It was so simple, our deal. Just make my weapons and your blushing bride-to-be would be as fit as a fiddle. But no, you just had to go behind my back!" He turns his attention to Nora, still asleep in her Cryo Chamber. He shakes his head at her. “Darling, you could do so much better than this guy but unfortunately, you won’t be living long enough to have that chance.”

Finding his voice, he starts to desperately plead to him “Roman, please. This is my fault. Don’t punish her, I beg you.” 

Unfazed, Black Mask shakes his head. “Sorry Doc but I’m afraid my mission has left me cold to your pleas of mercy.” He walks over to the kill switch to Nora’s Cryo Chamber and says, “This is what happens when you betray me!” 

Angered and growing defensive, Victor throws his desk chair at Black Mask before he could flip the switch. 

*SMASH*

It lands a direct hit. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

In reaction to their boss being assaulted, the gunmen respond with a hail of bullets and Victor is forced to hide behind a desk. Luckily, Nora’s Chamber is reinforced, only earning one or two dents. 

Scared for Nora’s life, Victor shouts at them, “Stop shooting, you lunatics! We’re in a lab with experimental equipment!” 

But they don’t listen and Black Mask gets up, shouting, “I want them both dead! You hear me, DEAD!!”

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

They continue to fire and several bullets fire into several Cryo Liquid canisters of Victor’s own making.

*KA-BOOM* 

All Victor knows now is that an explosion occurred and he’s been caught in the middle of it as voices are heard; 

“Boss, let’s get out of here!”

“We gotta go!”

“I’ll get even, Fries! You hear me?!” 

A blue clouded mist of Cryo Fluid envelopes the room and Victor is left behind to fend for himself as the entire laboratory now resembles that of a Winter Wonderland where ice and frozen material are the most common yet bewildering of sights. But that doesn’t matter to him. The only thing that matters is Nora’s condition and if she’s okay. He turns to Nora’s Cryo Chamber and if there’s a god out there, then he has him to thank. 

His newly wedded wife is okay, sleeping peacefully in her Cryo Chamber. But when he sees his reflection through the glass of the Cryo Chamber, it leaves him horrified and taken aback. His entire body is no longer caucasian but a dark color of blue, most if not all of his hair is beginning to fall off the top of his head and his fingertips have blackened to a dramatic degree due to Frostbite. 

Victor Fries has died in that lab and in his place leaves someone or something more…colder.

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, December 7th, 2013

At Elliot Memorial Hospital, Tim Drake and Lucius Fox sit in a waiting area. They have been informed by the Doctors that Roman Sionis and two of his security guards are in a hospital room due to an Cryogenic related incident, as they referred to it as. Tim’s anxious and he’s concerned for his condition while Lucius tries to assure him that he’ll be okay by putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Then, a nurse walks towards them both, making them both stand up.

“Where is he?” The panicked voice of Tim Drake asks a nurse.

“In room 386, sir.” The female nurse informs him and he follows her with Lucius Fox right behind him. 

“How is he?” Lucius asks her. 

“He’s fine. Admittedly, Mr. Sionis was very lucky to get out of there in one piece. His associates have still yet to awaken.” The nurse tells them both while leading them down a hallway and past several other rooms. 

They then stop at a room numbered 386 and she opens the door to reveal a standard room with Roman Sionis in the bed under the sheets watching TV while wearing a hospital gown. The second he spots the two of them, he perks up and says, "Finally, I thought I was gonna die of boredom in here."

Tim rushes in and they embrace in a hug. The younger man asks, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks to the Doctors." Roman assures him before he adds bitterly, "But after what happened with Fries, I've had my fair share of Doctors for a while."

"Roman, what happened with you and Victor?" Lucius Fox asks him.

"I'll tell you everything when the cops come asking questions, I promise." Roman swears to Lucius. "But I will tell you that Victor's gone nuts. He used our resources to do something terrible."

*KNOCK KNOCK*

The nurse answers the door and it's revealed to be Harvey Bullock and another detective Tim knows as Crispus Allen. 

"Um, are we interrupting anything?" Detective Allen asks everyone. 

"We were just hoping you could ask me some questions regarding what happened?" Bullock ads. 

Roman glances a look at Tim and the nurse and they get the hint and leave with only Lucius by Roman's side. "He stays." Roman gestures to Lucius. "He needs to hear this; I found out an employee of mine named Victor Fries was using the resources I gave him to create weapons. I was able to keep some blueprints of his designs before the explosion happened."

Detective Allen writes this down on his notepad. "I see. Do you know if he was working for someone?" 

Roman shrugs. "Oh, I'm sure he was but he didn't mention it."

"And when did you find out about this?" Bullock asks the business man in the hospital bed.

"Last night. I walked into his lab and I found blueprints for more weapons. We argued about it, he got aggressive, two security guards came in to bake me up since they heard the commotion but that got him even more angry. A fight escalated and one of my men accidently shot some liquid of Fries' own design and that's what caused the explosion."

"And who are your body guards?" Detective Allen inquired. 

"Derek Mitchell and Warren White. They're different rooms," Roman informs them before sighing deeply, "I can't help but feel like this is my fault."

Lucius speaks up and says, "It's not your fault. You didn't put them in danger." He then adds with a grimace, "I can't believe Victor would do this. I mean, I thought of him to be a good man when I first met him."

Bullock clears his throat and asks, "Speaking of Dr. Fries, what happened to him?"

Roman looks up at him and says, "I was hoping you found him."

Bullock shakes his head. "No, he's gone. We're looking for him but he's nowhere to be found as of this moment." He then asks the two businessmen, "Do either of you know where he might've gone. Any relatives or family he would turn to?"

Lucius says, "Well, there's his girlfriend/roommate, Nora Fields but she's in Gotham General due to Yellow Fever."

"No, she's not." Roman says quietly, making everyone turn their attention to him. "That's what I wanted to tell Victor when I came into his lab. Gotham General called me and told me Nora…passed away in her sleep."

Lucius takes this in and looks deeply saddened by this loss. Harvey Bullock says, "I'm sorry for your loss. Do you want a minute?"

Lucius Fox nods. "Yes, please." 

The two enforcers of the law get up and they make their exit. Lucius stands in a corner of a room and takes this in.

Roman asks him, "Lucius, you alright?"

Lucius shakes his head. "No. She was my friend, her and Victor. I just can't wrap my head around this. I mean, Victor loved Nora and wanted to use his research to help others, yet he goes out of his way to make weapons. Something about this doesn't add up."

"Don't forget, I was there." Roman reminds him, almost forcefully. "I know what I saw."

Lucius pauses for a moment, not knowing what to say. This makes no damn sense! The Victor Fries he knew wouldn't do something like this, it wasn't logical. He's going to look into this one way or another. 

As he gets something from the vending machine, Tim Drake listens to the conversation going on between Roman, Lucius and the police before they leave. He's listening to the conversation by a listening device he planted under a desk in Roman's room.

So, Victor Fries was creating Cryogenic weapons for someone. Maybe Falcone or the other crime lords or worse, Black Mask. He still needs to do something about them before things get too out of hand than it already is. 

Admittedly, he can't help but feel like the costumed variety of criminals have distracted him from going after the bigger problems like the crime lords. Scum like Falcone and Black continue to spread the streets with drugs and other illegal substances. So, TIm intends to go back to his original plans of defeating them all.

Also, he needs to find Victor Fries. He could've got Roman killed, someone who Tim holds very dear to him and he won't let him get away with that or manufacturing those weapons. 

Then, the door to Roman's room opens and Lucius walks out. Tim immediately goes back to Roman's room and he gives him a Dr. Pepper from the vending machine.

"Thanks, kid." Roman smiles and he opens it, taking a long chug from the can before setting it down. Roman turns to Tim and says, "Don't worry about me, alright? I'll be outta here in a few days."

Tim nods. "Okay, Roman. Do your best to get better, okay?"

Roman nods. "I will. Besides, it's like the old saying, 'What doesn't kill only makes you stronger'." They then give each other one last hug before Tim has to reluctantly depart.

"I'll be back to check on you, Roman." Tim promises.

"I should hope so. If you don't, I'll just break out of here myself." Roman jokes, making them both laugh before Tim has to leave and he closes the door, leaving Roman alone. 

Roman takes a deep breath and after a moment…he smiles with great relief. He got away with it by pointing the blame at Fries, a fitting punishment for betraying him like that after all Roman did for him. The only thing he needs to do is get rid of the last piece of evidence. 

He picks up his phone and dials a number and says to the person on the other line, "Do you have Nora?"

In the underground subway system, two goons under the employ of Roman Sionis are using a magliner to move Nora Fries in the lair as she is still peacefully sleeping in her Cryo Chamber, frozen in time and unaware of the dangerous and deadly situation she's in or the outcome of her husband.

The first henchman says, "Yeah, we got her and luckily, it was before CSI showed up to the lab."

"Good. We're gonna keep her there for the time being."

"Sir, wouldn't it be better to kill her while we have the chance?" The second henchman asks. 

"Believe me, I want nothing more than to kill her but Fries is still out there and he knows about us. We need to use her as leverage to find the Doc and then we'll kill them."

"And what makes you so sure that he'll come back for her?" The first henchman asks.

"He'll come back." Sionis assures them. "They always come back. Just keep her down there and unharmed. But don't get any ideas with her, she has Yellowfever." He then hangs up.

The second henchman sighs with disappointment while sending the sleeping Nora a lustful look. "Shame. Blonds are my type."

"Do you want Black Mask to kill you?" The first henchman asks, sending him an incredulous look. 

The second henchman winces at the thought of Black Mask's sadistic nature and methods of murder and immediately says, "Hey, don't worry, man. I'm back off."

Roman sets the phone down, feeling pretty good right now. Everything that can link Roman to Black Mask has been dealt with and soon, Victor Fries will be found and killed, alongside his wife. Roman's actually thinking about killing Nora in front of Victor as punishment for his betrayal. It would be fitting. 

But the good news is that Fries has finished making the weapons and they’re ready to be sold on the streets of Gotham for a reasonable price to various shady individuals.

Sure, what happened with Fries and Nora’s current situation might be considered cruel and evil, it was necessary evil to keep Gotham even more cruel and evil because Gotham is supposed to be this way and it shall always be this way. He’s lived long enough to know this fact. Sure, it might seem dark and unfair but that’s how life is; Dark and unfair. He learned this when his father died during the last heist of the Red Hood and Black Mask shall do any horrendous or iniquitous act to continue making Gotham honest.

Roman did the same thing when he spoke with Mazie Zeus before his capture. He was able to track Zeus down because he has connections in Gotham’s underworld and he hears things that not even The Batman does. All Black Mask had to do was pretend that he respects Zeus as a god and he presented him with the schematics for the electric gauntlets so Zeus could ‘get his powers back’. Then, Roman excused himself from the party that Maroni hosted so he could continue his role of the ‘wonderful humanitarian’, who wanted no one to die when Zeus and his supporters invaded Sionis Industries. It was as easy as taking candy from a baby. 

Peyton Riley stands in her father’s office, covering her bruised face with make-up. Her ‘beloved husband’, Johnny Sabatino, has slapped her again and it has stung everytime he has done so. She’s not even sure what she did wrong this time, he just slapped her, gave her an irritated glance as always and walked off. Maybe it had something to do with his breath, which was stenched with traces of alcohol.

She hates Johnny Sabatino, him and her father. They never treated her with any sort of respect but rather as a tool for their purposes. There have been times where Peyton wishes she could just pack her things and leave Gotham for good but deep down, she knows that she would never escape them. 

She then finds herself staring at her father’s most prized possession as it sits in its display case; The Scarface puppet, owned by the deceased Arnold Wesker, also known as The Ventriloquist. He was her father’s most troubling rival in the Underworld before he was killed in his cell by The Chained Killer and admittedly, Peyton can’t help but feel sorry for him since she was told that Wesker was about to get out Arkham, Bruce Wayne himself even offered him a job at Wayne Enterprises. 

The old puppet is made of wood, carved from an old tree from Blackgate Prison that was used to hang people. It’s been said that the Scarface puppet is cursed but no proof has been given to aid this theory and it’s been proven that the Scarface puppet was a manifestation of Wesker’s own insecurities. The puppet wears a suit and a fedora with a cigarette in its mouth, which Peyton finds comically ironic because fire and smoke can burn this thing to a crisp. 

She then gets a playful idea and after looking around to make sure no one sees her doing this, she opens the glass display case, takes out Mr. Scarface, and sets the old Ventriloquist doll in her arms. 

She then clears her throat and says in a raspy voice, “Yah’ll never take me alive, Gatman!” While moving the doll’s mouth. She quietly laughs to herself, starting to forget about her current troubles with her father and ‘beloved’ husband. 

She’s had experiences with ventriloquism before. She used to practice it in her youth to spite her father since she's fully aware how much he hates Ventriloquists and any type of doll all together.

She then continues to speak like Scarface. "Anyone who crosses me gets a Gullet, yah hear me?!" 

She lets out another fit of silent giggling before saying in her normal voice, "I never knew playing with a dummy was so much fun."

"Who yah calling a dummy, huh?!" 

That makes Peyton startled and she accidently drops the wooden puppet on the ground. 

Peyton didn't say that. She didn't just do the voice of Scarface. She swears, the puppet said that on its own but that's impossible! She knows that the puppet isn't a real person. 

Maybe she just needs more sleep and less of being her 'beloved' husband's sex toy but she doubts that's ever going to happen anytime soon. 

Silently, she rubs her eyes, picks up the wooden puppet and opens the glass display case to put it back in its rightful place. 

But as she does so, she then sees something extremely odd and unsettling; She sees the puppet's eyes move directly and stare directly at her. She lets out a startled yelp but then, a wooden hand covers her mouth in a quick and quiet motion.

The Scarface puppet tilts its head in her directly and it says, "Don't scream, toots. It'll only end up gad for yah."

Chapter Text

Date: Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

Night has fallen upon Gotham City as an African American man in all white clothes and cowboy hat exits his Strip Club while forcefully dragging a worker from the said Strip Club into a yellow taxi. He throws her into the back and says to her, “Get your ass in the car. We’re taking a ride.” 

The brunette woman gets as far away from him as she can while in the taxi. She’s wearing a coat over her work attire. “Please, Silk. Not the face!” The woman sobs. 

The man named Silk doesn’t look at all sympathetic towards her and takes out a knife. “You’re paining me, Joannie. You’re messing with my livelihood.”

The bearded driver of the taxi says to Silk, “Hey, man, take it somewhere else. I just had the seats cleaned.” 

Silk hands him a fat stack of dollar bills. “Shut your hairy face and drive.” 

The driver holds the stack of bills in his hands, never seeing so much money in his life. He shrugs, “Dog-eat-dog world, I guess.” He begins to drive.

Joannie lets out a scream as Silk grabs her face and holds the knife close to it. 

*THUD*

The car shakes as the three of them let out a startled jump. 

“The hell was that?” Silk asks himself before he exits the car with the knife armed at the ready. “If it’s someone trying to mess with me, there is a world of hurt.

“I was thinking the same thing.” The voice of Batman says, leaping onto Silk in a quick motion. He lands a punch onto his stomach and tosses him into an alleyway, wanting to have a word with him. He then turns to Joannie and offers her a hand out of the vehicle. She takes it and waits behind him as he turns his attention to the driver. 

He takes the stack of money from the driver Batman rips it into countless useless pieces. 

"Don’t you ever turn a blind eye to something like that again.” Batman coldly tells him. “Got it?”

The driver nods. “Yes, sir.” Shame finally sinking in. 

“Good.” Batman says. “Now get out of here.” 

*VROOM* 

The car instantly takes off as Batman continues to glare at both him and the vehicle until it’s out of sight

Batman then turns his attention to Joannie and asks her with a less frigid voice, “Are you okay?”

Joannie nods. “I am now. If you didn’t…he was.” She lets out a sob. 

Batman says to her, “You’re safe, ma’am. He won’t be hurting you, I assure you.” He then takes out a photo from his utility belt, showing it to Joannie. "I might need your help. Do you recognize this woman?"

Joannie looks at the photograph with realization. “That-that’s Daisy. She works at the same Club.”

“She went missing two days ago, correct?” Batman asks her.

“Y-yes…" She silently answers. "Silk and Black Mask have some kind of arrangement."

"What arrangement?" Batman asks.

"He helps him spread those new cold weapons of his on the streets.” She tells The Dark Knight, to his horror.

“Ice weapon?” Batman nearly shouts. 

“Yeah, they’re guns and firearms but instead of bullets, they shoot out something cold, maybe ice.” She tries to explain but she struggles since she doesn't understand the science behind it. 

Batman takes a moment to digest this information before turning back to being stoic and collected. “And Daisy found out.” She nods. “What did they do to her?”

A moment of silence is had, giving Batman a clear picture of how they…removed her from the equation. He says to her, “I’m sorry.”

Joannie takes a moment to mourn but gets back to giving Batman the details. “Black Mask and Slick work together, I found out and…well, I guess you saw what happened after that.” 

Batman then gives her a taser from his belt and says, “Incase you run into something like this again, use this. Though, I suggest you find a new line of work.” 

Joannie nods, agreeing with him. “Oh, I plan to. Thanks again.” Joannie then turns to walk away before asking him, “Oh and uh…” She looks at Silk. “Give him one for me, okay?” 

As she walks away, Batman grabs the man and carries him over his shoulder. “Why stop at one?” Batman asks before he grapples them both away and onto the rooftop of the Strip Club.

Peyton Riley sits in the office of Sean Riley, having a conversation with Mr. Scarface. 

Yes, she knows what she said. She’s having a conversation with her father’s most prized possession, the Ventriloquist’s puppet that was once used by the old man. At first, she thought she lost her mind but Mr. Scarface then gave her an offer she couldn’t refuse and in all honesty, she doesn't really care if Mr. Scarface is real or just a figment of her imagination. 

If this is the way of getting out of both her father’s and Sabatino’s thumb, then screw sanity. 

Mr. Scarface asks her, “Did anyone sees ya?”

Peyton shakes her head. “No, Mr. Scarface.”

“Good. Now we can go over the plan for tonight.” The wooden puppet gets straight to business. “Tonight, Sagatino goes down."

“Everything is in place, Mr. Scarface.” Peyton informs the wooden puppet. “I followed your orders to the letter and hired the men you asked for.” 

Mr. Scarface nods. “Good, ‘cause in order for that agusive swine of yous to get what’s coming to him, the plan can’t ge jeopardized or changed in any capacity. ‘Kay, Sugar?”

“I promise, this will work, Mr. Scarface.” Peyton promises him.

“Let’s hope so. Now get outta here, you. We can’t have anyone noticing anything. And put me gack in the case, would yah?”

Peyton nods. “Yes, Mr. Scarface.” She then does as she’s told and she puts the wooden puppet back in its designated spot before discreetly leaving her father’s office.

Silk wakes up on a rooftop of his own Strip Club and at first, he has no clue what the hell is going on. One minute, he was dragging that whiny bitch into a taxi to teach her some manners and the next thing, some giant thing punches him square in his…oh shit. 

“So, you’re Silk, huh?” The voice of Batman startles him and he turns around to come face-to-face with the vigilante. He shows an amused smirk. “It suits you. You are a worm, after all.”

Silk goes for the gun in his coat pocket, only to discover that it's no longer there. 

“Don’t bother.” Batman tells him in a brooding and vigilant voice. “It can’t save you now.” 

In all honesty, this is the first time he’s seen Batman directly but he’s fully aware of his talent for disruption. He took down Maxie Zeus, a supplier for his club’s most popular drug or it was before the winged freak ruined everything. But he’s not gonna let this fool intimidate him like everybody else. If Old Man Falcone and Black Mask can look at him without a slight trace of fear, then so can he. 

He goes to punch him but Batman easily catches the right arm and bends it to where it badly hurts and Silk is on one knee, moaning in agonizing pain. “Don’t make this difficult, Silk.” 

Silk tries to maintain a cool posture despite the situation he’s currently facing. “G-get your hands off of me, you pointy eared freak! I have rights!” 

“So did Daisy.” Batman coldly retorts.

Silk’s eyes widen. He knows about the operation?!

“You think you’re entitled to your rights but you go ahead and silence people when they stumble upon your illegal activities?” Batman angrily spats before letting out a scoff. “The hypocrisy.” 

“W-what the hell are you–” Silk tries to bluff his way out of this but Batman further bends his arm, interrupting him in mid sentence. 

“Don’t play coy with me.” Batman advises him. “You know exactly what I’m talking about; The Crygenetic weaponry you and Black Mask have and spread across the city. You’ve practically been delivering them as early Christmas presents to anyone with heavy pockets. I want to know where they’re going.” Batman demands to know, gritting his teeth with rage.

Still attempting to sound threatening, he asks the vigilante, “Y-you think you can just threaten me like everyone else? Huh?! You think I’m just a run of the mill thug?!” 

“Yes.” Batman says with little to no hesitation. “Because I know from past experiences that you’re all the same; You try to play the tough persona and that wastes time that I don’t have.” Batman explains but he then twists the arm even further. 

“Ahh!” Silk screams. “S-stop!”

“So, I will ask this one. Final. Time.” Batman ignores his pleas. “Give me something to work with or you’ll be eating through a straw!” 

Seeing that he has no other choice, he shouts, “Alright, you win! He came to me so I can spread the word on his weapons, to spark interest and it worked. One of my clients said he was interested in them and he even said he would also help spread them across the city. We were getting 15 grand a month!”

“Your client, Who is he?!” Batman shouts at him.

“Able Crown!” Silk shouts. “That’s it, that’s all I know!”

“If you’re lying, I’ll break the other one.” Batman promises. 

“The other wh–” Silk asks, confused before Batman fully breaks Silk’s right arm. “AAH!” He lets out a loud scream before being knocked out. 

Batman takes a breath to calm himself. Some guilt surfaces but besides that, he shows no emotion or any type of reaction. It’s what needs to be done to get answers and Batman has gotten used to it. Besides, how many pleas have men like him ignored just for the sake of having more money?

He contacts his faithful butler, Alfred. “Thaddeus, find me everything you can on Able Crown.”

“Of course, sir. I assume this means that you found where those scoundrels are operating?”

“I do but I don’t have the precise location.” Batman informs him. 

“Very well. I’ll need just a moment.” After a moment of silence, he says to him, “The last truck that came to the club was going to a liquor factory called the Strong Drinks. I have sent you the coordinates."

"Thanks, Thaddeus." Batman responds before hanging up. 

One good thing is that he knows who’s the supplier for the Cryogenic weaponry; Black Mask. Obviously, he did this so he can spread his perverted view of an ‘honest’ Gotham. If he’s there tonight with the shipment of weapons, it could be his chance to remove him from the criminal element and then, only Carmine Falcone and his mafia gang will be left, people who he plans to have a word with very soon.

But he still needs to find Victor Fries, the manufacturer of the said weapons. He’ll know how to shut down the weapons, give details of a potential weakness. Plus, he needs to pay for putting Roman’s life in danger. If he had gotten him killed…Batman doesn’t want to imagine that outcome. 

But Batman gets back to the matter at hand. He won’t stand by and allow dangerous weapons to be sold and spreaded out. He leaves the sack of crap that is Silk behind and leaves, silent and determined.

Black Mask steps out of a big truck that’s parked in front of a liquid factory labeled ‘The Strong Drinks’. Greeting the sociopath is a crime lord named Able Crown, an african american wearing sunglasses and a black business suit.

Despite the disguise hiding his facial expressions, the masked criminal appears to be quite happy to see him. “Able! My favorite customer.”

Able bows his head in respect. “Thank you for agreeing to see me, Mask.” 

Mask shakes his head. “As if I would ever pass up on a deal like this.” 

“I assume you brought what’s owed to me.” Able hopes. 

“Of course. Boys!” Black Mask shouts as a masked henchman carries a heavy briefcase and drops it at Crown’s feet. 

Crown opens the case, looking mighty impressed at the weapon that glows blue; A Cryogenic Grenade Launcher that’s as heavy as a machine gun and he holds it in both hands like any other weapon. Able lets out a loud and long whistle, very impressed. “It’s clear you don’t disappoint, do you?” He asks the masked criminal.

“Nope.” Black Mask answers, ending with a pop. “I aim to give Gotham what it needs; Fully functioning criminals.” 

“Sure, sure.” Able says, showing that he doesn’t really care about Black Mask’s philosophy or his mission. All he cares about is the weapons he’s planning on using for future business related activities.

Then, one of Black Mask’s men speaks up. “Sir?”

“Yeah?” Black Mask asks. 

“Someone’s coming up the road.” He clarifies, making everyone turn to look at the only road that takes you away from the factory. 

Able tells him men, “Be prepared, boys. This might be a bat-related problem.”

“Yeah, like he said.” Black Mask tells his henchmen and everyone waits for the car to come fully up the road

It’s not the Batmobile but rather 3 black vans that park in front of the exit, preventing anyone from leaving. Then out of the van doors come 5 men each, all wearing ski masks and are armed to the teeth with shot guns and AK-47s. 

“Get back!” Both Black Mask and Able Crown shout to their men before they do as they’re told and get behind something to avoid the line of fire by this sudden ambush. 

Almost everyone have their own collective reactions to this attack;

“Where’d they come from?!”

“We got you on the run down, freaks!”

“Get down!” 

“Didn’t this coming, huh Mask?!”

“Light em’ up!” 

“Let’s show them how we do things!” 

And then, shots are being fired and bullets are speeding to their targets. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Able gets behind a wall, covering his eyes. 

Black Mask shouts at him. “Wanna give it a test run?!”

Able nods and picks up the Crogenetic weapon, saying to Mask, “This better work!” 

He then pulls the trigger and out comes a grenade emitting blue mist as it rolls under one of the enemies vans. 

*BANG*

The outcome is catastrophic…for the opposing side, of course. Crown and Mask’s side are very pleased with the results. 

The van is encased in a layer of hardened ice and screams are heard from the enemy forces. Men were caught in the explosion and show signs of hypothermia as parts of their body such as their legs, hands, and chest have shards of sharpened ice inside, resulting in injuries that will be fatal if they don’t receive medical attention. 

This turn of events gives Black Mask and Crown’s side the edge they need and they all gear up to outnumber and surround the opposing side with either Cryogenic weaponry or normal but very capable and dangerous firearms. 

And it’s working. The once victorious side that sprung the ambush is now completely outmatched and outclassed. 

*VROOM*

Another vehicle is coming up the road at great speed but it’s not one that neither side of the fight are particularly happy to see. 

It’s the Batmobile and it’s as dark and sleek as ever, demonstrating a clear sign of danger for all parties involved, a sign of danger that only a fool would ignore. 

Crown lets out an irritated groan. “No, no, no, not now!” He directs his men. “Forget these fools, get the bat!” 

All of Crown’s men look eager, feeling fairly confident due to the new weapons they’ve been given. They aim their new devices at the vehicle, expecting the vigilante to come out of the intimidating vessel at any minute. 

…But he doesn’t. Instead, a flash bomb is shot out of the car. 

*BANG*

A blinding light distracts everyone as The Dark Knight comes out of the vehicle and he takes charge against every armed criminal in the general vicinity. 

In the Diamond District, Johnny Sabatino eats like a king at one of Gotham's most high priced restaurants. 

As he eats a big, juicy steak and drinks some delicious wine, he can't help but think about how great his life is right now. 

He is protected from Batman, the GCPD and Black Mask thanks to Falcone and the other members of the Crime Syndicate, along with business booming and bringing in a lot of money. 

Plus, he can also get sex any day and anytime he wants through Peyton Riley. Sure, she might be whiny and pathetic but she's really good at making someone happy, if y'know what I mean. 

So, he sits at his table, toasting to himself and this great turn of events that have been granted upon him as his two security guards watch over him.

*BANG*

*BANG*

Then, his security guards are shot and killed by four masked men who abruptly enter the high end restaurant with guns. He will admit, he's panicking because these guys are Black Mask's men and his security is dead.

One of them asks him, "You Johnny Sabatino?"

With his hands raised, Sabatino nods.

Another says, "Black Mask sends his regards."

They aim their guns at him.

Johnny shakes his head. "W-wait, don't!"

*BANG*

*BANG*

The masked men have shot and killed Johnny Sabatino.

*BANG*

*BANG*

What’s left of the armed men, both Crown and Black Mask’s, fire at Batman as The Dark Knight continues his attack by throwing a Batarang at a man wielding a Cryogenic Grenade Launcher and it hits him in his hand, making the armed man drop his weapon onto the road. He finishes him off by tripping him to the said road and elbowing him in his stomach. 

Before another man could get his senses under control, Batman uses his grappling hook to bring the man towards him and he sends a well placed attack to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. 

He then throws that same man at another man trying to get back up and they both tumble to the ground. 

A man is able to fully get control of his senses and his sight, so he brings out his pocket knife and takes a swing at Batman but he catches his arm and twists it to an unpleasant position. 

Two other men get up and one shouts, “I’m not scared of you, Bat!” As he picks up a shotgun and aims it at him.

*BANG*

Batman is hit in his chest by the shotgun’s attack. 

“Ha!” The man working for Black Mask shouts victoriously. “I got you dead to rights now, freak!”

If it was anyone without armor, they’d be dead. Luckily, Batman wears armor, so he is sent rolling on the ground but he sends several Batarangs directly at both men, distracting them for a moment. 

Batman takes his chance to rush them and punches one of them in his nose and takes the shotgun that was used to shoot at him, now using it as a swinging weapon to the other assailant's leg.

“Ah!” He screams before Batman grabs his head and sends it to his armored knee, removing him from the battle with a concussion. 

After Batman successfully defeated the criminals, he takes a moment to breathe and lean on the walls of the liquor factory. Taking on 10 men can make anyone in his position worn out.

“Come and get me, Batman!” The voice of Able Crown dares the vigilante, appearing out from a corner of the factory’s walls with his newly bought Cryogenic Grenade Launcher in both arms, armed and ready to fire at The Caped Crusader, which he does and out comes a grenade emitting blue mist, landing on the floor near Batman.

Knowing what’s about to happen, Batman leaps out of the way before he can get hit as Able Crown quickly gets out of the way to protect himself from the blast radius.

*BANG*

The explosion results in a cold layer of ice covering the very loading bay that they’re both in. Batman avoids being hit by the blast radius by shielding himself behind a shipping truck.

The Caped Crusader shouts, “Give up, Crown! This will go a whole lot easy for you if you do!”

Crown laughs, probably at the idea of giving up. “You think I’m gonna give up right after I’ve been given the need to defend myself? You really are as crazy as they say.” 

“Not as crazy as Black Mask.” Batman retorts. “Where is he?”

“Oh, he dipped a while ago.” Crown informs him, much to Batman’s disdain. “Not that I blame him. Y’know how it is; Places to go, people to meet…unlike you right now.” 

As he talks Batman activates something on his utility belt, preparing for a surprise attack.

Crown smirks as he aims his weapon again, almost ready to press the trigger. “For my early Christmas present, I give myself…a frozen, dead, bat!”

*PRESS*

Batman activates the button on his belt. 

*VROOM*

Able Crown hears the sound of a car speeding and he turns to let out a frightful shout, “Ah!”

The Batmobile hits him, sending him flying and rolling over the hood and finally landing on the ground as the Cryogenic Grenade Launcher is left run over and reverted to a bunch of useless electronic parts. 

Batman comes out from his hiding place and walks towards the criminal, who lands on the ground, flat on his back as he contemplates what has just happened to him. He lets some fear show when Batman faces him directly.

“I need information on Black Mask’s operation, so I suggest you start talking.” 

*CRACK*

Batman presses down on his knuckles. “While you still have a jaw.” 

In the penthouse of Peyton Riley, she has just been told by a police officer that her husband, Johnny Sabatino, has been shot and killed at a restaurant by a gang at a restaurant.

Peyton sits on her couch as a GCPD officer tells her, “I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am.” 

“Thank you.” Peyton politely says. “Are there any suspects yet?”

“Well, it just happened recently, so not yet.” The officer says to her, respectfully. “But we do know that they were wearing the same masks that Black Mask’s crew wear but since almost everyone is wearing those damn things…we don’t know.”

Peyton nods. “Okay. Could you leave me be, I need to process this.”

The officer nods. “Of course.” He hands her his card. “Call me if you have any helpful information for us.” He then leaves Peyton alone in the penthouse. 

After a moment of silence, she takes out her phone and makes a call to a private number. She says to the caller with a smile, “I have just been given the news. Good work. Your accounts will be updated soon enough, I promise.” She hangs up and she feels the urge to bounce in the room with excitement. 

She did it. She sent the kill squad after Johnny Sabatino, just like Mr. Scarface planned. 

And now, the dismantling of her father’s criminal empire can officially begin.

Chapter Text

Date: Thursday, December 12th, 2013

*WEE WOO* 

Members of the GCPD and S.W.A.T. surround a storage facility near Sheldon Park in Robinsonville. They are armed to the teeth and ready to shoot anything on sight. 

Commissioner Pauling stands with them with a megaphone in his hand as Lieutenant Harvey Bullock stands beside him. The Commissioner shouts through the megaphone, “Attention, members of the Gargoyle gang! Remove yourself from the premises and we can resolve this peacefully without anyone getting hurt!” 

No response from the inside. 

Bullock shakes his head, not surprised. It’s usually the hard way these types of people prefer. He asks the Commissioner, “Please tell me we’re going in there? I need to shoot something.” 

The Commissioner says to him, “Of course. We’re not waiting around all night. Tell the guys to prepare the Tear Gas.” 

Bullock clasps his hands together, clearly excited. “Don’t mind if I do.” 

*BANG*

Everyone jolts, not expecting a gun to be fired from the inside and voices to be heard;

“Kill him!”

“Get away from us, freak!”

One officer nearby asks, “What’s going on in there?”

Bullock looks at him, incredulous. “Have you not lived in Gotham, son?” He turns back to the building as the voices are still heard and he lets out a pleasant smile. “Clearly, they’re dealing with a bat infestation.”

*BANG*

*BANG*

Batman slides across the cold floor as he brings a gun wielding a gun to his knees and finally, delivers a punch to his face that renders him unconscious.

Currently, Batman is taking down a Cryogenic weapons facility, being guarded by members of The False Face Society and another gang called The Gargoyles. This makes the 3rd Cryogenic weapons cache he’s been able to find so far since they’ve made their appearance in Gotham’s underworld, thanks to Able Crown’s information on the weapons he gained from his talk with him. 

When finding these caches, it’s a race against time since Carmine Falcone has been making moves on them, sending in a team to raid them of their weapons.

A member of the Gargoyles brings out a Cryo weapon and aims it at Batman but the vigilante throws a Batarang at him, knocking it out of his hand and sending a very painful punch to his side. 

Another member catches him by surprise and grabs the Caped Crusader as his friend grabs a nearby baseball bat and swings at him but Batman ducks and the baseball ends up hitting the member of the Gargoyle gang instead, removing his grasp from Batman. The vigilante then proceeds to throw the gang member at the bat-wielding gang member. 

 Another comes at him with a pocket knife but Batman quickly grabs the baseball bat and swings it at his leg.

“AH!” The gang member screams and collapses on the ground, removed from the fight. 

‘That’s the last goon.’ Batman muses. ‘I should leave the cleanup to the GCPD.’ 

Batman takes out his grappling hook and fires it at the roof as a S.W.A.T. team barges through the door, armed and ready to shoot anything on sight.

“There he is!” A S.W.A.T. member shouts, pointing at Batman.

“Take him down!” 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

They fire their weapons at Batman but he has already escaped into the night. 

In the office of Carmine Falcone, he is having a meeting with Salvatore Maroni and their newest partner, Dury Walker. 

Dury Walker is the leader of their Extortion Racket. He’s responsible for bringing in money by offering protection to smaller businesses from Black Mask and his False Face Society. While it’s debatable if they really need protection, it’s been profitable nonetheless. He’s proven himself to be a resourceful member of their team. 

But still, Carmine has to ensure his accomplices' usefulness and this meeting is mostly about that.

"Mr. Walker, if I remember correctly, your team failed to bring Black Mask to me.” Carmine bluntly states.

Walker nods. “Yes, that much is evident. I am willing to admit it.” 

Maroni says, “Now, it wasn’t a complete failure. We were able to remove some of Mask’s men from his ranks.” 

“Yes, one success makes up for twice as much failure.” Carmine sarcastically adds before facing Walker directly, “Mr. Walker, when you came to me and offered me protection, I was hesitant since the price was…extravagant, as it were. So, I hope that I am not making a mistake by putting my faith in you and your men.” 

Walker shakes his head. “Of course not, Mr. Falcone. We’ll be better prepared next time.” 

Falcone looks at him in caution. “I should hope so. Now leave, we have other matters to discuss.” 

Walker doesn’t need to be told twice and he leaves the office as fast as possible.

Maroni clears his throat. “Between you and me, we’re wasting our time with that loser. Not only did he fail to bring us Mask but he couldn’t even prevent Sabatino from taking a bullet. We’re not getting our money’s worth.”  

Falcone has to admit, his partner’s logic is sound. Especially since he is rather displeased at Black Mask attacking and killing Johnny Sabatino. It was a direct attack against his business and his family. 

But he says to Maroni, “While I do agree with you, Salvatore, I want to give him another chance. But I assure you, I will not tolerate another failure from him.” 

Maroni nods. “Very well, then. So, have we found someone to replace Sabatino yet?”

Falcone shakes his head. “No. I’m still pondering that as we speak. But rest assured, I’ll find someone capable.” 

Maroni again nods. “Gotcha. Gotta go, got to deal with something and I’ll be needing Eraser’s help cleaning up the mess.” 

Falcone stops him as he walks towards the door. “His name is Lenny Fiasco, Sal. We don’t use childish nicknames here.” 

“Right, of course.” Maroni says apologetically. “Sorry, Carmine, just a slip of the tongue.” He then walks out the door, leaving Falcone alone in his office. 

The Next Day

*SHUTTER*

Roman Sionis stands in front of his office, holding a golden trophy that reads, ‘Humanitarian Of The Year’ as photographers snap pictures of him, Tim Drake and Lucius Fox watch from afar, proud. 

Roman Sionis has just won the award for Humanitarian Of The Year, a very well deserved award that he has eanred after all he’s done to make Gotham better; Supported charities all across Gotham and beyond, brought Universal Pre-K to young children and schools, free colleges for Gotham residents, continued Bruce’s work to ensure that escape from Arkham Asylum was impossible and has done so many other good deeds for Gotham and other places around the world. 

This is why Tim idolizes Roman; Because he’s the man he wants to be, the same man who has inspired him with his work and accomplishments, who helped him with Drake Industries and got him into business in the first place, along with Bruce. 

A Journalist asks Roman, “Mr. Sionis, how does it feel to have won this award?”

Roman shakes his head. “In all honesty, I feel there are many other people who deserve this award more than I do. But, it’s a nice gesture, nonetheless. I am merely trying to help Gotham through compassion and my charities. I only wish I could do more.”

“So does this mean you won’t be celebrating this achievement?”

“Technically, no. But my dear friend, Tim Drake,” Roman looks over to Tim. “Wants to make a toast on Christmas Eve at Wayne Manor.”

“Why that particular date?” The Journalist asks.

“Because that’s the same day his yearly ‘Charity Fundraiser for Gotham’s Youth’ party is on.” Roman answers before telling him, “If anyone deserves this award, it’s him.” He points at the young man. “He’s made Gotham’s housing prices drop to an outstanding degree and has cleaned up the East End.”

Tim shakes head. Roman has a habit of overestimating him. 

The Journalist writes some things down before he and Roman shake hands goodbye but then spots Lucius Fox as if it’s the first time he has acknowledged his presence. “Mr. Fox, I was hoping to get a word from you regarding the Cryogenics Lab Explosion and Fries’ involvement in those new weapons?”

Lucius shrugs. “Sure, you have a word.” The Journalist prepares to write whatever it is that Lucius has to say. “Goodbye.” He then walks off as Roman and Tim follows. 

Tim grimaces. He knows that Victor Fries is a touchy subject for him since he, Victor, and Nora were friends before…whatever the hell happened in that lab and her death. 

But Lucius calms himself and he expresses interest in Roman’s award or atleast pretends to. “So, what are you gonna do with the trophy?”

Roman shrugs at the question, lazily holding it in his hand. “I dunno, sell it? Put it on a shelf and allow it to collect dust?”

“Roman, it’s a big deal!” Tim argues. “How can you not be excited about this?”

“Because there are plenty of other people who deserve it more than I do.” Roman says. 

Lucius then says, “Not according to whoever decided to send that to you. They thought you deserved it, end of story.”

Roman lets out a sigh and concedes, “Alright, alright. I’ll put it in my office, in a display case.”

Lucius looks pleased. “That’s better.” He then says, “I have to go do a review of our numbers, I’ll see you both later.”

They wave goodbye and Roman asks, “Kid, do you wanna get a coffee?”

Tim beams. “Yeah, sure!”

They then walk together to the Lunch Room, getting fresh pots of coffee and staring out at the windows, looking at the view of Robinson Park. 

Tim says, “I’ve always loved the view from here.”

Roman nods, agreeingly. “Me too.” 

Tim then says, “If it helps, you might think that you deserve that award but I do.”

Roman smiles, appreciatively. “That means a lot coming to you, kid.”

“Bruce would’ve thought the same thing.” Tim adds. “He honestly would have.”

Roman lets out a chuckle. “I think if he was here, he would’ve been critical of how I’m running his company.”

Tim also chuckles. “That’s not entirely wrong.” He further chuckles, remembering how Bruce and Roman were. “God, you two hated each other back then.”

Roman looks at him, pretending to be offended. “I didn’t hate the guy, we just…didn’t agree when it came to how we ran our companies.”

“That’s an understatement.” Tim remarks, making them both chuckle together. 

Roman sighs. “God, I missed this. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out.” He stops Tim before he can apologize. “Not that it’s anyone’s fault, we’re both busy men.”

“Too busy, sometimes.” Tim can’t help but add.

“Amen to that, kid.” Roman raises his cup to Tim, who raises his own and they carefully clash into each other.

*CLINK*

They then set their drinks down and they enjoy the silence for a moment.

Then, Tim hears a television being played in the distance, near the kitchens.

“Sightings of Black Mask and his False Face Society have doubled then what they used to be. This man has caused much violence in Gotham, more so than we’ve seen in years.”

Tim’s fists clenched at his name. His hatred for Black Mask is not unknown by the members of his family.

Roman takes note of Tim’s darkened expression and asks, “Timmy? You alright?”

Still looking at the telelvision’s screen, he shakes his head. “Not really, to be honest. He’s done so many cruel and evil things and he thinks that this is what Gotham ‘should’ be. It makes me sick.” 

Roman lets out a deep sigh and he says carefully, “Tim, I know you hate him and there’s plenty of people who agree with you but…we can’t deny that he has some solid points.”

That gets Tim to dart back into his direction, looking at him as if he misread him. “Did you just say–” He stops himself and he takes a deep breath, tearing his gaze away for a moment before turning back to him with an unreadable expression but looks irritable. “How-how could you say that? After all he’s done?”

Roman takes a deep breath himself, most likely to steady himself for what he’s about to say. “Because I’ve lived through this,”

“Through what?” Tim questions 

“Through all of it, all of that.” He gestures to the view of the park and, most likely, all of Gotham. “I was here since The Mad Monk showed his face in Gotham and he was the first costumed lunatic and then we had King Tut, Calendar Man, Catwoman, The Painter of Death and so on and so forth, feeling more unhinged than the last.”

“I think that might be an overestimation.” Tim argues. “I mean, Art Wylie, Victor Goodman, and Catwoman were at least redeemable.” 

“But not all of them were.” Roman argues back. “I mean, look at Joker, Scarecrow, Victor Zsasz, Calendar Man,” He then asks, “Do you have time for a story?”

Tim looks at the clock and he nods, allowing Roman to being his story.

The year was August 20th, 1991. Unknowingly to Tim, it was a week after the fiasco at the Ace Chemical’s Plant. 

His father had died, along with almost the entire crew and Napier had taken an acid bath. He still doesn’t know if he survived that night but he most likely didn’t. 

During that time, Roman had taken on the family business with Janus Cosmetics and with money that they’ve stolen, the company had finally found its footing. 

At their company, Roman was filing paperwork and going over the numbers of their product as usual when…he showed up.

*BANG*

Everyone started screaming and trying to run for their lives but it was for not since the man who fired the weapon was not messing around, despite how he looked.

At first, Roman thought it was Falcone’s gang, trying to find some cash or wanting protection money. But from the sight of the man, he was clearly wrong in that assessment. 

It was The Joker or rather, an early proto of what would become the monster that everyone in Gotham feared more than Batman himself. It was before he created his deadly Laughing Gas or was swinging crowbars at children as if they were human pinatas. 

No, at that time, Joker was still robbing banks, taking scores before he cut a smile on someone and lost interest in taking scores. He wore his very tight purple suit with short jacket, long tails, and fitted, striped stirrup pants, along with purple shoes that are tied nice and tight and finally, a purple fedora. He wielded a gun that Roman didn’t quite remember since it was a long time ago. Maybe it was a Tommy Gun or something else.

Behind him was a small group of henchmen in clown masks and all wielding knives. 

Joker shouted, “I have come for your finest skincare and it smells of green finances.” He laughed, putting everyone on edge. His laughter had a way of doing that. 

“You heard him, empty the cash registers!” A clown henchman shouted and that practically got everyone to cooperate. 

As Joker’s crew was empting the cash registers, the deranged madman walked around the place with his Tommy Gun in both hands, looking at the hostages before he pots someone who was overweight and said joyously, “Look, everyone; The hippo escaped from the zoo!”

The overweight man shouted at Joker. “This is a place of business! You have no place here, freak!”

One of the henchmen said to the man, “Show respect, you–”

Joker held up his hand to silence him as his face thinned. He placed the gun down on a nearby table and borrowed one of his men’s knives. He told the overweight man, “Y’know, you remind me of my father.” He then viciously grabbed his neck and pulled him close to him, the sharp knife still in hand. “I hated my father!”

“Okay, stop.” Roman spoke up, making Joker turn to him with…curiosity?

Joker pushed the overweight man aside and tightened his grip on the handle of the knife, walking towards Roman and he made the businessman and soon-to-be crime lord uncomfortable. “You look familiar.”

Roman blinked in surprise and nervously asked, “I-I’m sorry?”

“Have we met before?” Joker asked him, inquisitive. “Because, you have a certain…aura to you. It might be your cologne but I gotta be sure.

“I don’t think so.” Roman told him, rubbing the back of his neck.

Joker shook his head. “No, no, I’m sure we’ve met.” Before Roman could speak, Joker stopped him. “Wait, don’t tell me; We were once high school friends? Step brothers? Oh, we met in a mental asylum and this little world is all in our minds?”

Utterly confused, Roman shook his head.

He lets out a thoughtful, “Hmm…it’s on the tip of my tongue, I swear and now that it’s on my mind, I just can't stop thinking about it.” He brought the knife to his neck. “It bothers me beyond words.”

Having enough of him, Roman kicked him away. Everyone, even the henchmen, looked surprised that he dared attempt to wound the leader of this gang.

But Joker wasn’t angry but rather…amused. “A little fight in you. I like that.”

“Then you’re gonna love me.” A cold and vigilant voice commented out of nowhere and Joker was punched away from Roman.

It was The Batman, donning his suit and dueling with the masked gangsters with speed, starting with wounding one goon and tossing him across the room and into another goon as everyone watched in awe.

“Is-is that him?”

“That’s Batman!”

“I thought he was just a rumor!”

“Kick the clown’s ass for us, Bats!”

Batman attacked another one and brought him to his knees, elbowing another in his back. 

Joker then brought one from another end of the room. The henchman was able to land a lucky shot on Batman’s face and that gave them both the chance to double team him. Joker kicked Batman in his armored stomach but it barely phased him and he punched Joker away.

But The Joker was undeterred and asked the audience, “Did any of you here the one about the guy who dressed up as a bat?”

*CLICK* 

A blade from the toe of his shoe came out and he kicked Batman, jabbing him between the plates of his armor that covered Batman's ribcage.

“Ah!” Batman let out a hurt shout in pain.

“It’s got a terrific punchline! Ha, ha, ha, ha!” He finished his joke and went to attack Batman again but he broke the elbow of the goon who attempted to surround him and he punched Joker to the ground.

Before the deranged clown could get up, he’s grabbed by Batman. “Who are you?” He demanded to know.

“Joker.” He simply answered.

Batman tightened his grip on Joker, probably angered by Joker’s response. “Not what. Who!” He then placed his gloved hand on Joker’s face, attempting to wipe off possible makeup but he, Roman, and the other members of the audience are surprised to see that no makeup stains are on Batman’s right glove.

The Joker shook his head, more amused than he already was on that faithful night. “Smear-free.” He wiped his face to prove his point and just like Batman, no traces of make-up was found. “It’s Perma-Clown!”

Everyone in the room, including Joker’s men, were absolutely horrified.

“Oh my god.”

“Who the hell is this freak?!”

“That’s permanent?!"

“Is this some sick joke?”

Joker’s mouth thinned at the reactions. “Ooh, tough crowd.” He pushed Batman away and said, “Look, nothing up my sleeve.” He raised his right hand in the air, revealing a small handgun. “Nothing that won’t put a smile on that grim face of yours.” He pointed the gun at him, making everyone there very nervous, more so than they already were. “Say cheese!”

On instinct, Batman threw a Batarang at him, removing him of his weapon and finally, he ran at him and kicked him square in his face, putting him unconscious. 

Roman stood there for a moment, taking some breaths to calm himself and overcoming the near death experience right.

Batman turned to him and asked, “Are you okay?”

Roman nodded after a moment. “Sure, yeah. Thanks.”

A woman nearby got on her knees, relieved and thanking whatever god existed in the universe. “Thank you, thank you.”

Batman merely nodded and he grappled away right before the police arrived.

“The Joker was then sent to Arkham Asylum for the first time right after that.” Roman finishes his story in the present day as Tim Drake listens on. “But…we all know he got out eventually.”

Tim has mixed feelings about this tale; He’s a bit overwhelmed since he’s tried not to think about the damn clown for a long time but he does his best to hide it. 

But he’s also concerned for Roman’s well being because not only did he almost not survive that night but The Joker also expressed interest in him for some reason.

He asks him, “Why did Joker say he knew you?”

Roman shrugs, not knowing himself. “Not sure. He might’ve been spewing nonsense, it was The Joker after all.”

And that’s why Tim’s concerned. If The Joker said he thought he remembered Roman, then something must’ve happened. But he had a habit of messing with people, Harleen Quinzel’s living proof.

Still, he can’t help but wonder…

He snaps out of his thoughts and asks, “Not to be rude but what's the point of this?”

“The point is…it kept happening.” Roman begins to clarify. “No matter how many times Joker was imprisoned, he got out and actually became an even worse person than he started off as and the same can be said with the other Arkham Rogues. They even outclassed old man Falcone and Oswald Cobblepot took his place and actually tried to run for Mayor of Gotham before he was sent to Arkham and was killed by The Chained Killer.” He takes a breath before he continues with his speech. “We’ve had to deal with so much since then. So much chaos and violence has ensued, despite Batman’s best efforts to keep things calm. Sooner or later, we have to start asking ourselves if this is…the best that Gotham can be. Maybe it won’t get any better than the violent city it is. Maybe Gotham is…honest this way.

Tim takes a moment to digest his statements and arguments. He knows that Roman speaks from someone who’s been here since the beginning of the costumed era of criminals, before Falcone proved to be outmatched by them. Some have even said that they preferred it when he was in control.

But, Tim answers, “...No.”

Roman blinks. “What?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, Roman. I don't believe that. Gotham is better than this, I know it. It can be more than this hellhole if truly allowed to change and grow and it was when Dr. Leland was incharge of Arkham and actually reformed some of the Arkham Rogues and kept the others locked up. Penguin was even put away and the crime rates dropped expeditiously because of it. I’ll admit, Gotham is nowhere near perfect but we owe it to ourselves, to our loved ones to make Gotham better than what it is now.”

Roman takes a moment to think on this before he says with a fond yet sympathetic smile. “That optimism of yours…try not to be let down in the future.”

*RING*

Tim’s phone rings and he’s forced to answer it. “Hello?”

“Tim, it’s Leslie. I was hoping to talk to you for a minute. Can you come down to my office?”

Tim nods. “Yeah, I’ll be there soon. Bye.” He then hangs up and says to Roman, “I’m sorry but I gotta go.”

The older businessman nods with a smile. “No problem. I’ll see you later, alright kid?”

Tim nods. “Yeah, sure.” They stand up and they give each other one a bear hug before they both depart and are forced to seperate.

In an abandoned facility, a television plays as the interview of Roman Sionis plays on Gotham City News

“In all honesty, I feel there are many other people who deserve this award more than I do. But, it’s a nice gesture, nonetheless. I am merely trying to help Gotham through compassion and my charities. I only wish I could do more.”

Then, in a sudden and almost instant moment, the television set is completely encased in a large vacuum of hardened ice.

“Humanity. Compassion. Charity.” A cold voice states. “Where were those pretty words when she needed to hear them?” The body belonging to the voice stands in the corner of the room, holding a glass snow globe in his right hand. He looks down at the snow globe and from the inside, a dancer moves in circles as beautiful music fills the room due to the snow globe.

He continues to look down at it as he says, “This is how I shall always remember you: surrounded by winter, forever young, forever beautiful.” He puts his other hand on top of the snow globe as the music continues. “Rest well, my love. The monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish... best served cold."

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, December 13th, 2013

Tim Drake drives his vehicle in the parking space of a building titled, ‘The Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic’, dedicated to her former deceased friend, Dr. Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father. 

Leslie’s clinic is one of the proudest and most reliable free clinics in the entire city of Gotham. Back when the Narrows were terrible and crime ridden, almost everyone came to her after receiving a beating, getting mugged, sexually assaulted, and numerous other reasons.

She also has a degree in Psychology and her clinic’s not only helpful to those who suffered physical attacks, she helps those who have suffered severe mental and physiological trauma, one of the main examples being Tim Drake’s adopted father, Bruce Wayne who, despite his strength and resilience, had gone through and see quite a lot during his time as the first Batman, such as constantly fighting criminals and The Joker killing his 2nd adopted son, Jason Todd, by repeatedly bashing him with a crowbar. 

If only Bruce could’ve spoken to Leslie sooner then perhaps he wouldn’t have…gone such a dark path before his death.

But regardless, she and her clinic were 2 shining beacons of light and hope in Crime Alley and beyond and continue to be so to this day.  

Tim snaps out of his thoughts and he walks into the clinic, entering through the front entrance, where he sees Leslie waiting for him. 

“Hey, Leslie.” Tim greets. 

“Tim.” She greets back and they embrace in a hug.

After breaking up, Tim asks, “How’s everything here?”

“A lot of people have been coming around since Black Mask started those riots. You can imagine the effect it has on people, physically and psychologically.” She informs him with sympathy for her previous visitors. 

“I’m gonna find him, I swear.” Tim promises her. 

Leslie nods. “I know.” She lets out a sigh and says, “Admittedly, this isn’t a social call. I need to talk to you,” She looks around before whispering, “In private.” 

Tim nods and he allows her to lead the way into her office, which also doubles as a room used for therapy to help those suffering through mental issues. 

Tim should know since after Bruce’s death…he was in here, being helped by Leslie, along with Barbara and even Alfred and Lucius. 

Tim shakes his head. ‘Don’t think about that. Not now.’ He says to himself. He’s spent the last few years not daring to think about what happened to Bruce and he doesn’t want to relive the memories again.

After snapping out of this thoughts, he turns to Leslie and asks her in concern, “Is there something wrong?” 

Leslie nods. “Yes.” Before she takes a seat on her office chair. She then adds, “I’m going to tell you something that I was, at first, hesitant to tell anyone since I have confidentiality with my patients and those who come to my aid, I’m sure you can understand.” 

“Sure.” Tim nods. 

“But I decided to say ‘screw it’ since no one’s going to be doing anything else about it but I knew you wouldn’t let this slide.” 

“Let what slide?” Tim asks, ready to help as much as he can but he’ll need more information. 

She pauses before finally getting to the point. “Recently, there’s this boy that I’ve been looking after. His name’s Kevin, Kevin Homers.” 

Tim has an ugly feeling about this, like a dark pit in his stomach that’s growing. “How old is he?” 

“14 years old, in High School right now. He seems like a good kid from what I’ve gathered.” Leslie tells him. 

“Is he in trouble?” Tim asks, concerned. If anyone dared to hurt this kid, he would find them and make them wish they never lived in Gotham City.

Leslie gives off a sad sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. He came to me 3 days ago at night with nowhere else to go, carrying his mother over his shoulders, her body bruised, beaten and barely conscious.” 

“Jesus.” Tim mutters, already making plans to go after whoever dared to do this. He then asks, “What about the father?” 

“...He was killed before they came to me.” Leslie sadly tells him. “Kevin saw everything.” 

Tim takes a moment to digest this piece of news and has a mix of emotions at the moment; Sympathy towards the family who have recently lost a husband and a father but has this overwhelming sense of…rage and disgust towards the attack or attackers. 

“The mother is currently in the other room.” She points to the hallway outside the office they’re currently in. “And Kevin hasn’t left her side since that night.”

He then demands to know, “Who did this?” With a snarl.

Leslie nearly shutters at how intense Tim’s getting but she lets it slide since she’s angry too. She tells him, “He wore a costume,”

Tim groans. “Of course he did.”

“A top hat and a cloak.” She adds, ignoring Tim’s interruption. “He also had an alias…The Tally Man.” 

“And did he say anything else that might help track him down?” Tim asks.

“From what I’ve gathered, The Tally Man is something of a tax collector but I don’t think it’s money that he’s after.”

Tim nods. “Ok. I’ll look into it and since you’re busy over here, feel free to bring the kid down to Wayne Manor.”

“Are you sure?” Leslie asks. “I mean, I know you’re pretty busy yourselves.”

“Leslie, Wayne Manor has so many rooms that we don’t even know what to do with.” Tim assures her before adding, “Besides, most of those rooms haven’t been used in…well, forever.” He finishes with, “Bye, Leslie. I promise, I’ll handle it.” 

Leslie nods and says, “Goodbye, Tim. I’ll bring him by in the afternoon.”

He then walks out and takes out his phone, calling Alfred.

At his penthouse, Carmine Falcone stands over his balcony with a glass of vodka in his right hand, looking over a city that has plunged into chaos. 

He’s been thinking of what to do about the current situation; Batman has been persistent as ever to bring an end to his organization, despite the GCPD turning against him. From the start, he knew those incompetent fools would be unable to bring Batman in, more powerful forces have tried but he hoped that they would at least slow him down but clearly, it was a mistake for even thinking that in the first place.

A mistake he doesn’t plan on making again. Batman needs to be brought down so he can focus all his efforts on taking Black Msk off the playing field and he can officially control Gotham. It will be better that way, with him pulling Gotham’s strings. Sure, some people will die and drugs, weapons and other properties will be sold but that’s just business.

He then feels the presence of someone nearby and he dryly asks, “Are you going to speak or just watch me all day?”

“Just getting my thoughts together, that's all.” The voice of Ekin Tzu says to Falcone. 

“And I didn’t know if you wanted to be alone or not.” Maroni adds.

Falcone shakes his head. “No, you two can stay. Care for a drink?”

“Please.” Maroni responds and Carmine pours them both an alcoholic beverage, the three of them standing on the balcony side by side. 

Ekin says, “It’s a nice view.”

Falcone nods. “Yes, it is. I usually come here to look out at the city I grew up in. Sometimes I wonder how it got converted to this pandemonium.” He then clears his throat before stating, “But I assume you didn’t come up here to talk about the view.”

Ekin nods. “You’d be correct. We came here to discuss The Batman.”

“The bastard’s costing us more money by the day!” Maroni says with frustration. “He brought Able Crown down just three days ago.”

“I’m aware.” Falcone assures him with a slight edge. “Clearly, something needs to be done about him.” He lets out a sigh, feeling a headache coming along. “I’ve erased so many people but he’s the one enemy I can be free of. Why is it so difficult to kill one man?”

“I’m starting to wonder if the guy is even human.” Maroni says, taking a sip of his drink. 

Falcone shakes his head. “I’ve heard those ridiculous rumors and he’s as human as us. I’ve seen him bleed.”

“I have the solution.” Tzu states. 

Maroni looks at him. “Oh, great. This will clear things up.”

“It is evident,” Tzu begins. “That our enforcers are not capable of successfully protecting us from our enemies. Dury Walker is not helping us in the slightest.”

Falcone nods. “True.”

“So, we should hire more muscle, is what you’re saying.” Maroni summarizes.

Tzu nods. “Indeed. I have a contact in Japan, I called them the last time I had a vigilante problem.”

Falcone looks at him with interest. “You had difficulties with a vigilante too?”

Tzu nods. “Indeed and it’s a story I’ll get into another time but for now, I suggest we call them. Trust me, they get results.”

Maroni shrugs. “It’s not like we haven’t tried anything better. Carmine?” 

Falcone takes a moment to think before saying, “Call them and schedule a meeting. Make sure to negotiate a reasonable price. I’ve wasted enough money as it is.” 

Maroni nods before asking, “So, have you broken the news to the Rileys yet?”

“I plan too tonight but it’s not a piece of information I will enjoy sharing.” Falcone then takes his leave and walks back into the penthouse, leaving Tzu and Maroni by themselves.

Thankfully, Leslie was kind enough to give Batman his home address, allowing Batman to know where Kevin’s home is to investigate.

Batman lands on the rooftop of their Cottage house in Coventry when the sun sets on Gotham City. It’s a simple house with only one story and a chimney, the outer walls painted a dark shade of red. 

He then gracefully lands in the backyard of the house, the grass less greener due to the cold weather. He looks around the backyard, making sure that no one’s watching him and while it may seem like a paranoid decision, he sees it as being cautious. You never know who’s watching you nowadays.

But he doesn’t see anyone. Instead, he only sees a 10ft, 30 in, round inflatable pool being covered by a black tarp and a sturdy ladder put beside the wall of the house. After confirming it’s safe, he makes his way to the backdoor in an attempt to unlock it.

But he soon discovers that the back door is already unlocked…someone's in the house.

Playing this smart, he plants a listening device in the door to hear a potential conversation through his comms.

“If we’re going to wait here all night, can we atleast order a pizza?” A man asks.

“No!” A second man says

The first man lets out a bored groan. “Why are we even waiting? They’d be stupid to come back.”

“They have nowhere else to go, they’re broke as hell and are in debt to the freakin Tally Man. They gotta come back and so, we’re going to wait for them so we can have a ‘talk’ with them since the Tally Man’s busy tonight” 

“I heard stories about what he’s done. Does he just kill late payers or does he torture them?”

“He just kills them. Whatever you hear about him, don’t believe a word of it. Everyone over exaggerates the details?”

“So he didn’t rape a woman who was late paying her fees?”

“No and don’t let him hear you saying that. He hates that rumor.”

Having heard enough, Batman kicks down the door and finds himself face-to-face with two men, the three of them in a small kitchen area.

“Shit, it’s Batman!” The first man shouts, taking out his revolver but Batman throws a Batarang at his hand, knocking it away.

The 2nd man attempts to fight him but Batman catches his fist and throws him onto the table.

He goes to close the door.

*SLAM*

*CLICK*

He locks the door behind him and says to them in a cold and commanding voice, “I heard about The Tally Man, just found out about him from an anonymous source and it piqued my interest. I was hoping to have a word with him, so where is he?”

The 1st man is too scared to say anything, so the 2nd man answers. “We don’t know, Mister! We don’t know anything!”

“That’s a lie and you know it.” Batman snaps at him. “How about another question, then; Who do you work for?”

The 2nd man looks at him with incredulousness. “Do we look like snitches to you?!”

Batman shakes his head. “No, not yet.” 

*POUND*

Batman pounds on the same table that the 2nd man is on, back first. He leans in closer to the 2nd man and says, “I can’t be wasting my time with you two, not with everything going on right now so unless you want to be in a wheelchair, my suggestion to you both would be to give me something I can use.” His voice is calm and collective but that doesn’t make it any less threatening and unwelcoming.

“...Dury Walker!” The 1st man finally cracks under the pressure. 

The 2nd man lifts his head at him, looking at him with an annoyed glance. “You little weasel! Do you know what he’ll–”

Batman turns to him with a cold glare, making the 2nd man stop talking mid sentence. He then walks towards the 1st thug who’s sitting in the ground, struggling to look him in the eye. “Who’s Dury Walker?”

“H-h-he’s Falcone’s hired h-h-help-p and he’s in c-c-control of t-t-the protection rackets.”

“Protection from what?” Batman asks.

“B-b-b-black Mask and h-h-his F-f-false Face S-s-s-ociety.” He struggles to say.

‘So Falcone’s making profit off of the chaos Black Mask’s making.’ Tim thinks to himself. ‘I didn’t think he’d stoop so low.’

He then asks the man sitting on the floor, “And the Tally Man’s the hired help?”

The man merely nods timidly. “T-t-the Tally M-m-man called us to w-w-wat-tch out for her a-a-and her k-k-kid while he i-s-settling s-s-ome ot-t-her debt wi-i-ith this store c-c-clerk.”

“An address would be much obliged.” Batman states, still making it clear who’s in charge here.

“Don’t tell him anything else!” The 2nd man shouts as he gets off from the table.

Having enough of him, Batman lands a well aimed blow to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and making him fall to the ground on his knees. Wordlessly, Batman turns back to the other thug, expecting an answer.

“It’s c-c-called ‘M-m-other G-Gotham’s Bakery’, it’s on S-outh W-west on 8-8-89th in C-China Town.” 

Batman’s eyes widen a bit, realizing how far away that was but he keeps a hold of his emotions and he says, “Thank you for being more cooperative than your partner. I expect you to turn yourselves in after I leave.” 

The man nods. “Y-yes, sir."

Batman walks towards the back door.

*CLICK*

And unlocks it before making his leave.

*SLAM*

In the office of Carmine Falcone, the much older man looks face-to-face with Peyton Riley, who struggles to surpass a smile as her father, Sean Riley, doesn’t look pleased…not one bit.

She has just been told that she will be taking Johnny Sabatino’s place in manufacturing illegal arms for them to sell. She’s the only candidate since she knows how Sabatino’s business works and everyone has their hands full with controlling their shares of Falcone’s criminal organization.

She has finally been given a seat in the Crime Syndicate, a real chance at getting respect. 

Falcone doesn’t return the smile. He just looks at her, firm and distant. “I need you to understand that you weren’t my first choice but you are my only alternative.”

Peyton nods, still struggling to hide a smug smile. “Of course.”

“You will be leading and managing the arms manufacturing plant in Sabatino’s place.”

“Yes, sir.”

“So from this moment on, you do exactly what I say, no questions asked.” Carmine states. “Do you understand?”

Peyton nods. “Of course, Mr. Falcone.”

Falcone nods before saying, “This meeting is concluded.”

Peyton gets up from her chair and walks out the door with her father quickly following.

As soon as the doors to Falcone’s office close, Sean says to her, “Don’t think that you deserve this because you don’t.”

Rising anger fills Peyton and she feels this urge to bash his head into the office doors. It’d be so easy and simple…but she doesn’t. Mr. Scarface’s plans cannot be altered in any capacity, he’s relying on her. So, with her back turned to him, she says to him, “One of these days, I’ll show you that I do.”

That’s a promise she intends to keep. She’ll shoe him just how ‘weak’ she really is.

The father merely scoffs and says, “I doubt it.” He then walks away, leaving her alone.

Wasting no time, she quickly walks out of the penthouse to get out of her father and Falcone’s line of sight and earshots. She speed walks all the way to her car outside and gets into the said vehicle, which is a black limo that belonged to Sabatino.

She takes a seat in the back where she says to her driver, “Home, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The driver states before he starts driving.

As Peyton leans back in her seat, she notices a bottle of champagne and a glass cup waiting for her.

“Thought you were dirsty.” Mr. Scarface offers as he sits across from her, wearing his suit and smoking his cigarette.

Peyton smiles. “Thank you very much, Mr. Scarface.” She pours herself a drink and asks, “Do you want one?”

“No th anks, sugar. You go ahead.” 

Peyton nods and she takes a sip of her drink. 

“You’ve geen doing well, getter than some mooks I’ve met.”

“I appreciate that fact, sir.”

“So, how’s old man Falcone nowadays?” Mr. Scarface asks.

Peyton sets down her cup and says, “He’s not pleased that I’m taking Sabatino’s place.”

“That was expected.” Mr. Scarface states. “But he’ll ge mighty shocked when he sees us crush him. He’ll ge wishin’ he was in a nursing home.”

Peyton smiles with twisted satisfaction. “I look forward to it, truly.” She can already imagine the scenario; Both her and Mr. Scarface, making him beg on the floor like a dog…like she’s had to with Sabatino. 

She then asks with slight hesitantly, “Mr. Scarface…how long do I have to be there?”

“They’re getting to you already, huh?” Mr. Scarface bluntly guesses.

Peyton quickly shakes her head. “No, no, I can handle it. I’ve had to handle it since I can remember but…taking orders from them like a lap dog, I struggle with it, is all.”

“And I understand, sweetheart gut if we’re to get them under our goots, we need to guy our time.” He then adds, “gut don’t you worry your little head, we’ll ge pulling deir strings soon enough.”

After a moment, Peyton nods. “Yes, Mr. Scarface.”

She’s putting her trust in him and so far, it’s been paying off. Because of Mr. Scarface, she was given the strength to finally remove Sanatino from her life and it was so therapeutic. She can now be given a real chance to get out of everyone’s thumb.

Mr. Scarface is the only way out of this and she has her complete faith in him. So far, she’s the only person who hasn’t taken advantage of her.

On South West, 89th in Chinatown, across the street from a business titled, ‘Mother Gotham’s Bakery’, a man steps out of a sleek car.

He’s a freakishly tall, 29 year old man with large curly hair, wearing dark black robes of an old-fashioned tax collector and a tall hat that matches his said robes.

The Tally Man has come to be paid a debt owed to him. He sees that the business has yet to close and the lights are still on from inside, so he walks towards the shop and let's himself in. 

*DING*

The Tally Man looks up to see a shopkeeper’s bell. He nods, “Fancy.”

“I’m sorry but we’re about to be closing up.” A voice chimes in from the kitchen. The door to said kitchen opens, revealing a bearded man wearing an apron around his stomach. He spots the unexpected visitor and immediately, he has a look of panic. 

Tally Man casually asks ina mocking tone, “How’s business treating you, Carl?” 

Instantly, he runs to his cash register and opens it.

*KA-CHING*

He then takes out a bundle of cash and he says, “Here. It’s all I have.”

The Tally Man takes the money and counts it. “124, 125, 126, 127.” He looks at him, rather displeased. “A little short today, aren’t we?”

Carl nods, his hands raised to him. “I’m sorry but that’s all I have.”

Tally Man shakes his head. “We both know that I don’t tolerate late fees, Carl.”

“Please!” Carl begs to him. “I can get the money, I just need more time.”

Tally Man shakes his finger at him. “Uh, uh, uh. I don’t offer extensions, no exemptions. So, since you cannot pay your debt with money, you’ll pay it with your life.” He brings out a handgun, pointing it at him.

Carl pleads to him, begging on his knees. “I’m begging you, please! You don’t have to do this!”

He shrugs, not sympathetic in the slightest. “Sorry Carl…but everyone has to pay The Tally Man.”

Then, something is thrown at his gun-wielding arm, knocking the gun out of his hand; It was a Batarang that was thrown.

Both The Tally Man and Carl look at the direction where the weapon was thrown, being the backdoor of the bakery and they both go wide eyed; Batman has arrived. 

He says, “You’ve killed your last, Tally Man.”

They have mixed emotions; Carl collapses on the floor with unimaginable relief. “Oh, thank god! Thank you!”

The Tally Man looks at him with surprise but it quickly turns to interest and suddenly, a frown grows on his face. “Batman…you have quite the debt you have yet to pay.”

“I can imagine.” Batman mutters, knowing that he has cost a lot of gangsters and crime lords money since he’s been taking out their organizations. He then turns to Carl and says, “Get to safety, I need to have a word with our local tax collector.”

“You wanna talk? Talk to my friends.” He then brings out two machine guns.

Instinctively, Batman quickly grabs Carl and they both duck behind a counter. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Batman hides Carl behind his cape and tells him, “Don’t look.” He then throws a flash bomb at The Tally Man’s feet.

*BANG*

“Ah!” Tally Man is blinded by the light, giving Batman the perfect chance to strike.

*POW*

Batman decks Tally Man in his face, knocking him out and his hat dropping to the floor, along with both of his machine guns. Carl looks triumphant at the sight, relieved that his life has been saved and the man has been brought to justice. 

Batman searches him, to make sure that he doesn’t have any spare weapons on him when he stumbles upon something from inside Tally Man’s coat pocket. 

Batman looks at it with widened eyes before a satisfied smirk is stretched across his face. “I’ve got you this time.”

*WEE WOO*

*WEE WOO*

GCPD cars arrive on the scene, obviously being called about the bullets being fired by Tally Man. Wordlessly, Batman walks towards the back door, not wanting to handle another confrontation with the police again as Carl gives him one last thankful look before he vanishes into the night.

Chapter Text

Date: Friday, December 13th, 2013

At the GCPD Building, Detective Harvey Bullock waits for the Dark Knight. He stands on the roof beside the Bat Signal, which is covered in long, gray, drapes.

As he leans on the signal, Bullock then says aloud, “You can come out now. Don’t be shy.” Batman steps out, letting some surprise that Bullock was able to detect him. Bullock turns to him and says with a deadpan expression, “It’s the wind. I can hear it blow through your cape. But to the matter at hand, why did you call me here?”

“I have recently arrested a man who was involved in the protection rackets in Gotham.” Batman begins.

“The Tally Man, yeah I heard.” Bullock tells him before letting out a scoff, “I swear, the nicknames are getting less creative.”

“I took this from him.” Batman then takes out a notebook that belonged to The Tally Man and he hands it to Bullock. “In it, you’ll find the names that he either killed or took money from. You can trace it back to Dury Walker, the leader of the Protection Rackets.”

Bullock flips through some pages and nods, clearly impressed before shutting it. “But why give it to me?”

“Anyone else would’ve burned it to a crisp.” Batman states as a matter of fact. “But I know you can find some uses for it.”

Bullock smirks. “I have some ideas. Thanks.”

Batman nods before he jumps off the building and glides away.

*WEE WOO*

*WEE WOO*

The Tally Man sits in the back of the cop car, handcuffed. His hat and mask has been removed and he only wears his cloak. His guns and weapons have also been confiscated. 

One of the officers asks “So where are we dropping him off at?”

The driver says, “We’ll be bringing him into lock-up and then, most likely outcome, he’ll be sent to Arkham with the other freaks.”

Tally Man looks up at that and he shakes his head while mumbling to himself, “No, not Arkham. Not again.” 

He can’t go back to Arkham! He doesn’t have the fondest memories in that place, surrounded by the other monsters and madmen who belittled him during his stay there. 

He has to get out of here and make Batman pay. He has a debt left unaccounted for, one that he plans on erasing that debt from existence.

He shakes his handcuffs, hoping to somehow remove them but they are locked around both his hands quite tightly. So, there’s no hope in getting out of those unless he has the key.

Wait, an idea!

He says to the two men with a sense of professionalism, “Gentlemen, I know that you’re simply doing your jobs but I think that you’d be willing to let me go.”

The driver decides to humor him. “And why should we do that?” 

“Because I'll pay you tremendously. Do you know how much money I’ve been given as a tax collector? It’s an amount that I wouldn’t be able to spend by myself if I tried.” 

Both look at the costumed man with interest before the driver asks his partner, “Should we?”

The cop beside him shrugs. “Well, it is Christmas. We’re all entitled to a bonus, right?

The driver ponders that statement for a bit before he abruptly stops the car. He says to Tally Man, “Ok, Mr. Tally Man, you got yourself a deal.”

Tally Man smiles. “Splendid! I promise. I’ll send you both the checks.”

Both of them get out of the car and open up the back, letting Tally Man get out and hold out his hands to them. “I’ll be needing these to come off.”

The 2nd cop takes out the key and with a single twist, they come off of the criminal.

“Ok, now off you go–” The driver states before Tally Man quickly takes the gun from the man’s gun holster.

*BANG*

Man shoots him in his kneecap, making him fall on the ground with pain. “AAAAH!”

The 2nd looks startled and takes out his gun but Tally Man points his weapon at him. He then says, “I’ll make this simple for you; Hand me your gun and I’ll patch up your partner’s wound or I’ll kill the both of you. What do you want to do?”

Ekin Tzu, Carmine Falcone, Salvatore Maroni and the rest of the members of the Crime Syndicate discuss plans in Falcone’s penthouse.

This meeting consists of Gotham’s most prestigious yet corrupt and shady families such as The Maronis, The Sullivans, The Fiascos, Tony Bressi, Peyton Riley who’s leading the Sabatino Crime Family, Henry Ester, the owner of a farm outside of gotham that produces Marijuana.

Maroni asks, “The batch of heroin is being transported?”

Tzu nods. “Yes. It’s being transported to Gotham on one of my ships from Okinawa. It will be titled, ‘The Yacht’.” 

“Good.” Falcone states. “It will be ready to. be sold as soon as it’s ready and packaged.” He turns to Ester, “And you’re side of things?”

“Business is good, Mr. Falcone.” He assures him. “The profits have been very promising.”

“I suggest you hand those profits over to the Fiascos.” He gestures to Howard Fiasco. “He’ll be able to store it in a safe location.”

Howards nods. “Thank you, Carmine. I promise, it’ll be kept somewhere remote.”

“I expect so.” Carmine states. “Otherwise, it causes a problem.”

“It won’t.” Howards tries to assure him.

“Good.” Falcone then changes topic and says to Dury Walker, “How is locating Black Mask and his gang?”

“We heard a rumor that he will be making an exchange at one of his Cryo Weapon caches of his, he plans on making an appearance face-to-mask.” Walker explains. 

“Giving us the perfect opportunity to strike.” Falcone finishes with a nod. “Good but if that happens, I want you to bring The Sullivans with you.” He gestures to his loyal enforcers. 

The Sullivan Crime Family are Irish hitmen used by Carmine and are responsible for enforcing. This team consists of the leader, Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan, Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly, Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil. They haven't been called into action until now.

Walker shakes his head. “Not necessary. I can kill him on my own with what and who I have.”

“History says otherwise.” Falcone coldly remarks. “The Sullivans have yet to fail me, so you will bring them as back-up. End of discussion.”

Walker looks like he wants to interject but he calms himself down before he could even back talk towards Falcone of all people. So, he merely says, “Very well then. I only hope they prove useful.”

“Oh, they will.” Falcone states without any doubt in his mind.

The Mink and the other Sullivans beam with pride at getting praised by Carmine Falcone. 

Tony Bressi raises his hand in a polite fashion and Falcone asks, “Yes?”

“Um, who are these assassins that Tzu is hiring to kill Batman?” Bressi asks.

“They asked for me to keep their identities a secret at this time.” Tzu tells Bressi, somewhat apologetically. “But I assure you all, they are very formidable, cheap, and proved to be useful when dealing with my vigilante problems back home.”

“Her name was ‘Lynx’, right?” Peyton Riley asks, interested. “The one who was a cop or something?”

Tzu nods. “Yes. She was revealed to a cop and a vigilante like Batman, so I hired them to take them out.”

“Let’s just hope that they measure up.” Falcone says. “A lot of money has been wasted to solve our problems.” It doesn’t take a genius to know that remark was mostly directed at Walker, who looks sheepish at the comment. “Meeting adjourned.”

Tim Drake puts on a long sleeved black sweater over his well fit chest as he stands in the elevator of the Batcave, going up to Wayne Manor.

Tonight has been a pleasant one. He’s been able to land a blow to Falcone’s criminal organization by turning that notebook in to Leutineut Bullock. He hopes that it’ll be traced back to Falcone but he knows that it probably won’t be enough to bring him down fully. He still has a lot of work to do but he intends on bringing him and his organization down, one way or another.

The elevator door opens to reveal the well furnished study that once belonged to Bruce Wayne, fully dusted and cleaned due to Alfred’s handiwork. He’ll have to thank him for that. He steps off the elevator and presses the button that allows the grandfather clock to block it from a person’s view.

Alfred sees Tim as he walks down the hallway and he smiles. “Ah, good to have you back sir and just in time. I’ve made dinner.”

Tim smiles. “Thank you, Alfred. How’s Kevin?”

“He’s quiet but he’s very grateful for dinner. I’ve made Pork Tenderloin with Peas, Applesauce, and Roasted Potatoes. For dessert, Strawberry Cheesecake and handmade Neapolitan Ice Cream.”

Tim looks impressed. “You certainly went all out tonight.”

Alfred shrugs. “The boy probably hasn’t been given a real meal for days since his mother had to pay money to that maniac. I simply wish to make sure that he’s well fed,”

Tim looks grateful towards him. “Thank you, Alfred. I’m sure that his mother will be appreciative.”

“And I hope you don’t mind but I told him to begin eating.” Alfred informs him.

Tim nods understandingly. “Of course. He shouldn’t have to wait on my account.”

They make they’re way downstairs to the Dining Room, where the 14 year old Kevin Homers are seated at the table as the food has already been put on his plate.

Tim walks towards Kevin and he says, “Hi. May I sit next to you?”

Kevin nods, silently. 

Tim sits down and he asks, “This may sound like a stupid question to ask but are you doing any better?"

Kevin shrugs. “I guess. I heard Batman stopped him tonight and that was the best news I’ve gotten in the past few days.” He turns to Alfred and he says, “Thank you for making dinner, Mr. Pennyworth.”

Alfred smiles at him. “My pleasure, young man. May I get you anything to drink?”

Kevin perks up. “Milk, please if you have it.”

Alfred nods. “Of course. I’ll be right back.” 

Tim says, “I can get it, Alfred.”

Alfred politely declines. “Nonsense. After the nightly excursion you’ve had, you need subsistence more than I do.” He then walks to the kitchen.

“He’s a nice guy.” Kevin comments.

Tim nods. “He’s that and a lot more.” He gets himself a plate and gets some food on it. “How’s your mother doing?”

Kevin takes a moment before he quietly says, “I don’t know. Dr. Tompkins says there was no telling of her condition. If she doesn’t make it, I don’t…”

Tim gently puts an arm around him to comfort him. “Hey, don’t worry too much. She’ll be okay.”

Kevin looks at him. “How do you know?"

“Because she’s a strong woman.” Tim states. “She’s strong enough to survive because she’s a fighter and so are you. I promise, when this is all over, she’ll get the best care that money can buy and I’ll make sure that you and her are taken care of.”

Kevin looks at him and asks with uncertainty, “You promise?”

Tim nods. “Cross my heart.” He then turns back to the food. “Now, I suggest we eat so this doesn't go to waste.”

“Okay.” Kevin nods before asking, “Mr. Drake, would it be ok if I took some leftovers to my mom?”

Tim nods with a reassuring smile. “That’s acceptable and hey, call me Tim."

They continue eating and Alfred comes back to join them. Admittedly, it’s been a while since they’ve had guests and it’s a nice change of pace, despite the circumstances that brought him to stay at Wayne Manor in the first place. It makes the house less quiet and so far, Kevin has shown to be polite and a very engaging child.

The food is soon devoured but both Tim and Alfred make sure to save large portions of it for his dear mother and soon, the three of them have plates of Cheesecake and Ice Cream on their plates, happily enjoying each other's company.

Admittedly, it feels somewhat reminiscent to when Bruce, Stephaine and the others were still around. 

Tim violently shakes his head. ‘Don’t remember that, especially not around Kevin!’

*RING RING*

Tim’s phone goes off and he looks down to see who it is; It’s Bullock.

Tim stands and says apologetically, “I have to take this.” He steps out of the room and activates the voice mongulator to disguise his voice from Bullock. “Detective?”

“I suggest you turn on your TV now! Something’s going on!”

Tim sets the phone in his pocket and quickly runs to a room out of earshot and turns on a television.

It shows the Tally Man, wielding a gun and grinning like a cat ate a canary. “Hello, Batman! I know you’re watching.”

Tim looks at this, shocked. How did he get free?!

“You really thought that you got rid of me that easily? I’m insulted, to tell you the truth. But I’m back and I have a score to settle with you and to make sure I have your attention.” He turns the camera towards two handcuffed officers, looking frightened. “I have two hostages and a very. Itching. Trigger finger. To save these pathetic peasants, come to Dixon Docks where you’ll find an abandoned warehouse waiting for you. Oh and no cops or I kill them both. This is between you and me…you have 1 hour.” The camera feed ends. 

“Shit.” Tim curses in frustration, knowing that he has to do something or they’ll die. He turns off the TV and walks out of the room where Alfred finds him.

“Alfred, I gotta go.”

“Is everything alright, sir?”

Tim shakes his head. “I don’t have time to explain but could you please give Kevin a reason why I have to go?”

Alfred nods. “Of course, sir. Leave it to me.”

Tim then walks out of the door and runs quickly to the study.

Tally Man paces up and back on the wood floors as they creak with each step.

Currently, the tax themed criminal stands in a warehouse with the two officers both handcuffed to a nearby pipe, both regretting the choices that brought them in this precarious situation. 

Tally Man lets out an irritable and impatient scream. “Ah! Where is that flying rat? He’s late, he’s late for a very important date!” He aims the gun at them both. “Well, at least I can shoot you and be done with it!”

“Wait, this wasn’t a part of the deal!”

“Don’t do this!”

“Let them go.” A voice that Tally Man’s familiar with chimes in; The Batman has arrived.

The Dark Knight of Gotham City lands in the center of the roof, clearly he came in through the skylight. Personally, it would’ve been nicer for him to come through the door but he doesn’t expect anything less of Batman.

Tally Man hops up with glee. “Ah, you came! And here I thought you weren’t going to show up.”

“You have my attention.” Batman gets straight to the point. “Now release your hostages."

Tally Man shakes his head. “No. I’m not done with them yet. Besides, do you really want to save them? I mean, if they hadn’t accepted my bribe then I wouldn’t be here.”

Batman takes a glance at them, shooting them a glare that makes them flinch before Batman turns to Tally Man once more. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I want to see you sweat, Batman.” Tally Man answers with gritted teeth. “Because I want to see the fear in your eyes, the terror in your voice. Because you have a debt you have yet to pay!”

Batman resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Is that really why you’re doing this? Because of the paycheck Dury Walker’s giving you?”

Tally Man scoffs. “And to think, everyone said that you were the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’. Clearly, that was an overstatement.” He then says with anger, “This isn’t about money you owe Walker or Falcone or the other crime lords, this isn’t even about money. This is about the debt!” He points at Batman and then back at himself. “You owe…me.”

Batman looks at him, surprised for a moment before asking, “What did I ever do to you?”

Tally Man lets out another scoff. “Of course you don’t know. You don’t even know who I truly am, my real name. All you know is that I’m the Tally Man; The next big villain in your rogues gallery, as it were.” He mocks. 

“Ok then who are you really?” Batman asks, truly interested.

“...I was once named Jayden Cess.” Jayden begins to tell him. “I had a little sister and a mother, my dad was out of the picture. My mother had problems with her own Tally Man as well,”

The year was 1996 and a 12 year old Jayden Cess and his 5 year old sister, Eliza, were both hugging their tired and beaten mother who was on her knees.

Shd mumbled, “It’s friday. He’ll…he’ll be here soon.”

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“I know you’re in there! Open the damn door!”

Mother got to her feet and said to Jayden, “Take your sister and go to your rooms. I’ll handle him. Quickly!”

Jayden took her oblivious younger sister and did as he was told.

He heard the conversation going on, despite the fact that he closed the bedroom door.

“Pleass, my welfare check didn’t come in! I only have enough money to last for food and the children!”

*SLAP*

He heard his mother fall on the ground as he covered Eliza’s ears to protect her from the noise.

“Your husband should’ve thought of that before he took a loan from The Penguin! Your brats can starve for all I care!”

“Ah, Oswald Cobblepot, though you may be more familiar with The Penguin. He owned this city with an iron fist after Falcone left and my family paid the price for it.”

“Why do we have to pay him, mommy?” Jayden asked as his mother was doing dishes and Eliza was playing with her doll.

“Your father borrowed money from him before he died. We have to pay him back!”

“Daddy died 2 years ago!” Jayden argued

Mother stopped cleaning dishes and kneeled down to his level. “He’s a bad man, darling. We have to pay…everyone pays the Tally Man.” She said as she cried and Jayden hugged her.

“I’m not a man of religion, normally but I prayed that you’d show up and stop him. That you’d save my family but where were you instead?”

Jayden watched the news on a small TV and for the past two years, all he heard was;

“Batman foils bank robbery by The Riddler!”

“Batman & Catwoman put Two-Face back in Arkham!”

“The last straw of The Scarecrow, thanks to Batman & Batgirl!”

“Another one of Joker’s plans stopped by The Dynamic Duo!”

“Batman & Robin stop another kidnapping plot made by The Mad Hatter!”

“Batgirl arrests The Condiment King!”

“Condiment King?” Jayden shouted. “Condiment King was a higher priority than helping me and my family?! REALLY?!”

Batman starts to sympathize with him as he continues his story.

“I’m sorry that it’s a little short.” The mother told the tax collector, who counted the money in his hands. “Eliza’s been sick and I…I got her a doll and–”

*SLAP*

She fell to the ground hard as the man looked furious. “You were warned what would happen if you were late and now,” He took out a knife. “You are going to learn the hard way!”

Then on that day, something changed for Jayden…something snapped!

He grabbed a nearby fireplace poker and he hit him with it when his back was turned.

*WHACK*

“Leave my mom alone!”

He continued to hit him in a fit of rage.

*WHACK*

“LEAVE HER!”

*WHACK*

“LEAVE HER!”

*WHACK*

“LEAVE HER!”

*WHACK*

Batman is completely speechless, feeling sorry for the man.

“I was then arrested for manslaughter and did they see a boy who only wanted to protect his family? No…they saw a sadistic lunatic and locked him in Arkham Asylum, home to all the freaks you were too concerned about to help! Me!”

“Jayden, I…”

“I had to spend years of my childhood listening to all the taunts and insults; ‘Momma’s Boy’, they called me. Over and over…I was only released when Dr. Joan Leland released me when she took over the nuthouse and do you know what I came home to find out?”

Batman silently shakes his head.

“I found out that my sister had died of starvation and my mother had hung herself to death!” Tally Man shouts. “I lost my childhood, my family, my life, everything that mattered to me is gone! You could’ve stopped it all! All you had to do was lock Cobblepot away but no, you were too focused on the supervillains, on your game of Cops & Robbers than helping my family when they needed it the most!” He now has tears coming down his cheek and he uses his robe to wipe them away. “I bet you didn’t even hear about me until after I put on this costume, DIDN’T YOU?!”

Tim Drake takes a moment to digest this news and it’s truly heartbreaking. Words cannot describe how sorry he is for him. No one should have to suffer like that. He doesn’t even bother hiding a flinch, knowing that his comment, ‘I bet you didn’t even hear about me until after I put on this costume, DIDN’T YOU?!’, holds some truth to it.

When it comes down to it, Jayden is correct on one thing; Bruce, while he did love him as a father, had a habit of dedicating too much time towards the Arkham Rogues. Bruce even admitted that himself when they directed more attention towards Penguin’s criminal rackets. It’s why Tim isn’t trying to focus on the supervillains and only on the crime bosses like Falcone or Black Mask. He doesn’t even want a rogues gallery like the one Bruce had.

But the thing is…in 1996, Dick Grayson was Robin, not Tim. He was only 7 years old during that year. Tim had nothing to do with that.

Batman says in a soft voice after Jayden is done with his rant, “I’m sorry for what happened to you. Truly, I am but there’s something you don’t understand.”

“Then please, enlighten me.” Jayden tells Batman, a gun still aimed at his chest.

“...I’m not the real Batman.” Tim tells Jayden and to him, that’s the most truthful thing he can tell to the costumed man and it’s a truth that makes Tim mentally wounded because when it comes down to it, he’s not Bruce. He’s not the man he was or ever will be. “I’m not him, not even close. If you have a score to settle with someone, it’s not with me.”

“Perhaps…” Jayden starts. “But you have taken on the identity of the man who ruined my life, so his debt falls upon you. One way or another, I will get composition for my suffering!”

“My death won’t solve anything, Jayden,” Batman tries to reason with him. “It won’t bring them back.”

Jayden nods. “No, it won’t…but it’ll be very therapeutic.” He aims the guns at him with unwavering determination. “My mom was right about one thing; Everyone has to pay The Tally Man…and your debt is about to be settled!”

*BANG*

*BANG*

Tally Man fires his guns on Batman.

*BANG*

*BANG*

Batman jumps out of the way and takes cover behind the exterior walls of the warehouse.

*BANG*

*BANG*

Tally Man is now just shooting at the wall where Batman hides behind, anger clearly taking over him.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*CLICK*

*CLICK*

“What?” Tally Man sees that the gun has stopped firing bullets because it’s now out, no longer useful.

Batman takes this opputunity to step out and run at him.

Tally Man shakes his head as he throws the two useless guns onto the wooden floor. “I don’t need guns to finish you off!” He raises his fists and swings at him.

But Batman catches the fist, grabs him, and throws him out of a window.

*SHATTER*

Batman climbs out of the window and he faces Tally Man outside as he quickly picks himself up and dusts off the traces of small glass on his black cloak. He then tackles Batman to the ground with feirce ferocity, fueled with nothing rage and a vendetta that he will do anything to be rid of. 

Tally Man then grabs a nearby peice of sharp glass and with one hand on Batman’s throat, he raises his sharp glass weilding arm and aims it directly between Batman’s eyes. 

*BANG*

Tally Man is shot down and he falls backwards onto the wooden floor, still riddled with dangerous and tiny peices of glass. Batman can hear breath still coming out of him, indicating that he’s not dead.

Batman uses all the strentgh he has to pick himself up and see who saved his life just then. He turns to see Lieutenant Harvey Bullock, weilding a gun. 

The older man walks up to him and offers him a hand. “You alright?”

Batman takes it and he back on his feet once again. “I’m fine. Thank you. How long were you here?”

“Just got here. Went around the back and I saw him tackle you and, well you know the rest.” He then walks over to Tally Man, who’s on the floor and groaning in pain. “Alright, up you go.” He picks up Tally Man and he puts handcuffs around both his hands. He turns back to Batman and asks, “What about the hostages?”

“They’re alive but don’t release them just yet.” Batman tells him. “He mentioned that he bribed those two to release him.”

Bullock nods. “Alright, we’ll deal with them. You should get outta here while the gettings good.”

“Batman…” Jayden Cess slowly speaks. “The debt…is not been settled and I…I will get out of this and…I’ll kill you.” 

Batman shakes his head. “You’re not the first one to have said that and you’re not going to be the last.” He turns to Bullock, “His name is Jayden Cess. I’m sure you’ll be able to find out about him.” He then grapples away into the dead of night.

THE NEXT DAY

At Gotham General, Tim Drake watches the 14 year old Kevin Homers embrace his mother in a warm hug, smiling with happiness.

Earlier this morning, Kevin was given the news that his mother has awaken and was doing much better, along with the fact that she had been moved to Gotham General, where as Tim promised, she’s been receiving the best care that Drake Industries can provide. 

“Oh, honey!” Claire, Kevin’s mother, nearly cried. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Kevin shakes his head. “I’m fine and we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Claire looks confused. “What are you talking about?”

Kevin quickly turns on the TV and the news plays for the three of them to hear;

“Just last night, The Batman had apprehended Jayden Cess, also known as ‘The Tally Man’. The image then switches over to Jayden being put into a cop car as he struggles. He shouts, “Watch the suit, boys!” 

The TV announcer continues. “Mr. Cess had taken on the persona of a tax collector and has forced people to pay protection money. It has been revealed by Lieutenant Harvey Bullock that not only did two police officers accept a brib from him but he was also working for Dury Walker, who was rumored to be working for former crime boss, Carmine Falcone but no evidence has been made to support the claim and Mr. Falcone remains clear of any charges. A warrent has been put on Walker, demanding his arrest but he has escaped from the public eye.”

Claire looks at this and she cries with great relief. “Oh, thank god! He can’t hurt us anymore!” She wraps her son into another hug, feeling an overwelming sense of victory. “We’re free, Kevin! We’re free!”

Tim leans on the doorway, not wanting to inturrupt the moment.

Claire sees Tim for the first tine and she asks, “Are you my doctor?”

Before Tim could answer, Kevin answers for him. “No, this is Tim Drake, Mom. He’s paying for the hospital bills.”

Claire looks back at him with gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. Drake. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Tim shakes his head. “It’s Tim, ma’am and I’m going to do a lot more than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to help you and your son.” Tim explains. “I can set you up somewhere, a nice place in Gotham. I can make sure you never have to work another day in your lives.”

Claire feels like this is too good to be true. “You’d do that? For us?”

Tim nods. “Yes.”

Claire lets out another set of tears. “Thank you! Oh, thank you!”

Tim humbly says, “Hey, it’s no problem. Everyone needs help every now and then.” He then says, “I’ll let you rest and we brought you some food to make you feel better.”

Kevin quickly takes out the tupperware of Pork Tenderloin with Peas, Applesauce, and Roasted Potatoes. For dessert, Strawberry Cheesecake and handmade Neapolitan Ice Cream.

Tim leaves the room, can’t help but feeling a sense of joy for them.

This is why he does what he does; To give families hope, to continue Bruce’s mission. However, if The Tally Man has taught him anything, it’s that he must not let the costumed variety of criminals distract him from rooting out the real disease that infects Gotham and its people.

The crime bosses are his top priority.

Chapter Text

Date: Saturday, December 21th, 2013

Located at Port Adams, the large freighter titled, ‘The Yacht’ is parked on the shores of The Gotham Harbour. Not only are dozens upon dozens of shipping crates and containers a commonality in these docks, countless men are scattered every way around the vicinity of the ship but they’re assigned with different jobs; Some men are moving the crates in trucks, armed men are guarding the supplies, and one man counts money near a table.

Being brought into Gotham by sea is a new batch of Heroin, a drug that’s planned to be passed out to those with an uncontrollable addiction to the substance. 

One thug says, “Let’s get a move on, people! We can’t have the bosses waiting.”

One thug waves him off in frustration. “Oh, keep your pants on, will yah? We’re going as fast as we can.”

Another thug sits on a wooden chair and counts money near a nearby table. “$10,200…$10,310…$10,460…”

Several look at him, impressed. “I thought we would’ve lost count by now.” He mutters, not wanting to throw the counter off track.

“Bet 50 bucks he can get to $20,000.” A thug challenges.

“You’re on.” They shake hands and they get back to work.

“Ah!” A man shouts, startling everyone.

One brave man looms at where the man disappeared, a container that holds nothing but pitch darkness, and he asks aloud, “Steiss?” as if he’s expecting an answer but no answer is given back.

*SHATTER*

Several other headlights are taken out, alerting and startling everyone in the nearby vicinity. The commission causes everyone to draw out their weapons, all clearly aware that something is a miss. 

One man then notices something on the ground; A Batatrang. His eyes widen and he says, “Guys, the Bat is here!” Then, he sees that one man is looking up at the sky. “What?” He asks but no response, so he looks up as well.

…He sees The Batman, hanging upside down from a crane, directly above them.

“Oh, god.” One thug mutters before Batman descends to their feet and he begins to brawl with them with the element of surprise on his side, giving him the upper hand on these men.

Batman lands a punch on one thug and an elbow to another one’s face and finally, he tosses a thug at one who was merely sitting at a table, counting money. 

“He’s here!”

"You’re gonna die tonight, Batman!”

More bangs of thugs are inbound and Batman decides to grapple onto a shipping container to regain his stealth and hidden advantages. 

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Several shots are fired but they miss their primary target.

“Damn it, he’s gone!” One shouts in frustration.

“He couldn’t have gone far. Spread out and find him!” Another thug orders and about 4 guys spread out across the entirety of the docks, all either determined to kill the vigilante screwing up their plans or are scared half to death and are contiplanting just dropping their weapons and leaving right there and now.

One man looks around the loading bay for Batman but then, a grappling hook is attached to his foot.

“What the–” The rope is pulled and he is dragged into the darkness. “No, no!”

*PUNCH*

He is then knocked out.

Another armed thug takes glances around some shipping crates before he is then put into a choke hold. He squirms out of the Bat’s grasp but it proves to be fruitless as he is now unconscious due to the silent takedown.

Two men decide to look for him together, both of them sweating nervously and their hands are slightly shaking. Batman is clearly getting to them. 

“Where is this freak?” One asks aloud. Then, he manages to catch a glimpse of a caped-wearing figure in the distance. “I see him! He’s over here!”

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

“I’ll get him!” One thug declares, deciding to swallow his pride and kill the freak.

“Wait!” The 2nd thug calls out to him but it’s too late. He’s running after him.

The first man runs in between storage crates and has his gun armed and ready to shoot on site but that doesn’t do him any good. He is then tackled by someone beside him. 

“Ah!” He lets out a scream.

The last armed man hears the scream and he’s really starting to get scared. He’s looking over his shoulder constantly. He then shoots something that he believes to be Batman.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

But it’s not. It’s only a rat, which is now dead. 

He finally loses it and screams from the top of his lungs, “WHERE ARE YOU?”

“Here.” A voice from behind him says and he automatically knows he that is;

It’s the goddamn Batman.

“AH!”

A small group of unarmed thugs hear the screams of terror and they immediately know what’s happening and who’s on the docks with them.

But that little piece of knowledge doesn’t help much since Batman takes at them, undeterred and ready to punch something. He starts by kicking a man in his leg, making him fall onto the wooden floors hard.

Several look at the vengeful Dark Knight and mostly everyone decides to flee, the amount being 8 of them while only 6 are staying and make an effort to fight the vigilante.

One man swings a bat at him but Batman catches it and uses it against him, swinging it at his upper arm. One man wraps a chain around his neck as another takes out a pocket knife and attempts to jab it into Batman. 

But Batman kicks the knife-wielding thug away and does a backflip, resulting in both he and the thug who wrapped a chain around his neck to fall on the floor but Batman is the first to land a punch to the man’s stomach. 

Another kicks him but Batman catches the leg and grabs him by his shirt, throwing him across the floor and finally, kicking him in his face to incapacitate him.

One man takes out a gun from his holster on his belt and aims it at him but Batman fires his grappling gun at him, attaching a hook onto him and pulls him towards him, knocking him off the floor.

One man punches him but Batman ducks and punches him in his gut about three times before the man falls as well, defeating the last member of the small gang on the docks. 

Thinking that they’re the last enemies on these docks, Batman goes to investigate the cargo of Heroin.

*CLAP*

But Batman is stopped when he hears someone…cheering for him?

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

He turns to see Ekin Tzu, standing on the ship. “Most impressive, Caped Crusader. Is it alright if I call you that?”

Batman walks towards the edge of the docks where he doesn’t have to shout as much to talk to him. “Ekin Tzu, correct?”

Tzu nods. “That would be me, yes.”

“You’re the visitor from Japan, the one this ship is transporting a countless supply of Heroin to.” Batman guesses.

Tzu nods once more. “Very perceptive of you. Many of my customers demanded more of my Heroin products and as its sole supplier, I always satisfied my customers.” 

Batman doesn’t know if that was him being genuine or sarcastic but frankly, he doesn’t care. He says with a growl, “You made a serious mistake showing up here tonight.”

Tzu shrugs. “Perhaps,” Before adding, “But I wanted to stick around and watch the show.”

Batman looks at him, incredulous. “What are you–” Then, something comes at him, making him immediately jump out of the way.

That ‘something’ is a woman dressed in all red, wearing a white Kabuki mask. On her hands are silver, razor sharp blades in place of fingertips.

Then, jumping off the boat, is another white masked woman, wearing an outfit identical to the former, along with the silver, razor sharp blades on her hands in place of fingertips.

“Allow me to introduce ‘The Kabuki Twins’, Caped Crusader,” Tzu introduces. “I hired them before I came to Gotha during the last time I had a vigilante meddling in affairs that don’t concern them and I thought you’d appreciate them, considering the amount of masked individuals you fight on a monthly basis.” 

Batman gets into a fighting position, not taking them lightly for one minute.

Tzu continues. “And as this is going to end, let’s just say…history is going to repeat itself.” He then speaks in japanese language but Batman is able to translate what it is he’s he saying; “Kill this Bat!” 

 Immediately, The Kabuki Twins come at him with great speed. One twin swings her blades at him. Having no choice, Batman dodges the attack before noticing that the 2nd twin jumped in the air and launched herself at him, kicking Batman down to the ground.

“Great, double trouble.” Batman mumbles in annoyance as he picks himself up and throws two batarangs at them, one for each of them. 

The 1st twin uses her claws to cut it in half while the other one catches it and throws it at a crane above that holds a large crate.

*CUT*

The batarang cuts the rope and the crate falls onto the wood floor below as Batman quickly jumps out of the way.

*CRASH*

The crate falls through the wood floors, sending a small wave of water to cover a portion of the floor, which fall through the cracks and drip back to the sea.

When caught off guard, Batman is then kicked in his side by one of the twins and another attempts to slice him with her blades but Batman leapts out of the way.

Batman has to admit, this is a tough fight. If it was any other thugs, armued or unarmed, he wouldn’t be having a problem but they’re anything but that. Clearly, they have been trained well in the martial arts and are incredibly fast. 

What’s worse is that they’re two of them, which makes Batman beleive that their attacks are coming in different directions.

He needs a new strategy. He needs to throw them off, make them drop their guard.

Wait, that gives Batma an idea. He drops a smoke bomb on the ground. When it lands on the floor beneath their feet, it releases a white vapor of smoke that will temporarily blind their senses, giving Batman enough time to surprise them and remove them from the battle.

Or so that was the plan but Batman soon learns that the distraction didn’t work as well as he hoped as one of the twins runs out of the white cloud of smoke and attacks him.

*SLASH*

Batman is hit by the blades, creating a noticable scratch on his suit. He lets out a slight grimace but he’s mostly just thankful that the blades didn’t cut through the armor or it would’ve created an even more noticable scar on his very flesh. 

The twin attempts to attack Batman again but he’s able to dodge it and kick her in her stomach. She stumbles but due to her agility and reflexes, she lands on her feet and she crouches until she’s standing on one knee and out from the smoke comes the 2nd twin. 

The 2nd twin leaps on her sister’s back, with the 1st twin’s consent, and that gives her the peefect opputinity to leap on Batman’s shoulders and holds him back, wrapping her legs around his neck as the other twin attacks him while he cannot defend himself.

*SLASH*

She lands another cut on Batman’s suit, making him grimace.

*SLASH*

Another is placed.

*SLASH*

After the 3rd attack, Batman then angerly demands, “Get off!” 

He backs up and rams the twin on his shoulders into a shipping crate and and finally, he’s able to throw her off and into the 2nd twin. But the 2nd twin is able to catch her sister without any difficulty.

Shaking off the pain, Batman runs at them and throws a punch but the 1st Kabuki Twin evades him by leaping over him and kicks him from behind, giving the 2nd Kabuki Twin the chance to attack.

*SLASH*

“Ah!” Batman is hit by the blades and a fresh cut is created on his cheek.

*SLASH*

The 1st one attacks him with her blades but Batman blocks it with his arms, protecting his face from the attack but that doesn’t orotect him from the 2nd Kabuki advancing on her attack.

*SLASH*

The 2nd twin uses her sharp claws on Batman’s legs, making him stumble back.

*VROOM*

A black van comes through the entrance to the docks and the van hits Batman, making him completely fall on both his knees and lose focus. 

Out of the black van comes Carmine Falcone, Salvatore Maroni, and the members of the Sullivan crime family, consisting of Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan, Donald ‘Donny Boy’ Sullivan, Jimmy ‘Slick’ Murphy, ‘Dapper Kevin’ Kelly, Willie ‘Two-Times’ O’Neil. 

Two-Times looks ecstatic. “That was badass!”

Slick has his gun armed at the ready, which is an AK-47. “Don’t let your guard down on this guy!”

The Mink shouts, “Restrain him, now!”

Donny Boy and Dappy Kevin get some chains from the van and restrain the vigilante, much to his disdain as he attempts to shake off the chains but to no avail. Both of The Kabuki Twins aim their blades at him, prepared to slice amd dice him if given the chance. 

Salvatore Maroni takes out his phone and turns on his camera.

*SHUTTER*

He takes a picture of the restrained Batman with glee. “I’m definetely saving that as my background photo.”

Carmine Falcone looks at the Kabuki Twins with disgust, much to their confusion, before he shouts at Tzu, who remains on the sea worthy vessel. “These are the assasins you called? You know how I feel about freaks and their gimmicks, Ekin!”

The twins appear to be offended by the insult as Tzu says, “If I didn’t call them, we wouldn’t have Batman like he is now. Plus, it won’t cost you anything. They only want his belt as payment.”

Falcone still looks positively annoyed at the idea of working with the costumed variety of criminals but he calms himself down and he says to the pair of them, “You’ll get his belt but I’m going to finish him off.”

The Kabuki Twins speechlessly nod at him.

The Mink hands Falcone a pistol, which he accepts with a silent nod.

Batman continues to struggle through the chains but they keep him detained. 

Maroni laughs at him, smugly. “And to think I was once afraid of you. But now that I see you at our mercy, you’re not even pathetic. You’re just…nothing.”

Falcone looks at Batman as he beams with a mixture of satifaction and disgust. “Batman, I’ve waited for this day to come for a long time. It’s funny, everyone always thought that if you were to die, it’d be at the hands of the Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow or any of the other freaks…they were wrong.” He aims his gun at Batman, the weapon inches from his face as he glares at him. “Tonight marks the end of the costumed variety of vigilantes and criminals and when I kill you, Gotham will soon realize that I was the man that saved this retched city…I’ll see you in hell.”

‘So this is how is ends.’ Batman silently muses to himself. ‘This is how I die, after everything I’ve been through. Admittadly, I can’t help but feel…dissapointed.’

‘Not how I die but mostly…I’m disappointed in myself. Disappointed that I was unable to save Gotham, unable to fulfill the promise I made to Renee and all of Gotham’s citizens. I’m sorry, Renee…and I’m sorry, Alfred, Lucius, Roman, Barbara, Leslie, Bullock and every other person I’ve failed.”

'...But if I’m going to die, I will not die begging and pleading for my life. I will go out with some dignity and grace…I’ll see you on the other side, Bruce.'

But before the gun can be fired, a silver throwing star is thrown at Falcone’s hand, making him drop the gun. 

Everyone looks around, shocked and disturbed at the sudden weapon coming out of nowhere. 

Annoyed, Maroni asks, “What is it now?”

“If you don’t like those wearing masks,” A female voice is heard, making everybody, including Batman, turn to where the voice came from. 

They turn to find a woman, wearing a red and blue suit with gold-like shoulder pads and white gauntlets fitted on both of her arms for extra protection. The handles of two swords are visible behind her, which means a harness is strapped somewhere on her and a knife holster is strapped on her right leg and finally, completing the suit is a white mask that resembles that of a lynx, her mouth visible and shown for air to be easily accessible. Her hair is dark black and long, tied to the back in a tight knot.

“Then I have a feeling you’re not going to like me.” She finishes her sentence in a Chinese accent as she perches on a silver railing of the freighter.

“Who the hell is that?” Dapper Kevin wonders, in shock and awe.

“Lynx.” Tzu says in realization. “You’re supposed to be dead!”

Lynx shrugs. “Call me the Ghost of Christmas Past.” She cheekily replies before throwing a flash grenade at where Falcone, his gang, and Batman are all located.

*BANG*

As everyone’s senses are temporarily blinded, The Lynx jumps down and kicks Dapper Kevin in his ribs, making him lose grip on the chains that restrain The Dark Knight. That gives Batman enough room to shake off Donny Boy and he is fully free from the bonds that once kept him down. He then punches Donny Boy in his face, knocking him to the ground.

Lynx takes out her knife from her holster.

*STAB*

“Ah!” She runs the sharp knife through the Mink’s leg, making him collapse and she then lands a pretty nasty hit onto Slick, removing another person off the playing field.

Two-Times takes out a gun to shoot her but Batman grabs his arm and twists it in a very uncomfortable position, making him fall onto his knees and that gives Batman the chance to toss him at Maroni. Lynx then finishes off the gangster by kicking him in his face with her high heels, removing the smug look he once had on his face

Falcone stays back near his car, both shocked and angered at what he’s seeing. 

Batman looks at Lynx and says, “Thanks.”

Lynx nods. “No problem.”

Then, out comes both the Kabuki Twins, their blades sharp and ready for round 2. 

Lynx sighs. “Oh right, I almost forgot about the Tweedles.”

Batman nearly laughed at the joke but now is the time to get serious. He asks, “You’ve had experiences with them, I take it?

Lynx nods. “Yes, they nearly killed me.”

“Me too but maybe we can level the playing field a bit.” Batman suggests 

Lynx lets a smile grow on her face, a smile that Batman finds oddly beautiful, despite their current circumstances. “I like the way you think.”

“I’ll take Tweedle Dumb.” Batman states, getting ready to fight.

“And I’ll take Tweedle Dumber.” Lynx responds as she takes out two swords. 

They both attack one of the Kabuki Twins.

Admittedly, Batman can’t help but find it easier to fight the Kabuki twin when he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder constantly for an incoming attack made by the second Kabuki themed twin. Now, he has help in the form of Lynx, who Batman can already tell is someone you mustn’t underestimate.

She’s trained in Kung-Fu and it’s as if she’s one with both of her silver swords. She’s able to successfully block attacks made by one of the Kabuki twins and she can also make decisive attacks with her choice of weapons as well. 

But just because they’re able to get the twins separated doesn’t mean that they should be underestimated. Despite them having their own enemies to deal with, they are each still skilled fighters in their own right. 

Tzu shouts more phrases in Chinese, which Tim’s able to translate; “I asked you both to do one thing and you still haven’t done that! Kill them both or I’ll hunt you both down like dogs!”

Batman dodges an attack made by the twin he’s currently engaged in combat with and punches her in her face. While he prefers not to hit women, he has no other alternatives but to defend himself from their relentless and deadly attacks.

Lynx blocks her opponent's attack with the use of both her swords and she knees the twin in her stomach and flip her on her back.

Tzu then says another set oof Chinese statements that Tim can translate; “Falcone was right about you freaks! I’m leaving!” He then makes a run for it.

Lynx sees him getting away and she uses a set of shipping crates to jump on and pounce her way onto the ship, where she meets with Tzu face-to-face, aiming her sword at him. “Don’t. Move.” Tim translates.

The twin she fought with sees that Lynx is back on the ship and she runs after her, using Lynx’s exact same strategy to get on the ship and they resume their duel as their blades and swords clashed into each other.

Knowing, that he has to do something, Batman gets an idea; He pushes his opponent away and fires a grappling hook onto the ship and finally, he attaches it around the twin’s waist, making the twin go flying towards the ship and right into her sisterz knocking them both down onto the ship’s wooden floors.

Batman then repeats the way Lynx and the twin got onto the ship by climbing and running on the shipping containers and pouncing on the deck but he adds his own twist to it; When he glides onto the ship, the shadow of a bat hovers over Lynx’s opponent and looking up, she sees Batman gliding towards him with a vigilant look on his face and by reading the twin’s body language, he can tell that she’s afraid of Batman now.

Lynx’s opponent is kicked in her face by the gliding Batman, knocking her down onto the ship’s wooden floors. Lynx looks impressed by what she just witnessed and she says to him, “Thanks for the help.”

Batman shrugs. “I owed you, didn’t I?”

Then, the 2nd twin finds her way onto the ship, resuming her and Batman’s duel. The other twin attempts to help her but Lynx distracts her and both vigilantes engage in intense conflict between one of the Kabuki twins. 

After Lynx kicks the twin in her face and Batman rams her opponent’s head into the ship’s walls, they each throw the twins into each other, knocking them out and finally, ending the fight. 

Lynx takes Ekin Tzu and throws him onto the deck. “In the words of another famous American vigilante, ‘Ekin Tzu, you have failed this city,’.” 

Baman nods. “I couldn’t agree more.” He then presses a button on his gauntlet and a recording of Tzu’s words plays, “Many of my customers demanded more of my Heroin products and as its sole supplier, I always satisfied my customers.” He says to Tzu, “That’s what the police are going to given at your trial. Your Heroin operation is over, Tzu.”

Lynx looks at him, even more pleasantly impressed. “You’re good.”

“So are you.” Batman responds, being truthful. He then looks down and realizes that Falcone, Maroni, and the rest of the Sullivans have vanished from the scene. “But there’s still that to deal with. Another day, I suppose.”

*WEE-WOO*

*WEE-WOO*

Police vehicles are inbound and Batman says, “We should get outta here.” He turns to face Lynx but she isn’t there. She’s nowhere to be seen. Batman can only let out say in response, “So that’s what that feels like.” Before slapping handcuffs on Ekin Tzu and grappling away.

In their van, Maroni drives the vehicle, no longer baring anything smug on his face while everyone else is either injured or complaining about how that whole fiasco went.

Falcone sits in his seat, stating, “We were so close, I nearly had the pointy eared bastard…next time, we won’t get so lucky.”

Batman lands in an alleyway where The Batmobile is parked but he’s limping towards it, injured because of the fight he has recently had tonight. He gets into the front seat of the vehicle and after closing the hatch, he calls his faithful butler. “Alfred?”

“Sir, are you alright? You sound faint.” Alfred asks in concern.

“I need you to prepare the med bay.” Tim tells him. “I’ll explain when I get back.” 

He then drives The Batmobile back home, with only one question being pondered; Who was that woman?

Chapter Text

Date: Tuesday, December 24th, 2013

“No, no, no, no, no, no! NO!” Salvatore Maroni angrily throws a glass cup at the wall.

*SHATTER*

“Damn it! Damn it all the hell!” 

In the penthouse of Carmine Falcone, the crime boss himself sits in his chair, contemplating as Maroni throws a tantrum. Micky ‘The Mink’ Sullivan sits in a chair in front of Falcone, both put at a distance from each other due to the desk. Sean Riley is there as well, along with his body guard.

“We had him! We had him right where we wanted him and then, that bitch showed up out of nowhere!” Maroni complains.

“Yes, we were all there. We know what happened.” The Mink coldy states.

Maroni turns his attention towards him and asks, “Well I don’t see you offering anything to the subject, Sullivan!”

The Mink narrows his eyes at him. “You want my input? Fine, how about the fact that not only have one vigilante to deal with but two!” He shows his fingers, proving his point. “It’s bad enough we have the bone breaker, now we have some samurai chick running around, screwing us over!”

“It’s not just that.” Riley adds to this conversation. “But Ekin Tzu has been arrested and they’re trying to work out a deal with him as we speak and Dury Walker is now on the run since evidence revealed him being involved in organized crime.” He rubs his forehead in exhaustion, feeling a headache coming along. “We lost two valuable assets thanks to that winged freak and those Kabuki Twins accomplished nothing!”

“And what’s worse is, you Almost Got ‘Em.” Riley’s security guard mentions, earning a weird look from everyone except Falcone, who stays silent. “C’mon, you guys don’t know?”

“What are you talking about?” The Mink asks him.

The security guard begins to tell a story. “Ok, a long time ago, I was once working for Two-Face, right? One day, he, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Poison Ivy go to a club to play a game of poker and while playing, they each tell an ‘Almost Got ‘Em’ story, each describing the closest time they came to killing Batman.”

Maroni turns to this, interested. “Seriously, those guys actually hung out? I always assumed that they just minded their own businesses.”

The security guard shakes his head. “Oh, no, sir. Those guys would work together all the time.” The Mink then moves out of the way as Falcone secretly takes out a pistol. “One time, Two-Face hired Joker & Harley Quinn to do a crime on President’s Day–”

*BANG*

Firing his Desert Eagle at the security guard’s head, Falcone shoots him and kills him instantly. Everyone turns to him as Falcone has made it clear he has something to say.

Falcone takes a deep breath before saying, “Ekin Tzu’s arrest is a blow, yes but it’ll be an even bigger blow if the GCPD reach an agrement with him. Micky, if you and your crew are up to it, you’ll need to silence him.”

The Mink nods. “It will be done.”

“You and the Sullivans might be the only people who haven’t failed me yet.” Falcone comments, making everyone but The Mink flinch. “Walker was useless to us in the long run, so his absence is not a loss there but you’re correct, the fact that we have two vigilantes now is disheartening to say the least, so I suggest you all quit whining about it and do something useful that fixes the problem.” They are all silent as Falcone points towards the dead security guard. “Let that be a warning of what happens when you mention any of those past freaks in my home. Clean up the body.” He turns to Maroni, “If you’re going to scream, do it where no one can hear you. Clean up the mess that you’ve made.”

Maroni quickly nods. “Yeah, sure.” He then gets a broom and a dustpan to sweep up the broken bits of glass.

Without wearing his shirt, Tim is laying on a bench as Alfred massages his muscles in the Wayne Infirmary with the doors closed and locked so the Catering crew or anyone else doesn’t walk in unannounced. 

Tim lets out a grunt.

“You’re lucky to have gotten out of there in one piece.” Alfred says to Tim before he corrects himself, “Scratch that; You’re lucky that this Lynx person came to your rescue.”

“You read my mind.” Tim tells Alfred.

“Have you given any thoughts on who this woman could be?” Alfred adks, letting Tim up from the bench.

Tim gets up and does some stretches. “Not quite. Though, I do know that she had a near death experience at the hands of The Kabuki Twins."

“Something that you can bond over, I’m sure.” Alfred remarks.

Tim ignores that comment and continues to stretch, already feeling better. “Thank you, Alfred.” Alfred doesn’t respond but he merely stares at a table. Tim carefully asks, “Are you okay?”

“...Sir, you could’ve died back there if she didn’t come along when she did and what’s worse, I wouldn’t even have known about it until one of those gangsters mailed your body on the GCPD’s front door. I just…that night reminded me of the burden and challenges that have been forced upon you.” Tim looks at him with understanding but also with pity since he understands that him being Batman is difficult for him, despite Alfred never having mentioned it. Alfred sighs before he says to Tim, “I’m sorry, sir.”

Tim shakes his head. “It’s ok. I understand. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Tim decides to change the subject. “Has Roman called today?”

“Yes, he wanted your opinion on which suit would attract the most feminine interests.” Alfred informs him, making Tim grin slightly. “He also wanted to say thank you for setting up the party for tonight.”

“It’s the least I can do.” Tim says. “It’s a big honor, being given the ‘Humanitarian of The Year’ award and the event will benefit several children's hospitals all across Gotham.” He looks into a mirror and he takes a good look at his cheek, seeing the scar left behind after his fight with the Kabuki Twins. “I’m also lucky that my scar has mostly cleared up.”

“And that it was only a minor injury,” Alfred adds. “If anyone asks about it, I suggest you tell them that you cut yourself shaving.”

Tim nods. “Good idea, Al. Is everything ready for tonight?” 

“Yes, sir.” Alfred responds. “The catering crew has been called and are in my kitchen as we speak, the Christmas tree is looking as festive as it can be and the stage has been set up for Mr. Sionis’ acceptance speech with the sound system at the ready.” He then hesitates before asking the young master, “...Sir, I know that it’s starting at 8 P.M., which is 20 minutes from now but would it be too late to cancel the event?”

Tim looks at him, incredulous. “And why would I do that?”

“Because of your scuffle with those damn assassins,” Alfred responds to the question. “You are in no condition to be up and about, you can barely even walk without a limp. You should be taking it easy, you should be in bed resting that leg of yours.”

“I appreciate your concern, Al, I really do but it's been an annual tradition to host a Christmas charity here at Wayne Manor, not to mention Roman’s acceptance speech is tonight.” Tim reasons with Alfred. “There's no way in hell that we’re canceling the event.”

Alfred sighs. “I expected as much. Can you atleast promise me that you won’t stay on your feet for too long?”

Tim nods, offering him a reassuring smile. “Of course.”

*RING RING*

Tim’s phone goes off and he sees that it’s Bullock. He activates the voice mongulator to disguise his voice from Bullock. “Detective.” He greets.

“Hey, Bats. Just wanted to say thanks for dropping off Tzu to us and giving us some solid evidence. This is certainly the best Christmas present I’ve gotten in a long time.”

“Speaking of Tzu, how’s he holding up?” Tim asks.

“He’s sweating like a horse.” Bullock tells him, rather cheerfully as Tim smirks. “He’ll be singing like a canary any day now, I’m telling you.”

“Now that is a present I can’t wait to unwrap.” Tim comments, making Bullock laugh out loud. “But be on your guard, I doubt Falcone’s willingly going to let him talk.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be watching him like a hawk.” Bullock promises before adding in a softer tone of voice, “And, uh, Bats…Merry Christmas.”

Tim smiles. “Merry Christmas as well.” Before hanging up.

“Perhaps Mr. Falcone will be behind bars earlier than expected.” Alfred hopes.

“We can only hope, Alfred.” Tim says before he takes a glance at a nearby clock; It’s 8:13 P.M. “I should probably put on my suit.”

Alfred nods. “Very good, sir.”

17 Minutes Later

Tim straps on a watch on his right wrist before he puts his right hand on the door handle of his bedroom. “Showtime.” He opens the door and walks out of his room, descending down the stairs and to the Ballroom.

He sees that it’s a full house, with dozens of citizens and party members mingling throughout the Mansion. They are all dressed in either well tailored suits or dresses that fit the colors of Christmas. 

A 15 foot Christmas Tree is in the corner of the room, decorated expertly and festive as its ornaments sparkles throughout the room and a golden star is at the top of the green tree. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscross the ceiling. 

The buffet is on the opposite end of the room, consisting of several roast turkeys cooked to perfection, boiled potatoes, silver platters of Chipolates, a silver boat of thick, rich, gravy and several desserts consisting of different flavors of Cheesecakes, Pies, cakes and for beverages, the buffet offers Hot Chocolate and several varieties of sodas.

Though, Tim has no doubt that the bar will be the most popular location to get a drink.

“Merry Christmas, Tiny Tim!” The voice of Roman Sionis shouts, making Tim grin as he walks towards him and they both embrace each other in a great, big, hug. “Thank you so much for setting this shindig up.”

Tim nods. “No problem. ‘Tis the season right?”

“‘Tis the season.” Roman smiles as he agrees before he turns to the backed open bar. “I don’t know about you but I could use a drink.”

They walk over to the bar and they take a seat on some chairs. “I'll have a red Bordeaux Blend, good sir.”

“You got it.” The bartender tells him. 

“And I’ll have a coffee.” Both Tim and the voice of a woman speak together, making them both surprised. Tim turns to see…a very attractive woman of Chinese citizenship with amber eyes and black hair that’s tied to the back in a tight knot. She wears a red dress that hangs close to her frame.

Both Tim and the nameless woman share a laugh before she says to the bartender, “Two coffees.”

“Black.” Tim adds.

“Same here.” She also adds to the waiter and Roman’s amusement. She turns to Tim and asks, “Not much of a drinker, I take it?”

Tim shakes his head. “Not really. To me, it’s like a type of poison for my mouth.”

“Finally, someone understands.” She replies before holding out her hands for Tim to shake. “Julie Ling.” 

He shakes her hand. “Tim Drake.”

“I know who you are, Mr. Drake.” She tells him. “I’ve heard that you’ve done quite a lot for Gotham, some even consider you Gotham’s White Knight.”

“Me? Heck no, that title belongs to him.” Tim points to Roman. 

Roman nearly rolls his eyes but he shakes Julie’s hand. “Name’s Roman but please don’t call me a White Knight. The last time someone was given that name, half his half was blown off.” Roman ends with a laugh but Julie looks at him weirdly, which makes Tim think that she’s new to town since she didn’t know the story of Harvey Dent. He then gets up and says, “I’ll leave you two kids to talk.” He then whispers in Timothy’s ear, “You get her number or I’ll get it for you.” He then leaves them alone.

Julies looks confused. “Half of someone’s face got blown off?”

“Just something that happened a long time ago with Gotham’s least corrupt District Attorney, it’s a long story.” Tim summarizes. “But since you haven’t heard the story, am I right to assume you’re new in town?”

“You’d be correct, Mr. Drake."

“Please, it’s Tim. I’m not really big on formalities.”

Julie smiles. “You’re correct, Tim. I just got here from Okinawa in Japan.” 

Tim looks surprised. “That’s a long ways away. Is it your first time in America all together?”

Julie nods. “Yeah, it is and I must say, your city is very…eccentric.” She sheepishly admits.

Tim chuckles, amused. “‘Eccentric’ is putting it lightly. Trust me, if you stick around long enough, you’ll see the most ‘eccentric’ things.”

Julie looks at him with a smile. “Well, it’s lucky that I’ll be staying around then.”

“For how long? Tim wonders.

Julie shrugs. “I am not so sure yet myself. I’m just here on business, so it’ll probably be for a while until I go back.”

Tim nods in understanding before lifts his mug of coffee and says to Julie, “Well, here’s to your visit being successful.”

She smiles at him and she lifts her mug and they carefully clash into each other.

*CLINK*

“Tim!” Both Tim and Julie turn to see James Gordon Jr., also known as Jimmy, accompanied by his older sister, Barbara Gordon. Both are well dressed.

Tim gets up. “Jimmy, Barbara!” He hugs Jimmy and kisses Barbara on her cheek. “It’s great to see that you guys made it.”

Jimmy takes notice of the attractive woman next to Tim and says, “Hey, you didn’t tell us you got a new girlfriend–Ow!” Barbara then elbows him. 

Tim nearly splutters. “S-she’s not my girlfriend! I just met her, I don’t even have her number.”

Julie then passes Tim a piece of paper. Tim reads what it says; It has her phone number on it.

“I had to get a new number when I got to America.” Julie briefly explains before telling Tim, “I liked talking to you and you’re the first guy who didn’t try to hit on me so if you want to hang out sometime, just give me a call.” Julie then takes her coffee and walks away.

Tim takes the card and looks at it, feeling surprisingly…uneasy. 

On the other hand, Jimmy looks proud of him and pats the young businessman on the back, making his slightly wince since he’s still recovering from his fight with The Kabuki Twins. “He shoots and scores!”

Tim shakes his head. “I didn’t score anything."

“Bull.” Jimmy counters. “You scored a potential date with a hot girl!”

“Tim did what?” Roman asks, coming back and he sees the phone number, looking proud as well and patting him on the back in celebration. “Atta boy, well done!”

“Could you guys be a bit louder because there’s some people upstairs who didn’t quite hear you.” Tim tells them, sarcastically, annoyed at the growing stars coming their direction because Jimmy and Roman are more excited about the phone number than he is.

“Look,” Jimmy begins, more quieter than he first was. “All I’m saying is that this could be good for you. I mean, you haven’t been with anyone since Stephanie–Ow!” Barbara elbows him again, looking at him sternly as if she’s warning him not to mention Tim’s deceased girlfriend.

Alfred walks towards Roman and he says to Roman, “Sir, I believe that it’s for your acceptance speech.”

“Thanks, old man.” Roman then says to Tim, “Keep that number close to your chest, kid. I’m proud of you. See you guys soon.” He then walks away and towards the stage.

Jimmy says to Barbara, “I’m going to find us a good spot. See you guys.” He then walks away.

Tim is left alone with Barbara, who looks at him with understanding sympathy and concern. “No one’s forcing you to go out with her.”

Tim scoffs. “Tell that to Jimmy and Roman.”

“I’ll talk to them after his speech, I swear.” Barbara promises to him before adding, “Tim, I miss her too, we all do. If you ever want to talk about her–”

“Barbara.” Tim stops him, sounding surprisingly aloof and distant. “I have talked to Leslie a plentiful amount of times that involved a plentiful amount of topics but the one thing I will never discuss with anyone is Stephaine and what I did. Ever.” He then gets up without saying goodbye and takes his leave to where he can see Roman at close range.

An announcer makes his way to the organized stage and says through the microphone, “May I have everyone’s attention?” That gains everyone’s attention as everyone looks at him with interest. “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make a special announcement, regarding two topics for tonight; First off, Mr. Drake would like to say thank you for you supporting Gotham’s youth tonight,”

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Everyone gives a round of applause before it dies down and the announcer continues, “And tonight, Mr. Drake would also like to honor someone very special; Someone who has given their time, their sweat, and their soul towards Gotham and ensuring that it is better, that it continues getting better. This man has continued Bruce Wayne’s legacy by taking over his family business, brought Universal Pre-K to young children and schools, free colleges for Gotham residents, supported countless charities and, his greatest achievement, keeping us safe by keeping the insane and disturbed locked away in Arkham Asylum, here is the winner of this year’s ‘Humanitarian of The Year’ award…Roman Sionis!”

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Roman walks up on the stage and in front of a podium, waving towards the crowd and smiling as he is given the glimmering trophy, which is a golden statue of a woman holding a diamond heart above her head. “Thank you, thank you all! I am blown away by your support and compassion tonight.” He then takes a moment before he adds, “Compassion. That's the foundation Gotham was built on.”

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“And men like Bruce Wayne and my dear friend, Lucius Fox,” He gestures to Lucius, who’s in the crowd with a glass of champagne in his hand. “Have made our company what it is; The People Company…but deep down, I don’t deserve this award.”

The audience dies down, to everyone's surprise including Tim, who is now standing on the stage in the very back.

Roman sets the award down on the podium in front of him and says, “At first glance, it may seem that I deserve this award for keeping the monsters of Gotham locked up, that’s not enough. When it comes down to it, whoever gifted me this award was a complete dumbass…but their incompetence is proven once more when they never noticed the person who truly deserves this award.”

Everyone looks at him with interest and confusion as Roman continues to speak. “This person has worked harder than people give him credit for and he could’ve done anything with his life and what did he choose to do? He created affordable housing in areas across our fair city and has made sure that no child was without food and a loving home. So instead, I hereby hand this award off to…Timothy Jackson Drake!” The spotlights shine upon Tim, much to his surprise.

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