A/N: This begins after the events of the ARROW/FLASH Crossover and slowly becomes AU from there. Will follow most Flash episodes up to a point. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Enjoy!
Vanessa Jane stepped out of the taxi, tipping the driver generously before making her way up the stairs. The Central City Police Department was busy as ever, cops going in and out of the building constantly. She strolled in without a problem, the security surprisingly lax for a building that had only weeks before had a hostage situation take place. To be honest, she had expected more.
Captain Singh met her in the lobby. "Ms. Jane. Thank you for coming."
"Sorry I couldn't come sooner. Business has been crazy lately." Vanessa shook his hand.
The captain merely nodded. "You came sooner than I expected anyway. Gotham is a busy place..."
Vanessa smiled. "Very. Mr. Wayne sends his regards by the way. He is working with Commissioner Gordon right now to similarly update the security for the police in Gotham."
Captain Singh frowned. "I thought you ran Jane Security Solutions."
"I do. Mr. Wayne hired me to run the security line of Wayne Enterprises separately from the main hub. That way it can investigate internal affairs without corruption. Mr. Wayne and I are co-founders, but I have sole control of the company. Makes legal matters less messy..."
Singh nodded, gesturing for Vanessa to walk with him. "The city gave us a bit of a budget to work with but not a lot. Do you think we can work with it?"
Vanessa shrugged. "I'd need to see the numbers and survey the building to give you an accurate account."
Singh nodded. "I'll show you the numbers in my office. After that, I'll arrange a tour of the building for you and then we can talk whenever about what you can do for us."
"Excellent. I'll do the best I can for you, Captain. I promise you that." Vanessa smiled. So far so good.
Barry Allen entered the precinct a couple of minutes after 9, a cup of hot coffee in hand. Joe shot him a look. "I know, I know. Still late. Do we have anything?"
"Nothing at the moment. The Captain is in his office with a security consultant about fixing things up around here." Joe glanced at the office where the shades had been drawn tight. "Some woman from Jane Security Solutions."
Barry nearly choked on his coffee. "What?!"
Joe gave Barry a strange look. "What's your problem?"
"There's only one woman who does checks for Jane Security Solutions and that's Vanessa Jane herself." Barry looked at Joe incredulously. "You know about her, right?"
Joe shrugged. "I'm guessing she runs the company."
Barry grinned. "That's not even the half of it. Remember the Cambiotron I would always ask for at Christmas?"
Joe nodded. "I remember you never stopped asking for it..."
Barry flushed, but continued. "She created it when she was fourteen and sold the idea to Trigon Toys and made a killing off of it. She put herself through college, interned with Wayne Enterprises, and saved Bruce Wayne twice: once from a frame job by one of his directors and the other time from the Joker himself."
Joe scoffed. "Pretty bird there went toe-to-toe with the Joker?"
"And won," said Barry, "She's been Wayne's security advisor and security head ever since. And she still comes out with a new Cambiotron design each year." Barry stared at the office. "You know she got to work with Batman and Robin too?"
Joe sighed. "She's your brain crush, isn't she?"
Barry stopped. "Brain crush?"
"The woman your brain would marry if your heart wasn't already set on another woman. Namely Iris."
Barry gave Joe a look which the cop pointedly ignored. "She's not-"
"Who's not what?" Asked Iris as she walked up to Joe's desk.
Joe smiled as she have him a hug. "Barry's got a brain crush on Vanessa Jane, our security consultant."
Iris' jaw dropped. "Vanessa Jane is here?!"
Joe crossed his arms, looking at the two youngsters. "Am I the only one who didn't know who she was?"
"Let's test that, shall we?" Iris turned to Eddie as he neared his desk. "Eddie, you know who Vanessa Jane is, right?"
Eddie snorted. "Who doesn't? She's been in the news a lot since the Joker incident in Gotham. She's Batman's most staunch supporter next to Gotham's Commissioner."
Iris turned to her dad. "Case in point: you are the only one who didn't know her."
Joe scowled. "Shouldn't you be scrounging up some paper to go and interview her for your blog?"
Iris scowled playfully back at her father. "My laptop, yes. Distract her for me if she comes out before I'm back?"
Joe waved her off. "We'll be here."
Iris ran off with a smile and the three men exchanged smiles. They knew Iris too well.
The door to the captain's office opened and the captain came out with Vanessa Jane who put on a set of glasses and began scanning the room. "So," said the captain, "What do you think?"
"I think you could use a lot of help but your budget sucks so I'll arrange it so I can pay off whatever isn't covered. Just because you don't have the budget, doesn't mean you shouldn't have the proper security you need. I'll still need to tour the building." Vanessa scanned the whole room, her eyes settled on the trio. Barry flinched, surprised by what he felt behind the gaze: extreme curiosity. "I'd also like to interview those three if you don't mind."
The captain nodded. "Go ahead. I'm sure one of them would be willing to give you a tour as well." He turned to the trio. "West, Thawne, Allen, Ms. Jane would like to talk to you. If one of you could give her a tour of the building-"
"I will!" The words flew out of Barry's mouth before he could stop himself. Joe groaned next to him.
To his relief, Ms. Jane smiled and removed her glasses, walking towards the trio. "Thank you, Mister...?"
"Allen. Barry Allen. I'm a CSI here."
Ms. Jane shook his hand. "Well thank you, Mr. Allen. I appreciate it." She turned to Eddie and Joe. "West and Thawne?"
"Detective Joe West." Joe proffered his hand which she shook politely. "This is my partner, Eddie Thawne. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jane."
Ms. Jane shook Eddie's hand as well. "Please, call me Vanessa. I've never been one for formality. I understand the two of you were present during the hostage situation."
Joe nodded. "As was my daughter Iris. She said she'd be back in a minute. If you don't mind, she'd like to interview you for her blog."
The captain rolled his eyes behind Ms. Jane's back but she only nodded. "I'd be happy to if she doesn't mind me interviewing her..."
Joe smiled. "Would you like to talk here or somewhere a little less loud?"
"That would be fantastic. Is there a conference room we can borrow, Captain Singh?"
The captain gestured down the hall. "It's open for the next hour."
"Thank you, Captain. We shouldn't be too long." Ms. Jane smiled again before turning to Barry. "How about you wait here for me and let Detective West's daughter know where we went? Then you can give me the tour after the meeting..."
Barry nodded dumbly. "Sh-sure I can do that."
The Captain, Joe, and Eddie just shook their heads at Barry who turned bright red as Ms. Jane headed towards the conference room. Yeah, he had a brain crush all right...
Vanessa was right of course that the meeting would not take long. The longest part by far was the interview by Detective West's daughter, Iris West. She had many questions about Vanessa, particularly about her involvement with Batman and Robin.
"I can't believe you're friends with them," said Iris as they all left the conference room, "Are Batman and Robin really as impressive as the rumors say?"
Vanessa merely smiled, remembering some of the impossible things done by the Dynamic Duo. "Let's just say, the rumors sometimes fall short..."
Iris grinned. "You are so luck."
"Not from what can tell," said Vanessa as she approached the desk where Barry Allen sat waiting for them, "You've met the Flash. That's fairly impressive in itself. I didn't believe people with superpowers existed until I read your posts..."
Detective Thawne huffed. "Superpowers or not, he's not someone I trust. He's a vigilante."
"Who has saved your life, mine and many others. He's not evil," retorted Iris.
"He's dangerous," said Thawne. He and Iris shared a look which left Vanessa merely guessing as to what had happened between them and the Flash.
"So is the Batman and I've got him on speed dial," said Vanessa, earning a surprised look from the trio along with Mr. Allen, "What?"
"You have the Batman on speed dial?" Said Iris, her eyes wide as saucers and her expression eager.
"I live in Gotham. It comes in handy." Vanessa turned to Barry Allen. "That tour?"
"Um, yeah. Where would you like to start, Ms. Jane? We could start in the basement and work upwards from there."
Vanessa smiled. "Call me Vanessa. And I think starting from the basement up sounds good." She returned her attention to Detective West, Iris and Detective Thawne. "Thank you for speaking with me. It's been wonderful talking with you and I hope we can discuss matters again soon."
"Likewise," said Detective West, shaking her hand again.
Vanessa turned back to Barry Allen who immediately started regaling her with the precinct's history as they headed for the basement. Finally, she might have a moment alone with Barry Allen to discuss more than just security matters.
Barry had led Vanessa Jane up to his lab, enjoying every minute as he talked with the woman. She was intelligent, brilliant and much funnier than he had expected. However, she kept glancing around impatiently whenever there were other precinct staff present, seemingly hesitant to bring something up while others were present. On a normal day, he would rack it up to general impatience, but this woman worked for the Batman. She was hiding something about her visit and his gut told him to be very careful. That didn't mean he couldn't ask questions though. "So you know the Batman, right?"
"And Robin. Great kid. He taught be how to throw batarangs in exchange for me tutoring him in science. He's working on his criminology degree now at Gotham University."
"And you work for them or Mr. Wayne?"
Vanessa smiled coolly. "Both and neither. I work with them all but usually as an independent, third party. I keep Mr. Wayne's security in check and help with Research and Design. From there, Mr. Wayne allows me to work as an independent with and alongside Wayne Enterprises through Jane Security Solutions. As for Batman, I run down leads and do research for him among other things. In turn, I get the chance to help the World's Greatest Detective."
"And who are you working for while you're here in Central City?" Asked Barry.
"Both." Barry went rigid. "I came to help with security for your police department on behalf of Mr. Wayne and Jane Security Solutions. I also came to talk to you on behalf of Batman."
"Why me?" Barry watched her warily as she went to his desk.
"He wants to make sure the Flash isn't a threat. And from what I can tell, you aren't much of a threat to the Bat."
Barry stood stock still. "What are you talking about?"
Vanessa smiled, leaning against his work desk. "I'm not dumb, Mr. Allen. The burns on your shoes told me all I needed to know. Friction burns as a result of running at impossible speeds I believe."
Barry looked down at his shoes, glancing at the burns from when he'd run to work that day. There was a bit of ash on the floor wherever he stepped. Part of him panicked, scrambling to come up with an excuse. "Actually I was working the scene of an arson yesterday and-" Ms. Jane's eyes glittered with amusement, a knowing look plastered on her face. "And I'm just digging my grave deeper, aren't I?"
"Pretty much. Truth be told, I knew before I even came in here." Barry looked up sharply and Vanessa just chuckled. "There's a reason why Batman is the World's Greatest Detective..."
"How?" The word blurted out of Barry's mouth before he could stop himself.
Vanessa smiled, glancing at her watch. "How about we discussed this over dinner? All information. No secrets. And if you're lucky, he may want to even talk with you..."
Barry just stared. "I-"
"You need some time to think about it. I know. I did too after the first time." Vanessa pulled out a business card and handed it to him. Barry took it silently. "And don't worry. You heroes need to stick together. I'm just making sure you guys don't end up brawling it out if the world needs all of you."
Barry watched her leave, fingering the business card. He needed to talk to his team not to mention Joe.
Vanessa slipped into the SUV as it pulled up, the vehicle headed back to her hotel room. "You're early, Bruce. Not that I'm complaining."
Bruce sat next to her in the back, Alfred driving in front. "Commissioner Gordon was very cooperative considering our previous meetings. He was given a perfectly sized budget for the security changes they would like."
Vanessa nodded. "Central City is skimping. They don't know what's happening in their own backyard."
"And the Flash?" Bruce's voice stiffened.
"Barry Allen, you mean? Dangerous for criminals only. He's pretty focused on justice and morality. He's highly intelligent. He called me out on being there for more than a security check before I could say anything to him on Batman's behalf."
Bruce nodded. "And you invited him to dinner?"
"I did. He has to think about it though..."
"Good. He has a level head about that anyways." Bruce's face remained impassive. "And the meeting for tonight?"
"Mister Queen will be there. I have everything arranged. I told him business attire. He's unaware of the full arrangement."
"Sufficient," said Bruce. He looked forward. "You're sure this is a good idea?"
"I know that if we have more than one alien already on this planet, there could be more out there and they may not all be so friendly. I trust J'onn and Clark as do you. And I think being able to trust a few other heroes out there will help if the world ever really needs heroes." Vanessa sighed. "And like I told Mr. Allen, I'd rather you guys duke it out now than later when we need a team of heroes to save us."
Bruce nodded. "I pray you're right."
Barry stood in front of his team, each face as solemn and concerned as the next. "So what do we do?"
"Well as much as I disagree with Batman and his tactics in Gotham, the Commissioner there seems to trust him." Joe had his arms crossed. "I think you should go."
"In that opinion, we are in agreement, Detective," said Dr. Wells, "And this may give us a chance to keep Batman off your tail. If he thought you were a threat..."
"He'd make sure I was taken care of." Barry sighed. "So go?"
"Go," said Joe, "As far as I'm concerned, Batman is someone you want on your side. Not against you."
Barry nodded. "I'll call Ms. Jane then."
"Barry," started Dr. Wells. The speedster turned to him. "Like, Mr. Queen, the Batman may be on the side of justice, but he can be very, very dangerous. Be careful."
"I will, Dr. Wells." Barry walked out of the lab, fingering the business card thoughtfully as he began to dial the number. "Vanessa? About that dinner..."
