Your Turn
Batman always knew there would be something he couldn't overcome. And he has a backup plan for such an occasion.
A/N: This is my first Batman/Dark Knight fic. Let me know what you think and if I should continue or leave it as a one shot.
Jim Gordon stared down at the lifeless body of Batman. Forty minutes earlier his SWAT team had entered the building at the insistence of the Mayor and against Gordon's wish. Had they waited, Batman would still be alive instead of full of bullets laying motionless on the ground.
His hand shot out and wrapped around the wrist of one of his officers. "What are you doing?" he snapped.
The officer looked at him. "Unmasking him, Sir. We deserve to know who this was."
"It stays on."
The officers on the scene looked at Gordon with confusion. "But, Commissioner, he's a cop killer."
"It stays on!" Gordon yelled.
"With all due respect, Commissioner…" another officer started.
"It was a cover up!" Gordon yelled, spinning around to face the officer. "He never killed anyone! It was Harvey Dent who killed those people!"
The officers around him stared wide eyed at Commissioner Gordon. "Sir, why would he take the fall for murders he didn't commit?"
"Because Gotham needed a hero with a face. Harvey Dent was supposed to be that hero."
"Commissioner…"
"It stays on." Gordon said quietly, falling to his knees beside The Dark Knight.
The Mayor, who had been silent through all this, stared down wide eyed at Gordon and The Batman. He had okayed the kill on Batman. The last hope for Gotham was dead, and it was his fault. This isn't going to go well with the voters. He thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and opened his eyes again.
The Mayor nodded in agreement with Gordon. "It stays on."
Gordon stared at the beer in front of him. Batman had told him during the fiasco with Dent that if anything happened to him, to find Riley Susco. He had given him a sealed envelope and told him to give it to her. It wasn't signed but he assured Jim that Riley would know who it was from. Now here he was, sitting at the bar that Riley Susco was heard to work at, the letter sitting safely in his pocket.
"Can I get you anything else?" The bartender asked.
Gordon looked up, his eyes red from the unshed tears. "Could you tell Riley Susco I'm here to talk to 'em?"
"Sure thing, Commish." The bartender vanished into the back room for a moment before coming back out and walking over to him again. "She'll be right out."
She? Gordon thought. Riley was a she? He shrugged it off and took a sip of his beer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a young girl with black hair, wearing a waitress apron, walk out of the back room. Looking around, her eyes landed on him and she walked over to him. Leaning on the bar she smiled at him.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Gordon?" she asked kindly.
Gordon reached into his pocket and too out the envelope. He handed it to her with a frown. "A mutual friend asked me to give you this if anything ever happened."
Her smile faltered and she took the envelope, ripping it open and pulling out the tri-folded letter. Opening it, her face paled and she visibly tensed. Gordon furrowed his brow and gently took the letter from her hands. She snatched it back and folded it up before sticking it in her pocket and excusing herself, but Gordon had clearly read what was written on the paper. Two words. That was all that was written. He watched Riley disappear into the back and he smiled gently as her black hair flowed behind her. Maybe Gotham still had a chance.
Riley left work early. Getting out of the taxi, she walked up the steps of Wayne Manner, the letter held tightly in her hand. She continued to knock on the door until Alfred, who she hadn't seen for two years, answered the door. Seeing her, Alfred paled but nodded at her stiffly and allowed her entry to the house. She handed him the letter and walked in. Unfolding the letter, Alfred read the words, written in Bruce Wayne's handwriting, centered in the middle of the page;
Your Turn.