Apophenia
Dark Knight/James Bond Crossover
Chapter one
A/n: My first crossover, excited to write and thankful for readers/reviewers! Also, the chapters will be a little shorter than in my previous stories.
Characters: Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman, Daniel Craig's James Bond/007, Frank Gorshin's the Riddler, Katie Holmes's Rachel Dawes, and Jack Lord's Felix Leiter, Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny, Ralph Fiennes's M, etc.
Setting: For Batman, this story takes place after the events of Batman Begins. For James, this story takes place after the more recent events of Skyfall.
MI6 Headquarters
James Bond stared at the manila folder in his hands with a sense of dread. Miss Moneypenny had been none too happy to hand the file to Bond, which was his first reason to worry. Moneypenny gloated over Bond's many victorious adventures as much as he did.
"Everything all right, 007?" M asked, staring evenly at Bond. With an inaudible retort, Bond looked up and faced his boss. M's broken arm was the first thing he noticed, the sling a dark blue against the lighter blue of his shirt. This M was utterly and irrevocably different from the M Bond had known. This younger man did not correlate with the older woman that had died in Bond's arms only…how long had it been? A month, perhaps?
"Everything's fine." Bond responded, standing up.
"You can ignore the file however you like, 007, so I might as well just tell you that you're leaving the country." M stood as well.
"I usually do." Bond remarked dryly.
"You're going to New York."
Bond was silent. His hand gripped the folder tightly. "Sir, if I may," he started, "are the CIA not-"
"The CIA does not possess the leads that we have on this case." M reminded him. "Read the file, 007, and you'll understand. If we do not handle this quietly and efficiently, there will be trouble."
"Sir-"
"Good afternoon, Bond." M interrupted with a wave of his hand. "And good luck."
Bond knew that M wanted Bond out of the country. Everyone in the whole bloody headquarters wanted Bond to 'take a break'. They all assumed he was an emotional mess after M's death. They were wrong. Bond had a license to kill. He killed. The death of his boss was no different than if he had killed her himself. Bond often considered the notion that her death was in fact his fault.
With clenched teeth, Bond nodded at M and left the room, walking past Moneypenny and grabbing his hat without a word to her.
Gotham, New York
The house was more magnificent than it had ever been before the fire. Wayne Manor stood tall and proud, waiting its finishing touches. Alfred Pennyworth, his stout hands clasped behind his back, inspected the house with glowing satisfaction. It would not be long before he would move back into his home of many years. Of course, he had suggested to Master Wayne that, after the house had been burned to the ground, some changes be made. Bruce wouldn't think of it. The only changes Master Wayne would allow were those to the mysterious cave under the illustrious mansion. The renovations to the cave, however, would be entirely Master Wayne's duty. He did not want anyone but Alfred to know about what was hidden in the cave.
Alfred glanced at Bruce Wayne. His hands were stuffed deep into his trouser pockets, and he stared at the house with nostalgia.
The two men did not notice Lucius Fox. The tall man trudged up towards Wayne Manor, an envelope in his ebony hands. He stopped on the hill that Bruce and Alfred were perched on, nodding at them cordially.
"Afternoon, fellas." Lucius stared at the house as well. Alfred nodded at him in greeting.
"What do you think, Lucius?" Bruce finally spoke, gesturing towards the house with his right hand. His other remained in his pocket.
"Oh," Lucius shrugged, smiling slightly, I think it's just as magnificent as before."
Alfred raised his eyebrows at Bruce and grinned. Bruce took in Lucius's words, pondering. What would his parents think of such a place? His new home was more of a museum than a manor, encompassing his parents' every trait.
"And the envelope?" Alfred asked, pointing to the object in Lucius's hand. "What's that for, then?"
"Ah." Lucius held up the envelope. "This. This, Mr. Wayne, is for you."
"What is it?" Bruce frowned, taking the envelope in his strong hands.
"I didn't open it," Lucius assured him, "but it was in my mailbox at Wayne Enterprises, addressed to a certain Batman."
Bruce opened the letter without hesitation. At the same time, the loose paper inside the envelope flew out of his reach. With a soft exclamation, Alfred started after it. The wind taunted the elderly man until the paper landed a few feet in front of Bruce's shiny shoes. The text was clear.
Who is the Batman?