Disclaimer: I don't own any Batman characters or "Batman Begins". Batman belongs to Bob Kane and Bill Finger, "Batman Begins" belongs to Christopher Nolan. But the story is mine, and the original characters belong to me… So woe to the fool who steals them!
Background: Taking place some years after "Batman Begins", this story draws inspiration from the Batman cannon and "Batman: The Animated Series", while mainly being inspired by Nolan's vision of Batman, with my own give-and-takes. However, being published prior to the sequels, the storyline ignores the existence of "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises" and should therefore be considered an Alternate Universe with its roots in "Batman Begins".
Summary: Is Ra's Al Ghul immortal? Are his methods supernatural? When the return of the League of Shadows in Gotham coincides with the appearance of an obscure female foe chasing both Batman and Bruce Wayne, the dark question unravels: Is Ra's truly dead…?
Villain's View of a Hero #1
GOTHAM KNIGHTS
GOTHAM CITY: two years ago
In the dark of night, the crooks hide in the depths of Gotham City. They wait for their prey, for the time to strike. Some nights are longer than others, some colder and bitterer. But sometimes it pays off. In the city of the corrupt it is not easy to find victims. Being choosy is risky business, as most of the fretting citizens would much rather be staying inside than walk out after dark. Eventually, some have to.
They brought it this far themselves, those corrupt men on the top of the hierarchy. They forced the homeless to carry knives and guns, drove them to desperate measures. The most honest man becomes the bad guy, going out of his mind, in constant need of food for his family. You end up on your own. You only serve yourself, and so, you make the rules. You're in control.
It's no wonder this city is home for madmen and half-minded criminals. It's a dirty place. But no one cares to do anything about it. They let it go; they've cut the bonds of civilization. Others have noticed this. Caution has been taken to hide from the city horrific plans at work. Everything happens in the shadows... done by the Shadows...
Atop the metal flames in the torch of Gotham's version of the Statue of Liberty sits a man clad entirely in black. Night goggles covering his eyes, he watches another man silently, waiting for a reason to strike. This is the traitor. It is quite certain. He has seen him himself, dealing out information on things too important to be abused by his treacherous tongue. But, his master wants to be absolutely confident of just how much has been delivered. Therefore, he has to catch him in the act up close. This is his reason for being here tonight.
The traitor stands huddled in a cheap brown coat, shivering at the gusts of wind that come in patterned waves this far up. He's muttering to himself. "An hour I've been waitin'. I dunno why Nico wanted to meet me here, anyway..."
"He didn't, Twitch." This is another voice. The timbres are smooth yet hold a threatening undertone. The traitor turns as the man continues, "I did."
"You! You tricked me!" The dark form steps closer and he stutters, "W-w-what d'you want?"
"Information on the League of Shadows. Word is they've started operating here. Tell me all about them..." The voice picks deeper notes, a growling by now.
The spy grins. This is he. The man dressed like a creature of the night. Oh, how ironic it should be his round of questions now, as they would come unanswered. But not just yet.
The traitor laughs nervously. "There ain't that much to tell. I mean… I only worked for 'em, okay? Not with 'em!"
"It'll have to do… Now talk." He steps even closer to the traitor, forcing him up against the railing of the walkway. This makes the latter uneasier still.
"Okay, okay! They're supposed to have their claws in every dirty deal in Gotham."
The spy listens closely as he senses one of his comrades sneaking up from below, climbing along the steel of the statue's arm. Just in time.
The traitor continues, "In fact, word on the street is they got somethin' major going down tonight... Gonna boost some kinda new ultrasound gizmo, or somethin'."
This is a trick, a fake piece of information planted in the dirt by one of the Shadows. The spy had hoped it would reach the traitor.
The information has the inquisitor startled, and his eyes narrow dangerously through the petty mask he wears. "Who runs the show?" he inquires.
"I dunno, haven't heard nothing abou' that. But they say he's—" The traitor freezes when something catches his attention, and the spy leans in closer, seeing his comrade perched on the railing, ready to pounce. He reaches for a blade within his robes and then jumps, but the Bat is ready for him and slams him against a wall of metal, leaving the sword clattering down to the floor and the Shadow unconscious.
Now is the time. The spy jumps silently from the top of the torch and lands a small distance from the traitor. The spy sees him instantly, but too late. "P-please! He made me talk! I didn't wanna!"
"No one betrays the League of Shadows..." The words have the desired effect. The traitor quivers as the spy grasps the front of his coat and lifts him easily over his head.
"No! No, please! I didn't do it! Aaaaaah!" he screams, but too late as he plunges to his death at the foot of the statue, the sea's heavy waves crashing his frail body.
"Such be the fate of all traitors," the spy hisses. Unprepared for what follows his words he crumbles as his comrade is thrown at his back.
"You'll pay for that," growls the Bat as he closes in on his prey.
The spy will have nothing of that and aims with what his enemy thinks to be a gun. The Bat quickly moves out of the way as he presses the trigger, but no bullet comes out. Instead, a strong-wired grapple cuts through the air and wounds around one of the spikes of the statue's crown. Hastily, both of the Shadows leap over the Bat's head and glide down the wire.
They don't see that the Bat is following close behind, and he lands a powerful kick at them both as he, too, lands on the crown. They fall far to the side and luckily collide with the spikes instead of dropping off the statue. Their enemy gains in on them slowly.
Standing proudly from his drooped stance, the spy proclaims, "May the Shadows live forever." And with a solemn look at his comrade, they both press their hands against a mechanism placed below their jaws and release a toxin inside their masks that kills them instantly.
Batman reeled back and quickly clamped a gasmask over his mouth to protect himself from the fumes rising from the bodies. He approached them with a feeling of failure, the same he always felt when a crook got away or died needlessly. Getting within reach, he lifted the mask off one of the Shadows and found his eyes wide open. Checking as always, he lightly pressed his fingers against the man's throat to search for a pulse, but it was useless: He was dead.
With a snarl Batman jumped out from the statue and activated his wings, gliding leisurely down to the docks where the Batmobile was parked behind a wall of boxes. Unlocking it, the doors shifted back and he jumped into the seat. Starting out down the docks before the doors even closed properly, he said, "Alfred?"
The response cracked out of the speakers, "Yes, Master Bruce?"
The disappointment was etched in his jaw, lips tight in a frown. "It was a decoy. The informant knew less than any newspaper in the entire country. They'd given him tips outdated by their last visit."
"When they stole the water vaporizing device from Wayne Enterprises, sir?"
"...Yes."
"Sounds like a night wasted. I shall have some tea ready when you return..."
"I'm stopping by James Gordon for updates. Don't expect me soon."
"Heard he made Lieutenant. I assume you had nothing to do with that..."
The ironic tone caused a smile. "He helped to save Gotham from certain disaster. I like to think he beat the bat to that promotion. He could have walked away." Thinking about the train accident and the loss of his enemy and friend brought another frown. "He's one of the few good men in this place."
In one of the trainee buildings, Lieutenant James Gordon stood in a shooting range. Carefully aiming each shot with his Glock 23, they all landed square in the head of the phony bad-guy. Eyeing the holes carefully, he let the smallest of smiles cross his lips. Putting the gun down, he turned at the sound of a creaking door, in time to see it close.
"Batman?"
"Over here, Gordon." He materialized from the shadows.
"I was starting to wonder when I'd be seeing you again." The gruff look on the vigilante's face made him drop the playful façade. "Is something wrong?"
"The League of Shadows has returned to Gotham. They're the ones who've been causing the police trouble. I met two of them tonight. When I tried to nail them, they used some sort of gas to take their own lives."
"Yeah, that fits with what little we know about them." Gordon scratched the back of his head. The murders of several of the connections the police had around the gloomy parts of Gotham had made things complicated. It irked him that this threat had returned to his city, and he knew none of the guys up top would believe such a thing, which prevented any action from being taken.
"I took a sample of the gas in its liquid form. Have the forensics team run a test on it, and I'll see what I can find out about the League's doings."
"You think the Shadows are operating on their own?"
"They wouldn't strike alone. It's not their style. They need a leader."
"Then there must be a new guy pulling the strings. I mean, there was no body to be found in the wrecks of the train, but Ra's Al Ghul couldn't possibly still be alive. There's no way anybody could survive that!"
"That's what I'm going to find out..." He stepped forward and placed the phial with the poison in Gordon's hand.
The lieutenant lifted it before his eyes, staring at the clear green substance. "The techs are gonna love this one. I don't know how long it'll take them, but I'll use the signal to let you know—" But as he looked up, there was no sight of the Batman. With a shake of his head, he muttered, "One of these days I'm going to nail his feet to the floor..."
There was never wasted any time on nursing sore limbs. Alfred found him in the cave doing push-ups, still wearing the lower part of the suit. With a sigh he put down the tray of fine china. "You shouldn't overdo yourself, Master Bruce. Who will chase the black-streaked citizens if you have a sprain in every part of your body? I couldn't possibly fit into that thing..."
With a huff of laughter Bruce stood up and accepted a cool towel from the butler to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Why not, I had so hoped you could cancel me on weekends."
"Not likely, sir." He moved to the tray to pour some tea for both of them. "Any word from Miss Dawes recently?"
"She took the job in New York," he answered somberly.
"I'm sorry, Master Bruce. I had hoped for the best."
"So had I."
With a sigh he walked to the computer base in the heart of the cave. Running a couple of checks on the parts of Gotham monitored by webcams, which he had personally planted recently to be able to keep an eye on things when he wasn't patrolling, but they showed no further sign of suspicious happenings. Finally a moment at ease. With nothing better to do, he grabbed the second phial from the Batsuit. He'd saved some of the poison for himself, so he would be able to compare the police technicians' results with his own. But there was another part whose view on this matter was needed.
Carefully dividing the liquid, he gave the third phial to Alfred. "Send this to Lucius Fox. Tell him it's urgent," he said, and returned to studying the computer screens. A few clicks on the keyboard brought a picture of Ra's Al Ghul up on display. A series of keywords made up a file on the villain, one word at the bottom indicating in a stark red: DECEASED.
Again he sighed. "And yet you still haunt me."
Author's note: So here it is, the first part of my first Batman story. I actually re-wrote this story, since I didn't like the original. I hope you enjoyed and will continue reading. Reviews will be very appreciated and I always respond in kind. Hearing from readers both inspires me and makes my writing grow. In short, I love people who review!