Chapter 3:

Veronica Eats Breadcrumbs for Breakfast

Summary:

Veronica meets a couple of kickass women as she traces Bruce's footsteps across the country.

A week later, Veronica is back in Neptune and in possession of a list of twenty-five names Bruce Wayne appears to be using as aliases. She's also never known her friend Mac to swear quite as much as she has in the past seven days because the billionaire, on top of everything else, appears to be a halfway decent hacker. Mac has her work cut out for her avoiding detection as she helps Veronica gather the data she needs.

Veronica finds herself with a crazy timeline. It seems Bruce Wayne has spent the four years bouncing around the globe, never staying anywhere for more than two or three months. Within the United States alone, he's spent time in Washington DC, and Los Angeles as well as a couple of smaller towns and cities. She's also tracked him to cities in Europe, Asia, and South America. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason for his travels, and she wonders how he decides where to go next.

She remembers Alfred's suggestion that she track his interests, and it seems her hunch about Bruce's intentions of going into crime fighting are correct, as all his aliases seem to be inspired in some way by famous fictional detectives and the authors who invented them.

So she drives up to Los Angeles, where Colin Morse (inspired by the fictional Inspector Morse, hero of Colin Dexter's novels) worked as a general go-fer three years ago. It's strange, as Veronica can't imagine what he would learn from the Hollywood crowd, and no one seems to remember him.

Finally, she meets one of the studio's regular makeup artists, who tells her of "Cole," who was really interested in learning how to apply disguises. Veronica learns from his next-door neighbor that he'd signed up for acting classes, but never bothered to try to find an agent or try out for any casting calls.

She tracks him to several towns and smaller cities across the East Coast and Midwest, and she finds these tended to coincide with the route Haley's Circus took. She books a flight to catch their next show and to ask if anyone remembers a man-of-all-work they hired two years before who went by the name of Dixon Hardy. She finds herself stonewalled by people who watch her with suspicious eyes and are unwilling to offer more than the sparest details.

It takes her several days, but she eventually appeals to acrobat Mary Grayson, telling her about the boy who'd lost his parents at the age of eight—the same age Mary's son Dick is at the moment—and saying that his guardian only wants to know that "Dixon" is alive.

"He only stayed that one summer. A lot of folks do that, hire on for a season before moving on. Mostly I don't bother learning their names, but this boy got my John to show him a few moves," Mary says.

John is her husband. They, along with their son and John's brother and nephew, are the Flying Graysons, a world renowned acrobatic and trapeze act.

Mary smiles fondly. "John said he was good, picked it up really fast. Maybe faster if he didn't spend so much time with Zatara."

Zatara is a magician who has since gone on to become a solo act. Veronica flies to Las Vegas to catch his show and meet him. He is polite, but says he's been out of contact since Bruce—and he is aware of the true identity of the boy he once mentored—left the circus. Veronica asks him what he taught Bruce to do, and on a whim finds herself extending her stay from a few days to a few weeks so she can learn a few tricks from the master escapist.

She meets Zatara's daughter Zatanna, who is around her age. The girl is openly hostile at first, and Veronica suspects she he had romantic feelings toward Bruce. She also suspects that, given the girl's age, this never evolved into a full relationship. So she pretends to be oblivious to the other girl's animosity, then decides to play out a hunch and chatters on about her very complicated love life.

Zatanna is fascinated by Veronica's bad luck in love; frankly, Veronica feels like her love life is something out of a crazy TV show. After all, her first boyfriend turned out to be her suspected brother—a suspicion only discovered and thankfully disproved post-breakup. Her second relationship lasted less than a month and crashed and burned when the guy turned out to be an amateur drug trafficker who already had a druggie girlfriend.

She accused her third boyfriend ("Really? The Logan Echolls?" Zatanna squeals when Veronica tells her about him) of murdering her best friend and his ex-girlfriend, then found evidence the deed had actually been done by an Oscar-winning actor who just happened to be said boyfriend's abusive father. Her fourth relationship was a failed return to her first boyfriend, only to find he'd knocked up one of her only friends before they'd gotten together, not to mention cheated on her with the stepmom of one of their classmates.

"Woah," Zatanna says, awed. "It's like your life is a soap opera. I would've sworn off men completely."

"You're smarter than I am then," Veronica says. "At the end of senior year, I got back with Logan."

"Well, that I understand. The guy is hot. Not Bruce hot, but I've seen pics of the guy."

"Let me tell you a depressing truth about love, Zee. Unfortunately, the hotness of one's boyfriend does not necessarily guarantee the success of a relationship." Veronica pauses, then smirks. "Even though it does facilitate success in the bedroom."

Zatanna laughs. "I'll bet!"

"Anyway, we got together end of senior year, got through the first few months of freshman year at college, then broke up. Got together again after Christmas, then I found out that while we were broken up, he slept with the girl who made my life hell in high school and who tossed their Aspen Christmas fling in my face the first chance she got. So I broke up with him, and a couple weeks later, he's got a new girlfriend, who just happens to be my best friend's roommate and a friend of mine. So. Awkward."

"Very."

"So I got together with a sweet guy who happened to be the roommate of my other best friend."

Zatanna frowns. "Rebound?"

"I wouldn't have said so at the time, but hindsight's 20/20, right? Also, looking back, I think he was just way too nice for me."

"Right."

"I hear the sarcasm in your voice, but the truth is, I'm kind of toxic to nice guys. Anyway, we broke up after he decided I wasn't over Logan, which was after Logan beat him up for being the guy in my sex tape."

"Your what?" Zatanna's mouth is hanging open at this point.

"Well, there's kind of a secret group at my college, kind of like the Dead Poets Society but without the poetry, ya know? And they were trying to recruit my BFF into it, you know, the one who was roommates with my boyfriend. They planted a video cam in the room without any of us knowing it, and when the boyfriend and I got hot and heavy one day, presto, sex video."

"You're kidding."

"I wish. The fact that we never actually did the deed didn't matter, because enough clothes came off and the video got emailed to just about every guy on campus. So now I'm officially off guys for a very, very long time."

"So you're not after Bruce because, because, well—" Zatanna blushes.

"Nope. I'm a private investigator. My client hired me to find him and prove he's not dead for professional reasons. I also kind of want to do it cause I met Bruce's guardian and he's a sweet guy who's really very worried that he hasn't heard from him in four years. He deserves to know the boy he raised is still alive and kicking somewhere."

"We don't know where he is," Zatanna says slowly. "After you arrived, I tried to find out, but something's blocking me."

Veronica frowns. "Find out how?"

Zatanna bites her lip, takes a few moments to make a decision, then sighs. "It's probably better if I show you."

Which is how Veronica finds out that magic is real. It's also one of the things Bruce was learning about from Zatara—he didn't have any magical ability himself, but he learned enough to know the basics of how magic works and what magic users are capable of, as well as how to identify true magic from magicians' sleight-of-hand and illusions.

After almost a month in Vegas, Veronica returns to Neptune, California, with the realization that the universe (not to mention the multiverse) is a lot bigger and crazier than she realizes or could every understand.

Veronica's next leads are all out on the East Coast. However, her Keith kicks up a fuss about how much daddy-daughter time he's missed, and Veronica's friends guilt her into staying put for at least a couple of weeks. She spends her time chasing down leads electronically and over the phone.

She's learned, for example, that Bruce seems to have spent a couple of months shadowing a consulting detective for Scotland Yard. She's been emailing his partner (or blogger?), a Dr. John Watson, but has not been able to get the detective to agree to a phone call or Skype session, try as she might.

She's a bit frustrated as the last year of his life offers the least insight into what he's been doing. She knows he was nearly imprisoned in Thailand as part of a human trafficking ring, only to disappear after key evidence against the real culprits turned up. She has her suspicions about where the police got the evidence, of course, but no proof.

His activities in Jaipur prove a complete mystery to her, but then he pops up in Southeast Asia, and his activities in Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines drop off immediately after the US Navy and the Philippine Armed Forces bust a black market weapons trading ring associated with terrorists and other militant groups in the area and in the Middle East.

That the operation is triggered by an anonymous tip makes Veronica's gut burn, but again, she has no way to verify this, and she suspects it might not be cost effective to look into the matter more than she already has.

Finally, she flies out to the East Coast.

In New York, she meets champion boxer Ted Grant, who is also known as the Wildcat and is a former member of the Justice Society of America. He's disgusted by her lack of anything but the most basic self-defense skills and her reliance on her trusty taser, and he spends the next few weeks having his student, Dinah Lance, teach her how to kickbox. He refuses to answer any of her questions until she proves she can protect herself against a basic mugger.

Dinah also urges her to sign up for classes in Krav Maga, and Veronica finds herself enjoying it far more than she expected to. She also really likes Dinah, who's self-assured in her skills and her sexuality in a way Veronica can only envy. The other blonde is only a couple of years older, but Veronica finds herself quite enjoying the way Dinah treats her like a younger sister.

She learns later that Dinah's actual younger sister, Sara, has missing and presumed dead for a year. The yacht she was on with famous billionaire douchebag Oliver Queen and his father capsized in a storm. That Queen was Dinah's on-again-off-again boyfriend at the time threads anger and bitterness through Dinah's grief, and Veronica plies her new friend with ice cream and her own matching tale of woe, courtesy of Lilly Kane and Logan Echolls. This serves to cement their sisterhood.

A month after she lands in La Guardia, she gets verbal confirmation from the Wildcat that Bruce really is on a hero/vigilante track, as the man shared some of his goals with his old mentor. What exactly was shared, though, is something Grant refuses to tell Veronica.

She heads down to Washington DC, where she meets the folks at the Lightman Group, who've turned lie detection into a science. When she learns about what they do, she knows exactly why "Sam Hammett" took a janitorial job with them.

Veronica spends a couple of weeks learning about body cues and micro expressions, and Dr. Cal Lightman tells her she's one of the best natural liars he's ever met. She doesn't know whether to be flattered or insulted, but he waves this away and tells her it's a skill to be used like any other.

The outspoken Brit gets a kick out of testing her and using her to test his team. When she leaves, he tells her to keep in touch and that she'll have a job with him anytime she wants one.

She backtracks up to Gotham, where she spends an afternoon at Wayne Manor, sipping tea and regaling Alfred with the stories she's collected about Bruce. Some of the worry eases as she is able to account for much of the time the guy has been missing, even if the use of aliases make them shaky cases for proof of life. Especially since most of the people she has spoken with either are unaware of Bruce's true identity or unwilling to sign affidavits about their interactions with him.

Alfred actually proves very useful for some of the leads Veronica's found abroad. He drops the bomb on her then: he's former MI6, and he's acquainted with Mycroft Holmes, the detective's brother, who is some kind of bigwig in the British government, possibly their secret service.

Over the phone, the man confirms that Bruce shadowed Sherlock Holmes for two months, that Sherlock had deduced Bruce's identity the same day they'd met, but had not seen the point in informing John Watson of it. Bruce evidently had been keen on learning Sherlock's methods of deduction, and the two had established a rapport that had for some time earned Watson's ire and envy.

At some point, Bruce had determined that he could learn little more from Sherlock, the skills he'd made being such that they are honed from practice rather than observation.

"He expressed some interest in the profession of man-hunting, and I believe was referred to a Henri Ducard, a French detective out of—"

"Paris?" Veronica asked excitedly. Bruce had been in Paris less than two years ago.

"Quite so."

"Do you know if he made contact? My investigation indicates he was in Paris for three months, up until about eighteen months ago."

"Yes, that aligns with my information as well."

"Awesome. Any chance you could save a girl a little time and get me contact details for Ducard?"

"Certainly, although I should warn you that he is not the most scrupulous of contacts. Be careful what you tell him, and verify anything he tells you before acting on it."

Veronica frowns, and she sees her worry mirrored in Alfred's gaze. "He's a bad guy, then? Do you think he might've done something to Bruce Wayne?"

"No, I have it on good authority that Wayne booked a flight to Bangkok out of Paris and has not been in contact with Ducard since leaving. Unfortunately, the person who reported this to me had no reason to track him beyond that, so I cannot offer any further information beyond that."

"You could find out, though?"

"I would need sufficient reason to do so."

"We'd be happy to cover the costs of an investigation." Veronica was sure by now that Jake would be willing to foot the bill for such a solid lead.

"These things aren't a matter of financing, I'm afraid."

Veronica frowns. "So what would it take?"

After a pause, Mycroft Holmes replies, "A case."

"What do you mean?"

"Ms. Mars, I am aware of your profession and your abilities. Having been apprised of your accomplishments, I have a measure of respect for your potential. Thus, if we were to make a trade, I would employ the resources at my disposal to determine the whereabouts of Bruce Wayne, or at the very least, his last known location before dropping off the grid. Your last trace of him was approximately eight months ago, if the information in your casefiles is accurate."

Veronica's eyes narrow dangerously. "You hacked my casefiles?"

"Miss Mars, we're the British government, and you have not the security your friend Ms. Mackenzie employs on her equipment. I assure you it was not ill-intentioned, although I should mention that given the waters you are swimming in, you might want to be on your guard against someone less well-intentioned. That being said, if you want my assistance on this matter, I would require in return that you work a case for me some time in the future, in rather similar terms to the deal you currently have with Mr. Kane."

"How do you know about that?" Veronica demands.

"Why wouldn't I know about that?"

Alfred coughs discreetly before Veronica can shoot back a retort. "Ah, Mycroft, would you mind if Miss Mars and I discuss your offer between us for now? We will be happy to get back to you within twenty-four hours."

"Of course, Alfred. I'm sure you would feel remiss in your duties if you failed to warn her of the evils of making deals with individuals such as myself."

"I'm glad we understand each other."

"Until tomorrow then, Alfred. Miss Mars."

"What an asshole." Veronica blows out an exasperated breath. "Sorry. I know he's your friend."

"Former colleague," Alfred corrects her. "On a personal level, we are significantly less than friends, but somewhat more than acquaintances."

Veronica offers him a lopsided smile. "Although I'm definitely going to beef up my computer's security once I get home, after that."

"It would seem prudent to do so, Miss Veronica."

"When am I going to get you to just call me Veronica, Alfie?"

The butler allows himself a smile. "When Master Bruce succeeds in getting me to call him Bruce, I suppose."

"So basically when pigs fly."

"Just so, Miss Veronica."

"What dire warnings do you need to give me?" Veronica asks, smiling. "Best deliver them so I can find a hotel before nightfall instead of driving up to New York."

"Please, Miss Veronica, it's a simple matter to make up a room. I'd already planned to ask you to stay for dinner and then stay the night before we even ended the call."

"I won't put you through the trouble, Alfred. I'm perfectly happy in a hotel."

"I insist. Besides, you wouldn't want to leave an old man to finish a pan of lasagna all on his own." Alfred is implacable, and in the end, Veronica gives in. She suspects he knew she would. She tells herself it's the siren call of lasagna that persuaded her, and it has nothing to do with the fact that she misses her dad and that something about the old butler's loneliness, which he only gives her fleeting glimpses of, tugs at her heartstrings.

I am not getting attached, she tells her reflection while she freshens up before dinner.

Yeah, right, Mirror-Veronica seems to say.

Shut up. I'm not.

Rather than keep arguing with herself, Veronica heads downstairs and nags Alfred into letting her help prep ingredients for dinner and dessert.

End Note:

So, first mention of Dick Grayson—the only one in this fic, but you'll see more of him in later stories in the series, of course! Two minor TV show crossovers in the hunt for Bruce Wayne: Fox's Lie to Me and BBC's Sherlock.

For Sherlock, I just thought it would be really fun to have Alfred and Mycroft Holmes be former colleagues. There are two things that are pretty well known about the Wayne family butler's pre-buttling history: that he was at one point an actor, and that he engaged in espionage/special operations for the British government. So, Mycroft, of course!

Finally, a disclaimer: If I own nothing from VM or the DCU, then obviously I own nothing from these shows either.