Chapter 3: Duties

The package was small, about the size of a shoebox, and it was wrapped in very discreet brown paper. There was no return address and the only sign of who might have delivered it was the dark black Bat symbol filled in with Sharpie on the top. Jim Gordon handled the package carefully as he carried it inside. He placed it delicately on his desk, his confusion evident in his furrowed brow. The whispers that were floating between the interested police officers that had gathered behind him felt like a breeze on his back as he stared at the box.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he spun around to face the woman who had initially told him of the package's existence. She flinched slightly under his fierce gaze, but reported, "We've got SWAT coming up to scan the package. They should be here in about ten minutes, so you probably should just leave it until then. Gordon's gaze shifted until it was resting once again on the box, and the glaring symbol that adorned the top. If he had let his curiosity dictate his actions, the paper would have been discarded on the floor now and he would be picking apart whatever was inside at that very moment. However, police commissioners are not supposed to let curiosity dictate their actions, so he leaned against the wall of his office, took a few steadying breaths, and waited for the SWAT team.

It took them eleven minutes to get there. He thought vaguely that if there was ever a case of immediate danger, that one minute extra could cost numerous lives. The thought flew out of his head though, when they began to perform their duty, using the state of the art equipment that had been funded by Harvey Dent's estate. Gordon felt the irony like a pin prick on his heart. But there were more pressing things to think about at the moment and he held back an unprofessional smile when they team said that the box was safe to open.

Taking the gloves offered to him by a detective standing near the doorway, Jim slowly approached the package. He peeled back one corner of the thin, brown paper, and followed with the next until the wrapping fell off and its contents were revealed. Silence crowded the room as people strained their necks to see what was sitting on the desk.

At first it looked like a wooden jewelry box, the oak sides polished to a glinting shine. The top was a clear glass pane and through it something was visible. As Gordon leaned closer he saw that what resided under the glass was a maze. Small and intricate, it filled the entire length of the box, and there were tiny numbers painted along its paths. Running his hand through his hair, Gordon puzzled, "So, what do we do now?"

A member of the SWAT team had been leaning just over Gordon's shoulder and caused him to jump when he said enthusiastically, "We solve it!" Gordon swung his head around, but the man was already launching into an explanation; "See that marble in the top corner, we need to get it through the maze and into that hole down in the bottom right hand corner. If you turn the knobs on the sides it will tilt the table."

The room was still and the man looked around nervously before Gordon cleared his throat and asked, "You think you can solve this?" The SWAT member nodded vigorously and Gordon pointed at the maze, "Then get to it." With that, the man removed his jacket, sat down, and began to work as Gordon shooed the hoard of spectators out of his office.


The sound of his alarm clock rang harshly in Bruce's ears as he was jolted awake from a dream. Refusing to open his eyes to the daylight he was sure was streaming through his blinds, he felt along his bedside table until his hand connected with the snooze button on top of his alarm. He recoiled his arm and smashed his face into his pillow. Exhaustion had almost overwhelmed him when he heard a voice behind him, "You know, most people who set alarms actually get up when they ring."

Bruce rolled over and opened his eyes to see Alfred in the doorway. Squinting in earnest against the sun's glaring light, he sighed, "But I'm Batman."

Alfred rolled his eyes and tossed a newspaper onto Bruce's bed, answering, "No. Right now, you're Bruce Wayne, and you have responsibilities to attend to."

Bruce picked up the newspaper and began pouring through it. He flipped the pages quickly, his furtive glance dashing across the print. With each page he turned the crease above his eyebrows got deeper and concern crept into his striking brown eyes. By the time he had finished the newspaper, his lips had pressed into a thin line. He looked up at his butler and said, "I lead the cops to someone last night…the story's not in here."

Alfred snatched the paper from his hand and shoved it back once he had opened it to the second page; "I wasn't talking about that." Bruce barely scanned the page as his mind raced to figure out the lack of news. This was the morning edition of the paper, after all, and they had probably not learned of the news in time to print it. Or maybe he had missed it. A second glance had never hurt anyone. He was about to begin tearing through the newspaper again when Alfred finally grew frustrated and pointed directly to the article he was talking about.

CONSTRUCTION ON GOTHAM GENERAL FINISHED: GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY TODAY. "Oh," Bruce said. He had completely forgotten about the ceremony he had to attend that day.

"That's right, Master Wayne. And I'll be damned if you miss this event."

Finally conceding that he would have to move, Bruce rolled out of bed and said, "I don't think they'd let me miss it; not after I donated the entire 50 million it took to repair the hospital."

Alfred smiled, "No, I don't suppose they would." Bruce smiled back at his friend. Despite they occasional annoyance he felt for Alfred, he always reminded him that his life was not entirely centered on being Batman. In fact, he had actually been looking forward to this event; it gave him the hope that he may actually have a normal life one day. He tried to forget that his excitment was probably only because it assuaged his guilt for causing the destruction in the first place. Shaking the thought from his mind, he began getting dressed in a suit he pulled from his closet.

A short time later, he was standing on the steps of a newly rebuilt Gotham General and sweating profusely. He had forgotten about the heat wave when he chose the close-fitting black suit to wear to the event. Shifting from one foot to the other, he tried to listen to speech that the hospital director was giving. Snippets floated back, but the pounding that the heat was causing in ears made it difficult to hear. He looked at an officer standing next to him, and surveyed the crowd on the stage one more time before he asked, "Wasn't Commissioner Gordon supposed to be here today? Where is he?"

The officer looked distracted, but whispered back, "He got a big break on Batman. It some sort of puzzle. I haven't seen it, but everyone around the station is buzzing about it." Bruce nodded his thanks and looked straight ahead once again. He couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He hadn't left any puzzles, and surely Gordon wouldn't be going as far as to fabricate leads now that he had worked out a system of doing good again. No, it had to be something else. A copycat? It was a possibility. He felt the old pull he used to feel to solve the mystery. Could he risk it? If there was someone out there creating clues, he didn't need to worry…but what if it was actually someone who knew something? His every sense pulled him to see for himself what was going on at the station. Maybe he would go that night, stay outside, and see if he could get a glimpse of what was happening. Maybe that was what he would do.

Bruce could feel that the speech was wrapping up. The man at the microphone joked, "Since he wouldn't let us name the new building after him, the least we could do was let him cut the red ribbon. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Bruce Wayne." With this announcement, Bruce strode forward and spread a smile onto his face, before he stepped up to perform his first duty of the day.


Jim Gordon's fingers twitched indiscriminately as he stood in the doorway to his office, watching the SWAT man, Carl, hunched over the contraption that had been sent to him. It had been about two hours since he received the package, and the sun was fully up shining through his window. But even the fresh perspective that a new day brought wasn't enough for him to wrap his head around Batman's motives. He had understood earlier that the Bat was leading the police to the criminals, but what was he doing with this cryptic message. Batman was not one for mysteries, beside his identity of course. The man he had known had always been blunt and straight to the point. The puzzle of his clandestine friend's motives was more confusing than the mechanism he found on the doorstep. This just wasn't Batman.

Before he could work it out any further in his mind, he heard a cry from behind his desk, "I think I've got it!" Gordon rushed over and Carl showed him that the ball was poised to take its last turn toward the hole at the end of the puzzle. Soon, all would be revealed, Gordon hoped. He gestured for Carl to go ahead and watched as the ball dropped into the end of the puzzle.

I'm so sorry that it took so long to update. College applications and AP classes have been eating up all my free time. I hope you like this update. Once again, reviews are appreciated. And I promise, once I finally hit the submit button on my apps this weekend updates will come more frequently :)