"Before you go, Master Wayne, may I ask a question?" Alfred asked as they stood on the Stark Hotel rooftop.
"I don't have much time, Alfred…" Bruce said impatiently as he pushed a small button on the chest of his suit, causing the hands and feet of the suit to light up, albeit dimly.
"Did you use the thruster technology that Mister Stark developed so your suit could fly without other cumbersome devices?" the butler questioned with a grin, causing the businessman's frown to sink down farther on his face.
"Fine… Yes, yes I did! He has some good ideas, though his public policies sure aren't among them… But I added a cape, his suit doesn't even have one, so it obviously is my own design. Bye, Alfred, I have some rescuing to do," Batman huffed as he took off into the night sky.
God I hate Stark so much… So what if he has great ideas and I've used them? He flaunts them to the public like it's no big deal, and if I'm intelligent enough to replicate them then who cares? I don't know why Alfred keeps pointing it out to me. Besides, I made sure that no one will be able to see me flying through the sky, unlike the Iron Man suit. Mine's lightweight, somewhat form-fitting, and if I press buttons on the chest of the suit my gadgets will spring into action with no waiting time, Bruce rationalized to himself as he flew high into the sky, looking for signs of Nate's inhabitance within New York City.
He flew around for several minutes, unsure of where to really begin looking. Bruce didn't know the city well, and the only place he could think to look was near the subway stations littered throughout the metropolis.
I really need to record Alfred's voice and create an electronic butler who can help me maneuver around cities. He could talk to me while I'm Batman… I'm a genius! I'm going to have to collaborate with someone when I return to Gotham City so I can create it. Maybe if Stark and I make amends he could help me out… Wait, he probably already has the technology. Damn that's more than likely true. I bet he catalogues all of his old one night stands with it and it gives him new sex moves to try on each of the poor women and men who find themselves in his bed… Stark does have a nice body, I'll give him that, and that's reason enough to sleep with him. And that look on his face when he's frustrated because he's not getting his way… It's kind of sexy when you think about it. Wait, what the hell am I thinking about? I'm STRAIGHT. Bruce Wayne does NOT like men, ESPECIALLY ones like Tony Stark! Bruce chastised himself in his head, but the telltale signs of his attraction to the genius were already evident.
Bruce never tested the new Batman costume for its ability to hide erections, and as he looked down at the growing tent in the suit's groin he really wished that he had. He felt his face flush with heat, and he was frustrated with himself for fantasizing about the man who publicly displayed his Iron Man prowess. What bothered him more than anything was the fact that he was just going to have to live with having blue balls for the duration of his rescue mission.
While he was preoccupied with his growing problem, Batman instantly felt a heavy weight slam against his body, sending him spiraling down on a skyscraper roof. He caught himself before making impact with the stone roof and pushed a button on his chest, thrusting him back up into the air.
As Bruce regained composure, he noticed that Iron Man was hovering above him. The gold and red suit was a little slimmer than the businessman remembered it being, and it appeared to be made of a softer material. Before he could gain a closer look at the armor, a repulsor blast was fired at his chest, causing him to fly back several feet.
Why is Stark attacking me? He should be diligently looking for Rogers… Unless he thinks I'm the attacker. I better take this down to the roof, I can probably gain a leg up on him there, Bruce thought to himself as he flew down onto the stone ground, landing with a hard "thud."
As Iron Man shot about another blast, Batman quickly rolled out of the way, resulting in a small explosion as chunks of stone rose up in the air. As the armored man quickly landed on the roof and confidently sauntered over to Bruce, the businessman clicked a button on his suit, releasing a thick, cloudy gas in the air. Bruce ran through the heavy smoke and tackled Iron Man to the ground, and attempted, unsuccessfully, to remove the mask.
"It's not removable!" Iron Man cried out in pain as he kicked Bruce in his not-adequately protected groin, causing him to slide off of the armored man.
"You'd think that the man behind Stark Industries would do a better job designing his su… Wait a second, that's not Stark's voice!" Bruce yelled out in shock as he held his hands protectively over his groin, which was throbbing in pain.
The Iron Man imposter did not respond; instead, he swiftly got up from the stone ground and picked up Batman by the throat. He threw him over the edge, sending Bruce falling down to the street dozens of feet below.
"It's not that easy to stop me," Batman said with a smirk as he pressed a small button on his chest, suspending him in mid-air.
He quickly turned on the jets in the costume's feet and took off after the man in the Iron Man suit, who was trying to escape from the businessman's line of sight. Batman let out a hearty, eerie laugh as he clicked a button on his wrist, releasing a small harpoon. He released it, and the weapon whizzed through the air so quickly that it made contact with the leg of the Iron Man suit with little warning. The sharp blade impaled the armor, causing the wearer to screech loudly in pain.
Before the imposter could fall to the streets and die splattered onto the concrete, Batman swept him up and threw him down onto the rooftop floor.
"You're not even Iron Man at all… You're a," Batman began to say, but he was quickly cut off when the imposter's hand covered his mouth.
"You got me, I'm a metamorphic. Now can you just bandage me up and we can all go on our merry ways?" Nate asked as he slowly returned to his tall, lean form.
"That would be too easy, Nate. I saw you on the television and I know you kidnapped Captain America. I'm here to get him back and return him to the safety of his loved ones," Bruce stated clearly as he took some rope from a pocket on his belt and tied up the villain's hands.
"I'm not going to do that, are you crazy?!" Nate exclaimed as he tried to wriggle free from Bruce's grasp, but to no avail.
"Yes you are. Here are your options: take me to Captain America or take me to Captain America," Batman stated bluntly as he pulled Nate up by his bound wrists, eliciting a small squeak from the villain.
"Well that doesn't give me any options you liar! Screw you, there's no way I'm telling you where they are!" Nate cried out in pain as Batman hooked him onto his belt and flew them both into the air.
"Oh, you have Mister Stark as well… If I were to let you go and I found him, which of course I will, then you'd be ruined. That man has more power than even the president, and I'm sure dealing with him in court would not be in your favor," Bruce taunted the villain, who was completely helpless and at the hero's mercy.
"Well I'm going to have to go to court now anyway if you take me in, so what does it matter?" Nate asked with a sigh, letting his body go limp as Batman continued to navigate through the New York City sky.
"Well, look at it this way. Tony has his own brand of justice, and his idea of court is someone known as The Hulk. Do you know who that is, or am I going to have to get him for you?" Bruce questioned as he did several flips in the air, making the mutant sick.
"Oh God! The Hulk! I didn't really think about him… Yeah I really don't want to die by Hulking. That would be terrible! My family wouldn't even know if it was me because I'd be a pulp! Okay, okay, please, I don't want to die like that! I'd rather rot in jail. I'll tell you where they are; just don't feed me to that green blob of terror!" Nate cried out before puking violently from a mixture of pain from his leg wound and dizziness from Batman's flips.
"Direct me where to go," Batman responded with a grin, relieved that his new suit was a success and that he single-handedly saved the Captain.
When Captain America and Iron Man woke up, they were still in the abandoned section of the subway station, but they were seated cozily on a remaining bench. Nate was hogtied in front of them, and his leg was bandaged up. As Tony looked around the room, he caught a glimpse of a man in a black cape flying out of the subway.
"Steve, I'm going to go follow that guy and see what the fuck just happened. Can you take care of this pathetic piece of shit for me?" Tony asked as he got up from the bench and kicked the mutant like a sack of potatoes.
"Of course, Tony. Just don't do anything stupid or kill anyone," Steve said with a relieved smile, thankful that they were safe and out of harm's way.
"When have I ever done anything stupid?" the genius teased as he pressed a kiss to the super-soldier's lips before taking off after the mysterious cape-wearing man.