In Batman's Shadow

Chapter Four

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I drove back home in the Jeep, and walked up to the Manor. Alfred was inside, sweeping up the vase.

"Hi Alfred," I said

"Hello Master Ib'n," Alfred replied, "Your father is expecting you in the Batcave."

"Do I have to go?" I asked

"Yes," Alfred returned to his sweeping

I walked to the grandfather clock, and turned the numbers to 10:47 PM, the exact time my grandparents were murdered. The clock slid open, and I walked down the stairs to the cave.

"Hello, Ib'n," Dad said

I saw Dad was sitting in front of his giant computer, wearing his bat-suit with the hood down.

"Hi Dad," I said

"Alfred and I had a long talk while you were gone. It's about time I told you some things. Walk with me."

****

Dad and I got up, and he showed me around the cave; there was nothing there I hadn't seen before, Dad's trophies, costumes and weapons of villains he had fought, and souvenirs from his adventures, but then he took me to a very dark part of the cave I had never gone to before. There was a large metal door in one of the cave walls. Dad placed his hand on the door knob, and I heard the sound of several bolts unlocking. We then walked through the door, which led to a spiral staircase, going down very deep. It took Dad and I about five minutes to walk down.

"Dad, where are we going?" I asked

"You'll see."

****

Dad pressed a button on his belt, and lights turned on, revealing a large green lake. It was bubbling, as if it was boiling, and I could smell burning.

"Son, this is a Lazarus pit," Dad explained, "One of the few left on earth. It has the ability to heal anyone on the brink of death, but with the side-effect of temporary insanity."

"Did you create it?"

"No, I had a team of Wayne Foundation engineers re-route another Lazarus pit into here, so one of my enemies couldn't get it. A sinister man, an immortal eco-terrorist named Ra's Al Ghul. That man is your grandfather."

I gasped. I had heard of Ra's Al Ghul (everyone at Jonah Hex High School had) but knowing I was related to him…

"You see, Ra's daughter Talia and I were married, very briefly."

"Did Ra's Al Ghul know?" I asked

"Of course. He performed the ceremony. We gave it a shot, but we realized that with myself being The Batman, and her being the head of the League of Shadows, our son would be in too much danger."

"So Talia is my mother?" I asked

"Yes. The marriage broke up, and Talia offered to take you, said she'd never ask me for anything again. But I knew the League of Shadows was no place for a child, and I kept you."

****

This conversation really changed the way I thought about Dad. The idea that he had chosen to keep me, when he could have easily let Talia take me, showed that he did care.

"I chose not to tell you about her because of her involvement with a criminal organization," Dad explained, "She was a cog in several of her father's schemes, and I didn't want you hating her."

"I understand, Dad."

"I tried to get her to give up her life of crime, I really did try, but her father's word was final."

"I see…Dad, I've always wondered about my name. Ib'n Al Xuffasch, kids used to tease me about it, joking that I was the son of Ra's Al Ghul. Is there any…"

"Ra's Al Ghul means 'head of the demon'. Ib'n Al Xuffasch means 'son of the bat'. Aside from the language and the common preposition, they're nothing alike."

"Good to know."

****

Dad and I walked back to the main area of the Batcave. Dad sat down at his computer, and began typing.

"Is it cool if I go out again?" I asked

"Sure," Dad says, "I have to work on the CADMUS II investigation. Sore Throat said that he had information…"

"Sore Throat's game is entrapment," I replied, "He tried to shoot Quentin…"

"I know. I'll deal with him. And Ib'n…"

I turned around, and Dad tossed me a small package. I opened it up, and a batarang was inside.

"Just in case you ever run into any more trouble tonight."

****

I walked up the steps, and made sure no one was in the living room. It was just Jill Palmer and Alfred. I opened the clock, and stepped out.

"Hey Jill," I said

"Hi Ib'n," Jill replied

"Is everything alright, Master Ib'n?" Alfred asked

"Fine," I replied, pocketing the batarang, "Jill, you want to go down to the docks, watch the boats come in?"

"OK."

"Cool. Jeep or Porsche?"

****

We took the Jeep, and drove down to Gotham's docks. We walked along the shipyards, waiting for the delivery submarine from Atlantis to arrive; it only came once a month, but when it did, it was amazing. As we strolled down the pier, we felt a slight tremor, and saw the water bubbling. Suddenly, a ship resembling an armored narwhal ascended to the surface, and the side panel opened, revealing six burly Atlantians, carrying mail sacks and packages. They loaded them all up into one big mail truck, and then departed.

"That's always awesome to watch," I said

"I know. Ib'n, have you ever been to Atlantis? Because the last time I was there…"

I held up my hand, signaling for Jill to stop talking.

"Jill, those men are trying to rob the truck!" I whispered

"Oh!" Jill held up her wrist-gun, "I'll get them."

"No, don't," I said, "I'll get them."

"Should we mask?" Jill asked

"Definitely."

I reached into my jacket, and took out Mr. Sage's mask. I placed it on my face, and the chemicals in my skin triggered the adhesion. As soon as I was masked, I took out my Batarang. Jill reached under her shirt, and pulled up her cowl over her face, leaving only her mouth and eyes exposed.

"Stay here," I ordered

****

I leapt down to the docks, right by the two guys who were about to rob the truck.

"Hey!" I yelled

The guys turned to me, and gasped.

"It's the Question!" one exclaimed

I saw the fear wearing off, and they reached for their guns. Before they could shoot, I held up my batarang, which froze them stiff.

"It ain't the Question! It's the bat!"

I threw the batarang, knocked their guns out of their hands, and caught it; I had used Batarangs before, when Dad was away; it was one of the many things I naturally inherited from him.

"This time it's not aimed at your hands!" I warned

This didn't work as I think it did; the guys approached me in combat, and I held up my fists. One guy punched me, knocking me off the pier, and into the water. I was under for several seconds, and while I was under, I saw several bright lights flashing from above, and then heard a loud splash. I got up, and a strong arm helped me out of the water. I got up on the pier, soaking wet.

"You OK kid?" came a deep voice

I rubbed the water out of my eyes, and saw it was Mr. Dugan, the wrestling coach/engineering teacher. He was quite big, built like a linebacker. He used to be a crime-fighter S.T.R.I.P.E., using an armored battle suit. I think he did something before that, but he never talked about it.

"Yes, Mr. Dugan," I replied

"I got your boomerang," he handed me my batarang

"Thanks, sir," I said

Mr. Dugan leaned in closer.

"Ib'n Al Xuffasch, is that you?" he whispered

"Yes, sir," I replied, "How could you tell?"

"You're the only teenager with that much respect," Mr. Dugan said, "I've got some spare clothes in my car, if you want to get something dry on."

"That'd be great."

****

Mr. Dugan led me to his car, with Jill following us.

"Almost there, kid," Mr. Dugan said, "It's that black car with the whitewall tires."

Mr. Dugan's car turned out to be a '57 Chevy, with the words 'Star Rocket Racer' written on the passenger door. The boot opened by remote, and I started looking inside for clothes.

"That would look good on you," Jill said, pointing to a light blue shirt

"Yeah…"

I took the shirt, and a pair of khaki trousers.

"I think these will fit me," I said, "Mr. Dugan, do you have a belt I could borrow?"

"Yeah, it's under the trench coat."

I took out the belt (It was weird, there were patches of its original red leather stuck to its now brown leather, and the buckle was circular), and walked into the car to change. I came out wearing the light blue shirt, the khaki trousers, and the belt. I had my wet clothes rolled up in a towel.

"Be careful with the belt, Ib'n," Mr. Dugan said, "It belonged to a friend of mine."

"I'll get it back to you as soon as I can," I said

"Nah, it's cool, you keep it."

****

Jill and I walked back to my car.

"Mr. Dugan sure is nice," Jill said

"Yeah, he's one of the few teachers who actually try to help his students," I replied

"Do you want to go to Ted's Pizza?" Jill asked

"Yeah, sure," I said, "I'd really like to go somewhere with heating."