Jim Gordon drove his BMW down Kane Avenue at high speeds. Even since making Captain, he liked to go out on patrol, and he'd been in the general vicinity when the call of someone driving under the influence of narcotics had come in. Since then, he'd been pursuing the red Porsche. What he hadn't been, however, was ready for what was coming next.
"Dispatch, have we got any special units in the area?" Came the voice of one of the junior beat cops, Bullock, over the radio.
"That's a negative." Came the response of Sarah Essen, the Detective Gordon had arm twisted into manning the radio for the night "What've you got, Harvey?"
"It's a black..." Bullock paused "...Tank."
...
Bruce sat in the cockpit of the car, speeding down the streets. According to the tracking system fitted in every Police car in Gotham, provided by Wayne Enterprises, he was coming up on one of the cars that had stayed on a very erratic course since the chase had began. He couldn't distinguish between one cop car and another without tipping them off to the fact that he was tracking them.
Of course, that didn't make much of a difference now. One of the Police officers had called in his car. The next part wasn't exactly what Bruce had planned for.
"All units, be on the lookout for an 11-54." Came the voice of the woman on dispatch "Car has been described as a black tank."
That was all Bruce needed. Now the Police were going to be looking for him as well. That would make dealing with this more difficult. Especially if he wanted to avoid casualties. After all, casualties in the case of criminals were one thing. In the case of Police officers, it was a whole other ball game.
He sped round the corner, coming up on the car he'd been tracking for the last several minutes. It was a black BMW, one which Bruce had seen before. It was Jim's car.
"Engage voice modulation. Tap into Captain Gordon's radio." Bruce said, getting a response from the computer "Captain Gordon, this is B-"
He froze. He hadn't actually come up with a name yet. He'd meant to say 'a friend' but he slipped up. Finally, he spoke again.
"This is a friend. I'd like to ask you to pull back from your pursuit." Bruce spoke "I'm attempting to minimise collateral damage, and my vehicle is better suited to pursuing that car."
"Who is this? How did you get onto my line?" Came Jim's voice "Dispatch, this is Captain Gordon, someone's-"
"They can't hear you." Bruce cut him off "Captain... Jim... Please, trust me. Your car has a top speed around 120 miles per hours. Mine caps out far above that, and definitely over the Porsche's. You can maybe maintain distance, but I can stop him."
"Why should I trust you?" Jim's response came through as Bruce pulled alongside his car "Near as I can tell, you're a madman in a tank!"
"Right now, this madman in a tank is your best chance of avoiding additional casualties." Bruce said, cutting the line as he pulled ahead "Computer, prepare forward grapnel."
"Warning; Grapnel cable tolerances will be exceeded if operated at these speeds." The computer said "Suggest alternative course of action."
"Override." Bruce said "Lock onto the car so that it won't flip and fire cable!"
A panel above the jet turbine opened, a grapnel launcher raising out of it. On Bruce's monitor, it displayed a targeting system attempting to lock. Finally, the crosshairs lined up with the car and turned red. A second later, the cable fired, puncturing the back of the car.
As it did, Bruce slammed on the breaks, the car stopping almost instantly, the Porsche in front stopping abruptly, as it's wheels and axels kept rolling. Bruce hit a control beside him, the canopy opening as his seatbelt was released, Bruce climbing out and moving to the Porsche, just as the bald man inside, who looked about thirty, exited the car, holding a knife to the woman's throat.
"Leave us alone!" The man yelled, his voice high "She sent me away! I won't let you take me back, I won't let anyone take me back!"
"Let her go." Bruce growled, before yelling "Now!"
"No... I won't..." The man said "If I do that, you'll take me back... Back to Arkham... He'll have me again!"
"Who will have you again?" Bruce asked, slowly reaching behind him "What happened to you? What's your name?"
"Zsasz... Victor Zsasz..." The man said "My wife sent me away... Said I was crazy. Well, who's crazy now?"
Bruce saw Zsasz's hand twitch. If Bruce didn't act now, Zsasz's wife would have her throat torn out by the knife in her husband's hand. There was no choice.
Bruce pulled the shuriken from his belt, quickly throwing it at Zsasz's hand. The man jerked it away from his wife's throat as the projectile cut his hand. As he did, Bruce charged forward, tackling Zsasz to the ground and punching him in the face, knocking him out.
"Oh my god... Thank you!" The woman said, running over to Bruce and hugging him tightly "Thank you so much! He was going to kill me like the others!"
"Others?" Bruce asked, shifting awkwardly to release himself from the woman's grip "What others?"
"Victor Zsasz is a convicted serial killer." Came a voice from behind Bruce, who turned around to see Jim stood there, his gun raised "Keep your hands where I can see them!"
"Lower your weapon, Captain." Bruce growled, narrowing his eyes in the cowl "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'm the one with the gun!" Jim said "Who are you?"
"I told you." Bruce replied "A friend."
Bruce reached down for his belt quickly, Gordon getting a shot off. It impacted Bruce's chest, the suit preventing the bullet from penetrating, but not absorbing all of the impact as Bruce felt one of his ribs crack. He staggered back as he pulled the small pellet he'd been reaching for from one of the pouches on his belt, dropping it and watching as smoke rose from the cracked capsule.
Once he could no longer see Jim, he quickly dashed to the car, half climbing, half falling into the cockpit, pressing the control to close the canopy. As he did, the car engaged the metal bar that acted as a seatbelt.
"Plot a route back to base." Bruce said, moments before bullets began to rain on the shell of the car, Bruce looking up to see a SWAT team stood beside Gordon, all of them firing "Now!"
"Unable to comply." The computer replied "We are surrounded. Risk of collateral damage too high."
"Damn it." Bruce said, looking down at the map on the HUD, turning the car around to face the wall of the car park behind him "Engage attack mode."
"Attack mode initiating." The computer said as the cockpit was enveloped in a red glow, the main body of the car shifting around the cockpit, until Bruce was completely inside the car, a series of computer screens providing him with visual "Attack mode online."
"Firing missiles." Bruce said, seeing a missile launched from the car impact the wall, blowing a hole in it "Disengage attack mode."
"Disengaging." The voice of the computer replied once more, as the car returned to it's original configuration.
Bruce pulled back the lever controlling the afterburner right back, the car accelerating rapidly as he also slammed his foot down hard on the accelerator. In front of him, he could see another wall fast approaching.
"Warning; collision imminent." The computer's voice said.
"Disengage all vocal subroutines!" Bruce said, seeing the same warning flashing up on his terminal "Not quite as annoying..."
The car crashed through the wall, Bruce swinging the car round into the street. Ahead, he could see a police roadblock. He spun the car, turning in the opposite direction.
"Engage auto-drive." Bruce said "Target; home base."
The car accelerated, heading towards the entrance to the chamber under the warehouse located by the river. As it did, an object impacted the strip on the front of the windscreen, cracking it. A second later, the windscreen shattered, Bruce feeling a sharp pain as a bullet tore through his left shoulder.
"Structural integrity compromised." The car said, overriding his earlier command to disable vocal subroutines "Engaging attack mode."
Bruce watched as the car once again encased the cockpit in the main body of the vehicle. As it did, he put his right hand to his left shoulder, beginning to press down hard, screaming in pain as he did.
"Master Bruce?" Came Alfred's voice down the comm. line "What's going on? The readouts show the car's compromised."
"Police snipers..." Bruce choked out "High calibre bullets penetrated the windscreen. I've been shot."
"My god." Alfred said "I'm taking remote control of the car. We'll get you out of that situation then we'll get you medical help."
"No doctors, Alfred." Bruce replied "I can't do this from inside a prison cell."
"This is not a time for debates, young man." Alfred shot back "The Police chopper with the snipers is directly above Wayne Tower. Engaging directed EMP."
On the monitor, Bruce saw the chopper that was pursuing him seemingly drop from the sky, falling about ten feet to the top of Wayne Tower. The men inside would have whiplash, maybe a few broken bones, but they'd survive. On another monitor, Bruce saw the cars pursuing him suddenly cut engines, as a wall came into view, between him and Police.
"Pursuers lost." Alfred said "You're welcome."
Bruce couldn't reply. He was feeling weak from the blood loss. Slowly, the world turned to black around him, Alfred's cries for a response being the last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness.
...
Bruce shot up from his position laying down. He was in a large, white, sterile room, wearing a surgical gown. It smelt of hospital.
He looked around. A number of bloodied gauze pads were around him, along with a drip containing a bloodbag attached to his arm. He looked around for a moment, before clocking Alfred stood by the door.
"This isn't the base." Bruce said to Alfred simply "Where am I?"
"You had a nasty shock, Mr. Wayne." Came the voice of a woman, a woman in her late fifties to early sixties with greying black hair wearing a lab coat coming into view "Your Father never would've been so reckless as to go into the city at night on his own."
"My... You knew my Father?" Bruce asked, confused "Who are you? Where am I?"
"Doctor Leslie Thompkins. You're in my clinic in Burnley." The woman replied "To answer your question, I worked with your Father at the Hospital. You were out in the general area, apparently to visit a club. You were recognised and mugged, then shot. Fortunately, Alfred had been shadowing you and heard the shot. You're lucky the bullet passed straight through or you'd be in a much worse condition."
"Burnley?" Bruce asked, confused "Last I remember I was-"
"Doctor Thompkins said shock was to be expected, sir." Alfred cut in "No one expects you to remember what really happened."
Bruce nodded slowly. He knew Alfred had jumped in to save him from admitting what he'd been doing. He was definitely thankful for that; whatever pain medication Thompkins had given him was affecting his lucidity somewhat, or at least affecting his ability to keep his mouth shut.
"Right." Bruce said, turning to Thompkins "Thanks, Doc. I owe you one."
"A grant would be nice." Thompkins quipped, Bruce nodding slowly to Alfred, who withdrew a chequebook and handed it to Bruce "Wait, I was joking."
"Doc, you just saved my life." Bruce replied "The way I see it, I have a medical bill to pay here."
"Actually, this is a free clinic." Thompkins corrected as Bruce pulled out the cheque and handed it to her, Thompkins' eyes widening as she read it "How many zeroes is that?"
"Seven. Might be eight." Bruce said nonchalantly "Enough to keep the lights on. I just have a favour to ask."
"What sort of favour." Thompkins asked, her eyes narrowing slightly "You forget, I knew your Father. He had a tendency to ask for favours in pulling pranks in his younger days."
"Nothing like that." Bruce said, smirking "I'd just like to ask that you keep my visit here quiet, and that you allow me to come in if I need to see a doctor, off the books. You know how it is; when you're Gotham's most eligible bachelor, you don't get much in the way of privacy."
Thompkins paused for a moment. Finally, she smirked.
"Your Father liked to think he was Gotham's most eligible bachelor too, before he met your Mother. Never did agree with him." She said, chuckling slightly to herself "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Wayne."
"Please," He replied, flashing the smile that had ended up on the cover of so many magazines "Call me Bruce."
...
There we go. Initially, the end of this chapter was to be it's own thing, but I decided this way works better. Next up, we're going to see Gordon begin his investigation into "The man in the tank dressed like a bat." Plus we'll catch up with an old friend haha. R&R, please, no flames. B.