10
FINALITY
The Batman quietly landed on the roof of the building opposite of One Gotham Plaza. He could see down onto the roof of OGP where the Batsignal was shining from. The Batsignal had been Gordon's idea years ago. He had other ways to contact Batman, but the signal was as much for Gotham as it was for Batman. He knew the bat was a powerful symbol to the city. The signal told the citizens of Gotham the Batman was out there. It was a message to the people that preyed on the citizens.
After Gordon had installed the signal Batman had installed pressure pads and signal jammers on every rooftop with a line of site to the OGP. Fear of electronic eavesdropping or snipers had initially been a concern. After the pads were installed there had been one reporter and one sniper within the first year. Batman had engaged and handled both and they spread the word to their respective communities that it was not a good idea to try to spy on police headquarters. Batman looked down to the signal and activated the zoom on his lenses. Detective Bullock was standing by the signal, smoking a cigarette.
Bullock was not a fan of the Batman. He believed the vigilante made a mockery of the police department. Batman was supposed to be a necessity because he stopped crime and criminals when police couldn't. But the police were bound by the rules while Batman wasn't. It was an unfair comparison of abilities when the rules only applied to one. As far as Harvey was concerned, Batman made the public look at the police as weak and ineffective. The citizens of Gotham respected the police less because of Batman. It made things more dangerous for the average cop. Criminals didn't fear the police as much as they should now. The Gotham police department solved hundreds of murders a year. They investigated robberies, rapes, assaults and put the criminals behind bars every day. Yet the officers and detectives responsible for making Gotham safer didn't get the same level of recognition. They hardly ever made the news. Sensationalistic superheroes made the news, not the every day real heroes. His intense dislike of the vigilante was the biggest thorn in his friendship with James Gordon. They had actually almost come to blows on more than one occasion over Gordon's support of the vigilante. Over the years both had learned to avoid the subject as much as possible with each other.
Harvey himself had broken a few rules during his career as a police officer, but it was for the extreme cases, not just whenever he pleased. It was one of the reasons he would never really advance much more in his career as a cop. That was fine with him. He would much rather be on the street actually solving crime than behind a desk doing paperwork. Harvey Bullock was a cop, not an administrator. He respected his superiors and admired their ability to lead. But leading an entire police force was not something he could ever see himself doing. A squad was one thing. An entire department was another.
Bullock hated that he had turned on the signal. He felt like he was betraying the GCPD and himself. But he considered kidnapping of Commissioner Gordon to be an extreme case. Finding Gordon was the number one priority of the department and over a dozen agents from the FBI had also been called in. Still, when it came to the Joker no one had as much experience or expertise as the Batman.
"Detective," the shadowyl voice said.
Bullock turned around and faced the Batman. He had only been this close to him a handful of times over the years and despite his contempt for Batman he still looked at the vigilante in awe. It was easy to see why criminals were terrified. The Batman looked like the supervillian, not the superhero. Those cold, gray eyes (were they just lenses in his mask?) were darker than the cold, gray flesh of his face that was showing. Bullock had often wondered if Batman's entire body was gray. What is he underneath that mask? Mutant? Demon? Bullock shook the thought away and addressed Batman.
"I called you because I need your help. Don't know if you even watch the news but-"
"I know about Gordon missing."
"Right. But I doubt you know about his daughter. We kept that out as best we could. The news only showed her being carried out in an ambulance."
"What about her?" Batman asked, though he thought he already knew the answer. He wasn't prepared to hear what came next.
"Her spinal cord was severed by a gunshot. She's never going to walk again."
Although he showed no visible reaction the news hit Batman as hard as any kick or punch he had ever received. Barbara... no...
"She was also raped," Harvey continued, "We found DNA from three separate semen samples." He handed Batman a file folder with the rap sheets of Arnie, Rick, and Billy. "You should remember these three, Gordon took them down about a year after you appeared. We thought it was the Joker at first, now we're not so sure. These guys have a hell of a motive and the ability to do it. We already got warrants and hit all their places. Nothing. We interviewed her boyfriend and talked to her after she woke up from surgery, neither could tell us a thing. Maybe you can do better."
"Why come to me?"
Harvey shrugged. "After what these guys did my blue brothers might be a little too trigger happy. They know the whole city is after them and will see blue coming a mile away. Might spook 'em enough to kill him. If Jim's still alive I think his best chance is you."
"I'll find him." Batman turned, stepped up on the ledge of the building and jumped off.
"Fuckin' freak," Harvey said to himself. He turned the signal off and walked back inside.
GOTHAM PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
Dick knocked softly on the door to Barbara's private room and stepped in. This was the moment he had been dreading. As soon as he arrived at the hospital he knew something was terribly wrong. Barbara's mother and brother were in the waiting room sitting with Leslie. All three of their faces were puffy and red from crying. He had asked about Barbara's condition, but Barbara had requested that she be the one to tell him. Tell him what, he didn't know.
"Hey," he whispered, unsure of what else to say. He had seen her injured before, but she had never come this close to death. While he was glad she had survived, seeing the love of his life lying in a hospital bed surrounded by monitors and machines was almost overwhelming. He had expected that Barbara had been crying as well. But it didn't look like she had. She looked at him with a stone cold expression he had never seen before. She could be cold when angry, but this was different. She was different.
"It was him," Barbara stated. She didn't say it with anger or any emotion at all. She stated it simply as a fact. Barbara was beyond emotion at this point. The brilliant, analytical part of her mind had taken over to defend her from the onslaught of emotion from the attack. Her mind had shut off her feelings to protect her. "It was the Joker and-"
"Babs, we don't have to talk about this right now. Let's just-
"No! You do not tell me what conversation we have right now. I am here because I listened to you. You listen to me now. You listen to me."
Dick nodded. "I'm listening."
"It was the Joker," Barbara continued. "I opened the door because I thought it was you. He shot me with a tranquilizer. I was raped. His men took turns raping me." Barbara saw Dick's face contort in anger. His fists clenched and his body had a tremble go through it. She didn't care.
"Joker filmed his men raping me. He made my dad watch. My father was forced to watch me gang raped. And when they were done the Joker made my dad shoot me in the stomach point blank. I remember every second of this." She stared hard into Dick's eyes as she talked. Her emotions were coming to the surface now. She silently forced him to look at her. To see and hear her pain. "They left me for dead and took my father. Did they tell you what happened when he shot me?"
"They said you wanted to tell me," Dick said. He was doing his best to not break down in front of Barbara. To be strong for her.
"The bullet severed my spinal cord. I'll never walk again."
Dick couldn't hold his emotions any longer. Tears welled up in his eyes and started flowing. "Oh God..."
Barbara watched as he cried. He sat on the edge of the bed and she took his hand as he finally released the stress of the past two days. He composed himself a minute later and looked at her.
"I am so sorry," Dick said as he wiped his eyes.
"This happened because we didn't take him down when we had the chance. This happened because we listened to Bruce," Barbara said. "I was his next victim."
Dick nodded. "I know. I should have gotten him when I had the chance. I should have listened to you."
"Dick, do you love me?" Barbara asked.
"What? Of course-"
"No, don't say the automatic response. Don't say it because you're supposed to because I'm here and you feel sorry for me. Do you truly, genuinely love me?"
Dick stared hard into Barbara's eyes. "I love you more than anything."
"Y35GRW."
"What?" Dick asked, confused.
"That's the license plate number to a U-Haul truck on my street. I recognized every other vehicle except that one. I'm sure it's what the Joker used. I didn't tell the police. I'm not going to tell Bruce."
"Why not?"
"Because the police will get my dad killed and Bruce won't do it."
"Do what?"
Barbara squeezed Dick's hand. "It's time, Dick. No more victims," she said. "You need to kill the Joker."
Dick stared at Barbara for a few seconds before responding. He finally nodded. "I will. I'll do it."
