Chapter 29
Lieutenant James Gordon took in the midnight vista of Gotham City from the top of City Hall, the endless sea of towers and lights stretching out in every direction. The warm spring night and the stiff breeze combined to make for a very pleasant experience, as the normal stench of the streets was all but nonexistent here. The distant indistinct sounds of city life seeped up from below—the constant rumble of traffic, muffled by the hum of the building's electrical systems around him, while far above the occasional thunder of air traffic trickled down. He looked down at his watch. He's late.
Leaning forward, he squinted: a flashing series of lights was snaking through the dark alleys before, and the familiar wail of a siren came into focus. An involuntary shudder passed through him; without thought, Gordon took out a cigarette and lit it. Need to cut back, Jimbo, his mind chided him as he inhaled. He didn't feel any more relaxed as he exhaled. Even as the horrors of recent days faded quickly into memory, Gordon found himself unable to shake an ineffable sense of unease. He sighed. Only yesterday it seemed things were finally turning around. Now…
…Now, he didn't know what to think. On the surface, things were more or less back to normal. Sure, crime was on the upswing, but that was normal for Gotham. There was no one thing that stood out as an immediate problem, but in a way that was the issue: instead of making progress, as it looked like it could happen for a few shining weeks after the Arkham attack, everything seemed settling back into that inexorable state of decay. Now, the future never seemed so uncertain, and a recent editorial in the paper had managed to crystallize the issue that weighed in his mind and, he was sure, the minds of many others: What Next?
From the corner of his eye, he saw darkness moving across darkness. It quickly took an ominous yet familiar shape. Perhaps I'll find out. Minutes later, the darkness gracefully circled above, slowing down till it fell with a solid thud twenty feet away. Gordon took one last drag and put it out with his shoe, turning to face him, a calm expectation filling him.
"Sorry I'm late," the familiar, raspy voice said from beneath his dark mask, the hint of a smile on his face.
"Better late than never." I have got to learn how to joke better!
Fortunately, the Batman was all business. "Any more loose ends?" he asked.
Gordon thought for a moment. "Isley's still in Arkham, so I guess we should be thankful for small favors." If the Batman was angry about how justice was thwarted, he didn't show it. "There are rumors the Feds tried to take her away a week ago, but far as I know she's still there. Doctor Strange has the place locked down tighter than the seals of your suit," he said in another lame attempt to make a joke. The Batman did not smile. Grimacing, he continued: "No one wants to talk about it anymore, 'gotta move on', and all that—"
"—No one wanted a trial, that's why they sabotaged it," Batman said bluntly. He paused in reaction to Gordon's look of puzzlement. "Think about it, Lieutenant—the Feds either fell for Ivy's subterfuge, or tried to recruit her for their own purposes, maybe get access to her scientific knowledge. They hoped to snatch her away once the public attention was no longer hot, but somehow city officials sabotaged it, because the last thing the Mayor and company want is for a public trial to reveal how ineffectual they were. As long as Ivy's locked away in Arkham, the Feds can't use her against them." The Batman smiled—not a pleasant sight. "Lucky us. Or me."
Something about Batman's argument didn't quite ring true, but overall it was as good a theory as any. "Then, no wonder they tried to sell it that Green Dawn was fronting for you—that way, the Feds could take her away and let you take the blame for Green Dawn." He tapped the roof with his foot. "Some guys—well, okay, lots—wondered about you after your business downstairs. But you're on the level again," he said with a wink.
Batman nodded. "Then I owe you one. Thanks."
Gordon shook his head. "Was anyone in the City or the Feds trying to stop Green Dawn?" He sighed. "All those lives lost, because of bureaucratic infighting. It's enough to make me want to put on the suit and break some heads."
"It isn't as easy as it looks," the Batman said dryly.
"I suppose not," Gordon said. He turned away, looking morosely back at the lights below. "Hell, she may have escaped trial, but if what you said is true, everyone also has an incentive to shut Isley up permanently. I won't be surprised if she's 'killed while trying to escape' before the Fourth of July."
"I hope not," Batman said. "Eventually Poison Ivy must receive justice, but lynching her wouldn't be it."
"I'm… surprised to hear you say that," Gordon said, and he was. Why does he call Isley, 'Poison Ivy'? And—
"I don't kill," Batman said bluntly. "I also don't approve of others doing it, either, even in the name of justice."
"Sometimes, it's necessary," Gordon said distantly, as the faces of those he had killed in the line of duty flashed before his eyes. Blinking, he quickly said: "I understand what you're saying, but I wish there was a trial, at least we could start to get some answers about Green Dawn, their link with the Arkham attackers—"
"—I can answer that for you: there's no link between Ivy and the League of Shadows."
Oh really? And how do you know that? Gordon turned to face the Batman, whose expression was unreadable. "Well, that answers one question," he said, waiting.
The Batman nodded. "And leads to another: how did I know that?"
"I'm listening."
For a while Batman just stared at him. Then, suddenly, he sighed and seemed to slump. The effect was uncanny: for a moment, he no longer seemed like a superhuman demigod with superhuman abilities. Now, although his face was still hidden and the contours of his body unchanged, he looked like nothing but an ordinary man in a suit.
"You've gone farther than anyone, putting your career, even your life, on the line in trusting me," the Batman said softly. His voice was different: no longer gruff and laconic, there was a surprising eloquence to it. "Without you, we couldn't have stopped the League of Shadows—the group that tried to poison Gotham's water supply—nor could we have stopped Green Dawn."
"Trust me, you deserve more of the credit than I do," Gordon replied.
"I do trust you, but that's easy. You don't know me, after all."
"That problem has crossed my mind on more than one occasion," Gordon said wryly. "If you did tell me, I promise—"
"—No," Batman interjected, his voice suddenly hard again. "My identity must remain secret. But I must tell you more, because there are questions in your mind. Coincidences that must be explained." He paused for emphasis. "Trust that must be reforged."
Gordon nodded, trying to keep the thrilling sense of discovery at bay. Summarizing months of speculation and questioning, he said: "You show up out of nowhere, and with your amazing ninja-like skills take down Boss Falcone and Judge Faden, just like that. And then, a few weeks later, a group of whackos shows up and almost carries out the worst act of terrorism in history." The Batman said nothing, which he took as a sign that he was on the right track. He continued: "You stopped them, but it was more than that; you weren't fazed by what was happening, when everyone else didn't have a clue. You had a way to counter their fear drug, you knew how to stop their plan."
Now the Batman nodded. "Almost as if I knew what they were going to do before it happened. And how could I have known that?"
Time to lay the cards on the table. If it's the wrong answer, one of us may not be walking out of here alive. "Were you a member of their group? This 'League of Shadows'?"
For the longest time he didn't answer. Finally he said: "Yes. I was."
"I see." Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…
The Batman held his hands up, almost as if he were pleading. "I can't say anything about myself, but I am a real person underneath this mask. A real person, but not a normal person, because obviously a normal person doesn't decide to become the Dark Knight." He smiled, and this time it was charming instead of chilling. "All I can say is, for most of my life I had a…a need, to stop injustice. A need which goes beyond the ordinary things a person can do. I traveled the world, looking in every corner, in the shadows and dark places, searching for something—anything—that would make it possible to do what I so desperately needed to do."
"Okay." It was all he could say. "And you found this, this League of Shadows?"
"I did, or perhaps they found me. One does not join a group like the League on a whim. Perhaps we found each other. In any case, they trained me: to fight, to hide, to use fear as a weapon."
"And who were these enemies you were planning to fight?"
"All those who perpetuate injustice," Batman said dreamily, almost as if by rote. "I did not realize until the last moment, that they believed modern society itself was the source of all injustice in today's world, that to destroy injustice it would be necessary to destroy society." He paused, taking in Gordon's stunned look. "As the final test before I became part of their group, they asked me to kill a criminal they had captured. I refused, and in the attempt to escape I destroyed their headquarters… and thought I had killed their leader."
Now Gordon was indignant—or was it terrified? "I thought you said you didn't kill!"
"I didn't do it intentionally," the Batman said apologetically. "All I wanted to do was escape." Gordon glared at him, but said nothing. He continued: "So I return to Gotham. As part of the lessons I learned from the League, I decided I would fight my war against criminality under the guise of something else." He suddenly spread his arms and cape and began flapping, a comic imitation of a bat which caused a giggle to escape Gordon. "But I didn't realize that the League was still intact, that their leader was someone else, that they decided to carry out their plans to destroy Gotham."
"Did you know about their plan?" If you say no, I don't think I'd believe you.
The Batman was silent again. "I knew that Gotham was on their list of potential targets for attack, but I did not know what their plan was. I originally wanted to stop Falcone, because I knew he was a top criminal figure here, but I did not know that one of his associates, Doctor Crane, was actually working for the League." The Batman smiled again. "Your partner, Flass, actually put me on the trail that led to the League."
Gordon rubbed his temples; it was so much to take in. Is he telling the truth? "So let me get this straight, you wanted to become a vigilante, and decided to go looking for a group that would help you do it. You found one, only it was actually a doomsday cult, which you thought you destroyed when you escaped. Only you didn't, and as you began your new crusade against crime, they followed you here to carry out their attack. Did I leave anything out?"
"I never wanted to be a vigilante," he said mildly. "I only wanted to bring about justice."
Gordon responded acidly: "I suppose a career in law enforcement was out of the question?"
"Let's just say that for me, sometimes the wheels of justice roll a little too slowly."
Gordon glared at him. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"No, merely an opinion." For a moment Gordon was possessed by a desire to strike the Batman, but he realized it would not solve his dilemma. He carefully considered his next words, for they could destroy their partnership.
"Look, Batman, whoever you are—that's not important. I know you have your reasons, and I respect that. I also realize," he said with a crooked grin of his own, "that sometimes you have to bend the rules to get things done. Lord knows how many times I've had to do it. And for now, I'll agree with the idea that sometimes you have to break them, in order to achieve a larger goal. It's not right, but what's right in this town?" He paused to take a deep breath. "But you remember my little speech about escalation, right?"
"Never forgot it."
"You say Isley wasn't part of the League of Shadows, right?"
"She was never at any of the meetings I was at," Batman said, chuckling.
"This isn't funny," Gordon said, trying not to laugh himself. "Okay, but don't you see? First you, then her. Who knows what kind of influence you might have had in spurring her on, at least unconsciously?"
Batman thought about it for a while. "Impossible to say."
"No kidding," he responded automatically. Before he could rant any further, the Batman interrupted.
"I've observed Ivy up close and in action," he said. "Ideologues and extremists are often brilliant, unbalanced individuals. I very much doubt I was the reason she began her terror campaign. Maybe someone asked her to join them, or maybe she finally got angry about some environmental outrage and decided that was the last straw. Hell, maybe someone slapped her on the butt and set her off." He shrugged. "She had the knowledge to do what she did for a long time, it was only a question of motive, circumstance and timing. The only way we'll learn why she did it all is if she tells us. But I wouldn't hold my breath."
Gordon was forced to concede that Batman's answer was a good one. But instead of saying so, he continued with his original point: "Whatever goaded Isley, or Ivy/Green Dawn/whatever on, isn't the issue. The question is the future: who knows how many other warped minds are out there, thinking the same way? How many of them might be inspired by your acts to act extremely themselves? I'm not sure exchanging mobsters with costumed freaks is a good deal."
Batman said: "Good question. Well, if you think I'm doing more harm than good, just say so, and I'll hang up my cape."
Even before Batman spoke, Gordon knew how he would answer a statement like that. The Batman was incredibly useful, even though his actions were technically illegal, and from the beginning Gordon had no illusions about what he was agreeing to. Am I willing to get my hands dirty, to achieve a good end? He decided he was.
Clearing his throat, Gordon said: "No, you don't have to do that. But surely you see how it could be an issue?"
"I see it, I just don't think it will happen. Crime is a tough enough business without putting on a show. For most of them, it's just about the money. Whatever happens, we can handle it, I promise you."
"Very well," Gordon said reluctantly. "But there is one last thing we have to resolve."
"What is it?"
Gordon took a deep breath, and said: "We're partners, and I trust you, but I'm sure you realize that I am taking a big leap of faith with you." Batman nodded silently. "So as long as you stay within the limits you uphold for yourself, we're good. But if you ever cross that line, then I will have no choice but to bring you down."
"I would expect nothing less."
Gordon thought he might have objected at the implied lack of trust, but in retrospect he shouldn't have. We both have a license to trust each other, but it's not absolute, for either of us.
Gordon was a man who expected other men to live up to their word, and as long as Batman did so, that was that. Nodding, he held out his hand. Batman took it, and the two men shook, hard.
"Partners," Gordon said.
"And maybe friends," Batman replied.
Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Am I really your friend?"
"I'd trust my life with you."
"But not your name." Gordon smiled.
Batman smiled back. "Someday, Lieutenant. When the time is right."
"Alright then, get some sleep, you know as well as I do the bad guys are feeling their britches lately."
"They'll be sorry soon enough, We'll see to it."
"No doubt."
Batman backed away. "Good night, Lieutenant Gordon." He then jumped off the building, disappearing into the night.
Exiting City Hall and making his way home, Gordon tried to digest everything he had learned that night. Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that the Batman was not a Boy Scout, but a recovering terrorist? That had been a hard pill to swallow. And he knew for a fact that the Batman had hid more than just his name. There's one other thing, some secret he's holding back, I'm sure. Perhaps he'd ask DA—or now just, Attorney—Dawes, for her insights some day.
For the first time, Gordon felt pity for the mysterious stranger. What could possibly have made him do this? Would he ever be able to have a normal life? Even in a messed-up place like Gotham, plenty of people still could eek out a happy life or so. A chilly premonition filled him: the Batman's life did not start out happily, and probably would end in the same way. But that's his choice.
Aside from the mystery of Batman himself (one which Gordon was willing to let go), the biggest question was for the future. He still wasn't convinced by the Batman's response, and he continued to wonder: would other criminals follow Isley's path, and elevate their criminality in response to the Batman's actions? Would they even be able to stop the crime wave now raging? Maybe not, but like his mysterious masked partner, Gordon would go down fighting before admitting defeat.
"I'm doing this for both of you," he said softly to his sleeping daughter and wife as he entered his house, got changed and went to bed. "For all the innocent in Gotham. I'll be there." And so will the Batman, he thought dreamily as he dozed off into sleep.
The End
