"Is this going to be a problem? Are you going to be a problem, Dick Grayson?"
The boy sat quietly, staring straight ahead as Batman's car sped through the darkened streets. For the second time in as many days he was just inches away from the Batman. He was starting to get used to his frightening countenance. But where last night he was trying to offer some comfort, tonight an obvious frustration simmered behind his mask.
"What was your plan?" Batman continued.
"Antagonize every gang in Gotham until you found the one connected to your parents' murder?"
"I didn't have any other ideas," the boy grumbled.
"I did," Batman snapped. The police do. That's why they should be out here, and you should be at the hospital. I can't do my job if I have to look out for you too."
"I can't just do nothing, Batman. I saw him."
"And he saw you. You're the only person who can tie this man to your parents' murder. That makes you a target. If he finds you before I find him, you might be the next body to drop. You need to think with your head, not with your heart."
"Everyone keeps telling me that," Dick moped. "You, Bruce Wayne, Doctor Thompkins…"
"So listen to them. We care about you."
The car slowed to a halt.
"We're here."
Leslie Thompkins ran out to the car wrapped in a scarf and a hastily-buttoned coat.
"There you are. Please, come inside."
Dick turned to look once more at Batman as he shuffled into the hospital."
"Gordon said he had a man bringing the boy around," Leslie said. "Imagine the shock when I realized it was you. I should thank you. I'm sure you are busy with… the other things you do around town."
"Just keep an eye on Dick. These early days are usually the hardest for people in this position."
"My thoughts exactly."
They should be. They're your words, Bruce thought.
He produced a phone from his belt and handed it to her.
"There's a number already on this. I have to go. But if you need anything, call."
"Morning, Martinez."
Sarah Essen swept past the bullpen on her way to her desk. The precinct was a relic of prewar America, with only the most garish aspects of Art Nouveau. Small wall-mounted lamps struggled to light the space, creating a dim and moody atmosphere. Essen had to wonder why everyone in this town kept their offices so dark.
She put her bags down and headed straight for the coffee pot. She could catch bad guys a lot easier once she had her caffeine fix.
A stack of papers rounded the corner near the water tank. Peering around one side of it was the tousled brown hair and severe brow of Howard Branden, the captain of Gotham's Strategic Response Group.
"Well, well. If it isn't the new blood. Morning, Essen."
"Morning. What is all that stuff, Branden?"
"Inventory logs. The Commissioner thinks some of our boys have been joyriding with department hardware, so everything gets counted. Don't know how SRG managed to land that job, but here we are."
Sarah put her coffee down.
"How does a cop steal from the cops?"
"When they ain't a cop no more," Branden said.
"After that business with the Riddler, Mayor Reál thought the GCPD needed an external audit."
He crunched on the words for a bit before continuing.
"Anybody caught with their pants down got shown the door. Next thing you know, some equipment turns up missing from ESU's armory."
"You think some of the dirty cops decided to sweeten their severance packages on the way out?"
"Thus, the paperwork. We gotta figure out what's missing and who had access. And hope they haven't sold them on the streets."
Sarah's eyebrows rose.
"Is that a concern?"
"If you lost your job all of a sudden, what would you do to keep bread on the table?"
"Not steal from the police, I'd hope."
"Heh. Guess that's why you're here and they're not."
"Do I hear Detective Essen out there?"
Commissioner Loeb bounded from his office to join the two cops.
"I'll see you around, Essen," Branden smirked, taking his leave.
"Sir." Essen stiffened.
"Oh, please there's no need for that. I simply wanted to formally introduce myself. I've read your file of course - exemplary stuff. How is Gotham treating you so far?"
"Oh," she relaxed a bit. "It's fine. Still plenty to get used to. And this Grayson case is keeping me pretty occupied so far."
"Ah, yes. That. Well, the wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn! I was actually hoping to discuss something else with you. I'm invited to a gala of sorts at the Gotham Mint this Saturday, and I thought it might be good for some of our best and brightest to attend alongside."
He puffed his chest.
"As a show of unity and strength, you understand. I've already tapped Gordon, and I'm on my way to see where Chief McKenzie is now to extend the same courtesy."
"Saturday? That's Christmas Eve, sir."
Loeb chuckled.
"Of course, my apologies. Did you have other plans?"
Essen caught sight of Jim Gordon leaning out of the doorway to the copy room, making expectant eye contact with her. He moved his chin as if to beckon her inside.
"Now that I think of it, not really. I guess I just would have been home. So why not?"
At least I wouldn't be alone, she thought, still looking at Gordon.
"Forward me the details, when you get a chance," she said quickly, moving towards the copy room. I have some leads I need to run down."
"So you got roped into Christmas Eve at the mint too, eh?" Gordon sighed as she closed the door behind her.
"Well, you can't really say no to the PC on your first week, can you?" Essen put a hand on her hip. "What's your excuse?"
"Loeb doesn't really give me the option to opt out of these kinda things. He figures the more of an eye he keeps on me, the less time I spend 'enabling' the Batman. I just hope the stuffed shirt at this awards ceremony doesn't keep us too late. Barbara's going to be mad enough as it is."
"Barbara?"
"My daughter," Gordon said. "It's just the two of us ever since her mother left the picture, but this job keeps me away from her too much. We're gonna spend Christmas Day together though."
"That sounds nice. The only family I have is back home, so I'm not really sure how the holidays will find me this year… but, I assume you had something else for me besides an excuse to ditch Loeb?"
"Yeah. Let's compare notes on the Haly's Circus case. Statements come in from all our circus folk?"
"Yup. No motives stick out yet. Seems the Flying Graysons were pretty well-liked among the performers. There are some… irregularities in the finances though."
"Finances?"
Sarah shrugged.
"Mr. Haly was pretty cagey about it, but maybe it's the sort of tax hanky panky all traveling circuses deal in. We'll need to take a closer look regardless."
Gordon frowned.
"Hm. People have done worse things than this for money. Let's work that angle."
"Will do," she said. She turned to leave, then stopped.
"Hey, speaking of enabling Batman, have you heard anything from him about this investigation?"
Gordon shook his head.
"Other than that scare with the son last night, no. He's… a quiet guy when he doesn't have anything to say."
"Everything alright, sir? You seem more aloof than usual."
Bruce Wayne shuffled uncomfortably in the back seat of his town car.
"I'm angry, Alfred."
"Well, that's hardly breaking news, is it?"
"With myself. I'm letting my personal feelings get in the way of this case."
"Is it wrong for Batman to care for a boy's safety?" The older man asked.
"The Batman has to stand for everyone. Not just one boy."
"And what if, of all the people in this city, that one boy is the person who needs Batman the most right now?"
Across town, Leslie and Dick were at the mall.
"I just want you to feel comfortable while you're staying with us, Richard, as brief as it may be."
"I'm sorry I ran away, doctor Thompkins."
"Put it behind you, dear. You've been through a lot of late. Now; the toy stores are rather picked over this close to Christmas, but if there's something here you think might help you pass the time, feel free to pick it out."
Dick wandered about for a bit until he came to the sport section. A solid aluminum bat hung on a peg just above his eye level.
"That baseball bat, and a glove. My dad and I used to play catch. It would… help me remember him."
"That sounds like a very nice tribute. Perhaps you and one of the other boys in the wing can play catch - not in the hallway though!"
As dusk settled over the city and Leslie and Dick made their way back to the hospital, the flurries of snow escalated into a full-blown storm. Street lights cast their glow into flakes as they fell fast and heavy, suffusing the city in a strange, luminous twilight. Sarah Essen was carefully driving home in the deteriorating conditions, when a voice came across the scanner.
"All units, possible 10-31 at 36 Burnley, potential break-in. Looks like a silent alarm at Wayne Enterprises Biomedical."
"Wayne Enterprises?" She murmured. She knew the Waynes were a big deal in the city. Might be worth a look.
"Dispatch, this is Detective Essen, off-duty but in the area. I'll drive over and wait for backup."
Essen pulled into a side alley near the building, only to find she wasn't alone. A black muscle car was parked further down the way, and its driver was now illuminated in her headlights.
"Oh. Hello there," she said as she emerged from the car.
"Detective."
"I guess you heard the dispatch too?"
He nodded.
"I was in the area. Thought it was worth investigating."
"Well," she said carefully. "Protocols say I shouldn't go in without backup. But they don't say anything about bat vigilantes. What do you say we clear this place together?"
He stared at her for what felt like a while. Then he gestured at the side doorway to the building.
"The intruder used some kind of explosive reaction to cave the door in. It's coated in frost."
Essen took the lack of objection as a sign that she was allowed to approach.
"Liquid Nitrogen?"
"Perhaps."
He carefully moved the door off its hinges so they could make their way inside. They were met with a darkened hallway, a number of windowed doors leading deeper into the facility on either side.
"You take the left. I'll take the right."
Essen nodded, and they separated.
Batman stepped carefully around an area of broken glass on the floor, scanning with his flashlight. Something had definitely happened in this place, perhaps not moments ago. It felt strange, almost wrong, to be inside a Wayne Enterprises building like this. This should be Bruce Wayne's domain. And Bruce Wayne and Batman had to be separate. Or so he believed...
He needed to focus. The air was damp and cool, not the way a lab with sensitive biological samples ought to be maintained. He wondered if someone had tampered with the building's climate control.
Then the circle of light fell over the prone form of a security guard, who suddenly wriggled at the new stimulus.
Alive. Good.
He started to say something, but Batman raised a glove finger to his mouth, instructing him not to make a sound. The vigilante quickly observed his injuries. A thick icy layer over his feet had him stuck to the floor.
Frozen. By the same compound they used on the door.
"Help will be here soon," he whispered. "Are they still in the building?"
The guard nodded frantically. He pointed to the left, and Batman silently glided in that direction.
This side of the building was used for storage. All sorts of things Sarah couldn't pronounce, with warning labels that took up most of the container. Perhaps someone was looking for materials to make drugs.
Every metal surface in the room was cold to the touch and her hand came away slick with condensation.
It practically feels like I'm outside, she shivered. What's going on here?
She rounded the corner to see Batman crouched in a doorway. He nodded for her to keep going while he flanked. Found someone injured, he mouthed.
Then they heard a noise off to the side. Heavy footfalls, not unlike the reinforced boots Batman used to wear for protection. A third figure moved out into the aisle between shelves, evidently not seeing Batman or Essen yet.
Essen could only see their back, but they appeared to be tall and broad. Their body was obscured by heavy coveralls and a fur-trimmed hooded parka. Over the jacket they wore a backpack with twin compressed air tanks. In one hand they held a metal briefcase marked with the Wayne Industries logo.
Essen drew her gun and leveled it at the stranger.
"GCPD, Freeze!"
The figure slowly turned, revealing a pair of red lights glowering beneath the hood. They brandished what looked like a paint sprayer at her.
"My sentiments exactly."
"No!"
Batman leapt in front of Sarah, and immediately felt an unnatural chill permeate through his cape. He landed awkwardly with a crack as hundreds of black shards scattered away from him. Flash-frozen chunks of fabric from his suit. His breath came harsh in visible clouds of vapor from his mouth.
The stranger fired their device again, and Batman saw a beam of thinly phosphorescent blue fluid coat the ceiling above them, causing beans to groan and buckle. The air in the room filled with a dense fog.
"Do not pursue me," their voice rumbled through some sort of amplifier. "Gotham will not deny me what is mine."
Essen paid him no mind as he vanished into the mist.
"Batman? Are you okay? Jesus."
He heard her shouting for an ambulance into her radio as he faded to black.