The Phoenix Behind The Truth
Disclaimer: I don't own the BOP actors, writers, or set (since they took it off). But If I did this is what it would be like! ^.^
Warning: This is a hardcore BOP fanfic! With actual facts from the comics and show to combine together and bring peace to between BOP comic lovers and BOP show lovers. Enjoy!
Special Thanks: To my twin sis, Maria for pointing out the obvious. To John Stinizi (I know I'm spelling your last name wrong but you know it's you) for convincing me to take on the character of Bruce Wayne. To Trace Messmore for role-playing as Bruce (what? You guys think I actually know this guy?). Last but not Least, Shadow Walker for peer editing my work. Thanks A Bunch Huns! And too my fans ^.^!
Summary: Trust is a hard thing to piece back together once it's broken. When one detailed is left out of a truth it is automatically lie, it cannot be toyed with. No matter how hard we try, the past always comes back to haunt us. And when you think you know someone they show you the real them in the strangest ways. How can the birds combat these errors? Run or stick in for the fight? These are the Birds of Prey!
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Chapter 3
Trust
Who in this world is my friend
Distrust is just around the bend
Who can I tell my secrets to
Who can I trust to help me too
When I day dream I think of who's been playing me
I always wonder who's been hating me
I just cant tell when I'm getting played
~~Canon
Despite the most unpredictable day she had yesterday, Barbara spent her morning working on the new monitoring device. Besides, she needed to concentrate on something other than her pathetic life. Barbara was satisfied with the communicator she was working on. It took more than six months to get all of the parts, and eight weeks to put them together. The device gave her the advantage to see what her partners are seeing through the chocker they spoke through. She wasn't going to be as blind as a bat anymore.
When she put the lens, which was the final piece on the device, she then turned on the TV to catch up on current events.
"Today is a very happy day for the citizens of New Gotham. Bruce Wayne, one of the world's greatest philanthropists, returned from the mist of nowhere and took over Michael Thomas's Cooperation by giving him an offer he couldn't refuse, twenty million dollars."
Barbara's heart skipped a beat; Well I guess Bruce is staying after all.
"From the massive destruction that swept the streets of New Gotham last night, Bruce Wayne is donating ten thousand dollars for the reconstructed of the building. But for now many people from the twentieth floor and below are left without jobs. That's all the details for now. After commercials, can spinach give you brain cancer? And Bruce's Big Bonanza!"
Barbara smiled a bit at the headlines, Bruce's Big Bonanza! Who writes this stuff?
"I suppose Master Bruce will be staying," Alfred told Barbara.
Barbara was startled. She suspected that Alfred had been hanging around Helena for too long, because he'd picked up some of her bad habits, "You know you should wear a bell around your neck so people will know you're coming."
"As much as I would love to go back into the eighties, I think we should all stop worrying about the past and live in the here and now," Alfred handed Barbara a cup of coffee and left.
Maybe Alfred made some sense, but she disagreed with him inside. Maybe we should all move on with our lives, but if we don't look back at our mistakes how will we become wiser in making decisions? Although Helena and herself had a big fight she was still her crime-fighting partner and needed to tell Helena the information she just heard.
Barbara turned on the communicator and contacted Helena, "Huntress are you there? I have more information on the robbery yesterday."
Barbara didn't hear a response.
"Huntress are you there?"
Barbara was heartbroken. For the past eight years they've worked together Helena has turned off her communicator but now Barbara wanted to be there for her, the same way she was there for her when mother died. It meant more than just not speaking to each other, it meant that they weren't a team anymore.
"Huntress is not speaking to Oracle at this moment, for a long moment as matter of fact, so please leave a message, if you want, after the beep. Beeep." Helena angrily replied.
Barbara felt a little bit better. At least Helena was doing the professional thing, "Alrighty then. Bruce took over Thomas' Cooperation which means that he will be staying here in New Gotham. I hacked into the buildings surveillances and got some pretty good authentic views of the incident. I analyzed the volume of the building and its proportion to the bat, shall we say. It's density of the suit, the man confined in it, and height matches that of which is Bruce. I also enhanced the photos and I has the mark of the original bat suit." Babs heard a voice in her mind calling out, blah blah blah blah, which Helena was stressing on her use of big words. "I don't know if you are getting all of this. In simple terms, it might be Bruce… though I still have some doubts. I know our bat, and this just doesn't seem right. Well that's all of the information I have for you at this time, I will work on the case a little more. Hopefully I will hear anything you might have to say of the matter. Oracle out."
Dinah walked in, "Hey Barbara. Are you busy?"
"Not yet, what can I do for you?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Saturday morning school."
"Ah yes, the boy."
Dinah began to blush. It's not that she liked Shawn Sanders in any way, it's more it if you mention the opposite sex to her she'd get all blissful inside. The blonde teen Shawn annoyance and changed her mood, "Yeah. His name is Shawn Sanders, he is a senior, and truly the most arrogant boy on the planet."
"Now that's absurd, Dinah. You haven't met everyone on the planet," she reiterated a famous comeback.
"You know what I mean. Anyways, he is my partner and I can't stand him!" Dinah sat on the table.
"Ok, so you hate him. I'm guessing you want to be his friend, right?"
"No! I want you, as my guardian, to change my partner," Dinah batted her eyes and gave Babs the biggest smile, from cheek to cheek.
"I think you should try a different approach."
Dinah sucked her teeth. "What? Be his friend?" She rose from the table, "I'm sorry but friends and Shawn Sanders don't belong in the same category."
"I use to have the same problem at your age. Want to know what I did?"
"What?" The teenager ask with out enthusiasm.
"I called him up and asked him if we could study over at his house for extra help, and before we knew it we were the best of friends."
Dinah wasn't satisfied with Barbara's advice. It seemed too easy when life is more complicated than that, "No, it couldn't have been that simple."
"Of course not. You have to be the bigger person, and try to be as nice as you can be. One thing that evil hates is good, and lots of it."
"Whatever you say Barbara. I'll think about it," she began to walk away.
"Dinah just remember. Advice isn't useful if it isn't put into practice."
Dinah kept walking, "Ok Barbara."
~ ~ *** ~ ~
It was difficult for Reese to concentrate on solving the robbery of last night, especially since last night a climatic phenomenon occurred. He knew this day would eventually come since they first met. It was a forbidden match that could defy gravity if it was unleashed. A cop and a vigilante, a man and a woman working side by side and not getting anywhere in over a year takes a lot of disciple and doughnuts. Maybe it was the black outfit with the trench coat and the excessive force she liberated on the criminals that drew him to her, or maybe it was the mystery that concealed within her. Neither knowing her favorite color, where she lived, nor her name made him long for their encounter. He wasn't stupid, all he needed was her fingerprints and he could find out where she lived, if she had any diseases, or if she ever killed someone. But leaving the mystery in their partnership made it more intriguing.
However, sitting there daydreaming about Huntress's favorite color wasn't the way to get his job done. He decided to look at the different ways Batman murdered the men from the women to check if any of the killings matched any recent murders. He examined the reports and pictures of the female victims; they were killed with carelessness, stabbed, and bombed any way to have them dead and out of the way. He examined the reports and pictures of the male victims. Batman had a very different tactic for them, he first assail the face with anything in his belt, electricity, and fire. There face was beaten so bad most of the body had to be identified with DNA samples. The weird thing he didn't understand was the way he finished their bodies off, with no mercy he shot them directly in the heart.
He turned on his computer to find if any of the killings matched another criminal's. He ran a scan and waited. But knew that the scanning would take forever, so he opened the Internet Explorer. It sent him to the New Gotham Gagazette welcome screen and in big bold letters it said, Bruce's Big Bonanza! Reese rarely watched TV, because his job consisted of many hours. He clicked on the picture of Bruce Wayne and began to read the details.
It wasn't so much of a bonanza to read about in this article, he thought. How is it great news that a man took over another man's business by giving twenty million dollars and than ten thousand to change the building?
Reese stopped for a moment and looked at those numbers. They looked very familiar to him. He opened the case of the robbery and read out loud, "When Batman reached the twentieth floor he didn't so much as look at Michael Thomas, he went straight for the safe and took out exactly twenty-million ten thousand dollars from the safe and fled from the scene."
The detective knew he had to contact Huntress at this moment. He looked at the bat ring not sure if she even wanted to speak to her at this point, the female vigilante didn't even want to be near him last night. In addition Huntress must have been going through a tough time, because of how depressed she looked. She probably didn't need this now.
That's probably why people who work together can't date each other and only keep things professional, he thought. They were a crime fighting team and they each had a responsibility. He can't let feelings get into the line of work because it wouldn't get done that way.
He pressed the two tabs together on the sides of the ring and waited for Huntress to show up from behind him, by the door, or any place new to scare him.
Five seconds passed by and he thought it was odd that she hadn't shown up yet, so he pressed the tabs again. In an instant the phone rang and he picked it up, "Hello?"
"Detective Reese, you signaled?"
"Yes Oracle. Yes, is Huntress there with you?"
"No she isn't, but whatever information you give us we will make sure to pass it on to her."
"Ok Oracle. I found a suspect as to whom this Batman might be."
"Who?"
"Bruce Wayne."
"What kind evidence do you have on him?"
"Well last night's report says that Batman stole twenty million and ten thousand dollars from the safe that Michael Thomas had on the twentieth floor. Then the next day Bruce Wayne offers him a settlement of twenty million dollars for his company and uses the rest to help rebuild the business. This was pretty planed out. I mean of course this man, Michael Thomas must have wanted to leave so badly, his business was attacked then some guy comes out of nowhere offers him his money back in exchange for his company. Seems pretty reasonable, right?"
"Yes, very reasonable Detective Reese, you have your work cut out for you."
"It was nothing, say could you maybe give me any information where I might find Huntress this time of day? I really need to speak to her about something."
"To tell you the truth Detective, I don't even know where she is at. She just pops up. You would happen know how that's like, right Detective?"
They both laugh, "Yeah I would. So I'll talk to you some other time Oracle." He hanged up the phone and tried to find more evidence.
~ ~ *** ~ ~
Helena laid on her bed looking at the alarm clock, it was five pm. She felt so fortunate having the opportunity to wake up at anytime of the day, instead of having to hear Barbara's voice nagging her to get up. She didn't completely hate Barbara, but for now she just felt using this as an excuse to hang out and be free. She only got to be twenty-four once, and didn't want to spend it working all of the time.
There's so much she looked forward to in life, other than a new indestructible villain. The past year hasn't been a total waste of time. Helena been fortunate enough to have found Dinah, or have Dinah find her, because she knew she wasn't alone when it came to being different from everyone else. She felt kind of lucky to have someone who looked up to her. And Reese, boy she didn't want to get into that right now.
"Huntress, are you there?" Barbara called out into her the communicator.
Helena turned on the chocker, speak of the devil, "Huntress is still not talking to Oracle, and has no intensions what so ever to talk about anything, so leave a message, you know the drill. Beep."
"Okay Helena. I talked to Reese and he gave me some vital information. From the robbery of last night, exactly twenty million and ten thousand dollars was stolen from Michael Thomas safe. Sounds familiar? Well that is exactly how much Bruce gave Thomas for the settlement and the building. Remember? It could be possible that there is a new organized crime. Reese pointed out a really good pattern, Bruce could have stolen the money to create the settlement, fix the build to get enough money to get his business without touching his own money. Well all signs point to him at this moment, though something is eating me inside and it's telling me that he isn't responsible for this. I'm going to do some background checks on his records in Alaska. If you have anything to say, you know how to contact me, same bad place, twenty-four seven. Oracle out."
This new information wasn't easy to swallow. This wasn't exactly what she wanted to wake up to, but didn't feel like worrying about it too much. Of course she was concerned, it was father and all but she already promised herself some me time and decided to go to Club New Gotham.
~ ~ *** ~ ~
Dinah laid on her bed trying to find refuge from the confusing world.
Man! Why did I do that, she thought. I could have lied to Helena, but my big mouth just wasn't thinking quickly enough. The matter of the fact was that her body didn't have enough time to go back to it's original self, and was what Barbara was feeling at the time. Her powers weren't only a gift; at times they were a curse.
Dinah didn't want to start thinking about what happened yesterday, especially how depressed Babs was. Barbara didn't even eat dinner, and when she tired to lay down and sleep the junior-supergirl heard Babs throwing up in the bathroom. The blonde girl changed the topic in her mind, looked at the piece of paper with algebra problems, and then looked away; I don't feel like getting a headache right now. She thought it would be best to wait for the arrogant one to help her with it next Saturday.
The phone rang breaking her out of the psyche.
"Phone!" She called out and waited for Barbara or Alfred to pick it up.
It rang the second time and her heart felt heavy. She was short of breath and looked at the phone as it rang one more time. Dinah was on a high and couldn't explain where the force was coming from. She laid her head on the pillow and took a deep breath. The blonde haired girl looked up, her head still resting on the pillow, and the phone rang again.
What a beautiful phone, she thought. Dinah wasn't in control of her body anymore. Her fingers played with covers on the bed, as it walked around the phone. It rang again and she laughed hysterically. Guffawing only made the air in her body come out faster. Dinah began to choke. In the back of her psyche she tried to breathe but the unknown force wouldn't let her.
Am I going to die? She asked herself.
Just breathe, a voice answered. As if on cue she took a deep breath that rose the upper part of her body and back down.
"What a pretty phone," the possessed seventeen year old looked at the telephone as it rang.
Pick up the phone Dinah, she followed the voices command, and crawled to the corner of the bed where the phone was, and picked it up, "Hello?"
"Yeah, hello. May I please speak to Dinah?" The familiar voice knocked her out of the state of possession. The memories of being Dinah Lance came quickly and almost gave her a brain freeze.
"Hello?" The person on the other side asked impatiently.
Dinah re-collected herself, "Yeah, this is she."
"Oh hey, Dinah. It's Shawn."
"Hi Shawn," Dinah was confused as to why he would call her.
"I wanted to know how you are doing?"
"Fine I guess. Why are you really calling me?"
"I'm bored," she could feel the tension in his voice.
"Right, anyways, I'm still doing bad in algebra. This thing is just so dumb-"
He cut her off, "Maybe we can study over at my house."
Dinah was surprised by the invitation. This guy is supposed to be a jerk, and he is calling her to see how she is doing, things weren't adding up, "Why?"
"Why? Well because I want you to pass-"
"The truth Shawn."
"If you don't pass then I will look, dumb. Plus, if you don't pass then I can't get the credit."
Dinah wasn't the least bit surprised. Shawn only doe's things for himself, and only for himself, "Fine, I'll go over tomorrow."
"Really? Ok, I'll see you tomorrow after school, ok?"
"Yeah, sure. Byez."
"Bye."
~ ~ *** ~ ~
"So this guy walks into a bar and says-"
"Ah! I heard that one before," one of the Reese's friends interrupted.
They were all sitting around during lunch break eating doughnuts and Danishes.
"Well I never heard it before," Daisy Burbank called out grabbing a doughnut.
"Where have you been Daisy? That's like the oldest jokes in the world," Reese teased.
"You mean where have you been, Reese," she shot back and everyone laughed at him.
Reese shrugged and took a bite out of his doughnut.
"Yeah man, when was it the last time you actually had lunch with us? Like three-hundred years ago?" Danny Tanner spoke up.
"I've just been really busy that's all," Reese explained.
"Yeah, and you've getting all of those weird cases too. What is up with that?" Daisy challenged.
Reese didn't answer; he just leaned back on his chair.
"Cheer up old man," Jason Wong patted Reese on the back, "I know how you can make it up to us."
"Oh really? How?" Reese questioned sarcastically. He wasn't the least bit interested in making up anything for anyone.
Jason ignored his comment. "There's this I've been dying to go again."
"Oh yeah! Me too!" Daisy added.
"What do you say? Mac Jack!" Jason teased.
"I told you guys not to call me that anymore," ever since Reese was promoted to detective, he took his work seriously. Mac Jack used to be his nickname but now he preferred Detective.
"A little touchy are we?" Daisy teased.
"I have my reasons," Reese raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah Reese. So you coming or not?" Jason asked impatiently.
"I don't know," Reese answered.
"Come on! It will be fun," Danny pleaded.
"Yeah Reese, we really missed you," Daisy added.
"Fine, when is it?" Reese resisted. How bad would it be to hang out with his friends?
"Tonight. See you there lover boy," Jason answered.
~ ~ *** ~ ~
Barbara was still analyzing the attacks of last night. All signs pointed to Bruce but something was telling her that it wasn't him. Barbara had known Bruce almost all of her life, and for him to kill someone was almost impossible, especially with a gun. Even though the reason for his departure was because of a cause similar to that, he still held onto his motto and wasn't in state of rage. Bruce wasn't like that now, or was he? The way this person was killing was very precise. All of the men were hit exactly in the heart and the women were killed without tactic.
"Barbara?" She heard Dinah call from behind her.
"Yes?" Barbara turned around. The younger girl looked startled as if she's seen a ghost.
The blonde haired girl came towards her guardian quickly; half sure of how to explain the supernatural experience just she had, "Have you ever…"
"Have I ever what?" Barbara was confused.
Dinah paused and collected the words she would use, "Have you ever heard things?"
"Well I have ears Dinah, you need to be a little more specific."
Dinah frowned. Barbara being technical never made it easy.
The redhead saw the teenager's expression change, "Come on Dinah, what wrong?"
Dinah took a deep breath putting a lock of hair behind her ear and took a step forward, "Back in my room, I heard something, and I couldn't breathe. Barbara, I think I was possessed."
"Possessed? By what?"
"I don't know I just-"
Alfred stepped in, "Master Bruce is here. Do you wish to see him?"
Barbara looked at Dinah for clarification, she just sadly nodded, "Yes, send him in."
"As you wish," Alfred turned around and went into the other room.
"I'll talk to you about it later Babs," Dinah walked away with her head low. She wanted to talk about it but knew that Oracle had work to do.
Bruce stepped inside and Barbara didn't know how to greet him, directly or indirectly. She knew him all too well; he didn't know what to say either. Bruce swiftly walked in crossing his arms he leaning on the wall.
Barbara looked at him in the eye, so did he. She tightened her grip on the chair handle. Babs knew what he was thinking; did she believe he killed all of those people last night? It was a battle between heart versus head, and she didn't know which to trust.
He nodded silently.
She nodded back.
None spoke; this was where actions spoke louder than words.
Bruce lifted himself off of the wall and put his hands in his pocket.
"You didn't do it, did you?" She spoke up.
"You think I did it?" Bruce asked right after, his words piercing her heart.
Barbara took a deep breath not meeting his gaze, "No."
"Who are you trying to convince? You or me?"
Bruce made sense, whom was she trying to please? Pleasing herself or Bruce would only be denying the truth. If she was going to answer, she had to answer from her heart.
Barbara looked at him in the eye, holding back any doubts in her mind she answered, "No, I don't think you did it."
Bruce gave a little grin and walked right up to her.
Still meeting his gaze she didn't know what to do.
"We need a plan," he said. Not as a command, not as an ally, but as a friend.
To Be Continued…
