Foreword: Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it…
blah, blah, blah… and please send me plenty of comments and
criticism.
Disclaimer: Anyone stupid enough to believe that I
own Batman or Gundam Wing will be killed so that your stupidity does
not infect the gene pool.
Batman AC A Gundam Wing and Batman
Beyond crossover by Night Hunter
Chapter 2: Take No Life
Duo
woke up in near total darkness. The only light came from a thin slit
at the bottom of what must be the door, and he could hardly see
anything. He felt something rubbing against his cheek and took in a
deep breath, then started gagging as he realized that the object by
his cheek must be the old pair of combat boots that Heero never
washed after that swamp mission two years ago at the start of the
war. Duo was usually one of the most forgiving of the Gundam pilots.
After all, he was still Heero's best friend even after being
threatened, nearly killed, and having his Gundam parts stolen
repeatedly by the Perfect Soldier. But helping his friend through one
of the nastiest cases of drunkenness that the party-going Gundam
pilot had ever seen only to be knocked out, tied up, and left in a
closet was bad enough. Waking up to smell something so awful that
Wufei had once suggested using it as a biological weapon was enough
to send even Duo over the edge from cheerful joker to murderous
psychopath. "Heero! I will kill you!"
"Isn't
that Yuy's line Maxwell?"
Before Duo could even figure
out what was going on, the door was flung open, revealing Wufei,
Quatre, and Hilde. Seeing Duo tied up and lying on the floor with his
nose sticking into a pair of Heero's old boots, Hilde and Wufei
couldn't help but snicker while Quatre suppressed his own chuckle so
that he could untie Duo and help him up. Duo gave both Wufei and
Hilde a death glare worthy of Heero while he straightened his rumpled
clothes and brushed closet lint out of his hair. "Where's that
Heero, I swear that I'll bloody well rip out his
small intestine and hang him with it!"
Wufei
whistled. "Impressive Maxwell. Such an awesome display of
swearing almost makes me respect you. And as for where Yuy is, we
were rather hoping that you might be able to tell us. It's been two
days since I called you, and when you failed to come home or even
call her Hilde became concerned. So here we are, we found you tied up
in a closet, and there's no sign of Yuy. So, what happened?"
"I'd
just finished sobering Heero up and had explained your idea when he
hit me over the head while I was gathering some weapons and body
armor for his "fun". Next thing I know, I wake up smelling
Heero's combat boots and you guys came in and got me out. I don't
know where he is. He didn't get any calls or mail after I told him
what you told me Wufei, so I assume he decided to go off on his own
for his fun, unless of course he's moved on again."
"Doubtful
Maxwell. Nothing has been taken or rearranged. Yuy's not sloppy
enough to leave anything here; it might leave a trail."
It
was then that there was a crisp rapping at the door, and without
another word the former soldiers fell into familiar motions. Quatre
went to the window overlooking the street to check for enemy
reinforcements, Hilde went to the fire escape to secure a speedy exit
point, and Duo went to answer the door with Wufei backing him up. It
may have been a time of peace, but some habits, especially those that
kept you alive in more hostile times, were hard to break. Slowly, Duo
opened the door to see several men in civilian employee uniforms,
obviously unarmed. "Yes, may I help you?"
"Is
John Whitetail here?"
It took Duo a second to remember
that that was the name Heero was using in this identity. John
Whitetail was listed as a former Alliance soldier stationed on L1
colony who had managed to escape from OZ's purges of the Earth Sphere
military, and was currently so mentally damaged from his battle
stress that he had become a terrible alcoholic and nervous shut-in.
In reality, John Whitetail did not exist, although his file was based
upon an Alliance soldier who'd died during the war. When Duo asked
Heero about the name that he'd given himself, the stoic Gundam pilot
merely asked him what he'd call a deer with a white underside and no
antlers. It had taken Duo several hours to understand his friend's
cryptic answer, and when he did he had to admit that it was cleverer
than simply calling himself John Doe. It seemed that even Heero had a
sense of humor. Duo decided that for now, he'd better keep Heero's
cover intact, so he started up his usual cheerful personality.
"Oh,
I'm sorry, Johnny's not here right now. What do you want with him?
Poker game? Basketball tournament?"
"Actually sir,
we're from the repossession department. It recently came to our
attention that Mr. Whitetail has not paid rent or for any of his
possessions, so we're taking it back to his lender. Our trucks are
out front, waiting to be loaded."
In the corner of his
eye, Duo saw Quatre walk up to the kitchen doorway and nod, signaling
that the trucks the man spoke of were in fact there and seemed to be
normal moving trucks. Duo couldn't understand it, with his hacking
skills Heero never had to want for money. Could he really have gotten
so out of it that he'd forgotten something as minor yet vital as
paying the bills? Wufei however was suspicious. Even at his worst,
Yuy was still far better than this. Heero was the only pilot that
Wufei felt was better than himself. He could not accept that the
former pilot of the mighty Wing Zero could be that careless. "Tell
me, when did it come to your attention that Whitetail had not been up
to date with his payments?"
"That's the funny thing
sir. As of yesterday our records showed that he was fully paid, but
this morning it showed that he was seven months overdue. At first we
thought that it had to be a hacking job, but there was no trace or
evidence of something like that. No hacker is that good."
Wufei
disagreed, he knew one man capable of such a feat, but he could not
figure out why he would want his own items to be repossessed. What
was Yuy up to? "I see. Well, you might as well go about your
business, we'll find John and let him know."
"Thank
you. I'll have to ask you to leave so that we can move this stuff
out. Have a good day, and let Mr. Whitetail know that if he can pay
his bills within two months we'll be happy to replace his
belongings."
With that the repo men got to work, and
Wufei quietly dragged a silently protesting Duo and Hilde away from
the building while Quatre followed. When they were out of earshot
from anybody around, Duo and Hilde turned on Wufei and started
bawling him out. "What do you think you were doing?! Those guys
are taking Heero's things," they shouted in unison.
Wufei
sighed. Was it too much to ask that Maxwell and his woman be silent?
"Listen to me you two. Somethings off
about this. Heero leaves his house yesterday after knocking Duo out,
he hasn't come back or been heard from, and now all of a sudden his
things are repossessed? We all know that Yuy's far too good for
something to have happened to him, and that even at his most
depressed he wouldn't let something like a bill slip by. Obviously
the repo department computers were hacked into, and I know how
impossible it is to access those computers. I once tried when Sally
asked me to see if I could get her debtors to lay off about her
expensive lingerie collection… er, never mind. Anyway, like I
was saying, there's only one man I know who could hack past the
security they have on those databases and actually alter them.
Heero's up to something. The question is, what?"
It was
then that a courier rode up to them and stopped. "Excuse me, do
you know where I can find Duo Maxwell? My instructions told me that I
could find him around here."
Duo stepped up to the man.
"I'm Duo Maxwell, what can I do for you?"
"An
express message for you Mr. Maxwell. Arrived early this morning.
Please sign here."
Everyone just stared at the envelope
the man held for a long moment. It was all far too convenient. Heero
vanishes, his things are taken away where no one will be going
through them, and now a messenger comes with a letter for Duo.
Slowly, Duo signed for the letter and as soon as the courier was out
of sight opened it. Browsing the contents, he began to read it aloud
to the others.
"Duo, I apologize for blindsiding you like
that, but you would only have been in my way. Last night, I found
what I've been looking for. I have a chance to be a soldier again.
Don't worry, it's nothing that will threaten the peace. But I do have
a new sense of purpose now, a new reason to live. I have a new war to
fight, and if I want to fight it the best that I can then I need to
disappear. I've already arranged for my belongings to be taken care
of, and by tomorrow evening there will be no evidence that I ever
existed. Don't look for me Duo, you won't find anything. It's
doubtful that I'll see any of you again. Take satisfaction in the
knowledge that I'm doing what I do best once again, and that you
shouldn't worry about me. I thank you and the others for the
friendship you gave to me, it meant more than I ever allowed to show.
Buried in a vacant lot five blocks from the apartment building is a
safety deposit box. Split it between the four of you, it should be
more than enough to compensate everyone for all the trouble I've
caused over the three years that we've known each other.
Farewell."
When Duo finished reading, there were tears in
his eyes. His best friend was gone again, probably for the last time.
Looking to his friends he saw tears in the eyes of Quatre and Hilde,
and even Wufei's infamous stoicism was strained. They all knew that
this was it, the moment that they had been dreading for so long.
Heero Yuy was no more. Where he went or what he would become they
would never know. All they could do was hope that the Perfect Soldier
would finally be able to find his own peace.
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- -- -- --
Across the street from Heero's now vacated
apartment, Heero and his new mentor stood on top of the rooftops,
looking down at the quartet who were going on their way, saddened by
the knowledge that they would never see him again. Bruce had to try
at least one more time to reason with Heero, even if it was only for
the good of his own soul. "You know Heero, you don't have to
give up your old life. All of the other Batmen have had double lives,
one as a normal person and the other as Batman. You don't have to
give up your friends and everything else important to you like this,
kid."
"With all due respect sir, all that is
important to me is the mission. A double life would only add
complications to the mission at hand, and take time away from my real
work. One day I will become the new Batman under your guidance, and
that is all that I want to be now."
Bruce both mentally
slapped himself on the back and at the same time shook his head
sadly. Everyone who had ever worn the mark of the Bat upon his or her
chest had given something up in order to assume that mantle. Heero
had already had that something taken away from him, and it would
probably make him the most dedicated of all the Batmen. But despite
what he gained from Heero's lost innocence, Bruce still wished that
such terrible things did not have to happen to one so young. Still,
there was no way to change the past, so they might as well begin
preparing the young soldier for the future. Bruce gestured to Heero
who nodded in acknowledgment, and jumping
off of the rooftop the two disappeared as if they had never been
there to begin with.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Later that night…
After hours of walking, Bruce and Heero finally arrived at their destination. It was a grimy, squalid warehouse in one of the worst parts of the colony, but Heero could tell that it wasn't any ordinary warehouse. The dirt, the rust, the broken windows and pieces of shattered glass, they didn't look natural, like a normal decayed building. Rather, the damage looked artificial, designed to turn a person's interest away from the place while leaving the structure stable. Heero's suspicions were confirmed as they walked inside and the holographic shield inside the building was disengaged, revealing the steel doors of a heavy industrial grade elevator. Opening the doors with a punched in code and retinal identification, Bruce stepped into the elevator and Heero followed him. They stood silently in the middle of the descending elevator until it stopped at what Heero estimated to be over a hundred feet below the colony's surface, only a level above the colony's outer hull.
The doors hissed open smoothly, and Heero was treated to a sight few men had ever seen, the place known as the Bat cave. The new Bat cave was vastly different from the original. While the first Bat cave had been a natural system of caverns underneath Wayne Manor stocked with high-grade electronics and equipment, the new Bat cave was a metallic box deep within the underbelly of L1 Colony. Easily the size of a large airfield, the underground headquarters seemed to have three different levels, with half a dozen elevators other than the one that Heero had rode down connecting this secret lair to the city above. On the top level, resting upon freight elevators to the surface, were a couple of different jets, a swift attack helicopter, a hang glider, and a heavily armored hovercraft. Also occupying the top level seemed to be living quarters, a cutting-edge super computer facility, and a communications and monitoring center. On the second level were the labs, the armory, several training rooms, a medical station, storage areas, equipment rooms, and what looked like a trophy room. On the final level, half a dozen ground vehicles, including the infamous Bat mobile, were parked in front of various elevators up to the colony's upper levels along the north, west, and eastern sides of the ground floor. There was also a mechanical repair and refueling station nestled in the middle area of the garage, and on the southern wall…
Heero felt his throat clench and his eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets. There were Mobile Suits there! A pitch black, heavily modified Taurus space mobile suit, looking like a gigantic robotic bat, stood in front of an airlock leading out to the void beyond the colony's walls. Next to it, standing underneath a shaft going up to the surface, was a sleek, winged Aries air superiority mobile suit, once again painted in black and heavily modified. Off to the side was a submarine-like Pisces and a crab-like Cancer underwater mobile suits. And there, standing apart from them all, was a sleek, agile, highly articulated mobile suit, customized to look just like a mechanized version of the Bat suit and containing the dull surface gleam that only gundanium alloy had. Bruce Gibson McGinnis, wealthy philanthropist and secret vigilante, had built his very own Gundam, an impressive machine looking like a fusion between Wing Gundam's agile build and graceful lines, and Deathsycthe Hell's demonic appearance. Heero loved it already. He'd been forced to destroy Wing Zero so that it would never be used to start another war, and it had ripped open a void within him. Now he had another mobile suit, another partner and piece of his soul, and the void could be filled again.
Bruce grinned at Heero's excited expression, although any man less knowledgeable of how to read faces and body language would never have had a clue as to what Heero was feeling. The kid was eager; that was good. It would make the job of getting him ready an awful lot easier. Turning to his new charge, Bruce began addressing Heero about what was to come. "Alright Heero, you'll stay here tonight, and you'll live here if this works out. We begin your training tomorrow. Now I know that you're already highly trained, but you'll need to refine the skills you have now and learn new ones if you wish to become the next Batman. I'll see you tomorrow."
Bruce turned towards an elevator to leave, only to be stopped by Heero's voice. "No."
The older man spun around to face the young soldier, afraid that he'd changed his mind, that he'd decided not to continue Bruce's mission. But something shining within Heero's emotionless eyes seemed to calm his fears. In his usual cool voice, Heero clarified his meaning. "Not tomorrow, we start right now. Time is a priceless commodity in a war, and I expect that I have a lot to learn about being Batman. Teach me everything."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Alright Yuy, the first thing you need to understand about Batman, is that he never kills. He..."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why doesn't Batman kill? It would be more efficient to get the criminals off of the streets and eliminate the problem of repeat offenders."
"That's not the point, Heero. The Batman uses fear as a weapon, an ally. The criminals fear him not because he can kill them, but because he won't; they know that death is the only place where they can escape him and that Batman will always be watching you, waiting to strike from the shadows. By not killing them, you show the criminals that you do not fear them, and that because of that they are powerless against you. That is why for centuries, every criminal around the world has woken up screaming at night, convinced that they're going to open their eyes and see the Batman staring right back at them. More importantly, killing is against the Batman's code."
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why is killing against the Batman's code of honor and ethics?"
"Because killing is immoral."
"Why? Self defense seems moral to me."
"That's because the taking of life is justified in order to preserve your own. But a Batman will never need to kill in order to defend himself, because he doesn't need to kill to defeat his enemies, for he is stronger both in body, mind, and spirit than them."
"But the people the Batman protects are helpless against these criminals; allowing the more dangerous ones to live risks the lives of innocents. So why let them live?"
"Because…."
"Because what?"
"Because you can't fight criminals by becoming one of them, a murderer."
"But vigilantism is a crime. So is breaking and entering, search without a warrant, and assault. Why is the line drawn at murder?"
"…… Go back to your studies on methods of fingerprinting."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Heero! I told you no killing, and that you would only use the weapons I provided you with! Just look at the practice dummy! Now give me that machine gun!"
"Hn."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Now, today we learn about…"
"Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two-Face? Former Gotham City District Attorney, scarred and driven insane by a vial of acid thrown into his face?"
"Uhmm, no…"
"Pamela Isley, a.k.a. Poison Ivy? A botanist turned environmental terrorist and criminal, who employed genetically engineered plant life and biological toxins in her crimes?"
"Err, actually…"
"Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman? Cat lover and master burglar, rumored to have romantic dealings with Bruce Wayne, the original Batman?"
"Uh, well…"
"Garfield Lynne, a.k.a. Firefly, pyromaniac and arsonist? Professor Crane, a.k.a. Scarecrow, former psychologist who utilized fear inducing compounds? Waylon Jones, a.k.a. Killer Croc, mutated human whose reptilian complex drive overrode his mind, turning him into a senseless animal? Jervis Tetch, a.k.a. The Mad Hatter, who used mind control devices to force people to do his dirty work for him, and was obsessed with the book Alice in Wonderland? Edward Nigma, a.k.a. The Riddler, criminal mastermind, insane genius, obsessed with riddles and puzzles? Or perhaps Joker, Batman's greatest nemesis ever, who killed the second Robin and crippled Batgirl? The Ventriloquist, gang leader who had multiple personality disorder and gave his different personalities voice through ventriloquist dummies? Lady Shiva, famed assassin who seemed obsessed with forcing Batman to take a life before challenging him to a one-on-one fight to the death? Or are we going to talk about Bane, South American criminal turned into a muscle-bound colossus due to experiments with the addictive strength-enhancing compound called 'Venom', who masterminded the infamous Arkham Asylum breakout and paralyzed the original Batman by breaking his spine?"
"…. Alright, I think we can forget about the history lesson."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Aiiieee…That was…. good work Heero. You… disarmed me quickly… making sure that the…. Ooohhhhh… gun barrel never pointed at you, me, or any area where bystanders are likely to be. You were… fast, efficient, and you definitely left an impression that no criminal would forget any time soon. Arrrggghhhh… However… you didn't need to break my arm. Now be a good lad and get me some damn aspirin, preferably in economy size, before I pass out."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Heero! What have I said about not killing?!"
"I did not terminate the target."
"You gouged the training dummy's eyes out with a Razor-rang!"
"He'll live."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"'Your Teenager, Child Psychology, and You. Chapter One, Understanding Teenagers. Teens are at a transitional stage in their physical and emotional development. Often, they lose focus of their objectives and what they want out of life, and lose much of the respect they have for authority figures, sometimes going out of their way to disobey the people in charge of them'…. Maybe there's something on the next few pages… 'You must always keep in mind that teens are emotionally fragile and are prone to break down into emotional fits'… Uhmm, perhaps if I skim the pages for a little bit… 'Never lecture a teen, or give them something that they see as an order, because they will resent your apparent attempts to control their lives'…. Somehow, I doubt the author had a child trained to be a perfect soldier since the time that he could walk in mind when she wrote this… 'Get to know your teen better by just talking with them. Not lecturing, not interrogating, just idle small talk. Teens as a rule are desperate to talk with people, and as long as you are open and non-judgmental they will open up and tell you everything they're thinking and feeling, talking for hours on end'… Ok, this thing goes through the paper shredder. That sure was a waste of twenty bucks."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Heero, while I appreciate the fact that you are already trained in advanced martial arts and hand to hand combat, don't you know any non-lethal nerve strikes or pressure points?"
"….."
"Why am I not surprised?"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"It is a proud tradition of the Batmen to collect trophies signifying past triumphs and cases… no Heero, don't say anything. I already know what you're going to ask, and this is not pointless. Each trophy reminds us of a case, of a brush with death. These trophies remind us that despite our legend that we are still mortal, that we can still die. They keep us humble and cautious, reminding us of the past so that we can use it in the future. Does that answer your question?"
"Actually sir, I was just going to ask if I could practice rappelling down the giant penny."
"Oh….. Uh, sure, go ahead."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Heero, how many times do I have to say this? I don't care if you're only blowing off the target's kneecaps, no guns, and no killing."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"You've passed chemistry, advanced crime lab, pathology, and forensics with flying colors. Although I am a bit concerned about your habits of making plastic explosives from standard household items and creating a new strain of bacterial weaponry."
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Alright, you took the suspect down nice and cleanly, causing minimal damage to him. It was very inventive, using an extension cord from a television van to hog-tie him in place of a rope or handcuffs. However, you tie them to the lamppost, not hang them from the lamppost. Oy vey…. Thank God that this is VR and not on the job training. No Heero! Stop beating him with a torn off table leg!"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bruce sat alone in his penthouse apartment, bought mostly to keep people from suspecting one of the colony's richest men of having an ulterior motive since he didn't seem to live like a millionaire. It had been five months since he chose Heero to become the next Batman. To be honest, Heero was ready to start patrolling after the first week. He didn't need to know forensics, advanced chemistry, or the laws of all four colonies, the Lunar colony, Earth, and all the countries and major cities until years into the job. And quite frankly, he was already much better trained than any of his predecessors before him, having more combat experience and physical training in only seventeen years of life than the original Batman accumulated in over forty years of serving as Gotham City's protector. The training had merely been to shift Heero's focus away from being a soldier, and towards being a crime fighter in a very different kind of war. And it had worked, for the most part.
The fact of the matter was, Heero was ready physically, he had all the necessary skills, and had all the knowledge that he would need for his task. But Heero was not ready to be the symbol that the Batman was, a symbol of justice. Heero still had the killer instinct, and it was so easy for him to go overboard. He just couldn't fully embrace the first rule of the Batman, to protect everyone and never take a life. Until he could take up that doctrine, he would never truly be Batman. But the only way for him to truly grasp it would be for him to experience an event that would show him why the Batman did not kill, and such an experience would come at the suffering of civilians, something Bruce could not allow. After all, that was the reason he hadn't let Heero go on duty yet. Fortunately, there still was a way to drill his final lesson into Heero's mind and soul. He only hoped that the boy would forgive him for it.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Heero awoke with a start, looking wildly about, unsure of where he was for a moment. Then he saw the now familiar contours of his apartment in the Bat cave and relaxed, glancing over at the alarm clock. Hmm, midnight, middle of the colony's night cycle. Suddenly Bruce barged in, almost taking Heero by surprise. Bruce wasted no words, and got straight to the point. "Yuy, police reports are coming in about a gang war breaking out in Gamma sector, Blue block, level thirteen. They have mobile suits, Alliance surplus Leos. I still have my doubts kid, but there's no other choice. Suit up, only you can take care of this. Good luck. And remember, no matter who you were, no matter what you did, you're Batman now, and Batman doesn't kill. Understood?"
The former Gundam pilot barely nodded as he ran out of his bedroom and raced downstairs to the armory. Carefully, almost reverently, Heero lifted the cyber-weave smart suit that he'd been working for months to earn. Slipping it on, he felt the electronic nerve clusters bunch up and then relax, the suit linking with his own nervous system, now a literal extension of his body. Jumping from the balcony and landing on the metal floor forty meters below with ease, he sprinted to the Gundam, nicknamed G-Bat, and climbed into the waiting cockpit, his suit's computers linking with the Gundam itself, causing it to respond to Heero's thoughts and movements. In a way, it was almost like the Zero system in that it allowed for quick reaction times, responding as quickly as the pilot could think. But Heero really wouldn't have cared less if he'd just been given a battered old Leo battle suit instead of this fine piece of machinery. All that really mattered was that he was in the cockpit of a Gundam again, and he was headed off to a fight. He could hardly wait. Sending commands streaming through the neural network, Heero moved the G-Bat onto the transport elevator leading to Gamma sector. Then the elevator started moving, and Heero found himself holding on for dear life and enjoying every minute of the ride as the transport went hurtling through secret shafts towards Gamma's Blue block at ten times the speed of a bullet train.
Heero expected bullets to be flying when the elevator doors opened in the middle of a condemned warehouse. But all he heard was silence, the deadly sort that lets you know that the shit is going to hit the fan and it's going to hit hard. Thankful for the noise baffles that reduced the sounds of the Gundam's movements to only a few decibels, Heero silently crept to the garage door, and peered out into the streets. The reason that there were no bullets was because the war was already over, and it looked like the Space Case gang won this round. There were three Leos with the Space Case's symbols on them, with about a dozen Ozzies lying on the ground, apparently stunned. The Space Cases probably used stun grenades to send all of them off to dreamland, hold them as hostages in hopes that the Ozzies would scrape together some cash in hopes of getting their friends back. Flexing his knuckles within the control gloves, Heero smirked as diamond tipped pitons extended from the back of the G-Bat's hands. Bruce hadn't built any lethal weaponry into the Gundam, the pitons were meant to be used in order to help the G-Bat scale a cliff or building without using it's thrusters and giving away the element of stealth. But Heero knew that sometimes the deadliest weapons were those that weren't meant to be weapons. For a moment, he hesitated, remembering all of Bruce's lessons, before shrugging it off. This was a war, and in a war you needed to kill. Ignoring the part of his mind that was screaming that this was a different kind of war and that he shouldn't kill these wannabe gangsters, he slipped into action.
The one closest to him was standing over a young woman holding her son close to her, huddled in terror as the punk in the mobile suit taunted them over the external loudspeakers. He didn't even know what hit him as Heero rushed up and caved in his cockpit with a single punch, turning the criminal inside to mush. Turning to the two on the ground, he could see them cringing back even further, whimpering like dogs that know that they're about to get beaten. Heero stood stunned for a second, not understanding. He hadn't threatened them, he'd saved them, but they seemed to be more afraid of him than they were of the man threatening them. Why? Heero cringed as an unpleasant possibility came to him. They'd seen him kill the guy. Was that it? Were they afraid because they were at the mercy of a man they knew to be a killer? Shaking it off, Heero turned to his next target.
The second Leo was just starting to turn around, alerted by the sound of rending metal, when Heero ripped it's cockpit in two. He barely glanced into the cockpit, but was riveted when he saw the dead face of it's pilot. It was a young boy, no older than fourteen, even younger than he was when he went down to Earth to fight. He didn't have any marks, tattoos, or jewelry that identified him as a member of the gang, so this must have been his initiation. Taped onto the cockpit's side were two pictures. One showed the deceased young man surrounded by several much younger children with a clear family resemblance, the lack of any adults or parental figures in the picture obvious. The other picture was that of a young, plain looking girl in cheap clothes who was about the Leo pilot's age. From those two pictures, Heero's mind was easily able to piece together a likely story surrounding the dead boy. He and his siblings were orphaned during the war so he had to take care of them, and on top of that he had a girlfriend or sweetheart to care for as well. It was a well known fact that the Space Cases encouraged people to join their gang by offering the families and loved ones of their members protection and support, so he probably joined the gang recently to earn a living for the people who depended on him. And for that, Heero had killed him, leaving those people with no visible means of support. Again, Heero shook his head clear of such thoughts, although they still lingered in his mind. The mission, he had to focus on the mission.
The last Leo noticed him just as Heero was starting to point the G-Bat's palm at the other mobile suit. The Leo began waving it's hands in surrender and the pilot was screaming at Heero over the loudspeakers to stop, but it was already too late. The grappling spike erupted from the bat-like Gundam's hand with enough force to bury it deeply into the concrete and metal structures of skyscrapers, a thick metal cable trailing behind it's path. The spike punched straight through the Leo like it was tissue paper and sent it flying, landing just short of a crowded apartment building. That's when the punctured fuel tank for the early model mobile suit met a handful of sparks coming from a wire sliced apart by the grapples path, and both the Leo and the building it rested next to was consumed by a mighty fireball. Heero stared in horror as he watched innocent civilians, women and children as well as men, running through the streets and leaping out of the buildings windows, covered in flames. It was then that the police finally showed up to see Heero's mobile suit surrounded by a scene of brutal carnage. The police band radio that was in the G-Bat crackled to life, and the Gundam pilot heard the police officers screaming over it. "GOD ALMIGHTY! We need all available rescue and fire units down here immediately! Officer Gregson's dead! Somebody busted in on his undercover operation and killed him, along with the Space Cases and a lot of other folks! All units, all units, open fire! Bring that god damned murderer down!"
Heero couldn't shake these thoughts, these horrible, awful thoughts from his mind as easily as he had with the others. One of the Space Cases was an undercover police officer, someone who would have been an ally in this new war against crime that he was fighting, possibly even someone who could have become his friend. Another one of them was a young man, just a boy really, whose only crime seemed to be trying to provide for the people important to him. And in that apartment building, there had been at least three hundred innocent people that had been safe from the violence outside as long as they stayed indoors. Now all of them were dead, and he'd killed them. He'd acted as if this was one of the battlefields back during the war, but it wasn't. It was a place where people lived and worked, where any true battle would risk innocent lives. During the war he had deemed such losses of civilian life as being unavoidable, but as Bruce kept telling him this was a different sort of war. Heero hadn't listened to him, and it had cost these people their lives.
Bruce had told him that in war everything was often white and black; kill or be killed, the enemy are the people against you. But in the Batman's war on crime, everything, good and evil right and wrong, was colored in shades of gray. He'd thought it nonsense, and now he was horrified to see that Bruce had been right. He'd been right about everything, even the rule against killing. In this sort of war, he could just as easily kill somebody who was innocent as he could kill somebody who was guilty. He could be forgiven his other crimes in the interest of the common good, but killing was inexcusable as evidenced by the dozens of police officers firing wildly at his suit, screaming in rage and hatred over what he had done. Heero had committed hundreds terrible deeds in his lifetime, but they had all been excused as necessities of war. But this wasn't war, there were no excuses, what he had done here was murder, pure and simple. For the first time that he could remember, Heero felt hot, salty tears running down his face, and he arched his head toward the heavens as he screamed in anguish. "NOOOOOO!!!! PLEASE GOD, NOOO!!!!!!"
The Perfect Soldier, the emotionless killer, was no more, and all that was left was Heero, the boy who deep down just wanted to help people and still cried inside whenever he caused a death. Suddenly, Heero was pulled out of his new personal hell by a familiar voice. "Alright, I think you finally understand Yuy. End simulation."
Like a blossom, the Gundam's cockpit opened, revealing Bruce standing in front of the suit. Looking wildly around, Heero saw that he was still in the Bat cave, confusion warring with panic and hope until he saw a cable running from the virtual reality training simulators to the G-Bat's control systems. The pieces of the puzzle fell together and Heero understood, it had been a training session, Bruce's way of forcing Heero to learn and understand the final lesson about being Batman. Batman wasn't a soldier, wasn't a warrior, and wasn't a killer, he was a protector. He was a protector of the innocent, and someone accused of a crime or who seemed to be a criminal could very well be one of those innocents that he was sworn to protect. Looking sternly at him, Bruce spoke with a solemnity unparalleled by any that Heero had seen before. "Tell me Heero, what is the greatest and most important rule of the Batman?"
Tear tracks still staining his cheeks, the boy looked up at his mentor, his respect and admiration for the older man reaching new heights. Allowing himself a single, unbelievably minuscule smile, Heero answered the familiar question for the first time with belief and conviction in his voice. "We are protectors, not killers. Our duty is to protect the innocent, not punish those we think are guilty."
His reward was a smile and a comforting hand on his shoulder as Bruce nodded. "Very good answer... Batman."
End Chapter 2
Author Notes: Woot! After a long hiatus, I've finished this chapter! Next time around, Heero's going to go on patrol for the first time, and certain people are going to learn that the oldest urban legend of all time is much more real than they thought! Please, send me suggestions for enemies, gadgets you'd like to see, the new Batman's potential allies, and so on. Give me your suggestions, I live off of them! I also like comments and reviews, they make me write faster. Well, until next time, ja ne!