Chapter Six: Decisions

When the Batman first began to operate in Gotham, the mystical world was rife with speculation. Was he a demon? A vampire? A mystically powered human? What was he?

Eventually, this speculation died down. Those beings curious enough to check did so, and were satisfied. Most of them would never come into contact with him anyway, since he was 'just' a human and essentially tied to his city.

That did not mean that he was not watched. In his own way, he was as dangerous as Superman, the Martian Manhunter, the Green Lantern, or any of the others. In some ways, he was far more dangerous. However, for the most part, he was not a problem because he seldom emerged from his city.

"This place looks deserted," Batgirl observed.

"Well, this is where they were last night," Buffy told her.

"The Joker moves quickly," Batman said. "But not usually this quickly."

The three of them went to the warehouse. It appeared deserted. "I usually go into recon-mode right about now," Buffy told them.

"As do we. Be as quiet as you can."

"Yeah, because I'm so new at this."

Batman shot her a glare. "Then pay attention and maybe you'll learn something."

Buffy glared back. "Oh, I bet I will."

Batgirl smiled underneath her cowl. Very few people talked that way to Batman, and now he had just met a group of people so… (jaded? Yes, that is the word, 'jaded,') that the Batman wasn't very scary to them. Worthy of respect, but not scary. She loved Batman, but he could run over people without even noticing.

The trio spent several minutes prowling through the warehouse. It had definitely been abandoned recently. Batman silently cursed. While he had been led directly there by the Slayer, he might have been able to find it faster if he hadn't felt kind enough to work with her. Now he had no idea where the Joker or Dala were. He forced his anger down. Going to the Magic Box was his decision and he couldn't change it now. What he could do was follow up on other leads. "You said that this 'Spike' might know about Dala," Batman said. "Where is he?"

"I'll take you to him," Buffy promised.

"Good. Batgirl, go to Willy's Bar. He might know something. Keep him there until we arrive." He gave Batgirl the directions, and she vanished into the night.

"And the point of this is…" Buffy asked.

"I didn't actually interrogate him last time," Batman told her. "This time, I will."

"And your interrogation consists of glowering menacingly and threatening to break various body parts?"

Batman just looked at her. Buffy broke out into a grin. "I am so gonna enjoy this," she smirked as she headed off to Spike's crypt. "There are some things I better tell you about Spike before we get there. For starters, he's a vampire…"

"You're certain that Spike will talk?" Batman asked as they arrived at the crypt.

"Trust me," Buffy snorted. "If its one thing he does, it's talk." Buffy opened the crypt door. "Spike!" she called as she entered, the Batman gliding in behind her.

"Well look who's come crawling back," a British voice said from the darkness. A bleach-blond man in a black duster came into view. "And with a guest! Sorry, luv, I don't do… oh." He stared at the Batman. "Well, well, well… I suppose you're the real article then, aren't you?"

Batman saw Buffy open her mouth. With the Joker on the loose there simply wasn't time for banter. He cut her off. "What do you know about a vampire named Dala?"

"Dala?" Spike asked in amusement. "As in, tallish red-headed bint you thought you killed some years back Dala?"

Batman raised an eyebrow beneath his cowl. That was a surprise.

"What do you know about her, Spike?" Buffy asked.

"More than I care to, that's for bloody sure. I heard about Chuckles. Don't tell me she's in town too."

"She's in town," Buffy told him. "What do you know?"

Spike sighed and took a seat on his coffin. "What has tall, dark and gruesome told you?"

Buffy looked at Batman. "Dala and her master, a vampire calling himself the Monk, were responsible for a number of robberies in Gotham City several years ago," Batman said. "I tracked them back to their power base in Hungary. After I discovered what they were, I tracked them down to their sanctum and burned it down. I had assumed that that was the end of it."

"Only by half," Spike said. "You got the Monk, but Dala escaped."

"You know her."

"She was sired by the Monk," Spike said, stretching back, "and the Monk was a high ranking member of the Order of Aurelius. Buffy here killed its Master 'bout six years ago. I myself am technically a member of that Order, seeing as how my Great-Great-Grandsire was that self-same Master twat. Anyway, after you burned the Monk into ashes, Dala tracked down as many members of the Order as she could to try to take their revenge on you. Nobody but the Master liked the Monk, and everybody thought they knew what you are, so nobody volunteered. Haven't seen her since, happy to say."

"Why would she work with the Joker?" Buffy asked.

"In case you weren't paying attention, she had quite a mad-on for the Bat here," Spike snorted, "and he's the Bat's number-one enemy."

"She hasn't directly attacked me," Batman said shortly, and stepped closer to the vampire. He had his razor-Batarang nearby in case it was needed. He had been told of how the government had chipped Spike, making him unable to attack regular humans without causing himself great pain. Then again, pain eventually fades. Unfortunately, humans would still be dead after it faded, if it came to that.

"Not yet. Bint holds a grudge. But, as for what she's doing until that happens… the Monk had a thing for prophecies. I never put much store in them, but he claimed that he had thwarted several. Dala's the type that would take up her sire's cause."

"Could she be trying to bring him back?" Buffy asked.

"No. She would if she could, but he wasn't quite powerful enough to leave anything more than dust behind when he died. Close, bloody close, but not quite."

"Is that all you know?"

"I tried to keep the hell away from her. She's not quite right in the head, and this is coming from a bloke that spent all those years with Dru."

Batman stepped closer. "Is. That. All. You. Know?"

Spike only snorted. "Do you need the ears because you're going deaf, mate? She hasn't been to see me, and I have no desire to lay eyes on her ever again. I haven't seen her since about the time you killed the Monk."

Years of experience had left Batman knowing when people lied to him. So far as he knew it, Spike was telling the truth. He withdrew, and Buffy followed him.

"Oh, come on!" Spike called from behind them. "You use me as sodding Basil Exposition and then leave without so much as a thank you?"

"Thank you, Spike," Buffy called.

"Wait a minute!"

Batman was surprised. This time the vampire's voice came from much closer behind him, meaning that the vampire was following, and Batman had not noticed. He was good. He was very good.

"You're not going to go after her, are you?"

"She's a vampire and she's working with the Joker," Buffy said patiently. "Sounds like she's dying to meet Mr. Pointy."

"Fine. Go ahead. Fight her and the clown, and die laughing while she drains you. Just don't come crying to me when you're dead- and laughing… oh, bollocks," the vampire muttered as he returned to his crypt.

With one final chair turned on to a table, Willy's Bar was officially closed. Willy smiled in satisfaction. It was dangerous, dirty, and frequently frightening, but he loved his job. Just as he turned back towards the bar, he felt a weight being brought down on his neck, and he fell into blackness.

He awoke wet and shivering. He was tied to a chair and someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water on him.

"Hi Willy," the Slayer smirked at him. (Oh great- her.)

"Willy."

The voice was low and gravelly It was not her, so who was it? He got his answer as a tall figure emerged from the shadows. Willy went white. He should have known. (Oh crap. If the stories are even half true then this is gonna hurt!)

"Where are they?" the Batman rumbled.

"I don't know! They just left!"

Another figure emerged from the darkness. She was dressed in black from head to toe, and had the whole Bat-thing going on. She knelt down in front of the chair and grabbed his right leg, squeezing it. "You know how many bones there are in your leg?" she asked him.

"N-No."

"You wanna know how many bones there will be if you don't talk?"

"Slayer," Willy called desperately.

"I'd start talking if I was you, Willy," the Slayer told him.

"Okay, okay, okay! One of those out-of-town vamps came in to get his buddies a couple hours back. I heard her say said that they were heading back to Gotham like, yesterday! They paid their tab and left."

"That's it?" Batman asked.

"Yeah!"

"Is that all?"

"Yeah!"

"Is. That. All?" He was right in Willy's face as he asked, and scarier than ever. Willy felt liquid warmth erupt in his groin and start running down his leg. Batman glanced down at the growing puddle at Willy's feet. "Talk," he commanded.

"One of them whined that they'd have to be coming back here to deal with the Slayer anyway, but the one that came for them said that it wasn't time for that yet because they needed to get the magic thing, whatever that is! Now that's it- I mean really it! That's all I know! Now please let me go!"

"Hm." The Batman made a sudden motion. His fist crashed into Willy's jaw.

"Thank you Willy," was all that he heard the Slayer say before he fell back into unconsciousness.

Batgirl untied the unconscious bartender and dumped him on the floor. She replaced the chair and looked at Batman. She tilted her head slightly, as if to ask 'What now?' Batman nodded. 'We're following them.' Batgirl slightly nodded her head in Buffy's direction. 'What about her?' Batman nodded his head slightly. 'Yes.'

Batgirl raised an eyebrow under her cowl. 'That's weird.' Batman's lip slightly curled. 'This situation is weird.'

As the three of them left the bar, he dropped the bomb. "You want to follow them," Batman said to Buffy.

"Well, considering that 'deal with the Slayer' usually means 'kill her,' yeah I kinda do." She looked him in the eye. "Besides, I didn't want any of your lunatics here, but I dealt. The Joker killed people here. I wanna help take him down."

"Gotham is my city. That means you do what I tell you, when I tell you, understand?"

"I understand," Buffy said. She could live with that. "I'm in your territory, you're the boss. Give me the same treatment if we have to come back here, and this can work. What are your rules? You have to have some."

Batman surveyed her. He hadn't expected her to agree so quickly, but that bit about 'the same treatment' explained why she did. (Doesn't work that way, but now is not the time for debate. Besides, if all goes well, the case will be closed and I won't have to come back.) "One: you give me everything you have. Two: you give me more. Three: I make the rules."

"Oh, this'll be fun," Buffy muttered. "Anything else?"

"No humans die through your action or inaction. You handle vampires and demons the way you normally do, but you do not kill anybody."

"I've been working like that since I started." It was true. She didn't always succeed in saving people, even the bad ones, but not for lack of trying.

"Good. Then we can work together. You'll want to inform your friends. Make this quick." He started marching in the direction of the Magic Box. Buffy felt annoyed.

"Does he always have to have the last word?" she whispered to Batgirl.

"Yes." Buffy wasn't completely sure- Batgirl's mask was black and it was night- but she thought that the young heroine was smiling under her cowl.

"Gotham?" Dawn bubbled. "When do we go?"

"We're not going anywhere, young lady," Buffy said. "You have school tomorrow, so you are staying here!"

"So who is coming with you?" Xander asked.

"I have room for one person besides the Slayer." Everyone looked at Batman.

"Your decision, Miss Summers." Willy's mention of a 'magic thing' that the vampires were after meant that a mage was called for. Most of the magic-users he knew and trusted were inaccessible at the moment, which meant that they needed one of the two 'very powerful witches' here. He wanted to take a look at Buffy's tactical skills.

Then there was another problem that he needed to solve: the motive of this series of crimes. (Why is Dala allying with the Joker? What does each party get from it?) Spike had inadvertently provided a strong lead, and Willy's mention of a 'magic thing' made it stronger. Dala probably wanted to resurrect the Monk. Apparently, vampires could only be resurrected if they were old enough or powerful enough to leave a residue behind, and the Monk was not. (Perhaps she thinks she's found a way around it.) The Joker was trickier. (What does he get from all this? The chance to resurrect one of my enemies?) Batman shook himself, and forced himself to focus on the task at hand, and the choice that Buffy was about to make.

Buffy turned to her friends. Willy said that the Joker and Dala were going to steal a 'magic thing,' which probably meant that she needed a witch on her side. Fortunately, she had two powerful witches to call on. Will was recovering from her magic addiction, so she should be kept away from situations where she might be tempted to use it. That left- "Tara, you game?"

"Uh, yeah- I think- yes."

"Good." She turned to the others. "Xand, Will, Anya- take care of Dawn. If anything weird happens, get Spike."

"Uh, Buff," Xander said. Buffy sighed. She knew he was about to protest. She dragged him a few feet away, and motioned for Willow to join them.

"If anything goes south while I'm in Gotham, I want people I can trust to keep things together until I get back, and you two have been here the longest, and you've been at this almost as long as I have. Please."

Xander and Willow shared a look, and they finally nodded.

"Gotcha," Xander said in a normal tone of voice. "Just one thing, though- Spike?"

"Yes, Spike." Buffy leaned in to look Xander straight in the eye. "And if it gets really bad, call L.A."

"Yeah, right," Xander snorted. Willow punched him on the arm. "Uh- yeah, right, sure Buff."

After a brief round of good-byes, they left the Magic Box. "Meet us at the Traveler Motel," Batman said. "Bring a small bag each. We have some business to attend to."

Buffy and Tara shared a look. (Okay…)

"What should-" Buffy started, but she stopped when she saw that they were gone. "I have got to learn how to do that."

One small bag each later (filled with clothes, stakes, crosses, holy water, and a few magical supplies) Buffy and Tara arrived at the Traveler Motel. "Why do you think he told us to meet him here?" Tara asked Buffy.

"Don't ask me."

"You were with him most."

"I don't-"

"Ah there ya girls are!" a voice with a thick Jersey accent called.

Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw a tall man in a bad suit, wearing a pencil-thin mustache coming their way, arms open. He took them into a hug. "Play along," the unmistakable voice of the Batman whispered to them. "There are people around."

"So," he said, Jersey accent back in full force, "are you girls ready to go back east with your Uncle Matches?"

"Uh, yeah uncle Matches!" Buffy said, fake smile on her face.

"Uh-huh," Tara agreed, nodding.

"Beautiful, just beautiful," 'Matches' beamed as he let them go. "Hey- I've got somebody here you girls haven't seen in a while! Remember your little cousin Candy? Well she's all grown up just like you! Candy, they're here!"

An Asian girl emerged from one of the rooms. She looked like she was roughly between Dawn and Buffy and Tara in age. "Cousins!" she said happily as she hugged them.

"Batgirl?" Buffy whispered.

"Candy right now," Batgirl whispered.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get an earlier flight, but when you two said how eager you were to go back and see the family I figured 'why wait?'" Matches told them after Candy stopped hugging them.

Further talk was interrupted by an approaching cab.

"Well, here we are," Matches announced. "After you."

The cab ride was… disturbing. "Matches" was a strong contrast to the man that Buffy and Tara had met, but fortunately they were able to keep up with him. He kept up his banter with them (the nieces he hadn't seen in so long) until they were out of the cab and approaching a small hangar at the airport. Once they were in, it was as if he underwent a complete metamorphosis. His outward appearance remained the same, but his body language, his demeanor, everything changed. "Here we are," he told them as they went up to a (comparatively) small black plane.

"Whoa," Buffy said. "Nice jet."

"You are lucky that I brought one that could seat more than two people."

"Why did you do that anyway?"

"Most of the two-seaters are in repair at the moment. Don't ask."

(Two-seaters? As in, more than one?) "It must be nice to have money," Buffy muttered.

"You have no idea."

For a second there, she could swear that he actually smiled. They boarded the Batplane. It was a bit crowded, but the seats were very comfortable. Within ten minutes they were airborne, headed east to Gotham City.