ULTIMATE DC and YoungD16 Presents…

ULTIMATE BATMAN

RECAP: Bruce now is being held in Gotham's Downtown Police Station; he hopes that Alfred will see that he's in jail through the newspaper. Meanwhile, Jack Hart seems to be on top of things including getting a heads up on Bruce's arrest. What will happen if Jack gets to Bruce before Alfred? Or better, what will happen if Barbra Gordon doesn't believe the phone call?

Case 4: The Grudge Part 2

Alfred waited with a sick fear in his stomach, how am I going to get Bruce out of this? Alfred had followed the Croc from a distance; his intuition told him that the Croc's supervision was limited, thank God. The Croc handed Bruce off to the police and no longer than five minutes later the Croc was shot and "arrested" (but not taken to the same jail…). "Serves him right" thought Alfred.

How was he going to get Bruce out of this mess? He had to think fast, he knew that sooner or later Jack Hart would catch wind of this, it gave him no time to waste. Alfred luckily brought his hardly gadgets with him, just some petty stuff; nerve gas, poison darts, miniature explosive, petty stuff.

The jail was small, unlike anything else you'd in Gotham, but security was somewhat tight. Alfred entered the large part of the jail, a room with a desk and a fat, old, smelly man awaited him on the other side of the desk. The man looked at Alfred as though he hadn't been fed in days but Alfred knew better than to think that, as he looked at the man's crumb dressed beard.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking to my cousin; he was arrested about four hours ago."

"His name…" asked the man.

Alfred looked around and saw on the desk a case file of one of the inmates, it read Carter Santos.

"Carter, his name is Carter."

The man looked on his little computer; the case file was in front of it. After a minute or two the man said, "Okay, sir, go to the man over there. He'll release your cousin, you'll have to come back to sign some papers, if that's alright. It's never really a bother…"

Alfred quickly reached the door where the guard was waiting, he opened the door and Alfred entered the room with the cells. He immediately saw Bruce hunched up in the corner of his cell. Bruce's eyes met Alfred's and he knew Alfred had a plan, but confused as to how Alfred got to his rescue so quick.

"Is that Mr. Bruce Wayne?" Alfred said as he walked into the room.

"Yes, sir, we're holding him until his trail. Gonna put his away for killing those folks."

Alfred touched one of the bars of Bruce's cell as he walked toward Carter Santos' cell. Bruce once again huddled into the corner of his cell, not because he'd lost all hope but because Alfred left one of his small explosives on the cell door.

"Mr. Santos, you're a lucky man to have a cousin come in and bail you out." said the guard.

Mr. Santos looked up and frowned, "That's not my…"

BOOM! There was an explosion enough to shake the entire room. Moments afterwards Bruce and Alfred made a fast one for the door and nearly knocked the man at the desk over as he came to see what the noise was. Bruce and Alfred fled the station into the streets. People starred but resumed to what they were doing as the two of them disappeared into the night.

Gotham Gazette

It was so random that it was almost mistaken for a lie but there was so much truth in that phone call, so much truth in the voice of the speaker, it was hard to not think about it. Barbra wasted no time in writing up a small article for tomorrow's paper. She quickly made a few calls to local news stations to see if they had gotten anything about Bruce Wayne being arrested, all confirmed the rumor. The telephone call was real…or was it? She didn't know and it really didn't matter, she had all she needed to spark the questions she was dying to hear someone else ask. Now people would finally question Jack Hart's part in the WayneTech murders and maybe even Bruce Wayne's disappearance.

Barbra was up for the challenges her job had to offer but part of her knew that meddling in other people's business pays it's own price. She was prepared for the repercussions, she had her a story and she was going to milk it dry.

"CEO Jack Hart, innocent, you be the judge…"

WayneTech, CEO chambers…

Jack Hart was quietly sitting in his room, he was deliberating over the speculation that was about to take place if he didn't find Bruce. Up until this point Hart was not a clear suspect of the murders, he thought he was too smart for the police but now he was uncertain.

There was a knock at the door, "Come in." Harley Quinn walked into the darkly lit room she had fear under her breath. Jack turned around and looked at Harley; he was certain she had good news but that feeling quickly faded.

"We lost him. Bruce and the old man disappeared into the night, they some how escaped. What do we do now?"

Jack looked back out the window of his bedroom. The city was a paradise yet he somehow managed to turn his dream into something completely opposite. Somehow he went from thinking he was on top to covering up his footprints.

"I don't know." said Jack, "Who do we have in the city that could stop him?"

Harley was silent, she didn't know of anyone that could stop Bruce and his mentor.

Suddenly Jack spoke with a trickle of laughter in his voice, "I know someone, I know someone…"

Deep in Gotham City…

The night was cold but it didn't stop Bruce from running. Alfred wasn't thirty anymore but for an old-timer he sure knew how to move in danger. And that's what it was, danger, that's what the two of them were in. Gotham had quickly become a haven for the unjust, the cold-hearted, and the power-hungry. Everything around them smelled of danger and no one should be trusted, no one.

They reached an abandon subway station; Alfred quickly led Bruce down the stairs. The entrance was closed by a gate-like door. Alfred wasted no time in trying to blow the door away. Bruce stood back as Alfred fiddled with his gadgets; all he could think about was what would happen next. Did Barbra believe him? Or did she think it was bullshit. And what will happen now that the Jokers know he is alive?

Alfred opened the gate and the two of them went into the abandon subway station. Alfred quickly turned around to talk to Bruce.

"No more running. Now that people are after you, you only have two options." Alfred looked deeply into Bruce's eyes and Bruce somehow knew that his days of running and hiding would soon be over. "One, you leave Gotham, your home, forever. Or you leave Bruce Wayne to the business aspect of this mess and you let Batman seek justice. You choose Bruce, it's all up to you."

At that moment Bruce knew that he had to choose what he desired most. To be safe but never return to the life he once had or to risk his life for the truth. Bruce also had Gotham to think of, all he wants is to help make it a better place but he has to do something in order for things to happen. The city needs his protection, they need a hero.

"I choose to let Batman bring truth to this city."

"Good, get dressed, I have a feeling we'll need Batman's help soon enough."

Bruce went to a corner and undressed; his arms still in pain from the Croc's attack. Alfred must have picked his suit after the Croc stripped Bruce of it. Filthy son of a bitch, wait until "Batman" sees the Croc again…

Bruce was done getting dressed, he now was ready for anything, he thought. Alfred had been making a game plan while Bruce was getting into "costume".

"Where to, Alfred?"

"WayneTech."

WayneTech

Bruce and Alfred had no trouble creeping from dark alley to dark alley. They had no trouble getting throw Gotham, now at three o'clock in the morning. The city finally slowing down, it was only the really bad mafia members that stayed prowling this late at night. Bruce felt a sort of power as he weaved in and out of the shadows unnoticed. He felt powerful, invisible but he didn't let it get to his head. He had a mission, to get evidence that proved Jack Hart was responsible for killing those people, not him. WayneTech; they arrived in one piece.

Bruce knew a different way in than through the main entrance. The thought of Batman entering through the front entrance was almost too funny. Instead, Bruce took Alfred through a side door where the workers load and unload materials for assembly line. Bruce had been through this part of WayneTech many times as a child.

Alfred stayed closely behind Bruce, he didn't want to get lost just yet. Bruce knew where he was going, he needed to see the surveillance tapes from the night he was shot. It would be easy to move around the security here. They moved through a number of hallways, walking closely against the white walls of the executive part of the building. They came to a door that read "Employees only" the door was unlocked, they entered.

The room was dark, pitch black except for the light coming from the small television screens. Bruce smelled something, something familiar, something sweat…He couldn't remember but he couldn't deny the tingling sensation his nose was feeling. Bruce looked among the small lights coming from the small screens, there was something wrong. In the darkness was a figure…a figure of a woman.

Alfred felt the wall for a light, he soon found one and flicked the switch. The light revealed an awful truth. The ones you love are never safe from the manipulative hands of Jack Hart. The woman that was revealed in the light was someone Bruce had completely forgot about, until now…

Selena Kyle.