Gordon's headache started small, but from everything going on recently, it had escalated into a migraine. Just within the afternoon, he went from police captain to now commissioner. The press conference had already worn him out, and bribing all of the officers and making sure that anyone who was physically attacked by Batman last night was okay didn't help. He desperately needed a smoke but had run out of cigarettes quickly. He sighed as he waited for the elevator to ding at him, letting him know that he had reached Caryl's penthouse in her apartment. He had no idea why she called him and told him to get to her place as fast as possible. It almost sounded like an emergency, but she assured him she was okay.
Bullock had decided to stay at the GCPD building in the city to make sure everything was going smoothly. The last thing Gordon needed was chaos in the police ranks. With becoming Commissioner so suddenly, a power vacuum had become present in the department, and nature abhors a vacuum. Someone would need to become captain quickly, as well as promote others to the empty ranks that were left open by Loeb. In his death, he let his failures of being a good commissioner fall right onto Gordon's plate, and the tableware was barely handling the weight. Gordon wanted to give that promotion to Bullock, but he declined to say that he enjoyed detective work and would hate to be stuck behind a desk. He will have to figure that out later as the elevator then chimed to Caryl's floor. Gordon stepped out and walked to her front door, gently knocking it. Caryl soon opened the door and let him in with a smile closing it behind him.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice Gordon, how did the bribing go?" She asked.
"Expensive, but it will be worth it in the end. Whatever you were speaking about on the phone sounded important, what's up?" He asked.
"Kim did some serious string-pulling, and we got some outside help on how to stop Batman!" Caryl explained showing him to the main room.
Dr. Director and Kim were compiling notes on how Batman had fought against her. Ron & Rufus were eating next to them happily eating Bueno Nacho that Caryl ordered take-out on prior. She ended up getting everyone at least something to eat but Ron and Rufus were starving and they immediately were eating what they got. Kim noticed Caryl and Gordon in her peripheral vision and went to greet them.
"Good to see you, Gordon. This is Dr. Director, head of The Global Justice Network." Kim introduced. In response, both adults shook hands.
"Hello James Gordon, normally I would congratulate you on your promotion to Commissioner, but under these circumstances, I feel it may be a bit inappropriate," Dr. Director commented.
"Thank you, Doctor. Not at all how I would have liked to have gotten the position, or if I even wanted the title to begin with," Gordon sighed. If he was being honest, he didn't want it at all.
"Maybe, but life hands out the cards, and we have to play with what we got. Let's get to planning our next move." Caryl suggested.
Dr. Director and Gordon agreed as they joined the table. Gordon had heard of the Global Justice Network, they were a peace-keeping organization that had dealings around the globe. They held some of the finest spies, helped with relief efforts, and had one of the world's best scientists at their disposal. Kim sure did pull some heavy strings, making Gordon feel a lot more comfortable in trying to capture Batman. Kim had already moved towards the head of the table and placed the Kimmunicator down onto its surface, propped up in a position where the front screen was facing everyone. Caryl had decided to close the blinds to the windows of her apartment before seating herself at the table as well. Ron & Rufus quickly downed their food at such speed that it got everyone's attention, and they were a bit grossed out, to say the least. Ron just awkwardly smiled, making Kim roll her eyes before she called Wade, who answered almost immediately.
"Alright, Wade we're all here. Do you have that layout of Gotham City for us?" Kim asked.
"Yep! I'm about to project a hologram here shortly." Wade said.
He began to type on his computer and shortly hit the 'Enter' key. Soon a light blue holo-map showed up in front of everyone. The hologram was thorough in showing all the small streets corners, major roads, and alleyways of Gotham on the whole table. Gordon and Caryl were studying everything about the map, identifying roads and locations they knew like the back of their hands. From favorite places to eat, their homes, even Wayne Enterprises tower and the bridge to head back towards the States. Kim & Dr. Director lead the conversation for everyone.
"Okay now that we all are here, let's review, our target is the Batman. He is wanted for the murder of Gillian Loeb and multiple charges of assault on both law enforcement and many other individuals. He has completely disregarded the judicial system and is at large and considered extremely dangerous. What do we know so far?" Dr. Director asked.
"Ugh, the dude is super scary?" Ron pointed out, no one took note of that…
"He's armed with tools and gadgets at his disposal like those Batarang-thingy's, and his combat skills are incredible, enough to give me a run for my money," Kim added. She had to swallow a bit of pride with that statement.
"He also is smart enough to learn and memorize the layout of Blackgate prison and is more than comfortable to study everything about anyone who may encounter him," Gordon commented.
"His targets are those who stand in his way, petty thugs & criminals, anyone who breaks the law. As of now, he has no regard for the condition he leaves his victims in," Caryl stated.
"Right, and according to any previous sightings, he only appears after dark," Wade said.
Rufus now was standing on the table with his paw on his chin acting as if he was thinking about what to do along with the group. There was a moment of silence as they began to think of any sort of plan to draw Batman towards him and attempt to capture him. Kim already knew it was going to be a daunting task, but with GJ on her side now it would be much simpler. On top of everything else Gotham has thrown on her plate she wasn't here more than a few days and it has proven to be a very challenging mission. First Black Mask and now Batman…
"So we have a highly-skilled, intelligent vigilante who enacts his delusional version of street justice, which now includes 1st-degree murder. So how do we stop him, any ideas?" Dr. Director asked.
"What about tracking him down, he must follow a pattern or something?" Kim asked. She looked towards both Caryl and Gordon, with Gordon shaking his head and crossing his arms.
"We have tried tracking his movements for a while and there is no pattern. It seems to be random whenever there is a crime he steps in. Brutally beating the lights out of people." Gordon responded.
"Thre has got to be something…" Caryl said frustrated.
Kim thought hard there must have been something they could have missed or followed. Maybe she could spend a night tracking any sightings and using the Kimmunicator to find any clues or evidence. No, that wouldn't work, Batman even went back to the infirmary with Johnny Caprice in a stretcher to retrieve his Batarang back. He was not careless, and when he was he quickly came back to pick up his mess. They must have just caught him at the right time when killing Loeb. There was a silence that befell the group, one that grew awkward with every passing second. Gordon looked to his right thinking the idea would magically appear there, while Caryl had her hand propping up her head with her finger tapping her chin. Someone had to say something. Once again Ron broke it with a fiendishly clever idea.
"Well, what if we set up a trap? You know lure him to us instead of finding him, I mean you could just send a fake backup call or something?" Ron suggested. Everyone looked at each other for a second, Ron did it again…
"That's twice for you Kid," Gordon commented.
"Oh, no worries just working my genius brain over here!" Ron said with a cocky smile and propped his feet up on the table.
"You are so prone to Big-Headiness… Okay so we set a trap, where at and how do we lure him in?" Kim asked.
Caryl had suggested somewhere deep in East Gotham at the Solomon Courthouse, though while still abandoned it had become a small sanctuary for anyone homeless and seeking shelter for the night so the idea was scrapped. Kim then pointed out an older football stadium for the Gotham Rogue's, but that wasn't going to work because the Rogue's were supposed to play their last game in that stadium tonight, and Gotham loved their football, the stadium was rumored to be sold out already. More ideas were pitched and all of them were shot down for a small number of good reasons. They needed somewhere completely derelict, where a drug deal could easily go down Somewhere like… A mental lightbulb went on in Gordon's head.
"Wade was it?" Gordon asked
"Yes sir?"
"Zoom in right here!"
Wade did as instructed and pulled up what looked like a 3 story abandoned warehouse near Ottisburg, close to East Side. Soon the holographic map turned into a 3-dimensional image of the warehouse, there were hardly any windows and a few holes in the roof. It looked to be rotting away and had not been inspected for some time, and was also close to the New Gotham Rogue's stadium what was nearing completion. Everyone looked at the warehouse and then back to Gordon.
"That warehouse is scheduled for demolition in the next few days. It's supposed to be for a new parking lot for the stadium. Right now it's completely abandoned, and no one is allowed back. Though maybe as my new position as Commissioner-"
"You could stall the demolition for one night, and with Global Justice backing you even Gotham's Mayor would have to comply!" Dr. Director added.
"Not bad," Caryl admitted.
"I will have to make a phone call if I am to get in touch with the Mayor." Gordon excused himself from the table and began to dial on his phone. He noted that a Swat Officer was trying to reach him before coming to Caryl's apartment, though due to the nature of this plan he would have to call that particular officer back later, maybe even tomorrow if need be. He dismissed it and walked into the living room to have the phone call.
Kim had her hands collapsed together, studying the layout of the warehouse. It was a solid location for the trap. There weren't very many exits or entrances, plenty of rooms to corner him in, and luring Batman to the warehouse would be easy, just got to get his attention and think a crime was being placed here. While Kim could at least handle Batman in hand-to-hand combat, she didn't need this to be a gladiatorial match, she needed a for-sure advantage over him. The goal was to guarantee his capture, not win a rematch. She then turned to Dr. Director and asked her question.
"Dr. Director, I was hoping for some extra help on this assignment. I recall you had a team of members that can assist you whenever you need correct?"
"That's right I was thinking about bringing a few teams to the fray, even Olympus Squad."
"Olympus Squad?" Ron asked.
"Is that a stab at your older brother?" Kim asked with a sarcastic grin.
"Maybe…" Dr. Director laughed to herself. "They are a recent team addition and they've had a flawless record. With them at the helm, we may just catch Batman!"
"Great so who are they?" Kim asked.
"Well, you already know them, you recommended 3 of them to join us." Dr. Director smiled. Kim and Ron looked at each other, they did work with Global Justice a few times but if they knew who they were and recommended them they had to have caught their names at some point. They continued to think over and over until Kim remembered them.
"Wait, it was that one guy with the ears! Oh, don't tell me.. uh-"
"Will Du and Team Impossible?" Kim asked.
"Yep, I have already assigned them to assist, they will be here in an hour."
Branden had walked down the sidewalk with his head held low while going to the Iceberg Lounge. Now it should be open and accepting business, including law-abiding and maybe a few illegal activities. While the subway would have dropped him off significantly closer, he didn't want to leave a trail of any kind. He had already pulled out all his money into cash to keep in his pockets and also his gun by his side holstered under his hoodie. The same firearm that is truly responsible for Loeb's 'suicide'. His Gotham Rogues ball cap and brown hoodie were a perfect disguise to blend in with the crowd due to the football game where the Gotham Rogues were playing the Pitsburg Steelers. He walked past multiple groups, trying to ease the tension off by eavesdropping on conversations that others were having while on the way. Many of them debated on who would win the game, while some more logical analysts of Football say the Steelers and true Gotham fans said the Rogues were going to win. Branden cursed himself for remembering he placed a bet against the Rogues and he was sure he would have won some cash, money he never would be allowed to collect as they were kind of on a losing streak. However, he noticed that the outfits of those around him were starting to slowly change. Men were starting to wear more dressy casual outfits while women sometimes wore dresses and coats, a few fancier cars would drive by as well, he was getting close to his destination. He paid no more attention to it, come tomorrow, Mexico beaches, all the money he could want, and pure freedom.
Branded rounded the next corner and standing in its icy neon blue glory was the Iceberg Lounge. Its entrance sported a long horizontal artistic panting piece that captured the night sky of the arctic horizon. Where the word "Iceberg" was displayed boldly in black, the word "Lounge" was a different size and text altogether but was illuminated in ice blue neon lights with lines extending either side. The entrance to the club was coated in a dark gray that was borderline black but contrasted well with its bright blue LED lights that drew people's attention, though right now with the sunsetting the mixture of blue and yellow collided with each other. Multiple couples and others were walking in keeping their coats on the entire time, after all the Iceberg Lounge didn't earn its name for no reason. It was always cold inside as if Jack Frost spent the rest of his time here during the rest of the year.
Branden approached the entrance tightly gripping the note Black Mask wrote for him in his hoodie's pouch. He didn't have to stay long, just long enough to personally deliver the note and get back to Black Mask's Office. In theory, it was a simple task, but with the Penguin involved any wrong move could mean your end with how cautious the man was. He walked up to the front receptionist who was at her post with a light hanging above her podium, a book out with multiple names and times written on it. All of the waiting staff were female while some guards and henchmen were male. The men were forced to wear suits of blue or black, while the women all wore a British bowler hat and a single black leotard and grayed-out stockings to their black high heels and bow-ties. It wasn't one of the three main hench girls that were always around the Penguin; Jay, Raven, & Lark. One of the three would normally be here at the podium, but tonight they were not. Instead, it was regular women of the staff.
"Good Evening, Welcome to the Iceberg Lounge, How many will it be today?"
"Just one, and please send either Jay, Raven, or Lark to wait on me, I will be at the bar."
"Um, sure I suppose I could have them wait on you, though they can be busy at times so If either 3 are unavailable I will have to let the Bartender on-duty know, also I will let you know that you need to be dressed appropriately next time."
Branden nodded and walked into the main dining hall, to call it a dining room would be an injustice. The dining hall had 2 levels to it, where 6 black marble staircases were spread out evenly to join the two floors which had 4 tall round light fixtures standing on its sides. On the first floor was the main attraction, the massive arrow-shaped pond with a large Iceberg in its center with live sea-lions inhabiting the pond. Guests were even tossing fish to the animals as they swam up and performed harmless tricks. Around the pointed curve of the pond were the main dining tables, cloaked in a white table cloth with short candelabra candleholders on each table. The second floor had a higher vantage point and was cut by the staircases themselves to allow a more private dining experience and charge a premium. At the bottom of the arrow was Branden's destination where the Bar and dance floor were connected. Above and right behind the bar was a spot for a private band to play and even a small iceberg for the lead singer to perform who was always female. Separate ceilings were also allowing lights to dangle large icicle-themed chandeliers and other light fixtures to help guests see. Its walls were also a continuation of the same painting on the buildings outside where cleverly built stars would twinkle different colors of blue, white, and a few red and orange colors for contrast. It was known as the most beautiful nightclub in Gotham, and unless someone did something crazy, that title would not be going away anytime soon.
Branden made his way to the bar and sat down. He kept his head down low at the moment it was still a bit dead inside the lounge, but that was going to change fairly quickly, 30 minutes after opening is the only dead time the Lounge had until the last hour before it closed at 2:00 A.M. Anyone could potentially walk between those doors, his ex-wife, god forbid Gordon or Bullock, but this place doesn't attract their kind here. Though admittingly Branden may have underdressed for the occasion, everyone was either in a suit or dress or even some white business casual clothes. He drew attention to himself and he was cursing in his head for it, but the only person who said something was someone he wanted to be noticed by.
"So a bum like you requested me to wait on them huh?"
Branden looked up and saw a tan-skinned waitress with a black pixie cut hairstyle stand at the bar looking down at him with a scowl. She wore the same outfit as the other waitresses but it hugged her body a bit more. Her name tag hung from her left breast as she stood with her arms crossed, it read 'Raven'. Her fingers were tapping against her arms as she studied him wondering why the receptionist let him in the establishment and even allowed him to ask for her to wait on him. She huffed to herself and looked around the room scanning to see if anyone else would take care of Branden, with no one in sight. Branden began to dig into his hoodie's pouch for the note.
"Yes, I sure did. To start a rum and coke will be great, double of course, and a note to the man upstairs too. I have to give it to him personally," He whispered as he put down a 10 dollar bill and the note hiding precariously underneath it.
"Oh is that right, and Ben Dunbar is supposed to be asking me out too? Give me that," she said sarcastically.
With a cocked eyebrow, she took the note along with the money that was presented to her. She opened it, read it, and the look on her face put a smile on Branden's. Raven blinked twice and looked towards Branden in shock and confusion. That certainly was Roman Sionis's handwriting and signature. During the early parts of the crime war, Black Mask would send notes to the Penquin each time he got a win against him, so she knew his handwriting and signature, and this was no fake note. She placed the note back on the countertop and placed the money in her left bra cup and prepared Branden's drink. Once completed she gave Branden the hand signal to wait for a moment and she left the bar. Branden took a sip of his drink and felt the alcohol rush into his system, he kept a closer lookout to make sure he didn't see anyone he recognized. After slamming his drink and several more minutes passing by Raven came back.
"Come with me." She ordered.
Branden instinctively followed Raven from the bar to the second floor of the dining hall and down a hallway to the left. They both passed through a doorway that read 'Employee's only', once past the doors there were multiple corridors where staff could change into their work clothes and close to the lounge's kitchen too. Further down the hallway they both walked and received confused looks from some of the staff they had passed. Soon they walked towards two main doors where two henchmen in suits stood looking towards Raven with a confused look. She nudged her head to the right and both of the men gave way to her and Branden.
"We are not to be disturbed." She stated as she opened the door. Both men nodded in agreement.
Branden walked behind Raven as they entered the office. The office's floor was checkered in black and white square tiles. The rest of the office shared a victorian design, where paintings acquired in the black market were hanging on either wall with two being held up on either side of a large circular stained glass window that portrayed an arctic night sky. Bar carts held bottles of expensive wines below the two paintings by the window, and a massive art piece of empty wine glasses with an umbrella-shaped cavity outlined by a neon blue light was on the wall to the left. A large chandelier that matched the same design of the Gotham Royal Hotel's hung above the large Victorian-style desk. There were three chairs in the office all of which were occupied. Two of them were small blue velvet fabric chairs where two women who were matching in Raven's outfit sat, their only difference was their hairstyle. Lark sat on the right with her flicked-up bob style red hair, while Jay sat in the left chair with her blond bangs hanging out while the rest of her hair was in a bun hiding underneath her hat. But the main attraction in the office was the one sitting in the large red leather victorian office chair that towered over the other pieces of furniture in the office that was stuck to the ground.
A man in his late 40's sat, with his figure easily being described as a water balloon with arms and legs. To hide this shape he was wearing a large formal coat with Russian sable fur surrounding the collar and wrists, though while it hid his weight it did nothing to hide the fact he was 4'10". He wore a standard tuxedo underneath with the blazer & bowtie in black, and the white button shirt holding in his round shape. Further holding his belly back was a yellow vest that popped out amongst the dark colors. His tuxedo pants were also a blueish gray with black thin lines all going vertically along his legs which ended at his Gray and black leather straps. The man also wore a black top hat with a white stripe along its center that helped hide away his slicked-back black hair that was heavily receding. An obnoxiously large monocle on his eye that was almost as big as his nose was long and pointed. Wrinkles were evident on his face that always seemed to show a permanent scowl. Hanging from his lips was a large black cigarette holder with a golden ring around its top quarter, holding a Treasurer Gold cigarette that was already lit. This was the boss of Iceberg Lounge, the 2nd Crime lord of Gotham, this was to most, and the public, Oswald Cobblepot, but to a select few he was The Penguin. He spoke in a refined manner as if to make himself seem above everyone else in every way except physically.
"Stop," he commanded with one hand out. Branden halted in confusion.
"I don't do business with someone who is trying to hide their identity, lose the ball cap if you'd please," Penguin asked.
Branden then removed his ballcap and fixed his blonde hair the best he could. While the girls didn't recognize him the Penguin did. His scowl turned even angrier as his teeth gritted and nearly bent the cigarette holder in his mouth with an audible growl escaping it. He then stood up pushing the office chair back and grabbed a black umbrella and pointed it right at Branden. Branden heard some wild stories about how The Penguin weaponized his umbrellas somehow, some fired like automatic rifles, shotguns, some that were tipped with blades, and even one had a missile launcher. He couldn't believe it, though the girls hopped out of their seats and cleared the Penguins line of sight in a hurry, after all where there is smoke, there is fire. Branden not wanting to take the risk of finding out if the rumors were true or not shot his hands up.
"Officer Branden of the GCPD Swat team eh? What sort of treachery is this Raven!?"
"It's no trick boss I'm telling you-!" Raven begged as she watched the umbrella be pointed at her before Branden interrupted.
"She's right! My entire purpose is to deliver a message to you personally, and believe me you will want to read it. It's in my hoodie's pouch. If not then shoot me!" Branden reassured looking at the umbrella that pointed back to him now.
The penguin's glare narrowed towards Branden, normally a goon would not offer the chance to be shot at unless they were telling the truth. But the Penguin didn't get this high up in the crime business by being careless. He relaxes his pointed stance but still kept the umbrella facing Branden. He watched as Lark and Jay were standing close to the wine glass piece. The Penguin had Branden's full attention as his eyes never let him out of his sight.
"Fine… Jay, grab the note our guest is boasting about, and if you can't find it then I am feeding you both to the sea-lions." Penguin threatened.
Jay then walked up to Branden with his hands still up and watched as she went fidgeting around in the pouch of his hoodie. Raven paid no attention to the threat as she knew about the note already. Penguin took notice of this and watched as Jay took the note out of Branden's pocket and walk to present it to her boss. He quickly snatched it out of her hands then lowered the umbrella to open and read the note. Branden decided to play it safe and keep his hands up, he didn't want to provoke Cobblepott anymore and wanted to be as easy to work with as possible until he needed to leave. He watched the Penguin's eyes scan each word that Black Mask had written only to sneer at Branden. Branden was also given the responsibility not to let Penguin know anything about his Partnership with Dr. Drakken and just how Black Mask was going to leave. He practiced this pitch all of yesterday but sometimes you just have to wing it.
"What is the meaning of this? Black Mask becomes a commoner thorn in my side, competing for Gotham's underworld and now he is just forfeiting? This is probably some clever ruse to get me cornered!" He said raising his umbrella once more. Branden could have sworn he heard a bullet being entered into a built-in chamber.
"No tricks Penguin. Black Mask is just wanting an early retirement and is willing to give up his entire cut of Gotham to get it. He already sold everything of his and leaves tomorrow, but he wants you to buy the Steel Mill he owns. Just an old-fashioned purchase, he'd rather it go to you than the Falcone's."
"Purchase? Why in bloody hell would I want anything to do with that odious & wretched Steel Mill of his?" Penguin asked.
"Simple, It was where all of Black Mask's major drugs were being produced," Branden said.
"I find that difficult to believe. Last I heard he was outsourcing his product, that commoner had to suck off of his family's cosmetic lines fortune to get his drugs moving." Penguin argued.
"At first yes, but he secretly commissioned an underground lab for Black Ice to be made. Once he had a solid product he moved it in the streets of Gotham charging a premium. Everything still runs, just need the keys, and it's all yours."
There was truth in that statement. Roman Sionis's money came from the family's cosmetic business. When his parents passed away he was entrusted with the line of cosmetics, which unfortunately did not do too well after it caused a horrendous allergic reaction in quite a few people. After millions lost in lawsuits, product bombs, and investors shying away he had to resort to crime to survive and had decided to get more involved with selling hard drugs and transporting them with outside cartels and mafias. Though he cleverly took control of his gangs and even started to create a superior drug product called Black Ice. He had purchased the Steel Mill as a disguise to create Black Ice from its basements, though it still operated as a regular Steel Mill and even had regular deals occur. Penguin was right about how Roman had to outsource but had no clue about the Steel Mill's true purpose. Black Mask had international clients because of Black Ice.
Penguin thought for a bit if what Branden said was true he could start running all of Gotham's drug trade within a few short days, especially with Black Ice in his thick fingers. It would take no time at all, and he would have an up and running facility working around the clock to get the drugs made quickly. Sure Black Mask would need to supply the recipes but that would be easy. Of course, there was the entire possibility that this was a trap and a way for Black Mask to kill the Penguin, but Batman had been on his tail particularly hard recently. Hitting multiple drug trade routes that cost Black Mask dearly. The Penguin would have to reestablish and reroute those drug trade routes once he took over. A simple task, he would just need to be more cautious about his more upstanding citizenship appearance to Gotham.
"Okay, you convinced me to check out this little deal Black Mask is throwing about, but if I sense any inkling of a trap, you will never see the light of day again," Penguin promised as he placed his umbrella down.
"You won't regret it Mr. Penguin," Branden reassured. Cobblebpott growled as he sat back down. Tensions now lowering.
"Now get out of my office." He ordered.
Branden sighed and lowered his hands. Raven then began to walk towards Branden and motioned towards the door, intending to keep her promise. She opened it and the two men in suits who were still by the door moved to let the doors open. They stood on either side of Branden who placed his ball cap back on. Raven just let her head peak out of the office.
"Boy's please show our guest out, use the back door." She said politely.
"Yes Ma'am" one responded as they both grabbed Branden by the arm on their respective side. Branden could have easily yanked his arms free but his goal was complete, and he wanted to be as easygoing as possible. They walked down the same hallway and went out towards a door close to the kitchen. Branden now feeling a bit more at ease tried to make the best of his situation.
"So, who do you think is going to win tonight's game?" He asked.
"Steelers… our team is honest trash." the man on his left said.
"What? No way man you gotta have some respect for your home team!" the man on his right said. They continued to banter until finally reaching a back alley where the garbage behind the building was placed, wreaking of fish. They tossed Branden out who kept his balance and made sure not to fall as they shut the door outside on him. Branden didn't care, he did his task. He made sure not to be seen by anyone before walking out to the city streets.
Kim had changed into her mission clothes that were freshly cleaned thanks to Caryl, though the tears on her crop top were still showing her scabs that developed from the Batarangs. Wade was able to have an agent of Global Justice fly to Middleton and collect Ron's mission clothes who was changing as well in the bathroom. She exited her guestroom and watched as the sun was slowly going down over Gotham's skyline. For the first time, she was nervous like she was when she was asking Josh Mankey out back in sophomore year. She never felt this nervous about a mission before, what if it impedes her fighting performance tonight or worse? She couldn't get caught up in such dangerous thoughts. Not before the trap was going to be set.
Thanks to Commissioner Gordon he was able to get to Gotham City's Mayor who did not put up much resistance in releasing the abandoned warehouse to trap the Batman, there was no need to say anything about GJ's involvement either. Here in a few hours, the trap for Batman would be ready and now the same person who killed Loeb and who beat her in a fight would be cornered by her and Global Justice. With them backing up Kim there would be no way for Batman to escape. He would be cornered outmatched, and finally, be caught. She looked towards Aunt Caryl and Dr. Director, who was interviewing Caryl about a few things psychologically when it comes to taking care of agents who had been severely hurt or even going through so mental trauma. Kim didn't want to eavesdrop but caught Dr. Director approaching her in her peripheral vision. At the same time, she could hear Ron exiting the bathroom now wearing his signature mission outfit.
"Kim I want to address something really quick."
"Sure Dr. Director what's up?" Kim asked.
"I'm more than certain we can take down Batman, however, should our injuries, and God forbid casualties, reach a certain point we will have to pull out from assisting you." Kim was taken aback by this and once Ron stepped into the conversation.
"Wait, you will just leave us behind?" Ron asked
"Well I wouldn't put it as abruptly as that, but my immediate loyalty is to the members of our Network. If Batman takes down and seriously injures, or even kills my agents I will have to prioritize their wellbeing and will pull out of this operation. Kim, Ron, what you have done for GJ is invaluable, but I must take care of my team first." Dr. Director conceded.
Kim paused for a minute to think about the possibility of this happening. While she understood she almost didn't want to accept it. Batman was a skilled fighter but he would be taking on what sounded like several squads of trained agents' to take him down. Was there even a possibility for them to lose against one deranged man in a bat costume? She finally took a breath and spoke to her in a more understanding manner, reluctantly.
"I understand Betty," Kim said, now speaking as a friend. Dr. Director thanked Kim and felt a vibration in her left hip, and excused herself Allowing Kim and Ron to ponder this news.
"They can't just run away like that can they?" Ron asked.
"If Batman does a lot more damage than we can control then they have no choice."
"...Can he do that?" Ron asked with a bit of fear behind him, Kim didn't know but kept on the positive outlook.
"Oh, it's no big Ron! Just one more trap for the bad guys and we will be home tomorrow in no time!" she said, smiling at her lifelong best friend.
"Right KP!"
Dr. Director walked back towards them both with a smile on her face whilst still on the phone by the time she had walked back.
"They have the site secured, let's move!"
As the night grew closer Bruce had already changed into his own designed Batsuit as he sat at the Bat-computer. While Ben's bat-suit focused on more overall defense and offense capabilities, Bruce's focused on stealth and mobility. His was made of a triple kevlar weave material that was in substitute for exterior armor around the limbs. It looked as if the bat-suit was a single article of clothing but far stronger. His mask, cape, boots, and gloves all were tighter to his body as well and sported a dark Prussian blue color, unlike Ben's black design. The 3 blades on the outside of his arms were also fully extended outwards, and Bruce's utility belt was a more golden color and had everything he needed. The only thing that seemed truly out there was the same golden color oval that surrounded a more curvy Bat symbol on his chest.
Their suits reflected their styles of being Batman. Bruce was geared more towards the stealthy and far more mobile style. Hit them hard, fast and they should never see it coming and they should never know you were there. While Ben was the brawler, he could take a hit and wouldn't mind a dragged-out fight and could back it up with the heavier armor, but it made him slower, and a bit more dependent on the armor taking the blows of impacts for him.
Bruce sat with his fingers interlocked covering his nose and mouth. He stared at the screen reading over Ben's notes that he logged for the prior night. It all went over the events that led up to how Ben had encountered Kim and the others, how they lost Loeb's Murder, and where they could have possibly gone. But what was worse was the DNA results.
-DNA SCAN COMPLETE-
Status: UNAVAILABLE
Sex: MALE
"How is that possible?" Bruce asked himself.
Sure it was a long shot with just a hair follicle, as the root of the hair had to be attached to the hair for DNA to be traced and Ben had been lucky to find it. The root should have been able to search through the data banks of the Batcomputer, as it held a massive database on everyone on the GCDP. So the fact that no DNA match has been found was odd, but the search didn't stop there, it was searching the entire world. This hair follicle and root didn't belong to anyone according to the Batcomputer. Alfred had walked behind Bruce with a silver platter with a white plate and teacup onto it. Placing it down next to Bruce.
"I brought you some relaxing tea for you to let sit overnight," Alfred said sarcastically He took notice of the screen Bruce was glaring at.
"How strange, it only determines half of the population?" He asked.
"Yes. Of course, we only need to look through the men of the GCPD, but that doesn't break any ground. Only 12.6% of cops are women," Bruce replied
"Not to mention if this follicle belongs to anyone related to the murder," Alfred stated.
"No it does."
"I'm sorry I don't follow."
Bruce minimized the window of the DNA results and pulled up a document that was saved in a file under the GCPD folder. It was a scheduled timesheet with multiple time frames for when an authorized helicopter was supposed to arrive at Blackgate. It was dated for the night prior and covered times from 9:30 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. Along with the names of pilots that were scheduled to fly.
"This was last night's schedule for authorized Helicopter landings at Blackgate. Anytime a helicopter lands another officer or Loeb himself needs to be on the Helipad. That's why he had a private stairway to the helipad in the first place. Notice how there were no other scheduled helicopter pick-ups past 10:00 P.M. a full 2 hours before Loeb was killed."
"Master Ben discovered Loebs body past Midnight, and with the schedule, no one else should have been on the helipad,"
"Right, and you tracked a helicopter before losing its signal to the storm shortly after. That hair follicle was found in an officer's cap that would have surely been blown away by the storm between those two hours, without even factoring in the helicopter's landing and take off. It's no question that this hat belonged to the killer or someone who last saw him. But now our luck has run dry." Bruce explained.
"How dreadful."
Bruce stood from the Batcomputer and walked towards the Batwing. He activated it casually by pressing a small button on his belt and the aircraft fired up its engines. He even felt his now full pouch of newly designed batarangs that Lucius designed for him and Ben to use, just to make sure he packed them. Alfred walked behind him and checked the time as he would still need to pick up Ben from Wayne tower who stayed behind to work on a few things with the company. He received a text right after from Ben.
-All done. Come pick me up when you get the chance-
"Master Ben has finished with his duties back at Wayne Enterprises. Once you leave I will fetch him for you."
"Good Alfred, I will wait for you to come back online," Bruce said as he entered the Batwing and closed the cockpit. Like the others before Alfred watches as the Batwing circled and flew out of the Batcave. He then began to walk towards the exit of the Batcave back towards the stairs that led back up to the Wayne Manor and spotted the platter of tea. Still as full as he left it.
"Hmm, maybe Ben will finish the cup of tea…"
