A/N: It's been a while since I last updated, and for that I present you with a bit of a longer chapter that dives a bit more into what's going on with the current Bat Family.
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own DC or Batman
Chapter 6: Family Matters
"What are you doing here?"
Batwoman scoffed at the question and shook her head. The interrogating tone of voice that Batman used was one that would've threatened any criminal, but it had no effect on her. She shifted her weight off of the doorframe and crossed her arms.
"The same reason you're likely here, to look for more evidence," she said.
"Melanie's there? And you're actually talking to her? The world has to be coming to an end. Tell her I said hi," Julia's voice piped into Damian's cowl.
Batman narrowed his eyes and elected to ignore Julia for the time being. He needed to focus on the potential annoyance ahead of him. "Why? Gotham's a big city, full of all sorts of unsolved crimes. Why this one?"
"One of the mayoral candidates' brother gets murdered and you think I'm just gonna sit it out?" Batwoman rolled her eyes. "You beat me to the signal, for once. When I got there, Montoya debriefed me on everything and told me that you'd gone after Maroni. I elected to come here and see what was left to find. I got…tied up along the way so I haven't had enough time here to find much.
Batman didn't want to work with her for any longer than he needed to, so he'd cut right to the chase to see if she proved to be useful in any way. As much as he hated to admit it, she was proficient in breaking down crime scenes for evidence, though not as proficient as him.
"Did you find anything at all?" he asked.
Batwoman held a thick white envelope up in her hand that had the words "FALCONE" written on the back of it. "I found this. It's full of money, enough to make anyone do backflips. It's obvious that Thorne was smart in his field and nothing else if he was dumb enough to actually write Falcone's name on this. I know Tony wouldn't make such a stupid mistake," she explained.
Batman's eyes shifted to the envelope for just a moment. "I'm aware of their working relationship."
Batwoman tilted her head to the side. A brief look of disappointment flashed across her face at her finding being a mute point. She sighed and tossed the envelope to the side.
"And here I thought I found something that was news to you." Batwoman paused after the thought. The connection between Thorne and Falcone was surprising, but it now raised an entirely different question. "Wait so Thorne was getting paid by both Falcone and Maroni...what does that mean for the guy who killed him?
"It means he wanted to hurt both of them, not do either of them any favors," Batman responded. He turned around to stare at the chair in which Thorne was murdered on. "The killer was using a handgun of some kind. I should be able to identify a specific model."
Batwoman crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you'll end up sharing any of that information with me, will you?"
"Why would I?" he responded without sparing her even a look over his shoulder.
Batwoman didn't hide the disappointed sigh that made its way through her lips.
"I suppose I thought you might act like an adult for once, and put our differences aside to solve this case. Who am I kidding? You're you," she said, looking Batman over with a hint of contempt running through her eyes.
Damian preferred not to wrap himself up in their drama at the moment, but he couldn't help but to put forth a rebuttal. He was beginning to remember exactly why he disliked Melanie as much as he did.
"Let's make one thing unmistakably clear," he responded with an added gruffness to his voice. He turned around to face Batwoman with his piercing eyes trained on the female vigilante. It took only a few heavy footsteps before he was now standing in front of her. "I don't particularly care for you. The only reason I tolerate you is because of my respect for Barbara. She took you in, gave you her name. That is the only reason why I even allow you to wear that suit."
"Allow?" Batwoman interjected with a scoff and a look of offense. "No one's ever 'allowed' me to do a Goddamn thing."
"We agreed to go our separate ways, work in separate spheres. This is my case. My city. We're not working together on this, so go find something else to occupy your time," he replied. The level of arrogance in his voice had raised quite a bit. Perhaps it was the effect of being in her presence.
A look of fierceness washed over Batwoman's face.
"You're really gonna pull the whole 'my city' card? Let's get one thing straight, this isn't your city. Nobody, not even Superman has a claim to an entire city. Your father wasn't the only one who protected, fought and died for Gotham. There were countless others, including my mother." Batwoman looked up at Batman without an ounce of fear traceable in her eyes. She extended her index finger and pointed directly into his chest. "The only reason you don't like me is because I'm not afraid to call you out when you're acting like the spoiled child you grew up as."
Batman stared down at Batwoman with an unreadable expression. His eyes were cold but lacked any discernible emotion behind them. He'd long become a master at keeping his emotions inward for a variety of uses, including this very moment. To show emotion now would allow Melanie the satisfaction of knowing that her words managed to affect him, if even on the smallest level. Though he was prepared to retort, his eyes caught a glimpse of something out of the window. His eyes trailed up and landed on the Bat-Signal shining in the sky.
Batwoman furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion once she noticed that his attention had shifted from her. She turned her head to look up, following Batman's gaze to the Bat-Signal as well. It hadn't been that long since either of them talked to Montoya, so it must've been important.
"I'm going too, you know that right?" she asked.
Batman's eyes shifted down to Batwoman for just a moment in acknowledgement. He knew there was no stopping her, no matter how much he didn't like it. She was attached to this case now, and would likely stay that way.
He let out a disappointed sigh and walked past Batwoman.
"Unfortunately, I do."
Burnley Freight Yards, Burnley District - 11:20 PM
The Burnley Freight Yards for one of the few times in its history, was a crime scene. GCPD officers were spread out across the area of the freight yards in which three of Falcone's men had been shot and killed. Forensic scientists scoured the scene for any useful evidence. Commissioner Montoya and Lieutenant Allen stood not too far from the truck that had been intended for the transportation of illegal weapons, both of them wearing gloves. In Montoya's hand was a Ziplock bag that contained a gun.
"I don't care how many times I look over to this poor bastard, I can't help but think…poor bastard." Allen said with a sigh as he stared through the truck's windshield. The body of the dead Falcone thug was still in its original position.
"Well he worked for Falcone, so the life expectancy isn't exactly that high to begin with. If it wasn't gonna be this way, you best believe he would've gone out shot to death in another way," Montoya commented.
Jake nodded. "I know but…don't you ever wonder what goes through their mind in their last moments? Like this guy was clearly trying to get the hell outta Dodge-"
Montoya shook her head and turned to look at Jake more directly with a stern look on her face. "If you start thinking like that, before long you're gonna find yourself at the bottom of an empty bottle."
Jake seemed taken aback by her response. There was no mistaking the perspective she was speaking from, but he didn't expect her to bring it up. Seeing the look on his face and recognizing what she had said, Montoya sighed.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to get all heavy on you there," she said with a bit of embarrassment.
Jake raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further. He gave Montoya a slightly worried glance before turning to survey the rest of the motion around the crime scene. In doing so, he caught sight of something that caused him to lightly tap Montoya's arm.
"Hey uh…Montoya…you're gonna wanna see this," he said without taking his eyes off of what he was staring at.
Montoya furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what it could possibly be, and turned to look in the direction he was focused on. Ahead of them, two caped figures could be seen emerging from the darkness. Both Batman and Batwoman walked side by side at an even pace, though there was a considerable amount of space between the two.
Jake and Montoya walked ahead to meet the two vigilantes.
"Well I'll be damned…you two are in the same place, same time? Walking in together no less…the world's really gone to shit then, huh?" Montoya asked in jest as her eyes scanned between the two.
"She insisted," Batman deadpanned.
Batwoman couldn't help the smirk that rose on her lips, but focused her attention on Montoya the best she could. Well, it wasn't too hard to focus on a woman like Renee Montoya.
"They made us aware of the situation back at the station. We're dealing with a triple homicide?" Batwoman asked.
Montoya stared at the two vigilantes for a fleeting moment before nodding and walking through the crime scene with both in tow. She placed the bag in front of her and out of the view of the vigilantes, for now.
"I wish I could say no, but we are. Not just any triple homicide either. The victims have all been ID'd as men who have been associated with Tony Falcone," Montoya explained.
Batman eyed the bodies as they passed through the crime scene. His mind had already begun to wonder the reasons behind their deaths. Given what Falcone seemed to think of Danilo Maroni at the end of their conversation, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for Falcone to have already started something. Perhaps this was retaliation.
"Falcone's men...not surprising," Batwoman commented. "This place has been under his control for years."
"Who knows if it's gonna stay that way," Montoya said with a shrug. She stopped at the back of the parked truck, which was still full of the weapons crates that had been in the process of being moved before the incident. "They were in the middle of receiving an illegal weapons shipment when it all went to Hell."
Batman focused on the crates. There was something about the timing, the location and the content being shipped that felt a little too perfect for his tastes.
"The killer chose wisely. He knew the time and the place, as well as what was being shipped," Batman said. He walked around to the front of the truck to get a look at the dead Falcone thug in the front seat. "This was no accident. Every bit of this was intentional."
Batwoman crossed her arms. "What makes you so sure of that?"
"The man that killed Dr. Thorne wanted to take Maroni out, but first he wanted to ruin his business. If Falcone had nothing to do with that, and since killing Thorne impacted him as well…who's to say this isn't a more direct shot at Falcone? Stopping these weapons from getting to him is one way to mess with his business," Batman explained.
The entire time he spoke, Montoya's face went through a few different changes. First there was intrigue, then there was concern, and finally disdain.
Batwoman stared off at nothing in particular as she weighed the plausibility of the theory.
"Huh...if that's the case than this guy sounds a whole lot like a-"
"Vigilante," Montoya interrupted. Her expression was cold, perhaps colder than either Batman or Batwoman had ever seen from her. "Makes sense…matter of fact it makes way more sense than I wish it did."
"How so?" Batwoman asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Montoya turned to face both vigilantes fully, and in doing so would hold up the plastic bag that contained a pistol.
It wasn't just any pistol.
The pistol was the exact silver and red M1911 that had been left behind after the crime was committed.
"Does this look familiar to either of you?" Montoya asked.
Damian immediately recognized the pistol, as did Melanie. Both of their eyes were drawn to the red bat insignia engraved on the pistol's slide. They were both silent at first, and exchanged glances with one another. There was no mistaking who the pistol belonged to. Not many vigilantes in Gotham used guns.
Montoya took notice of not only their silence, but the look they exchanged as well.
"It was here when we arrived," the anger simmering under the surface was beginning to become quite noticeable. She wasn't happy, not in the slightest. "So this entire time…this headache was because of Red Hood."
It was more of a statement than a question. Both Damian and Melanie remained quiet in order to allow Montoya to get whatever she needed off of her chest.
"You know…I've been on the force for far too long, been in this city for even longer unfortunately. Whenever you've left bodies behind-" Montoya pointed to Batman. "I've turned a blind eye. Hell I've turned a blind eye for him too."
Montoya glanced at Batwoman and for a moment, her anger faltered.
"I understand how you feel about it, but that's just the way it's been. After all these years, I've come to accept the fact that there are just some bad people in this world. The bulk of them live here. If they have to go, they have to go…but Thorne was different," Montoya closed her eyes and shook her head a bit. "He was a doctor. He saved lives. I don't care if he was also saving the lives of scum who work for Falcone and Maroni on the side, I don't care if he was corrupt. He…he saved my brother's life when he had his accident. Not to mention he was the brother of our next potential Mayor."
There was a brief moment of silence that passed once Montoya had finished. She looked between Batman and Batwoman for some kind of answer, some kind of response. None seemed to have any, until Batman finally spoke up.
"...I'll talk to him. I'll hear his story, see if everything checks out…or if he flat out confesses to it."
Batwoman glanced at him with hesitation, but didn't say anything else. Montoya took another step closer to Batman, looked around and handed him the gun.
"Take this to him. If he admits to it, you tell me. So I can be there to put him in cuffs," she said before turning to make her way over to Jake without a second look.
Batman looked down at the gun. His eyes focused on the Bat insignia, which was a bit larger in shape than what he and even Batwoman wore. His grip on the bag tightened. Batman turned around to head back in the direction that they came with quick, heavy steps. Batwoman sighed and followed behind him.
"I'm going with you to talk to him," she said.
"Why?" Batman asked.
Batwoman chuckled dryly at the question.
"Did you forget how much he hates you? Well…hates a strong word, he…strongly dislikes you. He dislikes me a bit less. You'll need me for this so it doesn't break out into some fight between you two," she explained.
"It wouldn't last long enough to be considered a fight."
East End, Gotham City - 11: 30 PM
Despite Gotham's reputation as a crime-stricken city as a whole, there was a region of the city that took the presence of crime to a different level. East End held a level of notoriety that no other region in Gotham did. This was largely thanks to Crime Alley, the area where Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed many decades ago. Outside of Crime Alley, East End was notorious for its frequent muggings and streetwalkers that could easily be found on the streets.
There was no wondering why a man like Jaiden Todd would choose this as his home.
The son of Jason Todd walked the East End streets, wearing a black and red leather jacket with a hood that covered his dark red hair. His hands were deep in his pockets, and his focus was sharp. Walking the streets was something he did when he wanted to get a feel of the night. If there was going to be any egregious crime in East End, he would find out by walking among it.
"You look like you could use a little cheering up. A good-looking guy like you shouldn't be walking these streets alone-"
Jaiden initially ignored the comment made by a prostitute to his right. It was nothing he hadn't heard before. The only thing that caused him to stop was the sound of the woman's voice. Jaiden looked back to take in the appearance of a short, pale, red-headed girl dressed in a dark green dress and black coat. She sounded young, and looked even younger.
"...Neither should you."
Jaiden continued on his path without sparing the woman another glance. He passed by a few different bars, gun shops and strip clubs until he turned into a corner. Behind him, a different man in a hoodie was following closely. Once Jaiden was deep into the alley, the hoodie man pulled out a pistol and pressed it right at the back of Jaiden's head.
"Wallet, phone…anything else you consider valuable. I want it all," the man demanded.
Of course in East End, one couldn't go walking down the street too many times at night without finding themselves robbed of their goods. This was the first time for Jaiden. He could've played it straight like a regular citizen...but he wasn't a regular citizen.
Jaiden took his chances and slowly turned around to face the man. He stared at him with his piercing green eyes and leaned his head forward to place his forehead against the barrel.
"You see, that's the thing I don't get with you guys. What's the gun really for? You rarely use it, so it's just for show. You should've just shot me in both legs and took my stuff while I was down if you're really about it," Jaiden challenged.
The man was taken aback, and downright uneasy at the look in Jaiden's eyes, as well as his bravery. His grip on the gun faltered a bit, which gave Jaiden the opening he needed to push the man's arm to the side and grab his wrist. He twisted the man's wrist and backhanded him across the face to send him to the ground. On the way down, he dropped the pistol which fell right into Jaiden's hands.
Jaiden aimed the gun at the man with his finger at the ready. However, he didn't shoot. He sighed and knelt down over the man with a tired expression on his face.
"You're not even worth it…but you're still worth an ass-beating," Jaiden responded. He lifted the gun up and drove it down to repeatedly smash the gun into the man's face. He did this a few more times until there was blood physically on the gun itself.
After Jaiden was done, the man's face had been severely bruised and beaten into a bloody heap. Somehow, he was still alive.
Jaiden stood up, placed the gun behind him in his pants and turned towards a nearby dumpster. He ran towards the dumpster, jumped on top of it and climbed up a fire escape. He stepped through an open window that led into his small apartment. Once inside, Jaiden took a few steps forward and came to a stop.
Something wasn't right.
He turned to look back at the open window. He squinted his eyes and pulled out the pistol to hold at the ready. Turning back around, he gazed around at the apartment and slowly began moving through it. There was a loud bump to the right where his kitchen was, which caused Jaiden to turn quickly with his gun aimed in that direction. He moved to stand back first to the wall before stepping out and aiming into the kitchen.
Batwoman was standing in front of the refrigerator, holding a soda can up to her lips. Once the two made eye contact, Jaiden sighed and lowered his gun.
"What the hell…"
Batwoman closed the refrigerator door and leaned up against it with a bit of a playful smirk on her face.
"There's a lot of beer in there. Are you an alcoholic now?" she asked, half joking and half serious with concern.
"The fact that there's a lot still in there means I'm not overdoing it, now what the hell are you doing here?" he asked.
Batwoman leaned her head back as she downed the rest of the soda. Once she was done, she leaned forward, wiped her mouth and placed the can on the nearby counter. Her eyes lingered on Jaiden, and though there was something else she wanted to say, she had to pivot to the business at hand.
"We need to talk to you," she said.
Jaiden raised an eyebrow. "'We'?"
His ears picked up the sounds of heavy footsteps alternating one after the other not far behind him. Jaiden slowly turned around, where he was met by the sight of Batman standing near his couch, camouflaged mostly by darkness. In an instant, he drew his pistol and aimed at Batman with no hesitation.
"You did not bring this asshole in my apartment," Jaiden said through gritted teeth.
There was no concern whatsoever on Batman's face. In fact, it was as if the gun wasn't there at all. Batwoman sighed and held a hand up in a cautious gesture.
"Jaiden just put the gun down–"
"It won't do anything," Batman stated. There was almost a sense of boredom in his voice. This entire situation had already overstayed its welcome as far as he was concerned.
Jaiden adjusted his grip on the pistol and pressed his finger against the trigger a bit harder. "It won't kill you, but it'll sure as hell hurt. Now I may not like her very much…" he jerked his head back in Melanie's direction. "...but I hate you. No ifs, ands or buts about it."
"Listen Jaiden, you know how our relationship is. It's bad, maybe beyond fixing…but if we're both here together then you know it has to be something important," Batwoman said. She reached up to her cowl and pulled it off, revealing a full, unobscured look at her face. "Look at me."
Jaiden forced himself to look back at Melanie. His hard features instantly softened for a split moment at seeing her face.
"We're all family. We fight like family, now can we just talk like family?" Melanie asked with hope in her voice.
Jaiden kept his focus on Melanie, but it was easy to see that his resolve was wavering. His eyes shifted to look off at anything but her as all the feelings came rushing back to him. He forced himself to look at Damian, and would ultimately sigh. He released the tension in his body and lowered. After turning the safety back on, he placed it behind him in his pants and walked over to the refrigerator.
"You get 10 minutes," Jaiden said to Melanie as he grabbed a beer. He would turn and walk over to Batman with disdain clear on his face. "You get 5," he purposely bumped Batman on the shoulder on his way past.
There was no anger in Batman's eyes at the action, only a small amount of contempt. Jaiden sat on his couch and leaned back. He placed the top of the bottle at his coffee table and slammed his hand down onto it to pop off the cap.
"So what's so important that the two of you are willing to coexist?" he asked.
Without any warning, Batman tossed the plastic bag that held what was seemingly one of Jaiden's guns. Jaiden caught the bag in his lap and looked down at it with furrowed eyebrows.
"Where the hell did you get this?" Jaiden asked, confusion spread all through his voice.
"The Burnley Freight Yards," Batman answered. His low, gruff voice was often unreadable when it came to emotions but it was clear that this time there was a smidge of annoyance. "They were criminals. Men who worked under Falcone. Very much your M.O, and similar to the murder of-"
"Oh please," Jaiden interrupted, scoffing. "People get shot, and I'm to blame. Is that it? No one in Gotham could ever shoot somebody other than me?"
Melanie, not wanting this to get out of hand, spoke up.
"That's not what he's saying, however your gun was found at the scene. There's no explanation for that?" she asked.
Jaiden pulled the gun out of the plastic and held it up close to his face. His green eyes scanned over every single detail of the gun. The colors, the grading, the material.
Something was off.
After a few moments passed, Jaiden tossed the gun directly at Batman's chest with clear disrespect.
"It's not mine. That's my explanation," Jaiden said.
Batman caught the gun and glanced down at it. His eyes shifted upwards to meet Jaiden's in a cold deadlocked stare. Melanie looked in between the two and sighed.
"What do you mean it's not yours? It looks exactly like your guns," she said with a raised eyebrow.
A smug grin appeared on Jaiden's face as he pointed to the gun. "The shading is all wrong on the gray specifically. It's a bit too light." Jaiden reached down into the couch and pulled out another gray and red gun that looked virtually identical to the one left at the crime scene. He held the gun out to Melanie and gestured for her to take it. "See for yourself."
Melanie took the gun from him and stared at it. Her eyes scanned the gun, and then shifted over to the one in Batman's hands. The two examined each of the guns, and then exchanged a quick glance. Damian turned to Jaiden and narrowed his eyes a bit.
"So then, Matthew Thorne...that wasn't you?" he asked.
At the change in topic, Jaiden furrowed both eyebrows and leaned back a bit. "What? Thorne? You mean that doctor that got shot?" Jaiden scoffed. "What the hell would I wanna kill a doctor for?"
"He worked with both Falcone and Maroni, acting as their first line of medical attention for themselves or any of their goons," Batman held the bagged gun up and gestured with it. "Same round, same gun that killed the ones at the Freight Yards. So I need you to look me in the eye right now and say that you had nothing to do with Thorne's murder."
A glint of rebellion flashed in Jaiden's eyes. He smirked a bit and closed the distance between the two of them. There weren't many people that would stand up to Batman with an almost challenging expression, but Jaiden was one of them.
"And if I did? The guy's working with criminals, the criminals of criminals…if I decided to take him out, it'd be well deserved," Jaiden let out a small chuckle. "After all the scumbags you put in the dirt, don't tell me you changed your ways now. What, finally decided to wonder what your dad would think?"
Batman drew his fist back in order to throw a punch, but Melanie quickly moved in to grab his elbow and halt his attack. She moved her position to stand in between the two in order to stop any physical confrontation.
"Alright that's enough! I can't believe I even have to do this," Melanie turned to Batman and sighed. "He didn't have anything to do with it. We both know that. Call it a night, or find some more people to beat up, I don't know. We're done here."
Batman's eyes remained on Jaiden nearly the entire time. It wasn't until Melanie had finished talking that he finally paid any attention to her. He glared for a moment, but didn't say anything. Instead he simply backed up and turned away, leaving Melanie to talk with Jaiden.
"Really? You had to go there?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
Jaiden looked down at Melanie and scoffed at the question. He held his hands up in defense and took a step back. "Oh please, you should talk. That was a Melanie Gordon special right there. Bring up old grandpa Bruce. Only last time no one stopped him from decking your ass."
Melanie looked down, thinking long and hard about the very occasion he was referring to. She clenched her fists and looked back up at Jaiden, sighing. "Our family's messed up, there's no denying that. I played a part in it, but I'd rather it not get any worse than it already is."
Jaiden's eyes looked past her to catch a glimpse of a cape exiting out of his window. He crossed his arms and returned his attention to her. He could see the genuine nature in her eyes, the belief that she truly wanted the family not to be as broken as it was, however life often had different plans when it came to them.
"Yeah well…it's gonna get worse before it gets better."
