- So It Begins -
- G.C.P.D Precinct -
Jim Gordon walks down the steps of the precinct, holding his coat folded over his arm. He holds his phone to his ears, "I'm on my way now. I'm not decided yet, maybe Chinese? I'm sure that place is still open this time of night. Yeah, I got it..." he walks along the sidewalk, unaware of the shadowed figure that was following him above on the rooftops, "How is she, Barb?" he asks. Jim heads towards his parked car and rummages through the pockets of his coat and pulls out his car keys.
"I know...but you need to stay strong. We have to have hope" the commissioner presses his car keys. The headlights of his car flash and it beeps, echoing through the abandoned street, "I'll be there soon. Don't worry, Lee wants me to be there just as much as you" he reaches for the handle of the car door. His eyes ponder for a moment, feeling a shiver run up his spine.
The commissioner turns to see a man lurking in the shadows, one that had the silhouette of pointy ears and a cape that flutters. He looks back and forth between his car and the shadowy figure, "What are you doing here? Listen I told you...I can't work with you. Not anymore...you know what Waller is capable of..." it was expected to receive the silent treatment, but Gordon couldn't help but feel that the shadowed body had more malice compared to the man that he knew, "...You're not him..."
From within the shadows, a pair of blue eyes glow.
Gordon throws his coat to the ground and pulls out his gun, "Hands in the-" he gulps, firing his gun off the mark to the side, beginning to bleed from his mouth. The shadowed man stands before him holding a blade that had penetrated the commissioner's sides. Gordon hunches over and gasps only tasting the crimson red river that pours from his lips. The attacker yanks his sword out of the man and watches him collapse onto the sidewalk as he begins to bleed out.
The figure then walks off, blurring with Gordon's vision. Holding his bloody sides, Jim gasps.
05:56
05:57
05:58
05:59
06:00
Bzzzzzz
"Hmmm?"
Bzzzzzzzzzzz
"Ugh..."
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
"Alreeeaaaddddyyyyyy?" Harleen groans, forcing open her crusted eyes. Leaning over her bed, she reins hell down upon her alarm clock with her fist, marvelling at the peace that it granted her. She rolls on to her back and rubs her eyes, "Few..." she lets out a sigh of relief. Closing her eyes as she squirms in her bed to find a comfortable position. Her efforts were quickly thwarted by a second alarm that blared next to the Alarm clock, this time the culprit was her phone.
With a frustrated swear, she sits up and grabs at her phone. She ends the alarm and forces herself out of the bed, "I hate this part..."
Later.
Harleen brushes her teeth, spitting into the sink. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she sees her knotted and messy hair. She looks at her side, facing the shower as she twirls her pinkie through curls of her hair.
Minutes After.
The ice blonde runs her hand under the steaming water, unaware of its actual temperature. With a squeal, she yanks her hand away on instinct, left with a red mark over her palm, "Shit." Once she had balanced out the temperature of the water, she undresses and walks into the shower. With the little time that she had, she washed her body and hair. Starting to feel relaxed by the warmth of the water running against her skin she shuts her eyes and lifts her head, running her hands through her hair.
When she was finished, she twists the dial to shut off the water while she reaches out with her other hand. Her eyes then widen, realizing that she forgot to bring a towel in with her, "Oh mother fu-" from outside the bathroom the woman's curses were hard to make out.
After.
Now dried off and in the living room, she wears a red bodycon dress with black tights and heels. Listening to the radio while she scurries around the room to collect her things. She grabs her handbag, her jacket and a dark-blue binder that was set on the table, holding it between her arm and thigh as she hurries out of the apartment. As expected by the time she made it out onto the streets, her mind recalled something that she had forgotten, her phone.
She grits her teeth, looking back between Wayne Tower in the distance and her apartment complex as she contemplates on returning for her phone. Standing on her tip-toes, she looks out and sees the Gotham Clock Tower, reading the time, "Shit!" she retreats back. If that wasn't enough, she was greeted with an even more angering revelation. She had left her keys inside her apartment too. The blonde clenches her temple, shaking her head.
- Wayne Enterprise Tower -
It took one hell of a sprint, but she had made it on time with a single minute to spare. But unfortunately due to the heatwave in the city, the burst of energy that she had to use had left her covered in sweat, soaking her hair and creating noticeable stains over her armpits. As she walks through the lounge of the tower, she moves her hair out of her face to avoid the dripping of her sweat down her head. The woman holds back a whimper as she heads for the café.
At the counter, she makes her order as the man behind the counter looked to give little care to her "One latte with cream, two sugars and honey." The employee behind the counter scoffs as she inserts her order into the register.
"$6:50" he informs her as he chews something, Harley figures it to be gum. She tilts her head and gives him a questionable look.
"Eh, what? You forgettin' the employee discount, buddy? It's only $3:25," she tells him. She flashes her badge at the man who shrugs, which caused Harleen to become irritated.
"Card reader's busted" the employee answers, clearly uncaring, "No scan, no discount. Dem the rules"
"That's ridiculous! I have scanned my card every single day I've been here! You know that I work here," Harleen pouts, "C'mon...please? I've been having a really bad day. Wouldja please just do this for me? It's not like I'm asking for a freebie."
"No scan. No discount. Pay up or get lost."
Harley fights the urge to hop over the counter and beat the man's ass, showing restraint she leaves the cue but not before throwing a glare his way, "I can see why you work on the bottom floor. I hope that really made you feel good 'bout you $6 an hour job, because you sure as hell ain't moving up from here," she sticks her tongue out at the man before leaving. A man with dark hair wearing a suit walks to the front of the cue and makes his order.
He then swipes his card across the scanner. The man behind the counter smiles, "With your employee discount, that comes to $4:75" Those words drawled out a loud high-pitched groan from the blonde that brought silence to the lobby and put all eyes on her, "WHAT?" she throws her arms up, "Take a picture it'll last longer!" she decides to calm herself down, looking away from the people and making her way towards the elevator, "Cool ya jets Harls. Ya are better than this. Do not resort to murder...in the open" she then looks at the line of elevators. She calls it down and waits until it opens. She then stops, seeing it crowded with what appeared to be schoolchildren, around ten or so years old. They were beyond noisy, yelling and acting out of control against the timid teacher that was with them. Her left eye twitches, "...No matter how tempting it may be..."
She scooted her way in the lift and selects her floor. Under the attentive eyes of both the children and the teacher, Harleen looks at herself in the mirror are the far-side war and fixes her hair. She becomes focused on a gathering of her hair that was sticking up off her head. She presses it down, growling when it springs back up. Feeling something at her side, she snappily turns her head and spots one of the children standing uncomfortably close, almost pressing up against her. A slender boy with thick-glasses who is concerningly pale.
"Ya mind?"
"You sound funny" the boy stares up at her, speaking with a nasal tone.
"An' ya look funny. Now shut it dweeb"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
- Later -
Arriving on her desired floor, Harleen steps out and is unfortunately followed by the class. She groans on her way to the main office. Lucius comes in from the side and intercepts her, holding a tablet. "There you are. I've been calling you all morning. Why weren't you answering?"
"Look, I've been having a really rough day" the ice blonde pouts, "I locked myself out of my apartment. I had to run here in the blistering heat, had to deal with the pathetic excuse of a human being that was manning the café and was squished in an elevator with a dozen snot-nosed brats! And to top it all of...I've left my eh...hygiene products at home! Can ya please cut me a lil' slack?"
"We're just gonna skip past the last part of that..." Lucius looks over the blonde's shoulders and to the group of children, "When I was trying to reach you, it was because of the tour of the R&D department for those *snot-nosed brats* that you seem to have taken a liking to. Bruce was supposed to be the one to do it but he's nowhere to be found...as usual."
"Am I missin' ya point here or somethin'?"
"Project Skylight is using up all my free time as it is, I hate to ask but can you cover this?" Lucius hands the tablet over to the blonde, "Just take them on a roundabout tour and showcase the projects that been greenlit to be shown," Lucius then repeats, "I mean it, only show them the ones that have been revealed to the public. Do. Not. Show. Anything. Else."
"Why not?"
Lucius rubs his temple, "Because we haven't gotten the pattern signed off on for the classified projects. If word gets out about them, any of them...any of our competitors can copy them with impunity. I'm serious, Harleen. That could cost this company millions."
"This whole thing is bunk! What am I even meant to say? I don't know a thing 'bout tech. I'll look like a total idiot" Harley fiddles with the tablet, "C'mon. Ya gotta have someone else who is better suited for this kinda thing?"
"Harley..." Lucius breathes in, "I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. You are an employee of Wayne Enterprise, more specifically Bruce's assistant. And I know that Bruce only keeps you around just to make sure that can sustain a living...but I'm not him. Your job is to pick up his slack...and I expect you to do it right. So go with them to R&D and do the tour, everything you'll need to know is on that tablet. Just read it out word for word if you have to...just get it done...okay?"
"D-do ya not like me...?" Harleen pouts.
"I mean...I don't *want* to dislike you. But you can be a lot to handle sometimes...now...please just go" Lucius leaves the blonde's sides and makes his way to the teacher and the students, "Welcome everyone to Wayne tower. As promised we will soon begin, miss Quinzel will be your guide today as Mr Wayne is unable to make it due to unforeseen circumstances, I hope that you'll understand that he would be here if it was possible. Please treat Miss Quinzel with respect and do not leave assigned areas. "
- Elliot Memorial Hospital -
Lee shines the light of her pen on Bruce, looking into his eyes, "Clear signs of a concussion, though mild." she removes the light off of the man and grabs at his head. She turns his head to look at the man's scalpel, "Multiple lacerations. Jeez what the hell happened to you on that island?" she walks away from the man. Bruce sits on one the beds inside the room with Talia standing at the door, "Forgive me for not following what you said, run it by me one more time."
Talia leans her head back against the wall, "Basically play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Bruce hit his head on the ship, took numerous attacks from Swan, got his arm dislocated by the Amazonian princess, almost drowned at sea and oh yeah...got an arrow fired through his kneecap."
Lee Tompkins holds back a sigh, looking back at Bruce, "And let me guess...he hasn't learned a single thing from this experience has he?"
Talia nods "Mhm."
"And now he is suffering from memory loss?" Lee puts on a pair of plastic gloves, "Take your shirt off and lie on your front. Whatever those...Amazons did to tend to your wounds, it's certainly not going to last for long. Can't risk it getting infected" she instructs. Bruce reaches for the top of his shirt and unbuttons it down and takes it off, revealing his muscular frame, "Lie down" Lee repeats. Bruce lowers down on his front, giving Lee and Talia the view of his back that was coated in scars, some still fresh.
"You're awfully quiet" Lee runs her hands down the man's back, observing the man's silence. She knew he was a man of few words, but it was unlike him to be so tight-lipped, especially when he is being challenged on his choices, "Since this is on the down-low, I hope that you'll understand that we'll be doing this without any pain numbers. Maybe this will teach you to think long and hard the next time you think of doing something this stupid..." Lee starts to treat the wounds.
Bruce winces as he feels Lee wetting down his wounds with a cold and damp material, one that stung like hell, "Figured that I was in enough trouble. Plus, not everything has come back yet. A lot is still blurry...even when it comes to you..."
"I see" Lee continues to disinfect the man's wounds, "Tell us, Bruce. What do you remember? Now is as good as a spot to start as." Lee removes the cloth from the man's back and sets it back onto the tray next to her. She then picks up a needle and threads it. Bruce shows mild discomfort, feeling the doctor begin to sew the needle at his wound to close it, "Or who do you remember?"
"A lot...I hope. I remember you, Talia, Alfred, Lucius and...Selina" Bruce answers, gritting his teeth at the pain of Lee threading his cuts, "Blurry. It's still so blurry. I remember everything after I return to Gotham clearly, but before is a haze. My time in Gotham before I left still is hurting like hell to recall."
Lee pauses her treatment of the man, "I'm sorry to say but I can't really help you outside of seeing to your injuries. It looks like you're in need of a shrink. There's a chance that what you forgot might not return to you and knowing your line of work that could be information that you need. Lee then continues, moving her sights onto the last gash on the man's back.
"Too risky. Enough people already know my identity. Can't continue being that careless."
"Heh...maybe you won't have to," Lee finishes up and drops the needle on the metal tray. Bruce climbs over the table into a sitting position, hanging his legs off the edge, "Don't you already know someone who's someone who worked as a psychiatrist that also knows who you are?"
"Oh...I thought Selina was trying to be funny..." Bruce holds his hand over his shoulder.
"You seem to remember her fully now..." Talia observes, keeping her eyes trained at the door to the room.
"Kinda. I'm still a bit shaky with her," Bruce stands and collects his shirt, "And about Harleen. Nope." he throws his shirt on over his shoulders and begins to button it back up, "It's bad enough that she knows. Getting her directly involved is even worse. Especially after I chastised Selina for doing the same thing."
Talia rolls her eyes and blows a strand of hair from her eyes, "Oh yes...because being a hypocrite is so beneath you, beloved."
"This isn't about Bruce being a hypocrite," Lee gives a quick glance to Bruce, "As an accurate assessment that is, involving Harleen for her credentials is different than having her fight gunmen with Tommy guns on the streets."
Bruce does his best to give the woman a smile and holds his palms together "As riveting as this conversation has been. I need to go. Thanks for the patch up, I really appreciate it."
"Do you honestly think now is the time for you to be suiting up, Bruce?" Lee asks.
Bruce shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans and leans back, "Actually you'll be pleasantly surprised that it's Bruce Wayne business that I'll be attending to. I need to go to check the progress of Project Skylight. The best thing about that is that I hardly knew how to work it beforehand, it shouldn't be any problem."
"Fine" Lee agrees. She then comes forward and glares at the man, "But so help me...if I even see a shadow that remotely looks like a bat... the next time that you need to me to treat your wounds, I'm going to treat you like a game of operation and intentionally hit all the corners, got me?"
"Uh-huh" Bruce nods with an uneasy look, "I'm going to go now...be safe." he heads towards the door to the room, stopping next to Talia, "You coming, Tal?"
The daughter of the demon shrugs, "As tempting as joining you and Mr Fox's technobabble sounds, I would rather be doing literally anything else, beloved" she answers, coming in close to the man, "You do remember the way back there do you not?"
"It's a giant tower, Tal. I've got mild amnesia, I'm not blind" Bruce leaves, shutting the door behind him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later.
Waiting in silence for minutes, she then looks directly at Lee. Talia approaches the bed, arms folded over her chest, "There's no point tracing over what he remembers. Our time shall be better suited to figure out what he doesn't. Bruce is a man of many secrets, secrets that he did not even trust his closest ones with including me. Now I fear that such an important piece of knowledge will be forever lost to him."
"If he doesn't remember then he doesn't remember. It's better if we can pinpoint what he exactly knows and work off from there. Even if there are gaps that none of us are aware of, we should still try to get him to remember everything he knew before. Close to it as possible at least" Lee reasons, "It could take a while but it's better than trying to recover a memory that may not even exist."
"And what do you suggest we focus on perhaps? His first kiss? His sixteenth birthday bash? Or should we waste time on his oldest memories?" Talia questions, looking down at Bruce, "This ordeal may prove to be more beneficial than I previously thought."
"What are you getting at?" Lee pulls off her surgeon gloves.
"If we can control what he remembers then we can meld him into a far superior protector. A more ruthless knight, one that isn't driven to make such brash decisions. He can become someone who isn't ruled by emotions or his foolish pride. He can be a true saviour" Talia explains her reasoning to the doctor.
"Hold on a minute...are you seriously talking about brainwashing him? That's wrong. Wrong on so many levels... That's...I can't even believe what you are saying."
"*Brainwash*? I would never suggest something so crude, Tompkins," the daughter of the demon replies, biting her lip, "As much as it pains me to say, Blüd was correct. Bruce's actions could have reaped unimaginable consequences for the world. If I had not have come with him, he would be dead. That's even the best outcome, I could feel that we have barely avoided starting a war with literal gods. Bruce knew the risks yet he continued on anyway...without caring for what might happen as a result."
"I'll be the first to admit that Bruce can be brash sometimes, but what you are suggesting is a far breach of trust. The thought alone is sickening. I'm not even going to continue to entertain this."
"Do you believe that I am thrilled about the idea? Bruce is leaving us with little choice. At the rate that he's going now, he'll either end up getting himself killed or a whole lot of innocent people. Either way, you must understand this cannot stand. Especially with men like Vandal Savage out there to take full advantage of Bruce's emotions," the middle-eastern woman counters, "And that's not even bringing up monsters like the clown and the rest of maniacs in this city."
"What?"
"Bruce only journeyed to Themyscira because of the word of Vandal. Bruce risked endangering the entire world because one of his enemies told him to go. I'd say that's enough reason to doubt Bruce's judgement."
"Vandal Savage? The guy who attacked Selina?"
"That's far from his greatest transgression" Talia answers, "When Bruce was speaking to Diana about it, he believed me to be asleep, when in fact I was awake far before him. I heard everything. The truth is that Bruce has been in contact with Savage and did not tell us. I fear that he's hiding more from us"
"What are you saying...?" Lee questions as watches Talia saunter back and forth.
"What I'm saying is...I fear that we can no longer trust Bruce." They both look towards the door when they hear it creek open. Lee comes forward when she sees Thomas Elliot enter, holding a different look than usual upbeat appearance, instead he looked to her with uncertainty.
"Tommy?"
Elliot stands nervously, keeping his head low and avoiding any and all visual contact with her, "Lee... I... I'm sorry."
"For what?" Lee comes even closer, showing concern for the man's front, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine...I'm fine..." Tommy looks up, "I got some bad news for you... it's about Jim."
Lee's eyes widen, "What about Jim...?"
"He...he was attacked last night, about five hours ago. He's...in critical condition...barely holding on..."
"W-who the hell did it? Who the hell did that to my husband?" Lee demands, yelling at Tommy in a manic state. Talia was caught off guard too, "What happened, Tommy? Who attacked him?"
Tommy holds his hands on his hips and looks directly at Lee, this time making eye contact, "They're saying that it was Batman. Apparently they have footage of the attack, they're saying that it's a match" he answers. From behind, Talia rolls her eyes to the side, "Whatever the case, Checkmate and Waller are taking care of Jim. You could have trouble trying to see him...wherever they're keeping him..."
- Across Gotham -
Wayne Tower
Bruce enters his office, smiling when he sees Lucius present. Lucius sits behind the desk and is focused on the computer screen in front of him. Bruce walks around the desk and stands at man's side "How goes the work?" he leans over to get a better look at the plans on the screen. Lucius removes his eyes from the computer and forwards them on the man at his side.
"Your late, Mr Wayne" Lucius remarks.
Bruce shrugs, "Sorry about that. Had an appointment. Tell me, what progress have you made?"
"Nothing to write home about. We're still in the early prototyping stage. By all calculations, we might not be able to get Skylight up and running for several years," Lucius directs Bruce's gaze to the screen, showing him the blueprints for the construction, "First we need to completely remove the old one from the undergrounds, its technology is too outdated. That alone could take up us until deep into next year to pull off. Not to mention it will cost millions."
Bruce exhales and pushes himself away from the desk, "Keep at it, Lucius. We have to do this. The skylight project could help millions of Gothamites."
Lucius turns in his chair and faces Bruce, "If I were to offer my personal input with this endeavour of yours, Mr Wayne. I think that you are thinking from a more sentimental stance than a practical one. I get what you're trying to do. You want to honour your Father by picking up where he left of. But he wouldn't want you to live in his shadow, he would want you to make your own mark on the city" Lucius then glides his hand against the computer screen which brings up a new set of blueprints.
Bruce looks at the plans, crossing his arms as comes closer, "This...?"
"Instead of going underground, how about, we go above the surface. It will cost more to do, but the freedom that we'll have will be boundless, Mr Wayne."
"A monorail? Maybe." Bruce looks up and sees Selina walk in, showing a concerned look as she looks at him.
Lucius stands up brushes himself off, "Selina?"
The dark-haired woman makes her way to Bruce's side "We have a problem, Bruce."
"Huh?" Bruce eyes Selina as he still feels his foggy mind cloud his thoughts," What's wrong?"
"I just got off the phone with Barbara and she told me..." Selina looks between Bruce and Lucius, "Actually...I think its best if you hear it for yourself..."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bruce, Lucius and Selina watch the TV in the office, seeing Vicky Vale.
"-As an update to our previous segment, more information has been released regarding the attack on Police Commissioner James Gordon. Many sources claim that he is in critical condition with the idea of a quick recovery way out of the question. That's not all that we've learned, many people are identifying his attacker as none other than the masked vigilante known as The Batman, including Police Captain Harvey Bullock who as we speak is soon to hold a briefing on the incident -" Vicky Vale is shown to be standing in front of the Police Precinct as Harvey Bullock walks down the steps along with several G.C.P.D officers, among then is Vanessa Harper and Alvarez.
"This is very bad, Bruce..." Selina comments, watching Bullock become swarmed with the press, "The last time someone went around impersonating you, the whole city started a manhunt for you. I know I'm stating the obvious, but you really need to get a head start on this one."
"She's right, Bruce. And to make matters worse, last time we didn't have Checkmate occupying the city. You could have a literal army breathing down your neck here" Lucius chimes in while Bruce remains silent.
"Captain Bullock! Captain Bullock! Can you confirm that it was, in fact, the vigilante known as Batman that attacked Commissioner Gordon?"
"Vigilante?" Harvey Bullock scoffs, "I'd say we're far past that. Batman has crossed a line, one that we cannot let go. His attempt at murdering Commissioner James Gordon will not go unanswered or unpunished. From this point, Batman is public enemy number one. And he will be treated like the threat that he should have been all along. For now, we should wish James a speedy recovery. We will have more to share on this matter in due time."
Selina rolls her eyes and gives a look of disgust, "He was way too quick to throw you under the bus. Thought that he wouldn't be so fast to come to a conclusion like that considering what happened the last time." She turns to Bruce, "This is exactly what happened before."
"No." Bruce folds his arms, "Last time, Talon attacked the precinct, he didn't care who his targets were. They were all just people in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this...? Whoever attacked Jim waited until he was alone. The person behind this clearly has a vendetta against Jim or...was using him as a message..."
"If you can figure that out then what's to stop the whole police department from doing so? And the way Harvey was...just feels wrong. Like he's a completely different person..." mused Selina. The dark-haired woman shares an unsure look with Bruce, "This whole situation is screwed."
Lucius nods, "Maybe this could be the reason for Checkmate to solely come after Batman. Up until now, Bruce's public perception may have been dwindling, however, Batman's has remained the same for the last two years. The whole city was split down the middle. They couldn't label you as the Gotham's biggest threat without getting the brunt of public scrutiny. But with the public now believing that Batman nearly killed Jim...well...I'd say your support has sizzled out enough for Checkmate to make a move unchallenged."
Bruce gives a quick shrug, "My public percept isn't a top priority. What matters is catching the culprit before he can strike again. Jim's still alive which means whoever attacked him could be planning their next move as we speak..." he turns around and is greeted by Harleen who was slugging her way to him and the others. With her head hung low she drags her feet across the floor, "What happened to her?" he asks. The ice blonde throws her arms around Bruce and holds him tightly.
"B-MAN! Oh, boy I missed ya! I've been havin' like...the worst day ever..." Harleen whimpers.
"Kinda in the middle of something here, Harls" Bruce gently pushes at the woman's shoulders to move her off but that only caused her to tighten her grip, "I don't know what's going on, but please let go of me. I'm sure whatever is happening, we can talk about it with our personal spaces intact." By the seconds, Selina gradually grew to be more agitated by the blonde, eventually burning bright red in her cheeks. Then she even past that, reaching her breaking point.
"Hey, Harls? Get off my boyfriend!" Selina instructs.
Harleen moves away from Bruce and wipes the tears from her eyes, "Sorry Selina. I didn't mean to make ya feel jealous."
"Jealous...? Yeah right..." Selina mocks the ice blonde. She then sees Bruce and Lucius trying to restrain themselves from laughing, "What? I'm. Not. Jealous. I'm not. Cut it out! You're starting to piss me off you two..." she hisses. Lucius throws his hands up, with Bruce avoiding eye contact with her, "I'm not jealous! I just like you being so handsy with my boyfriend. That's not jealously. It's not."
Harleen smirks as she fixes her glasses, "You don't like Bruce having any contact with any other woman? That's kinda top-tier jealously, Selina."
"I didn't say that" Selina rolls her eyes, "Whatever. Let's just get back to what's actually important here!" she slants her body towards Bruce, "Imposter Batman, remember? Good. Now then...what's gonna be our move here?"
"Selina..." Bruce grabs the woman's arm and nudges his head towards Harleen, "We shouldn't involve Harleen in th-."
"Imposter Batman?" Harley ponders as she rests her chin in her hand, "I've heard 'bout this. It's all over the radio."
Bruce sighs, "See Selina? You happy with what you've done?"
The ice blond taps her index finger against her cheek, "What makes ya think it's an imposter Batman?"
"What?" Lucius questions.
"Bare with me will ya," Harleen chirps, "Think 'bout it. He hasn't come out and claimed to be Batman. The media and Police have though. From what I've heard, the guy was described as wearing a cape with pointy ears, but that doesn't mean that he was dressed like a bat, right? For instance, the released photo of him...notice anything weird 'bout it?" Harleen displays the tablet for the three to see along with the image in question. Bruce, Selina and Lucius all observe the picture.
They see the sighted of the shadowed figure walking away from Jim with their cape fluttering through the night," See it? No?" she then fiddles with the screen of the tablet, "Give me a sec." The blonde faces the tablet their way, this time with the brightness turned up, nearly maxed out. They now see the figure in clear view. The assailant was dressed in a white robe with their hood covering their face. The cape turns out to be the bottom of his cloak.
"Son of bitch...it's him..." Selina whispers.
Lucius eyes then look to the corner of the image, looking perplexed, "That's...not normal..." he draws the others attention and points to the time stamp, seeing it has glitched out with way too many numbers, "What caused this kind of error? That wasn't there a moment ago...unless...adjusting the brightness also revealed the rest of them."
Bruce's eyes glide along with Lucius' finger as he reads the glitched text.
[9 11-14-15-23 20-8-1-20 25-15-21 1-18-5 19-5-5-9-14-7 20-8-9-19 2-1-20-13-1-14 ]
"Huh...strange, eh?" Harleen creaks her neck to look at the screen, "Haven't figured that one out yet."
"I have" Bruce admits. He forces himself to face his friends, "It's a message. Convert them to the letters and you get..."
"*I know that you are seeing this Batman*" Lucius decrypts the image, looking to Bruce "That's really creepy."
"Not that impressive though...of course you were gonna look at the photo sooner or later. Anyone could've figured that one out" Harley smiles.
"Unless..." Bruce turns back to the TV, seeing people on the scene run around and scream as the sound of gunfire echoes through the streets from high above. Harvey, Vanessa and Alvarez run for along with the reporters on the scene. The mayhem continues until the path in front of the precinct is set ablaze. The violent flames curve along an assigned path, making the word *Judgement* with its flames. The fire burns brightly, heating up the whole area and sending smoke into the sir.
Then in the middle of the word made of flames, Bruce makes out what appears to be a dead bat that was pinned to the ground with a dagger. The fire then moves closer to the building, soon becoming covered in its blaze.
"W-What...?" Selina and Harley both were speechless.
"Vandal Savage..." Bruce glares.
Several Hours Earlier...
- Unknown -
In a seemingly never-ending room of darkness that has a rounded table as its centre, several shadowed figures sit around as they were all concealed by the shadows. The only one that was visible was none other than Vandal Savage who leans forward and holds his arms on the surface of the table. The hood of his white robe was pulled down, showing his face to the other hidden people around the table, "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all this day. Our time draws near. Every passing second is one step closer to our ascension."
"So you keep on saying, Vandal" the voice of Lex Luthor comes from the other side as he leans out of the shadows and into the light, "We made it a point to be loose with our meetings. What caused you to call us here? I recall warning you not to waste my time."
"Ha! You wanna talk about having your time wasted? Try being pulled away from your planning...I absolutely find it beyond rude! HA HA HA!" coming into the light was a man with skin white as snow with bright green hair and crimson red lips. The man wears a purple suit with a flower stuffed into the pocket of his jacket. He slams his hand on the table and grins, "While I'm here, my precious bats could be off doing gods knows what...and I will not stand for it! HA HA HA!"
"Patience. All of you" Vandal answers calmly, "All shall be explained in due time."
"If you haven't realized yet, let me fill you in..." Silver Swan snarls, "Some of us aren't too good with waiting around. Some of us like to get our hands dirty!"
"Funny" a gruff voice booms through all of their minds at once, "Humans cannot stop bickering for a single moment. Grodd finds this amusing. The figure in the shadows is far larger than any other of the men and women there, standing at eight feet tall, "Speak Vandal or I will make you."
"It's really simple my friends" Vandal stands up and holds his arms behind his back, "I have called us all here today so that we can have a head start, every day our ranks increase with those of whom understand what needs to be done in order to ensure the survival of our world. Until now we have remained hidden, but as our time draws near so does the day that the die shall be cast. This time around, it will be us who shall save this world...our team..." Vandal smirks, "No... Our Legion shall be the saviours of Earth."
"Now that you mention it..." Joker rubs his palms together with an excited look, "I do love myself some irony... HA!"