A/N: And here is another chapter.
This will be the first chapter that explores the confidants that Ren encounters.
I also changed the title of the story to "The Mask of Batman". I did this because patrickthenobleman, pointed out that my title sounds like it relates more to Code Geass. So I changed the title. This was also based on a suggestion he made. Thanks again man for the help.
Also I know I didn't reveal the reactions of Sojiro and Sae when Batman was revealed to have returned, but I wanted to focus on Akechi's in particular, and besides, Akechi's reaction to the 'coffee' was the bigger focus of both of them. I may explore their reactions later.
This chapter is gonna be based off an episode from the Netflix Original Marvel show Daredevil. I just thought the way that episode played out would make a great introduction for this confidant.
I do not own Batman Beyond or Persona 5. They are works of Warner Brothers Animation and Atlus respectively. Nor do I own Marvel's Daredevil, which belongs to Marvel Television and Marvel comics along with ABC Studios.
Without further ado, let's begin.
Night had fallen over the city of Nippon-Gotham. Most of its citizens have either retired for the night, or become more active at night.
In one of the city's numerous alley ways, a young woman had stepped outside to throw away a bag of trash, only to freeze when she looked inside of the garbage bin. She was breathing heavily at the sight he saw, frozen at who she saw laying in the garbage.
A dog barking shocked her back to the present as she looked frantically around before looking back at the pin. She then dropped the garbage bag she was holding and ran to find help. She knew of a local clinic nearby with a doctor lady there who helped her in the past. She could help!
As the girl left the bin, the occupant dressed in all back with a white-eyed bat mask groaned as he rolled over to the side. He had numerous cuts and puncture wounds all over his high tech suit, meaning whoever did this to him must have been packing some heavy duty gear.
Thinking he was alone, the boy removed the mask slightly from his face, revealing a young man, 16 years old, with dark eyes and dark hair. Ren Amamyia, the new Batman, was gasping for air as he fought to remain conscious. Eventually he lost that battle as his eyes rolled back and his view became darkness.
The girl came running back, this time with a woman with dark blue hair cut in a bob-cut with blunt bangs. She was wearing a short black jacket, a blue dress with a white spiderweb design on it along with ripped black leggings matching the black boots.
When she looked inside the garbage bin at the insistence of the girl who brought her out of her clinic, she froze at the sight she was met with, certainly not expecting to see the recently returned Batman lying in her neighborhood's garbage bin. She began to glance around, to see if anyone was watching before she got to work.
"Help me." She told the girl as she moved to grab the Batman by the upper part of his body while the girl grabbed his legs. "Get him out."
With some effort, the two managed to drag the unconscious vigilante to the woman's clinic.
"Easy, easy, easy." She said as they laid him down on her operating table in her examination room. She then began to have a slightly nervous panic breathing as she turned to the girl. "Okay. Go back to your apartment and close your door." She began to order as she ushered the girl out of her room clinic. "Not a word about this to anyone." She told her with a glare, the last thing she needed was for rumors that the Batman was bleeding out in 'the plague's' clinic.
The girl nodded in acknowledgement as she left the clinic and made her way home. The woman closed the door and locked it before letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She then sprang to action as she made her way back to the examination room, grabbing her first aid kit from the shelf and setting it down on the ground as she began to examine her patient.
While most doctors would be slightly skeptical to treat a boy dressed like a bat, Tae Takemi believed in 'heal first, ask questions when you save them'. She put on her plastic gloves before she began to examine the body, starting at all the cuts at suit. Seeing the amounts of cuts over his body, it was lucky he was still alive.
Making sure he was just that, she checked his neck and found a pulse. She then pulled off his cowl completely, revealing his unkempt dark hair completely. She continued to examine him and found more cuts. This was too much for her. Despite being an accomplished doctor before she was fired, Takemi wasn't a miracle worker. This boy needed a hospital.
Pulling out her phone, she unlocked it and began to call 911. As she brought it to her ear, a black gloved hand claw shot out and grabbed her hand, shocking her. She looked at the now awake boy who began breathing frantically.
"No, no calls." He managed to get out as he got ait back into his lungs.
"It's okay." Takemi tried to soothe, patients who had just woken up after being unconscious were usually confused, so she needed to calm him down. "I'm just trying to help. We have to get you to the hospital." She tried to reason with him.
"No." He refused as he began to calm down slightly. "They'll kill everyone."
Takemi's expression darkened as she stepped back slightly, looking confused. "Who?" She asked, almost afraid to know.
"The men who did this." He answered as he struggled to speak. "They'll kill everyone in the hospital to get to me." He then began to roll off his back, groaning in great pain as he did so.
"Okay. You can't-" She tried to stop him from doing that but he was already moving before she spoke. "Don't! You've lost a lot of blood. I think you might have been stabbed."
"I have to leave." He ignored her advice and swung his legs over the bed and began to stand unsteadily on the floor. He began to make his way to what he believed was the exit to whatever place he was in.
"You wanna leave?" Takemi spoke up. She then pointed in the opposite direction of where he was walking. "Doors that way." Ren rolled his eyes, which were slightly blurry as he turned and made his way to the door, grunting.
"Before you go," Takemi said as she stepped in front of him, a hand to his chest to stop him. She then shoved a glass of what he assumed may have been juice up to his face. "Drink this."
Wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible, Ren downed the liquid and handed the cup back to Takemi, who looked at him in shock. He was confused at her expression and was about to ask what was wrong, before he then lost all strength in his legs and collapsed to the floor with a thud.
His consciousness soon followed as his mind began to drift off to a memory earlier that week.
Flashback: The Batcave
"So what is it you wanted to show me?" Ren asked Bruce as he whipped the sweat off his brow. He was currently training in one of the Batcave's virtual training areas, trying to hone his skills and familiarize himself with the suit. It was a lot of work.
"I found something that might be interesting for you." Bruce explained as he began typing away on the batcomputer, Ace the dog laying by his side. The dog growled as Ren approached. Still hasn't warmed up to him completely. He ignored it as he turned to Bruce.
"What's up?" He asked. Bruce stopped typing for a moment before he turned to Ren, a serious look in his expression.
"This is the man who ruined your life." He simply said as he pressed a final key on the keyboard.
The Batcomputer's screen then flashes to life to reveal a tall, bald middle-aged man with a small goatee and orange-titled glasses that cover his eyes. Ren was about to ask what Bruce meant when something clicked in his memory. His eyes widened as they soon shook with anger and he clenched his fists so hard that his hands would start bleeding without needing to extend the claws.
"You brat! I'll sue!"
It was him! No doubt about it! The man who accused him of assault and got that woman to testify against him. The man responsible for sending him back to Nippon-Gotham on probation in the first place.
"Who is he?" Ren asked, barely holding in his anger as he shook in rage.
Bruce noticed Ren's anger, and understood it well. "Mis name is Masayoshi Shido." Bruce began explaining as he brought up any related news or information related to Shido on the Batcomputer's screen. "He's a politician, currently looking to get elected as Nippon-Gotham's mayor in the election this year. On the surface, he claims that the younger generation is the future of this city, and that he seeks to help the youth anyway he can."
"Well, he's certainly off to a great start. I mean, look at me!" He gestured to himself, his voice dipped in obvious sarcasm. "I'm in a great position with my probation and my chances at a future practically zero thanks to his help."
"Obviously it's a lie." Bruce said in a much calmer tone, as he turned back to the boy. "He's just spotting off what the crowds want to hear. It's all the same with politicians like him." Suddenly, Ren turned away from the computer and made his way to the stairs up to the manor. "Where are you going?"
"Where do you think?!" Ren shot back as he held a dangerous look in his eyes. He then had a sadistic smirk on his face. "I'm gonna go pay Shido a visit." He cracked his knuckles as he made his way up the stairs.
"You can't do that!" Bruce ordered.
"Oh yeah! And who's gonna stop me? You?!" He asked in sarcasm as he looked back before continuing up the stairs, putting the mask on.
Bruce sighed in annoyance. "Teenagers." He muttered under his breath as he flipped a panel opened on the Batcomputer to reveal a red button. He then pressed it.
Suddenly, Ren stopped where he was, unable to move as a white lenses of the cowl darkened slightly. He suddenly felt heavy and began to fall back tumbling down the stairs as he did so. He groaned in pain as he landed on the ground, struggling to stand up, but the suit felt too heavy.
"What did you just do?!" Ren asked as he tried to push himself up, only to fall right back down.
"I installed a failsafe into the suit. To keep it from falling into the wrong hands." Bruce explained as he leaned over Ren. "With a push of a button, I can shut down all the suit's functions, leaving it powerless and useless to move. Keep that in mind when you think about disobeying any of my orders."
Ren gritted his teeth as Bruce then kneeled down closer to him, his face holding a serious, yet sympathetic expression. "You need to calm down." He said in a relaxed tone.
"Calm down?!" Ren shouted in anything but a relaxed tone. "Shido ruined my life! He made me an outcast by society! Had me labelled as a criminal and turned all my old friends and adoptive family against me! And while I'm here suffering because of that, he's sitting somewhere in a nice and cozy penthouse, without a care in the world, thinking he can get away with all of it and spouting hypocritical shwarbage!"
"I get you must be angry. I understand that anger." Bruce said, recalling painful memories. "But you can't let that anger blind you. If you do, you'll only get yourself, or worse, someone else killed!" Bruce lectured as he got up and walked back over to the Batcomputer. "If you want to take down Shido, then you can't just go in blind and beat him up. That won't solve anything. With his connections and no solid proof, he'll be out of jail in no time and know we're onto him. And all we'll have is a target on our backs and the element of surprise gone."
Ren took every word Bruce was saying and sighed. He was right. Ren couldn't just go and beat the truth out of Shido, cause if he did, he'd be guilty of exactly what Shido accused him of.
"Alright. We'll do it your way." Ren accepted as Bruce then pressed the button again. The suit's eyes then flashed on as Ren felt himself be able to move again. He then stood up, groaning a bit from the pain he received when he tumbled down the stairs. "So what's the plan?"
"We'll need to find evidence that connects Shido to any sort of the city's organized crime." Bruce said as he typed away on the computer. "But Shido's smart. He makes sure to keep himself clean of any kind of scandal, differing the blame to other candidates and making him seem like some righteous crusader for exposing their crimes. We'll need hard evidence in order to bring Shido down."
As Bruce continued to type away at the computer, Ren's gaze found Shido's face on the screen again. The face of the man who had condemned him to the path he finds himself on. But despite that, Ren couldn't help but smirk. Shido had no idea what he had just unleashed when he declared he would sue Ren.
Flashback End
Ren's eyes snapped awake as the memory ended and he found himself lying on an operating table, though not one belonging to a hospital, as he originally feared. He then looked to the side and saw the same blue haired woman who he first woke up to greet him, a clipboard in hand as she wrote down some notes. When she noticed he was awake, she had a playful smile on her face.
"I can't believe you would just drink that in one gulp, especially not knowing what it is. What if it was poison?" She asked as she eyed him. Ren groaned internally. He was still new at this whole Batman thing, and there was no way Batman would just drink something without making sure it was safe.
Ignoring his blunder for now, Ren decided to gather some information. "Where am I?"
"You're currently in my clinic, located in Yongen-Jaya." Takemi answered, surprising Ren. Leblanc was also in this area of the city.
"Who are you?" He then asked.
"I'm the woman who pulled you from the dumpster." She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it probably was. He then moved to slap his face, but his eyes widened when he didn't feel a familiar black fabric.
"You've seen my face?"
"Yeah."
"Great." Ren groaned. Bruce was gonna kill him if he found out. Ren then tried to stand up but the pain flashed through his body. Takemi quickly got concerned as she moved over him.
"I wouldn't try to move around too much." She warned him. "You've got two or three broken ribs, probable concussion, a puncture wound, and that's just the stuff that I know about." She finished explaining, she then raised an eyebrow. "You mind telling me how a teenager dressed as Batman ends up in my dumpster beaten half to death?"
"The less you know about me the better." Ren told her. She shrugged as he let out a tired sigh. Then then went back to examine his puncture wound.
"The wound on your side… knife?" She asked as she examined it.
"Yeah. It surprised me-AH!" Ren groaned as the pain flared when she touched him. When the pain dulled he continued. "I didn't expect them to be able to cut into the suit."
"I think I got the bleeding to stop," Takemi said as she examined the bandage she put over it, "I did take a series of X-rays to examine you, but the ones here aren't as powerful as ones at a local hospital so I can't tell the full extent of the damage…"
"No. No hospitals." Ren repeated as he shook his head.
She then gave another exhausted sigh. "This was supposed to be my night off from working." She complained. "I'm really not looking for some kid who thinks he's Batman to die on my operating table."
"Are you a doctor?" Ren asked. Takemi seemed taken aback by the question before she glanced downward.
"Something like that." She answered.
'Touchy subject then.' Ren thought as he decided to drop it. "And I am Batman by the way." Takemi gave him a look that sarcastically said 'sure you are'. "You know, most people when they find a bleeding masked kid in the garbage, they call the police."
"You got a lot of experience in this area?" Takemi asked rhetorically.
"Why are you even helping me?" Ren asked.
Takemi was silent for a long moment before she answered. "The less you know about me, the better."
Ren chuckled before he groaned in pain from the action. After taking several deep breaths to calm himself he then asked. "You got a name at least?"
She seemed to ponder for a moment before she answered. "Tae Takemi." She then gave him a funny look. "Don't suppose I get to know yours?" Silence was all the answer she needed. She then sighed again. "Alright. I'll call you my little guinea pig."
"Guinea pig?" Ren asked, confused as to why she would use such a name.
"Yeah, thanks to you I was able to find out some valuable data." Takemi said. At the boy's confused look, she explained. "The liquid you took, it's a medicine of my own creation. I had wanted to find a suitable test subject, but no one would volunteer to take untested drugs." She said it so casually that Ren couldn't help but think that some part of her was crazy and belonged in Arkham. "By the way, the reason you fainted was because of the smell. The liquid should strengthen your immune system so your wound's shouldn't get an infection." She finished explaining as she then moved to clean up the area around him, but stopped when she felt Ren's hand grab onto hers.
"Thank you, Doctor Takemi." Ren said with a genuine smile. Takemi then sighed as she removed his hands.
"Rest." Takemi said as she stood up. "Make sure you're stabilized. We'll figure the other stuff out later." She then moved back to her desk to look over more of the data she got from him.
Ren decided to take her advice and began to drift off to sleep.
Flashback
He's around eleven years old now. He remembered this day well. After all, it was the day his life forever changed.
He was walking home from his best friend's house. He had dinner with them, stayed a little late to play a lot of video games. But it was eventually time for Ren to head on home.
He decided to take a short-cut through a dangerous part of the city he used frequently. His parents repeatedly told him not to, but he was confident in his abilities and he was twelve, he could take care of himself.
He made it through the shortcut easily with no problems as he then continued on his trek home. However, he was greeted with an unfamiliar sight when he arrived home. Maybe less than half-a-dozen police cars were parked in front of his house. The lights were flashing, almost mesmerizing to Ren as he watched him.
However, he was soon gripped by fear as he moved close to the house. He then gasped when he saw graffiti of the laughing spray painted all over the house. Terror and worry gripping him, he then rushed through the crowd of police, ignoring all the cries to stop as he dashed into the home.
The door was broken into, so he didn't have to use a spare key. An officer tried to grab him, but he managed to duck under their arms and made it to the living room where he found his parents….
Lying in a pool of blood, their bodies limp, and eyes darkened. He suddenly had trouble breathing, almost as if life was going to leave him, which wouldn't be so bad. He'd be with mom and dad again if it did.
He then soon began to realize he wasn't just having trouble breathing in the memory.
Flashback end
His eyes shot open as he gasped for air and none entered his lungs. It was as if an invisible pressure was squeezing his lungs, threatening to crush them. Takemi rushed over to him. "What's wrong?!"
"I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" Ren wheezed out as he struggled to breathe. Takemi took a stethoscope and held it to his chest and listened. "Can't…" Ren couldn't even finish as he lost all ability to talk.
"You've got air in your chest. It's collapsing your lungs!" Takemi diagnosed as she quickly got to work. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a tub with a needle attached to it. "I'm gonna relieve the pressure, but I'm gonna need you to hold still, okay?" She took his wheezing as a yes as she quickly got to work.
She pulled out all the necessary equipment and then began to move to puncture a hole in his chest from an opening in his suit. "Here we go." She said as she wiped the area before she held the needle above his chest. "This is gonna hurt." She warned before she plunged the needle in him.
And hurt it did. He grunted from the puncture, but did his best to stay still as the air left from inside his body out of the tube attached to the needle. With a hiss of air from the needle, Ren was able to breathe normally again as he took calm and deep breaths to bring as much oxygen into his body as he could.
"Good." Takemi congratulated as she ran the stethoscope over him once more to make sure everything was okay now. "Just breathe normally." He did so as she continued listening for a few more seconds. Everything sounded okay. She then sighed in relief. "Alright." She then took out her stethoscope and set it on the table by them. She then looked over him as she came to a decision.
"Look," She began, laying down the law, "let's just say I buy this whole 'we can't go to the hospital because of whatever' story you've got going on." She then wiped some sweat off her brow. "But we need to talk about what happens if you give up the ghost here in my clinic. Because I'm listening to myself explain to the police how I let this happen, and every version ends with me in handcuffs, so convince me it's worth it."
Ren continued to take deep breaths to calm himself down. She was right. She had a right to know if she was sticking her neck out for him. So he told her. "They kidnapped a boy."
Takemi seemed shocked before she decided to ask, "Who did?"
"The Yakuza." Ren answered as he continued to breathe heavily. "They've been running a human trafficking ring out of Yongen-Jaya. Took over when the Russians folded up. I was interrogating one of their members when I found out that two days ago they pulled a kid out of the back of a van. The member told me they had beat his father while they watched."
"Wow." Takemi said with wide eyes.
"I knew the kid would still be alive. At least until he was taken out of the city." Ren continued. "A friend tracked the gang to a warehouse not far from here. Thought I was being smart, with how fast I found them. Turns out, I wasn't."
Takemi's eyes widened as she then realized. "They were waiting for you." She finished.
Ren nodded. "Apparently rumors of Batman's return cause the criminal underworld to take precautions. And I walked right into it."
"That doesn't sound like something Batman would do." Takemi pointed out. "No offense, but you don't seem very good at the whole 'Batman' thing."
Ren laughed at that. "Ow!" He cried as the pain flared up again. "Yeah, well, I'm still pretty new at this, so I'm a little rough around the edges. You caught me on an off night."
"Did you at least find the kid?" Takemi asked hopefully.
Ren had a regretful look on his face as he shook his head, "No, he wasn't there." He told her. "I barely made it out myself. I was careless. Unprepared. I thought this suit could handle almost anything. Stupid."
Takemi then rubbed her hands together in thought. "So these men who took the boy," She began, "They're out there right now. Looking for you."
He was about to answer her when he stopped; he seemed like he was listening in on something. Takemi frowned slightly. Did he have enhanced hearing like a bat? "Guinea pig?"
"Someone's coming?" Ren said as he tried to stand up, fighting through the pain as he did so. He then reached over and grabbed his mask from the table and pulled it over his face.
"How do you know?" Takemi asked.
"My suit has enhanced audio receptors, able to pick up rounds from far away." Ren explained as he began to look through the building with detective vision in his mask. "It must have activated when I had trouble breathing." He then got up from the table and moved over to grab a small surgical knife.
"What are you doing?" Takemi asked as he turned around and made his way to the door.
"What does it look like?" Ren asked rhetorically as he limped his way to the exit of the clinic.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Takemi said as she rushed forward to stop him. "You can barely stand up."
"That's what the knife is for." Ren said as he tried to move past her.
"Wait!" Takemi stopped him again. "Don't do this. Not in my clinic. This is a place where wounds get treated, not given! Just stand over there on the side and be quiet. I'll get rid of him." She told him.
Ren thought about it for a second before nodding. She was right. There was no way he could engage this guy in a proper fight should things get rough, especially in the shape he's in. So he moved over to the side and blended in with the shadows.
Takemi moved to check outside the door through the peephole and saw that the man had the badge of a police officer. Unlocking the door, she opened it. And then was met with a strong smell of what she assumed was discount cologne.
"Sorry to bother you so late ma'am." The supposed officer said as he began to introduce himself. "My name is Detective Shillens of the 98th precinct. We had a disturbance a few blocks from here and we're asking everyone if they've seen or heard anything unusual in the past few hours."
"What kind of disturbance?" Takemi played ignorant.
"Homicide." The detective explained. "Some guy dressed up like Batman beat a fella to death. Guy put up enough of a fight to wound him and he trudged with a trail of blood."
"Whoa." Takemi said, feigning shock.
"He's probably long gone by now, but you know just in case, have you seen or heard anything tonight?." He asked.
Takemi shook her head in denial. "No. Sorry." She told him.
The detective seemed to buy her story as he then nodded his thanks and began to leave. Takemi watched him as he left before closing the door.
"See no reason to get all violent, especially here." She then groaned as she remembered the smell. "Boy, what does he do dip himself in a bath of that cologne?"
Ren pushed himself off the wall as he made his way to the exit. "He's not a cop. There is no 98th precinct." He grunted as he moved to open the door. "He also didn't believe you."
Stepping out into the streets of the city, he saw that 'detective' Shillings had pulled out his phone and began to make a call. Batman then pulled out a batarang and began to find anything he could use to take the guy down. Looking up, he saw a lamp post above where the guy was walking.
Timing it just right, he threw the batarang at the light source, groaning a bit from the pain caused by such an action. The bat shaped projectile sliced through the lamp then fell down on the man's head, knocking him unconscious.
He then glanced to the side and saw a young girl watching him. He seemed scared. Takemi came out and followed his line of sight to see the girl. "Miwa?" She whispered as the girl moved back into the building.
At Batman's confused glare, she began to explain. "She's the one who found you in the alley."
"She's seen my face too?" He asked. When Takemi nodded, he sighed. This was getting more and more complicated by the second. "Dr. Takemi, could you please go get her?" He asked as he made his way down the street to the man lying unconscious. "We're gonna need help to carry 'Detective' Shillens up to the roof."
Takemi seemed confused at his statement. "Why are we going to the roof?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Less chance of someone in the nearby buildings hearing him scream."
Later after getting the man to the roof, Batman began to wrap a rope around his arms, suspending him to a water tower on the roof of the building the clinic resided in.
"This is way past what I signed up for." Takemi muttered as Batman finished tying up the man.
"What exactly did you think this was?" Batman asked.
"I found a man who needed help, so I helped him." Takemi explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh yeah, that simple?" Batman said, not buying it.
"What am I supposed to do?" Takemi asked as she pointed at the unconscious man tied up. "Take it on blind faith that I'm on the right side of all this?!"
"You don't carry a masked man bleeding to death into your clinic on faith. You knew which side you were on the moment you helped me." Takemi then looked back at the man. "Why'd you help me, Doc?"
Takemi looked at him for a long moment before she decided to explain. "I'm a back alley doctor in one of the worst parts of the most crime ridden cities in the world." She began. "I hear a lot of horrible things happening in these alleyways every night. But lately those screams have been going down. I see some kids going out and playing at night, and no one does anything to them. Apparently word is getting around that the legendary Batman has returned. I want to believe in what you're doing. But this." She then pointed back to the man currently tied up. She then sighed.
"I know you're afraid." Batman spoke upm, his tone sounding sympathetic. "But you can't give into the fear. If you do, then men like this win." Batman said as his mind went back to another moment of his childhood.
Flashback
"What's wrong little Renren?" His mother asked as they sat down at the dinner table. Ren had barely touched his food and was merely playing at it with his fork.
"Nothing." Ren said as he took a bite to make it seem like everything was okay. His parents didn't buy it.
"Come on son." His father insisted, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can tell us."
Ren seemed to contemplate for a moment before he decided to tell his parents what happened. Some kid was getting bullied by another boy at school. Ren had witnessed their latest struggle and had worked hard to ignore it because he was afraid he would get hurt. That made him feel guilty because he worried he was a bad person for doing nothing.
"Oh honey." His mother said as she brought him in for a hug and kissed his forehead. "You're not a bad person. You were just afraid, and that's normal."
"She's right kiddo." His dad agreed, adding his two cents. "Fear can be a good thing. It can clear the mind, help you make rational decisions. But you can never truly give into it." His son looked up to him at those words. "If you give into it, then guys like that bully will keep hurting others. You need to show people that you can stand up to people like him, cause if you do, another will stand up, and another, and another, and so on forth." He then placed another comforting hand on the young Ren's shoulder. "All it takes is one person to stand up to the fear. So promise me you'll always be the one person."
Ren gave his father a nod as he smiled, feeling better at his parents encouragement.
Flashback end
The fake officer/Yakuza enforcer began to stir awake, he then felt his hands bound above him and moved to try and unchackle them. He then looked in front of him and saw Batman, along with some woman dressed in a white hoodie and a mask with holes in the eyes.
The former walked up to the man and spoke. "Here's how this is gonna work." He began, his voice having a dangerous edge to it. "I'm gonna ask you some questions. You're gonna answer them. If you're lying to me, trust that I will know, and I will be unhappy. Where's the boy?"
The Yakuza shrugged. "He's dead." He answered casually. That earned him a punch to the face. The masked woman looked tense as he coughed up some blood and breathed heavily.
"This is what unhappiness looks like." Batman warned as he asked again. "Where's the boy?"
"What do you care? If he's not dead yet, he will be."
"Why did you take him?"
"Figured you'd come running eventually. If there's one thing about Batman that hasn't changed in 20 years, it's that he can't ignore it when a kid is in trouble."
"And after I was dead?"
"Sell the kid, like all the others." That earned him another punch. "I was telling the truth on that one."
"I know." Batman said as he narrowed his eyes.
"We got you good, didn't we?" The Yakuza mocked.
"Who do you sell the children to?" Batman asked.
"I don't know. Whoever has the money." He told him honestly.
"Where's the boy?"
"Say you find him. So what?" He asked "We'll take another. Kill me, somebody takes my place. As long as people are buying, we'll be selling." He then laughed. "Nothing you do tonight will change that."
Batman began to feel the rage building up in him as he began to breathe heavily. "But go ahead. Keep hitting me." The Yakuza dared. "Let's see who drops first." Batman grabbed him by the head and was about to punch him in the face when the woman came up to him.
"Try stabbing him in his trigeminal nerve." She suggested. Batman's interest had peeked at that word. That sounded important.
"Where is it?" He asked. She then pointed toward below her own eyebrow and began explaining.
"Go in here." She said as Batman maneuvered his fingers on the man's face. "That's the supraorbital foramen. You want to go right under there."
Batman held a smirk as he brought up his right hand and extended the claw on the pointer finger. He then used his left hand to hold the man still.
"Hold still." Batman ordered him vocally as he continued to struggle. "I might do some serious damage if you squirm." The way he said it made the man stop moving, fearing that Batman would mess up on purpose just to cause him more pain.
The man was panting as the claw approached his eye. Batman then turned back to the woman. "How will I know when I find it?" He asked.
The woman took a deep breath. "He'll tell you." She answered.
Seeing that as the green light, Batman dug the claw into his head. The man screams in pain, making the woman beside the Dark Knight uncomfortable. Batman placed a hand over the man's mouth so that he wouldn't alert anyone and make her feel less uncomfortable.
He dug around further for a few seconds before he pulled the finger out, the body part soaked in blood and goo. He let go of the man's mouth as he began to breathe heavily to calm himself down.
"You're right," Batman said, "What you said before. I kill you, somebody takes your place, but they'll end up back here, just like you, and sooner or later, one of you is gonna tell me what I need to know. And guess what?" Batman asked as he grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. "He's the one who will live."
He then climbed the water tower and cut the rope with the blades on his forearms. He then began to drag the man across the room by his tied up hands over to the ledge. He then brought him up against the tone railing and leaned him over the side of the building. He looked down and gasped at the height they were at.
"I want you to know something important." Batman said, bringing the Yakuza's attention back to him as he shushed him to be quiet. "I need you to know why I'm hurting you. It's not just the boy." He then gave a terrifying smirk. "I'm doing this because I enjoy it." The Yakuza believed him.
Batman then hoisted him up and leaned him further over the ledge. "No! No! No!" The man repeatedly cried as he dangled over the edge, terror filling his being. The woman hugged herself for comfort as she looked on with worry. Was he really gonna drop him?
"Where is he?" Batman repeated, in a cold calm voice. When he got no answer, he decided to be more aggressive. "Where is he?!" The man still didn't answer, causing Batman to drive him further over the edge.
The Yakuza began sobbing as he dangled over the edge, finally having enough. This wasn't worth dying over. "Underneath Troika Restaurant. Eleventh and 44th." He told him. The woman seemed to look relieved as Batman pulled him over the ledge back up on the roof.
As the Yakuza took a couple deep breaths before he began chuckling. "They'll be waiting for you." He told Batman. "If you're lucky, they'll kill you before they start on the boy." Batman's eyes narrowed as he glared at him, but the man didn't notice until it was too late. "It would be a shame for you to watch what they do to him-Oh!"
He didn't get to finish as Batman then pushed him over the edge. The woman shrieked as she pulled off the makeshift mask and looked over the ledge and saw the man land with a hard thud.
"It's all right." Batman assured her as he moved away from the ledge. "He landed in the dumpster you pulled me out of. Talk about Karma." He said with a small chuckle.
"Is he dead?" Takemi asked frantically, worried she might have just become an accomplice in murder.
Batman gave her a look that screamed 'are you for real asking me that?' before he answered. "No. He'll live." He then began to walk away. "You should shut down for clinic for the time being."
"Why?" Takemi asked. "I wore a mask."
"He knew you were lying when he stopped by the clinic." Batman explained. "Do you have any place you can go?" He asked.
Takemi thought for a moment. "My apartment." She answered. "It's just a few blocks away."
"Okay." He then reached into his belt and pulled out a small bat-shaped device. "Take this." He handed her the device. "If you ever get into trouble, press that button and I'll come running."
She looked at the device in her hands for a moment before bringing her head back up. "Don't you think we're moving a little too…"
She trailed off when she found she was now alone on the roof. She spun her head around to try and find any trace of him, but he completely vanished.. She then sighed as a playful smile formed on her face. "Right. You're known to do that."
Flashback
Ren had left class and had made his way to lunch when he saw the same kid he told his parents about being pushed around by the school bully. He looked around to see other people were also starring, but just walked by.
Ren felt the fear grip him, urging him to do the same. But he then remembered his parents' words. He could acknowledge his fear and use it, but he couldn't give into it. So, taking a deep breath, he steeled his nerves and raised his voice.
"Let him go!"
The whole hallway froze as everyone turned to see Ren Amamiya had yelled to the bully to back off. The bully seemed irked by the command and let go of the other kid and moved to walk over to Ren. The bully was taller than Ren by at least a head, and he was bigger too.
"What'd you say to me?" The bully asked, his voice dipping with anger. Ren trembled at his tone but took courage in his parents' words and stood his ground.
"I said to let him go." He repeated as he gestured to the boy who was struggling to stand up. "He's had enough."
"Oh yeah?" The bully asked as he looked back at the kid before turning back to Ren. "Maybe you want to take his place huh? Is that it?"
He then pushed Ren so hard that he fell to the ground hard. The Bully smirked as the other students cowered in his strength. He loved this part. Where others who try to stand up to him cower before his strength. It reminded everyone who was top dog around here.
And cower Ren almost did, with tears in his eyes. But seeing the fear the other boy had, Ren steeled his resolve and got back on his feet. Surprising the student body. The bully was taken aback. No one ever dared to stand up after he pushed them down once. It looks like he would have to get a little more rough than usual with this punk.
He moved in to attack but stopped when another student came up behind Ren, standing with him. Another student followed, then another, then another, and so one. Ren looked in surprise before he smiled and turned back to face the bully.
The bully seemed frightened at the large number of students standing against him. He then gritted his teeth as he decided to retreat for today.
There was a small cheer and clapping as Ren exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. He moved over and extended his hand for the boy to take. He looked up at Ren in surprise before he smiled and took his hand.
Flashback end
Beneath the restaurant the Yakuza mentioned, Batman lurked through the hallway. They thugs thought they could get the drop on him and get away with it. Well they had another thing coming.
He walked close to a door and used detective vision to peek into the room. He saw maybe at least three yakuza, one of them was armed. He then looked across the hall and saw that maybe five of them were playing a poker game. At least two of them were armed. Eighth thugs total, three of them armed, and they were in possession of weapons that could cut into his suit.
But this time was gonna be different. This time, he was ready for them. And they wouldn't see him coming. He then switched his cowl over to normal mode and readied the EMP device he set up before coming in. 'Light's out dregs!' He thought as he pressed the detonator.
Suddenly, all the lights in the hallway and rooms went out and the whole area was encompassed in darkness. Batman heard shouts of shock and frustration at the sudden blackout, but he paid it no mind as he activated the cowl's night vision mode and got to work.
The yakuza heard him kick down a door to one of the rooms, but with the darkness, they were flailing around like scared little children, but Batman thrived in it. He moved fast and deceived, not even giving them time to breathe.
A couple gunshots rang out and illuminated the room, letting them know where he was before he quickly disappeared. It didn't help them as he still managed to take them down. Jumping off walls and flipping around in the hallway, the thugs couldn't even touch him as he laid the beat down on them.
Soon the sound of grunts and fists connecting with the body went silent as the back up generator finally kicked in and illuminated the hallway. The floor was riddled with unconscious bodies of yakuza gangsters. And walking over them, triumphant, was none other than Batman.
He moved over to the room where the boy was locked in. He was about to open the door but stopped when he realized something. Taking off his mask to not frighten the boy anymore than he already was, Ren opened the door.
"Hey." He said in a calm, comforting voice as he walked toward the boy who was panting heavily. "I know you're scared. But I'm here to help you. Okay?"
The boy nodded, his breathing becoming more stable. "Okay. Okay." He said.
"You don't have to be scared anymore." Ren said as he kneeled down to pick him up. "Let's get you home to your dad."
Ren, who had now pulled his mask back over his face, stepped out of the room with the boy in arms. They moved down the hall, stepping over the bodies of the men Batman had taken down.
The Batcave
Bat's could be heard screeching and flapping their wings from above as Bruce sat at the batcomputer with Ren right behind him, trying to get changed out of his suit, but having trouble due to his bruises.
"You could have contacted me at any point after you stepped into that trap." Bruce lectured. "Any particular reason why you didn't?"
Ren thought about it for a moment before he just shrugged. "I guess I forgot to do it." Ren said as he pulled the upper torso of the suit off to reveal his bruised upper body. "Why, were you worried about me?" He asked with a playful smirk.
"I was worried about the suit." Bruce answered. "If some common gangster ever got a hold of the technology in it, it could spell disaster for Nippon-Gotham."
Bruce then turned back to see Ren as he continued to get out of the batsuit. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that many cuts on his body had already been stitched up and cleaned, and by a professional at that.
"Mind telling me who patched you up?" Bruce asked, and then Ren froze. He had been dreading this moment ever since he woke up in Takemi's clinic. He knew trying to lie to Bruce would be a waste of time, so he decided to come clean.
After he finished explaining, Bruce's expression was unreadable. Ren was afraid that Bruce would have fired Ren then and there, and was ready to make some sort of counter argument, but Bruce then sighed.
"Are you sure she can be trusted?" Bruce asked, surprising Ren. When he nodded a yes, Bruce then turned back to the Batcomputer and got to work. "It's your responsibility, so you better make sure it's taken care of."
Ren sighed in relief as he then finished getting dressed and moved to head up the stairs to exit the cave. It was almost morning, and he at least wanted to get a couple hours of sleep before he had to go to school.
But before he exited the cave, he turned back to Bruce. "Umm…" He began as he scratched the back of his head. Bruce turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Could I possibly get an advance on my paycheck?"
After school had ended, Ren had made his way to the same part of the city where he had nearly died last night. It felt a little weird to be back here and to think this was the spot where he could have died.
He shook those thoughts out of his mind as he made his way to where he needed to stop by. He did a little research using his connection to the Batcomputer and found Takemi's apartment.
When he got up to the door, he knocked and waited for the door to open. A few seconds, he heard the locks on the door be released and it opened-
-And he was met with the barrel of a shotgun.
"Is this how you greet all your checked out patients?" He asked with a sly smirk on his face. Takemi's eyes widened when she recognized him and put the shotgun down. A smirk donning on her face.
"Well in this city, you can never be too careful." She said, "And besides, ever since some maniac who dresses up like Batman fell into my dumpster, I've been told to keep cautious."
"Sorry about that." Ren apologized. They stood out there awkwardly for a moment before Takemi invited him in. As he stepped in and looked around the small apartment, Ren had the distinct sense that Takemi spent more time in her clinic than she did at home.
"So why are you here anyway?" Takemi asked as she closed the door and began to relock it. Ren reached into his wallet and pulled out a money card.
"For your troubles." He said as he handed her the card. "For helping me last night." She eyed the card with a raised eyebrow for a moment then looked back to him. She then took a trash can and threw the card in.
Ren's eyes nearly rolled out of his sockets. "Why did you do that?!" He cried as he rushed to the garbage can and pulled out his card. "At least tell me that you didn't want it! This had my whole paycheck on it!"
"Did you really think I helped you because I expected money in return for it?" Takemi asked.
Ren shook his head. "No, but I thought this would be a good way to repay you, considering because of me, you won't be able to go back there for a while."
"The data you helped me collect was repayment enough, worth more than any money on that card." She told him. Ren's ears then perked when she mentioned data.
'That's right.' He thought as he remembered. 'She had me drink that awful liquid that caused me to collapse. When I woke up, she thanked me for helping her gather data from the test. Now I'm curious.' "What was that test for exactly?" Ren asked.
She glanced at him for a long moment before she sighed. She explained that the medicine she was developing would be used to help treat people with a disease known as Crawford-Ende, a disease where cells attack one another indiscriminately throughout the body. It can lead patients diagnosed with it to a slow and painful death.
Apparently the girl who found him in the dumpster, Miwa, had the disease for a long time now. Takemi was able to make some medication to help her deal with it, but without a healthy young man like Ren around to test her formula's she couldn't risk using it on a girl like Miwa.
"The stuff you drank last night was among one of the first batch of the attempted cure I tried to make." Takemi explained. "While I was able to get good enough data from it, I'm still far away from making a cure for Miwa and others like her." Takemi held her head down.
Ren looked on in sympathy, then quickly came to a decision. Maybe he could use his body in other ways to help people, besides beating the crap out of criminals. "I can be your test subject."
His words shocked Takemi, and she looked at him as if he had gone mad. "You saved my life. The least I can do is help you create a medicine to save others. Besides, if I do this for you, maybe you wouldn't mind patching me up if I need it." Takemi was still overcome with shock to properly respond.
After a few more moments of bewilderment, she then smiled. "Well don't I just have the most fascinating guinea pig in the world." Takemi said as she stepped up and reached into her fridge.
"My name's Ren by the way. Ren Amamiya." Ren told her.
Takemi looked at him for a moment, contemplating this before she spoke. "I think I'll stick with calling you my little guinea pig." She told him as she pulled a glass out of the fridge and held it up to him. He looked at her in confusion. "Come on. You said that you would test out my medication. So get to it guinea pig."
"Wait? Are we doing that right now?!" Ren asked, his face slightly terrified. "I thought we would only be doing that when I needed you to patch me up."
"Well after the work you made me go through last night to keep you alive, I think I've earned at least two trial runs from you." She then placed the glass in his hands.
Ren eyed the liquid with apprehension. He then sighed as he decided to get it over with. "Oh, slaggit!" He exclaimed as he then gulped the drink down.
It wasn't as bad as the last dose of medicine. In fact it was-
He felt the taste of something sour and bitter on his tongue, and the smell was intoxicating him. He then had a hard time breathing. Then everything fades to black as he collapses on the ground.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. So yeah I basically used most of the details of the Daredevil Episode "The Cut Man" for this chapter. I already gave credit to the owners of the show.
I also added elements of Ren's childhood, just to have a look of what it was like for him before his parents died.
Also, Ren now knows Shido is the one who ruined his life. But he also knows he can't just go barge into his house and deal out vigilante justice. He needs to get proper evidence to prosecute Shido, enough that no one would be able to swipe it under the rug.
Also, Ren was able to tell that Yakuza thug was lying because his suit has a built in lie detector that functions a lot like Daredevil's ability to tell when others are lying. I figured that since this is the future, Batman would definitely have technology capable of detecting if someone was lying.
Next chapter we'll be introducing one of the thieves into the Bat family. Here's a preview.
Return of the Dynamic Duo:
Ren finds a young boy with amnesia bruised and beaten on the streets of Nippon-Gotham. He takes the boy in, but recognizes that the boy, despite his memory loss and small age, has incredible talent, and a strong sense of justice.
I'll try to get it out soon. Have a good life folks! Stay safe!