A/N: Hey y'all, how are you doing?!
I have to say, I'm very pleased with your reviews and comments on my last chapter. I'm glad you all liked it so well. Like I said before, I also plan to focus on other characters besides just Ren himself, because like in the game and Anime, Ren's relationship with his team is an important part of what makes him who he is.
And now we'll focus on another friend turned crimefighter!
Also, I do not own Persona 5 or Batman Beyond. They are works of Atlus and Warner Brothers Animation respectively.
Now let's begin.
"Have a good night! I'll see you tomorrow!" Shujin Academy third year student Eiko Takano said as she left her job and made her way back home. She had been working at that "After School Salon" ever since the start of third year, hoping to make some money without asking her parents, cause if she did, she would always be asked what she'd spend it on.
The job wasn't too bad. She did have to wear a uniform, and some of the workers would come and pamper her, but she didn't mind too much. After all, it felt nice to have some attention given to her instead of her talented brother for once.
It was late when she ended her shift for today, and the neon lights of Nippon-Gotham's Shinjuku district were shining bright and illuminating the street, signalling all the night owls to come out of hiding.
Deciding to take a short cut so she wouldn't be late getting home for curfew, Eiko ducked out of the crowds and into a dark alleyway. She had taken this route before during the day time, but this was her first time traveling through here at night.
As she walked down the alley, she had a sinking suspicion she was being followed. She turned and looked around to see if there was anyone around her, but found no one. She then continued walking, trying her hardest to ignore the second pair of footsteps that seemed to get louder.
Beginning to panic, she took a sharp turn to see if she could lose her pursuer, only to soon run into a dead end.
"You lost little lady?" A masculan voice choked out. She turned and found herself faced with a large man. "I could help you find your way home, if you know what I mean?"
"Thank you... very much." Eiko said, trying to remain as calm as possible despite the fact she was trembling. "But I can find my own way home. Excuse me." She said as she moved to walk past him.
His hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her by the arm. "Now that's kind of rude, don't you think so?" The man asked as he pulled her in close, his nasty breath making Eiko gag slightly. "I go out of my way to offer my help to a girl like you, and you don't even say yes. Maybe I should teach you some manners?"
Eiko's eyes widened in fear as she tried to struggle out of his grip, but the sick man just chuckled as he lifted his other arm to tear off her clothes.
However, a loud crack was heard as a whip was suddenly wrapped around the man's hand and pulled it away from the girl. Both him and Eiko looked in shock at the owner of the whip.
"Get your filthy hands off of her you sick scumbag!" The femine voice said. The woman was dressed in a skintight black latex suit, with a cleavage cutout and a zipper, dark thigh-high boots, and she was wearing a black cat mask to complete the look.
The man just had a lustful smile on his face. "Wait your turn pretty. I'll have my fun with you as soon as I'm done with this chick." He then turned back to Eiko and leaned his head closer to her.
The cat lady pulled back with her whip, causing him to be pulled toward her as he let go of Eiko. The masked woman then punched the man with a hard right hook sending him to the ground.
"I said, get your hands off of her!" The woman repeated as she then began to beat the man below her, even digging her boots into his skull.
Having enough, the man grabbed the woman's foot and tripped her up. With her on the ground, mhe then pounced on her and began to strangle her. "Well looks like you want to go first? Fine then!" The man said as he squeezed harder and the woman's throat.'
The lady gasped for breath as she tried to free herself from his iron grip. Getting desperate, she extended a set of claws from her hands and slashed across his face. The man howled in pain as he brought a hand to his now bleeding face. He turned back to the girl with a furious glare.
"You're gonna die for that!" He then moved to strike her, only for the cat lady to strike first, at a man's most sensitive area. With the level of force and using the tip of the boots, it was highly unlikely he would be able to produce any offspring.
As he collapsed to the ground, holding the area of his body that was now throbbing in pain. The cat lady moved up behind him and wrapped her whip around him and began to strangle him.
The man had tried to reach behind and grab her, but the cat lady had been smart, using the whip as a method to choke him from a distance so he wouldn't be able to grab her. His movements soon became slow and he eventually lost all energy and collapsed on the ground when the woman had let go of the whip.
The masked woman moved to check for a pulse, and sighed in relief when she found one. Despite how she felt about scum like this, she didn't want to become a murder. She then looked toward the victim and smiled when she saw they were more or less unharmed, if just a little shaken.
"I've already called the police, they should be here soon." The masked woman said as she moved to leave the scene. "When they arrive, make your statement. That way scum like this won't ever have a chance of seeing the light again." The masked woman told her as she pointed at the unconscious man.
She then made her exit as she jumped up to the fire escape and performed incredible acrobatics to make her way up the fire escape to the rooftop. Eiko looked up in awe as her savior fled the scene as the cops just arrived.
The Batcave
Drops of sweat ran down Ryuji's head as he held the gun in his hands as he pointed it at his target. They were shaking slightly, so he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He had to do this, he just had to pull the trigger. No matter who or what was on the other end.
He then pulled the trigger…. And the Batarang that shot out completely missed the target dummy on the other end of the practice field.
"Ah slaggit!" Ryuji cried as he threw the bat-gun to the ground in a fit of rage. He'd been at this for over an hour, and he still didn't hit the target! Not once in the whole hour!
He then heard a chuckle in his ears and cut a glare at the one he knew was laughing. Morgana tried to breathe between the laughs as he held his stomach to calm himself down.
"You want to be the target instead, bird boy?" Ryuji asked as he picked up the gun and cocked it for emphasis.
"Knock it off Ryuji." Ren said as he came up to the blonde and placed a hand on his shoulder. That seemed to calm Ryuji down as he let out a sigh.
It had been a few days since Ryuji had joined them in their mission of protecting Nippon-Gotham. In that time, they had worked overtime into getting Ryuji ready for real world combat. While he had some impressive street fighting skills from his time as a Jokerz and a good build from his athletic training for track, he was still far from ready from being out there in the field.
Namely his limp was his biggest problem. However, that was quickly solved. Thanks to Bruce's resources, Ryuji was gifted with a machine that injected chemicals into his leg and worked to rearrange his bonde structure to fix his leg. The process was extremely painful. When Morgana asked if it really hurt, Ryuji welcomed the kid to try it if he wanted to. Morgana, wisely, said he was happy watching, not really wanting to experience such pain if he didn't have to.
The process was painful, but quick, and soon, Ryuji's limp was gone. Of course he still had to workout and make sure his leg was in good health so it wouldn't end up relapsing. But the fact that his limp was gone and the fact he could run again meant the world to the blonde. He was even on his knees with tears of joy as he thanked Bruce for this chance.
Of course, with Ryuji coming over more and more to Bruce Wayne's mansion, his mom started to get suspicious. Thankfully, Bruce explained that he had taken Ryuji under his wing as a part-time assistant after Ren's recommendation. Ryuji was given a salary, much like Ren, to help pay for him and his mom's struggles, which Mrs. Sakamato and Ryuji were both grateful.
Ryuji had also spent this time getting used to the equipment that he would be using as the new Red Hood. He had picked up most of the equipment he would be using with ease. The one he was struggling with were the twin modified handguns.
The old Red Hood was infamous for being known as the only one among Batman's partners who would use a gun and even kill. But after taking an oath not to kill, the same one Ren and Morgana took, Ryuji was confused as to why he was given a gun. Bruce then explained that these guns had been heavily modified to be non-lethal. Instead of real bullets, they would shoot out miniature Batarangs, ice grenades, shock bullets, thermal rounds, grapples, even explosives, all non-lethal of course.
When it became apparent that he was struggling with these the most, Bruce had ordered Ryuji to keep practicing until he managed to hit the target. He had been at it for over and hour, and had begun to lose his patience.
"Why don't you try it a few more times, Ryuji?" Ren suggested, trying to give his friend some encouragement. "Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he finally managed to succeed. So just keep working at it and you'll master it."
"Okay! You got it Renren!" Ryuji cheered, already feeling better as he brought up the gun and lined the target in his sights. He was about to pull the trigger when he turned to look at Ren with a confused look. "By the way, who's Thomas Edison? Is he famous or something?"
Ren groaned as he slapped a hand to his forehead. When they were done with Ryuji's firearms training, they needed to get his intelligence up. He then decided to leave the boy to practice as he walked over to Bruce, who was busy working on what seemed like a case.
"What's up?" Ren asked as he stood next to Bruce.
"A 911 call was just sent out from Shinjuku," Bruce explained, "Apparently the girl on the other end was about to be raped."
"Alright! Time to suit up!" Ren declared as he moved to change into his suit, but Bruce stopped him.
"That won't be necessary."
"Huh? Why?" Ren asked.
"Because it's already taken care of." Bruce said. "When the police arrived on the scene the girl was fine, and the perpetrator was already unconscious and ready to be taken into custody. No other units were in the area at the time."
"So what? Does this mean we have a new vigilante in Nippon-Gotham?" Ren asked.
"It means we've got a big problem." Bruce clarified.
"Why is this a problem?" Morgana asked as he came up to the two.
"I agree with Morgana." Ryuji said, shocking both himself and the others, as he continued to practice. "I mean, if we have more help to beat scum like that, doesn't that make our job easier."
Ren was still too shocked by the fact that Ryuji and Morgana actually agreed on something to offer a proper answer. However, Bruce wasn't surprised, mostly because he didn't care. "It means whoever is doing this is someone who's inexperienced and dangerous. To others and themselves. They don't have the proper training or resources for this life, and it could end up with them, or worse someone else, dead."
Ryuji and Morgana both scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment at Bruce's reasoning. Ren took this moment to speak up. "So what are we gonna do? How are we gonna find this new vigilante? Or figure out who they are?"
Bruce then turned back to the computer and typed away on the keyboard. The screen then shifted to show a map of the whole city, specific spots highlighted. "These are the areas where the vigilante struck, meaning that they operate mostly on the east side of the city. As for their identity," Bruce then brought up a list of criminals and showed it on the screen. "It seems whoever this vigilante is, their victims have one thing in common."
"What's that?" Morgana asked, interested.
"All of their victims are males who've committed or attempted sexual assault." Bruce revealed.
"How is this gonna help us find out who it is?" Ren asked.
"You can tell a lot about a person from the people they assault." Bruce said before he explained further. "The fact that all the targets are males and sex predators, it highly likely that our mystery vigilante is female, and she, or someone she knows, has experience some form of sexual assault and this is her way of getting even with those that had hurt her."
Ren could see the logic in that. After all, he had an extreme bias against Jokerz for what they did to him as a child. If he wasn't sent out of the city when his parents were killed, he was certain he would have taken to the street to find and beat up every clown he could find.
Shaking the thoughts away, Ren focused on the present. "Alright. After school tomorrow, we'll patrol the areas where this femme fatal struck and see of we can find any sigh on her." He then turned toward Morgana. "That sound good to you?" Morgana nodded. Ren then looked toward Ryuji to asked him the same question when suddenly-
"WOO-HOO! SWCHAY!" Ryuji cheered as he jumped up and down in excitement. He looked toward them, a wide smile on his face. "Did you see that?!" He asked as he pointed at the dummy he was shooting at. "I finally hit the thing!"
And indeed he hit it. The Batarang was lodged into the dummy's right shoulder, which if it was a real person, would cause them to drop any weapon they were holding in that arm. It was a big success. This caused Ren to beam with pride and Morgana to look slightly annoyed.
"Good." Bruce praised, which caused Ryuji to beam even brighter. "Now do it again. And make sure all of them hit this time." Bruce finished as he turned back to the Batcomputer.
Ryuji's face fell. "What?" He said, confused, wondering if he misheard him.
"You heard me." Bruce said in a serious tone, not bothering to look back at Ryuji. "Take every shot you fired before you hit the target, then make sure you hit the target twice as much as that number. Oh, and if you miss, just add two more to the hits you need to make."
Ryuji's jaw dropped in disbelief, wanting to argue with the old man, but then slumped his shoulders and head when he realized it would be impossible to change Batman's mind. Ren looked at his friend with pity while Morgana laughed at his suffering.
Shujin Academy
Ryuji let out a big yawn as he made his way up the steps of school with Ren standing beside him.
"You okay?" Ren asked as he looked at his friend. When Ryuji turned to look face-to-face with Ren, the latter could obviously tell he was anything but okay. He had dark and large bangs under his eyes and his face was that of someone who had just come back from the dead.
"What do you think?" Ryuji asked rhetorically. "The old man had me practice all the way up till morning. I barely got home so my mom wouldn't worry so much. Only to then get an hour of sleep and rush out the door to get here in time."
"Welcome to my world." Ren said with a smirk, remembering how any, even the tiniest amount of sleep, was like heaven when he first started. Over time he had grown accustomed to such an erratic sleep schedule that this job demanded him to have.
"Anyways, I'll see you at lunch man." Ryuji said as he offered a fist bump which Ren happily returned with a smile.
"See you man, take care." Ren told him as he made his way to his homeroom. When he entered the class, he was greeted by the usual hushed voices and whispers of rumors about him. At this point, he was used to it all.
However, when he reached his seat, he was surprised to see Ann was asleep, a small trail drool was falling from her mouth. The sight was unbecoming of someone like her. Ren had wanted to let her sleep, understanding the importance of it, but after looking at the clock and seeing that class was about to start, he decided to wake her up.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, he began to shake her awake. Soon, Ann's eyes shot open in alert as she jumped out of her chair. "Who's there! You want to fight?!" Ann challenged, only to blush in embarrassment when she realized she shouted in class and slowly sat back down in her seat.
"Are you okay Ann?" Ren asked as he eyed her with concern. "Falling asleep in class isn't like you. Especially with drool running down your mouth." At the word 'drool', Ann had quickly wiped the liquid off her mouth and pulled out a mirror to check if it was gone. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw that it was indeed gone.
"I'm fine." Ann told Ren as she put away the mirror and turned to give him a smile. "I've just been swamped with model work recently and it's kept me up late at night. So I haven't gotten any good sleep in a week."
"Okay, just take care of yourself." Ren told her before he took his seat behind her as the bell rang and class officially started. Though she tried to hide it, Ren knew she was keeping something from him. His time as Batman, however brief, had taught him to look at every aspect of a person and try to find something that was off in the way they acted, it helped in predicting if an enemy was gonna attack or if someone was hiding something important.
And Ren could tell Ann was hiding something under all that makeup. She had put on too much, way more than what a normal person would need, even a part-time model. But what could she be hiding?
Nighttime
"Status report. Everyone check in." Bruce asked over the comm as he sat at the Batcomputer.
"This is Batman. Clear over here in sector 1." Batman reported from within the Batmobile as it flew over the buildings at incredible speed.
"This is Ryu–I mean Red Hood and Robin. All good in… uhh… what sector were we again?" Red Hood asked.
"It's sector 2 bowl head." Robin told him as the two overlooked an alley on a rooftop.
"Bowl head?!" Red Hood cried in disbelief. "You want to go bird boy!?"
"Knock it off you two!" Bruce ordered before Robin could say anything. "If you two don't stop fighting and focus on the mission, I'm gonna make both of you train until dawn for the next month."
Both boys shivered at the thought. Bruce's training was extreme, if effective. So they quickly shut up and focused on the task.
Batman groaned as he pinched the bridges of his nose in annoyance. Was putting the two of them together really a good idea? They needed to cover as many areas as possible to try and find this new vigilante, so they decided to split up.
However, Morgana being too young and Ryuji too inexperienced for either of them to go off on their own, Bruce had paired the two of them together while Ren went off on his own to investigate. And not even an hour into the search, and the two were already at each other's throats.
He put those thoughts out of his mind as he then continued to focus on his search as he moved to sector 3 of the search grid, hoping to find a sign of the new vigilante. But as he flew over the city, his mind couldn't help but wander back to Ann.
He knew she was hiding something serious from him, something that was clearing causing her pain. As her friend, he wanted to help in whatever way he could. But he knew if he pushed too hard, she might even just push him away further. He could only hope that whatever she was dealing with wasn't gonna land her in the same place it did Shiho.
He then caught something in the corner of his eye and then zoomed in with the Batmobile's camera. There!
"I found them!" He told the others. "Sector 3, sighted in the alley of the corner of Nolan and Burton!"
"Robin and Red Hood are on their way. Try to hold them there till they arrive." Bruce instructed.
"Roger!" Batman said as he put the Batmobile on autopilot and ejected. As he shot out of the car, he spread his wings as he flew into the alleyway. He landed just in time to see the female vigilante, dressed in a skin tight cat costume, beating an attempted rapist into the ground, the attempted victim watching in shock.
"Don't you think he's had enough?" His question caused the woman to freeze for a moment, before she then reached at her side and pulled out a whip and whacked it at the source of the voice. Batman brought up his hand to block and the whip warped around his forearms.
It was at this moment that the woman got a good look at the one who interrupted her and her eyes widened in surprise. "Batman?!" She muttered in awe.
"Yeah, and who are you?"
The woman thought for a moment before answerin. "You can call me Catwoman." She answered, before she then glared. "And what do you mean 'he's had enough'? He hasn't even started to get what he deserves!"
Batman then grabbed the whip with his free hand and pulled, forcing Catwoman off the man she was beating. She dug her heels into the ground to stop herself from moving anymore. "He's already been taken down so he won't hurt anyone else, you don't have to go so far." Batman told her.
"That's rich coming from you." Catwoman scoffed, letting go of the whip. The action caused Batman to stumble slightly. Catwoman took advantage of this as she then charged him, unsheathing claws from her hands.
Batman brought his hands up to block the slash that somehow managed to cut into his suit, much to his surprise. Catwoman continued to slash at him as Batman either dodged or countered her attacks. This Catwoman, he had to admit she, someone with no formal training, was quite skilled. Not as skilled as him though.
He then extended his wings and used them to stun Catwoman for a brief moment. He then laid a series of quick punches before finishing with a round house that sent her flying into the wall.
She groaned as she tried to stand up. There was no way she was gonna win this fight. She had to retreat. She noticed her whip was on the ground next to her, she subtly moved to grab it.
"That's enough! Your game is over!" Batman said as he moved to loom over her. Catwoman gritted her teeth in anger at him before she noticed the fire escape above him. She then unsteadily got to her feet.
"Game?!" She spat the word out as if it was the worst insult that could be thrown at her. "You think I see this as a game?!" She then cracked the whip and swung it toward him. Batman brought up his hands to block, but it turns out she wasn't aiming for him, but the ladder up the fire escape that was above him.
She then pulled, which caused the ladder to fall, hitting him in the head. He fell to the ground. Catwoman took advantage of this as she then used his body as a stepping stone to, causing him to again hit the ground as she then climbed up the fire escape and made her way to the roof.
Batman groaned as he rubbed his injured head as he looked up at the fleeing Catwoman. "The female vigilante, identifying herself as Catwoman, is fleeing along the rooftops. Moving to pursue!" He told the others as the thrusters in his boots fired off as he ascended up to the roof in pursuit.
"Copy that! Red Hood and I are on our way to cut her off!" Robin said as he and Red Hood jumped across rooftops to reach Batman and this Catwoman. Robin was used to jumping across the rooftops, but Red Hood was still struggling.
Though the limp in his leg was now gone, it still took a while for Ryuji to get used to using his leg again. Which made it hard for him to make the jumps that Morgana could easily make.
After barely clearing a jump to a roof top to catch up with Morgana, Ryuji stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He then happened to look over the alley he just jumped over and looked down with wide eyes.
"Hey bird boy, check this out!" Red Hood called to Robin as he looked over the edge of the roof.
Robin was so close to exploding in a rage as he turned back to his partner. "I swear if you call me bird boy one more time, I'll-" He stopped his rant however when he clearly saw what Red Hood had seen.
A handful of young girls were all being gathered into a white van by a group of men. Most likely a group of girls kidnapped off the street to be sold for sex slaves.
"Batman, this is Robin. We've encountered some resistance and it seems like we're gonna be delayed" Robin said into the comm.
"Do you need any help?" Batman asked.
Robin then turned to look at Red Hood, who had already pulled out one of his guns. He then cocked the gun for emphasis. Robin just knew that behind that mask of his, Ryuji was smirking, and so was he.
"No need. Red Hood and I have it covered."
"Don't be afraid, little pretties." One of the kidnappers told the frightened girls as they huddled together in the van. "We're just gonna take you to some place where you can be safe and taken care of." He then had a devious smirk on his face. "As long as you do what you're told." He then laughed along with his partner as they closed the van doors.
"Hey dregs!" A voice called out behind them. The two thugs turned to see a man wearing a long leather jacket, with a blood red bat symbol on his chest. But his most distinguishing feature was the red mask he had over his head.
"Who the heck are you?" One of them asked.
"Your worst nightmare." The masked man said as he then pulled out a gun and fired.
The Batarang went flying and hit the van, nearly hitting one of the thugs head's. They both turned to look at the Batarang, before looking toward the masked man.
Red Hood gave an awkward chuckle as he then scratched the back of his head. "Uhh… yeah. So that was supposed to hit one of you." He then laughed again nervously.
The thugs looked like they were gonna charge him then and there, but Robin had leapt down from the van, landing in between them. He then delivered a series of quick strikes to their lower sections before finishing with extending his new staff outward, nailing the two right in the crown jewels, causing them to crumple to the floor.
The new Boy Wonder sighed as he put the staff away. "Nice shot marble head. Maybe you should get more practice before you make lines like that. 'Your worst nightmare'." He then cackled as he said the phrase.
Red Hood looked ready to retort, but suddenly, the top of the van opened up and a minigun attachment shot out and trained itself on the two vigilantes.
"Oh slaggit!" Red Hood muttered as the minigun opened fire and the two scrambled to find cover. Robin dived behind a dumpster while Red Hood squeezed himself into the side of a wall.
In the driver's seat of the van, the driver laughed as he used the remote controls for the minigun to try and kill the heroes.
"What do we do?!" Robin shouted amidst the storm of bullets. It was at that moment that Red Hood's eyes widened in recognition. This model, the type of bullets it used, he recognized it! During his time as a Jokerz, his gang had encountered a similar minigun that was used as security in a place they were gonna hit.
The minigun had one flaw: after a few hundred rounds of bullets, there would be a time lag. In that moment, they would have to stun the turret, that would leave it disabled for a few moments.
Red Hood only had one chance at this. So he quickly set his hand guns to stun mode and waited.
Wait…. Wait….
Now!
He then stepped out of his cover and aimed his gun at the turret. He couldn't miss! He had to make all those hours of target practice count. Taking a deep breath, he then pulled the trigger. A small orb of electrical energy shot out and hit the turret, disabling it temporarily.
Red Hood then sprinted into action as he ran up to the driver's seat. He ripped the door open and viciously pulled out the shocked lowlife before knocking him out with the butt of his gun.
Robin walked up to stand beside him as he had something close to an impressive smile on his face. "Nice work marble head." He praised raising his hand for a high five.
Red Hood smirked underneath his mask as he gave him a high five. "You too bird boy!"
It was at that moment the two realized what they were doing. They were… bonding?! Much to their own horror. They quickly looked away from each other, trying to pretend as if nothing happened.
Catwoman leapt across rooftops as Batman followed in pursuit. It was like a blast from the past to anyone who witnessed this game of cat and mouse, or more accurately, cat and bat. They leapt and rolled over multiple air condition units and ventilation shafts as they ran across the city's rooftops. Their chase had eventually led them to the tall skyscrapers of Nippon-Gotham.
Catwoman was about to leap over to another building when she stopped as she saw the gap between them was too far.
"You're trapped." Batman said as he walked up to her after having caught up to her. Catwoman's eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
"Don't you know not to corner a wild animal? It's dangerous." Catwoman flashed her claws for emphasis as she prepared to make her final stand.
"Then let's put you in a cage." Batman said as he jumped at her. She moved out of the way and the two began to duke it out. Catwoman attacked first with a series of slashes and kicks that Batman merely dodged or blocked. He then tried to hit her with a drop kick but she rolled under him and pulled out her whip.
She whacked it several times before she swung it at him. He evaded the first strike and rolled out of the way of the second, but that left him open for the third to wrap around his leg and trip him up. Catwoman then brought the whip up high then brought it down, only for Batman to block it with his arms as it wrapped around it.
She tried to pull but Batman refused to move to her will. He then brought his free arm up and used the blades to cut the rope. The action caused Catwoman to stumble as Batman got back to his feet. Now it was his turn to go on the offensive as he began delivering several punches that Catwoman did her best to block.
She tried to retaliate with a kick only for him to block it and deliver a right hook to her face that would definitely leave a black eye. She gritted her teeth as she lashed out with her claws that managed to nick him in the face. She then turned and began to run to the edge of the roof.
"No! Wait!" Batman called as he chased after her. He then pulled out a bat-stunner from his utility belt and threw it at Catwoman as she jumped. The stunner hit her dead on and she began to fall. Batman's eyes widened, not expecting her to actually jump for it. He then ran to the edge and leaped off after her.
The two free falling as Batman tried to catch her. When he did, he then extended his claws and dug them into the side of the building to slow their descent. The action caused his arm muscles to scream in pain, but he worked through the pain. They eventually landed on a slope of the building and began to slide off.
When Batman did fall, he managed to land on a ledge safely. He then looked up to see Catwoman falling down, unconscious and unable to grab anything to keep herself from falling. Acting quickly, he reached over and grabbed her hand, having to climb down the ledge he was standing on to reach her.
He then began to breathe heavily, his heartbeat finally beginning to slow, the adrenaline finally leaving his system. It was at this moment that Catwoman stirred awake and looked in shock to see where she was now. She then looked up at her savior. "Guess you caught me." She said in a light, almost playful tone.
"It's over." Batman told her. "You can't escape."
"You think so?" Catwoman said with a smirk. Deciding that dangling off the edge of a building wasn't a good place to hold this conversation, Batman lifted Catwoman up closer to him. "Bye Bat." She said as she pulled out a flash bang and pulled the trigger as he looked away.
A blinding white light filled Batman's vision as he blinked to clear away the white covering his vision. When he did, he noticed that Catwoman was no longer in his hand but had now disappeared. He looked around frantically but found no sign of her.
He then sighed. "Slaggiit!" He cursed.
Later - The Batcave
"You let her get away?!" Bruce asked rhetorically, his tone indicating he was less than pleased when Ren told him what happened.
"No! I didn't let her get away!" Ren clarified as he began to undress, taking a moment to examine the cuts that Catwoman made to the suit. "She did that all on her own. How was I supposed to know she would end up using one of my own flashbangs to escape?"
"You underestimated your opponent, in more ways than one, and it costed you." He scolded, gesturing to the cut up suit. Ren grimaced as he had to admit, Bruce was right. He figured that this woman would be inexperienced and underequipped. And that left him open for attack. "Consider this as a lesson. Don't let it happen again. Or next time you'll be in a grave." Bruce ordered as he walked back to the computer.
Ryuji and Morgana both looked over at Ren in sympathy. Out of the three of them, Bruce was harder on Ren than both of them combined. Which made sense, considering that Ren was the literal successor to Bruce in terms of being the new Batman. But the old man could still be a lot more easier on Ren, he was still learning the ropes to this whole 'being Batman' thing.
Ren merely decided to ignore his frustration with Bruce's scolding as he got back to work. "What do we do now?" He decided to ask.
"Now that Catwoman knows we're on to her, she may decide to lie low for a time. We need to be ready for when she does, so that we can take her down." Bruce said in a serious tone.
The words and tone he used made the three feel uncomfortable, so much that Ryuji decided to speak up. "Are you sure we need to go that far?" He asked, which caused Bruce to turn at him and deliver his signature glare, which caused Ryuji to break out in a cold sweat. "I mean, it doesn't seem like this Catwoman babe is hurting anyone, besides those she beats up. Can't we just leave her be maybe?"
Bruce's eyes narrowed further, which caused Ryuji and the others to gulp as they remembered that this old man was indeed the original Batman. "So long as she's out there, she's a danger to both herself and others. She has to be stopped before this game of hers gets people killed."
"I don't think it will be that simple." Ren spoke up as he brought a hand up to his chin. "From what I can gather from my interaction with her, she's dead set on what she's doing. She even lost it when I called what she was doing a 'game'. She clearly takes what she's doing very seriously. Possibly about the same level of seriousness as we do."
"Then that can make her even more dangerous. She might even not know where the line is." Bruce said.
An uncomfortable silence soon befell the group. Morgana took the opportunity to change the topic then. "Is there any way we can figure out who she is? Maybe the choice of her costume and name could give us some clues. I mean, wasn't there a Catwoman before her?" Morgana asked.
"Indeed, there was." Bruce said as he typed away on the computer and brought up multiple case files and photos from decades ago. "Her name was Selina Kyle. She was a well known thief and burglar. However, she never killed anyone. She even played a valuable role as my informat over the years. She was smart, talented, the kind of woman that you rarely meet in life. She-" Her stopped when he noticed the look the two teenagers were giving him. They had something of a sly smile on their faces "What?"
"Oh nothing." Ren said, his smile not leaving his face. "It's just based on the stories I've heard about Batman and Catwoman, and the way you are describing her, I can't help but notice if there was a little something going on between the Bat and the Cat. I mean you were a-" The glare that Bruce was giving him caused him to stop talking and look away.
"Do you think this Catwoman may be her, or someone related to her?" Morgana asked, not quite picking up on what Ren was talking about.
"Unlikely on both accounts." Bruce answered. "Currently she is living in retirement at a penthouse in the city. I've been keeping tabs on her, she hasn't made any sort of robber for almost three decades. She also doesn't have any children or nieces or nephews. I've checked thoroughly."
"Are you sure you didn't miss one?" Ryuji asked. "I mean, you and her were a thing back in the day right? So how do you know that you and her didn't have a-"
"Not. One. More. Word!" Bruce warned, and Ryuji listened as he gulped nervously.
"If anything, this new Catwoman is just someone trying to use the name as a way to strike fear into criminals, much like how my copycats over the years have done with Batman." Bruce explained. "But unlike the original, this new Catwoman doesn't seem to be focused on things like riches or money. Her goal seems to be hunting sexual predators and taking them off the streets."
"So then I'll ask again, what do we do now?" Ren repeated.
"For now we keep doing what we've been doing. Protecting this city."
The Next Day - Shujin Academy
Ren let out a yawn as he walked through the halls of Shujin. Being Batman sure was exhausting. Sometimes he wished he could just stop going to school and sleep the whole day. But if he did that, then he would be violating the conditions of his parole and be sent to jail. So he had to push through the exhaustion and tough it out.
He then happened to spot Ann down the hall, looking at something on her phone. He was about to wave hi to her when he stopped cold when he saw her face. There was a black eye.
"Ann." His voice caused her to jump as she looked at him. She sighed in relief as she placed a hand on her heart.
"You scared me Ren. I thought for sure my heart was gonna jump out of my chest." She then tried to laugh it off.
But Ren wasn't laughing. Instead, he had a serious frown on his face. "Ann, where did you get the black eye?" He asked.
His tone and question caught Ann off guard, but she managed to answer him. "Oh this?" She then pointed at the black eye. "I was so busy looking up this cute new outfit on my phone that I totally wasn't looking where I was going and ended up running into a lamp post. Hahaha! Clumsy me."
The story was plausible, believable, and it made sense. Almost too much sense. Ren was not convinced. He recognized the signs of assault when he saw them, after all, he had been the one to leave many similar marks on criminals.
"If someone is hurting you, you have to tell someone." Ren's words shocked Ann, causing her to freeze. "If this is something you think no one will help you with, you're wrong. You don't have to suffer in silence."
"You mean like Shiho?"
Her words were almost like a knife to Ren's heart. He didn't respond, so Ann continued. "She was suffering in silence, everyone knew about it. But no one did a thing to help her, not even talk to her except me. And you decide now to take the initiative to talk to someone who's supposedly suffering. Why? Is it because I'm prettier than Shiho?"
"No! That's not it at all! It's just..." Ren said as he waved his hands in front of him in defense, trying to come up with an excuse but coming up blank.
Ann tsked in disgust. "All you boys are the same. Only willing to stand up when a pretty girl is in trouble." She spat as she turned to walk away. "Leave me alone."
"Ann! Wait!" He said as he reached out to grab her hand.
SMACK!
The hallway was then silent as all the students looked toward the scene happening between the school beauty and the infamous transfer student. Ren had brought a hand up to his cheek, the pain still stung from the contact.
Ann, tears gathering in her eyes glared at him. "Stay away from me!" She said as she then took off in the opposite direction. Ren looked like he was gonna chase after her, but decided against it. She needed time to cool down. Anything involving Shiho had always set Ann off into a rage.
As he looked down at the ground, he began to hear the murmurs of the students fill his ears.
"Did you see that?"
"Heck yeah I did! Who knew the school criminal was trying to make the moves on Takamaki?"
"Well looks like he paid the price. Serves him right."
Ren sighed as he looked down at the floor. It was the same old rumors he kept hearing every time he came to this school. He was used to it by now. But they still hurt.
He pushed these thoughts out of his mind as he looked down at his hands and clenched them in determination. Despite what Ann said, he knew she was suffering some form of abuse. He had been too late to help Shiho when she was suffering. He'd burn before he'd let what happened to Shiho happen to…
What happened to Shiho…
Shiho…
Ren's eyes widened in realization. Of course! How could he not see it!?
It made sense. Shiho's experience with Kamoshida would explain the bias and hatred toward sexual predators. And Bruce had said that the culprit was most likely someone who experienced sexual assault, or at least was close to someone who did.
Also her body was in top shape, having witnessed her in P.E. being able to pull off incredible feats. Also the body structure between Ann and Catwoman were similar, even their hair was the same color.
And it would explain why she was so tired recently. She could easily make up the excuse that it was her part-time model work that made her tired, but he knew it was more than that. He had been doing this for about a month now, so he would know.
He then pulled out his phone and sent a text to Ryuji.
Ren: Meet on the roof. We need to talk.
"So you think Ann is Catwoman?" Ryuji asked, his tone sounding skeptical after Ren shared his theory. Ren had expected this, so he began to share his thoughts on the matter, and the more he explained it to Ryuji, the more it seemed to make sense to the blonde boy. When he finished explaining, Ryuji then said, "Okay, when you include all of that, I suppose it makes sense."
"Tell me about it. Can't believe I didn't notice it till now." Ren said to himself.
"So what are we gonna do about it?" Ryuji asked. "Should we let the old man know?"
"No!" Ren's immediate answer surprised Ryuji. "You heard what he said. He wants to take her down. But Ann is just angry and scared. Her life pretty much collapsed when Shiho jumped from the roof. She's just trying to find some way to take back control of her life." Ren explained, speaking from experience.
After all, part of the reason he agreed to become Batman was because he needed an outlet to direct the pain and anger he felt from his parents death and most recently his false arrest. Being Batman allowed him to take control of his life and do something with the rage he's been holding onto for so long.
"If we take that away from her now, while she's still picking up the pieces of her life, she may not ever recover." Ren said, share his own thoughts on what would happen if he was suddenly told to stop being Batman.
Ryuji sighed. This was so complicated. "Okay then what do we do?" He asked.
Before Ren could answer, the door to the roof opened and he perked up slightly when he saw Makoto step through.
"What are you two doing up here?" She asked in an accusatory tone, her arms folded across her chest. "Ever since what happened, all students have been banned from coming up to the roof."
"Uhh, sorry Miss President, we didn't know." Ryuji explained, a nervous sweat falling down the side of his head. They really didn't know the roof was now restricted. Now where were they gonna have lunch?
"We'll get out of here." Ren said, hoping and praying she didn't hear their conversation just now. They made their way past her when she spoke up again.
"Amamiya," The way she said his name caused Ren to freeze in fear, but also excitement, "you stay, I have some questions for you. You can go on ahead Sakamoto."
Ryuji looked like he was ready to protest, but one look from Makoto's blood red eyes caused him to gulp and nod in acknowledgement as he went downstairs. He mouthed 'good luck' to Ren before he disappeared from view.
Ren then turned to face the student body president. "What seems to be the problem Ms. President." Ren asked, his tone nervous, worried that she may have ooverheard him and Ryuji talking about Batman stuff.
"Amamiya." Makoto said his name again, but the way she said it was significantly different from before. Instead of cold, she now sounded… embarrassed? "I heard recently that you… um…" She blushed as she stumbled over her words, not really sure how to ask this question. "That you and Takamaki had a fight recently, and that your relationship had ended. How are you feeling?"
Ren blinked once. Twice. What? His eyes then widened in realization as he then laughed, both in humor and slight relief. Makoto gave him a bewildered look, clearly not expecting this reaction.
After a few seconds of laughter, Ren calmed down enough to properly answer her. "I think you've been paying too much attention to the rumor mill Ms. President." Ren said as he pushed his glasses up his face. "Me and Ann aren't dating. Sure we're close, but not that close. It's just a misunderstanding between us as friends."
"Oh. Okay. Good." Makoto said with a relieved smile as she placed a hand over her heart. She then frowned in confusion. 'Wait, why am I relieved?' She asked herself. She was so absorbed in this thought that she almost missed Ren's question.
"Is that all Ms. President?" Ren asked, shaking Makoto out of her thoughts as she looked back up at him. "If so, can I be on my way. Lunch period is about to end, and I don't want to be late to my next class."
"Oh! Yes. Yes, of course. You're free to go now." Makoto said as they bowed to each other as Ren turned and made his way down the stairs into the school, missing the blush on Makoto's face.
Waiting for him on the second floor was Ryuji, who was tapping his foot impatiently in worry. When he caught sight of Ren, he broke out into a wide smile and ran up to him.
"Dude! You're alive!" Ryuji cheered very loudly, gathering the attention of the other students and teachers. "I can't believe you survived an interrogation with the Student Council President! You're gonna be a legend in this school! By the way, what'd she want to talk to you about.
"My dating life."
"What?" The look on Ryuji's face was priceless as he almost completely shut down at Ren's answer.
"I'll tell you about it later. As for your question from before," Ren said, getting back on the topic before Makoto interrupted them. He then gave off a devious smirk. "I have an idea. Call Morgana after school. Tell him we're going cat hunting."
Later That Night
As Ann looked over the city in her homemade cat costume, minus the mask that was in her hand, she couldn't help but sigh in frustration. But this frustration was more directed at herself than anyone else.
She had acknowledged that maybe she had been too hard on Ren when he tried to get her to open up. Her statement that he would only help pretty girls was low too. She knew he was more than that. After all, he did help the Student Council President when that gang of Jokerz surrounded her, and she wasn't even half as pretty as Ann.
But the fact that someone wanted to help her made her angry. Because deep down, she didn't feel like she deserved to be helped. After all, she couldn't help Shiho, her best friend, the one who stood by her side when she was all alone because of the rumors, when she was in so much trouble. And not only could she not help, but she put her in more danger when she refused Kamoshida's advances. What right did she have to any help when all she did was hurt those she cared about because of her powerlessness.
She had wanted to apologize to Ren, but he suddenly disappeared after school ended, along with Ryuji. They probably went to go run an errand for the great Mr. Wayne. She could still hardly believe that Ryuji was working for someone like Bruce Wayne, even if Ren had gotten him the job. When Ann asked what Ryuji would be doing, he stuttered nervously and tried to come up with a believable answer. It was hilarious to see him so flustered.
She had thought about texting him an apology, or even calling him. But that was the coward's way to do things, and she swore that after what happened to Shiho, she wouldn't be a coward anymore. And that's why she was doing this. She wasn't gonna let what happened to Shiho happen to anyone else, not if she could do something to stop it.
But now that Batman was on her trail, it made it all the more harder for her to go out at night. But she wouldn't stop just because the legendary Batman was after her, after all, the original Catwoman didn't do so, so why should the new one be any different towards the new Batman.
She was pulled out of these thoughts when she heard a girl's scream come from a nearby alley. Pulling the mask over her face, she went to investigate. Sure enough, she found another innocent young woman in the clutches of a lecherous scum. Growling, she leapt from her perch and pounced on the scum.
When he was down, she then crawled on top of him and slashed with her claws to knock him out. She then began to stand up as she turned to look back at the young woman. "Are you alr-"
She didn't get to finish as suddenly an electric shock made contact with her body. She screamed in pain before the electricity subsided and she fell to the ground. She thought the scum must've woken up at some point to shock her, but to her surprise, she saw the taser in the hands of the woman she had just 'saved', who was wearing a wicked smirk on her face. That was the last thing Catwoman saw before she slipped into unconsciousness.
Slowly, her eyes began to open, yet they struggled to do so, due there being a bright light shining above her head. She then noticed that her hands and feet were tied, her clawed gloves were also removed to keep herself from cutting free. She also noticed that, thankfully, her mask was still on.
She looked around and saw that she was in a warehouse, evident by all the boxes surrounding her.
As she struggled against the rope, she then heard the sound of clapping as a large man entered her view, a cigar in his mouth. The woman, who had tazed Catwoman, was wrapped in his arms, holding a devious femme fatal look in her eyes.
"Bet you weren't expecting this huh pretty?" The man asked as other gangsters filled the room. "You've been starving me of the comfort of a young woman these past couple of weeks."
"Happy to hear." Catwoman said with a proud smirk. She was then struck viciously across the face by one of the nearby gangsters.
"Did the boss say you could speak!?" The gangster who struck her yelled. Catwoman glared at the man with anger, wanting nothing more than to kick him in the place where the sun didn't shine.
The boss then held up his hands. "Easy lads. Don't want to mess up the goods now, don't we." He chuckled along with his men. The sentence and laughing caused a pit to form in Catwoman's stomach.
"I think it's only fair that you repay me." The boss said as he started to walk over to her. The looks in his eyes caused Catwoman to tremble in fear, tears threatening to spill out. "After all, it make sense for me to use your own body to satisfy my hunger for all the women you kept from me."
He chuckled again as he moved to grab the zipper of her catsuit. Catwoman trembled and tried to back away as far as she could. She closed her eyes and prayed with all her heart that someone would come and save her.
CRASH!
The sound of a window breaking caused Catwoman's eyes to shoot open as she looked upward. There, descending from the window they'd just broken, was Batman, Robin, and what appeared to be Red Hood. they landed on top of a stack of shipping containers and glared down at the criminals below.
"One chance! Let her go, and we might only break half the bones in your bodies!" Batman threatened as his eyes narrowed along with Robin and Red Hood, the former pulling out his staff and the latter his guns.
The boss growled as he pointed at the intruders. "Kill them!"
The thugs acted instantly as they pulled out their guns and began firing. The trio sprang into action. Red Hood to the right, Robin to the left, and Batman leapt up high in the air. The Dark Knight of Tomorrow pulled out a Batarang in each hand and threw them at two thugs, disarming them. Red Hood was right behind him as he shot off multiple miniature Batarangs from his handguns at a pair of gunmen that managed to disarm them. Robin finished by rolling between two gunmen and twirling his staff to trip them up.
With the group of thugs in chaos, the three took this chance to regroup and got back to back. "Robin! Free Catwoman! Me and Red Hood will take care of these dregs!" He ordered the Boy Wonder.
"You got it!" Robin acknowledged immediately, more than excited to save his damsel in distress. He flipped over a pair of thugs, smashing their heads together as he did so and landed behind Catwoman and got to work freeing her. "Don't worry Lady Ann. I'll have you out soon!"
"Thank you!" Catwoman said, incredibly grateful before her eyes widened as she registered his words. 'Lady Ann'?
Meanwhile, Batman and Red Hood stood back-to-back as theory fought against the rest of the criminals. The two were an excellent tag team, covering each other perfectly. One would set a criminal up while the other knocked them down.
At one point, Batman had wrapped his arms around a gangster and held him so his front was exposed, allowing Red Hood to fire off stun shots all over his chest, knocking him out. At another point, Red Hood fired off a claw from his guns and used to pull the criminal to Batman, who was waiting to deliver a kick to the thug's face, knocking him out.
Soon, the two of them had taken care of all of the thugs in the warehouse. The two of them shared a fist bump with each other, proud of their work.
"You think you freaks won!" The boss called as the two turned and looked in shock to see that he was on a Minigun that was aimed right at them. "I'm gonna fill you with lead." He smirked as he was about to pull the trigger.
So caught up in his supposed victory that he missed the newly free Catwoman sneak up on a catwalk located above him. Seeing a crane holding a pile of scaffolding that was right above him, Catwoman pulled out a set of bolas and threw them at the release controls. The bolas made contact and the hook opened up, causing all the scaffolding to fall.
By the time the gang boss noticed, it was too late. He let out a shrill scream as he was buried underneath all the heavy metal bars. Batman and Red Hood looked in confusion before glancing up and seeing the one responsible was smiling at them.
The woman who had lured Catwoman into the trap tried to sneak her way out of the warehouse. But before she could make it to the exit, her face met a flying foot that sent her to the ground. Before she could even attempt to stand back up, someone stepped on her, which kept her down before she was knocked unconscious by a metal staff.
"That was for taking advantage of Lady Ann's kindness." Robin spat as he stepped off her and made his way back to the others.
Catwoman moved to stand over the person who she had just dropped the scaffolding on, he was still alive. 'Not for long.' She told herself as she extended her claws and was prepared to slash at his neck. But another's hand grabbed hers, stopping her.
She looked over in surprise to see Batman, who shook his head. "He's beaten. You don't have to go down that road. Cause if you do, there's no going back." He warned her.
Catwoman looked back down at the man who had almost raped her. He probably had done the same thing to dozens of other young girls. This city would be better off without scum like him.
But that wasn't who she was. That wasn't the kind of person Shiho stood by.
She then retracted her claws and stood up from the ground. She then looked over at the other three vigilantes with her. "Let's get out of here."
Soon, the flashing red and blue lights of cop cars had flooded the warehouse. Each of the criminals were taken into the cars, or in some cases ambulances, and drove off.
Overlooking the scene from a nearby rooftop was the group of four that had made this possible.
Catwoman then turned to the trio that had saved her. "Thank you." She muttered softly as she pulled the mask from her face. She expected some sort of surprise reaction from the trio at seeing a high school girl act as a vigliante. But when they made no reaction, she sighed. "You already knew, didn't you?" Their silence answered for her.
She then gave a small chuckle. "I guess I was just playing a game from the start." Ann said as tears began to gather in her eyes as she looked at the mask in her hand. "How could someone like me who's so useless change this city? It was some stupid, childish fantasy from the start." She then looked back at them. "You don't have to tell me. Catwoman is done after tonight, I promise."
And with that, she turned to walk away. While she was set on her decision to stop being Catwoman, she had to admit that she would miss it very much. It was fun, being able to stand for something bigger than herself.
However, before she even completed her turn, Batman spoke. "Is that it?" He asked. His question caused her to stop and look at him in bewilderment. "After one bad night, you're gonna throw in the towel? If that's your attitude towards this then maybe you weren't committed to this from the start."
That comment struck a nerve with Ann as she clenched her fist. "You have no right to say something light that!" Ann shot back at him, raising her hand to slap him, but he quickly caught it. Ann's tears were freely spilling as she continued. "I couldn't just sit by and do nothing anymore after what happened to Shiho! I'm sure you know about her. I couldn't just sit down and do nothing while hundreds or thousands of girls were suffering in silence just like her. And I can't go back! I won't go back to being ignorant of the evil that happens in this city anymore!"
Her eyes widened when she registered her words. Not one minute after she made her promise to stop being a vigilante, did she just declare that she would never stop hunting the evils of this city down. She expected Batman to lecture her, or even send her to jail to stop her. But to her surprise, he had a proud smile on his face as he let go of her hand.
"Now that's more like it." Batman said, still smiling, along with the other two beside him. "If you're gonna protect the people of this city, you're gonna need that kind of mindset every time you put on the mask. But not just the mindset: you need training, resources, and most importantly, like minded people who want to help you in your mission."
"What are you saying?" Ann asked, disbelief in her eyes.
"I'm saying…" Batman hesitated for a moment before he then removed his mask to reveal his face. Red Hood and Robin seemed surprised by his action, but soon followed his example as they took off their own masks. "We want you to join us Ann." He asked as he extended his hand toward her.
Ann was shocked beyond belief at seeing the people behind the masks were her friends. While she suspected Morgana may have been Robin after he called her 'Lady Ann', she didn't expect Ren and Ryuji to be the new Batman and Red Hood. Though now that she thought about it, it made much sense. Considering the new Batman showed up around the time Ren came to Nippon-Gotham.
After a few moments of awe, tears again began to fall from Ann's eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy. The joy that she wasn't alone. That she would have friends by her side to help her when she was in trouble.
She then grasped Ren's hand with her own and gave it a firm handshake. "I accept." She said with a smile, one that Ren returned.
Morgana then capitalized on this opportunity. "It's great to have you on board Lady Ann!" He said jubiently before he began boasting. "If you're ever in trouble or need someone to help you out with anything, just come to me. I'll help you with whatever you need!" Ann laughed at this.
While Morgana continued to boast about himself to make him look good in front oa Ann, Ryuji walked up to Ren and whispered into his ear. "Hey man, I'm glad to have Ann with us as much as the next guy, especially considering that catsuit." He then gave a small laugh, but then got serious at Ren's look. "But have you considered how Gramps would react when we bring her in without his permission?"
Ren shivered at the thought. To be honest, that had completely slipped his mind. He had just got caught up in the moment that he didn't even think about it. "Don't worry about." Ren tried to assure Ryuji. "Let's just take Ann to the Batcave. I'll take care of-"
"-Bruce! Don't freak out! I can explain!"
"Yes. Explain to me why not one week after dragging one of your friends into this, you decided to bring another one to the cave without even running it by me?" Bruce asked in a tone that showed his disapproval.
While Ryuji and Morgana gave Ann a tour of the cave, Ren was left with the uncomfortable task of convincing Bruce to let Ann join them. A position Ryuji and Morgana were happy to leave him in. He would get them for this later.
"Look, I know I probably should have run this by you first before doing anything, but we could use her." Ren argued. "She's smart, talented, and committed to the mission. With our resources and training, she can be a big help to us. Besides, the three of us can't protect this city on our own. We need all the help we can get!"
Bruce just continued to stare at Ren for a long time, which made him more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. Finally Bruce spoke. "Fine."
Ren was shocked. "Wait, seriously?!" He didn't expect to convince him this easily.
"It's her choice if she wants to step into this world, just as it was yours. Just remember, like Ryuji, you're responsible for her. Anything that happens to her, any mistake she makes, that's on you." Bruce reminded him as he turned to walk up the steps into the mansion. But before he left he had one more thing to say. "Amamiya, this isn't a school club. Keep that in mind." And with that, he disappeared up the steps with Ace behind him.
Ren sighed. He admitted that the conversation went better than he expected, but it still made him feel exhausted. He wondered if this was how any other of Bruce's proteges felt after talking with him. He quickly put those thoughts out of his mind as he walked over to the others to let them know the news. They seemed to be engaged in a debate of some sort.
"What's going on?"
They turned to look at him with bright smiles on their faces. "We were just thinking of our team's name." Morgana told him.
"Name?"
"Yeah!" Ryuji said. "I mean with Ann joining us, she figured that since we are a group of four now, we should have ourselves an official name to call ourselves by. I mean, it would be kind of a mouthful to say each of our names individually. We've been trying to come up with a cool name for us, but we're stumped."
"I'm telling you, Justice League is the way to go!"
"Lady Ann, as much as I love your idea, there already is a Justice League! We should go by the Titans!"
"But you're short."
"WHAT WAS THAT BLONDIE!?"
"I was thinking we call ourselves the Outsiders!"
"That makes it sound like we're a group of outlaws." Ann commented before she looked at Ren. "Maybe Ren should come up with a name for us. After all, he is our leader and the new Batman, so its only fair."
Ren squirmed slightly as he was suddenly put under the spotlight. Before he could protest, the other two spoke.
"Agreed! Since he does have final say in the matter!"
"If Lady Ann thinks it's a good idea, then I guess I have no choice but to agree."
"Well there you have it. You got any ideas Ren?" Ann asked as the trio looked at him.
Ren looked down and placed a hand on his chin as he thought about it for a long moment. They needed a name that could let the citizens of Nippon-Gotham know what kind of people they were. A name that made them know that let them know they were there to guard and protect them no matter what.
His gaze then wandered to the display cases they were standing in front of. His eyes then settled on Bruce's original batsuit before he made the one Ren is wearing now. Batman had gone by man names back then. Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight. Terror of the night. Guardian of Gotham. An Agent of-
His eyes then widened as inspiration struck him. A name that would let the people of this city know what kind of people they were, and that they were committed to protecting them.
"I got it!" His declaration caught the attention of the other three.
"We are… The Gotham Knights"
A/N: And there you have it people. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
FYI, Ann's Catwoman outfit is her Phantom Thief attire, just all black instead of red and without the tail.
As for the official naming of the group, I thought it was time considering that after Ren, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana had formed the team and took down Kamoshida, they decided to give themselves a real name, so I thought now was a good time to do so.
Also the fight between Batman and Catwoman, I based that off the fight from Batman The Telltale Series, great game!
Also, I have bad news for you guys. I may not be able to continue updating this story for a while. Now to be clear I am NOT abandoning this story! I worked too hard and spent too much time crafting a storyline that works to quit. And I still have tons of motivation. It's just something is coming up that will keep me on hiatus for a long time. Like, a TWO YEAR long hiatus. And not just from writing, from reading and reviewing other stories too. I don't know the exact date when I will stop updating, but it may be soon, like sometime before the end of the year, maybe even in November. I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do, and something that my faith and belief won't allow me to abandon.
I'll try to get as many chapters out as I can, but I'll be busy with preparing for this next stage of my life and work. So I may only get two chapters out at most.
Speaking of next chapter, I'll finally be including elements from Strikers in this chapter so I hope you guys are excited. Here's a preview:
Alice in Wonderland:
When an unusual wave of shopping spree takes hold of the citizens of Nippon-Gotham, the Knights investigate one common connection between the products: A rising idol in the industry named Alice Hiragi.