A/N: Here we are, the next chapter.
I do not own Batman Beyond and Persona, they are owned by Warner Brothers Animation and Atlus respectively.
Also, did y'all see the new The Batman trailer. It is so awesome!
Eastside Shoreline - Docks
Night had fallen over the city of Nippon-Gotham. Most of its citizens had turned in for the night, resting for the long day they would eventually have to face tomorrow. Those who were out now this late were those who thrive in the night. It was the well known law of Nippon-Gotham these days
The docks on the Eastside Shoreline were no exception to this law. That port was where every sort of material, legal or illegal, entered the city. A pair of gangsters were standing in a warehouse, one of them holding a heavy briefcase, waiting for an important shipment coming from Bludhaven. A shipment that seemed to be running late.
"He's late." A baldhead man said, the one holding the case.
"He's not late, he'll be here soon." Said a gangster wearing a bandana over his face.
"How do you know? Have you ever met the guy?"
"I'm glad I haven't. You heard the stories. Did you not hear the story where he killed a bunch of his own men just to make a point of not talking back to him?! I get that point! Do you get the point?"
"Of course I get the point! But I don't like having to wait out here, especially at night. You heard the rumors right? He's back!"
The bandana gangster opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of the large door to the warehouse opening silenced him as he turned to see a large truck enter the building. The truck pulled to a stop and the driver got out as he and his men got to work.
As his crew started unloading the truck, the leader walked up to the gangsters.
"You're late!" The bald one said in an annoyed tone. The bandana one tried to get him to shut up before he got them both killed.
"Can't blame us for being cautious." The leader of the crew said as he brought a cigarette to his mouth and lighted it. "After all, we've been hearing rumors about a certain… 'rodent' problem in this fine city of yours."
Both gangsters knew what he was referring to. With the supposed return of Batman, the real Batman not another copycat, some criminals have begun to do dealings in the daytime like in the old days. Other gangsters just dismissed the rumor as another idiot trying to play hero, and believed that this idiot would soon disappear as soon as he realized how in over his head he was.
"Well you don't have to worry about that tonight." The bandana man said with confidence. "Only one other guy knows where we are tonight. And there's no way Ricky would ever spill the beans on where we are. Now let's see the goods."
By the time he said that, the truck had already been completely unloaded. Large crates filled with either guns, drugs, money, or other such illegal goods all sat before them, but they weren't interested in that, or at least, their boss wasn't. What they wanted was the large container labeled 'Project Yaldabaoth'.
Before the pair could open the bow, the leader stopped them, the cigarette in his hand. "Let's see the money first." He said as he brought the cigar back to his mouth.
As the gangsters fumbled around to open the case of cash they brought with them, the whole group of criminals never knew they were being watched from the start by a pair of white predator eyes.
It seems these guys didn't know their pal Ricky's nickname 'loose lips'. The guy had squealed and told them everything after they threw off a clock tower and had him nearly hit the ground.
The predator stalking its prey then brought his hand up to one his long ear and spoke. "Move in." He ordered as he then reached behind his back and pulled out a small spherical object.
He then threw it toward the crowd and it exploded in a cloud of smoke, shocking all of them. The criminals all aimed their guns around frantically, trying to find and shoot at any sign of movement.
The leader was no expectation as he pulled out his gun and aimed at all around him. These dregs were so stupid to let someone find out where the deal was. He was so gonna kill him when he got out of here.
"For your information," The leader froze when he heard a cold voice in his ear, "Bats are not rodents." He then turned around and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet fired but missed its mark as his hand was batted away and he was met with a vicious right hook that sent him flying back.
The other criminals turned toward the sound and their eyes widened. A figure clad in black, long pointy ears, white soulless eyes, and a blood red symbol of a flying creature that every criminal in Nippon-Gotham knew and feared plastered on his chest.
"It's Batman!" The bald gangster cried as everyone else began to open fire with their weapons. Batman started flipping backwards to avoid the gun fire. After a few flips, he then fired off several Batarangs from his wrists that managed to disarm a couple of criminals.
Before they could continue firing at Batman, a harpoon shot through the legs of one of the gunmen in the back, causing him to scream out in pain before he was lifted off the ground. Another figure with a blood red bat symbol painted on his chest, this one wearing a red helmet and dressed in a leather jacket, began to descend from the ceiling on the other end of the line used to pull the previous gunman up and fire off Batarangs from his modified handgun into the crowd.
The shots caused the gangsters to spread out in disorder as they tried to move to avoid Red Hood's fire. As he landed on the ground, he then proceeded to beat up any criminals that got close to him with his guns.
A couple of crooks tried to fire at him from a distance when the sound of a whip cracking entered their ears. The next thing they knew, one of crook's guns was wretched out of his hand and flew into the face of his comrade.
The crook who had his weapon taken from him turned to see a woman dressed in a skin tight catsuit with a cat mask. The crook was too busy gawking at her to comprehend that Catwoman began to charge him. He was too late to react as Catwoman wrapped her whip around his neck and pulled.
The man struggled for breath as he tried to fight her off. Deciding to finish this quickly, Catwoman then pressed a switch on her whip. The whip suddenly lit up as electricity danced across the weapon, causing the thug to be shocked, knocking him out.
The bandana gangster started panicking as he realized that he and his fellow gangster, along with one other, were the only ones left. "Form up! Cover all sides!" He ordered.
The remaining three soon got back to back as they began to circle one around, aiming their guns outward. They also left enough space between them so they wouldn't bump into each other and cause a misfire. A mistake that soon proved to be fatal.
A small figure from above landed in the middle of the three. Before they could react, the figure extended a metal staff and swung it beneath their feet causing them all to trip. The figure, who had a gold colored 'R' plastered over where his heart would be, then knocked the three unconscious.
"And that's what happens when punks like you carry out evil deeds!" Robin declared as he stepped over them and made his way to the others.
"Well done Gotham Knights." Batman praised his team, who all smiled at a successful mission.
However, they were so engrossed in their victory that they failed to notice the leader of the crew began to wake and aim his gun at Catwoman. "You costumed freaks!" He yelled as he pulled the trigger.
Thankfully, Red Hood noticed it and acted without hesitation. He then tackled Catwoman to the ground as the bullet slightly grazed his uniform. "Red Hood!" Catwoman yelled in worry as the leader continued to fire.
Batman and Robin quickly scrambled away from the gunfire as the former then pulled out a Batarang and threw it at the leader, disarming him. He then leapt up in the air and landed hard on the criminal, knocking the wind out of him before knocking him out.
He then turned back to his team. "Is everyone okay?!" He asked urgently.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Red Hood complained as he held his arm on the spot where the bullet grazed him. Batman quickly removed his hand to inspect the wound. Thankfully it wasn't life threatening, but he would still need some stitches and bandages to stop the bleeding.
He then turned to Robin. "Help me tie these dregs up and call the police. Tell them you heard gunshots coming from the docks on the Eastside Shoreline, warehouse 133. After that, we're going back to the cave. Let's call it a night." Batman ordered as he and Robin got to work, knowing that he was gonna get an earful from Bruce when he got back.
"Ah man what a mess!" Inspector Zenkichi Hasagawa complained as he looked around the crime scene. After receiving an anonymous tip that shots were fired at a warehouse in the Eastside Shoreline, Zenkichi and his partner, being the closest, were sent to investigate.
When they arrived, they were met with the sight of tied up gangster, all full of bruises and some with broken bones and the warehouse in a mess. The inspector groaned when he realized he would be spending his night cleaning up another mess left by vigilantes instead of having dinner with his daughter.
He didn't have anything against vigilantes, he did admire anyone who had the courage to stand up and fight for what's right. But they don't follow the rules, they answer to no one but themselves. And that makes them dangerous. Rules and laws existed for a reason to keep people safe from others, and themselves.
"Hasagawa, check this out!" His partner called him. He moved over to where his partner indicated and looked to see a strange crate marked 'Project Yaldabaoth'.
"Yaldabaoth? What's that?" The partner asked.
"Yaldabaoth. A mythical god that tried to take away knowledge from man and leave them an ignorant mass." Zenkichi explained. At his partner's look, he shrugged. "I took a religious class for extra credit one semester." He then picked up a crowbar laying on the ground. He was about to open it when a voice called from the entrance.
"Stop right there!" Acting instinctively, Zenkichi and his partner both pulled out their guns and aimed it at the voices. Their eyes then widened when they saw a group of men, dressed in fine business suits and sunglasses walk up to them. "We'll be taking over this investigation. Any material or evidence you've acquired, please hand it over to us immediately."
"And why should we?" Zenkichi dared to ask as he kept his gun trained on the men. "And who are you guys anyway?" To answer the question, the lead man reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge. Zenkichi and his partner's eyes widened at the symbol.
"Government agents." He said as he and his partner holsted their weapons. "Apologies. We just didn't expect a scene like this to catch the government's eye. Any reason why you're here?"
"That information is need to know, and you don't." The lead man said as he turned to his agents. "Alright, let's gather everything here and report back to base, ASAP!" His words had immediate effect as the agents moved to gather both the criminals and materials of the crime scene.
"Hey!" Zenkichi then grabbed the man by the shoulder. "You can't just storm in here and act like you own the place. You need a court order and a prosecutor on site to approve you."
"They do." Zenkichi then turned to the new voice, this time feminine and one he recognized. A woman in her mid-to-late twenties with silver like colored hair and reddish brown eyes, dressed in a professional business suit stood at the entrance of the warehouse.
"Prosecutor Sae Niijima, I didn't expect to see you here on this fine night. Much less in this place." Zenkichi said as he walked toward her.
"Spare me the small talk Hasagawa. I'm here to oversee this clean up as well for my own case" Sae said with a raised hand as she walked past him.
Zenkichi sighed. Professional as always. He had the pleasure, or displeasure depending on the situation, of working with this woman on more than a few cases. He was very impressed with her, after all, she had passed the bar exam for her job while she was still in high school, something no one had done previously in this city. She was professional, thorough, and determined to catch her perp, and he admired her for that.
However, that didn't mean she was perfect. A lot of times she was too determined, or should he say obsessed, with catching her perp. Sometimes she was so sure someone was guilty that she would stop at nothing to put them behind bars, especially if it meant a promotion. It was hard for someone like her to get a high position, especially in this city.
"My, my! This warehouse is a mess." Another new voice entered his ears, this one carefree. Zenkichi was honestly getting tired of all these new people intruding on his crime scene. He turned to face the voice and was even more shocked to see who it was.
Goro Akechi, the detective prince himself, walked in, carrying the briefcase he always carried around with him. Zenkichi just stared in disbelief. What business did a kid, even if he was a talented detective, have here?!
"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for kids like you to be. This is a crime scene." Zenkichi told the boy as he walked up to him. Akechi however, wasn't intimidated.
"That's why I'm here after all." Akechi said as he walked past him and looked around the room. "This has to do with a case I'm working on."
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this area is under the feds jurisdiction. We don't even have authority to investigate this case. What makes you so sure you do?" Zenkichi asked. But Akechi didn't seem to pay attention to him as he moved over to the corner of the room when something caught his eye.
"I'm not here to investigate these criminals. Rather," He paused as he bent down to pick something up from the floor, "I'm here to investigate the group that supposedly arrested them." He said as he showed the Inspector the object he just picked up.
It was an object many officers knew well. Yet it was almost impossible to find any of them at a crime scene were it involved the subject in person. "Batman." Zenkichi said as he understood.
"Yes. I'm investigating this new Batman that showed up about two months ago." Akechi revealed as he opened his suitcase and placed the Batarang inside.
"What's the big deal?" Zenkichi's partner asked. "Isn't it just another copycat? We get one of those every couple of years. What makes you so interested in this one?"
"Lots of reasons." Akechi said as he stood up and walked toward the cops. "Firstly, this Batman seems to be different from the other copycats over the years. While the equipment that the others have used is taken from dumpsters, this one's tech and weapons are state of the art and high quality at that. Second it seems that he is not acting alone."
That caused Zenkichi's eyes to widen. "You think there are more than one people dressing up as Batman?" He asked. While it wasn't unheard of for multiple people dressing up as Batman and working together as a group, it rarely happens, as it made them a bigger target.
"Not necessarily." Akechi said as he looked more at the surroundings. "Reports have been coming in of not only Batman sightings, but also a new Robin, along with a Red Hood, and most recently Catwoman. I suspect our new 'protector'" Akechi said the word with a trace of venom in his tone before he continued, "is trying to build himself a little Bat-Family, much like the old one."
Now that concept had never happened before. No one had tried to act as another other persona besides Batman, due to the impact he had on the city. So to hear that this new group just wasn't being Batman, but also his supporting allies was slightly surprising to the two officers."
"And lastly," Akechi said, a smirk forming on his face, "Batman is credited as the World's Greatest Detective. If I were able to discover this new one's identity and bring him to justice, then that title would belong to me!"
"Any word on the supplies?" Shido asked the person over the speaker phone as he poured a glass of wine aboard his private Yacht. Currently he was promoting his campaign to become Mayor of the city. He was in the middle of socializing with important backers when he was called into his private office aboard the Yacht. It was about the shipment that was coming into the city from the Eastside Shoreline.
"The shipment arrived safely, but the Bat and his gang of so-called knights were waiting." The voice on the other end said.
Shido gritted his teeth at the mention of that name. Over the past few weeks, Batman had been messing with his organization bit by bit. While the vigilante had yet to make any significant progress, he still had managed to hit several of Shido's key points.
"And what about the goods? Were they taken away?" Shido asked as he took a sip of his wine to calm down slightly.
"Our men were able to arrive before the police were able to confiscate anything." The voice reported.
"Good." Shido said as he calmed down. "We can't let the police, or worse, Batman, learn of Project Yaldabaoth. Continue your work, make sure you don't screw it up anymore, Penguin!"
"Yes sir." The voice identified as Penguin said before the call ended. Shido then slammed the glass down hard on the desk, it almost shattered on impact.
He breathed heavily but also furiously. While he had taken the utmost caution and made sure that any relation to him had been covered up, it was clear that Batman seemed to have some sort of grudge against Shido.
But the list of people he offended were long, and any number of them could be responsible for this. He only hoped his 'asset' would find out more information on this new Batman soon, before it ruined any more of his plans.
The Batcave
"OW! Are you trying to finish the job the dreg with the gun started?!" Ryuji complained as Ann worked to stitch up the place where the bullet grazed him. The way Ryuji sounded, it seemed like the stitch hurt more than the graze.
"Just stop whining and let me help you!" Ann told him with a huff as she got back to work. She had taken it upon herself to patch Ryuji up, mainly because she felt responsible because he saved her life.
A position that Morgana had greatly enved Ryuji for being in. The kid seemed like he almost wanted to cut himself so Ann would fix him up, but Ren had made it clear to the kid that he would fix the boy's injuries himself.
And speaking of Ren.
"How could you have been so careless as to not make sure everyone in the warehouse was subdued before you started celebrating?!" Bruce chewed out as Ren stood in front of the man as he sat at the batcomputer with Ace at his side. "If that bullet was a few inches to the side, Ryuji would have bled out by the time you returned to the Batcave!"
"I understand Bruce." Ren muttered in a low voice. "It won't happen again."
"It better not." Bruce said as he turned back to the computer. "Or you could start digging a new grave outside the manor."
Ren clenched his fists in frustration at Bruce's criticism. Sure, he knew the original Batman was right, but he could give Ren a little slack every now and then. After all, Ren was sure Bruce wasn't perfect at everything when he first started.
Burying his frustration, he then asked, "What about the shipment? Is there any way to tie that arms deal back to Shido?"
"No. Shido's smarter than most politicians, I have to admit." Bruce said as he typed away on his keyboard. "He's set up several shell companies to take the fall in case of situations like this, and their connection to him is so slim that there's no way it would be counted as evidence."
"Well he's one crafty piece of slag, I'll give him that." Ryuji commented as he stood up from his chair, Ann having finished with his stitches. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when we take him down!" Ryuji cracked his knuckles with a smirk.
After they had formed the Gotham Knights officially, Ren had decided to tell them about Shido and how he was responsible for Ren's false charge of assault. Morgana and Ryuji were among the more vocally angry ones as they had suggested they go beat the crap out of him so he admitted the truth. Ann was more sympathetic as she vowed to do what she could to help Ren recover some of his life.
The deal they stopped tonight had some connections with a shell company Shido had set up. Even if the relationship between Shido and the company seemed slim, they decided to investigate, hoping to find some evidence to convict Shido, or at least slow him down in whatever he was doing.
Sadly though, with Ryuji's injury, they didn't have time to investigate the contents of the shipment before the police showed up, much to their disappointment. Which was another reason why Bruce was angry with Ren.
"We'll just have to try again next time." Ren tried to assure everyone as he turned to them. Everyone nodded as they then began to disperse.
"Where are you all going?" Bruce asked, causing them to freeze.
"We got to school in the morning." Ren told Bruce, referring to himself, Ryuji, and Ann. As Bruce opened his mouth to seemingly protest, Ren stopped him. "I know what you're gonna say but listen to me. Our identities outside this cave are just as important as our identities in. Especially in my case. If I start, or keep, falling asleep in class, I could get sent to prison because one of the faculty could get the wrong idea."
Bruce seemed to process Ren's logic for a moment, allowing Ren to continue as he pointed to Ryuji. "And besides, with his injury, Ryuji would just be a liability in the field if we go back out tonight."
"Hey!"
Bruce seemed to think about this for a few more seconds before he sighed. "Fine. But just this once." Bruce said as he got up and grabbed Ren by the shirt. "One night always makes the difference, remember that." Bruce warned as he let the boy go and walked up the stairs of the mansion.
After Ren and the others had left the manor, besides Morgana since he lived there with Bruce, they had called a taxi to take them to the nearest train station. After they arrived, they boarded the train and waited for each of their appointed stops.
As he sat on the train waiting for his stop in Yongen-Jaya, Ren couldn't help but recall the words Bruce said to him.
"One night always makes the difference."
He knew where Bruce was coming from when he made that statement. After all, his whole life changed when his parents died. The same was true for Ren too. His whole world changed, twice even. The night his parents died and the night he was arrested for assault. Those one night events had drastically changed his life. So he knew the power that even one night could have on a person, or a city.
He was so engrossed in this thought that he failed to notice Ryuji trying to get his attention, forcing the blonde to snap his fingers in front of his face. Ren blinked as his attention returned to the present.
"Hey man, you okay?" Ryuji asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Y-yeah! Yeah! I'm fine Ryuji. Just thinking about some stuff." He told his friend. Ryuji didn't seem to buy it, but decided to let it go, as he had other things he wanted to discuss with his friend.
"Well now that I got your attention, check this out!" Ryuji said excitedly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be concert tickets.
"What's that?"
"It's tickets to the concert that Alice is performing in tomorrow night!" Ryuji said with a large fanboy grin on his face.
"Who's Alice?"
Ryuji seemed to shut down those two words. "Bro! You don't know who Alice Hiiragi is?! Where have you been living all this time?! In a cave?!"
"No, I don't live in the cave, I work in it. I live in an attic." Ren replied in sarcasm.
"Oh. Right." Ryuji said as he cleared his throat and began explaining. "Anyway, Alice Hiiragi is the hottest new idol in the industry! She's so cute! She's also got a ton of fans and she has a great singing voice. She's even considered to be the second coming of Risette. Risette dude!"
"Okay. And?" Ren said, not quite understanding why Ryuji was so excited. He didn't really follow things like idols or stuff like that.
"And I got two tickets to her show that's happening tomorrow in Gotham stadium!" Ryuji said as he showed him the tickets again. "Ann gave them to me. She got them from one of her modeling coworkers. She was originally gonna go with Shiho, but with her still in rehab…" Ryuji trailed off, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking about the incident. "Anyway, she was also busy with a modeling gig that night so she gave the tickets to me. Maybe as an apology for what happened tonight. So I'm wondering, do you want to come with me?"
Ren thought about it for a moment. He wasn't particularly a big fan of concerts or idols, though he had never been to one of the former before. And Ryuji seemed like he really wanted to go with him, so he couldn't just let him go alone, or worse, with Morgana. Besides, this might be a good way to unwind after all the hard work he's done.
"Sure. Why not?" Ren said with a smile.
"Awesome man!" Ryuji said as the train came to a stop and announced the station. Ryuji quickly stood up as this was his stop. "We'll go after school tomorrow. Sounds good?" He asked as he held out his hand for a fist bump.
"Sure thing man." Ren said as he returned it. Ryuji then left, a big smile on his face.
Despite not being a big fan of concerts or things like that, Ren was looking forward to what seemed to be a pleasant night. 'It's just a concert.' Ren thought to himself. 'What could possibly go wrong?'
The Next Day - Gotham Stadium
Ren was surprised when they arrived at the stadium that night. While he had never been to a concert before in his life, he knew that most of them were packed with fans. But the amount of people in this stadium here to see Alice could make even the famous idol Risette jealous.
And it wasn't just that. Before the show, Ren had decided to do some research on Alice Hirragi beforehand. He figured out she even went to Shujin Academy, so it made sense why a lot of kids from school were big fans of her. He even listened to a few of her songs. They were good, but he'd heard better.
However, he severely underestimated how popular she was with others. As he and Ryuji were standing in line with their tickets ready, they noticed that some people ahead and behind them began fighting, like literally fighting, for tickets. When Ren asked Ryuji why that was, the boy shrugged and just answered, "That's probably normal." Ren doubted it.
Soon, the two took their seats and waited for the concert to begin. It turns out they didn't have to wait long as soon the opening act started up, though people in the crowd kept yelling for Alice to come on out. The cries were so loud that Ren almost didn't hear the sound of his phone ringing.
Seeing that the caller ID said 'Bruce', Ren grimaced slightly. He knew what this probably meant. He then turned to Ryuji. "Hey, I gotta step out. Bruce is calling." He told his friend.
"Alright, well hurry back! Alice is about to come on!" Ryuji said, barely containing his excitement.
Ren stood up from his seat and quickly maneuvered his way out of the flooded stands and into an empty hallway. He was about to answer the call when someone bumped into him, causing him to drop his phone.
"I'm sorry!" A female voice quickly said. He then looked in wide eyes to see Alice Hiiragi herself, dressed in some sort of cosplay of a bunny, standing before him.
'Oh man, Ryuji would kill me if he found out about this.' Ren thought to himself as he stared at Alice. Seeing her in person, he had to admit that she was cute, enough so that he could see why guys would fawn over her. But she was still nowhere as cute as Makoto Niijima, the Student Council President of Shujin Academy.
"Here." Her voice brought him out of his mind as he looked that her hands were holding his phone in it. "You dropped this." She said with a charming smile.
"Thank you." He said as he took the phone, returning the smile.
"I hope you're not planning on leaving now of all times." Alice said, still holding onto her disarming smile. "I'm about to take center stage and I hate for someone to get scared off before they get a chance to see me perform."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Ren told her, though he knew it was probably false assurances. "I just have to take a call, and it's way too noisy out there to answer. It's probably just my boss calling me to-"
(Imagine the Batman 66 theme song as the ringtone)
As his phone then began to ring again, he sighed. "Speak of the devil."
"Well I'll leave you to your call." Alice said as she then walked past him to what he assumed was the entrance to the stage. But before she disappeared from view, she turned back to him. "And if that boss of yours wants you now, just ask him to let you stick around for the first song!" She then left with a smile and a flirtatious wink before turning and walking away.
Ren gave a dry chuckle as he turned back to his phone. "Sadly this isn't the kind of boss that will compromise." He muttered to himself as he pressed the accept button and held the phone to his ears. "What's up?"
"We got trouble. An armed robber at the Gotham Merchants Bank. The perps took about a hundred thousands in cash before fleeing the scene. Currently they are in a high powered getaway vehicle and are heading down 5th. Get on it." Bruce ordered.
Ren sighed. He figured this would be one of those calls. And while he was looking forward to this concert, he was actually glad to have an excuse to leave. The crowds, lights, and noises were just too much for him. But he did feel kind of bad leaving Ryuji by himself. But as he was about to suggest to Bruce to call maybe Morgana or Ann to take care of it, his words from last night entered his mind.
"One night always makes the difference."
Ren sighed. There was just no winning when it came with the original Batman. Besides he figured the blond boy wouldn't mind too much. And if he hurried, Ren could probably still catch the last song of the concert.
"Alright. I'm on it." He told Bruce as he ended the call and opened his chat message, he would have to let Ryuji know what was going on.
Ren: Hey, Bruce called. AR on 5th. Gotta suit up. Be back soon.
He didn't wait for Ryuji's reply as he moved to find a place to quietly suit up.
A business owner gave a yawn as he sat behind the cashier desk in his little convenience shop. He was checking his phone for the latest updates regarding his favorite celebrities, taking a sip of warm coffee to help keep himself awake. Business was slow today, really slow. If it didn't pick up soon, he was sure his shop was gonna go out of business by the end of the month.
He was so absorbed with looking at his phone that he didn't notice a trio of people enter the store till the bell rang. He looked up to greet them, his tone tired of repeating the same greeting over and over. "Welcome. What can I get… you all… tonight…" His words trailed off as he said what kind of customers he had.
"Don't move!" A masked individual ordered as he held a gun to his face. The other two with him moved around the store as they grabbed certain items and brought them up to the desk. "Scan these!" When the owner did nothing, the robber cocked the gun and shouted, "Do it now!"
The shop owner quickly complied as he then scanned each of the merchandising they intended to buy, slightly confused. While robberies weren't uncommon in this city, he'd never heard of robbers actually paying for what they were stealing, especially with thousands of dollars in cash, not even asking for change. If it wasn't for the fact that he was being held at gunpoint, he would be thrilled at his business being saved thanks to all the money.
"I have to admit, this is a first for me." A new voice said, startling all of them. They all turned to see Batman himself standing a few meters behind them. "I've dealt with a lot of robberies over the decades, and this is the first one where criminals actually pay for the things they want. I'm almost tempted to let you go even. Unfortunately," His eyes then narrowed, "that money isn't yours to spend."
"Back off Bat-freak!" One of the robbers said as he pointed his gun at him. "We just want to pay for this stuff and go. We don't want any trouble!"
"You should have thought about that before you stole that money. And just for future references, I hate guns." His eyes then narrowed, a sense of fear gripping the robbers. "Especially when they're pointed at me."
Before the robber could pull the trigger, Batman threw a batarang to disarm him. The third robber, who held a wooden baseball bat, then charged the Dark Knight. He easily countered the attack and disarmed him before throwing him into a shelf, knocking him out.
Batman then took the bat and swung it viciously ath the robber he just disarmed. The strength and power behind the swing caused the wooden bat to break upon impact with the robber's head, knocking him out as well.
He then turned to glare at the last one, who still had his gun trained on the store owner. His hand was trembling. The store owner say that the robber's attention was distracted and tried to find anything that could help him escape. He then spotted his coffee cup and an idea came to mind.
"Hey buddy." He called the robber. As the man turned to face him, the store owner sprang into action and threw hot brown liquid into the robber's face.
"AHHH!" The robber screamed in pain as he tried to blink the liquid out of his eyes. "You son of a dreg!" He called as he aimed his gun and pulled the trigger.
Only for his hand to be pointed upward and the bullet hitting the ceiling. He looked to see, as best his could as the coffee was still burning his eyes, who stopped him. When his vision cleared his froze as he saw Batman beside him.
Batman then squeezed the wrist the robber was holding the gun with, causing him to drop it. As the gun clattered to the floor, the robber looked back up to see a devious smirk form on Batman's face.
"Ah slaggit."
CRASH!
The next thing the robber knew, he was thrown out the window of the store he just attempted to rob and onto the street. As he struggled to get up, he felt something grab him by the beck of his head then slam it into the ground, knocking him out.
As Batman stood back up and looked over at the store owner, he had an apologetic look on his face when he saw the shocked and horrified look of the man. "Sorry about your shop, I'll pay for the repairs."
The man was too shocked to offer a proper response to his sentence, so Batman ignored him for the time being as he then focused on the crime scene. "Now then, what was so important at a convenience store like this that you guys just had to rob a bank of thousands of dollars to purchase?" He asked aloud as he inspected the bags the other two had and looked inside.
What he found was something he never would have guessed in his life.
"What the…" Batman said as he pulled out the goods only to see it as an Alice Hiiragi statue. As he inspected the other bags they had, he found other Alice Hiiragi merchandise including CDs, dolls, sighed photos and posters, etc.
Batman was stumped. Why would a trio of robbers want to buy a pop idol's merchandise? And why steal money from a bank so they could buy it instead of just outright stealing the merchandise itself? Was this normal for all idols? He heard of super fans, but he didn't think they went this far.
It was then that he remembered the concert. He then checked the time. The concert was almost over. If he hurried, he may be able to at least make it to catch the final song. He then fired off his thrusters and flew off to the stadium.
Gotham Stadium
He ended up arriving after the concert ended. He sighed in disappointment. His first concert, and he totally missed the main show because of some criminals who had an extreme case of shopping fever.
He changed out of his batsuit and looked for Ryuji. Hopefully the boy wasn't too angry for ditching him.
As he waited for Ryuji by the exit, he noticed that many people exiting had large and full bags all across their arms, some even wrapped the bags around their necks, or held them by their teeth. As Ren caught a glance at the bags, he saw that they all held some form of Alice Hiiragi merchandise.
Ren observed with a raised eyebrow. This was a strange coincidence. He had just stop a pair of robbers when they tried to buy a pair of Alice merchandise, and now he was observing hundreds of people walking out with their hands full of them.
"Yo! Renren!"
At the shout of that embarrassing nickname that only one person would ever utter, Ren turned to the source to spot Ryuji waving at him, his arms full of bugs, most likely containing Alice Hiiragi merchandise. He then walked over to his friend.
"Ah man you missed a great show!" Ryuji said in the tone of an excited fanboy. "The lights, the music, and Alice herself! Awe man it was perfect!"
"That's… great to hear Ryuji." Ren said, not very sure how to react to him when he was like this. "What do you got there?" He asked, referring to the bags in Ryuji's hands, though he had a pretty good idea as to what they were.
"Oh Alice merch! What'd you expect?" Ryuji said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which strangely it was. "I was lucky to get all this stuff before they sold out, I nearly blew through all my money."
Ren blinked in surprise. "Wait. Did you spend almost all your money on this stuff?" Ren asked in shock.
"Yeah. Is that a problem? It's my money." Ryuji said, as if he didn't have a care in the world.
Ren was dumbfounded. While Ryuji did tend to be a big spender, he mostly ever spent it on food, namely ramen, he always made sure to save enough so his mom wouldn't be struggling to make ends meet. For him to waste all his money working as a vigilante on idol merchandise, that didn't sound like him.
"Anyway, let's get out of here Renren." Ryuji said, not noticing or even caring about what he was saying. "The stores should be restocked with Alice merch by tomorrow. And I'll be sure to clean them out."
Ren just looked at his friend's back as he left the stadium. Ren hoped Ryuji was joking when he said that, and hoped this whole shopping fever would clear up by tomorrow.
The Next Day - Shujin Academy
It didn't.
If anything, it spread.
All throughout the day, Ren constantly heard the name 'Alice Hiiragi' spoken in excitement. And in most of those conversations, it mentioned buying more of her merchandise.
Ren couldn't understand. Sure she was popular at Shujin, since she used to attend the school, but this was an extreme case of fandamonia. He's never seen or heard of anyone reacting this much to an idol, especially a newcomer.
Still, one upside was that he was hearing less and less rumors about him. In fact, he went through the whole day without hearing one absurd rumor about him. That was a nice little silver lining for ther day.
"Yo dude!" Ren turned to see Ryuji run toward him, a desperate look on his face. "I need help man! I need you to lend me some money! It's an emergency!"
"What's wrong?! Is your mom in trouble with some loan sharks, or are you about to be evicted?" Ren asked concern.
"No man, it's more serious than that! I need money to buy more Alice merch!" Ryuji screamed out like he was having a panic attack as he grabbed Ren by the shoulders.
"Wha...?" Was all Ren could say as he stared at his friend. Did he hear that right? He must've misheard him.
"I spent the last of my allowance on Alice Merchandise this morning! My mom wouldn't give me any money. So can you please lend me a few hundred bucks to buy some more merchandise?!" Ryuji pleaded.
Ren brought Ryuji's hands off of his shoulders and put them down. "Okay Ryuji. Before I give you any money, I'm gonna ask you one question, and I expect an honest answer. Can you do that?" Ryuji nodded 'yes'. Ren then took a deep breath, let it out, deep breath in, then-
"WHAT THE SLAG IS GOING ON WITH YOU?!"
After Ren's outburst, the two had received a call from Bruce about a robbery at 3rd and 6th. The two put their discussion on hold as they suited up.
When they arrived at the place, the robbers had already stolen the money and were packing it in a getaway car.
"What are you gonna buy with your share?"
"Alice's new album duh! What about you?"
"I was thinking maybe one of those small figurines for my car. I think it looks pretty."
"It doesn't matter. With this money, we could buy all of the Alice Hiiragi merchandise we want."
"I don't think so!"
The two robbers turned to see Red Hood standing in front of them in an alley. "You ain't buying anything Alice related! Not before me you sick dregs!" He declared as he pulled out his hand guns and fired.
Batarangs went flying from the guns towards the robbers as they moved to dodge and avoid the projectiles. Red Hood then fired a cable from his gun at a robber, then zipped through the air to deliver a kick that sent him flying into a wall, knocking him out.
Batman then appeared from behind the second robber and slammed his head against the car to knock him out. "Alright, that takes care of them. Let's tie them up and leave them for-"
He stopped talking as soon as he saw Red Hood had begun to place stashes of cash in his jacket. "Red Hood! What are you doing?!" He asked in shock, causing said vigilante to look at him as if he had just taken cookies out of the jar.
"I just figured that taking this money could solve our problem."
"What problem?!"
"About having money to buy more Alice Merchandise." Batman was left dumbfounded by his response. "This way you don't have to give me some money to buy her stuff and I don't have to wait till my next paycheck. It's a win-win!"
Batman just continued to stare at his partner for a long time. The way he sounded, made it seem like he was 100 percent serious about what he just said, which was even more shocking than the words coming out of his mouth. Before he could chastise Ryuji in any way, he heard the faint sounds of police sirens approaching.
Deciding that it wouldn't be a good idea to be caught stealing money from robbers they just stopped, Batman quickly grabbed Ryuji by the waist, and shot them off into the sky. The money falling out of Ryuji's jacket.
The Batcave
"I just don't get what's going on with him!" Ren told the others, consisting of Morgana, Ann, and Bruce, as he paced back and forth in the Batcave, having gone there after he told Ryuji to go home for the night.
"I mean one minute he's just a mild fanboy, crushing on this celebrity idol. The next, he's spending all his money, even attempting to steal someone else's, in order to buy all her merchandise! I mean, is that normal!" He asked the others, Ann in particular.
"I mean, there have been cases of extreme purchasing of and idols merchandising by fans," Ann admitted, "But even this level of fandamonia is unheard of in the industry. And it's not like Ryuji to be this obsessive about something, unless it concerns his mom. And he's not the only one."
"What do you mean Lady Ann?" Morgana asked.
"A lot of people at school are also affected by this fandamonia. I thought that it was maybe because Alice had gone to our school. But after hearing what Ryuji's been like, I realized that they had all been acting in a similar manner. They just had this crazy urge to buy as much as Alice's merchandise as they could."
"Hasn't there also been a lot of robberies recently related to that idol?" Morgana asked.
"Yeah. In fact, a lot of robberies have happened recently just so the perps could buy more Alice Merchandise. What's up with that?" Ren asked himself.
"What's even stranger is the perps themselves." Bruce spoke up for the first time as he typed away on the Batcomputer. "I've been doing research on the robbers that you've brought in related to this Alice Hiiragi. The most interesting thing is that none of them had any prior record of criminal action before this. In fact most of them had promising futures and grew up in environments that wouldn't lead them to a life of crime. So the question is, what caused them to throw their lives for what amounts to worthless junk?"
"Well, do you really think Alice could be doing something to these people?" Ann asked, slightly worried. She had after all looked up to Alice as a fellow model, especially when the latter had said she wanted to be a light for other people. So she didn't want to believe that someone she admired had been doing some wicked deeds.
"I can't confirm it, but it does all seem suspicious. Especially since these types of crimes started when Alice had come to Nippon-Gotham for her tour." Bruce informed them. Ann bit her lip in nervousness.
"So what are we gonna do?" Morgana asked. "How do we know if she's the one causing all this or not?"
"Well if we could get a chance to talk with her face-to-face, we may be able to find some clues to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. But I doubt that her security or agents are gonna let a couple of students, a kid, and an old man get anywhere close to an idol of her level." Ren said as he brainstormed for an idea.
"Uhhh, I actually have a way to talk with her." Ann's statement caused them to look at her in surprise, or intrigue in Bruce's case. "She's supposed to appear on a televised news broadcast tomorrow, and my idol agency gave me tickets to watch within the studio, along with a friend. This could be the chance we need to talk with her."
"Then that's our plan." Bruce said. "You and Ren will attend that broadcast and determine if Alice is indeed behind this crime wave. I'll see what I can dig up on her in the meantime."
"Got it."
"Sure thing."
"And uhh, what do I do?" Morgana asked.
"You…" Ren trailed off as he tried to come up with an idea. "Keep an eye on Ryuji." Morgana was appalled by that request. Why should he get stuck with the job of looking after the blonde idiot?!
"I'm worried about him." Ren told the boy in a serious tone. "If Alice really did do something to mess with his head, he may end up hurting himself or others. Just keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of trouble. Please."
Morgana wanted to refuse, but after seeing the pleading look in both Ren and Ann's eyes, he sighed. "Okay."
The Next Day - TV Station
Having arrived at the TV Station where Alice would be doing her interview, Ren and Ann quickly took their seats and waited for the broadcast to start.
Before coming, Bruce had given Ren a new pair of glasses he was wearing now. Unlike his old pair, which he used as a way to make him seem less intimidating, these came with an actual function beside just enhancing vision. They would be able to pick up and scan anything out of the ordinary and transmit the data back to the Batcomputer for analysis.
Soon enough Alice herself had appeared and the interview began. Everything seemed normal at first, when all of a sudden, the male anchor had suddenly gotten to his knees and confessed his love for Alice. According to Ann, the male and female anchor duo had been engaged for almost a year. So for him to suddenly do something so drastic definitely wasn't normal, especially in the middle of an interview.
The interview had come to a sudden end after that and Ren and Ann began to wander the halls.
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that to happen." Ren said as they came to a stop. "He really spilled the beans. Even I thought he went overboard, and I'm a guy that needs to dress up like a bat to get a reaction out of people. Hahaha!" He gave a weak laugh to try and cheer Ann up, which didn't work.
"So… do you think… Alice might have really done something to make him do that?" She asked, in a state of disbelief.
Ren had wanted to try and comfort her, try to deny it so she didn't lose that admiration and respect she had for Alice. But he knew he couldn't lie to her. Cause that would make her even more crushed when she had to face the truth.
"Maybe." Ren answered as he looked away from her. "All the evidence we've seen so far points to her. So it seems that Alice really is guilty."
"Yeah… looks like it." Ann said as she looked down in utter disappointment. "Alice said… she wants to be a ray of light for people. And that's what I've always wanted too…"
"Ann…" Ren said, trying to find some way to comfort her. Ann continued to look down as she brought her hands together behind her back
"I read about her in a magazine once, and… I just really felt where she was coming from." Ann confessed. "That's why I'm so passionate about my modeling and my work as Catwoman. I want to be a ray of light and hope for the people of this city in any way that I can. But now… I wonder if it was all just…" She couldn't even finish as tears began to form in her eyes.
"You are."
Ann's eyes widened as she looked up to Ren, who had taken off his glasses and stared at her dead in the face.
"You are a light to the people of this city. Through your modeling and your vigilante work." Ren told her. "You inspire people to take a stand for what's right, no matter the consequences. I don't know Alice well enough to judge whether what she was saying was a lie or not, but I do know you. And I know that you are dead serious about wanting to inspire others, not because you want people to love and adore you, but because you want them to be the best versions of themselves. That's what separates you from someone like Alice."
Ann was so moved by his words that she began to cry, but instead of sadness, these were tears of joy. She then opened her mouth to say something.
"Ahahaha! Man, that was great!"
Both of their eyes widened when they heard that familiar voice. "That was… Alice?!" Ann said in hushed shock. It sounded like she was getting closer. "Quick! Hide!" Ren nodded as they dashed to the side, out of sight.
They peaked out from the corner of the wall and saw that Alice was walking down the hall, a careless smile on her face. Her attitude was in stark contrast with the man walking beside her, who looked like he was about to have a panic attack.
"M-Miss Alice! This is a public hall" He reminded her in a low voice, but his tone indicated he was panicking. "Please, you must keep your voice down!"
She stopped as she turned to look back at him. "Eh, it's fine. See? No one in sight." She said as she gestured all around them. She then chuckled. "Anyway though, did you see that lady's face? She totally lost it up there! All those cushy talking head types make the best faces when things stop going their way."
"Miss Alice…" The man trailed off, unsure if he should say what he wanted to say. "Do you think you could stop doing these things?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, feigning innocence. "I was the victim on stage." She then raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "What is it you want me to stop doing?"
"I… I don't know how you're doing it, or why…" The man stuttered, fear gripping his body. "But after seeing that… There has to be something. You…"
"Oh. So you want me to punish you again." She asked as a dangerous look formed in her eyes, and a sweet but sadistic smile formed from her lips.
The man began losing it as he backed away from her in fear, hands held out as she approached him. "A! Please, I'm sorry!" He cried as she got closer. He then tripped and fell on the ground, frozen in fear.
She then walked up to him and stomped her heels on top of his chest. "Oh, whoops! What a terrible accident." She said in faux worry, still holding onto her sick smile. "Just like what happened on set. A terrible accident. I'm still upset about it, too, you know. Aren't you supposed to take my side?" Her eyes then narrowed slightly. "Or are you asking to end up broken like my last manager? Do you want to get stuck in your room like he is?"
The manager cried out in pain as she pressed harder. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I don't want toys who don't do as they're told." She said, looking away slightly.
"S-Stop!" The man pleaded. Behind the wall, Ren and Ann looked on with horror and disgust at Alice's actions.
"Then beg me to forgive you until it hurts as much as it hurt me with your words." She said with another sick, smug smile on her face as she mocked him. "Why don't you do what you did yesterday? Grovel with your face all messed up with snot. I'll take another video if you like. Come on, beg! Do it! Do it! I'm not gonna stop until you do, got it?" The man groaned in pain as she dug harder and harder with her heels.
"Hey stop!" Ann shouted as she and Ren both decided they were done hiding and came running towards them. Shocked by the sudden newcomers, Alice quickly lifted her leg off her manager and turned towards the duo.
"A-And who is this?" She said quickly, hoping that they didn't see her outburst.
"Cut the sadistic crap!" Ren said in a stern tone as he glared at her.
"It was WAY too far!" Ann agreed with her own stern voice. "You said you wanted to be a ray of light for people. How the slag does that help?!"
Alice said nothing as she racked her brain to come up with an excuse. She then put on an innocent smile and responded. "Oh! Haha, we were just joking around." She tried to convince them. She then looked back to her manager, who had managed to stand back up. "Weren't we?" She asked, threateningly.
"Yeah…" The man grumbled through the pain as he rubbed his stomach.
"So you'll go get the car now?" She asked sweetly. The man then turned and walked away.
"Hey! Wait!" Ann tried to call to him, but he didn't respond and just kept walking.
Alice then turned around to face them again and her eyes seemed to light up in recognition. "Hang on… are you Ann Takamaki?" She asked.
Ann was certainly taken aback. "Wha… you know who I am?" She asked, shocked that a famous idol, one she until recently looked up to, had recognized her.
"Yeah! I know all the models! I read every fashion magazine the day it comes out!" She tried to play off what just happened by changing the subject. "Actually… I really admire you. Would you like to be friends?" She then reached into her back pockets and pulled out a pair of tickets. "As a token of our newfound friendship, here's a pair of VIP tickets to my concert tonight in Gotham Square. I promise is will be an absolute-"
"Don't bother." Ann said as she snatched the tickets from Alice's hands and began to tear them apart in front of her eyes. "I'd never accept someone who treats another person like that."
Alice seemed to be shocked dumb by the action before she smiled. "Aww, too bad. But I do appreciate honesty." She then turned her attention towards Ren, pulling out another pair of tickets. "So. How about you? Would you like to be friends and come to my concert tonight?"
"I'll pass." Ren said without a moment of hesitation.
"Aw, two in a row." She said in disappointment before she got a closer look at Ren. Her eyes then widened in realization. "Hang on–you were at my concert at Gotham Stadium the other night weren't you?"
Before she could say anything else, Ann spoke up as she turned to Ren. "We're done here. Let's go Ren!" The boy nodded in agreement as they turned and walked away from the sadistic idol.
Alice then let out a sigh as they were out of sight. "That's a bummer." She said to herself. She then scratched her head in confusion. "But… I know I saw him at my concert… Why doesn't he obey…?"
The Batcave
"...And then I stormed out and we came back here. Sorry about that by the way, I was so upset…" Ann said as she and Ren finished recounting their encounter with Alice to Bruce.
"You don't need to apologize. We get it. Someone you admired turned out to be the kind of person you despise. That's not easy for anyone to accept." Ren said as he placed a comforting hand on her.
"He's right." Bruce said. "Though you could have controlled your emotions better, we were able to get a more in depth understanding of Alice, and a look into what she's really like, thanks to you."
Ann smiled at their words, even though it kind of almost felt like criticism in Bruce's case.
Deciding to change the subject, Ren then spoke up. "Do you think what her manager said is true? Do you think she might be controlling people somehow?"
"Maybe. But I don't know how she could do it." Ann said.
"I think I do." Bruce said, which caused the duo to look at him. "I did a complete and thorough background check on Alice Hiiragi and found something that could explain how she's controlling other people."
"What'd you find?"
"Well for starters, her real name isn't Alice Hiiragi. It's Alice Tetch." Bruce revealed.
"Tetch?" Ren repeated the name as he tried to think where he had heard the name somewhere before.
"Her grandfather is Jervis Tetch AKA The Mad Hatter." Bruce revealed.
"Who?" Ann asked.
"The Mad Hatter?! The Mad Hatter is her grandfather! Are you trying to tell me that someone actually had kids with that lunatic?!" Ren cried in disbelief at the idea.
"It would appear so." Bruce said, not even phased by the reveal. "Apparently, when she entered the idol industry, she changed her name to her mother's maiden name so no one would make the connection. A name like that would severely hinder her career, especially in this city. And that's not the only thing I found."
"What else could there be?" Ann asked.
"I did some digging into her childhood and found interesting reports. Apparently she had seen multiple psychologists in her teen years durning high school." Bruce revealed as he brought up multiple reports. "Apparently due to her family history, Alice was a victim of bullying. And severe cases as well. One nearly ended with her committing suicide."
That shocked both Ren and Ann. The fact that someone like that went through such hard trauma at a young age was terrifying. It was almost hard to not try and pity her.
"Save your pity." Bruce told them, having caught onto their thoughts. "Just because she had a rough childhood doesn't justify all the pain and trouble she's causing."
Ren and Ann both agreed. They too had rough experiences in their youth, so they could sympathize with Alice a little. But that didn't mean it was okay for her to hurt people, especially like how she did her own manager with that sadistic grin.
"I also found something else. I think I know how she's controlling others." Bruce said as he brought up a video of one of Alice's concerts. "One of Mad Hatter's specialties was in hypnosis. And it seems his granddaughter is following in his footsteps. Take a look at this."
The video began playing. As it did, Bruce typed in a few commands into the consuel and an audio bar appeared underneath the video. At certain points in the video, the audio spiked suspiciously, and not how it normally would in a concert.
"Now take a look at the interview that happened at the TV Station." Bruce instructed as he brought up a video of the interview taken from Ren's special glasses with an audio bar below it. At certain points, the audio spiked like it did in the concert, and soon it showed the scene where the host confessed his 'love' for Alice.
"Mad Hatter was able to induce mind control through powerful waves from his hat into his subject to control him. And it seems that his granddaughter has followed a similar technique." Bruce explained as he zoomed in and pointed at Alice's bow. "It's hard to notice, but a powerful yet subtle wave of energy is being produced from that bow in her hair. Alone, the signal could only hypnotize one or two subjects at close range. The speakers at the concert however are able to enhance the signal strength, able to capture whole crowds."
Ann looked down in disappointment. It was now confirmed that Alice was indeed hypnotizing people to be obedient to her. Ren noticed this and decided to change the subject.
"Okay, now we know the how, but we still don't know the why." Ren spoke up. "Why is she doing this? What does she have to gain from doing things like this and forcing people to buy her merchandise?"
"Money." Ann revealed as the two men looked at her. "When people purchase a celebrity's merchandise, about 50 percent of the profits are sent directly to the individual they purchase it from."
"That's correct." Bruce said. "And since people are actually paying money for her merch instead of just outright giving it to her, it can help clear her of any suspicion that she's behind it. It can just be assumed that she's just so popular that people can't help but buy her stuff."
"The perfect crime." Ren said as he saw the genius of the action.
Ann's eyes then widened as she then remembered something. "Wait a minute, Ryuji was at her concert wasn't he?" Ann asked, causing Ren and Bruce's eyes to widen as they remembered that fact. "And if the concerts are how Alice is hypnotizing people…"
"Ryuji could be under her spell!" Ren said in shock as he pulled out his phone and tried to call Ryuji. He got his voice mail. He looked over to Ann to see she got the same result. Bruce then quickly contacted Morgana through the Batcomputer.
It rang twice before the kid picked up. "Hey guys, how was the interview? I watched part of it. And I gotta say, yesh, even I thought he went overboard."
"No time for that now Morgana. We need a status update on Ryuji!" Bruce ordered.
Morgana then gave a weak and nervous laugh from the other end. "Yeeeaaahhh about that. Hehehe. We have a small problem."
Ren and Ann's stomachs sank at his words as Bruce's eyes narrowed. "What problem?" He asked.
"I lost him."
"You what?!" Both Ren and Ann yelled at the same time.
"I swear it's not my fault!" Morgana quickly said before anyone could blame him. "I was keeping close tabs on him ever since school let out from a safe distance so he wouldn't notice. I saw him go into a nearby convenience store and waited for him to come out, but then I got sidetracked by a nearby mugging. So I quickly took care of it and tried to get back to where I last saw Ryuji. But by the time I got back, he had left the store, and I couldn't find any trace of him."
Bruce took a deep breath before he let it out. "You did the right thing in stopping that mugging. But we've got a situation now that you've lost him."
"What sort of situation?" Morgana asked. The three then quickly informed Morgana of what they learned. "Oh. Well, that's not good."
"Ya think?" Ren asked sarcastically. "We need to figure out Alice's next move and try to find a way to free Ryuji and the other citizens from her control."
Ann's eyes then widened again. "Didn't Alice try to invite us to a concert before we left?" She asked Ren.
"Yeah she did." Ren confirmed as he remembered the encounter. "She said it would be happening tonight." He quickly checked the time on his phone. "It should start in about an hour, in Gotham Square."
"Gotham Square?" Bruce asked for confirmation as the two nodded. He then turned and brought up a map of the city, specifically focusing on Gotham Square. "That's where the city's most powerful radio tower is located. It's the central tower in the whole city network. If Alice performs there using that tower, she could have the whole city under her control by the time the concert is over."
Ren and Ann's eyes widened at the thought. She was willing to go as far as the whole city. Did Alice's cruelty know no bounds?
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Ren said in determination as he looked toward Ann who nodded in agreement. "Gotham Knights! Get ready to suit up! We've got a show to crash!"
Soon enough, the three had all regrouped in the Batcave and changed into their respective Knight attires. They now all sat in the Batmobile as it flew across the city towards Gotham Square, they checked the time and looked to see they had about 5 minutes before the concert started.
"Now remember, you have until the last song before Alice gets the whole city under her control. You need to find some way to disable the hypnotic wave before she finishes." Bruce briefed them.
"Why don't we just destroy the main tower? That way Alice won't be able to reach the whole city." Robin suggested.
"Bad idea." Bruce immediately shot down. "If we forcibly cut off the connection in such a violent way in the middle of the concert, it could leave those affected with brain damage at best, or worse, in death."
"So how do we stop this without killing half the population of Nippon-Gotham?" Batman asked.
"You could hack into the radio tower and upload a counter wave that would break the hypnosis over the people in the city. That would free anyone that's already under her control." Bruce suggested. "Another way is if you can destroy the source of the hypnosis itself, the bow on Alice's head. Doing both however will ensure that Alice won't be able to pull this kind of stunt again."
"Alright, we have our game plan." Batman said. "We have two objectives: First we have to upload that counter signal into the radio tower to free those within the city from Alice's control. Second, we have to destroy the tool Alice is using to control others."
"Leave that to me." Catwoman said as the other two vigilantes saw the determined look on her face.
"You're coming up on Gotham Square. Get ready." Bruce advised them.
"Alright Knights," Batman told them as he tightened his grip on the Batmobile's controls. "Time to go to work."
It was almost time.
Soon the whole city will never say anything bad about her again. Everyone will love her and worship her, like she should have been. She just had to get through this last concert, and then no one would hate her again.
As she was about to step on stage to greet her 'fans', one of the stage crew came up to her. "Miss Alice, we have a problem."
"Problem? What problem?" She asked with a twitchy eyebrow. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong today, not today! The crew member handed her a tablet showing security footage of the radio tower that was gonna broadcast her hypnotic wave. She looked with wide eyes as she saw what appeared to be the famous Batmobile approaching the main tower, meaning only one thing: Batman had figured out her plan.
Her hands began shaking with rage as she gritted her teeth. No! There was no way some brat dressed as a flying rodent was gonna ruin her plans along with his costumed freaks! She then took a deep breath to calm herself down. She couldn't overreact, she had to focus and be calm.
"Change of plans. We're gonna go with the prerecorded track." She told the crew member as she handed back his tablet, a sadistic smile on her face as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a vile of green liquid. "It may be disappointing for some of the fans. But we'll make up for it with a show they'll never forget: The death of the Batman!"
Getting onto the skyscraper where the radio was wasn't all that difficult. Thankfully, no Alice superfan felt the need to guard such a seemingly meaningless tower. The three of them exited the Batmobile and made their way to the tower as quickly as they could.
Suddenly, multiple bright blinding lights shined down on the three of them, forcing them to cover their eyes.
"Attention citizens of Nippon-Gotham!" A familiar voice cheered as the trio adjusted to the brightness. "I am sorry to inform you that due to some difficulties, I won't be able to appear in person to sing to you all tonight!" A track record of an audience 'awwing' played over some speakers as Alice stepped into view of the three. "But don't worry, in return I will give you something you all long for: The death of the Batman!"
All across Nippon-Gotham, its citizens looked in either confusion or joy at the proclamation, the latter emotion being expressed mostly by the criminal side.
At the Niijima household, Makoto was busy setting up dinner for her and her sister, but her attention turned to the TV when she heard the proclamation. She had turned on the TV to watch or at least listen to part of the concert, if only not to be utterly left out of any conversations in the student council room tomorrow. But she wasn't expecting this when she turned on the TV.
If the Batman was who she suspected him to be, she only hoped and prayed he got out of this alive.
"Alice Hiiragi, or should I say Alice Tetch! We know about all the horrible things you've done." Batman declared, shocking her.
"You brainwash people into spending all their money and ruining their lives so you can profit from them." Robin stated, pulling out his staff and extending it.
"We, the Gotham Knights, are here to bring you to justice!" Catwoman declared.
"Hmm, so you figured it out then didn't you?" Alice asked, ignoring their accusations and statements. "No matter how hard I try to hide it or bury it, the past still keeps coming back to me. How pathetic… what a mess!" She yelled out in anger.
She then took a breath to calm herself down. "But that doesn't matter now. With this power my grandfather left, I can have everything." Her eyes shined with a dangerous glemm. "Everything I've always wanted… Mine!"
"We won't allow that to happen." Batman declared as he pulled out a Batarang and threw it toward Alice's bow. If he managed to hit it, then they could stop Alice!
BANG!
A shot fired and hit the Batarang, knocking it off course and causing it to miss Alice. The strangest thing was, it was another Batarang that hit it. The three looked to where the shot came from and looked in surprise to see Ryuji, fully donned in his Red Hood costume, and pointing his hand guns at them.
"Ryu-Red Hood!? What are you doing?!" Catwoman asked in disbelief.
"I won't allow you to harm Alice!" Red Hood said, his voice sounding almost like a zombie, as he moved to stand beside her, his gun still trained on them.
Alice looked in shock before a sly smile donned her face. "Oh wow! Looks like I have such an amazing fan!" She then laughed maniacally. "My heroic Red Hood, these freaks attempted to harm me! Protect me with your life!"
"As you command… Alice." Red Hood said as he pulled out his second gun and opened fire. The three Knights dodged and rolled out of the way of the projectiles from the guns. While they were nonlethal, it would still pack a punch to be hit by them.
"Slagit! What do we do?!" Catwoman asked as she and Batman hid behind a ventilation. "We have to get past Red Hood to stop Alice before her concert finishes, but we can't hurt him to do so."
"You two can't." Robin said from his place behind a brick wall, an excited smile plastered on his face. "But I can." He then jumped out from behind the wall and brought up the bullet shield on his staff that blocked the shots from Red Hood's guns. When Red Hood stopped to reload, Robin then charged and bashed him with the shield, sending him flying.
"I'll handle Red Hood Batman! You and Lady Catwoman stop Alice and save the city!" Robin told them as he charged Red Hood as he got back to his feet.
"You heard him, let's go!" Batman told Catwoman as they left their hiding spot and moved toward the radio tower where Alice was.
"Do you think Robin will be okay?" Catwoman asked.
"To be honest, I'm more worried about what Robin will do to Red Hood if we don't stop Alice soon."
Alice stood at the base of the antenna, placing one of the most advanced encryption security into the network. She doubted Red Hood would be able to stall those Knights for long, so she needed to make every preparation she could.
"Alice!" She heard Catwoman call. It seemed that Red Hood wasn't able to stop all of them, good thing she prepared for this. She turned to face them.
"You're too late!" Alice declared. "This concert is intentionally shorter to speed up the process. Soon the whole city will be under my control."
"Why are you doing this?! Why are you taking away people's will, all for money!?" Catwoman demanded to know.
Whatever she said seemed to send Alice over the edge. "Money? YOU THINK THIS IS ABOUT MONEY?!" She exploded in rage, shocking Catwoman and Batman. "I couldn't care less about that! All I want is for people to like me! To love me! All my life people have hated and spat on me because of my grandfather! If I didn't happen to find his notes and equipment, giving me a way to finally be accepted and loved by others, I would have committed suicide a long time ago!"
She then glared darkly at the two Knights. "And if you think I'm gonna let some costumed freaks keep me from my goals, then you got another thing coming!" She then reached behind her and pulled out an injector gun.
Batman's eyes widened as he recognized it. "Wait, is that…"
Alice smirked deviously. "I'm sure you guys have heard of Splicing. But in case you haven't I'll explain." Alice said. "Splicing appears to be a hot new trend among the city. Mixing human with animal DNA. The city consul is trying to outlaw it though, making it hard for citizens to get any. Thankfully, with my connections and money, getting this was a piece of cake."
"What are you gonna do with that?" Catwoman asked.
Alice's smirk grew. "You'll find out." She said as she aimed the needle at her neck and pulled the trigger. She winced slightly from the injection, before she began to shake and tremble in front of the duo. She screamed out in pain, as parts of her clothes began ripping as her body expanded.
Batman and Catwoman looked in horror to see when the transformation was complete, Alice had become a human-rabbit hybrid, complete with the ears, tail, and feet. She grinned mischievously at them as she pulled out a staff and swung it around. "You ready to have some fun!"
Batman was about to charge in after her, but Catwoman held out her arms to stop him. "You take care of the hypnotic wave, I'll handle Alice." She said.
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me. I need to do this." Catwoman said as she unhooked her whip and cracked it several times for emphasis. Batman could see the look in her eyes and body posture. She did indeed need this. So he nodded.
"Alright. Be careful." He said as he fired his rocket boots and flew above them to get to the tower. Alice jumped up to grab him, using her enhanced rabbit feet to reach him. She almost succeeded, but a whip then wrapped itself around one of her legs.
"Pay attention! It's me you're fighting!" Catwoman declared as she pulled down, which caused Alice to crash into the ground. Thankfully, the serum seemed to enhance her durability, so she wasn't that injured. But it still hurt a great deal. So much that she wanted to tear Catwoman apart.
She then hopped toward Catwoman, staff raised high and brought it down on her, only for Catwoman to block with her whip, just barely.
Batman landed at the base of the antenna and opened up the circuit board. He then realized a big problem. "Uhh, Bruce, how do I do this? Hacking isn't exactly my strong suit." He asked.
"In your belt there's a remote hacking device. It should allow you to access the system once you break the firewall." Bruce told him. Batman then pulled out the remote hacking device from his belt and folded it out.
"Schway!" Batman said with an impressed smile as he got to work. The remote hacking device was able to get through the initial firewalls of the system before it hit a roadblock. Batman frowned as a prompt appeared on the holographic screen of the RHD. "I've run into the final firewall, but it's a security question. It's asking 'What is the safest place'?"
"Security questions usually have a relation to the owner. So we have to figure out what's the safest place for Alice." Bruce said. Batman then put in multiple locations: School, home, hospital, police station, Nippon-Gotham, etc. None of them matched.
"We're running out of time. I'm gonna see if I can try to work around." Bruce said. Batman's brain went into overdrive as he worked to find out the password. What did Alice ever consider as the safest place? What could be considered safe to the granddaughter of a psychotic lunatic obsessed with a children's book!?
It was at that moment that Batman was struck with an epiphany. "Bruce! You said that Alice's grandfather, The Mad Hatter, was obsessed with the book 'Alice in Wonderland', that's why he became the Mad Hatter, right?" He asked.
"Yes, but what about it?"
"Well I remember reading that obsession can be genetic, passed down from directly related relatives." Batman recalled. "So if Mad Hatter was obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, and Alice has that same obsession," He then typed in his answer, Wonderland, before he finished speaking.
Access granted the screen answered as Batman gave a small laugh. "Not bad Amamiya, not bad." Bruce praised, impressed that the kid managed to figure it out all on his own. Batman then soon uploaded the counter signal into the radio tower.
"Done! Once the concert ends, the signal should be sent out and free anyone under Alice's control." Bruce said.
"That's good, then I'll go help Catwoman or Robin." Batman then turned, only to be faced with a large crowd of people, all of them carrying a zombified look in their eyes. "I got a problem. Seems some of Alice's 'fans' don't like that I'm crashing her concert."
"Keep them away from the antenna!" Bruce ordered. "If they tamper with it, they could deactivate the counter signal from being sent out. But be careful not to hurt them. They're innocents under the control of a mad woman."
"Yeah, but it'd be great if they felt the same about me." Batman groaned as he got ready to defend the tower.
The gun pointed at Robin's head was batted away by his staff, as he then swung it to connect it to the red marble that was his opponent's head. Red Hood brought up his arm to block the attack before he shoved it away and tried to strike back.
The two had been going back and forth like this since the fight began. Robin had taken advantage of his superior skills and small size to avoid Red Hood's strikes and hit him in the lower half of the body. Red Hood in turn took advantage of his strength and managed to overpower most of Robin's attacks.
Red Hood just parried another of Robin's attacks before delivering a kick to the Boy Wonder's stomach that sent him staggering back. Robin glared and gritted his teeth toward Red Hood.
While he hated to admit it, Red Hood was indeed very skilled. Another reason why Robin had wanted to fight Red Hood, other than the fact he made him angry most of the time, was because the two of them had spared with one another more than anyone else on the team, mostly because the two were determined to one up each other.
So he was logical and the most qualified to take on Red Hood, as he knew how he fought. But it seems he underestimated Red Hood slightly. When they fought, both of them held back as to not kill the other, most of the time. But now, only one of them was holding back, while the other was trying to kill.
"Hey marble head, I know you're in there!" Robin said as he stood back up. "If you are, then I'll be sure to whack you in that red head of yours as many times as it takes to get you to come back to your senses!"
Robin then charged Red Hood, spinning his staff, ready to strike. Red Hood merely aimed his gun and fired!
Catwoman attacked viciously with her whip, whacking and hacking at the mutated Alice as she used her bunny legs to hop all around and avoid her strikes. Alice eventually closed the distance and delivered a drop kick that sent Catwoman flying thanks to her rabbit legs. Catwoman would have fallen off the building if she hadn't dug her claws into the roof to slow her down.
"Hahaha! Oh the irony. A cat being killed by a rabbit! It's too good!" Alice said sadistically as she walked over to her.
Catwoman gritted her teeth as she looked up to Alice and glared at her. "Was it all a lie?"
"What?"
"Was everything you said… about wanting to be a ray of light for people… Was it all nothing but a bold-face lie?!" Catwoman demanded to know as she stood up.
"Yes. It was." Alice confirmed without hesitation. "What of it?"
"What of it…" Catwoman muttered in disbelief, hoping that she misheard Alice before she exploded. "I worship you! I wanted to be just like you! A person that inspired others to have hope even in their darkest moments! And you're telling me that everything you did as a model was a lie?! How could you do that"
"It's called a mask. And I'm not the only one who does it. Everyone in this kind of work wears a mask to hide who they really are, or to become who they want to be." Alice explained before her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "And I'm surprised I'm getting lectured by someone who's doing the exact same thing right now." She said as pointed at Catwoman's mask for emphasis.
"You're right." Catwoman admitted as she stood tall and looked down at the ground, drops of tears flowing from her eyes. "I too wear a mask, both literally and figuratively. I wear it to hide my pain, my anxiety, my fears, my hopes, and my feelings. But no more!"
Catwoman's eyes then burned with a fiery passion from behind her mask. "I'm done hiding how I feel! I may not have the strength to remove all my masks yet, but until that day," She then pressed a button on her whip and electricity soon danced across the weapon, causing Alice to take a few nervous steps back. "I swear that no matter what mask I wear, whether its this mask or another, I will be what you have failed to become: A ray of light to the people of this city!"
She then cracked her whip for emphasis as she gave a glare that sent a shiver down Alice's spine. "And I'll start by taking you down!" She declared as she lept and went on the offensive, Alice bringing up her cane to protect herself.
"How much time we have left on the signal Bruce?! I can't hold these 'superfans' off for much longer!" Batman stressed as he blocked a punch from a hypnotized citizen and pushed them back. Being that these were regular people under Alice's control, who had no real physical dexterity as most thugs he beat up, he had to hold back his strength and resort to countering and pushing back. A tactic that seemed to be less and less effective as more showed up.
"Almost there! 82 percent! Just hold out for a little longer!"
"Easy for you to say!" Batman shot back as multiple people began to climb on top of him and keep him pinned. Having enough, Batman then fired off his thrusters and flew up into the air, a few mind controlled fans still clinging to him.
He managed to shake them off, their fall being broken by others. He then noticed that some were closing in on the antenna. He then flew over and landed between them and the control box, wings fully extended to block them. They tried to climb over and push past him, but thanks to the enhancements into his suit, he was able to hold his ground. But not for much longer.
He then looked back at the box and showed that the download was at about 97 percent. 'Come on! Come on!' Batman begged as he began to lose ground to the army of people trying to get past him.
Batman was about to be overrun when the control boxed beep. He looked back and saw a message scroll across the screen. 'Download complete. Signal broadcast initiating.'
"Schway!" Batman cheered as the antenna began powering up. Suddenly, a powerful invisible wave of energy was launched from the antenna and began spreading all over the city. Those closest felt the effects first, their bodies reacting as if they had woken up from a strange dream, and began to look around in confusion.
"It's working, the whole city is waking up from Alice's mind control!" Bruce reported.
"That's good!" Batman said with a relieved smile before his face became serious. "But what about the others?"
Robin failed to block a strike from Red Hood that sent him tumbling over the edge of the roof. Thankfully he managed to grab the ledge before he began falling. However, Red Hood stood menacingly over him.
"Hey! Come on Ryuji! I know you're in there!" Robin tried to reason with his fellow vigilante and teammate. "I know you have anger problems, but there's no way you would kill a kid. Right?"
"For Alice…" Red Hood began, placing his foot on Robin's hand. "I'd do anything." He then pressed down hard. Robin screamed in pain as he began to lose his grip.
Red Hood would have kept going, however, a wave had passed above them, and suddenly, his whole body shifted. He removed his foot from Robin's hand and placed a hand over his helmet.
"Ugh… What happened?" He asked, feeling like he was experiencing the world's worst hangover, even though he's never had any alcohol. He then looked around him and was in utter confusion. "How'd I get here?" He then looked down at himself. "And why am I suited up? The last thing I remember was when Ren said he had to step out of the concrete before Alice went on stage."
"RYUJI!" His eyes then widened as he looked down in shock to see Morgana, dressed as Robin, dangling from a building. He was about to ask what the kid was doing when the boy lost his grip.
"MORGANA!" Red Hood cried as he acted instinctively and reached out his hand to grab the boy's own, barely managing to catch him. Red Hood felt sore all over his body, like how he usually felt after a spar with Morgana in the training room, just worse. But he ignored the pain and his screaming muscles as he used whatever strength he had to pull Robin up from the ledge.
After they managed to get Robin back up from the ledge, the two collapsed to the ground and began breathing heavily. Ryuji was even tempted to take off his helmet so he could get some fresh air, but refrained from doing so because he didn't have any idea what was going on.
After a few more deep breaths, he turned to Robin to ask, "What the slag ha-"
BONK!
He didn't even get to finish as Robin suddenly smacked him in the back of the head with his staff, hard. Despite the helmet being mostly bullet proof, it still hurt like a dreg!
"OW! What the slag was that for!?"
"For almost killing me!"
"What are you talking about?! Sure, I sometimes daydream about how satisfying it would be to strangle the life out of you, but that doesn't mean I really want to do it!"
The two of them continued to bicker amongst themselves, like they usually do.
Alice seemed to have felt what had happened as she suddenly stopped fighting with Catwoman and looked out to the city. Her whole body was trembling as she dropped her cane.
"No… Nononononono! NO!" Alice cried as she collapsed to the ground in a breakdown. "How could this happen! I finally had it! The love and admiration of others was in my grasp! And now it's all gone!" She then glared at Catwoman with a pure murderous aura. "And it's all because of you people!"
She then lunged at Catwoman. However, due to being blinded by rage, it left her open for Catwoman to deliver a high kick straight to Alice's face that sent her back to the ground.
As the other Knights began to gather, Catwoman knelt down and ripped the bow off of Alice's head. She looked down at Alice, who began to have tears streaming from her face. It was hard not to pity her, but Catwoman had run out of any feelings of pity for her former idol. She then dropped the boy before crushing it under her heels, effectively cutting off any chance Alice would have to control another person.
"What they were feeling for you wasn't love or admiration," Catwoman said as she looked down with disgust at Alice. "It was just you manipulating how they felt with cruel science."
She then turned and walked away, the other Knights following after her as they left Alice there on the roof for the police to arrest.
Later - The Batcave
"I have to admit, while the execution of the operation was sloppy and unorganized, you did a good job." Bruce praised the four as they stood before him in the Batcave. "You not only stopped Alice, but freed those in the city from her control, and with no casualties. So I suppose this could be called a win."
"Thanks… I guess." Ren said, not really sure if Bruce was praising him or scolding him, or even both.
"Yeah. Sorry for giving you guys so much trouble." Ryuji said as he scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.
"It wasn't your fault Ryuji." Ann assured him as she looked away in slight shame, small tears forming on her eyes. "If I didn't give you those tickets, then you wouldn't have been under Alice's control."
Ryuji looked toward Ann with sympathy. He couldn't stand it when a girl cried, especially beautiful girls like Ann, or his mother. So he walked up to her and began to whip the tears off her face. She looked up at him and was surprised to see such a warm smile.
"Ahh, what are you apologizing for? Who could have ever thought that Alice would be mind controlling people to become her superfans!? I mean seriously, who could have expected that?!"
"I could." Bruce said.
"Nobody asked you for your opinion, gramps!" Ryuji shot back, but froze at the glare he sent his way. He began sweating as he turned back to Ann. "A-Anyway, if you hadn't given me those tickets, we would have never caught on to what Alice was doing." Ryuji pointed out as he scratched the back of his head again. "So let's just consider this a good mistake."
"All you've been making is mistakes so you would know right?" Morgana snickered.
"What was that pipsqueak!" Ryuji shouted as he turned to the boy. "Don't forget I won that little fight we had, even under mind control!"
"I was holding back because you were under mind control blondie! I could have easily whipped the floor with you if you weren't!" Morgana declared.
"You wanna test that theory!?" Ryuji challenged as he walked over to the kid.
"Knock it off you two!" Ren shouted in annoyance and exhaustion. As the two then looked away from each other, Ren then sighed. 'I swear, fighting with an army of gangsters is easier than putting up with these two.' He thought, and he was sure the other two in the room shared his thoughts.
"Anyway." Ryuji spoke up as he walked back to Ann. "You don't need to feel so guilty about it. However, if you want to make it up to me," He had a devious smirk on his face that caused the others to look at him in worry. "I kind of spent all my allowance and then some on Alice Merch when I was mind controlled. You can totally buy me ramen tonight!"
"Ugh!" Ann groaned as she ran a hand down her head. "Seriously, you and ramen. I swear you almost have a festish with it." She moaned as she and Ryuji made their way up the stairs to the manor to leave.
Morgana watched them leave with envy. "I think I'm gonna hit the training room. Try to make sure I don't make any kind of mistakes like I did today. Maybe even tape a picture of Ryuji's face to a dummy." He mumbled the last part to himself as he went to get ready.
Ren chuckled slightly as he too was about to head out when Bruce stopped him. "Do you now see what I meant Amamiya. One night always makes the difference." Bruce reminded him of his warning from the other night. "I hope you finally understand that."
Ren was silent for a long time, refusing to answer Bruce. The original Batman took his silence as either stubbornness or acceptance as he turned back to the computer.
"You're right." Ren spoke up, causing Bruce to look back at him. "One night does make the difference. But sometimes, you also need to take one night to slow down and see the differences unfold before you."
And with that, he left the cave, the door closing behind him.
A/N: And that's all for now folks! Really hope you enjoyed the chapter.
I was originally planning to make it a two-parter, but with my schedule, I wasn't sure if I would have gotten part two out before I left. Also it didn't feel right to just cut the story off in the middle somewhere.
I hope this chapter was satisfying for you readers.
And here's a preview for the next chapter, which I don't know if I'm gonna get out soon, or in two years.
The Hanged Man:
In order to get information on Shido's dealings in the criminal underworld, Ren befriends a former Yakuza enforcer. But can he keep himself and his new friend from crossing the line?