A/N: Here is Part One of the two chapters I absolutely need to finish before I officially go on hiatus.
I do not own Persona 5 or Batman Beyond. They are works of Atlus and Warner Brothers Animation.
"No! Please no! Don't kill-ARGH!" Came the dying screams of his last Jokerz henchmen.
It was meant to be a simple arms deal between two Jokerz. Get the guns then leave. But all went bad the second the lights went out. One by one, they were all being picked off, bodies were turning up, until he was now the last one standing.
The gun in his hands was trembling along with his whole body. Never before in his life had he been so scared, and he once tangled with Batman in the old days. But Batman never made him feel afraid of his life, not like this anyway.
Currently, he walked along a narrow path stacked with crates on the sides, swinging his gun all around him, trying to cover any possible spot where he could be attacked. However, he then felt a presence behind him, a presence that wanted him to know it was there. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he turned to face it.
"Hi."
The boss pulled the trigger, but the figure merely grabbed his hands and aimed it toward the roof, causing the shots to miss them entirely. It then dislocated his wrist, causing him to drop the gun before a kick to the gut sent him flying to the wall.
As he struggled to regain his bearings, he noticed the figure kneel down to pick up the gun he dropped and walked towards him. It then aimed the gun straight at his head.
"Hey! I'm begging you, don't kill me! Please!" The boss pleaded.
"Did you give that same option to the numerous men and women you mercilessly gunned down?" The figure asked, to that, the boss had no answer to. "It's no concern to me. All I care about is making sure scum like you never see the light of day again."
"What are you?" That boss asked, his voice a whimper now.
At that moment, the power to the building returned and the lights flashed. The boss covered his eyes to shield himself from the sudden brightness. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he got a good look at the figure, and his mouth fell open in disbelief.
Tall black body. Long pointy ears. Blades on the forearms. Blood red eyes. And a silver symbol of a bat[1]. Before the figure pulled the trigger, it answered his question with a sick smile.
"I'm Batman."
BANG
"N.G.P.D. Hand ups!"
The statement was shouted as the doors to the warehouse kicked open as Zenkichi and his partner entered the building with their guns drawn. They received an anonymous tip about an arms deal happening in this warehouse, and being the closest, the two were assigned to investigate.
However, when they got there, they weren't greeted with the sight of gangsters in the process of selling weapons. Instead, they got a clown bloodbath.
Bodies were spread all across the warehouse. Some beaten to death, others had their necks snapped, and one had a bullet in his head. As Zenkichi inspected the bodies more closely, his expression became more downcast as he saw many of these Jokerz were just kids, in their early teens at least. It made him think of his daughter Akane, who was just beginning her teenage years. Despite not knowing what was going on with his daughter recently, he was still attentive enough to know that she wasn't involved in gangs like these. That made him feel an immense amount of relief.
He then pushed these thoughts out of his mind as his inspector persona took over and began to formulate theories of what happened. After thinking and pondering for a long moment, he had three theories in mind.
The first theory was that the deal must've gone badly and both sides ended up killing each other. But given the number of bodies, and the two different sets of playing cards, a way to tell which Jokerz gang you dealt with, he doubted anyone from either of these gangs walked away from this. Plus only one person had been killed with a gun while the others through the work of bare hands, and none of the victims showed signs of using their fists in the way it would have killed them.
The second theory was that a third gang came in and wiped them out. But if it was another gang, then they would have used guns on all of them instead of one, and there may have been bodies of the third gang, but so far, he only saw the bodies belonging to two Jokerz gangs, not a third one.
The third and final theory was that it was a single individual who took them all down with their bare hands. But this person had to be incredibly skilled to take them all down so fast before they arrived, they had only gotten the tip several minutes before Zenkichi and his partner arrived. Only one individual came to mind. But that was impossible. After all, he didn't kill.
"Zenkichi! Come take a look at this!" His partner called. He walked over to where his partner was.
"What is it?" He asked.
"See for yourself." His partner said as he pointed to an object lodged into a crate.
When Zenkichi saw it, he froze. It had a familiar shape on an object they had found at numerous other crime scenes recently, except those had been much cleaner and had alive suspects, unlike this one. While the overall shape and structure of the object was the same as the others, the only difference was the edges were silver instead of blood red.
While it might have been a little different, the object itself gave them a lead on who was behind this.
"Dispatch this is Inspector Hasegawa." Zenkichi said to his police communicator.
"Go ahead Hasegawa." The dispatch said.
"I need an arrest warrant issued for the Batman." Zenkichi said as he looked back at the Batarang. "He is charged with multiple accounts of murder and manslaughter. Suspect is considered armed and extremely dangerous."
The Next Day - Shujin Academy
As Ren walked through the halls of Shujin Academy, he was once again greeted with the whispers of his classmates. He was long used to what they said about him. 'He's a criminal', 'He spent three years in Arkham', blah, blah, blah! It didn't matter to him. After all, if anything it helped keep his classmates from suspecting his identity as Batman.
Speaking of his bat persona, he then picked up on a strange conversation surrounding his identity.
"Do you think it's true?"
"That's what the police are saying."
"Yeah but Batman was already charged for murder once, and it turned out to be a guy made out of ink. So who's to say these guys aren't the same?"
"No, they're real! My uncle's on the police force and he said they confirmed that the bodies were real."
"Still doesn't prove Batman did it."
Ren frowned. Batman did what? What were they all talking about?
"Ren!" The infamous student turned to see Mishima running towards him, slightly out of breath. "I just heard the news! Are you okay?! The cops aren't gonna arrest you are they?!"
At the mention of arrest, the other students in the hall started murmuring about him again.
"Arrest him? Did he do something else wrong?"
"I think he might've killed someone."
At the number of new whispers forming about him, Ren walked up to Mishima and grabbed him by the arm. "We need to talk, in private." He whispered the last part as he then dragged Mishima off away from the crowd of students.
Eventually the two found themselves in a deserted hallway. After quickly making sure no one was around, Ren then turned to Mishima. "Mind telling me what the slag is going on? Why would you suddenly be asking if I was gonna be arrested?"
Mishima frowned in confusion. "You mean… you don't know."
"Know what?"
"It's all over the platforms and the Bat-Site." Mishima said as he opened up his phone and showed Ren a news article that was just posted a few hours ago.
Ren began reading. "'Batman: Hero or Murder? By: Ichiko Ohya.'" Ren recognized the writer from when they took down Madarame, but the title got him stumped. 'Hero or Murder? What did that mean?' He thought as he kept reading. "'As of now, the Nippon-Gotham Police Department has issued an official arrest warrant for the crime fighting vigilante known as Batman.'" He stopped reading and looked up at Mishima in shock, his face asking if this was true, to which Mishima nodded as Ren kept reading. "'He is wanted on at least two dozen accounts of murder and manslaughter taking place between the times 10pm and 4am last night.'" 'Last night. But I was busy training in the cave during those times!' Ren thought as he handed the phone back to Mishima.
"Soooo…." Mishima began nervously. "Did you do it?" The glare Ren sent Mishima caused him to immediately correct himself. "I mean, did you know who did it?"
Ren sighed. "No. This has never happened to me before." Ren said honestly. While this wasn't the first time someone dressed up as Batman and used the identity to kill people in the city's history, it was the first time it ever happened since he donned the cowl. It made him feel a little sick in his stomach.
'Is this how Bruce felt when he had copycats?' Ren thought to himself as he pinched the bridges of his nose.
"So, what do we do?" Mishima asked nervously.
"We aren't doing anything." Ren said firmly as he looked at Mishima. "I'll investigate this. You don't do anything. Don't say anything, don't post anything, don't do anything that could draw attention to yourself. Worst case scenario, you may even need to shut down the Bat-Site permanently. Got it?"
"Y-Yeah." Mishima said in a low voice. While he did agree that maybe it was best he didn't do anything to draw attention to himself, he didn't feel all that good that there was a possibility he would need to shut down the Bat-Site permanently. It was his life's work! His mission! Much like how Ren's crime fighting was his mission.
"Now come on." Ren said, hoiting his school bag over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway, beckoning Mishima to follow him. "Let's just go to class and pretend like everything is fine."
As homeroom drew to a close, he had gotten numerous texts from his friends and allies, all asking about the recent articles being posted. Ren tried to assure them all that whoever it was that killed those people wasn't him. He then opened a group chat with Ryuji and Ann and told them to meet up after school was done, to which the two agreed.
As the bell rang and homeroom was dismissed, Ren quickly gathered his bags and was about to leave when Ms. Kawakami called for him. "Amamiya, wait a moment. We need to talk about your grades." Her tone and emphasis on that last word meant she wanted to discuss anything but 'grades'.
Ann looked back at him, nervous, but Ren's facial expression assured him that it was okay. She nodded and then left the classroom. After the classroom was empty, leaving just the two of them, Ren turned to Kawakami.
"Ms. Kawakami, I'm sure you saw the news. But I promise you that wasn't me! It must've been-"
"I know." Her words cut him off, causing her to look at her in confusion. "I know it wasn't you. And before you ask why, it's because I know that none of my students could ever do something so vicious and cruel as murder. Especially not the one who inspired me so much."
Ren seemed shocked by her faith in him. He wasn't used to this. After his arrest and the betrayal of everyone who knew him, he didn't expect anyone to really ever believe him if he told them he was innocent of a crime. And yet Ms. Kawakami proving him wrong made him greatly happy.
"Still," Her voice took him out of his mind as he focused back on the conversations. "Do you have any idea as to who did this? And why?"
Ren shook his head. "No. But I'm gonna find out."
Kawakami sighed. "I thought you were gonna say that." She said as she massaged her head. She hoped this event may prompt her student into laying low, or even putting away the costume entirely. Because while she believed in what he was doing as Batman, she wanted him to stay alive and safe more. But if that wasn't gonna happen, the least she could do was warn him. "Still, be careful. Now that the police believe you to be a murder instead of just a mere vigilante, they'll be coming after you with full force."
"Thanks for the heads up." Ren said, truly grateful for her worry. "But I'll be careful. I already got arrested once. I really don't want it to happen again." And with that he left the classroom to meet up with his friends.
"Man this blows!" Ryuji shouted as he threw his finished can of fizz to the ground in anger. "We're finally making the name for ourselves and then some dreg comes along and gives us a bad rep!"
"That's what you're so mad about?!" Ann cried in disbelief. Currently the three were discussing things next to the vending machines, seeing that the roof was off limits. The area was mostly deserted, since it was some time since school ended. So no one would hear them, hopefully.
"Why else would I be mad?" Ryuji asked.
"How about the fact that now the cops will be after us more than ever now that they believed we murdered people?!" Ann asked rhetorically.
"The cops have been after us since day one. So they just have a little more incentive, what's the big deal?" Ryuji asked.
"Well how would you feel if someone dressed up as Red Hood and started going around killing people and the press began condemning you?" Ren said, his tone filled with anger.
At the question, Ryuji looked down in shame as he realized what this meant. The police and press weren't targeting the Gotham Knights as a whole, they were targeting Batman specifically, targeting Ren. While this wasn't the first time Ren was accused of murder since putting on the cowl, this time, unlike a body made of ink, these were actual people who died. The idea of being condemned by society brought back memories of his arrest, about how everyone around him labeled him as some crook and monster.
Being Batman allowed him to escape that stigma, if only briefly. It allowed him to become someone that people looked up to, someone that people, even if the number was small, would accept. But now with charges of murder against him, it felt like he was being arrested all over again, that he was being unfairly judged and labeled without so much as a say in it.
Seeing that Ren's mood was darkening, Ann spoke up. "Who do you think is trying to do this?" She asked aloud, trying to be productive. "Someone with a grudge, maybe someone we put away?"
Now pulled out of his brooding, Ren shook his head. "I don't think so. Bruce had set up an alert system on my phone to let me know in case any of the people we put away somehow got out of either Arkham or Blackgate. But so far, no one got out."
"What do you think this guy's trying to do?" Ryuji then asked. "I mean, I've been reading more about this and I found out those guys he killed were actually members of some pretty rotten Jokerz gangs. Do you think he's actually trying to do good or frame you?"
Ren held a hand to his chin. "I don't know. I don't have much experience with copycats." Ren admitted. "It would probably be best to talk with Bruce about this."
At that, all their phones chimed with a message. They looked and saw they, including Yusuke, got a message from Bruce.
BRUCE: Cave. Now.
"Looks like he's already one step ahead of us." Ryuji said as he stood up and stretched. "Alright! Let's head to the cave and figure out how to stop this dreg."
As the three began to leave, Ren stopped suddenly and looked to the side.
"Ren, are you okay?" Ann asked, seeing the expression on his face.
"... I'm fine. Maybe I'm just paranoid." Ren said as he turned to continue following them. In truth, he felt as if they were being watched, but maybe he was indeed paranoid. This copycat and his time as Batman was making him as paranoid as Bruce, which he wasn't so sure was a good thing.
Allowing her raging heart to finally calm down, Makoto let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding in. When she read the news that Batman had killed people, she decided to keep a closer eye on Ren, given how suspicious she was of him.
She didn't catch all their conversation, though she did hear them mention Bruce and a cave?
There were quite a few Bruce's in Nippon-Gotham, the most famous being Bruce Wayne. She had heard rumors that Ren had supposedly gotten a job with the reclusive billionaire. There seemed to be some truth to those rumors after all.
As for cave, could they mean a man cave? If so, then why would they bring Ann with them?
Either way, Makoto would need to keep a closer watch on the situation, which would mean she would need more manga to hide behind.
The Batcave
"I assume you called us here to talk about how someone dressed up as Batman is out there killing people." Ren said as he, Ryuji, and Ann entered the cave, Yusuke and Morgana were already here.
"Your assumption would be correct, this time." Bruce said as he looked at the three as they came up to them.
"I heard about the news at school." Yusuke said as he went and placed a comforting hand on Ren's shoulder. "I can't even begin to imagine what a burden you must be carrying. Being condemned for crimes you didn't… that you couldn't commit."
"Don't worry Ren, we'll find this guy. And when we do…" The young boy then cracked his small but strong knuckles. "We're gonna make him regret even thinking to put on the mask of Batman."
Ren smiled at the support his team and friends were giving him. It made him feel good, to have people believe and want to support him in times where others condemned him. "Thanks everyone." Ren said sincerely, before he got serious. "But first we have to find him. What do you got Bruce?"
"Not much." Bruce admitted with regret as he pulled up several windows on the Batcomputer. "Whoever this is, he's no amateur. He knows how to cover his tracks, making it hard for people to find his trail."
"What do you think he's after?" Ann asked.
"Isn't it obvious? He wants to frame our boy Renren here!" Ryuji said as he slung an arm over Ren's shoulder and pulled him close.
"What do you think Mr. Wayne?" Yusuke asked the former Batman. "After all, you must've had numerous people try to emulate you during your decades of vigilante justice. What do you make of this one?"
Bruce took a moment to gather his thoughts before sharing them with the others. "In all my years of fighting crime, a number of people have masqueraded the identity of Batman. I've narrowed down the people who do so into three categories. The first usually do it to frame me, like professional contract killers, hired by politicians or corrupt officials to discredit me and have the police hunt after me. The second are usually ordinary citizens who are foolishly inspired by my example."
"'Foolishly'?" Morgana said the word in disbelief. "Those people want to take a stand and fight to protect their city, just like you! What's the difference between you and them?"
"Well for starters, I don't wear hockey pads." Bruce answered, recalling a certain experience years ago when someone dressing up as Batman asked him the same question. "But not just that. Those people have absolutely no idea of the danger that stalks this city every night. It took more than a mask to make me what I am. It took years of training, self-discipline, and a lot of sacrifice to get me to where I am today."
The Knights all looked at Bruce, his form somehow resembling that of a somber man. They never truly understood what all Bruce went through in his experience as Batman, only things they read in the paper. Though they assumed the most painful and deeper scars, both physically and emotionally, were hidden from the public eye. And Bruce never was one to open up.
Bruce seemed to realize he was getting off topic before he continued. "As for the third category, these are usually people who don the cowl to try and surpass me." Bruce shared. "Some think that I could be doing more, to go further to protect Gotham, but I usually always refused, because going further would mean breaking my code. And that's something under no circumstance, I will ever allow." The way Bruce said that last part came off as a warning to the five of them. A reminder of what would happen should they break Batman's one and only rule.
Seeing as he had their attention more focused, he continued. "So they decide to put on the cowl and prove they could make a more impactful difference to Gotham than I ever could. These are usually either former allies or proteges that have strayed from the path I set them on."
"Did it ever work?"
Everyone whipped their heads at Ren when he asked the question, all except Bruce, who turned his head slowly as he fiercely glared at Ren, daring him to ask such a question again.
"Come again?" He asked, still holding that seemingly murderous glare.
Ren gulped down as he began to sweat nervously, but he stood his ground. How could he ever become his own Batman if he couldn't stand up to the current one?
"I mean did their methods ever truly change Nippon-Gotham for the better." Ren said, his tone surprisingly steady despite the glare given to him. "I'm not saying I agree with them, or want to resort to such methods, I'm just asking if those methods ever really did change the city for the better?"
Bruce walked over and loomed over Ren, studying the boy intensely for a long moment. Finally, Bruce gave his answer.
"No. It didn't." Bruce said. "Criminals are like weeds. You pull one up, another grows in its place, no matter the method. All killing them would do is darken your soul until at some point, you realize you become the very thing you've been fighting against." Bruce finished, his mind flashing back to times where people he cared for became the very monsters they all tried to stop. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yes. And it's the kind of answer I was hoping for." At the confused looks of his friends and Bruce, Ren explained. "I don't know what was going through those guys' heads when they decided they needed to kill in order to change things, but I know that killing isn't the answer. People would still die. If you truly want to change a city, you need to show the people living in it that they can be better. That they can always choose a better path than resorting to the violence that their inner nature compels them to fall on." He then looked at Bruce with such a fierce look in his eyes that it caused the former Dark Knight's eyes to widen in surprise. "I just didn't want you to think that. I didn't want you to start believing that killing would have been a better choice."
Bruce was impressed, something that didn't happen very often. 'This kid.' He thought. He may seem naive, looking for a thrill in being Batman, and not taking the mission seriously. But underneath it all, the boy understood, better than most of his proteges, the importance of what they do, and the importance of how they do it.
Bruce smirked.
"Not bad Amamiya." He said, causing the younger generation to look in shock at his words. "Keep that up, and you'll make a decent Batman in the future." He said as he moved to sit back at the computer.
"Did… did you just… compliment me?" Ren asked, dumbfounded. Usually most of the words that came out of Bruce's mouth when directed at him were either instructions, lectures, or criticism of how he handled a situation. To hear what sounded like genuine praise coming from the original Dark Knight, his hero, was too shocking. He then turned to the other Knights, who looked just as surprised. "He did? Didn't he?"
"Kinda sounded like it." Morgana said, also shocked, having been with them the longest.
"Let's not dwell on the past." Bruce's voice snapped them out of their shocked stupor. "We still have work to do."
"Right!" Ann said as she refocused. "So what category do you think this guy falls under?"
"It's difficult to say." Bruce said as he looked back at the screen. "At first it seems like he's trying to frame us for crimes. But his targets are legitimate criminals, and particularly nasty ones, the kind people wouldn't miss if they disappear. If he just wanted to frame us, he would have killed innocents with no priors, or even a high statured business person, but instead he chose to go after known criminals. So it could fall under the second or third category. He seems to be well trained, as most of the victims all died from brute force as opposed to bullet wounds, considering most copycats use guns. And there's something else."
"Something else? What is it?" Ryuji asked.
To answer the boy's question, Bruce then pulled a Batarang out of nowhere. It was much like the ones Ren used, but instead of the blood red outline on the wings, it was silver. He then threw it to Ren, who effortlessly caught it. Hours of practice really did wonders for one's reflexes.
"A Batarang?" Ren said as he inspected the object closely. Despite the small color difference, this Batarang felt exactly like the ones he used. The material, the weight, even how it felt in his hands was exactly like the Batarangs he was accustomed to.
"The cops found it at the crime scene." Bruce revealed. "That's how they were able to pin the murders on Batman."
"How did you even get this if it's evidence from the police?" Ann asked as she took it from Ren's hands to inspect it.
"She may not be the Commissioner anymore, but Barbra Gordon still has some contacts in the force. She was able to smuggle it out of the precinct and replace it with a fake one." Bruce revealed, causing the Knights to look at him in surprise again. Seriously, how did Bruce know these people enough to do him favors like this.
"Still, couldn't this just be one of ours?" Ryuji spoke up as he took the Batarang and looked at, scrunching his eyes. "I mean, we do use these a lot of the time. So couldn't some guy have just picked it up and painted the edges?"
"I do not believe so." Yusuke said as he grabbed the Batarang and inspected it carefully, much like he would inspect a painting. He twisted and flipped the Batarang multiple times, even bringing it up to his nose to sniff it. His teammates recoiled in disgust when he actually licked the silver edges. Finally, he exited out from his observation mode.
"This isn't one of ours." Yusuke stated. "While everything about it is similar to our own Batarangs, this one doesn't have any trace of being used until last night. And there is no sense of smell or taste of paint on the Batarang. No matter how much time passes, you can always catch a small whiff of paint on an object. Meaning it was manufactured this way."
"Exactly Yusuke." Bruce said, impressed with the boy's observation skills as he took the Batarang back. "Whoever used these knew what he was doing. He knew how to make them exactly like we do, even adding his own little twist to it. Which brings us to a conclusion."
"What's that?" Morgana asked as the Knights listened intently.
"The person we are dealing with is not only skilled enough to use Batarangs, but also has the knowledge of how to make them on his own." Bruce revealed, as he then threw the Batarang to the said, causing it to lodge into a trophy case's bulletproof glass window. "Which begs the question. If he was smart and skilled enough to both make and use these, why did he leave them behind for the cops to find them?"
The question caused all the Knights to gasp as realization dawned on them.
"You don't mean?" Ann began, her hands coming up to cover her opened mouth.
"Yes." Bruce confirmed her, and the others, unspoken questions. "This killer wanted the police to know, or at least strongly suspect, it was Batman behind the murders. He does intend to frame us, but there's more to it. The fact that one of the Jokerz, specifically the leader, was killed by a gun, and that the Batarang is silver instead of red, is a statement."
"What kind of statement?" Ren asked.
Bruce's next words sent shockwaves through the Knights for the x amount of times in the past 10 minutes.
"He's issued a challenge to you." Bruce said, directly staring at Ren.
"He's… challenging me?" Ren said in disbelief.
"Yes." Bruce said bluntly. "On the surface it may seem like he's framing you for a crime. But subtly, he's also declaring war on you."
"Declaring war… for what?" Ren asked.
"If I had to guess… To see which of you is the better Batman." Bruce revealed. "Him killing the clown with a gun shows just how far he's willing to go to prove it."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Ryuji interrupted, confused at Bruce's words. "You're saying that this guy dressed up like Batman, goes through the grueling process of training his whole body, spends who knows how long making his own Batarangs, and kills a bunch of people, just to make the point that he's a better Batman than Ren?!"
"Yes." Bruce said, his tone sharp and blunt.
"That's… that's so sick!" Ann yelled out in utter disgust. "He brutally murders people, kids even, all because he wants to prove to other people he's better than the one currently wearing the mask."
"I can't believe such petty and vain people actually exist in this world." Yusuke said as he looked down in disbelief. Even Madarame and Natsume never disgusted him like this.
But no one was more disgusted and horrified than the one who currently wore the mask. Ren was frozen in shock. Those people, some of them even kids their age, all died because someone wanted to prove that he was a better Batman than Ren ever could be. The guilt and shame from such atrocity made it hard for Ren to breathe, almost suffocating him.
"The mask comes with a heavy burden." Bruce's voice allowed Ren to catch his breath as he looked to his mentor. It seemed like Bruce noticed Ren's turmoil, and sought to remedy it. "This life… It comes with a heavy price. Maybe one day you'll end up dying in some alley, or at the mercy of a maniac before he beats you to death. Or worse, you'll end up all alone, waiting for your life to end."
He then stood from his chair and walked over to Ren. "This life is not for everyone, even less for those who put on the mask of Batman. So I have to ask," Bruce began as he stood directly in front of Ren, his tone and eyes holding a seriousness in his expression Ren hadn't seen since he made his vow when Morgana joined. "Will you continue down this path, even after all you've learned, and have yet to learn?"
It may have seemed like Bruce was giving him another chance to bow out, but in reality, it was anything but that. Ren had already crossed the point of no return. This was just a reminder of the vow he made.
Ren clenched his fist as he looked up to Bruce. "Yes." He declared. "I won't stop. I'll find whoever did this, and make sure they pay for what they did!"
"Heck yeah we will!" Ryuji said, getting pumped. "No way can we let this dreg get away with all the crappy stuff he's been doing!"
"That's right!" Ann spoke up. "He's killing people, and even worse, he tarnishing the name and legacy of a person who sacrificed so much for this city. More than it will ever know." She then looked at Bruce with a determined expression.
"This man dares to make a forgery of something so profound and beautiful, and then claim it is superior to the original?" Yusuke said, his spirit burning with both the passion of an artist and a vigilante. "As an artist, and as a friend, I cannot stand by and let this act go unpunished!"
"It's not just Ren he's targeted." Morgana stated. "By aiming to be a better Batman, and doing so by killing people, regardless of who they are, he's just declared war on all of us. And he will pay for what he's done!"
Ren looked at his friends, once again grateful for all their support and help. With them by his side, he felt like he could do anything.
"Then go to work." Bruce said as he moved back to his chair.
Ren then turned to his team. Seeing them all hold a look of strong determination on their faces caused a vicious smirk to dawn on his own. "Alright Knights! Let's go catch a Copycat!"
"Yeah!" They all yelled in enthusiasm as they moved out, but stopped upon Yusuke's next sentence.
"I think you mean Copybat!"
At that, the whole team stopped what they were doing and looked at him with raised eyebrows. Ace, who was resting his head down on the cave floor the whole time, looked up with a raised brow. Even Bruce had his eyebrows raised.
"Did you all not hear me?" Yusuke asked, not understanding why they were all silent. "I said Copybat."
Again, there was only confused silence.
"Perhaps you don't understand." Yusuke hypothesized as he then began explaining. "You see, the phrase 'copycat' means to imitate or copy the actions of another. But since we're dealing with a Batman copycat, and bat and cat sound alike, I changed the 'cat' in 'copycat' to 'bat', thereby making this fake a-"
"Yeah we get it Yusuke!" Ren said as he brushed him off and went to put on his suit.
Yusuke seemed downtrodened that his supposedly clever play on words was ignored. Ryuji noticed and came up behind him.
"I'm sorry dude." Ryuji said as he patted him on the shoulder. "But that was honestly kinda lame to begin with. There was no way it was gonna catch on."
"I refuse to believe that!" Yusuke shouted as he then pointed his finger to Ryuji in an overexaggerated fashion. "I swear that I, Yusuke Kitagawa, Nightwing, will surely have everyone calling this man a Copybat before we catch him. I bet on it!"
Ryuji just sighed as he pinched the bridges of his nose. Yusuke was just so hard to deal with sometimes. But hey, with this easy bet, he could earn some easy money.
"Alright. It's a bet." Ryuji said as he shook Yusuke's hand and moved to get changed into his suit.
There was no way that Copybat was gonna catch on before they caught this guy! It would take at least a day or two to find him.
One Week Later
After a whole week of non stop searching, the Gotham Knights had managed to find zero trace of the copycat (or copybat as Yusuke kept insistently calling them, hoping it would eventually catch on).
And in that time, three more massacres had occurred, all at the hands of the person pretending to be Batman. He repeatedly left a Batarang or something similar behind so the police could use it as further evidence.
And as the cops gathered more and more of this 'evidence' that led to much more frequent patrols of N.G.P.D. officers, which in turn led to more violent and frequent encounters with the police.
This copycat(/bat) was smart. He knew that with the police going after the real Batman (or the one that didn't have what it takes, as he would have put it), that allowed him to work more without a target constantly on his back.
"Man this blows!" Red Hood complained as he and Batman stopped to catch their breath after having escaped a police patrol. "We've checked all over the city to see if we can find this dreg, but all we've got are dead ends and cops chasing after us!"
"Well he's definitely good at hiding." Batman admitted with a downcast expression. "Much better at hiding than me anyway."
"Oh no! Not this again! Give it a rest dude!" Red Hood said, his tone now more annoyed than he was before.
Ever since they started searching for the imposter, Ren had been feeling more and more like he was indeed inferior to this Batman. He saw from the crime scenes how quick and effective this Batman was at taking down criminals, much more skilled than he was. And without him setting up each crime scene perfectly to make it seem like it was done by the hands of the Batman they knew about, and left no evidence of his existence, made Ren feel like when it came to being in the shadows, he was out in the desert during high noon compared to the other.
"Look, so what if this guy is good at some of the stuff needed to make a good Batman. When we finally catch the dreg, he'll know who the real Batman is!" Red Hood tried to encourage his friend.
Batman smiled at his friend. He was grateful to hear those words, but despite them, he was still unsure of himself. After all, he had yet to have a face-to-face confrontation with this unknown competitor.
"Sorry to interrupt all of you." Bruce's voice came in, though they knew that when it came to protecting Nippon-Gotham, he wasn't really sorry for much of anything. "But I just intercepted a report of a disturbance by a warehouse down on Mckay. One of the witnesses claimed that they saw Batman in the area."
Batman and Red Hood looked at each other. They were nowhere near that part of the city. Which meant…
"Everyone meet at Mckay street!" Batman ordered as he leapt from the hiding place and flew through the city with Red Hood behind him. "It's time for us to corner a copycat!"
"Copybat!" Nightwing said.
"Whatever." Came everyone else's reply.
The Batcave
As he saw the Knights begin to mobilize at their destination, Bruce couldn't help but feel a pit forming in his stomach.
He didn't tell them this, but he did have a strong suspicion as to who this copycat really was. But he didn't want to admit it. Because if he did, then he would bring to mind one of, if not possibly his greatest, failure.
He then turned his attention to a separate screen, this one showing a press conference for Mayoral candidate and suspect Masayoshi Shido. Bruce then decided to turn the volume up and listen in.
"I know many of you have been frightened recently." Shido began. "Many of you have watched as your children, your friends, and your friends' children, fall victim to the flaws that plague our city. I too am burdened by seeing our city's future corrupted. But I promise you, if you elect me mayor, then I will do everything in my power to make sure the future generation lives in prosperity. And I'll start by riding this city to the source of all its problems: Vigilantes!"
The crowd of journalists and reporters seemed to murmur as Shido continued.
"I'm sure you've all read the recent news surrounding the supposed 'hero' Batman." He said the word 'hero' with such contempt and hatred. "Of how a man who claims not to kill, brutally murder young adults and teens, just because they seek an escape, in an extreme form I will admit. This is why we mustn't place our trust in masked individuals, we have no idea of their true motives or their true desires. And we let them run around, playing dress up while we, the actual citizens of this city, are supposed to sit back and let them do what they want. I say nay! The time for masks is over in this city! It's time we rise up and take our city back, before Batman and his so-called Knights can do even more harm to our fair city!"
As he continued to watch the broadcast, Bruce's eyes narrowed. This man… he was clever, much like a former businessman that had many run-ins with an old friend of his. He knew how to capitalize on the current situation and have it play into his favor in a way to win the public's trust.
Which made it all the more suspicious. How he was able to perfectly time the situation, almost as if it was planned. Could it be?
"Bruce, we've arrived." Ren's voice came from the communication line. Bruce quickly put away his theories and got back to the task.
"Keep your guard." He warned them. "He may be just one person, but the tech he's using is the real deal. He was also able to take down multiple assailants by himself, meaning he's skilled. But most important, remember, he was willing to kill, so don't plan on going easy on him."
"You don't have to worry about that, gramps." Red Hood said as he cocked his guns while Nightwing drew his sticks, Catwoman pulled out her whip, Robin extended his staff, and Batman extended his claws. "That dreg is going down!"
CRASH
They all then broke through the ceiling skyline and landed on the ground, all getting into a stance to prepare themselves for anything. Or at least almost anything.
What they didn't expect was for the warehouse to already be full of dead bodies. Catwoman gasped in horror at the bloodbath while Batman clenched his hands in anger.
"We're too late. He's already killed everyone in the warehouse and disappeared." He said, his tone full of anger and frustration.
SLAM
Bruce slammed a fist down on the Batcomputer's keyboard in frustration, startling Ace. They missed him again. Just how was he able to stay one step ahead of them?
As he saw Batman look around the warehouse from the cowl's onboard camera system, the camera managed to catch something that caught Bruce's eye. "Amamiya, turn your head back several degrees until I say otherwise." He ordered the youth.
The boy, while confused, did so. "Stop!" Bruce ordered. When the image finally began to clear, Bruce saw what had caught his attention.
It was an old jammer[2], much like the ones Penguin used decades ago when the city made the decision to turn a section of the city into a prison. If that jammer was in a warehouse, and it didn't belong there, it could only mean.
"Get out of there now! It's a trap!"
"A trap?! What do you mean?!" Batman asked.
It was at that moment the jammer became activated. The satellite dish above began spinning around and sending out counter signals to interrupt any signals in a nearby area.
The Knights all winced in pain as a loud screeching came from their comms before they died out.
Back in the cave, Bruce saw the camera feed from the cowl flicker before cutting out. "Amamiya! Sakamoto! Takamaki! Kitagawa! Morgana! Can any of you read me?!" Bruce demanded, his tone frantic and worried.
He got no response.
"Amamiya! Ren! If you can hear me, get out of there now! It's all a trap!"
"What the slag just happened?!" Red Hood demanded to know, his ears still in pain from the loud noise that just went off in his ear.
"I don't know." Batman said, his ears recovering from the sound as he blinked a few times to regain his focus. "I can't reach the cave. And before he cut out, he mentioned something about a trap."
"A trap? By whom?" Nightwing asked.
Before anyone else said anything, a bright light shined on them, forcing them to cover their eyes. That light was followed by several more spotlights becoming active in a circular motion before they were surrounded by lights on all sides.
"By me." They all jumped at the male voice and looked in the direction it came from. They had to shield their eyes because the source came from one of the spotlights, keeping them from getting a good look at the owner of the voice. They could make out a faint black outline of his body, but beyond that, they couldn't see any more features.
"So you are the Gotham Knights?" The voice began, his tone sounding haughty as he began to walk around the circular catwalk that allowed him to look down on them. He then laughed. "I must admit, despite being filled with a group of delusional youths, it does have a nice ring to it. Perhaps when I get rid of you all, I'll take that name for my own team."
"You think you can just steal our name, huh dreg!" Red Hood shouted, firing a Batarang at where he thought the voice was, but missed and hit the voice was standing in front of.
"Well at least I won't have to worry about you all being alive to sue me." The voice mocked as he continued to walk around in a circular motion. "I must admit, it took you all quite longer to catch up with me than I thought. I figured with all the clues and breadcrumbs I was leaving, it wouldn't take long to find me. But I suppose that's what you get when you deal with children playing dress up."
"You calling us a bunch of kids!" Robin shouted.
"Yes I am, because that is what you are." The voice said, his tone became more agitated. "Playing hero, costume games, if that's not kid stuff then I don't know what is! Seeing you all think you can make a difference by dressing up makes me so sick that I don't want to see another costume ever again."
"Okay! Enough games! Enough of playing the mysterious mastermind!" Batman shouted, his patience already past his limit as his eyes finally adjusted to the brightness. "Who are you?!"
The figure stopped in front of a spotlight at the question. "Who am I? I figured the successor to the 'World's Greatest Detective' would easily deduce my identity. Well that's even more disappointing. I guess you really aren't the new Batman after all." Batman and his allies gritted their teeth in anger. "But, since you asked, I believe I'll tell you." He then stepped forward, allowing his form to be more visible, allowing them to make out a pair of long ears on their head.
"I am Vengeance!"
The figure raised his arms over his head in an over dramatic fashion.
"I am the Night!"
He then extended a pair of silver bat wings that ended up blocking most of the spotlight, allowing the Knights to get a good look at the familiar symbol on his chest, despite it being silver in color, causing them to gasp.
"I am BATMAN!"
The statement caused the nights to run cold as the shadow of a bat covered them entirely as they stared at "Batman".
"The real question is…" "Batman" continued as he then pointed at Ren, causing him to freeze.
"Who are you, pretender?"
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, despite it being shorter. But that works out better, helps me get it out faster.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. This was the moment I've been waiting for.
To be honest, I was wondering if I should include the last bit where "Batman" asks Ren who he is. But I just decided to do so because I thought it would set up the next chapter very well.
As for "Batman" I'm wondering how I should refer to him from here on out. I don't just want to call him Fake-Batman, or the fake every now and then. One idea I'm leaning towards is just putting "" around the word, like I did at the end, and just refer to Ren as Ren as opposed to Batman when he's in the suit. I plan to use his real name when I eventually reveal it. I'm pretty sure you all know who it is, but for the sake of suspense, please refrain from saying anything. If you have more in depth questions and you're sure of his identity, you can PM me.
[1] As for CopyBat's suit, I took the idea from Batman Beyond 2.0 comic, the arc where Batman goes over to the Justice Lords world and wears the Justice Lords version of the Batman Beyond suit, which has a silver bat symbol and red eyes. I thought it would be a nice contrast with Ren's suit.
[2] Imagine the signal jammers you have to destroy in Batman: Arkham City to get further into the museum.
Hope you all enjoyed that. I hope to get the next chapter out before the premiere of the new Batman movie, no spoilers if I don't!
Anyway, here's a preview of the next and last chapter before I go on hiatus.
CopyBat (Part Two):
As the Knights continue searching for copybat, Ren's doubt about whether he deserves to be the new Batman continues to grow.
Hope to see you guess soon. Stay safe!