The call came across the radio a little after seven.
Body found in an alley.
Not an unusual occurrence in Gotham.
A night where a body wasn't found in an alley, dumped outside a hospital or left in a building happened about as often as the Joker remaining in Arkham. Hell, Gordon grunted as he navigated his way through the dark city, it's more likely that son of a bitch will stay in his cell than it is we won't get a call about a dead body. Thankfully, the Joker chose to winter in Arkham. A fact Gordon was immensely thankful for. Got enough going on without him adding to the chaos.
Gordon made a turn at Davidson. It was the quickest way to reach the scene. He chose the route soon as dispatch revealed what alley the body was found in.
Of course, it'd be that alley.
Why wouldn't it be?
Many of Gotham's elite class of villains thrived on symbolism. Some, like Calendar Man were obsessed with it. Even the Joker loves revisiting his greatest hits, Gordon thought as he screamed through an intersection. Titles them as anniversaries.
This, though went beyond the typical symbolic representation he had grown accustomed to dealing with over his long career. Memories long buried surfaced as Gordon parked behind a row of black and whites. Is he here? he wondered as he stared out the windshield at the silent old building, sitting abandoned and alone.
As so many other businesses in this area of the city were.
The marquee above the ticket booth had long faded.
The bulbs had become a casualty during one of the gang shootouts this part of the city frequently was victim of.
Graffiti covered the walls and trash blocked the entryway into the theater.
Superseded over that disparaging image was how the theater looked on a mild June night.
He and Harvey had been called out to a scene similar to this one.
Only, it was two bodies found in the alley by the Monarch Theater instead of one.
Gordon hadn't known who the victims were until the medical examiner peeled back the bloodstained cloth covering their lifeless bodies.
Thomas and Martha Wayne.
Members of Gotham's elite.
Cutdown in their prime.
The Wayne murders had been his first case after making detective. Other, experienced homicide detectives hadn't been thrilled about the "rookie" landing such a high-profile case his first night out. Harvey even put up a fuss about us being handed that case, he recalled as he unfastened his seatbelt.
Gordon, though, never regretted taking that case.
Seeing the people whose lives had been tragically stolen from them by a madman with a gun get justice had been his only focus. Well, them, and the son they left behind, Gordon amended as his mind drifted back to that night.
"I know you aren't feeling much like talking right now." He took a seat on the lower rung of the fire escape beside the orphaned boy. "I need to ask you a few questions about what happened, though. It's the only way we'll find the man who did this to your folks."
If they'd find whoever did this. The closure rate for homicides in Gotham was three out of every ten cases. If they didn't turn up a lead in the next seventy-two hours it was likely they never would.
He didn't share that with the boy quivering beside him from a combination of fear and shock. The kid had gone through enough without him adding onto the pile by confessing it was probable they'd never figure out who killed his parents.
Another tremor snaked through the boy — Bruce, he corrected. His name is Bruce. Gordon slid out of his jacket and gently draped it around him. More for comfort and security than warmth.
"That better?"
A faint nod was all he received in response. Not that he expected much given the circumstances. Gordon watched the forensics team as he waited for Bruce to say something — anything.
The entirety of the case rest on his young shoulders.
Their only witness to what happened.
Gordon grew less optimistic about their chances of solving this case the longer the silence drug on. Child testimony was spotty, at best, when no trauma was involved. They needed to get what the boy could recall while it was still fresh in his mind.
"Why?" Gordon stared down into the red-rimmed eyes Bruce lifted to his. "Why'd he do it?"
The million dollar question.
One Gordon had only one answer for.
"It's this city," he said, heavy sigh piercing the stagnant air. "There's something wrong with it."
Forty years later and there was still something wrong with Gotham. Only now the city had a team of silent guardians to help protect those who resided within its limits from those who wanted to hurt them. Never would have imagined that boy growing up to fight crime in a cape and cowl.
Course, he never'd have seen himself co-parenting with that boy, either.
There wasn't anyone — outside Gil Arroyo and Harvey — he'd trust with his family, though. When he needed someone to protect his niece, Batman stepped up, willingly putting himself between Raya and the man who wanted to kill her in order to protect his secrets. He came to the plate again when Berkeley tried to kill the Whitly boy in revenge for his father, Martin Whitly, failing to kill his wife, Ellen. Even now he's risen to the challenge and is doing everything possible to protect those two from whatever in hell is going on.
Not that Gordon expected anything less from a man who dedicated his life to protecting the innocent.
Who the man beneath that infamous cowl had long been a subject of public debate. Most people believed Gordon had an idea about who the man behind the mask was. He never confirmed nor denied those assumptions.
They were right, though.
He did know the identity of Gotham's silent guardian. He figured it out after he discovered where Batman took his niece after he'd been shot by Berkeley and left for dead. Knowing, however, was wrapped up in the importance of the fact. Batman was a necessity in his mind. He served the city in ways the police couldn't, fighting criminals they were incapable of stopping, and going into places they weren't allowed. Gordon liked to think he played a small part in the boy's decision to become Batman. Same as the boy had been instrumental in Raya deciding to not only join Batman in his crusade by becoming one of the city's silent guardians, but a cop, as well.
Even though neither of them had been thrilled initially about it.
"Hell musta froze over."
Gordon glanced over to Harvey, slouched in the passenger seat, one bushy brow lifted.
"Why's that?"
"Yancy here before us?" Bullock plopped his fedora on his head and tugged up the collar of his overcoat. "Hell gotta be freezing over."
Gordon snorted a laugh. "His wife must be back from visiting her mother."
"As I said, hell froze over."
Gordon stepped from the vehicle without a reply. News trucks formed a half circle around the black-and-whites, fire, and EMS vehicles. A familiar redhead chatted with a cameraman as she prepared to do a live report. Vicki Vale, Gordon groaned internally. Last thing I need at the moment.
"Commissioner Gordon!" Vale strode towards him, microphone in hand, and a look of intent in her green eyes. "Can I have a word with you?"
"No."
His curt answer didn't deter Vale.
Not that he expected it would.
"The people of Gotham deserve to know what's going on in their city."
"Once we have information to share I will release a statement."
Gordon ducked under the caution tape, figuring that put an end to things.
He was sorely mistaken.
"Will you at least confirm there's a killer on the loose?"
"No, I will not."
That didn't put an end to the conversation, either.
Much to Gordon's displeasure.
"Are these recent string of killings connected to those in New York?"
"No comment."
The pad answer.
Not that it stopped Vale from trying to get answers from him. He respected her tenacity even if it exasperated him to no end.
"Commissioner…."
"I said no comment."
He'd have to make one before the night was over, though. He had been avoiding making one until they had something concrete to offer. Mayor isn't gonna accept that excuse for much longer.
Neither would Vicki Vale.
He'd take later when later came. For now, he entered the alley. A helicopter circled overhead, illuminating the garbage, filth, and decay. Gordon found the brightness almost a comfort. Especially after spending the majority of the afternoon cooped up in meetings. However, the dark figure lurking at the edge of the scene preferred the calm stillness and coolness of the shadows. Because he did, Gordon ordered the helicopters, which included the blasted news choppers, to pull back. The alley immediately became black as pitch. Gordon watched that large silhouette slither across the cobblestone. It never failed to amaze him at how gracefully a man as large as Batman could move.
It was so... smooth.
So… effortless.
"Thought about putting up the signal when the call came over the radio."
There was no need for a greeting in Gordon's mind. Their relationship wasn't dependent on bandying words around before getting down to business.
"I was already here." Batman's voice was low, dark, and somehow both warm and menacing at the same time. It was little wonder he inspired such fear in those he helped bring to justice. Gordon might have been intimidated if he didn't know the man as well as he did. "I arrived right after it was called in, actually."
"You were close-by?"
A faint nod was followed by, "I was investigating a location the Surgeon might have used while he was here in Gotham."
"Won't ask if you found anything." Another chopper swept over the scene, illuminated the cover placed over the victim. "Figure you'd have said if you had."
Batman indicated the body with a gloved hand. "The victim is Marcello Taglieri."
Gordon's eyebrows shot up. "Lucretia Taglieri's oldest boy?"
"Yes."
Gordon needed that information about as much as he needed a hole in the head.
In fact, he needed the hole more than he did this bit of news.
"Well, explains why they didn't burn the body." Gordon heaved a sigh. "They wanted us to know this was Marcello Taglieri."
"He's sending me a message."
The pit in Gordon's stomach didn't like the sound of that.
Neither did he for that matter.
Still, he didn't shy away from his next question.
"He?"
Batman shifted to face him. "Are you ready for me to tell you what's going on?"
Gordon had been feeling moderately grim up to that moment. That, though, would change once Batman revealed what was going on. He never shied away from the truth. Nor had he ever shirked his duty. He spent his career making the decisions nobody else wanted to make, fighting the fights everyone else was afraid of, and doing whatever he thought necessary to see Gotham not destroyed by the vermin.
"I'm not particularly going to like what I hear, am I?"
"There's definitely a good chance of that, yes."
"Well, guess it's a good thing I took my blood pressure medicine before I left the precinct." Gordon stiffened his spine and looked at the grim hero. "Alright, tell me what's going on."
"It's the Batman That Laughs behind these murders."
"You're sure?"
Gordon asked that despite already knowing the answer.
"Positive," came the grim reply. "The last victim tested positive for Nth metal."
Gordon wasn't overly surprised to hear the diabolical Batman was the one behind these string of murders. He would have been more surprised if it turned out it wasn't him. He pushed his glasses up his nose as he stared at the white sheet fluttering in the gentle breeze.
"How does this fit in with the Court of Owls and their prophecy?"
"He's working against them," Batman said. "Using the prophecy to further his own agenda."
More news he didn't need. "Why?"
Like he needed to ask.
"To destroy our universe as he's destroyed others."
Gordon closed his eyes.
More a long blink than anything else.
"So, the usual."
"Yes."
He nodded. "Alright… how do we stop him?"
"We keep him from getting his hands on Malcolm."
Gordon glanced up, intending to ask what he meant by that, but found himself alone.
He grunted.
"I hate when he does that."
A/N: Hello, all! Hope this finds you well! Apologies for the delays between updates. We're in the final chapters here and I'm getting everything sorted out and finalized to bring this all together in a way that satisfies the story. My goal is to finish by next month (like shows who aren't cancelled would) but we'll see!
Please, if you like this story, favorite/follow it! The support is immensely appreciated as is everyone's patience!
Take care, all!