The Boys in Blue
Batman in Bludhaven Part 1
Batman hated Bludhaven. For one thing, it was even more crime ridden than Gotham, and for another, he didn't know the streets, alleys, warehouses, and docks nearly well enough for his comfort. On top of that, vigilantes in Bludhaven were persecuted more relentlessly than those in his city. While Police Commissioner Jim Gordon may have seen the need for outside help in the fight against crime, the BPD certainly did not. And if that wasn't reason enough to stay hate the city, Batman had to keep an eye out for his trouble-loving former partners Nightwing and Red Hood or Officers Grayson and Todd.
So, as he surveyed the restaurant across the street from his perch atop a fire escape, he kept a warry eye out for trouble. He knew that both the Gotham and Bludhaven police departments were aware that this particular chain of restaurants was somehow connected to a drug dealing ring, but they didn't know how. Batman was about to crack the case. It was just too bad he couldn't do it from Gotham.
"Sir," called a voice from somewhere below him, "come down from there please." Batman froze. How had someone spotted him? How had he not noticed they were below him?
"Hey, you in the Halloween costume, come down from there!" shouted a second voice.
Batman growled as he looked down. Two police officers were looking up at him from the street. Great. Just great. His first impulse was to ignore them, but considering what happened last time he was in Bludhaven, decided against pissing them off too badly. He swung down from his perch, purposefully making himself look as intimidating as possible. "What do you want?" he growled.
It was worth a shot, but Dick and Jason were immune to his threating presence. They didn't so much as flinch. "What were you doing up there?" asked Dick in his police officer voice. Did he think he was talking to a drunk? Probably.
"That's none of your business!" Batman snapped.
"Yes it is," Jason shot back at him, "are you aware that you were trespassing?"
Batman growled at him. Unfortunately, Jason smirked at that. Batman had given him exactly what he wanted.
"Take this sir," ordered Officer Grayson shoving a breathalyzer test in Batman's face.
"Get that thing away from me!" Batman threw the breathalyzer on the ground and crushed it under his boot. "We both know I'm not drunk."
Dick just shrugged. "A man wearing a bat costume and sitting precariously on a fire escape ogling a restaurant through a pair of high-powered binoculars, must either be drunk, high, or…"
"A fuckin' nutcase," Jason finished for him. Dick shot him a look which Jason had long since learned to ignore. "Hey! What the hell…" he cried suddenly as Batman yanked him and Dick out of sight into the ally. Batman had a hand covering his mouth as he pushed his sons down behind some trash bins. Jason fought free of the offending hand that covered his mouth. Who did Bruce think he was coming to Bludhaven and pushing him around? He was about to say something more, when Dick shushed him.
"Keep your mouth shut, Jason!" snapped Dick who was now crouching behind the trash bins carefully out of sight. He was on instant alert and slipping easily into "bat-mode" beside Bruce. The gleam in his eyes told Jason that he was sitting beside Nightwing rather than Dick Grayson.
Jason huffed out a sigh. Dick was always that perfect child it seemed; even when Batman invaded their city and started bossing them around. Jason liked it best when it was just him and Dick in Buldhaven. They had fun together and he got to see the wild side of his brother he hadn't known existed. Though, he liked to take some credit for corrupting Dick; even if it was just a little.
"That's The Steel Hand," whispered Dick peeking over the lid of a trash can.
"The what?" demanded Jason also taking a look. The man he saw walking into the restaurant across the street (which was closed) was wearing a white version of Sherlock Holmes's coat, a red Parisian scarf, a gangster hat from a 1950's movie and dark sunglasses. His left hand was made of a gleaming folded steel alloy. "Are you sure that's The Steel Hand and not 'my outfit was a steal because I have less fashion sense than Dick'?"
Despite himself, the corners of Batman's lips lifted upwards. "That would be a mouthful of a code name."
"My fashion sense is flawless," said Dick indignantly.
"The pixie boots and panties," Jason reminded him.
"I was 9!"
Jason snickered.
"Settle down boys," Batman interrupted. His eyes were scanning the restaurant.
"Hey, you wore them too. You literally just took my old uniform."
"You started it 'wonder boy'. I just got stuck with the lame-ass fairy costume you designed."
"Alfred helped!"
"That's no excuse!"
"Stop arguing you two! You'll blow our cover!" Batman growled.
"I'd like to blow your cover," mumbled Jason. Dick gave him a what is that supposed to mean look. Jason just shrugged. And Batman pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the oncoming headache they were giving him. Why did it have to be Bludhaven?
"I'm going in. You two stay here," Batman instructed. He went to pull one of his famous disappearing acts, but Jason roughly grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back.
"You're not going anywhere, old man. This is our city," Jason growled.
"He has a point," said Dick folding his arms over his chest.
"You're not dressed for this kind of work. And this is my mission," Batman stated stubbornly.
Dick and Jason spoke at the same time:
"The hell it's your mission!" hissed Jason.
"Not dressed for it?!" cried Dick in a hoarse whisper, "it's our job to bust bad guys. We're cops! We are certainly dressed for the occasion." Dick was fuming. So was Jason.
"Don't you two have speeding tickets to hand out or something?" asked Batmen as he made a move towards the restaurant again. Judging by their faces, he had struck a nerve; Dick flinched and Jason's looked like he was going to punch Bruce, then Dick, then Bruce again.
"Listen old man; either you let us help, or I ship you UPS back to Gotham in your underwear," Jason threatened. "Your choice."
"I'd like to see you try, Jason," Batman challenged.
And that was quite enough for a boy like Jason. He pulled his guns out and pointed them in Batman's face. Both men tensed until Dick stepped boldly between Jason's guns and Batman's fist. "That's enough you two! I'd tell you to pull your heads out of your asses, but you'd probably decapitate yourselves."
Jason lifted an eyebrow. Where did Dick learn to talk like that? Probably from him. So he could take the credit for corrupting the "Golden Boy" after all. Good to know. Conversely, he wondered if any of Dick's traits had worn off on him. He hoped to god that hadn't happened yet. Then, as he lowered and holstered his guns, it registered that he was doing exactly what Dick had been telling him to do from the beginning: take a breath and one step back. Jason groaned internally. Note to self: spend more time at the shooting range with the poster of Batman and less time watching Looney Tunes with Dick and Kori. However, his mind soon snapped back to real time.
Batman's eyes narrowed, but he lowered his fists. "You're not coming." With that, he threw smoke pellets on the ground, and when the smoke cleared, he was gone. Dick and Jason coughed and waved their arms in front of their faces to clear away the remaining wisps of curling smoke. They looked at each other. Then back and the restaurant with the blinking sign that read "The Pirate's Parrot, Bar and Grill".
"Should have seen that coming."
"Shut up Dickhead."
"We're not going to let him get away with that, are we."
"Hell no."
Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. Not only am I back in school, but the dynamics of these stories are really hard to figure out. Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!
Part 2 is already in the making and coming soon! Sorry for the delay.
