Chapter Three: Big Debuts
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or the show Gotham, this is just a fanficton. Please don't sue me.
Dixon Docks-Chinatown- Gotham City-Present day-11:00 p.m.
The smell of the river drifted in the air. Unlike the ocean, you could smell the pollutants. Gotham was returning to it's old habits after reversing what Valeska had done to the river all that time ago. It was definitely a lot cleaner than it was since then, but still. Selina just tried to ignore it and focus on the job at hand. She was stationed on top of a shadowy rooftop overseeing the docks. After the small cargo vessel came in about an hour ago, men were just hustling like crazy to get all the crates and crates of the stuff inside off and into the warehouse. She peered through her mini-binoculars to see that there were about twenty men who working and guarding the place. Well this should be easy, Selina told herself sarcastically. Moments later she smelled the hot brew of a Chai Latte, her favorite tea. Bruce went on a coffee run earlier considering it was gonna be a long night. He handed her the styrofoam cup as he took a drink from his plain black coffee.
"How does everything look down there?" Bruce asked. "It looks like they're dealing enough firepower to start a city wide militia. It's bad, Bruce," Selina was worried. In these types of situations she had nerves of steel. It took a lot to worry her. So when she means it bad it's pretty horrible. Bruce opened a little duffle bag and pulled out a military grade listening device and zeroed in on a group of men talking outside the main building. What Bruce could pick up was a little bit of small talk pertaining to losing bets at the horse races, drunken escapades, and some very explicit details about encounters at an illegal brothel in the Bowery. Then one guy came out of the building and addressed the group. "Alright, the boss says he wants the merchandise brought to the stashes around town around Midnight tomorrow night. Until then this entire place is on lockdown as usual." "That was what they needed", Bruce thought to himself. "So what did they say?" Selina asked. Bruce turned to her, "They're moving the shipment tomorrow night, but we're going to be ready for them. What do say, Cat? Wanna cause some trouble?" Bruce asked with a devilish smirk. Selina returned the same expression, "I thought you'd never ask."
Residence of Jim and Leslie Gordon-Upper West Side-Gotham City-Earlier the next morning
Lee could even see the glow she was sporting as she looked in the mirror. dressed in her purple blouse and black pants. Jim walked up behind her already dressed in his suit and tie and rubbed the little baby bump that was beginning to show. Jim nuzzled his wife's neck and she drew in a breath of air at feeling his lips around at the nape of her neck. "Mmmmm Jim... if you keep this up I'll have to undo the work you did getting ready for the day," Lee moaned in between gasping for breath as her nerves were lit on fire due to her husbands hands caressing her fertile body. "I'd gladly be willing for you to do that." Jim's voice oozed with need wanting his wife. Lee knew that if that happened then neither of them would be leaving the house, but their work for the city was to important. "Ok, cowboy," Lee giggled, "we really do need to get ready for the day, but I will gladly make it up to you later." Lee whispered in Jim's ear sending the right kind of shivers down his spine. "I'll hold you to that," Jim smiled warmly towards his beautiful wife. He left to get some things from his home office while Lee was finishing getting ready. Just then Lee's cell phone began ringing. Lee went to pick it up, but it was coming from a blocked number. "Hello, this Lee Gordon. Who is this?"
"Lee Gordon. Such a nice ring to it. You weren't exactly Falcone material anyways, my dear." Lee nearly dropped the phone horrified at whose voice was on the other side. "Sofia.. no. How can you be.."
"Be what? Awake? Alive? I like to think it's the universe's way of allowing for me to have my vengeance after you put a BULLET in my gut and in my head and stuck me in a coma for nearly eight years! It looks like you've been busy during that time. A husband. A step-daughter. A child on the way. My, oh, my. So much family. So much... weakness."
"Sofia, please. I know you're angry, but I'm begging you. Please don't hurt my family."
"Everyone has family. I did. The one lesson I learned from all of my time with my family was that things like love and family are weakness. They can be used against you and can even be turned against you, like mine was turned against me. So no. I won't spare you because you're pregnant. I won't spare you because you're married. It's not like it matters anyways. Everyone you love will be joining in death, dear sister-in-law. Oh, and say hi to Jim for me will you. I'll be seeing you soon."
The phone immediately went dead. Lee was certain there was no convenient way to track her. How could this have happened, Lee thought to herself. But she knew she couldn't panic. Lee knew there was only one way to end this. She looked down the hall to see if Jim was still preoccupied in his office while she made a call.
"Lee? What's up, Doc?" Barbara asked in her care-free badass voice.
"Barbara, do you remember what I asked you to hang on for me in case I ever needed it again?"
"Lee, honey what on Earth are you talking abou..wait do you mean..?" The IT that Barbara was referring to was the same gun she used to put Sofia into her coma. She gave it to Barbara to hold onto after the siege ended because she wanted to leave that part of her past behind her, but just in case she ever needed it she knew where it was.
"Yeah, Babs," Lee said flatly
"What's going on? Is Jim in trouble?" Genuine concern started to fill Barbara's voice. She and Jim may have had their differences, but she did care for him and didn't want to leave their daughter without a father.
"From where I'm looking at it. We all are. Sofia Falcone. She's awake and wants revenge."
"Shit. Yeah, Lee I'll get it for ya, but do you plan on telling Jim? I mean he was there when you put two bullets in her the first time."
"No. Jim has enough on his plate. He doesn't need to worry about this."
"Lee, I know where you're coming from with this. Believe me I'd do the same thing if one of my old enemies came after me, but you're pregnant. You can't do this..."
"I swore to myself that I would do whatever it takes to protect my family. I have to do this. I have to finish what I started."
"Ok. But you're not doing this alone. I'm with ya. Besides, that bitch was a real pain in the ass anyways," Barbara chuckled.
Wayne Manor-Gotham County-Gotham City
Intense was one word to describe Bruce and Selina's workout regime. Alfred couldn't remember a time when Bruce woke up before 8 a.m., but now him and Selina were on a clockwork schedule. They both were up by 5:00 a.m. and powered down their breakfast. Bruce's meal was fit for that of a Romanian power lifter and Selina's meal was equal to that of the dietary requirements of an Olympic track athlete. The rest of their day was comprised of running laps around each other, scaling Wayne Manor, and weight lifting. The duo were always trying to out do each other in their endeavors like it was a game that only the pair knew how to play. Later into the day their sparing sessions lasted for a little more than two hours. Despite the fact that Bruce was a blur of motion and was above par of that of an Olympic aerialist and gymnast when he was engaged in combat, Selina was still the master over him in terms of acrobatics, speed, and agility. She had to be fast, she knew how hard Bruce had struck even when sparing, whether it be a punch or a kick. She called it a learning experience over their years of training. Their techniques were beyond that which Alfred had taught Bruce early on when he was a teenager. Selina was always a scrapper when she was younger, but now she was a more than formidable warrior with grace and skill in spades. Their duels were a fast paced dance full sweeps, dodges, kicks, chops, punches, open handed pushes, and acrobatic feats that would make circus folk envious. In their final round of the sparing, Bruce had Selina on her back. His forearm was pressed firmly across her chest to keep her pinned down. As he looked down upon her, Bruce took in the state of his beloved. How even in the throws of combat she was still majestic. The sheen of sweat complimented the tone of her skin. The rate of her breathing gave in an increase to the swell of her chest which he felt with his arm. Selina looked up at the man she loved most in the world. She remarked how different he was from the boy she met all those years ago and how much the same he was. His body was sculpted into something that was told about in legends of old. Selina began to feel something poking her stomach and glanced down. She looked back at Bruce and with that sly grin she always had. "I'll take it our sparing session got the blood pumping in all the right places, eh, Bruce?" Bruce became instantly aware of how his body was reacting and began to stumble on his words to explain, just as if he was that awkward twelve year old again. "Selina, I... I can explain..." Selina silenced him with a kiss, and fortunately for Selina this was all the distraction she needed. While Bruce was occupied in their feverish lip lock, his hold over her chest loosened. Selina then grabbed his arm, locked her legs around Bruce's waist and flipped him onto his back. Selina was now looking down on Bruce with that cocky grin of hers.
"That was a dirty move, Cat," Bruce hissed between his teeth.
"All's fair in love and war, Bruce." She leant in and pecked him on the lips and stood to her feet and helped Bruce up. Fortunately, Alfred and Lucius missed the ending of their sparing. They walked into the cave to see the two toweling off. "Miss Kyle, Master Bruce. I'll take it your prepped for the night out?'
"Couldn't be more ready," Bruce replied. Bruce and Selina made their way to the suit capsules. When they both looked at the suits, they felt as if they were reflections looking right back at them. The suits captured a part of them who they were on the inside.
Bruce and Selina suited up in their respective attires. Bruce noted that the armor in the body suit and utility belt carried a little more weight than his original suit he wore when he was seventeen, but he was still mobile enough to be a blur to the men they were about to face. Selina's suit was lighter, skin tight, but was still strong enough to resist knives and gunfire damage from a Desert Eagle handgun. Back when Bruce told Selina about the motif that he was going to base his persona around in order to strike fear into criminals, she expected the guy to look ridiculous. However, all that changed when she took a look at Bruce in his suit. She was actually taken aback a bit when she saw him. The permanent scowl that the mask was forged in gave her goosebumps. The armored plating that had been built into the suit gave him the look of a soldier prepped for war. He truly looked like a wraith from Hell. The funny thing was that was exactly Bruce planned on putting Gotham's underworld through. Hell. Bruce looked over to Selina and saw her fully suited up, and he liked what he saw. The claws and ears on her helmet like cowl accented her personality greatly. She looked both terrifying, sensual, and badass all at the same time. Selina eyed Bruce's belt and remarked on the vast contents of it.
"Jeez. Men and their toys," Selina sighed. Bruce chuckled, but t the moment, the equipment in Bruce's belt wasn't at the center of his fascination. If anything that peaked Bruce's interest out of their new toys, it was definitely the car.
"Lucius, I have to say you out did yourself with this set of wheels," Bruce complimented his old friend.
"Who says an urban assault vehicle can't have flair AND function, Mr. Wayne? Your transport is completely bulletproof and is suited with a rocket powered propulsion system, both non-lethal and lethal weaponry, and light refraction tech that bends light waves around the car so it appears invisible. I'll still have some work to do on the EMP emitter, but that should be ready in a week. In the meantime I think you can make due until then. Isn't the XJ-7 assault vehicle a beauty?"
"XJ-7 assault vehicle is what it's called? Lame. You might as well call it the 'Batmobile'," Selina scoffed. Bruce took another look at the car and a small smile spread across his face. "Oh dear God. You're actually gonna call it that aren't you?'
"We better get moving, we have no idea how long we have until more weapons get out on to the street...and yes. I'm calling it that."
Dixon Docks-Chinatown District-Gotham City-Later that night
"Alright get these guns prepped and ready to run them to the stashes. We need this done now so the boss won't flail us so quit slacking," Mikey said to the guards loading the weapons into the loading trucks. The power then suddenly went out. "Shit. Yo Kale, go check the breaker," Mikey ordered. Kale made his way through the maze of cargo containers to find the main power line coming from the breaker box had been cut by some sort of small torch. Out from behind him, came a shadowy figure. The assailant put one black clawed hand over Kales mouth and the other arm was being used to put him in a sleeper hold."Mmmph! mmph!" Kales scream was muffled by the assailants hand. " Shhhhhh. Go to sleep," the figure purred. Meanwhile, Mikey tried to radio Kale. " Dickhead you there?" Mikey asked with tension in his voice. " I don't like this. The five you, go look for that meathead. The rest of you guard the main office. Keep your eyes peeled, something ain't right." The five armed men split up throughout the warehouse. Two of the guards walked down an aisle when they thought they heard something behind them. They turned around to find nothing, but at the same time a cloaked figure threw bat shaped shurikens at the guards' hands causing them to drop their weapons. He then descended from the rafters and tackled the guards to the ground. One of the guards got back up and went running for the guns they dropped. Batman reached for his cylindrical rebreather and threw two shotgun slug- sized capsules which released anesthetic gas. The guards soon lost consciousness. Having subdued them it took him no time to drag their bound, unconscious bodies into the shadows.
One guard was stalking down a aisle to find nothing. Then from a dark corner, a whip tied around his feet causing him to trip. A woman in a black suit with small cat ears and red goggles attached to her protective mask pounced from the shadows slashing the guy across the face with her claws and knocking him out cold with a single punch. "Freeze, bitch!" exclaimed a guard who was pointing a gun at her from behind. Catwoman slowly turned around "Got you now," he went on to say. "Okay buddy, you got five seconds to lower the gun or you'll be sorry" Catwoman explained. " Oh yeah? You think you're gonna kick my ass with a gun in your face?" The guard asked. "No, she isn't. I am. " said a modulated and raspy baritone voice. The guard looked behind him to behold a figure to what he thought to be a demon. Where his eyes should've been were ghostly white multi-purpose lenses. The guard shot repeatedly at the Bat, but Batman quickly dodged every bullet in at lightning fast speed. Bruce disarmed the man by taking control of his hand and with a loud crunch, broke his wrist. Batman lifted the guard into the air by the throat. The guard was terrified and screamed, " What the hell are you?!" The vigilante looked him dead in the eyes and solemnly said, "I'm Batman." Batman then headbutted the guard and dropped him to the floor. The guard was conscious enough to see Catwoman walk up beside Batman. "Told ya you'd be sorry, dipshit," Catwoman said as she performed a straight kick and knocked the guard out. "Shall we?" she asked Batman. "Let's," he replied. They then made their way to the last guard and underboss, Mikey.
The underboss was hiding in the main office when he heard automatic rifle rounds being fired and the screams of his men, but then stopped suddenly. He slowly walked towards the tinted windows when the last of his men came flying through the window. Mikey slowly looked over the guard that had just been tossed around like a ragdoll. He was knocked out, bruised, and had claw marks all over his chest and face. When the thug looked outside of the main office he saw a horde of his men beaten and knocked out. What Mikey didn't pay attention were two shadows moving over him. He looked up to see two figures and was pale with fear. Mikey grabbed his gun, but it was instantly knocked out his hands by a leather whip Catwoman was carrying. Batman kicked him to the floor and put his armored boot on the side of Mikey's head slowly, but painfully applying pressure. " You work for Black Mask. I want his name. Known associates. Now!" The Dark Knight demanded. "You might want to answer him. Believe it or not he's actually asking nicely. It would be a shame to get him riled up," purred Catwoman as she traced her claws on Mikey's cheek, only to leave scratch marks as she quickly swiped her hand away. "I don't know his name! All I know is that he keeps his records on all our shipments at the old Brownstone building on Moench Row in the Diamond District. Please that's all I know!" The man screamed out in pain and terror. "Have a nice nap, dirtbag." Bruce brought enough force onto the man with his knee to knock him out cold. Alfred then spoke over Catwoman's and Batman's coms. "Master Bruce, Ms. Kyle. Have you retrieved the intel you needed?" "Yes. We have all we need for tonight," Batman replied. "Excellent. I've just placed on anonymous call to the GCPD. They shall arrive shortly." Alfred concluded."It's time to go, Cat," Batman said. They quickly went out the back way of the warehouse and stuck to the shadows. The police were approaching to the front. They made their way to the roof and grappled over to the next building over, disappearing into the night.
Outside the Warehouse minutes later..
Police cruisers were packed in the cargo yard. They found dozens if not over a hundred military grade weapons. The police still needed to find the supplier and who was helping to smuggle them into Gotham. Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock were analyzing the damage done. " So what do think, Jim? Rival gangs trying to grab a piece of the action?" Harvey asked. "Not likely. No weapons were missing. Why attack a profitable business if you're not going to steal anything that'll fill your pockets?" Jim stated, " Rival gangs also wouldn't have had a problem icing any of these men. The attacks were deliberately meant to immobilize and incapacitate. Something about how the way they were attacked seems familiar. I just can't put my finger on it." Harvey went on to say "The guys who've regained consciousness just recall that there was a lot of growling and hissing and then they were attacked. Could be a ruse though." Jim just nodded. For some reason ever since he got to the scene he had a strange feeling that it was being watched. He looked out onto the surrounding buildings and saw two figures running across the rooftops, but then they were gone in the blink of an eye. Jim figured he was just seeing things. With all the rising crime rates and now Jim was going to be a father again he would understand if the stress was getting to him. "So have you heard from Bruce and Selina? Can't wait to see how those kids have grown," Harvey stated. " No, not yet. Wish Bruce would've let me known they was back before the press knew. I still care about those two. Especially after what happened during the siege." Jim solemnly said. "Don't take it personally. It has to be a bit of readjustment for them being back here," Harvey said "True. I just want them to know I'm there for them." Harvey and Jim proceeded to scope out the rest of the shipyard.
What they didn't know was that two figures were standing beside a pair of gargoyles were watching from afar. Selina brushed up against Bruce wrapping her arms around him. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time, B" Selina purred in his ear. He could feel her body rub up against his and he felt as if his suit was too tight all of a sudden. "I just know what a woman likes," Bruce said coolly trying to disguise the fact that he was wound up. Selina shifted the topic when she saw Jim down directing his officers. "Old Gordon still likes to be in the middle of the action," Selina said. "Of course he does. That's what makes him a good detective. One of the reasons I've always admired him," Bruce said. Selina turned to Bruce and looked deeply into his eyes, hidden behind the lenses of his cowl. "You did great, tonight," she softly said. " You did too, Cat, " Bruce said. They both looked at each other and embraced in a tender kiss under the moon and stars. What the pair nor even the cops notice was a black Bentley R-type Continental, that was parked on a shadowy street, pull away. The driver of the car looked into the rearview mirror to look at his employer and asked, "Shall we alert Mr. Sionis about this, ma'am?"
"Yes, Mr. Edwards. He will be alerted to the incompetence of his help." Silver St. Clouds tone of voice hasn't changed since she was a young girl. It was smooth and sweet as honey, but assertive and dominant. The car drove off into the night without a trace.