A/N:Tanner comes to live with the Wayne Family, but who is Tanner?
Who Is Tanner?
By Alisa Joaquin
Part 8: Preparations and Discovery
Tanner rushed out.
"Master Tanner!" Alfred rushed after him. "Master Tanner, what are you going to do?"
"Find a way to get to Metropolis."
Alfred stopped in his tracks. 'He'll get himself killed.' Alfred then rushed to the cave to talk with Master Bruce. "You must stop him, Master Bruce."
"Stop who, Alfred," Bruce said as he worked to tune the engine of the bat-mobile. He took one night off from patrol to handle maintenance in the cave. And this was that night.
"Master Virgil, I fear he is going to do something rash."
"What do you mean?" Bruce grunted out as he tried to loosen a particular bolt.
"He believes Master Timothy is in some sort of danger," Alfred replied. "You need to stop him."
"I can't Alfred," Bruce said. "That witness is very important to a case of multiple murders. The young man went against his own gang, *grunt,* he risked his life. I cannot draw attention to Tim or the young man without risking both their lives. *grunt* Besides, Tim can take care of himself . . . Got it." Bruce held up the bolt that was giving him trouble. Now he could replace a very important component that kept the bat-mobile stable.
"Master Bruce, if you want Master Tanner to learn about Master Timothy's secret, perhaps it is best that you let him continue on his foolish course."
"All right, you've made your point."
As Bruce went over to the vault to change into his cowl and cape, Tanner was rushing back to the spot that he found in the sunken garden. He felt the spot one more time. He was certain that it was some sort of magical gateway. Even if he goes to Metropolis, he had nothing to defend himself if things turned sour.
Tanner walked back to the carriage house, looking around in the lower level where horses and carriages would be kept in a long-gone era. Inside an old trunk he found a collection of old clothes that looked like they had come from a circus performer. Among them were some oddly shaped knives. They were flat, but very sharp. On one was the symbol of an owl.
'I wonder if Mr. Wayne knows about these,' Tanner thought. Tanner examined the clothing a little more closely. The clothes looked like they had come from the past century. In the bottom of the truck was a leather-bound book with the initials in fancy script WC. The initials didn't appear to be from anyone in the Wayne household. Perhaps someone from their past, a relative no longer living.
Tanner strapped on the knives then quickly flicked one out, hitting his target on the wall that he spied across the room, a poster of a man in fancy dress, wearing a top hat, advertising what appeared to be an expensive bottle of wine. The knife was pinned to the cork of the bottle, held in the man's hand. If the bottle had been real, it would have been opened and ready to serve.
Tanner walked over and pulled the knife from the wall, walked back and threw two more, this time hitting the man squarely in the forehead. He was satisfied that his aim was true. Tanner then picked up the leather-bound book and leafed through its pages. It was a journal of some kind. The handwriting inside had not faded over time, but the old way the words had been written led Tanner to suspect that the person had little education and was self-taught. Even so, Tanner thought it was best to bring the journal to Mr. Wayne's attention, later. Right now, he had a job to do, to get to Metropolis and save Tim before it was too late. Tanner rushed out the door, racing down the stairs, and around the building to the sunken garden. Tanner placed his hand on the stone in the center then he suddenly, disappeared.
Continues with Part 9
A/N: Watch for these future stories – Circus Boy, Talon D, Subliminal Death, and Tiny Tim Adventures.