Note to self: Don't set deadlines so far ahead when things can mess up your schedule. The note at the bottom will explain…

Edited: Changed some dialogue from Batman, since it didn't match up with his plans in later chapters.

The Games Rich People Play

Chapter 2: The Detective

DAY 1-11:00 A.M

Pacifica soon found herself staring down at one of the largest resorts she had ever seen. Various rides, casinos, and other miscellaneous establishments were spread out in every direction she could see from the plane, seemingly never-ending. She wouldn't be surprised if the place stretched out over the whole island. There was still jungle of course, but judging from the various buildings dotted across the jungle, she could tell that what was left of the flora and fauna was acting as some safari-zoo kind of place.

One would suppose she wouldn't be as bored considering all the activities on the resort, but her father had her under close watch right now. He didn't want to let her out of his sight if it involved her risking the family reputation. So, for now, she was stuck doing whatever he was doing. And whatever he was doing was bound to be boring.

Though she likely would've had to stick with him today anyway. Tonight was meant to be the big opening party. Every socialite attending the charity event would be there. There was no way her father would let her out of his sight on a night like this, if it meant any chance that he would lose the respect of the other high class guests, or even the host himself.

Though she wasn't sure why he thought he'd lose the respect of the host. The guy seemed pretty lax, easygoing and forgiving. Horace Whimsley was his name, if she could recall correctly. He was some young British fellow who had earned his wealth rather recently, and a vast amount of wealth at that. Because of this, he soon found himself up to his neck in the slightly less rich bluebloods trying to cozy up to him. Pacifica's father included. No one could really tell if he was aware of these attempts to get in his good graces, but if he was, he didn't show it.

From what she looked up on him though, he seemed to be a fairly nice guy. After his big break, he started up a company devoted to inventing tech for hospitals and schools, and former employees had been known to speak very highly of him. Heck, his entire reason for setting up this weeklong event was for charity. The rich guests attending were encouraged to spend their money at the various parks and institutes spread out across the island. Any purchases made by attendees would be given to charities of their choosing. Not only that, but they were permitted to host other smaller events to raise awareness for said charities.

Most of those who were here for the event were likely just participating to show off. She had met enough snobs at the Northwest's annual party to know that people like that would definitely show up. Perhaps there would possibly be actual humane individuals there that would put their passion into the event, but at this point she could only hope.

"Mr. Northwest, we are about to touch down." A male voice relayed over the intercom. "I've been told that we are among the first to arrive at the island."

Preston looked pleased. "Very good. Then we've already made a nice first impression."

"Oh man. We've totally impressed him with our punctuality. It's not like he's the type of guy that would just be glad we made it." Pacifica interjected, seeping with sarcasm.

She heard her mother scoff in her seat. "Come now Pacifica. How many times must I tell you that you should never aim for mediocrity? It's unbecoming for people like us."

Pacifica rolled her eyes. "If being mediocre means that I don't have to waste my dignity sucking up to a guy that probably doesn't care, I think I'll take my chances."

"You will do no such thing. Despite what you may think Pacifica, it is far from "sucking up". It is showing a sign of respect, something that a man of Mr. Whimsley's class deserves." Preston replied, sounding very irritated. "And what did I say about that attitude?"

"We're not at the party yet. I'll be as snarky as I want until we get there."

Preston narrowed his eyes. "We're at the island. I classify that as "getting there"." Before Pacifica snapped back, he took out a small box. Pacifica went silent. "You are not ruining this for us, Pacifica. I will not hesitate to use this if you act up. So, I suggest you straighten out. Do I make myself clear?"

Pacifica stayed quiet, and simply nodded.

"Good." Preston relaxed back into his chair, content.

Pacifica, on the other hand, was gripping the armrests of her chair tightly, absolutely frustrated. This was going to be a long week.

For a moment, she could've sworn they were back in the old Northwest Mansion. She would've thought she had traveled back in time had she not known better. Though there were a few differences. The employees, for one, were quite carefree. They were still focused on their jobs, but they had the faces of people that were glad to be here, rather than the emotionless and broken men and women that worked for the Northwests. Some were engaged in casual conversation while others smiled and cheerfully greeted arriving guests. Seems this Horace guy really was a good boss.

And instead of animal heads and skins decorating the place, there were a multitude of paintings depicting various countries and cultures. She was able to discern a few, but there were others she hadn't even seen before. It was a nice change from the hunting trophies she was used to seeing. Pacifica always thought those things were creepy. Even more so after one certain night…

The manager came by. "Ah, the Northwests! It is so nice to see you here!" He snapped, and several men came over, picking up the family's luggage. "Mr. Whimsley was glad you were able to make it. He simply must know how you managed to gain your lost wealth, and then some!"

Preston chuckled, glad to be recognized. "Ah, yes. I'll be able to tell him in full detail when I see him at the party. It's one of great emotion." Pacifica wished she could call bull on that. She knew better than anyone how corrupt the Northwests were. But for now, she kept her mouth shut.

"You and your family will be on the 10th floor. A friend of yours had it reserved for you. Said he was a business partner." He said as he handed Preston the key.

"I was expecting that. We've been planning on a meeting here with a few other associates for a while now." As they entered the elevator, Pacifica couldn't help but think that said associates were a part of her dad's antics. She could only suspect for now.

Pacifica groaned as she recognized the head of a giant moose above the fireplace. A bear skin rug was draped across the floor, and a taxidermized cougar was in the corner. And that only scratched the surface. Whether Preston had requested that of his friend, she didn't know, but she was not looking forward to sleeping in this suite regardless. Now, not only would she wake up during the night, wondering if they were going to be dripping blood, but she also had to be reminded of the town she'd rather be in. She entertained the thought that her father did this to taunt her. She wouldn't put it past him to do so.

"Alright, the time is 12:04. We must be there by 2:00 if we are to make a good impression." Preston looked in the mirror. "That means you had better be ready at 1:30, Pacifica."

Pacifica didn't give him an answer, simply slumping off to her bedroom to change. She could almost feel his grin as he watched her feel defeated.

Luckily, she had her ways of getting back at him. Opening her suitcase, she pulled out a dress very familiar to her. It was a nice light purple, with fur adjourned on its shoulders and at the bottom. To match with it was a Chalcedony necklet, shining with the same color as the dress (1), and a set of purple high heels.

Not only was this a good way to spit in her father's face, but it also meant very much to her. This was one of only things she remembered fondly about that night... along with… someone else. To be honest, it wasn't the same exact dress… she could no longer fit in the original at her age. But she had kept the design over the years, and secretly asked the family tailor to make a new one for her when the previous no longer fit. It was a memento of the party that changed her for the better. At this point, Pacifica considered it to be a good luck charm. Nights always seemed to go better when she wore it.

On the other hand, her father had come to regard everything that night as things he never wanted to encounter again. He grew internally livid anytime Pacifica had the dress on, but no matter what he did, she always managed to sneak it around him somehow.

She emerged from her room, a good few minutes before 1:30. Priscilla was the first to notice her and her eyes widened. Her following sigh caught Preston's attention.

"Is that Pacifi-," He paused, already silently boiling in rage. Pacifica simply looked at him as if she didn't know what he grew silent about. He turned his head, and breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down. Pacifica gained a smug grin, amused at his anger.

He sat there for a good few minutes, mentally talking himself down. They had been through the motions before, and her father had discovered that this was one of those few things that she was stubborn to keep. Stubborn enough to power through his trump card. At best, he could only wonder how Pacifica managed to sneak the dress past him this time.

"Preston?" Her mother questioned. She almost sounded like she was having an emotion.

Preston took a deep breath, having calmed down. "Let's. Just. Go." Well, calmed down only a tiny bit. He walked over to the door, stomping the whole way.

Pacifica snickered. She'd at least have some good moments this week.

A middle aged man adjusted his tie, doing his best to make himself quite presentable, against his own personal wishes. He never liked these types of events. They mostly attracted the arrogant and sinister. but the getup was necessary if he was to seem somewhat normal. It was just going to be for tonight anyway. He could at least use more casual clothes the next few days. He'd still be playing up the part. Then when the time was right, he could slip away and…"

"Yo, Bruce! Hellooooo? You in there?" The sound of Dick yelling on the video phone quickly drowned out his thoughts. "The heck's on your mind? Took me at least ten seconds to get your attention."

"I haven't been to an event of this size and time in a while. It's going to require a lot of self-control to make sure I'm not seen as anyone but Bruce Wayne." Well, that, and he was leaving Gotham out of his care for a whole week.

"Don't worry Bruce! Maybe you should try that one thing you did with Gordon in your first year. Remember when Barbara found out about that? The look on her face…" Bruce gave him a look. Dick chuckled, but his face suddenly grew serious. "All joking aside, yeah, trying to spy on all the suspects as they meet at one of the classiest events in the world is gonna be tough. I mean, we all know how hard it is for you to go on vacation, so acting like you're on one could be just as difficult."

Bruce sighed. "It's not a vacation Dick. I'm going undercover, that's all."

Dick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, undercover at one of the biggest resorts in the world. I'd say you're still on vacation. You're just taking work with you."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "What happened to "all joking aside"?"

"Still…" Dick interjected, ignoring Bruce. "It's pretty clever to use the charity event as cover. They could all meet without anyone becoming suspicious of them. Just another group of tycoons in talks with one another."

"Which means no one will really bother remembering that each one of them has had a questionable background." Bruce finished, cycling through the files of each suspect. "And it helps that they're guarded by the highest levels of security."

Dick was already reading up files of his own, though these were more focused on the island itself. "You know, rumor is, Superman could ask to come in as a reward for saving the world and they'd still reject him. Mostly because they wouldn't want him spying on other guests. Which means, if they catch Batman snooping around, they'll hunt him down and kick him out, no matter what reasons he had." He looked back at Bruce with a bit of worry. "These guys have really good countermeasures against heroes and villains, Bruce. That Horace guy prides himself on it. Sure hope you're in your best shape."

"I'm more concerned with you handling Gotham. Can you take care any remaining smuggling operations in the area?"

"I'll be fine. All the villains are locked up in Arkham right now. And even if they got out, I know how to play the part. Gotham will never know Batman left."

Bruce noticed Whimsley's mansion coming into view. "Okay, I'm about to enter the party. Keep an eye on Bane. I'll contact you and the others later."

"See ya, Bruce."

The call shut off, Bruce combing down his hair one last time, just to be sure. He exited the car, but turned back to the driver. "Go ahead and come back around 10:30, Alfred."

The butler nodded and gave Wayne a smile in response. "Of course, Master Bruce. Good luck." Bruce closed the door, and the limo drove away.

Time to get this over with.

"Bruce Wayne! It's so wonderful that you're here!" Bruce jumped back in response. Of the possible first encounters he could've had with the host, he hadn't expected the man to be right in his face. In fact, it almost looked as if he was trying to calm himself down. "I've heard a great deal about your efforts in Gotham City. You can imagine my delight when you said you could make it to the resort!"

Bruce adopted his lighter personality. "Well, the holidays seem to give me more on my plate rather than take from it. I'm so busy working late nights that I don't have time to relax. But I managed to do enough that I can finally take this spring break off."

"Well, at least you aren't quite as busy as that Batman fellow, eh?" He jabbed his elbow, and laughed a bit. Bruce gave a sincere sounding laugh of his own. "But it is really good that you could make it, Mr. Wayne. An event like this could really benefit from your presence."

"I don't know what difference I could make at this party. It seems the best I could do is use up more money than others. Unless you wanted to work together on a project?" Bruce questioned.

"Well, I'd love to, but that's not the reason." Whimsley directed Bruce down a hallway. "But perhaps we could talk about it later. I must greet my next guests. Please enjoy yourself tonight. You've more than earned it." Bruce nodded, and began down the hallway.

He seemed like an admirable person. But that only made Bruce even more suspicious of him. As nice as he seemed, he had still invited several questionable figures to his party, confident his security measures could handle them if they acted up. And he refused superheroes to investigate anybody while they were on the island. Bruce could understand wanting to give criminals a chance to turn a new leaf, but one couldn't be completely reckless like that. That either meant he was naïve, foolish… or he was planning something. It assumed the worst of him, but Bruce couldn't just leave that option out.

"Introducing Master Bruce Wayne, of Wayne Enterprises!"

But that would have to wait. He had to focus on people that had far more going against them right now. They were the ones who had a hand in criminal activities across Gotham. He'd wait in the main ballroom for now, scouting out his targets. While he waited, he thought back to how this all started.

For weeks now, several venom shipping operations had been based in Gotham, all led by Bane. Batman had finally tracked down the venom user himself and put a stop to the operations, learning that the drugs he'd prepared this time around weren't meant for Gotham streets. They had been exported as well as imported. Upon investigation, Batman had discovered that several "unknown" benefactors had funded Bane to ship these batches of venom across the country. Or at least, they had thought they were unknown.

They had likely faced very little opposition to their actions, or did them under the radar, but they didn't mask their tracks well enough. Hacking encrypted messages sent to Bane by his sources, Batman found they pointed towards four wealthy individuals going to this very event. All four individuals attending the same party meant that Bruce could keep an eye on all of them at once, and obtain the evidence he needed.

"Introducing Preston and Priscilla Northwest, and their daughter Pacifica, of Northwest Mudflaps!"

As if on cue, one of his targets had arrived. Out of all four of the perpetrators, Northwest was the lousiest in the group. His encrypted messages noted various partner companies he had planned to use to ship the venom, seemingly forgetting that he was the only one partnered with those trucking companies. His gain from this "operation" was obvious; no one failed to notice his staggering rise in wealth in the past year.

At first, Batman simply thought that this made Northwest the weak link. After all, the other three had gained money out of the operation, albeit much smaller amounts. And it was only because of Northwest's massive increase that he noticed the others as well- a short infiltration mission to his mansion had him finding bank statements containing deposits from a mysterious source (Bane, of course). This prompted further investigations involving him hacking into the files of the other three, where he found that very same source.

But then he realized- the amounts they had gained were almost unnoticeable. They could still easily pass as being a part of their legitimate business sales. Northwest on the other hand, was obvious. His partners could still hide it somewhat, but they weren't trying very hard. It dawned on the caped crusader that he wasn't the weak link... he was the decoy. Like a lizard's tail, he would be left behind when suspicions arose and the group was threatened, taking most of the heat while the others "got away".

Poor fool probably expected an easy deal, not knowing what he was getting into.

Bruce walked over, introducing himself. "Well, you must be Preston Northwest! I've heard about how you broke your fortune out of its slump."

As soon as Northwest saw him, Bruce noticed that he also looked like he was trying to contain excitement. Well, it was obvious now why Northwest was the decoy. "Mr. Wayne! I-I'm honored you took notice! It was surely one of my greatest moments!" Not very modest either. But then, why would he be? He gestured over to his family. "My wife, Priscilla."

The woman curtsied. "We too, have heard of your accomplishments with Wayne Enterprises! Your work in Wayne Technologies being the most recent."

"And my daughter, Pacifica." He caught minor bits of aggression from Preston as he motioned her to greet Bruce. He had seen her before, when he infiltrated the mansion. In fact, she had nearly seen him, but he managed to slip away before she knew who was there.

She gave a rather weak wave. "Hi… I've heard of your work with the Thomas Wayne and Matha Wayne foundations. It's admirable work, really." Preston grew strangely nervous. He gave his wife a look.

"Oh, Preston, aren't those some old associates of yours over there?" Priscilla interjected. Pacifica's eyes widened a bit, then grew tired looking as she sighed.

"Why yes, yes they are? Mr. Wayne, I'd love to talk, but I'd really like to catch up with some of my old business partners."

Bruce was a bit dumbfounded, but went with it. "Of… course. Later, then?"

"Indeed!" He said, guiding his family off. Just when he was out of a normal person's earshot, he began talking to Pacifica under his breath. It would've gone unnoticed by Bruce… had he not trained his ears for this sort of thing. "The Wayne Foundations! Have you gone mad?" Preston whispered.

"They're named after his parents, I'd think he'd be proud of them!" Pacifica bit back.

"No one likes to be reminded of their work with the common crowd, Pacifica. Look, perhaps you should just sit at that table over there and wait." He motioned to a table near the corner. "That way you won't say something so unsophisticated."

Pacifica looked as shocked as one whispering could. "Are you seriously telling me to sit and look pretty?!"

"If keeps you out of trouble, then yes." Pacifica growled, but left towards the table.

Bruce didn't like this one bit. Preston's foul behavior towards his own daughter was a bright red flag. Was there something Pacifica knew that Preston was worried about her revealing?

Perhaps it would be best to ask her himself.

Pacifica sat at the lone table near the corner, already feeling miserable. And she was barely into the first hour of this stupid party. Her mind was filled with very not-ladylike things concerning her father, mostly involving knives, fire, and the like.

"Excuse me?" She jolted, not expecting someone to talk to her. To her surprise, Bruce Wayne had come to continue conversation. "Pacifica, was it?"

"Uh…" Pacifca's eyes darted over to where her father was, currently talking to a group he actually wasn't associates with.

Mr. Wayne eyes widened. "Oh! Apologies if I seem a bit upfront, but I was worried. His departure was very sudden. Did I do something to offend your father?"

Typical. Dad's interpretation of the situation was completely off. "No. He thought that I- well, he thought you were the one offended."

Bruce pretended to look surprised. "Really? The feeling never crossed my mind."

"Yeah, well that's dad for you. Reads into situations in a way no one else can." Pacifica stated, rather bitterly.

He could already tell she was on bad terms with her parents. Hopefully, that meant she wasn't in on her father's plot. But even if she wasn't, the relationship seemed worrisome. Considering how he was talking to her earlier, he didn't have any doubts as to what it was really like, and yet…

"Pacifica, is everything alright with your father?" Bruce asked sincerely.

She didn't answer, instead staring at him for a little bit in silence. She looked away after a little bit.

Bruce thought for a moment. "Hmm… well, if you feel like telling anyone, here." He handed her a number. "It's a number for a very good therapist I know. She and the people she knows can help with anything you throw at them. Trust me, I know. And I'm here to talk, if you need it."

"…Right."

"Oh, and Pacifica…" She lifted her head up. "You're right. I am very proud of those foundations." He walked away, leaving Pacifica stunned.

She finally snapped out of it a few moments later. He had heard…? But… no. Even if she knew that, she couldn't tell him. Well, she wanted to tell him, but couldn't bring herself to do.

"Why are you so afraid of your parents?!"

She remembered Dipper asking her that. And she honestly thought that she had figured it out. That she had conquered those fears. But in hindsight, and with the conversation she just had, she was starting to realize that it hadn't been so simple. She was still afraid. Not entirely, but enough. She stared at the card, feeling an intense urge to call. Unfortunately, the fear of what could go wrong pacified that urge.

For a minute, she could almost hear one side of her brain begging her to tell Wayne. Tell anybody. Hopefully, by the end of the week, the other side would listen.

(1) I think that's what the purple circle is on her neck... ah well. I suppose it's my headcanon, if anything.

Long story short- I ended up losing a lot of progress due to my computer restarting on me. Wrote it back to the best of my memory (also frequently saved), but I should only announce post dates when it's like the day before. I mean, no one really does that regardless, they just say "see you next time" and then you spend days after worrying that they'll never return.

Anyway, Batman was the first crossover contender. You were close, Mick, but no cigar. Tune in next time to see our next lucky guest, and see if you got it right. (I'm surprised no one has tried guessing the last guy yet, I didn't think I made it that out there)

I'm going to talk about each character's continuity as they appear, but I better catch you up on Pacifica first.

Follows the regular GF timeline through Weirdmaggedon(mageddon? I always forget…) and it's been quite a few years to be exact. Pacifica is 16, along with the twins, and as you've seen, she hangs with them a lot more, sneaking out of the neo-Northwest mansion. She's still a lot like the Pacifica you know, a fashionista, and comments on people's clothes out of habit, though her friends know she's not trying to spite anyone.

And while I said no crossover pairings (for some reason I really can't get into those), there will be pairings between characters of the same world, in this case… Pacifica and Dipper. So… beware, I guess?

Batman… well, he's Batman. I guess I could go with "general" continuity and everyone would get it, but let me say… he's gone through Dick and Barbara, but hasn't gotten to Jason. I decided to go the Young Justice route and have it to where they didn't have a big fight, cause I get tired of that plot line.

In case you didn't realize, the next three chapters will introduce our main rich folk (and the characters that may come with them), and how they first interact with Pacifica. After that, it starts mixing a lot more together. So uh… "See you next time".