To Catch a Darby
Over the last few Days Jack had been neck deep in work, If he was going to fight Crime in the crime capital of the world, he was going to need to know his allies better.
The pieces to this puzzle wasn't very hard to put together.
Batman. The man, the myth, the legend.
Appeared shortly after Bruce Wayne returned from a "Self-appointed vacation"
That clearly was not a coincidence!
On top of that, Wayne had a means and motive to have the ability to be Batman.
His parents were killed when he was 10 years old, and he was filthy rich!
So, Bruce was the Batman.
Then came his team.
It was quite clear that the boys where Bruce's adopted kids.
Nightwing was Dick Grayson, the original Robin.
Tim Drake was Red Robin not adopted but a mentor no less
Jason Todd was Red Hood last decided to be dead.
Not so apparently…
Damien Wayne was the Now Robin, and must be Bruce's blood son.
That leaves the Batgirl.
She appeared a few years after the The batman and a few weeks before the first Robin.
She was a gymnast if the ever was one.
Jack wasn't going to lie about it, he thought she was hot, there isn't a guy in his right mind who wouldn't.
It just left the question of who she really was.
Her lips, nose and chin were familiar to him…
And then it hit him like ton bricks.
Barbara Lee Gordon! The commissioner's kid.
Jack couldn't help chuckle at the irony…
During the time of his research he found a 1967 Ford mustang for sell.
The man selling it wanted $30,000, Jack gave him 25,000 first for the man to take it to the shop and make sure it's in top condition, and then an extra $15,000 afterward with a "no question asked or answered" policy
He kept the Crown Victory as it was a retired Cop car with pretty good horse power and very unassuming to the non-caring eyes.
It was 8:30 AM on a Saturday when news of a hostage situation on the other end of town caught his attention.
Jack knew it was best to leave this one to the authority's, but he couldn't help but wonder why he felt there was something off about this one.
Until he saw who the hostage was…
"MIKO?!" he exclaimed.
What was she doing here?! This no place for a small-town girl even if she lived in Tokyo beforehand.
And then the camera zoomed in on the man holding the gun.
"M.E.C.H!" he hissed.
'That drills it!' he thought to himself, as he hopped up from the chair he was sitting on.
He grabbed his AR-15 and bolt action rifle and ran down the stairs to the car.
The 1968 Ford mustang he bought a few day's ago will serve him well today in getting over there!
He went back once to get the shotgun, and then he raised the drive-in door.
Upon making sure all of the power was off, he peeled out of the shed and drove to the other side of Town.
Meanwhile, at the "hostage situation"
Jim and his daughter sat in the police cruiser watching out for any signs of Jack.
The plan became a simple one, one that Agent Fowler actually helped in developing.
The plan was simple.
Slip information about a hostage situation at a bank to one of the news outlets,
Make it seem like the police weren't going to be able to solve it,
Make it seem like it was M.E.C.H. that had taken the hostage,
And have units surround the area to bring Jack in.
Today he would be talking to Fowler face-to-face about Jack, and he really wanted Jack to be present at this meeting to make sure everyone was alright at his home.
One week ago, Outpost Omega One.
It had been calm ever since Jack left, no one had anything to say about it, no one wanted anything to say about it.
They couldn't forget the look of betrayal on His face when they actually agreed to sending him to an orphanage.
The silence was heavy, and uncomfortable, but no one had the courage to break it.
He was gone, Jack, the young man they all to some degree grew to love. Sure, they loved Miko and Raf too, but Jack, to go-getter man with a plan and cool head, was gone.
Bulkhead was probably to most worried when Jack split, he was some one who tried to keep an eye on Miko, but he was pleasantly surprised when Miko didn't try to follow them on the next recon mission.
Arcee took it the worse though.
After Jack had left, she had learned that his father was killed a few months prier to meeting them, and for her to have the audacity to ask what could he possibly know about lose?! Primus should have struck her down then and there, she had indirectly hurt her charge…
And she will never forgive herself for it either.
The last few weeks had the team in a very low morale, so low that no number of tears could show just how bad they all felt about turning their backs on Jack.
The boy had just lost his mother for crying out loud! He watched her take her last breath and passed away in his arms. The very least they could have done is make sure he was alright.
But they didn't, and now Jack was gone.
The young man who initially wanted nothing to do with them, was a victim of a war should have never been a burden to him in the first place.
Today was no different than it had been for the last few weeks.
Fowler Called every-once-in-a-while to check up on them, but other than that, there was never much for him to tell them.
Until…
"PRIME! I HAVE SOME NEWS FOR YOU!"
Optimus approached the screen.
"Go ahead Agent Fowler…" the Prime said.
While it's true the Primes are built to never show emotion, Optimus couldn't help it.
When Jack left, he took part of Optimus with him, maybe it was because of how similar they were, maybe he had just grown fond on the boy, regardless he couldn't help showing the pain knowing a friend had looked to him for help and he turned on him.
Jack had gone to a dark place to cope of no doubt, mostly because it would have been what he would do in this case.
And while the thoughts of what Jack would be doing in that dark place had him worried, he was sure that Jack wouldn't do something too crazy.
"I just got a call from the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, he said that he thinks Jack is there in Town!"
At the mention of that name brought forth a life in the base that had not been there in a while, the low morale was replaced by hopes.
Hope, that a friend would be found,
Hope, that a young man could be returned to them safely,
Hope, that someone who they all regretfully hurt could be healed,
Hope, that they could bring him home!
Present day Gotham
Jack drifted around a corner as he came up to the scene, he made sure his badge was on his belt as he hit the breaks and skidded to a stop.
M.E.C.H. had men outside on guard to prevent people from coming in or out, and when Jack made his presents known they dropped their guns and ran inside.
Jack raised an eyebrow at the actions of the men who ran. That was not what he expected from the feared "M.E.C.H"
He also took a note at the lack of police cars around; he highly doubted the cops were this incompetent.
The fight a few evenings ago was proof that they were good.
Deciding it would be best to be prepared for the worse, he went back to the car and popped the trunk.
He pulled out the AR15, charged it, and approached the door with cation.
Keeping the rifle in a low-ready position, Jack opened the door and walked in.
Popping the Rifle up to engage a threat, he was meet with nothing…
Something was off… there was no one here! There wasn't any blood stains or built holes riddling the walls.
Not even the fine smell of gunpowder in the air…
This wasn't a hostage situation…
This was a set up!
"Put the gun down Mr. Darby, we mean you no harm!" came a soft growl from behind him.
Jack slowly turned around to face the Batman.
"Seems my assumption was wrong about you Mister Wayne…"
Jack said in a low voice.
Bruce kept his face in Check.
"Before you ask, it wasn't too hard to figure out… and your secret as well as the rest of the Bat team is perfectly safe with me!"
"What did you assume, that I wouldn't be looking out for you?" the man asked.
"Why would you? You have more important things to do besides looking for Missing Teenager!" Jack hissed.
The man sighed, he expected that answer. And as much as a slap in the face as it might be, He couldn't blame the kid for that thought process.
"I can't blame you for that thought Jack… but when you alone caught the Gotham crime world flat footed, I knew for a fact that I had to keep an eye on you…"
"I can handle myself thank you very much, and if I do die fighting Crime no one I know is going to miss me, I am more expendable than any one on your team, the world doesn't need Jack Darby as I am concerned!"
"Is that why you were so brutal at the police station?" Batman asked.
"Partly…" Jack muttered.
"Let me help you…"
"NO!" Jack yelled.
"…My past will come back to me at some point, and when it does it may kill you and your team."
"My team can handle themselves…"
"Not against my enemies, they can't." Jack said lowly.
"You're referring to M.E.C.H.?"
Jack didn't answer
"…OR that robotic Spider that was there the night your mother was murdered?"
That got a reaction.
"Both…" Jack said.
"Is Miko alright?" Jack asked after a minute of silence.
"She was never here." Another voice answered.
Jack looked at the source of the voice to see a familiar.
"Agent Fowler!" Jack said with a raised eye brow, "this was your idea wasn't it?!" he asked the agent.
"The M.E.C.H. and Miko Holograms were, pulling you out of hiding however…"
"…was mine!" came the voice of Commissioner Gordon who was standing next to Batman.
All of the men had smiles on their faces, and it told Jack that they were all behind him, one hundred percent!
*Gasp* okay I am here and still alive!
Now some of you might have noticed "some" inconsistencies…
And I wouldn't blame you one bit because this story is not meant to follow the timeline; we are familiar with.
Barbara will not be shot in this story, or however else her spine is broke (her being shot Is only one I am familiar with)
And Jack wasn't terribly sloppy about keeping his tracks hidden, no less there was enough residue for the Bat's the track.
The holograms? Were you expecting real people to be used? After what they did to Jack!
Anyway, PM me if you have any idea's that I could incorporate in this story, my updates will not be happening very frequently as I start EMT school in the a couple weeks.
But anyway, thank you guys so much for reading this chapter if you liked it, fav, follow and comment I will see y'all later!