AUTHOR'S NOTE: New chapters will be released every Wednesday and Friday. Please feel free to give feedback on what you think so far, as the story develops!

While the batmobile was loud and angry, the batwing was a machine of silence and efficiency. It was a stealthcraft, with limited combat specifications, modeled after the WayneTech S-22. It was designed to have minimum airframe weight, yet could achieve altitudes of 50,000 feet, and maxed out at 300 knots. Sleek, slender and black, it easily camouflaged with a night sky using smart-paint technology. And even though it was equipped with a powerful turbo engine, it was one of the quietest aircrafts on the market.

The glass canopy could break away for emergency ejections, and polarized at stealth altitudes. It had radar-shielding capabilities, and a full range of instruments inside the cockpit that allow features such as auto pilot and discharging an EMP. Towards the back of the jet, it was capable of opening up at the bottom, allowing for high-altitude jumps.

Batman jumped into the cockpit, and began turning on the various instruments. "Computer, activate the runway."

Inside the batcave, sections of the floor began shifting as the ramp used for the batmobile widened, and extended the length of the cave. Because of the specifications of the batwing, Batman only needed roughly three-quarters of a mile of runway to takeoff….and he had a large cave.

The engines began to glow, and the plane hummed as it started to pick up speed. Moments later, the batwing was racing down the runway, and by the time it exiting the waterfall, was airborne, skipping off the water only momentarily before it was high enough to clear the trees.

The Iceberg Lounge was located in the Diamond District, which would only take minutes to get to in the plane. As the lounge became visible, he set a return course for the batcave through the autopilot system, and headed to the back of the aircraft to get ready for his jump. He remembered back when jumping used to frighten him...early in his career. But now jumping from less than 10,000 feet was nothing.

His cape...besides being fire retardant and more resilient than most of his suit...also became rigid when met with a strong, air current. This allowed for a low ratio of vertical-to-horizontal movement, enabling him to glide from low altitudes. Anything higher than roughly 10,000 feet however, and he'd have to use a parachute if he didn't want to be killed.

The floor opened up, and the loud rush of the speeding wind assaulted his ears, and the cold assaulted his body. Right now, it was 45 degrees in Gotham. But up here, it was below 20 degrees. Without any hesitation, he made his leap, his cape snapping open as he began gliding to the roof of the Iceberg Lounge.

According to thermal imaging, there was an elevated section of the roof on the south end...only watched by eight guards...and with an air duct. That was his entry point. And on that elevated section's south end, there was a tiered structure, watched above by one guard, and below by another. The rest of the roof was watched by six other guards, two on each end, spaced roughly 100 yards apart. He would take out the elevated guard first.

As he neared his landing, he pulled back, and allowed the wind to safely slow his descent. He landed behind the guard, into a roll, and before the guard could finish turning around, had him in a choke hold. 20 seconds later, he was out.

The air duct Batman needed entry to was on the west end, patrolled by two guards, and visible to the lower level guard of the south end. Which, being above that guard made it easy to take him out. As soon as the south end guard was under Batman, Batman leapt down and knocked the guard out with one silent blow. He used the elevated area as cover, and peered around the corner. As one west end guard moved north, the other moved south, covering each other's blind spots. The air duct was on the north end of the west side, meaning Batman would have to dispatch both, without either the east end or north end guards noticing. Luckily, with proper timing, Batman could manage it.

When the guards were looking in toward each other, they can see behind one another. But as they're walking away from each other, they can only see directly in front of them, leaving everything in the middle as a giant blind spot...if he could take them out quick enough that the east and north end guards wouldn't notice.

So, Batman waited for this precise moment, before he leapt off the roof and gripped the side of the building, shimmying across. The pain this caused from his scrap earlier was distracting, but he could handle it. It was only a bruised rib and a sore neck, and he had dealt with worse. As soon as the guard walking to the south passed him, he launched himself back onto the roof, and choked the guard out from behind. He then sprinted toward the north end, and did the same with other guard.

Now there were four guards left, and he would have to take them all out if he didn't want his presence known. He pulled out a collapsable blow dart gun from his utility belt, and three tranquilizer darts. Again, timing had to be everything. All it took was out gunshot, or even one shout, to put the whole building on high alert.

Before he could take out the north end guards, he had to distract the east end guards, who covered their blind a batarang that emitted a high-frequency pitch, he threw it to the south-east end, which would hopefully catch the guard's attention long enough to take advantage of the other east end guard's blind spot. He'd have to move very quickly, because it wouldn't take long for them to find the batarang, and alert everyone of his presence.

Without wasting a moment, he shot a tranq dart at the north-end guard closest to him, who was walking away from his counterpart. The blow dart gun used an auto-correcting propulsion system that calculated external factors to better guide the darts, following a laser sight. It struck the guard's neck, and immediately, the tranquilizer took effect, dropping him to the ground. Then, he shot another one at the second guard, but it missed. Dammit, wasting time! The longer the distance, the less accurate the auto-correction becomes.

He had only one shot left. He steadied the red dot on the back of the guard's neck, just he was nearing the end of the roof to turn around. Batman shot again, this time thankfully striking him in the back of the neck, and causing him to drop as well.

The north-east guard was aware that the south-east guard was looking for something, and was cautiously standing nearby. Batman delivered a precise temple-strike, dropping him to the ground, and silently charged at the last remaining guard, just as he was bending down to pick something...the batarang... up.

"HE-"

"Don't breathe another word." Batman snapped through gritted teeth, his hand covering the guard's mouth. The guard's eyes filled with terror, but he went to raise his gun anyway. Batman struck the side of the semi-automatic rifle, causing it to fly from his hand, and pulled the man in, bringing him down with a chokehold.

"Chhht... How do things look up there?... Chhht." Came the man's walkie-talkie.

Batman cleared his voice and picked up the walkie talkie. "All quiet."

"Chhht...10-4...Chhht."

It wouldn't be long know before the other guards realized something was wrong. He had to get inside the armory quickly, because even if the Penguin was locked down when they realized he was here, he would be locked down with Batman. Wanting to waste no time, he immediately started for the air duct, and ripped the vent grate off before diving inside.

"Penny-one, get me to the main lobby. I'm in the air shafts." Batman said through his comm-link.

"Start heading east. In about 10 meters, you're going to take a right."

Alfred directed him like this, until Batman was above the main lobby minutes later. In the center of the lobby was a large swimming pool, complete with an artificial iceberg and, often, penguins. But there was also something very deadly in the water when the penguins were in their freezer.

"Got a midnight snack for ya, Tiny." Batman could see through a grate below, where one of Penguin's goons was dragging a dead body to the pool...one of Genesis' men no doubt. He tossed the body in the pool, and it wasn't long before a large set of teeth emerged from the water, snapping the body in half.

Tiny was Cobblepot's pet great white, and he was anything but tiny. To the public that visited his club, it was an exotic addition to a very posh night club. But for those unlucky enough, he was also one of Penguin's greatest enforcers. And considering there was quite a bit of blood in that pool...he had been busy that evening.

Batman activated the 3-D imaging through his cowl, and surveyed the room below. The Iceberg Lounge was large with three stories, and several wings. The bottom floor was the club, with the pool as an aquarium from that level. It was almost completely a dance floor, though there were several bars and a lounge area for guests to get off their feet. Besides guards patrolling, it was nearly abandoned.

The second floor was also the ground floor. The main lobby housed the pool, and a restaurant. The east wing was comprised of slot machines, and the west wing was for table games. They were obviously closed for the night, given the events of the evening. Not even employees stuck around. The restaurant continued onto the third floor, the VIP area, which overlooked everything below. It's where Penguin spent most of his time, if he wasn't hidden away in the back of his club.

Behind the pool, a double set of steel doors led to where Penguin actually made his money. Penguin mainly dealt with arms, but he was known for selling a much more valuable commodity in Gotham: information. Its why he stayed so ahead in the underworld, and why everyone went through him before making a move, because he knew things. As despicable of a human being Penguin was, even Batman understood how valuable that was to his own operation, and he kept many tabs on Penguin for that very reason.

Beyond those doors were several private rooms, where Penguin would have meetings, make deals, torture information out of someone or even engage in high stake gambling. Beyond those rooms was an armory, that also led out to a heavily secured shipping yard. And beyond the armory was Penguin's roost. It's where his most loyal henchwomen- Jay, Raven and Lark- resided, and it's where he spent a lot of his own time as well. Being so deep in the building, it was also extremely difficult to get to.

Batman surveyed the room below him, where several guards were on "clean-up" duty from the earlier assault. It wasn't clear how many of Genesis' men died or escaped, but Batman guessed he sustained a heavy loss tonight. Batman could see double the dead that assaulted his own manor yet to be disposed of yet. Those poor, desperate individuals were brainwashed by Genesis, and sent to their deaths tonight. Genesis had to be stopped.

There seemed to be some kind of electronic pad on either side of the doors, leading to the armory. If Batman had to guess, they both had to be activated at the same time. This would make it tricky, but perhaps Alfred could hack the doors remotely if Batman could insert a flash drive into its operating system. But of course, there were two guards posted right in front.

The other guards seemed busy with their work, distracted. After all, if guards were posted at every entrance, why should the other henchmen be concerned? Behind the pool, Batman would be out of sight, meaning he only had to deal with the two guards. Maybe he could distract them? He would have to get closer.

He kept crawling through the duct, and was halfway over the pool when an alarm started going off, and red lights began flashing.

"The Bat's here!" One of Penguin's henchmen yelled, running to the double doors. "We went and checked on the group that wasn't responding, and they're all unconscious. Found this." The goon showed one of the posted guards something, perhaps a tranq dart. It couldn't have been the sonic batarang...he had picked that up. Just then, the vent dropped out from under him, and he crashed through the ceiling, falling to the bloody waters.

Thinking quickly, he shot his grappling gun, and swung over the pool, landing in front of the double doors, a sharp pain shooting through his injured leg. Immediately, six semi-automatic weapons were pointed in his direction. Cobblepot's face appeared on one of the monitors that served a keypad.

"Batman!" Penguin crooned. "How nice o' ya' to drop in. Unfortunately, we're closed fo' the evenin', and yer trespassin'!"

"I'm just here to talk, Cobblepot."

"Is tha'all? Because six o' me men are takin' a long nap right now." Penguin snarled. "Give me one good reason I shouldn' feed you to me bloody fish right now."

"Genesis." Batman responded.

"Wot was tha'?"

"Genesis. He attacked you this evening… I have information." Batman looked around at Penguin's goons, who despite having him outnumbered, were still clearly nervous. "You tell me what you know, and I'll tell you what I know."

"Blimey," Penguin remarked. "You musta' lost your plot to try and break in like this. But you know wot they say: an enemy of me enemy is me friend. So come on back, and we'll have a lil' chat."

A guard got on either side of the monitor and opened the doors for them, where Raven was waiting on the other side to escort him back. Raven was one of three managers for the club, nicknamed after a bird. Her hair was jet black, her eyes a dark shade of blue. She was dressed in a sleeveless suit with a bowtie. She wore fishnet stockings, and was in a pair of high heels. She was as skilled in martial arts as she was at managing money.

"So nice to see you again, Batman." She smiled. "Come with me. Pull anything, and you'll get shot." She snapped her fingers and with three armed escorts at his back, led Batman through a private room, and then the armory. All the guns were put away, hidden. Otherwise she probably would have never let Batman through to see their arms.

They arrived to Penguin's private parlor, where he sat on the couch, Jay and Lark curled up on either side of him. Penguin was a short, stout man with a crooked nose that resembled a beak. He didn't have much hair, and a pair of small glasses rested on his nose. He wore a large feathery coat, and had a cigar in his mouth. He didn't look like much, but he was one of the most notorious and ruthless criminals in Gotham.

"Whadya think o' me trap?" Penguin asked, standing up and grabbing his umbrella that was perched on the side of the sofa. "Afta' last time, Raven thought it might be a good idea to put sensors and traps in the vents, and how right she wos. Rodent control and al'that."

"How many attacked you tonight?"

"Ya' know Batman, I am always gobsmacked by how down ta business ya always ar'. No drink? No how ya' doin', or sorry for knockin' out those tossers of yers."

Batman didn't respond.

"Fine, a'right. Let's get down to business then. These blokes are the same that murdered the mayor, ya?"

"Yes." Batman answered.

"See, we thought so. Tonight we had just been starting to get busy, when things go ta shambles. These buggers roll in, start firing ever'where. Me guests start screaming, running for the doors. There must'a been 20 o'em." Penguin starts, pausing for long drags on his cigar.

"Element o' surprise gets them pretty far, and they start after me. I'm up top, as I always am, but I've been at this a bloody long time, and no one's getting past me boys."

Batman smirked, knowing he had on several occasions.

"Sod off. Didn' make it too far tonight, did'ya?" Penguin growled. "Anyway, as I was saying. They didn't stand much o'a chance. We sent our guests home, locked the place down, and...politely...asked a couple of their survivors some questions. Find out some bloke named Genesis ordered the attack, some nutter who wanted me blood or something like that."

"Those attackers were innocent people, brainwashed. You went too far."

"O'right." Penguin chuckled. "They threaten me and me guests, and I went too far. I was defendin' me roost, and I have e'ery legal right to do so. Let's skip the morality lesson, eh?"

"Do you know who Genesis is?"

"No, I don't. And if I did, we'd be torchin' his whole operation, as we speak."

"What do you know about the Cobb family?"

"Ah-ah Batman, not so fas'," Cobblepot clicked. "You promised information too, 'member?"

"Genesis is a new actor on the scene, I don't know much, but he's dangerous." Batman started. "The Parks, Crownes and Skowcraft are all victims of his. Tonight, he also attacked Bruce Wayne...unsuccessfully. He has amassed a cult of desperate and broken people, promising prosperity and wealth through the blood of their victims. But I believe it's all a rouse, to tap into some ancient, blood magic."

"Magic? Have you gone bonkers?" Penguin laughed. But Batman looked unamused.

"Well, yer both nutters then." He scoffed at the silence.

"He has to be stopped before he hurts anyone else. What do you know about the Cobb family?"

"The one's that were murdered four years ago?"

Batman nodded.

"Well, Ruben and I were pretty good chaps...he had a lovely wife. Until, well... there was some nasty business 10 or 15 years ago." Penguin chuckled. "Let's just say I saw an advantageous business opportunity, and I took it. Nearly crippled their family, but I'm an entrepreneur, and sometimes that calls for...delicate negotiation."

"We never found their murderer."

"Don't get any funny ideas. I may be a businessman, but I loved 'em like family."

"Funny way of showing it."

"No, it's true. I loved Ruben and Paris, even attended their boy's baby shower, I did."

"You mean girl's." Batman corrected.

"No," Cobblepot said adamantly. "Their youngest, Robert."

"They only had daughters."

"There were blue balloons and everythin'!"

Batman's mind began racing. The Cobbs only had two children… Karen and Kathy. If they had a son, that would've come up in the investigation four years ago...especially if he was the youngest. The girls themselves were in their 20's, and lived at home.

"That's impossible." Batman said, shaking his head.

"I don't give a rat's arse if you believe me," Cobblepot scoffed. "You asked me what I knew about the Cobbs, and I'm tellin ya. Take it or leave it."

"Thanks." Batman said shortly, turning his cape and heading for the door. That was all he needed.

"That's it? Nuffin' else?"

"Well…" Batman stopped at the door. "Stay out of trouble. If I have to come back here, I'm taking you in."

"Bollocks!" Penguin laughed. "The only reason yer not shark chow right now, is because I'd rather you take care o' this Genesis bloke. Show yer face around here again, and we'll give you a proper time. Ladies, show our guest out." Penguin hissed.

"Alfred, send the batmobile. I think I have a lead on who Genesis is."

"Right away sir."

When the batmobile arrived, it was nearing midnight, and Bruce hadn't called Linda to update her at all. Sure enough, when he checked his phone, he had several missed calls and unopened text messages. He called her immediately.

"Oh Bruce, thank God!" Linda sighed in relief, when she answered the phone. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bruce responded. "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. Police had me tied up with questioning."

"You should've let me come with you." Here it came. Now that she knew he was alright, a switch went off in Linda. "I mean, how could you just leave me in a theater by myself?"

"I'm so sorry, but it wasn't safe. If you saw what they did to the manor…" Bruce cringed thinking about his family portrait. "Did you enjoy the rest of the show?"

"No!" Linda shrieked. "I had my driver pick me up, I went home."

Bruce didn't know what to say. "Well, do you want me to come-"

"No Bruce, no." Linda said flatly. "Look, I'm glad you're alright, but I'm going to bed. Alone."

Bruce sighed. "Well, I'll call you in the morning. I love you, Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Bruce."

Shortly after, Batman was back at the batcave. "Alfred, we need to run a scan for any files on Robert Cobb. And these files may be old, something we missed when we investigated the Cobb's murder four years ago...simply because we weren't looking in the right places." Batman said, taking off his cowl, and approaching the computer.

"My word...a family member?"

"And possibly their murderer." Batman responded.

"So the visit with our flightless bird friend was fruitful, then?"

"We'll find out." Batman said, punching the keyboard to his computer.

"Master Bruce, you've had a very long day. Allow me to run the search, while you get some rest."

"Alfred, you know-"

"Please, Bruce. Don't worry this old man. You know I'm more than capable of taking care of this."

Bruce was reluctant, but stepped away from the computer. "Fine, but wake me up as soon as you find something."

"Of course sir."

Batman undressed and showered. As soon as his body hit the bed, it felt like lead. It set in how tired he actually was, and it didn't take long before he was out.

The next morning, Bruce woke up on his own...no Alfred to aid him. He rolled over, and his clock read 10:30. Bruce's eyes shot wide open. 10:30? Why did Alfred let him sleep in so late? He jumped out of bed, threw on a pair of pajama pants, and ran down to the cave, where Alfred was polishing one of Batman's many 'trophies'.

"Alfred, why'd you let me sleep so late?"

"You needed the rest, Master Bruce. And it is a Sunday."

"What did you find last night?" Bruce asked, making his way to the computer.

"First, maybe some breakfast?"

"Alfred." Bruce growled.

"Fine." Alfred sighed. "I found some rather interesting…"

Ring. Ring. Ring. Bruce's cell phone was going off. It was Linda.

"Linda, hey. Good morning."

"Morning Bruce. Look, I need to tell you something."

"Uh-oh." Bruce's heart sank. "What is it?"

"Daddy had to fire a lot of people this morning, I thought you should hear it from me first, since you're a shareholder."

For a moment, Bruce was relieved that was all. But then, her words hit him. "Wait, your father's laying people off?"

"Well, yeah, But it's not like it's a surprise. You know how daddy's company has been struggling. The pay cuts just weren't working, I guess."

"How many are losing their jobs?"

"Across the county? Thousands. Hundreds will be affected here in Gotham."

"And he's breaking the news on a Sunday?" Bruce asked, incredulously.

"Well, he doesn't want to waste anyone's time coming into work tomorrow."

This wasn't good. Thomas Page immediately became a target for Genesis...along with Linda.

"Look, I'm with him right now, he feels just awful about it. He even cancelled his vacation! I should try and cheer him up, but he understands if you feel like you need to sell."

"Linda, that's not what I'm worried about. What about those Genesis freaks? They're targeting companies they hold responsible for stuff like that."

"Bruce, that's nonsense. Daddy's done nothing wrong, it's just a tough economy is all. Besides, we're up here in the penthouse. We'll be fine."

"Stay there."

"But Bruce-"

"Stay there, Linda." Bruce hung up the phone and immediately opened a new tab on the computer. "Alfred, call Gordon. Tell him that Page Oil and Gas may be Genesis' next target."

"Right away, sir."

Bruce then called Lucius.

"Morning Bruce, how are you? Have a good night last night?"

"Lucius, did you find out anything, that I asked you to look into?"

"No sir. As I thought, everything seems to be running per usual. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Thanks Lucius." He hung up and sat in his chair, perplexed. Then why was Bruce Wayne a target? A target he wanted alive? Could it be that maybe Thomas and Linda were safe, after all?

"Gordon says he'll send a squad car to watch their penthouse." Alfred said, coming back to Bruce.

"I've got to get over there." Bruce said, standing up.

"I'm sure Gordon's men have it under control, It may, after all, be nothing. You can do more good here, reviewing the files I found for you."

Bruce took a deep breath, and exhaled. "Alright, tell me what you found."

"Well, it appears your hunch is right. The Cobbs did have a son. But they went through quite the lengths to cover it up, for some reason. I found this birth certificate in the old, backup files of a hospital here in Gotham. Yet, you can't find record of him in the city, or in the hospital's current mainframe."

"Interesting…" Bruce muttered. "What else did you find?"

"Some odds and ends, that confirm he did exist. A yearbook photo, an apartment lease, an article on a philanthropy event the Cobbs attended shortly after his birth."

"An apartment lease?"

"Yes, in the Bowery...with a Perry Santiago. He attended the same prep school that I found Robert's yearbook photo from. Old schoolmate I suppose."

"Where can I find Santiago?" Bruce asked, arms crossed.

"Well, I'm afraid you can't. He died five years ago...committed suicide."

Bruce looked at Alfred, puzzled.

"Oh dear. Master Bruce, look." Alfred pointed at the TV. It was muted, but Bruce scrambled to unmute it when he read the headline.

"-a hostage situation downtown, where oil tycoon Thomas Page, and his daughter Linda Page, are being held by the group calling themselves the Gates of Genesis. Police say things escalated after a group killed two nearby police officers. More officers were called to the scene, and that's when the standoff began."

"It hasn't even been fifteen minutes!" Bruce exclaimed heading straight for his suit. He felt sick to his stomach...Linda was in danger, in the hands of unstable and desperate people."

"I know we haven't talked about it sir, but that painting last night…"

"You're bringing that incident up now, Alfred?"

"It's just… I know you deeply care for Ms. Page. But I would hate for you to lose control like that again." Alfred said sternly.

Bruce nodded. "I understand. Don't worry Alfred."

Batman suited up, and headed for the batmobile. "It's a Sunday morning, of all times to attack. Either Genesis is getting sloppy, which I doubt, or he's closing in on his master plan, and is desperate to finish it with the losses he took last night."

"Be careful sir."

Batman slammed the door to the batmobile, and jetted out of the cave.