AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, my grammar/spelling errors aside, I'm making an effort to give you guys better quality writing. I'm only starting now to figure out how balance writing my fics with my weekly articles. I appreciate everyone's patience and support while I go through this new exciting period of my life. I now have the real opportunity to actually quite my current my job to write full time once the money starts to roll in.
Just be aware this will leave me with less time to work on my fan fiction. I'm currently winding down the projects I have on here to only three select ones I'm finishing up. I've been busier then ever, but happily so. Again, thanks to everyone for all the reviews, comments, ideas, and constructive criticism. My writing talent started out on here more than a decade ago and has finally blossomed into my dreams finally starting to come true.
Have a good day and enjoy!
Chapter 6
They made their way through airport security with relative ease. Dark ducked his head to hide his face from the security cameras. Pulling his ball cap low over his head as beside him Slade did something similar. Opting for a worn cowboy hat and leather jacket. He also wore an eye patch to hide his electronic eye from common civilians. Dark thought the entire outfit was a bit ridiculous but kept his comments to himself. The last thing he needed was Slade calling out on this target.
They boarded the personal jet Luthor had arranged to take them too England. Both mercenaries had just barely buckled themselves in before the jet took off. Rising up into the open sky with hardly a whisper. Dark sat back in his plush seat pulling out his laptop. Turning it on he began to go through the personal files of one late Bruce Wayne while his partner poured himself some soda.
"You know he has bourbon, right?" Dark asked his eyes flicking over the files. There were files dating all the way back to when Bruce Wayne had first been born. He sighed, searching through the mess for the most recent reports he could dig up.
"I don't drink. You know that. Help yourself if you want. Just be clear headed when the time comes for us to move." Slade said lazily. He had every intention of relaxing during the long flight. Dark wrinkled his nose at the other's tone of voice as he brought up a video. He had hacked into the Justice League system to gain access to it. Right afterwards having to cover his tracks so no one would know he had gained access to the system.
"There you are." Dark murmured licking his lips unconsciously. He pulled up the video onto the full screen. He saw Superman fighting with Superboy, and the inevitable fall of the clone. To the right was Bruce struggling with Dick Grayson. In a surprising show of strength Bruce moved like a whiplash. Breaking the hold Dick had on him to deliver a full sweeping kick which knocked back his former student. Quickly going to the aide of the clone who had fallen.
"Look at this. Luthor said Bruce can't fight anymore, but does that look like a helpless man to you?" Dark asked. He turned the computer around to show Slade. His partner leaned over to study the video for a minute. Reaching over to replay it a couple of times. After a few minutes Slade frowned shaking his head with a sly grin on his face as he sat back drinking his soda.
"Training never quite goes away. He took out Superman pretty well in that fight. Blind and half-starved the original is still stronger than the copy. Do you think he's faking the whole 'helpless' act Luthor mentioned?"
"Dunno. I'm hedging on guessing, yes, Bruce might be doing that. As a means to survive so the clone stays with him. On the other hand not even Luthor is sure what Supes to Bruce. Just that Bruce goes missing for five years, turns up blind, and then the shit hits the fan. Not to mention he has the dog too."
"Please, no fucking Wizard of Oz puns. It's bad enough Supes hails from Kansas without throwing a dog into the mix. Is the mutt from the same place as boy blue?" Slade asked concerned. Dark nodded grimly bringing up a picture of Krypto to show his partner.
"Along with all his powers too. Bruce didn't wait before he cashed in on this. I'm starting to wonder if he just fell off the deep end. Concocted this whole scheme, and then when Supes tried to take him out busted him over too." Dark mentioned frowning as he studied the footage. He minimized the video and began to read up on the files concerning Superboy.
"If that's so, why would Boy Blue kill Wonder Woman? I thought they had a thing for each other."
"Actually, Supes preferred the Flash. At one point I think Wonder Woman was flirting with him, but broke it off when he didn't return her sultry stares. Something about the red, white, and blue makes people think they had a thing for each other. Kind of like one of those couples who dress alike all the gosh damn time." Dark ranted going through the files. He had even been able to access Flash's medical files. There it began to get interesting.
According to the doctor's notes, Flash's broken leg had bruises clearly in the form handprints. At one point his leg had been forcefully broken by applying steady pressure until the bone broke. Flash himself had made no comment on how this occurred. Fingerprint analysis had been taken of the bruises however. When Dark matched them up from the samples he had taken from Superman's fingerprints they were an exact match. Which gave credence to what Luthor had claimed was false about the alien hero being abusive.
Dark rubbed his chin as his fingers hovered over the keyboard. He was sorely tempted to make another search in the files. Ever since his kidnapping Flash had fallen eerily silent. He still fought crime with the rest of the League. At the moment the Justice League had begun to swell its ranks with other members. Their new recruits consisted of famous figures such as the Green Arrow, Cyborg, Black Canary, and a crazy guy calling himself The Question.
While he had been searching specifically for files on Bruce, Dark came across some interesting files. One of them was the correspondence Dick Grayson had kept up with Catwoman. Enlisting her help on the sly to search for Bruce. From what he had read the two had developed a thing for each other as well. There was also a nationwide amber alert on a secret channel for the heroes to keep an eye out for Superboy. Dark thought that was pretty smart. Put the clone up as a menace, find the clone, and you found Bruce Wayne.
Why had no one thought to question Superman himself? He found it strangely odd. Dick Grayson, the current Batman, may have considered the idea. Or perhaps he had set Supes aside as a crazy incoherent man not mentally stable to talk. Regardless, as far as he could tell Dark found he was the only one headed in the right direction.
"Have anything specific in mind when we land in England?" Slade asked calmly. He thought his partner had become strangely obsessive over finding the former Batman. At the same time his interest was piqued to learn the billionaire playboy who turned out to be the Dark Knight. It reminded him a bit of the movie Iron Man where the entire world had been shocked to find out Tony Stark was the hero.
"I'm going to do a bit of surveillance beforehand. I need to make sure when we do this, we do it quickly. He's my mark. I want to be the one to bring him in. Don't you have a few jobs to do there anyway?"
"I do, but keep in mind Luthor doesn't like to be kept waiting. I don't want to be out on the job and your client is blowing up my phone whining about where his clone is. When you need me just give me at least a day's notice." Slade mentioned. Dark nodded his head in understanding falling silent again as he studied the files on his computer.
Unbeknownst to the two mercenaries an equally similar conversation was taking place in the Watchtower. Dick Grayson leaned over a map featuring every country in the known world. The map was virtual and when his fingers reached to hover one of them information on the country would show up automatically. Beside him the newest Green Lantern, Al Jordan, frowned as he studied the map. Tapping his foot like an impatient child as Batman began to mark off each country.
"I'm telling you, we might as well give up. Eight months and we still haven't found shit. You know, you're the only person still looking for him." Green Lantern pointed out. Batman gave him a sharp look the corner of his mouth twitching as if resisting the temptation to yell at the hero.
"Everyone told me to give up when Bruce went missing the first time. He was gone for five whole years. And guess what? He was right under our noses being kept as a prisoner by Superman himself! So don't you tell me to give up. No one has the right to tell me to quit." Batman growled swelling up with anger. Lantern had the decency to at least appear ashamed. Scratching the back of his head as he glanced down at the map to hide his embarrassment.
"Look, I'm just saying a lot of people are kind of….you know, reluctant to believe it. Other than the original seven everyone outside the rest of League thinks you've gone insane. And whose to say your mentor didn't fall off the deep end?" Lantern mentioned. For a long moment Dick was sorely tempted to turn around to punch Al Jordan. He had mastered patience and being calm a long time ago, but ever since he had found Bruce alive his temper grew short.
"That man saved my life. He gave me a new one. Helped me to rebuild those shattered pieces into something meaningful once again. When I was to stupid to figure out who I was he was always right there for me. Bruce never turned his back on me, or anyone in this League. Not even a man he thought was his best friend." Batman growled his voice rising with anger as he spoke.
"So yes, Green Lanter, we are going to find Bruce. We are going to bring him back home. And we are going to help him. Despite what the other's think Bruce is still one of us. Hell, he was the one who built the Watchtower? Who do think designed the security systems we have? Or brought up the idea of there ever being a Justice League to begin with?" Batman demanded unable to stop himself. The Flash and Jonn had just walked in to hear the last part. Both fell silent to listen to their team member finding no reason to stop him.
"Bruce is founder of the whole League! Everyone assumed Superman was the leader because he's easily the strongest person on Earth. Every time things went South though who did everyone turn to for support? Bruce. When the Justice Lords invaded our world who stopped it? Bruce! Who have….you have no right…" Dick's voice shook with built emotion.
Barry Allen came up and silently put a hand on the man's shoulder. Dick turned around to yell at him as well but began to calm down when he saw who it was. Flash and Jonn seemed to be the only other two members of the League who agreed with him. They too had been searching for Bruce just as frantically as Dick was. Combing each country by coming to government officials with requests about immigration into their country. Looking through hundreds of hours of footage for a sign Bruce had passed through the area. Dead ends and false leads doing nothing to stem their determination to find their wayward shadow king.
"Hey, take it easy man. Green didn't know. Come on, Jonn and I wanted to bring you up to date on a few things." Flash whispered into Dick's ear. Shooting one last glare at the Green Lantern he turned around and followed Flash. The trio went into the next room of the ever expanding Watchtower to talk.
"Have you found anything?" Dick asked after a split second. At this Flash sighed closing his eyes he tried to think of the best way to put it. Jonn beat him to the point as he spoke up.
"I'm afraid Mercy is still unwilling to cooperate with us. She has declared if we venture any further into her company she will sue us for invasion of privacy. She has also threatened to sue us for kidnapping if her son shows up in our midst."
"Her son?"
"Yes, Mercy has official documentation stating a boy by the name of 'Connor Graves' is her son. The father is Lex Luthor who has no parental authority over the boy. So Flash and I were forced to leave soon after interrogating her." Jonn answered calmly.
Dick sighed massaging his temples as he tried to think. He had set Tim Drake, the newest Robin in training, to hacking into Lex Corps computer systems. This had proven next to useless since Mercy had just spent nearly a billion dollars changing the entire system. Clearly, the woman who was a former chauffeur was smarter than anyone had ever given her credit for. Luthor had all but disappeared into thin air. There was no telling where the genius had gone after Superman had fallen.
"Did you find any other leads?" Dick asked them. Flash and Jonn shook their heads. A look of remorse crossing Flash's face at the question. Like Dick, the Central City hero felt responsible for Bruce's sudden disappearance. Especially since he had been dating Superman when the kryptonian had gone haywire.
"Sorry, we just haven't turned up anything. We'll keep looking, Dick. We'll find Bruce, alright?" Flash assured him. Dick nodded appreciating Flash being so dedicated to his cause which most other people saw crazy.
"May I ask a question?" Jonn asked. His comrades glanced at the alien unsure of what to say. It was so unlike the Martian Man Hunter to start an unnecessary conversation. Both men nodded waiting for the alien to speak.
"I got a glimpse of what Batman went through when he was being held captive by Superman. His fear is quite…traumatized. A sharp word makes his mind freeze up. When Batman fled I believe he did so out of fear. Would he not try to go somewhere he feels safe?" Jonn asked. Dick frowned mulling the idea over in his mind. He had lost contact with Alfred a long time ago after the butler had moved overseas.
"It's no unusual for victims in Bruce's situation to retreat to a quiet place. They'll usually stick to a room, or a haven, or even with a parent or older sibling if they feel threatened. After Superman coming after him foaming at the mouth for blood I bet Bats was pretty shaken up afterward." Flash mentioned as he stroked his chin. He worked on the police force in his secret identity as Barry Allen. He combed his mind trying to look at the problem with a new angle.
"Maybe Bruce went to Alfred? It couldn't be unheard of. Alfred was there when his parents passed away, right? He was also around when the idea of the Batman was born." Flash said his mind beginning to work. Forcing to look at Bruce as a victim rather than the dark figure he still thought him to be.
"I've ruled out England for the fact it's far to obvious."
"Hiding in plain sight?"
Dick fell silent again as he considered this new idea. He bit his tongue wanting to snap back at Flash for the ridiculous idea. At the same time he had to admit the idea had merit. Perhaps if he sought out the old butler he may have an inkling of where Bruce had gone. After a few minutes he nodded his head slowly.
"It's worth looking into. I know Alfred lives in London. Somewhere, I'm assuming. I can give him a call later. Tell him I need to come over to talk."
"Traveling to a whole other country is quite a distance to go to 'talk'." Flash pointed out. Dick nodded, but his mind was already made up. Just then Cyborg came storming in. One of the newest members wearing a grim look on his face.
"Batman, we have a problem. Arkaham Asylum was attacked." Cyborg stated. Dick turned around the words on his tongue. Wondering what in the world had gone down.
"Authorities just now went up there when no one would answer their call. They were bringing in another patient when the cops got there and found the gates wide open. They thought the patients had broken out again but…" at this last part Cyborg swallowed dryly.
"All of them except one is dead."