Originally posted at the Multiverse as E8: Batman #2 on 3/30/07

Anniversary part 2

Gotham City

WBGK TV presents, a special edition of Gotham's favorite late night program…

TAKING SIDES!

And now… the man who's not afraid to take sides and tell it like it is… ARTURO RODRIGUEZ!

"We have a big show tonight people." Arturo said as he began his newscast. He was wearing a grey three-piece suit, sitting behind a crescent-moon shaped desk with a coffee mug on it. "Vigilantism has been a problem for years, not just here in Gotham, but all over the United States and the World. For years, rumors have swirled in the streets of Gotham about the existence of these costume vigilantes, none more famous and notorious than Batman and Robin, whose existence the GCPD denies. While most accounts have had them on the right side of the law, the recent crime wave to hit Gotham suggests otherwise and that we may have a different Dynamic Duo on our hands…"

Robin's War Journal

Tonight I'm doing some rooftop surveillance. I know I'm going catch some flack from Batman about being out here, but I couldn't just sit around after that yellow journalist smeared our names on TV. My target just went into Chuck's Bar and Grill. I've been there a few times after school, and I can validate the claim they make about their wings being the best in Gotham.

My mind drifts to last night and my daughter. Batman was right to get on my case; I was careless and reckless and have to learn to keep myself under control. It's hard to do with school, Gymnastics, and my feelings resulting from giving up my daughter for adoption 2 years ago. I don't regret doing it. No 14 year old should be nor is fit to be a mother. I got to get better at dealing with it if I'm going to make this city a better place for her.

But I CAN handle it, even if Batman doesn't think so. I'll prove it to him, with everything I got. If this job were easy, anyone would do it, and I know I can. If I can survive labor pains and giving my baby away, then I can handle anything any of the dirtball scumbags can throw at me…

"What are you doing here?" a voice from behind her said.

Welcome back to TAKING SIDES!

"Welcome back. Tonight's topic is Batman and Robin, do they exist, are they on our side, and have they been replaced by a new duo? Here with me is a high ranking officer of the Gotham Police Department who is speaking with us on the condition of anonymity." A flat-screen plasma television lowered over Arturo's left shoulder and he turned to face it. On the screen was a picture of a black silhouette. "First, I would like to thank you for coming on tonight's show, it takes a lot of guts to break rank and do what you're doing. On behalf of Gotham City, I'd like to thank you."

"Thanks for having me." A voice that was heavily disguised said.

"Let's get to it. We know the official stance of the GCPD is that Batman and Robin do not exist, how did they come to that conclusion?"

"It's more of a matter that they can't really prove anything definitively. The GCPD has launched many investigations into the reports of Batman and Robin, and ultimately, there was no conclusive evidence to determine if they exist. Most of the eye-witness accounts come from people whose credibility is suspect. We're talking about the homeless, junkies, prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and most of your typical Gotham lowlifes."

"You said 'investigations', about how many have there been?"

"Well… enough to make the file on them about 800 pages long. We have to look into each case in accordance to our vigilante policy."

"It seems to me that a lot of work, man-power and taxpayer money went into investigating a supposed urban myth."

"I can assure you that the only reason that the 'urban myth' as you put it is the official stance of the GCPD is because all of the evidence that we have collected over the years is all circumstantial, and even if the District Attorney would want to proceed, who are we going to bring to trial? If can't prove concretely that they exist, how are we going to prove who they really are?"

"I see your point, and it's interesting that you're implying that the GCPD actually believes they do exist. Are you saying that that's the case?"

"Absolutely, most officers do believe Batman and Robin exist. The evidence also suggests that there have been different people in those roles, especially now."

"Okay, we need to take a break, but we'll pick up on that thought right after this. You're watching Taking Sides."

Robin dropped her binoculars and spun around into a fighting stance, grabbing her collapsible Bo staff from her belt. Her senses caught up to her reflexes when she saw a familiar charcoal grey costume with a black bat symbol on the chest.

"I asked you a question." Batman said.

"Look," Robin put her Bo staff away and picked up the binoculars. "I know you said to take the night off, but after seeing that jerk drag us through the mud like that, I had to do something. With last night's incident with Stromwell, the connection became obvious."

Batman walked to Robin's side while she resumed her surveillance on the bar. "All four targets were fronts for Stromwell's criminal activity. Any fourth grader with a detective kit could've figured that out."

"So are you implying that I don't know that all of them used to be frequented by a certain nephew of Stromwell's who had been on the run for a while, and who recently reached out to him to no avail and has been seen with a bunch of old friends by the wharf, one of whom is in that bar right now?" Robin looked at Batman and gave him a sly smirk.

Batman gave her one right back. It was something like that that reminded him of her potential and why he chose her to be his partner.

Robin resumed looking into the binoculars. "Our boy is on the move."

"Let's boogey," Both of them reached for their grapples. "And Robin, the next time you disobey me; you're suspended from active duty."

Sidney wasn't someone you would think of a criminal at first glance, or any glance. He barely broke 5 feet tall, wore glasses and clothes that were too big for him and was very clumsy. His crew nicknamed him Bilbo, until they came up with that was catchier in Sid the Squid. He hoped that joining this crew would lead to money and being noticed, but all he ever did was run errands and act as a lookout. They sent him to get a bunch of Chuck's famous wings, a favorite of an old friend of theirs who joined up with them recently. He cut through an alley to get to his car, when his feet got caught on something and were taken out from under him. He started to rise, dropping the two bags full of wings. When he finally came to a stop, he was face to face with a blonde girl in a long red tunic and green leggings.

"Hi." Robin said giving him a four-finger wave. He felt a strong grip grab him by his shirt and soon he was face to face with the Batman and sweating bullets.

"Start talking about Tony Zucco."

We now return to TAKING SIDES!

"Welcome back," Arturo resumed. " We are talking about Batman and Robin. Officer, before the break you said that they exist and its possible that more than one person has taken up their mantle."

"That's correct sir. The eyewitness accounts have described different Batmans and Robins."

"Please elaborate."

"Well, I'll start with Robin. Robin has usually been described as a Caucasian male, estimated between ages 12-16, height around 5'1 to 5'6 and black hair. There was a 2 year gap between appearances of a Robin, during which we believe a new person was trained to assumed the identity."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, Robin appeared to actually get younger and had a completely different fighting style that the original, who was more of an aerialist. Then that Robin seemed to disappear, shortly following the Arkham Breakout, before the current Robin appeared on the scene. A female, ages 14-18 about 5'6 and blonde hair. Not much is known about this one, since we've only had reports on her for only a year running."

"What about Batman? Do you believe that more than one person has assumed that mantle?"

"Yes, we have various descriptions that show significant differences in appearance and styles, plus it's kinda hard to dismiss all of the rumors on the street that the original Batman was killed in action."

"We'll pick up on that after this…"

Tony Zucco and his three other pals were sitting around in an abandoned warehouse along the Gotham Wharf. They were passing the time playing poker and anxiously waiting for Sidney to come back with their food.

"Man, I'm starved." Pauly, a burley man in a Brown Italian suit said. "Those wings are gonna be so good."

"Maybe he got 'im. Oh crap," Zucco said, throwing his cards on their makeshift table, grabbing his hair. "You never shoulda sent that wimp. He'll talk…"

"Calm down Tony," Ralph said. He was wearing a blue suit, fedora and sunglasses. "No one ever suspects Sid. Sit down and play your hand."

"You don't get it man. He's relentless. He won't stop. He's been followin' me around…"

"Yeah, I know whatcha mean." Bobby, wearing a tan suit said, placing more chips into the pot. "Had to rat on a counterfeiter I knew ta da Bat."

"How many times do I got to tell you, it's not the Bat. I'd rather it be the Bat, at least I know he won't off me."

"Maybe he's jus' wearin' a new costume ta throw ya off." Bobby suggested.

"I assure you, I am NOT Batman." a computerized voice said from above.

All four men looked up while pulling pieces out of their sport jackets. In the rafters they saw a red-light illuminating in the shape of an X. They emptied their clips in his direction as he jumped from his perch. He began to twist and turn in theair with a grace of an Olympic gymnast or circus acrobat. He landed in a crouching position on their poker table, shattering it to pieces. Two energy blasts took out Pauly and Ralph, while a rising sidekick took out Bobby who was behind him. Tony Zucco tried to run but was mysteriously held in place. He saw another masked figure descend from the rafters. It was a red-headed female, wearing a black jumpsuit that ended with a blue v-shaped design which left the top half of her chest and shoulders exposed. Her arms were covered up past her elbows by gloves with a blue stripe down the middle of them.

While Zucco might normally gawk at her cleavage, but his attention was now turned to that man standing in front of him. He was wearing a black costume with black cape with grey lining the inside of it. His utility belt was also grey as were his gauntlets, which had a red X on his palm and the back of his hand. Red Xs were also on the chest of the costume and on the grey, skull-shaped mask, and they began to glow.

"Look, Red X, please, I'll give you anything." Zucco pleaded.

"Zucco… I've waited a long time for this, and now I'm finally going to get my payback for what you did."

"Well, if you're talking about the tacky costumes you two are wearing; I totally see your beef." A female voice chirped in from behind. He turned around to see Batman and Robin standing at the front door.

"It's over, give it up." Batman said.

"Holy premature conclusion, Batman. What on earth possessed you to say that?" Red X said as the glow of the X on his face intensified.

TAKING SIDES! Returns

"We're back; we only have a few minutes left, could you tell us about the Batman?"

"Well, most accounts of Batman were consistent for ten years or so. After the Arkham Breakout, Batman was noticed sporting some heavy artillery on his costume. While this may have been to deal with all of those psychos easier, there were a lot of rumors that the Batman had been killed during this time and that was his replacement. This armored version was around for a short while, before we started getting reports of the current Batman we have today."

"What about Batgirl, weren't there reports of her during surfacing around the time of the Arkham Breakout?"

"Yeah, but not much is known. She's been seen predominately in Bludhaven since the Breakout, so we don't really concern ourselves with her."

"Is there a possibility that the recent string of crimes have been committed by Batman and Robin?"

"Most of the eyewitnesses have described being robbed by a duo that resembles Batman and Robin, but…"

"We are out of time," Arturo interrupted the officer. "Thank you for coming on the show officer."

"My pleasure."

"Join me tomorrow night, as I'll have a blue ribbon panel to discuss the influence of Batman on vigilantism here and around the world. This is Arturo Rodriguez, not afraid to take a side. Good night Gotham."

To Be Continued…