Jim Gordon leaned back in his chair. Thirteen reported violent domestic disputes, twenty nine rapes, and sixty-three robberies. Quiet night, or they were turning the tide. The Gotham PD, the citizens………and Batman. For a long time, the city tried to hunt down the Caped Crusader. But because of him the evil that had washed over the city of Gotham was finally starting to fall back.

Not that it wasn't putting up a fight to maintain its position. The crimes had escalated. Where gangs and thugs had once epitomized the evil that infested Gotham, now it was psychopathic clowns and a pissed off Mother Nature.

To blame all of this on Batman would have been unfair. There were other heroes, and escalation was occurring everywhere. While these other heroes did not have the……..abruptness of Batman, they were also incredibly cocky as Gordon had found out earlier today. Batman had many vexing qualities, and if anyone he had ever met deserved to be cocky, it was Batman. But Batman, while confident, was NEVER cocky. That went a long way to assuaging the feelings of a police force that did not always respect the means that Batman utilized.

Gordon filled his pipe with tobacco and went to light a match, when an odd, deep voice asked, "would you mind not smoking. Its not so much the smoke as other considerations."

Gordon started as the Martian stepped out of the shadows. "You are only the second man to do that to me."

"I am no human Comissioner," stated J'onn. "And I have means that is not available to even your Dark Knight. Which brings me to why I am here."

"If you are here to ask for my help to stop him, I won't do it," Commissioner Gordon said standing up. "I don't care what you do to me. Batman has done to much good for this city for me to betray him to you, no matter who it is that is going after him."

J'onn raised his hands and shook his head at the cop. "You misunderstand me. I ask not for your betrayal, but for your help to save him."

"What," asked Gordon suddenly. "Is he alright? Is he hurt?"

"Physically," the Martian allowed, "he is fine. We are more concerned about his other issues. Right now we are asking him to join the Justice League."

"Of America," Gordon asked.

"Yes."

"He doesn't do cameras, public adoration, and the only time he enjoys the lime light is when it is used project a giant bat in the sky."

"We are aware of that. As surely you must be aware that a presence like the Batman on the team would be more than invaluable to the team."

"You read my mind to pick that up?"

"No sir. You are a smart man, and a leader of men. You know what it takes to make a good team. And you know what the Batman can provide. I can sense that you admire the man, and you think he is one of the best. The Justice League is the best. He needs to be on it."

"Say I agree with all of this. Why come to me?"

J'onn stared at him for a long time. "You represent his fight in Gotham in a way few can, and you are one of the very few he listens to. He has taken an oath to fight for this city, and he would see him joining the Justice League as a betrayal of that promise. However, if you were to suggest that it was permissible, that it could even help his quest……."

"Would it though? I mean honestly, the more time he spends with you, the less he is in Gotham. And Gotham without Batman means a more dangerous Gotham."

"Monks in the Middle Ages said that they were in the world but not of it. Gotham is no monastery, and you are no monk. You know that such threats that we face would are of a global nature and would eventually find its way to Gotham. It is better to stop the enemy before it reaches the Gates of your city."

"I'll do it on one condition."

"Name it."

"The way you are talking you know Batman by more than reputation. How do you know Batman?"

Martian Manhunter paused for a long time before answering. Slowly he raised his gaze until his red eyes met the Commissioner's brown. "When I first arrived on this planet, I was truly alone in a way few human could understand or comprehend. The only think I had to live for was life itself, and I dedicated myself to protecting it. As a result I used my abilities to ferret out information about the beings that now surrounded me.

"I immediately identified those that could do me the most harm. Beings whose skills and abilities could match my own. Those, who in their fervor to do good, might see me as a threat and would attempt to kill me. As a result I ferreted out those beings out and walked among them. I took multiple forms to do this. I was the neighborhood post man. The grocer down the street. A person who walked a dog in the park. I observed, categorized and determined how best to avoid them and, if need be, fight them.

"I mentioned that most humans could not imagine what it would be like to be all alone. Batman is an exception. The first time I met him, I almost passed out due to the intensity of his thoughts. Batman noticed my plight and came to help. The guise I had at the time was of a member of society that would not be……….noticed by anyone. Yet, Batman helped me, without hesitation.

"As I proceded to watch him I came to understand two things. One, in him was a faith and purity of heart that I had seen in only one other. And two, in this man was a loneliness to rival my own…….and I am the last of my kind.

"He is one of the best men I have ever met Commissioner," said J'onn J'onzz. "More than any other characteristic, this is why I want him on the team. Will you talk to him?"

None of these arguments could be refuted in the Commissioner's mind. He was still hesitant, however, to let Batman go. Batman would do whatever he was going to do. However, Batman represented Gotham's fight to reclaim herself in a way few could. Gordon was hesitant to surrender the Dark Knight to the world. But Gotham was not an island that was protected from the rest of the world. And if Batman could help prevent some of the world's problems from hitting Gotham, well Gotham had enough of her own problems without importing others.

"I'll talk to him," said Gordon.

"That's all we ask," said the Manhunter, as he faded from view.