Disclaimer: I do not own any characters associated with DC comics
Sorry it took me so long to post this college was winding down, then I went to Daytona for a week in a school sponsered trip and me and 2,400 other college students spent a nice six days getting all kinds of smashed. But regardless here is the second chapter and I should be able to get the rest of the chapters out much faster now due to school being over.
Once again thanks to my Beta MGD for really helping me turn the pile of dung I gave her into something people can enjoy. Like I said last time all questions and comments are appreciated and encouraged.
Chapter Two: Making a List
The next day, Superman, as Clark Kent, pretended to be running down a story on Gotham's mysterious Batman for the Daily Planet by talking to the local reporters. Wally hit the local arcades and clubs seeing what the younger generations knew. J'onn asked local authorities and frequented the older generation bars disguised as private investigator, John Jones. Unfortunately, they all came up with the same result.
"Ok team, time to check in," chimed Green Lantern from the Watchtower's monitor room, "report on what you've found."
"Well, the kids all have the same stories about someone claiming that they saw Batman, but it's all from their friend's friend. I have no firsthand accounts. They all basically agree that it's some myth made up by parents to frighten them," relayed Wally, which was muffled by the hotdog crammed into his mouth.
Superman added, "Most reporters have seen stories about him, but no one has any actual pictures. There are a couple convincing leads, but all-in-all there is just no solid evidence that he exists in the city." Clark couldn't believe the lack of information on this guy, and the fact that the media had absolutely zero evidence on him.
"It appears that the authorities have never seen him clearly according to the men that I talked to, but they have numerous stories of criminals tied up with incriminating evidence waiting to be arrested," J'onn stated. "Most of the men seem to conclude that Batman is probably more of a symbol for a group and not actually one man due to the amount of criminals found in one night. The numbers are too high for one man traveling by normal means to apprehend," J'onn concluded.
"Okay, well that leaves us basically where we started. But based on J'onn's information, we know that we can't rule out that he doesn't have some type of powers," Green Lantern summarized.
"Ok team, it's getting dark. Time to head back and let the girls take over for the night. Get some rest," John commanded through the communicator with a chorus of affirmatives coming from the other ends. Still, John couldn't help but wonder what kind of person Batman was that he effectively evaded the notice of the people of Gotham. Even his own city thought that he was a myth. He hoped that the girls would have better luck finding him tonight and maybe getting a few answers.
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That night, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl flew high over Gotham City each with an ear piece connected to a police scanner on their hips. Both split up looking for some sign of movement in alleys and on rooftops near where crimes were reported. At the same time, the two women also contemplated the crime in the city.
Shayera, who was accustomed to crime on her home planet as a former cop, was surprised but not overwhelmed by what she heard on her police scanner. Gotham was by far one of the worst cities that she had ever personally seen, but she could feel in her gut that something or someone was holding the city back from fully delving into the darkness.
Diana, who was almost in a state of shock over how many crime reports that she heard over the police scanner, had even flown down to stop a couple of intended rapes. In Themyscira, crime was non-existent, and even in other cities that she had visited the volume of criminal activity was almost pathetic when compared to Gotham. She still did not believe that Batman was a force of good and began to think that his presence was the cause for most of the crime.
Both heroines were constantly trying to find ways to catch up to Batman's activities and would hear the numerous reports of thugs found tied to a lamppost upside down. They had both even swooped down to witness these themselves. However, Batman would be nowhere in sight each time they would get to the scene. All they would witness was a couple of cops scratching their heads trying to figure out the best way to lower the prisoners while the perps jabbered in fear over a gigantic bat.
Constantly, they would hear through the night police reports, "Looks like we got another present on the corner of 5th and Sax. They're upside down hanging from a fire escape," and "Jeez, I got four guys in ski masks in the vault of Gotham National Bank tied up and scared so shitless that they ain't even making sense to each other." These reports came in so frequently that, at some points, they were starting to believe that either there had to be multiple people acting as Batman or that he had speed comparable to Flash.
Then, something happened that almost completely erased the notation that Batman was a force of evil from Diana's head. All of the sudden, in the night sky a great beam of light shot up onto the clouds displaying the symbol of a bat. This alone was not very ominous or meaningful, but what followed next completely captured the attention of both heroines. The police scanner went completely silent.
"Wonder Woman, I think my scanner is broken. I'm missing at least three-fourths of the crime reports," Shayera commented over their comm links.
In a voice filled with a slight bit of awe that Diana could not hide, she responded, "I don't think our radios are broken Hawkgirl."
John sitting in the Monitor room playing third party to the conversation quickly asked for a status report, "What's wrong? What are you two talking about?"
It was Diana, who responded first, "A light with a bat symbol shined up into the sky and almost all crime just stopped like they are afraid of who walks the night with them. The people of Gotham are afraid to do any wrong."
"Any sign of Batman at all tonight?" asked Green Lantern.
It was Shayera this time, whose voice answered him, "Plenty of signs of his doing, I've seen over five sets of criminals gift wrapped for the police, but I have yet to see Batman himself."
Shayera's statement was quickly followed up by Diana's, "Yes, this entire night has been completely useless in finding him. It almost has me believing that he does not exist at all. I think we should call it a night and decide on a better search pattern for tomorrow."
"Ok, how about you two call it a night. We can come up with some better ways of finding him tomorrow," Green Lantern concluded.
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That morning, before the girls headed to bed and the men headed out, another meeting was held for a progress report and to develop a new strategy.
"Okay, starting off, what new information did we learn last night?" asked Superman.
"Very little. We suspect that he may have some types of super powers that let him move around the city at an increased pace, but the only thing we can be certain of is that he is remarkable at remaining hidden and frightens the criminals," Green Lantern commented after a quick review of the notes from the previous day, "Also no one seems to acknowledge his existence or can for sure say that they have seen him personally."
"How do we narrow down the list of who he is? I mean those neat gadgets he was throwing around during the invasion can't have come cheap, can they?" Wally stated causing the entire room to look at him with a dumbfounded expression. "What I can be smart too?" he grumbled in annoyance.
Shayera broke the silence, "Flash makes a good point. Those things had to have cost a great deal of money, so narrowing down our list of suspects shouldn't be too hard. It can only get easier when you take in his physical build."
"We also have to take into consideration that Batman may be funded by one of these wealthy people and may not be one of them," J'onn observed.
"So, we go over the elite of Gotham and see who possibly fits the description," Diana concluded.
"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll use some contacts to get the necessary information in order and have it ready for tomorrow morning," said Superman and effectively ended the meeting.
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After twenty four hours of the same results as the previous day, the League reconvened in the conference room to discuss the possible candidates for Batman. In front of each member, there was a series of papers outlining the richest of Gotham with a brief summary, physical description, and some photographs.
"Ok, our first candidate is Giles McCorvin, a 25 year old, who is known for his eccentric behavior and flashy attitude," Superman read aloud.
"Dude's only like 160 pounds, and, unless he can blow himself up with a bicycle pump, there is no way he's our guy," Wally joked.
"Ok, next is Harold Javone, a 36 year old, who loves extreme sports and is into a whole manner of physical practices such as yoga," Superman read down the list.
"I would put him on the list. Physically he doesn't look right, but the armor may be deceiving," Shayera said while analyzing the brief.
"Ok, good. Let's look at some more," Superman said with some enthusiasm now that they started to make some headway.
So, the meeting went for the next hour until a particular name came up that the group had a bit of discussion about.
"Next is Bruce Wayne, 29 years old, probably the richest man in Gotham if not the entire world, known for being a notorious womanizer and quite the buffoon," Superman commented with a sense of personal insight.
"He has the money, physically matches, and seems to be in the right age range. I say that we include his name," Green Lantern remarked.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Lantern. I've seen him once or twice in public when he visited Metropolis, and the only thing I can tell you is that they weren't exaggerating the buffoon part," Superman said with a touch of disdain in his voice.
"The man has a different woman on his arm at almost every party and can't seem to find his own way to the bathroom, let alone be capable of the intellect Batman has. Trust me when I say he's not Batman material through and through."
"He does fit all of the other requirements though," Diana stated for some reason she could not fathom, "Could it not be possible you got the wrong impression of him?"
"No, trust me on this one. If you don't believe me, go look up his name in the news or on the internet. This man is hardly Batman caliber, but don't worry you'll get to meet him at the appreciation ball on Thursday when we have to thank him for helping to finance the Tower," Superman chuckled effectively ending the argument.
"That will also give us an opportunity to look for Batman as a group without raising suspicion of why we are in the city," J'onn stated.
For another hour, names were discussed, finalized, and finalized again until eventually they had a list of six names of Gotham's elite. Completing the list, they would investigate the people at the appreciation ball on Thursday. Satisfied, they finished the meeting. However, after everyone left Diana stayed behind examining the picture of Bruce Wayne in hand with a strange feeling that she could not place when looking at his undeniably handsome features. Even though, he was not put on the list due to Superman's assurance that he was not Batman material. She promised herself that on Thursday she would make a point to investigate him. It was almost as if something about him unlocked a part of her that she did know was even locked away.
Suddenly, her musing was interrupted. "Hey, are you coming to get anything to eat with me, or are you gonna just drool over those pictures all day?" Shayera said with a twinkle in her eye to let Diana know that she was joking.
"Oh, no. I was just checking if we missed anything," responded an embarrassed Diana while getting up to join Shayera at the door. "Lead the way, Sister. Some food sounds wonderful right about now," she stated, but as they were leaving the room Diana couldn't help but look back at the picture of that handsome face one last time.