A/N: Here's chapter five, hope you all enjoy. Please leave a review, it would be very helpful to here from my readers and receive suggestions for my story.
Chapter Five: A Clue
"Hello Gotham, just recently the people were silenced once more,"
Christian watched the broadcast on the bat computer along with Eve and Kara.
"Yes, in an attempt to bring down the wealthy pigs that fester our society the true people of Gotham's liberation was thwarted by the self righteous vigilante known as the Batman."
"Where is he broadcasting from," Christian asked Eve, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
Eve activated the signal tracker and began scanning for the coordinates, but nothing came up.
"He's somehow blocking any attempt at tracking him," Eve reported as she kept trying to find where Identity was hiding himself.
Identity continued to speak out on the evening news, "While the battle may have been lost to our enemy good people, the war is not yet over. It lives on as long as the ideal, the meaning, of this fight stays alive. Tonight I will show the disease of Gotham that their continued attempts of keeping the revolution under control will not be tolerated. We will watch as I send a symbol of oppression up in flames on midnight three days from now."
"Why's he waiting," Kara asked as she watched with Christian.
"He's waiting for more followers," Christian answered, "those who feel like they have been wronged by society will join his cause, making his anarchist movement even more difficult to defeat."
"I am the liberator, we are the liberators my friends. We grow in numbers for we are a belief, one that cannot be stopped."
The feed cut off. This was the third address Identity had made this week, what was he planning.
"What could his target be?" Christian asked himself, racking his brain trying to think of possible targets. Identity hated the established order; so likely targets would not be at random, rather they'd have to do with wealth, politics, and class.
"He is probably threatening the governor's office. It seems like the next logical step for him," Kara suggested
"I'm sure everyone's first guess would be the governor's office, but Identity isn't stupid," Christian said, searching for all possible targets, "no, he would choose something that no one would ever think of, but would still shake society."
"Do you think he might try to attack the upper class again," Eve asked
Christian shook his head, "Again, Identity is a tactician. The only reason his last attempt failed was because Kara and I happened to be in the same room. If I had been off somewhere else, who knows what could have happened…"
Eve started to laugh, evoking a curious glance from Christian.
"Well aren't you glad I forced you to go to that party Mr. Wayne?"
Christian sighed and shook his head, "Luck isn't reliable, we're going to have to monitor everything, and especially with all the followers Identity is accumulating.
"You have to admit, the man is charismatic," Kara said, re-listening to Identity's speech in her head.
"Of course he is," growled Christian, "He's a man with a belief, and belief is a powerful thing."
"You'd know that better then anyone," Kara remarked with a small smile.
Christian just grunted and continued to search through the possible targets and calculate what the most likely one would be.
After a couple minutes of waiting patiently, the computer finally loaded up three possible matches; the courthouse, the brand new GCPD building, and… Wayne tower.
"Eve, I want you to alert the staff to double security at the tower," Christian told her as he typed up a message to warn the police of Identity's other possible activities.
"What reason should I give them," Eve asked as she created an email to send to the board.
Christian thought for a bit; he could probably get away with just saying he was worried about a threat from the new terrorist movement.
"Just tell them I'm taking some extra precautions, just in case anyone tries an attempt on my life."
Eve nodded and sent an email to the security board, telling them Christian's orders. While she sent the email, Christian typed in an anonymous letter to the GCPD saying, "Identity has possibly targeted your headquarters and the courtroom, heighten security but do not tell anyone."
"That should do it," Christian said, getting up from his chair and stretching out, "All we have to do now is stay vigilant and watch out for any suspicious activity."
He knew that catching this man would be difficult, but now that he was one step ahead, he felt confident. He might even be able to get some sleep.
"Hey Eve, what time is it?"
Eve checked her watch before heading back upstairs, "Five in the morning."
Never mind.
Christian yawned walked over behind his changing board. He pulled of the cowl shook and ran his hand through his hair in disgust. The sweat had matted his dark brown hair against his head; he really needed a shower. He pulled off his Kevlar suit and put on sweatpants and a tank top, cringing whenever he touched one of his many bruises. In all the nights he had spent for past week chasing leads and criminals, trying to find some sort of clue as to where Identity was. The whole week he had found nothing, nothing at all. No matter how many activists he beat and sent to the hospital, no one actually knew where the guy was.
When he finished changing, he stepped out from behind the board and looked over to Kara, who was in her normal cloths.
"How did you change that quickly?" Christian asked as he walked up to the main floor with her.
"Lots of practice," Kara answered
Christian opened up the door for her, letting the lady through first. Those manners Alfred had taught his dad had never really died out. The two walked into the kitchen, where Christian pulled out a container of orange juice poured it into a cup. Kara sat at the small table in the middle of the room and let out a big, unladylike yawn.
"So, are you going to be leaving or are you staying for breakfast?" Christian asked as he took a sip from his juice.
"If you don't mind I think I'll stay. Jimmy has a meeting with your publicity board today so I've really got nowhere else to go," Kara answered.
Christian nodded and pulled open the fridge and looked through to see if he had anything she might like. Everything was ordered perfectly, just how Eve liked it. Unfortunately for him, Eve was the one who usually prepared his meals, but she had requested the day off. Christian figured he would give it to her after all they had been through lately.
"You can't cook, can you," Kara laughed, walking over to him.
Christian blushed in embarrassment, causing Kara to laugh even more. After she had her fill of enjoyment at his expense, she reached over and grabbed two eggs from the fridge. She turned and grabbed a frying pan and placed it on the stove, then cracked the eggs over.
"Don't you need a fire or something," Christian suggested, giving a curious look.
"Who needs fire when you have heat vision?"
Kara shot thin red lasers from her eyes and heated up the pan, which caused the eggs to start cooking.
"I learned that trick from Clark," she said, grabbing the pan and flipping the eggs over, "It saves gas money, but I'm sure that's not much of a concern for you."
"It's not like you're living off table scraps," Christian commented sarcastically
Kara stuck her tongue out at him, "Hey I grew up on a farm, and I know what it's to not be rich!"
"Mhm, tell me, how much are those emerald earrings?"
Kara reached up and touched the two beautiful gems, "These was my first anniversary present from Jimmy. I've always wondered how he knew they were my favorite…"
"He knew because I told him."
Kara took out a spatula and picked up the eggs, putting them on two plates. As she handed one to Christian, she asked, "Really? How did you know that?"
"We used to date, remember?"
Kara laughed, "Oh yeah."
When Christian and Kara were both finishing up their time in Star City University, they had started dating a bit, but it had ended unceremoniously. That memorable date was in December, just before Christmas. They were walking through the park on a cold night.
-Flashback-
Kara huddled close to Christian as the two walked through the snow-covered path. They were both completely covered in thick coats and pants, the air was so cold that their breath was almost solid. The snow was falling down in large flakes, making the park a beautiful winter wonderland.
"Christian, how about next time we just go to a restaurant or something instead of walking out in the freezing cold," Kara joked, pushing herself against him.
Christian smiled as he put his arm around her, "If you think this is bad, you should see Gotham, it's this freezing half the year."
Kara giggled and kissed him on the cheek, "You Gothamites seem to be resilient to everything around you."
"Well you have to be, with the Batman gone crime has gotten to the point where it's best just to ignore the man getting mugged next to you."
"Christian, that's terrible!"
Christian laughed, "Well Gotham still has its upside. I love the city, just not what its become."
The two reached the bus stop and sat down on the cold bench. Of course, the metal seat was freezing, causing Kara to shiver even more. He didn't know at the time that she didn't even feel the cold, but was just acting that way to be close to him.
"Hey Kara, what are you planning to do after college?"
Kara thought for a bit, then answered, "I'll probably get a job at the Daily Planet like my uncle. That's what you're going to do right?"
Christian swallowed nervously. He had to tell her sometime, now was as good as ever. "Kara, I'm going to be moving back to Gotham."
"What do you mean," Kara said
"Kara I'm sorry, but my Dad has been stress related heart problems and needs me to take control of the company as soon as possible," he tried to explain to her.
Kara glared at him and asked, "When did you find this out?"
"… a month ago…"
Tears started to well up in her eyes as she stared at him in disbelief, "I don't believe you. All this time, you were planning to break up with me for a month?"
"No, no Kara it's not like that. I… I just can't leave my family like that. I know I told you that we'd live together after college, but it's just that things have come up!"
Kara glared at him and yelled, "Fine, goodbye Christian!"
Christian tried to stop her, but she just shoved him off and stormed off in the snow. As he watched his last serious relationship walk out on him, he tried to keep his composure together. He wasn't going to cry over just another woman. He was not.
-End of flashback-
"Those were crazy times," Kara said, taking a bite out of her eggs.
Christian wouldn't act as if Kara was the biggest what if in his life. What if he had stayed with her, maybe he would at least have some happiness.
"Hey Christian, do you think it could have ever worked between us?"
Christian turned towards her and saw she was being completely serious. Good, he needed to get this out of the way so he could move on.
"No, I don't."
Kara seemed a bit taken aback by this, but continued to pursue the question, "Why not?"
"Because I need Batman, and Batman can't have a relationship. I don't know what I would do if I lost someone else because of my mistakes. Plus, don't you have a boyfriend already?"
"I was just asking hypothetically," Kara quickly responded, as to protect her image.
Christian laughed resentfully, "of course you were."
The two finished their breakfast quietly, no one daring to break the awkward silence that lingered around them. Christian watched Kara try to mask her emotions and shook his head slightly. He knew he still cared for her, but caring was a weakness that his enemies would not share. Kara would only end up being a distraction, hell she already was. He needed some time alone.
Christian stood up from his chair and walked out, leaving his dirty dishes and Kara in the kitchen as he walked to his room to wait, wait until the night came.
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Batman stood atop the old Gotham clock tower, watching over his city. Using a various phone taps and voice hacks that Eve had set up; he was able to listen in on most of the Identity movement's activities. The night air blew against him, causing his cape to billow in the wind, surrounding him in what looked like a veil of darkness.
There were so many involved now, so many misguided people joining this terrorist's cause. If he could find just one lead on Identity, he could crack down on him fast and hard. His nights of surveillance had proven frustratingly fruitless, though.
"You heard the words of our leader, just grab the stuff and leave."
Batman's eye's widened. People with possible direct connection to Identity, this could be a huge lead!
He spread his cape and took a deep breath, then jumped of the tower. After a couple seconds, the cape stiffened, allowing Batman to glide towards the noice.
"Eve, put the location of that conversation up on my cowl's monitor," he growled as he tipped to the left, swooping past an office complex.
Eve responded over the radio, "Alright, just give me a sec… and there. You should have the location."
Batman observed the small tracker displayed on the left hand of the screen. It seems that the followers were trying to get into one of the Wayne Tech storage facilities, specifically the weapons storage.
Changing his direction towards the storage, Batman tilted hard right, spiraling around a radio tower and over a strip mall. The buildings and traffic below him sped by as he flew over them. Though he would never admit it to anyone but himself, he loved that part of the job.
As he got closer to his location, he noticed a news van was following him below.
'Crap,' he thought 'I've got to get rid of them before they ruin my element of surprise.' With a GCN truck following him, Identity's followers were sure to see him coming from a mile away. Getting rid of this truck was going to require some fancy flying.
Batman shot out his grappling line and attached it to the corner of a nearby building. As he approached the corner quickly, he let his cape go flaccid, causing him to swing in a sharp turn around the building. Once he turned the corner, he used his momentum to jump back into a glide, expanding his cape once again.
He looked down and saw the GCN truck was still hot on his trail; they weren't giving up that easily. If he wanted to escape, he was going to have to disappear completely.
Batman spread his arms out and tilted upward, causing him to fall behind the truck and out of its light.
Once he had escaped its light, he dove sideways, skimming over the rooftop of a small apartment complex.
Batman could smell the awful stench in the air, the thick smoke choking up his breaths. He was definitely in the narrows now. The sounds of the voices started becoming louder and more defined as he got closer to the source, gliding low to the ground so he wouldn't miss it.
"You should be coming up on the group about now," Eve warned him
Batman scanned the area as he glided by and spotted four men in Identity masks. One was holding a large crowbar, trying to pry open the large doors of the building they were breaking into. Another was holding a large duffel bag, filled to the brim with dangerous plastic explosives, set to remotely detonate by the looks of it.
"This doesn't match," Batman reported back to Eve, "All of Identity's crimes have been against the upper class or political figures; nobody like that lives in the narrows…"
Batman looked towards the large, half unlit, neon sign over the building. "Gotham Fisheries," he read to himself, "This is the old fish factory, what the hell would…"
Then he suddenly remembered; the old fishery was part of the drug trafficking operation Antonio Falcone ran. They must be trying to put the gangster out of commission!
The door finally opened with a large cracking noise, as the lock on the door broke off.
"Lets go," the masked man with the explosives, whispered two his group. Three of them ran inside with him, leaving one to stand guard at the door. Now was his chance.
Batman glided down silently behind him and wrapped his arms around the man's neck. As he was being choked, the masked man tried to cry out, but couldn't get a sound out. Finally, he slipped into unconsciousness and was pulled to the side by Batman.
Quietly, he snuck inside and grappled up to the rafters, where he watched the three men.
"Watch me while I unpack these explosives," barked the one with the duffel bag, pulling out one of the bombs and placing them next to a support column. His two friends pulled out pistols and began searching the room for any possible intruders.
"Watch out especially for the Bat too," the man yelled again as he placed another explosive, "He won't interfere with our liberation any more!"
The two armed men nodded and continued their search through the room.
Batman singled out one of the men first and focused his attention on him. His hand was shaking as he held the flashlight, an obvious sign of fear.
Jumping to another rafter, Batman continued to follow him. When he was closer, he could here his teeth chattering and smell the sweat pouring off his body. Batman waited patiently until he was in a position where no one could see the take down, then he struck.
With speed and ferocity, Batman jumped down on the terrified man and slammed the bottom of his boot into his jaw, cracking the joint. The man held his mouth as he whimpered in agony, trying to back away from the looming dark knight. Batman picked him up by the collar and slammed the temple of his head against his armored forearm, knocking the masked man out.
"I heard it from over here!" yelled the other man nervously.
Batman quickly hid around the corner and activated his sonar vision, watching the other man walk closer towards the body. He could see and feel Identity's humble servant's heart racing, pumping rapidly with fear.
As the man got closer, his breaths became louder and more sporadic, his movements more dire and sharp. Finally, he reached the fallen body and called over to the leader of the operation.
"Man down! Man do…"
Before he could finish, Batman jumped out from around the corner and kicked the gun out of his hand. The man charged him with a knife, trying desperately to at least get one stab in on the menacing creature. Batman shifted to the side, blocking the knife with his armor-plated gauntlets, then retaliated with a quick jab to the shoulder. The punch connected with the nerve bundle perfectly, causing the man's strong arm to go limp.
"AHHH!" the man yelled as he swung a left hook with his only good arm. Batman held his forearms up and blocked the punch, then grabbed the man by the wrist and bicep. With a violent twist and a jerk, the Dark knight broke his arm, causing the masked servant to fall to the ground in agony.
As the Batman picked up the man to knock him out cold, he heard a voice call, "Hold it Batman!"
He turned around and saw the masked ringleader of the operation holding up the detonator to the bombs he had just spent time placing everywhere.
"Drop him and walk away or this whole place goes up in flames with you," he demanded, holding the detonator in plain sight.
Batman dropped the bloodied man and put his arms at his sides, causing his cape to fall around his front.
"That's right Batman, now just walk away!"
Batman pretended to step back, but unbeknownst to the triggerman, he was slowly reaching for a batarang behind his belt.
"Keep going," warned the triggerman, probably smiling smugly under his mask.
He pulled the batarang out of the back pouch and slowly pulled it out. One shot, that's all he had to stop this man. Batman took a deep breath and focused on his single target. Time seemed to slow around him as he pictured the perfect speed and trajectory he would to throw the batarang at to eliminate the threat. Then, in one swift movement, Batman pulled out the batarang and threw it towards the man. The projectile hurtled through the air with a whizzing noise and sliced the detonator in half before the triggerman had the chance to click it.
Before he had time to process what had happened, the bat tackled him with the force of a train. The man hit the ground with a crack, breaking three of his ribs on impact.
"GAHHH!" he screamed in agony as the Batman stood up and looked down at him, emblem glowing violent red.
Forcefully, Batman grabbed him by the ankle and began dragging him out of the compound. He had had enough of this, enough of this organization's games. He was going to get answers no matter what it took.
"What, what are you doing?"
Batman didn't answer, but continued to drag him out of the building and on to the streets. He then hauled the masked triggerman over his shoulder and shot a grappling line up to the nearest building and ascended up along with the screaming man.
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"AHHHHHHH! DEAR GOD PLEASE PUT ME DOWN!"
Batman stood on the edge of one of the tallest office complexes in all of Gotham, dangling the beaten Identity follower from his ankle over the edge.
A thousands spotlights were focused in on them from below. Millions of police cars and news vans surrounded the building, reporting on the Dark Knight sighting.
"Don't tell me what I want to know and I just might!" growled the Batman, beginning shaking him a bit. The man continued to scream in fear as his coat and some pocket change fell to the sidewalk far below.
"WHERE IS IDENTITY!" Batman snarled, making sure the man knew just how serious he was.
"I-I don't know!" the man sputtered, trying to save his hide
Batman's eyes began to glow white with anger, the emblem on his chest burning brighter then ever before.
"TELL ME!"
"Please, PLEASE, I don't know!" he whimpered,
Down on the ground, police commissioner Carmen had just arrived on the scene. As she stepped out of the car, one of the policemen approached her to report the situation.
"Johnson," she barked, "just what the hell is going on here!"
"It's the Batman, he's dangling a man from his leg from this office building. It's causing a media riot," Johnson explained, almost as if he was out of breath, "The news has been swarming police so we haven't been able to formulate a proper response yet."
"God damn media whores," Jenna grumbled to herself, "SOMEBODY GET ME A LOUD SPEAKER!"
As she waited for her request to be fulfilled, one of the reporters approached her along with his camera group. Jenna groaned as they closed in with their armada of microphones and recorders, nothing would ever get done with them around.
"Commissioner Carmen, George Ryder here, what do you have to say about the current predicament," the reporter asked
Jenna glared at the camera and told them clearly, "I think that I'll have you all taken in for interfering with an arrest if you don't get those cameras out of my face."
Obviously unfazed by the commissioner's threat, George Ryder continued, "So are you saying that you're finally going to arrest the Batman?"
Finally, somebody brought her a megaphone, along with a group of ten policemen.
"Thank you officer, now could you get these reporters out of here?'
The group of policemen herded the upset news teams out of the area as Jenna put the megaphone near her mouth and started to yell into it, "Batman, release your hostage to us unharmed immediately!"
Batman looked down as the man began to laugh with relief.
"Haha Batman, the police are on you now! You're gonna have to put me down!"
Batman was getting fed up with this man's unwillingness to talk and the police pestering him. At least he attracted the news, just as he planned. He wanted Identity to see this, see his grip over this deluded man ripped away.
"Batman, put the man down!"
Batman took a deep breath, and then threw Identity's follower off.
The people from the bottom watched as the screaming man plummeted quickly towards the ground. Jenna was so shocked by what had just happened, she dropped her megaphone and just stared. Every news team was making sure to milk every second of this moment, keeping their lights trained on the falling man.
Right when he was about a few inches from the sidewalk, so close that he could see the gum stuck to it, his decent was halted. Everyone watched as the man was then pulled rapidly back up to the top of the building, still flailing and screaming.
When he reached the top, Batman ripped off his mask and grabbed his hair violently. The man had dark brown hair and multiple cuts across his face, probably just some lonely scum that had found Identity on the Internet. Batman pulled him in so the fanatic could get a good look at his terrifying, infuriated eyes.
"I'm going to ask you one more time," he growled, making sure he heard every word, "Where. Is. IDENTITY!"
The man couldn't take it anymore and started to spill over all the information he had, "I swear to God I don't know him personally. He contacts his followers with jobs through a messenger; h-here's the route she takes!"
The man handed over a sheet of paper, which Batman grabbed and placed in one of the pouches in his utility belt.
"Enjoy your stay in prison," Batman told him, dropping the man, who was whimpering and blubbering, on the roof. Spreading his cape out, he jumped off and glided away from the building, just as the police busted through.
Jenna walked out onto the roof and looked over to the sweaty pathetic lump that was once a hardened criminal. She walked over to the babbling man and looked him over. He had three broken ribs, a broken ankle, and severe psychological trauma; there was no way he would be helpful to the identity investigation. Damn it Batman! "Isn't it great? For a second I thought Batman was actually going to kill him," Johnson said happily, putting handcuffs around their new convict's hands.
"He still took things to far," Jenna told him angrily, "I've never heard or seen anything like this! The Batman left this man a broken shell of a man, it's going to take years to put him through enough therapy to testify in court!"
"But Commiss, I thought you liked how Batman did things," Johnson asked in confusion.
"I respected him for his beliefs, but this is getting out of hand. The way our justice system works, we'll actually need witnesses, not hospital patients!"
Jenna stomped in frustration, then let out a loud sigh. "Set up a crime scene and look for any clues that may lead us to Identity's location."
Once she finished giving the orders, she headed back down to her car so she could review the past case files on Batman. Something was different about him…
A/N: The commissioner is starting to figure out the link b/w the first batman and the new one! Batman finally has a lead! Please review!