A/N: Barely a day has passed since publishing and this story has received more than a hundred views and over a dozen Favorites, Follows, and Reviews. I thank you very much for your praise, your love for the lore, and your enthusiasm to read more. In turn, I will do my best to make this story Engaging and Entertaining for all of you.
Speaking of Reviews, I have deleted a series of Reviews made by an Anonymous User. With all due respect, the reason I've done so was because I found it unintelligible, incomprehensible, and was not any form of review that I am familiar with. If any, it was nothing more than unnecessary babble with some statements wholly not relatable to the story.
I am a fan of the Warhammer 40k and the DC Universe so there was no need for the detailed exposition and I believe that the readers are smart enough to do their own research or read through the story themselves.
With all that said and done, I present to you the Second Chapter.
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Act 1: The Arbitrator
Commissioner Gordon was a man with a high position in society. Namely the Gotham City Police Department. Yet he was someone who hardly does his work from behind a desk as is usually expected of such men. Like many great commanders in history, the likes of Alexander the Great or Erwin Rommel, Gordon preferred leading his men from the front. On the same field as his men and at facing the same dangers that they encounter in the dark alleyways of Gotham. Working his way up in the police force as a detective over the years had him do a lot of leg work as was required. Habits like that get harder and harder to kill as an old man. And that's what got him the front row seat of meeting the Arbitrator the moment the man first step foot in the planet.
Gordon was in a middle of an investigation in Uptown Gotham when the Warp Portal first popped up in space. But neither the Commissioner nor the other officers with him on the case however see any of the sky's lightshow because they were indoors dealing with a locked room murder.
"The victim was a middle aged Caucasian male." Detective Harvey Bullock said to both Gordon and to his record player. "Cause of death was blood loss due to an open slit throat and two gunshot wounds in the chest. No signs of murder weapon or shell casings. Signs of a struggle is visible everywhere except for the fact that there was no sign of any break-ins. Now the question is, how our perpetrator entered the apartment and at the same time how did he get out? Harvey Bullock, GCPD."
"Definitely not from the windows, I'll tell you that." Gordon said as he looked outside The Warp Portal had closed by then. "We're 20 stories up and none of the windows from here can open up. Save for the one in the bathroom. Not a single fingerprint found on the glass either. No gunshot holes on them either."
"You implying that our perp somehow managed to squeeze in through half a foot sized window, killed our victim here, and then squeezed in out through of it and disappeared like nothing happened?" Detective Bullock scoffed. "Now that isn't possible. Unless the mob learned how to train monkeys to do their dirty work for them."
A couple of Officers chuckled at the joke but the Commissioner remained stoic and pondered on the possibility. In a world as crazy as theirs is, something as odd as Detective Bullock's theory is not far from impossible. His train of thought was cut short though when a series of loud rumblings were heard from the other side of town. The other Officers and Bullock heard it too and looked out of the window. Before anyone could ask, Officer Essen came running in past the police tape.
"You have something for me, Officer?" Gordon asked.
"Trouble, sir." Essen replied. "Reports say that two unauthorized and armed aircrafts have made its way into our airspace. They've already wrecked much of downtown and are making its way up here."
"Well that explains the fireworks," Detective Bullock said. His eyes were still glued on the window as he watched the two aircrafts duking it out atop the skyscrapers.
Without a moment to lose, every officer in the room sprang to their feet and Gordon immediately gave them their orders as quickly as he could as he made his way out of the room.
"Take charge of this, Harvey. I want your findings on this case on my desk tomorrow morning." Gordon ordered.
"You got it, chief." The Detective nodded before putting on his signature hat and got back inside the room with a pair of officers.
"The rest of you, with me." Gordon said to the rest of the officers. "Have the other Officers be on high alert in their areas. I want our birds up in the air and keep those aircrafts in full view. But have them keep their distance and do not engage unless fired upon."
The police came running outside of the building and onto their patrol cars past a sea of panicked civilians and scattered to their respective locations. The streets were filled with a chorus of police sirens as they drove off down every direction. Gordon rode in with Officer Essen and raced down the road followed by a couple of police cars. The radio never left Gordon's hand the entire time.
"Operator" The radio answered.
"This is Commissioner Gordon speaking. Deploy Fire Department to the nearest hot zones. Have the others be on standby and ready for deployment if theirs get hit. Have the Hospitals and medical do the same. Also have every police units be on the streets. God knows what people do when thing like this happen. Over."
"Understood. Commissioner. Over"
"Over and out." Gordon said. He then switched the radio to another channel. "Eagle 1. Eagle 1. This is Commissioner Gordon speaking.Do you have visual on the suspects? Over."
"Commissioner Gordon, this is Eagle 1 speaking." The radio in one of the police helicopters replied. "Affirmative. I have visual on the suspects. They are making rounds in 33rd of Truman towards 26th of Roosevelt through a parking lot. Fire department is en route to the area. Over."
"Take this left!" Gordon ordered Officer Essen who quickly complied and turned the car to the next street with an ear-piercing screech.
While the train of police cars were rushing through the alleys and roads of the city. The radio was constantly being bombarded by updates from the her police on the scene and by the helicopter pilots flying above them.
"This is Eagle 4. The suspects are now tearing through 24th of Cleveland. Medical and Fire fighter units are deployed to that location. Over."
A loud explosion was heard in the distance.
"This is Eagle 4. Medical and Fire Fighting units en route to 24th of Cleveland were assaulted by the 1st suspect. Bastard used it for cover against suspect number 2. Jesus Christ."
"I see some movement down there."
"Operator. Operator. This is Eagle 4. Requesting medical assistance in the corner of 21st and 24th of Cleveland. Priority one. Multiple casualties. Get those people some help. We're going down there to assist. We'll evac what we can but send in help now."
"10-4. Bringing down Eagle 4."
"Over and out."
"The hell did they go? All units. All units. This is Eagle 1. I have lost visual on the suspects. They dropped in under the bridge and disappeared from my sights. Anyone else got eyes on it? Over."
"Eagle 3. Negative. 10-10. Over."
"Eagle 2. We have visual. Suspects have flown in to ground level in between the buildings. They are about to go through 18th of Grant. Over."
"18th of Grant?"Gordon asked out loud in confusion.
Essen also gave him the same confused look when she turned to him. Both Officers then quickly turned their sights ahead of them when they heard a faint rumbling noise coming from the street ahead of them. Their car started shaking as the noise got louder. It didn't take long before the first aircraft, the Valkyrie, came barreling down the street towards them. They flew in by no more than a few feet from the ground.
"Stop the car!" Gordon shouted to both Essen and the radio.
Essen swerved the car to the side and stomped on the breaks hard to screech it to a halt. The other police cars behind them did the same but some didn't react so quickly and ended up bumping into each other. Commissioner Gordon and Officer Essen were whiplashed again and again as the police cars collided at each other and piling up down the road. The Commissioner lost his glasses and fumbled around for it on the desk.
"Get down!" Essen cried and pulled the half-blind Commissioner down with her.
The Commissioner would have lost both his career and his head if it weren't for Officer Essen's quick actions. The passing Valkyrie chipped on their car with its wing and tore off its roof with a screech of twisting metal and shattered glass. The hot gust of wind from its ear-piercing engines heated the air around them and almost threw Gordon and Essen out of their vehicle. Their seatbelts thankfully kept them from flying off to the street.
"I think it's passed." Officer Essen said after bravely peaked out of their wrecked car. With a laugh she said. "Guess you owe me a drink for this, Commish."
The Commissioner didn't say a word but instead harshly wrestled her to the foot of the car and held her tight under him. Essen tried struggling to get out of his hold to no avail. And before she could shout at the Commissioner for earning a sexual harassment case from her, the second aircraft came roaring at them, shooting out deafening rapid blasts that whizzed above them. Buildings above them were being broken apart and dropped debris all over them like rain.
Essen held the Commissioner tighter while their vehicle shook violently. The noise became louder as the aircraft came flying in closer. Smoking hot cartridges fell from the beast and crushed the asphalt road as it fell on the street in a messy trail.
Gordon saw that they were as heavy as stones and were crushing chunks of asphalt in the road. He could imagine it leaving large dents on the hood and roofs of the other police vehicles and shattering the windows. His own vehicle would not be so fortunate since it had no roof or windshield to speak off!
As soon as the Vulture soared above their heads, Gordon quickly went on top of the young officer and protected her from what followed. True to his expectations, the cartridge were as heavy as they were hot as one of them fell on his back. Gordon cried out in pain as he felt them burn into his greatcoat. Some even went so far as to burn his skin. He'd later on say that he was thankful that no one heard him scream that time due to the deafening noise going on around them. From the airship's roaring engines, the screeching gunfire, and the clutter of falling debris.
"Are you alright?" Gordon asked the young officer soon as he could finally hear again. The faint whistling sound in his ear quickly went away. He looked to the sky and heard that the two aircrafts were busy with their merry chase somewhere else in the city.
"Yeah. I think so, Commissioner." Essen said as she tried straightening herself out. She was largely untouched by the ordeal save for a sore throat from all her screaming and a shattered eardrum that was trickling down to her neck. "Thank you, by the way."
"I'm guessing that we both owe each other a drink now." Gordon joked as he found and cleaned his glasses.
"Is it a date then?" Essen asked with a grin.
"Get that ear checked out, Officer." Gordon said before exiting the vehicle.
He went over to see how the other officers were doing and was saddened at how they were as battered, bruised, and cut like him. Their cars were all also damaged but not to the point of disrepair - unlike his police vehicle – but all of them were thankfully still able to function properly.
Before he attended to them though, he took a moment to crack his back and grunted as felt the bruises and burns that formed on top of them. He then patted off a few pieces of glass from his coat then picked up one of the cartridges he noticed were on the ground. To his shock, he found it to be as large as a child's arm. He shuddered to imagine the damage the bullet it carried can do to a human being.
It was still warm with some smoke coming out of it but was cool enough to touch. He was surprised to see that the thing was intricately made with many symbols uniformly arranged on it. In the center of it was a carved emblem of a skull and under it was a hand written inscription,
Deus Imperator Vult
Looking around, he found that all the cartridges had these inscriptions. All of whom were made by different hands and each had different phrases written on them. Some were biblical, some were curses, and some were offensive. But Gordon didn't dwell too much on this and quickly moved on.
"Is everyone alright?" Gordon asked while he pocketed the cartridge.
"We're fine, sir." One of the officers said. He had a hand holding on the bleeding side of his head. "I don't think anyone had anything worse than a few bumps on the head. I'm not sure that could be said for some of the boys. They're kinda still in shock."
"Let's - let's take a minute then." Gordon said as he tried lighting a cigarette with his slightly trembling hands. "For the sake of the other Officers. Get a smoke if you got them. In the meantime, I'll figure out what to say to the Mayor about getting all of you guys some helmets."
The other Officers laughed at the joke as they lit themselves a smoke. With a job description that would have you face off not just criminals and mobsters but also costumed villains with unbelievable powers and monsters of nightmares on a daily basis, Gordon knew how as simple as a laugh can lighten ones mood before they come facing off against hell. Even if it was only for a moment.
"I can't believe I'm taking a page out of that goddamn clown's book." Gordon mumbled to himself.
"You said something, Commissioner?" Essen asked. The medics managed to patch up her bleeding ear.
"Nothing, Officer." Gordon said in between puffs from his cigarette. "Absolutely nothing."
The moment quickly ended when Officer Roth came running to him with a radio in hand. Gordon's cigarette had barely only burned halfway through but he quickly threw it away like it was nothing to attend to the man.
"Some good news, I hope?" Gordon asked.
"I-I think so, sir." Officer Roth replied hesitantly.
"What is it then, son?" Gordon cried. "Spit it out!"
"It's The Batman, sir." Officer Roth replied. "Reports say that he has taken down the two aircrafts and they've crashed down in Gotham Public Park in the northern side."
"You heard the man! To those who still have their senses with them and running cars, let's get our asses in gear." Gordon said to the Officers who immediately sprang to their feet. "Deploy auxiliary units and set up a 3 block wide checkpoint around the area. Have all available units converge in the Gotham Public Park. Advise all to be on alert. I want Sniper teams deployed in high vantage point areas. Also call in the fire department to the area. God knows we're expecting something messy when we get there."
"Uh, sir." Officer Roth said. As compared to the rest of the other Officers, he stayed as he was. In front of the Commissioner. "Excuse me, Comissioner. Sir. But there's more."
"I know there is." Gordon replied and looked at him gravely. "Now while the other Officers are busy, how about you just tell me what the bad news is."
"Y-yes, sir." Officer Roth said. "After the Batman took down the two bogies, it got its wings clipped by one of them. Eagle 3 reported that he crashed down in the lake up in the North East Side of the city."
"You new in this Precinct, son?" Gordon asked as he made a motion for the Officer to follow him to his patrol vehicle with Officer Essen.
"Uhm. Yes, sir." Officer Roth replied. Quite unsure of how to answer the question. "I got transferred just a month ago."
"Then let me just to fill you in on something then, Officer." Gordon said in the middle of cleaning his glasses.
"Of course, sir."
"The Batman ain't dead, son." Gordon said with a sincere smile. "Being in the wrong side of a plane crash is just a regular Tuesday for him. He's faced worse and he's survived worse. Now don't worry about it and get back to your partner. We still have a job to do, son."
"How are you sure, sir?" Officer Roth asked. Still unconvinced.
"Because he's the Goddamn Batman." Gordon replied over his shoulder before entering his police car.
"You do know that you put too much trust in the Bat, right sir?" Officer Essen said as she started up the car.
"Nothing to do with trust, Officer." Gordon replied. "This city's gotta know that the GCPD isn't sitting on its asses eating donuts."
"I dunno, Commish. I sure could use a donut right now." Essen joked as she revved up the car's engine and raced down the street.
With a hard left turn, the fleet of police vehicles were now driving down the street next to Gotham Public Park and what they saw there was anything if not shocking. The whole place had already turned into something akin to a warzone with fire and smoke flaring up everywhere. Police who were already in the scene were in the middle of overseeing the evacuation of the area while another group of police were busy keeping a mob of curious onlookers from getting in. A massive black smoke was billowing out from over the tree line and gunfire seemed to be coming from the park's Marble Fountain in the center most area of the park.
Except, there was no Marble Fountain to be found by the time the hill came in their sights. Instead they found the Valkyrie. It had a busted wing and dug itself deep in a fresh nest of scorched black earth. Torn scrap metal with a few flickering tongues of fire were scattered around and burnt bodies were seen lying on the soft grass. Some of them were horrifically still trying moving their scorched limbs in a vain attempt to crawl away before falling still never to rise again.
In the center of it all was a formidable man in black and grey armor with a red colored greatcoat standing defiantly with an iron mace. As if the man looked fearsome already, his attire was also stained with fresh blood, bone, and brains from a man on the ground whose head was smashed to paste. Gordon assumed that the man had done this recently since the red still glimmered in the light and drops of it were seen trickling down to the bright green grass.
The Officers already on the scene were already more unsettled than before. Gordon knew that he had to act fast before things go way out of control.
Before even he disembarked from his 'convertible' police vehicle, Gordon had already began ordering the men to set up a perimeter around the crash site. His revolver never left his hand the entire time. Years of experience dealing with extraterrestrial and other dimensional beings taught him that 9 out of 10, they are bound to be hostile. Evidence by getting shot by them a couple of minutes ago does not give him comfort that those odds are be in his favor.
While the Police Officers were adding the finishing touches to their perimeter, the radio from one of their helicopters reported movement coming from their armored assailant. Every cop who didn't have their gun out upholstered them and ran to cover behind anything that hurts when you knock on it. Even Commissioner Gordon dropped his radio and aimed his sights on the armored man. To their surprise and confusion, the armored man did not make any move to engage them in combat. Instead, the man took off his helmet and knelt with one knee whilst leaning forward to the ground with his blood stained mace.
"What the hell is he doing, Commish?" Officer Essen asked as she got her shotgun ready. "You think he's surrendering?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Keep the Officers on standby while I try to figure out what we're dealing with here." Gordon replied as he reached for the megaphone.
"This is Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department." Gordon spoke from behind the safety of his police cruiser. "We have you completely surrounded. Get on the ground and place your hands behind your head. Surrender now or we will be forced to open fire."
The armored man did not reply nor did he make any move to respond to the Commissioner. He retained his kneeling position didn't move another inch. Seemingly oblivious to everything that was happening to his surroundings.
"Gordon to Sniper team. Send a single warning shot at the suspect, Sergeant. Over." Gordon ordered in the radio.
"Roger that, Commissioner." The radio responded. "Warning shot inbound. Officers, do not return fire. I repeat. Do not return fire. Warning shot inbound. Over."
"Roger that, Sergeant. All officers are on standby." Gordon replied. "No one shoots until the suspect is proven to be hostile. I repeat, do not shoot unless the suspect is proven to be hostile. I don't want to get ourselves into a possible war. Over."
A gunshot was heard from one of the buildings overlooking the park. The bullet struck the ground a foot away from the armored man. This must have had a particular reaction on the man. Gordon and other Officers held their breaths as they watched the man putting on his helmet before standing tall for all of them to see. It looked at them for a moment with its head turning left and right a couple of times. As curious as this was to some, the other Officers were busy keeping an eye on the bloodstained mace and the round shield it was armed with he was holding.
To everyone's relief, the armored man buckled his mace to his belt and collapsed his shield before hanging it on his back. He then placed a finger on the side of his helmet and spoke through an intercom for all to hear.
"This is Arbitrator Nidarr of His Emperor's Adeptus Arbites." The man spoke with a familiar British drawl and his voice was firm with an air of absolute authority. "In the name of the Golden Throne, I assure all of you that I come in peace. I mean none of you harm but not unless you give me reason to. All that I request is to speak to your Commanding Officer so that all that has transpired will be made clear to all evident parties. I await for your compliance."
"What do we do now, Commissioner?" Officer Essen asked.
Her hands never left her gun nor did the other Officers. The possibility of this thing being a threat was still high up in the air. From 9mm semi-automatic service pistols, to Mossberg 590 shotguns, to a few with .357 Magnums, and to the SWAT teams with their AR-15 rifles and MP5 submachine guns, all 80 police Officers from Gotham's Finest had all of their iron sights and scopes were pointed to this 'Arbitrator'.
The ones near the Commissioner were looking at him with concern. Concerned with what card, Commissioner Gordon, would play to deal with this. Even the news reporters pointed their cameras at him since this mysterious stranger had asked for Gordon personally. The whole world was watching this very moment from behind their TV and Computer screens with bated breaths.
"Stand down. All units stand down. Have the Snipers keep an eye on him though." Gordon ordered as he made his way towards the perimeter. "I'm going in. Alone."
He said this to Officer Essen when he saw her making a move to come with him. She hesitated at first but ended up complying and held her ground. The same could be said to the other Officers with them. With a simple nod, Gordon entered the perimeter and started walking up the hill to face this peculiar man.
Working with the Batman over the years benefited Gordon in 3 ways. One was that it helped him rise through the ranks into a Commissioner in the better part of a few years. Second is that it made a difference in making Gotham a safer place for its people. The Third and most important aspect was that it got him used to dealing with menacing characters. Most notable example is the Batman himself. So dealing with this Arbitrator should no more than a walk in the park for him.
Midway up to the top however, the more he started to have second thoughts about that last part. The moment Gordon made the first step on his ascent, he saw the Arbitrator turn its head towards him and never left its gaze at him until he met him face to face in the top. From there, Gordon slowly began to realize that this man was a whole different kind of menacing.
Batman may have emanated fear. Especially when it came to the people close to him. The villains and monsters he's encountered in Gotham emanated terror. But this Arbitrator gave off something else entirely. Dread.
Gordon felt it the moment he got a closer look at the man and got a cold chill crawl up his spine. He was like a demon from another world towering over him as it stood tall with an essence of absolute authority. Its black uniform dripping with fresh blood, its torn red cloak dancing like flames with the passing wind, and its faceless helmet emanating a faint red eye on the right side of its visor looking at him and never blinking. Instincts however were already screaming in his head telling him to take out his gun but Gordon thought otherwise. It took up a lot of effort to hold it all that in.
"I assume that you are the Commanding Officer of this force?" The Arbitrator asked him bluntly.
Gordon snapped out of his trance and blinked himself awake to find the Arbitrator speaking to him. He now found him no more than a faceless man in a curious armored uniform with completely unfamiliar insignias on it. Despite this however, a faint feeling of dread remained throughout their conversation.
"Yes. Yes." Gordon answered quickly. "I am Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department."
"Charmed." The Arbitrator responded with a nod and a serious tone. "I am sure that you have many questions for me, Commissioner Gordon, as do I. With the upmost fervor. But Protocol dictates that debriefings on events and matters such as this must be done in the safety of the nearest Fortress-Precinct or to the office of this planet's Planetary Governor due to the confidential information it pertains. And so I hold. I leave that choice to you, Commissioner Gordon. But I suggest you do it quickly as there is much to discuss. I await your compliance."
Gordon must admit that he was very much caught off guard by how things turned out. He was expecting this man to be anything but cooperative. But here he was, open and willing to collaborate with them for answers. Another surprising thing was what Gordon got out was the Arbitrator's way of speech. As oddly familiar as his accent was, he also almost sounded like a youth. Someone in their late teens or early twenties. These didn't stop him from being any less suspicious of the man though.
"Of course." Gordon finally managed to say. "Of course. We'll…uhm…make for the Precinct then."
"Duly noted." The Arbitrator replied. "Lead the way, Commissioner Gordon. We must make haste."
"Yes. But before we do though, Arbitrator, I'd like to know first just who we are bringing over to the precinct." Gordon asked the Arbitrator sternly. "It'll make me and the other Officers feel more comfortable being around you and it would help make a small sense of trust between us."
"Hmmm." The Arbitrator pondered for a moment before saying. "I will not rebuke you for the lack of trust. But I am surprised that you do not know what an Arbitrator is."
"Oh, I know what that means, son." Gordon replied. "It must mean something else in your planet because I've never seen an arbitrator in this planet murder someone to paste before. In public no less!"
Gordon didn't know what came over him to raise his voice against this intimidating man. He was embarrassed to admit that his temper got the better of him. The Arbitrator's barbarism to the way he killed the men around them and treating it like they were nothing was just too much. It infuriated the grizzled old police Commissioner. This was something that Gordon will not stand for and he says, the hell with the consequences.
The Arbitrator was quick to rebuke him but not about the subject that Gordon was expecting.
"Executed." The Arbitrator corrected.
"What?" Gordon asked in confusion.
"Not Murder." The Arbitrator repeated. "Execution, Commissioner. For their crimes of sedition and heresy, I have judged and sentenced these heretics to death. An act that I have seen to do personally as is required of me in accordance of the will of the Lex Imperialis."
The Arbitrator quickly noticed that the old Commissioner still had a look on his face that meant that his words had just made more questions than answering them. He obviously had a hard time understanding what he had just said. So he set off to explain in words that the man could understand.
"As Arbitrator, I am a representative of the Imperial Law. The Voice of the Emperor's Will. A disciple of the teachings of the Book of Judgement. It is my duty to Enforce Order and Justice throughout the Imperium."
"So you're some kind of…Galactic Police Force?" Gordon queried. Even with the short description, the Commissioner still found so many questions than answers in that statement.
"Affirmative." The Arbitrator nodded after a second of pondering. "Something of that sort."
"Hm. At least you dress better than the other guys." Gordon mumbled as he pictured the Green Lantern Corps. "Let's escort you to the Precinct then so we can get the full story here."
"All Officers, 10-23. Be on standby." Gordon said over the radio. "We're bringing in the Arbitrator back to the Precinct for questioning. Do not treat as hostile. But attend with caution. Prepare a Police Escort."
While the two were making their way down the hill, the Arbitrator tapped the Commissioner on the shoulder. The two talked to each other as they continued their descent.
"A moment." The Arbitrator said. "You said in an earlier statement, 'this planet' and I am curious as to know what this planet is?"
"Earth." Gordon answered readily.
"Earth?" The Arbitrator asked. He tilted his head slightly as though to show the commissioner his confusion.
"Yeah. Earth." Gordon repeated. "Does that…mean anything to you?"
"Hmmm….Earth?" The Arbitrator mumbled to himself for a second before replying "Nothing at all."
"Really? You seemed so worked up about it."
"Yes. I was simply intrigued by the name. Being stationed in the Calixis Sector, I familiarized myself with the names of almost every major habitable planet there. Earth is not one of them. That narrows down my present location at a slight margin."
The Arbitrator chuckled for a moment a bit before continuing.
"I was pondering about the meaning of the name you gave this planet." The Arbitrator said. A small smirk appeared on his mouth. "I must really be in a far backwater planet if you natives would give it a name synonymous to dirt."
"Yeah. It is what it is." Gordon snickered. "But it's all what we got."
"Indeed. In the end, it all comes down to all that we have."
"Now you owe me a question, son?"
"Proceed."
"How old are you?"
Gordon couldn't help himself but ask. He had some guesses and got some hints, but he just had to be sure in the end. The moment he did, he quickly found himself looking at the helmeted Arbitrator eye to…visor. Expecting to receive an answer. To his disappointment, the Arbitrator simply said,
"That's classified."
He said nothing else after that. Not until they made it to the Precinct.
XXXXXXXXXX
Not that far from the scene at hand, the Batman watched everything that had occurred from atop one of the nearby buildings overlooking the park. He arrived too late to the scene due to the distance that he had to cover ever since his plane crashed in the other side of town. Even with the assistance of his Batmobile, it got him to the park just in time as Gordon made his way to meet with the Arbitrator on top of the hill where the Old Fountain used to stand.
A part of him immediately wanted to jump into the fray and engage the perceived perpetrator himself but in the end he decided to stay his hand. He instead remained in his position atop that building. The moment something goes wrong, he'll jump in to deal with it. But till that happens, he will stay and watch, wait, and listen. His earpiece allowed him to eavesdrop onto their conversations and heard everything that the Commissioner and the Arbitrator discussed so as to find something useful about the latter.
Except he didn't. The more he listened the more he ended up with more questions instead of getting any answers to the riddle that was the Arbitrator. The terms that the man said like, 'Golden Throne', 'Lex Imperialis', 'Emperor's Will', and 'Planetary Governor' just to name a few, left him at a loss and left him interested as to know what all these meant.
The Arbitrator and the Commissioner were making for the Precinct when the Robin, the Boy Wonder, appeared behind him. Not that Batman was surprised or anything. In fact, it was almost as though he was expecting the child.
"You have something for me, Robin?" The Batman asked without keeping his eye off of the train of police vehicles making down the street.
"Yeah." Robin said with a grin. "I found it in the other crash site a few blocks back. From the ship that shot you down from earlier."
Robin tossed Batman a small green leather book. It was an old and shabby looking thing with many small tears and scratches. Cluttered yellow papers were sticking out of it with some having burn marks stained on the edges. On the cover was a hand drawn symbol of a two headed Eagle and a pair of Scales with an enclosed fist in the middle.
"The cops were already on the spot the second I started searching. That book was the closest thing I could get my hands on before I had to split." Robin said sheepishly. "It was a split second decision. Sorry."
"Don't be." Batman said with a caring hand on the kid's shoulder. "In fact, this might just have the answers that I was looking for."