Disclaimer: People & places belong to DCU. Plot belings to MarkTwainTwo (Hi!).
Note: Things may or may not turn out un-canon-compliant (maybe to the point of AU). Especially because, in this story, none of the other heroes have visited Gotham or met a Bat...
Another Note: Please excuse my timeline. There are WAY too many factors in the comics and movies and I do not have the patience to sit down and puzzle out the timeline. I stuck to the basic facts (i.e. Tim Drake became Robin after Jason Todd died, etc.), not including the Bats' involvement in different teams like the JLA and YJ and Titans etc... or at least I tried, because this is heckuva confusing to include as many Batfamily members as possible. But anyway, the exact years are completely made up by yours truly. Feel free to let me know if there's anything glaringly wrong that I should fix!
Gotham City
There were always whispers in Gotham. There were always whispers in every city, of course. But Gotham's particular whispers consisted of the movements and alleged activities of local police and criminals, and some whispers that compared the Waynes to piles of pigeon droppings. Those were the usual daily conversations of almost everyone in Gotham, save for the few rich who could afford to compare the Waynes to pig droppings instead. Street rats in Crime Alley muttered about the corrupted police from behind dumpsters, shady men flashed their guns and knives from the shadows and exchanged information as payment for help in robberies, and rumors flew with the college perps who told them as they graffitied and re-graffitied walls and streets and roofs and every other surface they could find.
Then those who were busy trying to find other animal droppings to compare the Waynes to were very suddenly left with only one Wayne with which to compare fecal matter, and then they were too busy offering condolences to the poor devastated eight-year-old boy that they might just be able to trick some money out of. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne's butler complimented them and before they knew it they were shut out of the house with a final sort of sarcastic comment. Before they could find a way back in, whispers were circulating about the eleven-year-old boy having disappeared off to who-knew-where and leaving the upkeep of the estate, money, and company to the butler of all people. And no one wanted to attempt to trick money out of the butler. Eventually, the whispers went back to criminal activity, as they always did.
But what was this? Criminal organizations, drug dealers, even common thugs- suddenly in police custody, suddenly off the streets. They broke out of prison right away, if they even got there in the first place, but it was the principle of the thing. The GCPD had never put this much effort in before, so who was rounding up the crime?
A vampire, said some. A shadow, said others. A demon, said still others. He can travel across the city in the blink of an eye and disappear with a wave of his wings. He never speaks but a few words, and his voice sounds like no human ever could. Some scoffed, and said it was an urban legend, but then they would disappear themselves for a few days, only to come back shaking in their shoes and swearing the Thing was real. And he looks like a man-bat... or a bat-man.
(No one mentioned that the Batman appeared at the same time now-19-year-old Bruce Wayne reappeared.)
Newspapers tried to catch pictures of the Batman, but all they got was the edge of his cape or the tip of his ears. Some managed to get his eyes as they peered out from the darkness, but they were disturbingly all-white. As the Penguin and Two-Face and the Joker and Poison Ivy and Clayface and so many others appeared and filled the streets; and as the Batman put them in Arkham; and as they escaped, and repeat, the Batman became more than an urban legend. He still never entered the light, never revealed who or what he was, but he was real. All of Gotham knew it, but because Gotham protected its own, the outside world continued to view it as nothing more than rumors.
At night, when victims screamed, the shadow of a Bat was seen on the clouds, and they called it the Bat-signal.
One day, soon after Haly's Circus traveled through Gotham, there was a new... something in the Batman's shadow. It would hide in his wings and cackle and chirp. Some said they'd heard it talk and joke and its voice was even more inhuman than the Batman's, like some critter from Hell. Its cackle would haunt the dreams of criminals and hang in the air even after it was gone, but somehow, the children of Gotham felt a little safer when they heard it. It was dressed in bright red and green and yellow, yet it was never seen until too late. It moved with a sort of fluidness that made people swear up and down that it had no bones.
(No one mentioned that it appeared when the whispers said Wayne had taken in that kid from the circus.)
A year later, another shadow turned the Dynamic Duo into a trio. On some nights it was never seen, and on others, a gold bat flashed across the streets and alleys. The newcomer was female, some said. She had long red hair, and her voice was almost human- almost. She laughed with the Robin's cackle and was often seen sitting at the edge of a fight, laughing and cheering as the Duo beat up thugs, though they said her own punch could knock out Bane himself. She could not have been human any more than the Batman and Robin. When the fight was done she melted into the shadows and disappeared without a trace just like the others. The Robin, in its high-pitched voice, called her Batgirl, and so did the newspapers.
Five years passed. Then, the Robin changed. It was more aggressive, and seemed to hurt police almost as much as it did criminals. It was said to be louder and hit harder. It was also said to protect the people of Crime Alley like the Bat and the Robin never had before. It lurked around Crime Alley and the surrounding area, taking out anyone who threatened a street kid. It barely ever pulled its punches.
Plus, there was a new player. It wore black, like the Bat, but it had no wings. It had the Bat's symbol on its chest in blue, and it moved like a dance. It seemed to prefer the escrima sticks that appeared in its hands and struck at unsuspecting thugs. It twirled flipped around and lured criminals and rogues into traps with its laughing song. And even though it didn't have any wings, it flew between buildings, and they called it Nightwing.
(No one mentioned how the Nightwing acted so much like the Robin had at first, or Wayne's other ward.)
Two years flew by, and there were rumors of the Joker out on the streets (again). The news, in between declaring the Joker's last known whereabouts and pelting Wayne with dung analogies, said the Batgirl disappeared from the streets without a trace. Then there was an explosion just outside of Gotham, and Joker was back in Arkham.
But something was wrong. No cackles cut through the night. No brightly-colored but shadow-clad beings fought off the predators in Crime Alley. Robin was, somehow, gone.
The Batman shattered bones that put criminals in hospitals, too broken to think about moving, let alone escape, and they said he was filled with grief and anger over Robin. The Nightwing was heard making a haunting howl on the rooftops in Bludhaven, of all places, and dropping thugs in the prisons of Gotham's sister city. Another player was slowly revealed as the GCPD and other organizations suddenly found their information leaked, and the whispers said that sometimes, a message was left. It consisted of one word- Oracle -and the Bat's symbol.
(No one mentioned how Wayne's second adoptee was also gone, or how the GCPD Comissioner Gordon's red-haired daughter was confined to a wheelchair.)
Not even six months after Robin disappeared, a new shadow was moving around Gotham. Commissioner Gordon appeared briefly on TV, saying it had saved him but refused to say a word. This continued to prove true, as the shadow made no noise, from movement or from words. It had no cackle like the Robin, no jokes like the Nightwing, and no gravelly threats like the Batman. It almost seemed to be a ghost, if not for its ability to touch- or rather, punch -the criminals into Arkham. Before long it was wearing the Bat's symbol in a suit very similar to the Batgirl's.
At first, they called it Batgirl. Then the whispers pointed out the considerable lack of gold boots, and they called it Black Bat.
And out of nowhere, the Robin was back. But it had changed again. Its laughter led thugs and big-time criminals alike into tricks and pitfalls. A news station caught it on camera during a battle with Riddler, and its voice rang out clearly, matching the Riddler's riddles strike for strike. Its punches were more forgiving, the whispers said, but it could get into the most secure facility anyone could think of. The whispers in Arkham said that in the same manner that the Batman's secrets had secrets, the Robin's traps had traps.
(No one mentioned the Drakes and how Wayne ended up adopting their child, too.)
The news stations were barely trying to keep up with what Gotham had taken to calling the Bats and Birds. Batgirl appeared again, golden boots and all, but the hair was blonde and she laughed almost like the Robin had. She spouted jokes and bad puns left and right, and within weeks she wore purple instead of black. The bat was on her chest and the (slightly annoyed) news caught her on video making a pun, and they called her Spoiler. She was seen with the Robin on rooftops, and if Gotham didn't know any better they'd say the two were flirting (didn't it make sense, that the crime-fighting sprees were their dates?).
A new player had started walking around. It acted like a Bat, with a voice like the Batman's, but was often seen fighting the Batman. It carried guns and swept through the criminal underworld, and although its kill numbers were up in the hundreds within a year, the kids of Crime Alley never felt safer. Its head was red and metallic, with slits for eyes, and the whispers called it Red Hood.
Then the Red Hood, quite suddenly, had a Bat on its chest. It no longer was seen facing off with the others, although it was often seen on its own. Its bullets turned rubber. The Nightwing came back from Bludhaven and the two were seen together on several rooftops. The newspeople sighed and tried to catch a glimpse of them on camera.
Apparently, the Bats knew the human middle finger?
(No one mentioned Stephanie Brown and her visits to the Waynes' place.)
Then Robin changed again. It was violent. The words sounded much too old for such a small child, snarls and "Tt"s thrown in with the snarky words. It carried a sword on its back and was seen grinning as it slashed through drug dealers and human traffickers. Despite carrying the R on its chest, it was as violent as the Red Hood (minus the guns, which was the only seeming "rule" of the Batman's that it consistently obeyed), and there were reports of Robin actually murdering criminals instead of tying them up for the GCPD. It's a demon! a reporter said, almost in hysterics, I was just in that burning building, trapped in one of the Joker's plots, and it saved me- but it's terrible! It's a demon! Its eyes are cold and white and its words are sharp and inhuman! And then she could no longer be understood.
It never laughed like it used to, and although it was a Bat, it was visibly at odds with the others.
Robin fought the most with the newest Bat- the Red Robin, which sported two R's on its chest. Most of its face was blank and black, like the Batman's, and it wore black and red. The whispers said it fought with a staff that could topple fifteen thugs at once, and it could appear in a circle of high-alert men with trigger-happy fingers and not receive any wounds. Even its quirk of carrying what appeared to be coffee everywhere, which should have been a human trait, was not. Because no matter how many fights it got in, it never spilled a single drop.
(The media was all over Wayne's ten-year-old blood son, who was on quite a high horse and seemed to have skills to match.)
(But no one mentioned how the Robin's change happened at the same time he appeared.)
No one mentioned the Bats in a voice above a whisper, unless it was in the news.
But everyone started talking when members of the Justice League showed up in Gotham.
Watchtower - Wonder Woman
Diana buried her face in her hands, trying to block out the sounds of Green Arrow and Flash arguing. She could already feel a headache coming on.
"He's obviously some sort of demon or... or, a vampire, or something!" GA said, voice raising a notch. "The Batman disappears into shadows without a trace, and he's got that light in the sky, and have you heard the recordings of the Robin's laughter?" He shivered. "It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Especially Robin. I've heard it's three feet tall but can knock over a grown man with a kick."
"All explained using science!" Flash practically yelled back, gesturing wildly. "Science and urban legends and rumors! He might not be cheery, 'cause he's, you know, a Gothamite, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be a good recruit!"
Superman slammed a fist on the table- using a fraction of his actual power, of course, because the last time he'd used his full strength he broke both the table and a large portion of the floor. That had not been a fun mess to clean up. "All right, that's enough. Green Arrow, Flash, sit down please." They obligingly sat and Diana lifted her head from her hands, relieved at the sudden silence. Superman shared a small smile with her before continuing, "I'm sure that those of you who weren't aware of our reason for being here now know, thanks to the... ah... discussion that just took place between a couple of resident heroes who I'm sure know how to act like adults and not children." Flash pouted, but Green Arrow had the decency to look sheepish. Captain Marvel laughed and Black Canary hid a smile.
Diana stood up. "Now, what you may not be aware of is the exact situation surrounding our meeting. At this point, you will be aware of the Batman's existence, if you did not know before. However, am I correct in assuming most of you have heard rumors and whispers, at best?" She was met with a lot of nods and murmured agreements, so she continued, "A thorough search by myself and Superman has revealed very little more, but as you will see that is part of the reason we must at least meet the Bat." Diana motioned to Hal, who used his ring to project a green version of the edge of Gotham City into their midst. "This is Gotham, the Batman's domain and statistically the most crime-ridden city in the United States and possibly the world, followed closely by Bludhaven, Gotham's 'sister city.' Now, we have yet to make contact with the Batman because we wanted the entire League aware of the situation, since it is surrounded by unknowns. What we have managed to dig up proves this, because most sources seem unsure if the Batman is even a hero. His relationship with the GCPD is best described as on-again, off-again. The Robin is mentioned even less, but from what we can tell, whoever it is appears to be a child. We cannot discount the possibility of some sort of magic in play, so that what looks like a child is really not, but if the Robin does turn out to be a child we also have to consider removing him or her from contact with the Batman. We do not want a child forced into a life like ours." As she spoke, Hal's image formed a picture of the Batman and Robin, although most of it was shrouded in shadow, because they had not as of yet been able to find a clear picture of either vigilante. Hal shut off the images and Diana finished this debrief, and she asked, "Are there any questions?"
There were not, although there was plenty of whispering going on, and Flash zoomed away and reappeared with a plate of cookies. He shoved several into his mouth and mumbled something about burning calories.
After a brief pause, Diana sat down and Clark stood up. "To put it simply," he said, "we are going to send a few Leaguers into Gotham to gather information on the Bat and possibly meet him. I will go as my civilian identity during the day. Wonder Woman will go with three other Leaguers into the outskirts of the city after dark and attempt to contact the Batman and perhaps invite him to meet with the rest of the Justice League. The question of the day, then, is who is willing, able, and suited to enter Gotham and possibly contend with the Bat? I will let each of you think on that for a few minutes. In the meantime, we'll take any questions now."
Immediately, several hands rose. Superman nodded at Flash, who finished his last cookie, swallowed, and said, "Why so many of us?" Half of the hands went down, which Diana took to mean they meant to ask the same question.
Clark nodded again in acknowledgement. "Because we know so little, we can't assume that he won't be hostile. And if he is hostile, we don't know what powers he might possess. We would also be on his home turf, which means he'd have the home advantage. We need to be prepared."