Kim Possible and all related characters are the property of Disney Productions

Batman and all related characters are the property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers Entertainment

The Unstoppable Batman

Issue 7: The First Pt. 1

"Come on guys hurry it up." A voice cut through the relative silence of the alley as the lookout continued to swivel his head back and forth from one end of the alley to the other. He took a moment from his watch to turn back and look at his two compatriots who were attempting to use a crowbar to pry open a security door.

"Hey Max, just keep watch for anyone and let us worry about this." One of them, Red, responded to Max's request in frustration before returning to try and help the other man break into the building.

Max let out an anxious breath as he continued to look back and forth, he had a bad feeling about that night. He had been reluctant to come on this job with Red and Cloyd, but Cloyd's promise of knowing a nice easy score at a jewelry store had convinced him to go along. And Red swore up and down that he could disable any alarms that might be triggered. A nice easy score.

Now they had been there for fifteen minutes and the two masterminds were still working on trying to get through the door. Max tried to suppress his dread as he kept keeping watch of the alley for any sign of trouble.

Unfortunately for Max it didn't occur to the lookout that he should be looking up as well.

Finally, a loud crack sounded from behind him, making Max jump and spin around.

"Got it." Cloyd yelled in triumph as he dropped the crowbar to the ground and proceeded to swing the now broken door open. Suddenly the beeping of the alarm system could be heard as Cloyd and Red quickly grabbed up their gear, that they had set on the ground while working on the door. "Alright Red you're up shut that thing off fast."

Red grinned. "Relax we got a whole minute to shut it off before it sends an alarm to the cops. We're good."

Suddenly a fourth voice rang out. This one was coarse, deep, harsh and seemed to be coming from all around the alley at once. "No. You're anything but good."

Suddenly the three men began looking up and down the alley searching for the speaker. "Max what the hell you were supposed to be looking out!"

"I was! No one came down the alley I swear." Then the voice spoke again.

"You were looking in the wrong place." This time the voice wasn't echoing around the alley it seemed to be coming from above them. Then as they turned, they heard the sound of leather flapping almost like wings. When they turned fully and looked up, they saw a large black shadow with what appeared to be massive scalloped wings swooping down on them. The three men screamed and fell back to the ground and landed on their butts as the winged figure went over them and landed a few yards away from them.

For a moment the men were frozen looking at the shadowy figure that was crouched on the ground. Then the shadow began to grow taller as it stood up, and as it reached its full height, they noticed that the figure was human shaped with what seemed to be horns coming out of its head. But what unsettled Max must was the glaring white eyes that seemed focused intently on him.

It didn't take long for them to realize what this was. The news had been filled with reports of it for the last few weeks.

It was the Batman.

Cloyd was the first of the three men to recover. Grabbing the crowbar he had just dropped and jumping to his feet. "Back off freak. You don't want nonna this."

Suddenly the sound of an alarm began to blare and the three men looked back toward the store realizing that they had missed their chance to shut off the alarm.

"Get on the ground and wait for the police. It won't be long." The Bat's voice cut through the alarm and reached the ears of the would-be thieves. Cloyd filled with rage at having his score ruined turned and let out a rage filled scream as he ran full speed at the Batman. Max and Red had no chance of trying to dissuade Cloyd before he was already at the Bat.

Suddenly, Cloyd let out a pained sound as the Bat grabbed the arm swinging the crowbar before slamming a fist into Cloyd's stomach. The Bat the twisted around and flipped the thief into the air before slamming him down on the ground knocking him unconscious. The Bat then turned back to the remaining thieves on the ground.

Red reached into his backpack and produced a semiautomatic. Red began to fire at the Bat while screaming loudly. "Get the hell away from me!"

The Batman managed to duck under the two shots that Red was able to get off then the Bat's cape flicked to the side as something went flying out from under it. Red let out a scream of pain and dropped the gun before looking down and seeing two metal shuriken sticking into his forearm. Red tried to kneel down for his gun but before he could even start to bend his knee he was tackled backwards to the ground.

Max watched as the Bat tackled Red to the ground with a loud thud before leaping off him and turning his attention to Max. Max noticed that Red was unconscious and realized that he hadn't even seen what the Bat had done to take him out. Max then raised his head up and locked eyes with the Batman.

There was a beat of silence broken only by the alarm before Max held up his hands in surrender. "I'll just wait for the cops."

"Good." The Bat spoke before turning away from Max and then pulled what he believed was a large gun out. Before Max was able to scream the Bat raised the gun into the air and fired it. Max then watched as the Batman seemed to fly up into the air and up over the top of the building.

Max remained on his butt with his hands in the air waiting and thinking that the cops couldn't get there fast enough for him.


Anne Possible turned the kitchen television to the morning news as she made breakfast for her family. As the Possible matriarch was mixing together a batch of pancake batter her daughter walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass and the carton of orange juice. She poured herself a glass before sitting down at the table across from her father who was going over paperwork.

"Good morning Kimmie." Anne said cheerfully. Hearing his wife's voice James looked up from his paperwork to notice his daughter across from him. He gave her a warm smile before returning his attention to the papers that were scattered haphazardly in front of him.

"Morning Mom." Kim replied as she took a sip of her juice and tried to shake of the remnants of sleep from her brain. "How long til breakfast's ready?"

"A few more minutes sweetie." Anne answered as she began pouring the batter into the hot skillet. Kim turned her attention to her father.

"What you working on dad?" James shook his head for a moment before leaning back and giving his daughter his undivided attention.

"Some designs for a new project that we're working on down at the space center. We've hit something of a roadblock with the design though." James took a sip of a currently lukewarm cup of coffee before making a sour face. He then proceeded to get up and dump the coffee into the sink and poured himself a fresh cup.

Kim began going through her bag and making sure that everything she needed for school was inside as her mother placed a plate in front of her. Anne then set a plate down next to her husband's work and then sat down next to her daughter.

"Got everything you need?" Anne asked as Kim zipped the bag shut and set it on the floor before grabbing the syrup and began pouring it on the stack of pancakes.

"Yep, all set mom." Kim took a bite. "Anything exciting on the agenda for you today?"

Anne took a bite of her own food before answering. "A few procedures are scheduled but nothing to crazy. But you never know what will come up at the hospital. Oh, did I tell you what Doctor Foster said the other day?"

Anne noticed that her daughter no longer seemed to be focused on what she was saying. Anne followed her daughters gaze toward the television. The screen showed the anchorwoman along with an illustration in the corner of a large monstrous bat sweeping down on a group of people.

"The events of last night involving an attempted robbery, multiple muggings and two carjackings. Bring the total number of reported sightings of the so-called Batman to thirty-two in the last week alone. While originally reported as being some kind of demonic creature, recent reports seem to paint the Bat-Man as a more human figure. A recent polling of Triton found that opinion on the Batman seems to be divided between whether a figure attacking criminals in the night is a positive or negative for the city."

Suddenly the sound of the phone ringing cut through the sounds of the television and James quickly got up and went to answer it. Anne turned her head back to her daughter and noted that Kim had a very disapproving scowl on her face. "It's not hard to guess what your thoughts on this are."

Kim turned away from the television and gave her mother her attention. Kim took another bite of her food before answering. "No, I guess not."

"Want to talk about it?" Anne asked as Kim quickly began to finish her food.

"Not really." Kim got up quickly and grabbed her bag. She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and then pecked her father, who was still talking on the phone, on the cheek as she left the kitchen. She shouted out to the family before the sound of the front door opening and closing was heard. "See you guys tonight."

Anne sighed for a moment before turning off the television and returning to her food. She looked up as James sat down with a sigh. Just then the twins burst into the kitchen and began asking about breakfast. Anne got up to prepare the boys plates and placed a gentle had on her husband's shoulder. "Everything okay?"

James looked at his sons sitting at the table before looking up at his wife. "That was Johnathan. Apparently, there's an emergency city council meeting tonight."

Anne let out a sigh before glancing at the now blank television screen. It wasn't hard to guess what the topic of discussion was going to be that night. "I guess it'll be pizza for the kid's dinner tonight."


"How is it possible to mess up pizza this badly?" Ron asked as he sat down at the lunch table in between Kim and Felix. Ron then proceeded to pick up his slice that was stiff as a board.

"You know Ron you ask that once a week. Why do you get it every time they have it?" Monique asked as Felix and Kim both chuckled. Ron shrugged dropping the slice back on to his tray with a thud, sounding more like a rock dropping than food.

"Because it still beats the rest of the slop that they offer." None of the teens could argue with that.

"Why don't you just start packing your own lunch like the rest of us do?" Kim asked taking a bite of a celery stick. Ron crossed his arms before answering.

"Hey if I'm stuck in this place for seven hours a day the least that they can do is give me a hot meal." Ron grabbed a fork and knife and proceeded to try and cut up the pizza shaped brick that was on his tray.

"Hey Kim." Kim and the others looked up to find Bonnie Rockwaller standing next to their table. Tara stood behind her looking dejected as she, much like the others, knew what was coming.

"Hey Bon Bon. What's up?" Kim replied. Bonnie gave a small grin.

"I just wanted to say good job." Kim looked confused for a moment. "I've been hearing about all those muggers and thieves that you've been catching lately."

Kim's eyes narrowed as Bonnie then made a shocked, mocking gesture. "Oh, wait that wasn't you was it. It was that Batfreak. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you that there's some freak in a cape doing your old job."

Kim tried to get up but Monique put a hand on the redhead's shoulder to stop her. Kim gritted her teeth and muttered. "No worries, Bonnie. Besides I'm sure the police or Global Justice will catch the guy soon enough."

"Wait you want him to get caught?" Felix asked.

"He's a criminal. He's attacking people in the streets." Kim responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Actually, he 'attacked' criminals who were in the act of committing crimes." Ron spoke up before anyone else could say anything. Kim looked surprised at the blonde's words.

"Hold up, Ron you're not actually defending this guy are you." Ron's eyes scanned the table, noticing that everyone at the tables eyes were on him.

"Not exactly. But I mean if he's fighting criminals while catching them in the act how is that much different from what we used to do." Ron shrugged, hoping that Kim might drop the subject. Though he knew that was unlikely.

"How is it different?" Kim asked in a mix of frustration and shock hearing this from Ron of all people. "We worked with police and Global Justice. We weren't vigilantes who beat people and left them bloody all over the streets. And we didn't run around in the night terrorizing people."

Ron raised an eyebrow at Kim response. "Okay. I'll give you the working with cops and G.J. we did do that but we were never part of them. We were never had badges or license when we went out and saved the world. So, technically Kim, we were vigilantes. At least to a degree."

Kim tried to argue that point but Ron continued.

"Second, I don't know where you got your info but I've been keeping an eye on the whole Bat situation too." Ron noticed the curious looks from everyone and hastily added. "You know, out of curiosity about the guy who's doing our old job. Back to my point though I haven't heard anything about him leaving people bleeding on the street. Yeah, criminals have been found knocked out but none of them have been brutally beaten."

"Third… Well, I can't fault the last one." Ron admitted scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, we never scared people while we were out there fighting bad guys and saving people. I will give you that. But Batman is also dealing with things that we never really did."

Kim was about to respond when Ron's last words really hit her and made her pause for a moment. After a few seconds collecting her thoughts, she asked. "Wait, what do you mean he's dealing with things that we didn't."

"Kim, when was the last time that we went into Lowerton and stopped a carjacking?" Ron asked. Kim opened her mouth to respond then thought for a moment and closed her mouth to let Ron continue.

"Exactly; we never did." Ron continued, while leaning forward a little closer to Kim. "Yeah, we went out and helped out with disasters and we stopped Drakken, Monkey Fist or Killigan when they tried to pull something. I'm not saying that that doesn't matter, but it wasn't anything that was, like, street level. We didn't go after carjackers or muggers or mobsters and killers. And those are the kinds of criminals and crimes that Batman seems to be going after. And yeah; he might be scarier and seem to be a lot harsher than the way we would have handled things as Team Possible but maybe, just maybe, mean streets need a meaner approach to keeping them safe."

Ron finished and finally looked away from Kim around the rest of the table and noticed that everyone was focused on him.

"Wow. Dude that was surprisingly insightful for you." Felix chimed in.

"I'm almost impressed Stoppable." Bonnie added. Ron laughed nervously and nervously tapped his fingers on the table. He was starting to wish he had kept his mouth shut. He really didn't want all this attention on him, not on the matter of the current subject anyway.

"We didn't where masks." Kim spoke up getting everyone's attention again. "We didn't hide our identities. Masks are for people who have something to hide Ron. Bad Guys hide who they are, not the good guys. Not heroes."

Before Ron could respond Tara broke into the conversation. "What about the Justice Society?"

Everyone looked at the blonde cheerleader with questioning looks on their faces. Tara felt her face flush a little at being the center of everyone's focus.

"Decades ago, there were a bunch of people with powers who put on costumes and masks and fought crime." Tara glanced at Kim when she mentioned them wearing masks. "My grandparents used to tell me about them when I was little. A bunch of them all got together and made a team called the Justice Society."

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about them somewhere." Monique joined in looking up in thought. "There was also this other group called the Freedom Fighters I think."

"Okay but those were a long time ago." Kim argued. "These days are different."

"Umm… what about Team Go?" Felix added. "They were doing the whole hero thing not too long ago weren't they?"

Kim tried to respond but Bonnie interrupted her. "May wanna drop it, Kim. Doesn't look like you're gonna win this little debate."

Kim shot the smug smiling cheerleader a look. Before she could say anything, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. The teens quickly began gathering their things to head back to class. Bonnie walked out grinning with Tara right behind her, Felix and Monique left together heading to the next class that they shared. Ron dumped his tray of uneaten food into the garbage can before looking at Kim who was throwing her own garbage away.

"Uhh… Look Kim, just for the record I wasn't trying to start an argument…" Ron was cut off as Kim quickly turned on her heel and headed toward the hallway.

"It's fine Ron." Kim said with more force in her voice than she had intended but that didn't stop her from walking off. Ron was left standing over by the garbage cans while the last of the other students left the cafeteria. Ron let out a sigh and began heading off to his next class while mumbling sarcastically to himself.

"The walk home tonight isn't going to be awkward, I'm sure."


"You wanted to see me sir?" Will Due asked as he opened an office door and stepped inside.

Sitting at an old wooden desk in front of the Global Justice agent was Chief Angel Rojas. A large overweight Hispanic man with slick backed hair and a mustache that could have used a trim months ago. The chief gestured toward a chair opposite of him, and set down the half-eaten sandwich he had been in the middle of devouring. He brushed crumbs and flecks of food off of his uniform shirt and tie as Due sat down.

"I did want to speak with you agent Due." Rojas started. "I was wondering if you had been able to make any progress on our vigilante case."

Due felt his left eye twitch slightly upon hearing the question. "At the moment no sir. The Batman has proved to be more… elusive than we had originally thought."

"You don't say." Rojas responded. Due wasn't sure if it was his own imagination but he thought he picked up a tinge of smug satisfaction that the Global Justice agent hadn't been able to make much more progress than the police force had. Rojas then let out a sigh. "So, it would be fair to say that you might be staying here with us for the foreseeable future."

"Given the current state of the case yes that may be a good guess." Due wasn't thrilled with the idea of staying imbedded with the Triton PD. He wanted back with Global Justice dealing with global threats, not working the streets trying to catch a simple vigilante. Even if said vigilante was managing to stay ahead of his investigation and Due was almost impressed with him.

Though that was something the top agent would never admit to anyone.

"Well, if you're going to be sticking around for a while, myself and the other higher ups thought it might be helpful if we assigned an officer to work with you for the duration of your stay with us." Rojas stated.

"Sir that really isn't necessary…" Due tried to object to the idea but was quickly silenced as Rojas pressed a button on the intercom sitting on his desk.

"Send him in." Rojas practically yelled into the intercom. Due winced at the sound, thinking that most of the floor had heard that without the aid of an intercom. Rojas leaned back in his chair and looked back at Due. "Now what was that you were saying isn't necessary?"

Due opened his mouth to respond but was stopped by the sound of the door behind him opening. Due turned around to see a detective entering the office. The man looked to be in his early twenties, black with a bald head and he wore a pair of glasses that seemed to hide his eyes. He was wearing a charcoal suit with a black tie with his badge clipped to his belt. Due also noted that this detective was in far better physical shape than Rojas was.

"You called sir." The detective asked. Due sensed from the sound of the man's voice that he seemed to be about as happy as Due was being called in to meet with the chief. Rojas stood up and walked around his desk to stand in between Due and the newcomer.

"I did." Rojas answered as Due stood up. The chief then gestured from Due to the detective. "Agent Will Due of Global Justice meet Detective Cornelius Fillmore."

Due and Fillmore shook hands and exchanged a quick hello with one another before Rojas continued. "Good now that you are acquainted; Detective Fillmore you will be assisting Agent due in the investigation of the Batman case. You're to focus only on this case and giving the agent your full attention and support. Are we clear?"

Due's eyes darted between the two men for a moment noting the look of smug satisfaction had returned to the chief's face but was now directed at the detective. He also noted the furrowing of Detective Fillmore's brow and the tightening of his jaw indicating he was about as happy about the situation as Due was.

"I appreciate the thought sir but I assure you that I don't require any…" Due was quickly cut off by Rojas.

"Now you two get out there and bring in this Batman." Rojas sat back down at his desk and picked his sandwich back up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work that requires my attention."

"Sir…" Due tried one last time to object but was interrupted.

"Dismissed Agent." Rojas said firmly, fixing Due with a harsh glare as he took a large bite out of his sandwich. Due felt his anger beginning to rise, he was far from happy with the situation. However, as Global Justice's top agent he was a man who was used to following orders even if he didn't necessarily agree with them.

"Yes sir." Due nodded to the chief and proceeded to follow detective Fillmore out of the office. The detective then motioned for the agent to keep following him as they made their way through the maze of desks, dodging the detectives, officers and perps that were all mingled throughout said maze.

Finally, they came to a small rickety old desk with paperwork piled up all over the top that was seemingly shoved into a corner of the squad room without much thought. Fillmore sat down in the rusted folding chair behind the desk and Due pulled up an equally rusted chair to sit across from him. The two sat in silence for a moment before Due spoke.

"No disrespect intended detective but I don't actually require any assistance from you." Due stated matter of factly. Fillmore adjusted his glasses before nodding.

"I'm sure you don't but if you didn't put it together this pairing is more about messing with me than it is with giving you help." Hearing the detective say this made Due curious. He gave the detective a look that Fillmore took as Due wanting him to continue. "Rojas has had it in for me almost since the day I transferred here from Minneapolis."

"What exactly did you do to get on his bad side?"

"I did my job." Due raised an eyebrow. Fillmore continued. "My fourth day here I caught a nineteen-year-old kid driving drunk. I collared him and put him in lockup. Then Rojas calls me up and tells me the kid is the son of a very wealthy family that donates a lot of money to the department and the city. He asked me to drop the case and let the kid off with a warning. He said to think of it as a boys will be boys situation."

"I didn't like it but I was going to do it because it was an order, even though he phrased it as a request. When I went to see the kid and let him loose, he started shooting his mouth off. Asked if I figured out who he was, who his family was and how dumb I was for arresting him. That level of entitlement got to me so I kept the charges on him."

Due nodded. "Sounds like the kid needed to learn a lesson before he hurt someone?"

Fillmore nodded. "Yeah… Too bad he never got the lesson. Next day at arraignment the prosecutor told the judge they were electing to not pursue charges due to lack of evidence. The dashcam footage from my car disappeared and so did the results of the breathalyzer test. Kid was grinning at me like the cat that ate the canary as he walked out of the courtroom."

Due turned his head and narrowed his eyes focusing on the door to Rojas office. "And since you disobeyed the chief and tried to press charges on the rich kid it put you on his shit list."

Fillmore nodded. "Since then, the only cases I get assigned are the ones that are considered nuisance work. Civil complaints and the like. Rojas keeps me as far from real police work as he can."

"Why not take it up the chain of command?" Due asked turning back to the detective.

"They're all just like Rojas. More interested politics and keeping rich folks that donate money to the department happy." Fillmore then leaned forward.

"Why did he stick you with me then?"

"I can think of a reason." Fillmore said holding up two fingers. "Honestly, he isn't a fan of having another agency coming in and taking a case that he thinks should be his. Which is essentially what G.J. did. And he knows sticking me with you is going to annoy the hell out of you."

Due stayed quiet on that point. Global Justice had inserted themselves into the vigilante case, not been invited in. And he had to admit if another agency had inserted themselves into a case of his he wouldn't have been too happy about it. He certainly wasn't any of the times that he had worked with Team Possible in the past.

"Though I will admit that going after this vigilante is the first real case that he's given me in years. So, I'm not entirely opposed to working it." Fillmore finished.

Due sat in silence for a moment thinking before asking Fillmore. "Are you up to speed on the case?"

Fillmore reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a large folder filled with papers. The top corner tab had 'THE BATMAN' scrawled on it in blue ink. "I've read it and from what I can tell you haven't got a whole lot to go on."

Due sighed. "True. We know he tends to be most active between the hours of 10 P.M. and 4 A.M. That he targets criminals in the process of committing crimes, focusing mostly on Lowerton, presumably due to its higher crime rate. And he leaves almost nothing at the scenes for us to find. During the first few nights he was active we found a few shuriken at several scenes but now nothing."

"He learned to start picking up his toys before he leaves." Fillmore deduced.

Due tapped the folder. "He's getting better every night it seems."

The two men were silent once more. After a moment Due stood up and began walking toward the elevators. "Well, no point sitting around here. If you're going to tag along then come on."

Fillmore gave a small laugh under his breath before grabbing his jacket and getting up to follow the agent.


Ron stood over the table in the treehouse methodically going over his utility belt. It was a ritual that Ron did every night before going out on one of his patrols. Making sure the belt was stocked and inspecting his equipment for any signs of wear and tear.

After finishing his inspection Ron looked up to the window and cautiously moved the curtain to the side ever so slightly. He peered out and looked at the Possible home he could see some lights on in house and thought he could barely make out some movement from the windows. Ron felt the curtain move slightly and he looked down to see that Rufus had jumped up on the desk and was looking out as well.

The mole rat turned up to the teen and asked. "Kim?"

Ron let out a sigh as he let the curtain fall back into place as he walked back toward the couch and began taking his clothes off. Rufus began following his friend still somewhat concerned, he had noticed that Ron had seemed just a bit off after arriving home from school that day. Rufus was wondering if something had happened again between the blonde and the redhead.

"It's nothing Rufus. At least I don't think it is. Kim is just a little miffed at me." Ron told Rufus as he pulled on his suit. After several weeks of wearing the suit nightly it was beginning to feel like a second skin to the teen. Ron then began putting his boots on. "Kim and I just had a bit of a… disagreement at lunch today."

"Hnk, fight?" Rufus asked as Ron knelt down to tie his boots.

"Not a fight necessarily." Ron clarified as he finished one boot then switched to the other. "Bonnie brought up Batman doing K.P.'s old job today at lunch trying to mess with her. Kim went off on this thing about how Batman is a criminal and he needs to be caught and stopped. And I may have jumped in and defended myself. Well defended Batman anyway."

Rufus gave the teen a questioning look asking without words why he did that. Ron sighed as he stood up and made his way back to the table, picked up his belt and fastened it around his waist.

"I don't know Rufus. I probably should have let it go. Cause you know I am Batman and me jumping to the defense like that might be a clue. But I don't know when Kim said that I, err Batman, was a criminal that should get locked up I just couldn't help it." Ron said as he strapped the holster for his grappling gun to his right thigh then quickly holstered the gun itself.

"I mean the thing is I do get why Kim's frustrated." Ron continued pulling on his gloves. "Batman is basically doing Kim's old job. The job that she, that we, had been doing since we were in middle school. It's kind of hard to blame her for holding a bit of a grudge against me, uh him, for that."

Rufus nodded in understanding as he watched Ron attach the cape to the suit. Ron then picked up the cowl and stared at it for a moment deep in thought.

"You know Rufus the truth is I started doing this because I wanted to keep helping people and make a difference but honestly… I love being Batman." A small smile appeared on the teens face. "The night, the danger, the thrill. I mean I still want to help people and everything but I can't help but enjoy it you know. I get to be this dark, mysterious hero prowling the rooftop and alleyways, swooping in stopping the bad guys, saving people and everybody goes home safe. Or to jail in relatively good condition in the crook's case."

Ron smiled for a moment before turning and nodding to the mole rat. "See you when I get back buddy."

Ron lifted the cowl up and placed it over his head. Rufus felt his little heart beat a little faster, even after all these weeks there was still something that happened when Ron put that suit on that put Rufus just a little on edge. He knew that it was still Ron under that mask but something about him changed when he donned it. Not just his posture or his mannerism; he stood taller and straighter, he spoke less and he seemed much more serious. But there was something more that happened that Rufus couldn't place.

As if he radiated an entirely different aura when he was in that suit than he did when was he wasn't in it.

With the mask in place Batman turned to face Rufus. Giving the rodent a small nod before heading over to the trap door, lifting it up and dropping down. Rufus scampered over to the door and looked down to catch a glimpse of him but Batman was gone.

Rufus then went to the window and peeked out to see if he might catch sight of his master. But he couldn't see him. So, Rufus returned to the couch and curled up on a cushion to wait for Ron's return.


"Alright ladies and gentlemen, now that old business has been settled it's time that we move on to the main item of tonight's agenda… The Batman that has been operating in Triton for the past several weeks."

Upon saying this the chamber, packed with people began speaking at once. The loud mixture of voices was indecipherable and was giving Anne Possible a headache. Anne was sitting in the crowd next to her husband and the Stoppables her attention on the meeting going in and out. She pulled a couple of small aspirin from her bag and took them with a bottle of water.

Martha Stoppable then leaned over and asked if she had any more of those, which Anne gave to her friend. Neither couple were thrilled to be at this meeting tonight but attendance was said to mandatory for this one.

"My friends please, one at a time." The man at the podium said raising his hands to silence the crowd. The crowd hushed in seconds and then he continued. "Thank you. Now the issue at hand is what actions should be taken regarding this new vigilante. Now the floor is open."

Several in the crowd raised the hands to show they had something to say. The headman looked at the hands for a moment before pointing to a large woman in the crowd.

"I'm not sure why this even an issue that needs discussed." The woman said seemingly annoyed. "I thought this whole vigilante debate was settled after that Diablo Night fiasco months ago."

The room was filled with murmurs of agreement and dissent before the headman pointed out another member to speak his mind.

"This is different in several key ways my dear. First this Batman isn't some teenager answering calls for help off a website and bumming rides off anyone they can. Second this vigilante is targeting run of the mill criminals, not maniacs with advanced technology and no common sense. Third Kim Possible was essentially endorsed by the city, even if unofficially, while Batman clearly is an outside agent acting on his own."

"What difference does it make whether he's endorsed by the city or not?" Another man chimed in.

"It means that if he screws up badly that it can't reflect back on us. Like it did on Diablo Night." More murmurs quickly filled the room.

A new voice spoke up. "Also, we need to look at this Batman thing in the long run. If the police or Global Justice are able to take him down soon then that's that. But if he's able to keep out there and active that gives the people of Triton, particularly Lowerton, a hero. Someone who's out there watching over them and making them feel safe."

"And the safer they feel the more content they are." Another voice added.

"And fewer questions that they would ask." Thomas Stoppable muttered under his breath, just loud enough that his wife and the Possibles were able to catch it. Soon the room became filled with voices arguing back and forth.

"These hero types do tend to be good for tourism it could..."

"Forget tourism what about…"

"… about when he starts going after more than just muggers and dealers…"

"Two sides to everything friends…"

Anne and Martha both could feel their migraines growing worse as the cacophony of voice grew louder as the talking ceased and the shouting began. They knew that this was coming. Batman's appearance had ruffled a lot of feathers in the few weeks he had been prowling the night. It was doubtful that they would reach any definitive decision about the vigilante.

For now, they were just stuck listening to the chaos.


Elizabeth Kelley set her pencil down next to the notebook and textbook on her kitchen table and stood up. The young brunette had been studying intently when the sounds of her daughter screaming reached her ears. The seven-month-old baby had woken from her sleep and needed her mother's attention.

Elizabeth walked into her bedroom, flicking on the light, and over to her daughter's crib. She gingerly picked her daughter up and began to sing softly to try and get the girl to calm down. This didn't seem to be working so Elizabeth checked and found that she didn't need a new diaper.

"Are you hungry sweetie?" The mother asked as she walked through the apartment and into the kitchen. As she pulled a clean bottle from the drying rack, she noticed that the baby seemed to light up a little seeing the bottle. Elizabeth gave a soft chuckle. "So, this is what you need."

The mother quickly went to the cupboard to grab the formula mix but as she pulled the box out, she noticed how light it felt. "Oh, no."

Looking inside the box confirmed that there was no more formula in it. She looked back up in the cupboard trying to see if there was another box up there. There was nothing but junk food.

Elizabeth sighed in frustration; she had asked her aunt when she went shopping this afternoon to pick up more formula. But apparently the older woman had forgotten. Elizabeth took a deep steadying breath to calm herself and reminded herself that it was a simple mistake. Her aunt was nice enough to let the single mother and her daughter live with her rent free so she shouldn't complain too badly.

The baby began to cry again, reaching her little arms out for the empty bottle not realizing that there was nothing in it. Elizabeth looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly eleven thirty PM. Her aunt was at work and being on third would not be leaving until six in the morning.

Elizabeth gently bounced her daughter for a moment in an attempt to quiet her down. The baby quieted down seemingly appeased for a moment by the bouncing and her mothers voice but Elizabeth knew that this wouldn't last long. So, with another sigh and more gentle cooing to her daughter she quickly went back into the bedroom and began to change her daughter's clothes.

She quickly changed her daughter into warmer onesie and gave her a pacifier and wrapped her in a purple blanket with stars. Elizabeth then briefly set her daughter back in her crib, just long enough to get her own denim jacket and sneakers on. There was a small bodega a block over where she would be able to grab her daughter some formula.

After getting dressed Elizabeth picked up her daughter and grabbed her keys. Locking the door behind her as she stepped out into the hall of the apartment complex then starting down the stairs.


"Hey you freak get me the hell down from here!" The voiced echoed around the alley as an overweight middle-aged man in a dingy suit hung upside down from a street lamp. The man was hanging by his ankles which were tied to the street lamp by a tight cord while two other men, younger in their twenties, were unconscious on the ground. The man's scream was aimed at a dark figure now opening the trunk of the man's old Ford sedan.

The Batman opened the trunk and then proceeded to dump the contents of the vehicle on to the ground. Several assault rifles and over a dozen semiautomatic handguns were soon heaped into a pile on the ground. The Batman then gave the man a dark smirk.

"I'm sure you have all the paperwork to prove that these are legal." The man thrashed around in frustration before realizing that it was futile. He stopped with a huff and held his tie to his stomach as it kept dangling in front of his face.

"Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Pretty sure I don't have to tell you that." Suddenly the man heard the sounds of sirens approaching a few blocks away. Batman's smirk remained as he pulled out his grappling gun and aimed it at the roof of a building.

"No… But you will be answering to them." Batman fired the grapnel line which quickly latched onto the edge of the roof. Just as he was about to activate the grapnels winch the man let out another scream.

"You think they're gonna hold me long? You know who I work for? Oh, ho ho. When I tell Mr. Falcone about this, you're gonna wish you never crawled outta whatever hole you came out of." The man said with a smug sense of satisfaction. Hearing this Batman paused for a moment before moving his body slightly to adjust the angle the grapnel would pull him up and then hit the trigger. Quickly Batman was winched into the air and toward the building and toward the man tied to the pole.

The man let out a scream of fear at the sight of the Batman rocketing toward him and raised is hands up to block his face. But Batman went up over the man and stopped the line just as he reached the top of the pole. He perched there and then proceeded to reach down and yank the man up with one arm, no small feat given the man's weight, until they were face to face.

The man's smugness quickly washed away being face to face with the Batman. The Batman once again smirked at the man. "Falcone, huh. So that's who your boss is. Tell you what that doesn't sound like too common a name, I'm sure I can track him down pretty quickly. And when I do, I'll be sure to mention who it was that told me about him"

The man had a look of terror cross his face before he let out a scream as Batman dropped him and he began swinging back and forth upside down. Batman hit the button on his grappling gun and proceeded to winch himself up to the top of the building and climbed onto the roof. As he disconnected the grapnel from the ledge and put the gun back in its holster, he could barely hear the man screaming at him from below over the sound of the police sirens that had just entered the alley.

"No! You can't do that! You don't know what he'll do to me if he thinks I squealed! Please!"

Batman didn't hear anything else as he was already moving. Leaping from the rooftop he was on to the next one. He then kept up his pace and continued to leap from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally using his grapnel to clear larger gaps and streets. After a few moments he was several blocks away from the scene and he slowed his pace.

Batman thought about the name that had been dropped back there.

'Falcone. Not the first time I've heard someone mention him.' Batman thought as he walked to the corner of the building he was on and perched on the edge, surveying the street. 'From everything I've heard this Falcone guy is running the organized crime rings in Lowerton. I've been doing pretty good so far against street crime. Maybe it's time I started looking at bigger crooks.'

Batman saw nothing that needed his attention on the street so he took a breath and then leaped off the ledge and into the air. Batman seemed to hang in the air for a moment before gravity quickly began pulling him toward the street. Batman began to dive head first for a few seconds before firing off his grapnel and swinging back up into the air and toward another building.

Batman… Ron loved this feeling. That moment of freefall before his grapnel goes tight and sends him back into the air. The feeling of swinging and jumping around on rooftops. The anonymity. The thrill of fighting crime and saving lives. Like he had told Rufus earlier, he knew that helping people was the main goal and keeping the city safe but he couldn't help how he felt the last few weeks.

He loved being the Batman. The night. The danger. Being the hero, not the sidekick. Being feared, not bullied or pitied. Going out each night fighting criminals and everyone goes home at the end of the night, or to jail.

How could he not love it.

BANG

As Batman landed on the roof and retracted his line he heard the sound. One he had become familiar with over the past few weeks. Gunfire.

BANG

Batman quickly gauged which direction that the shots had come from and quickly began running in that direction. After leaping to another roof, he peered over the edge and saw a man in an old raggedy painter's coat and with long hair that didn't seem to have been washed in weeks running out of a doorway holding a revolver in his hand. The man began sprinting down the block and turned into an alley to try to escape.

Batman began to move the moment he saw the gun. Swinging across the street and aiming for the alley that the man had run down. As Batman landed on the roof above the alley he quickly ran to the edge, judged the distance and leaped down aiming at the fleeing criminal. The man stopped for a moment when he saw a large shadow growing on the ground around him. The man looked up to see a dark shape coming at him. Then Batman extended his cape out and it looked as if a creature with massive wings was descending upon him.

The man let out a cry of terror and tried to get his gun up and aimed at Batman but before it was anywhere near aimed the Batman's boots slammed into the man's chest. The man was slammed down into the ground as Batman landed in a roll and quickly got to his feet. The man recovered faster than Batman had thought, and he had the gun aimed at the vigilante.

As he pulled the trigger Batman quickly dodged to the left and moved forward as the bullet shot at where he was a second ago. Batman grabbed the man's gun arm and twisted causing him to drop the gun but not before getting off one more shot. The shot went into the brick wall like the last one did, but it had fired inches from Batman's head.

Batman flinched from the ringing in his ears as he proceeded to slam his knee into the man's stomach. Then as he doubled over Batman clasped his hands together, raised them up above his head and delivered a hammer blow to the back of the shooters head. The man slammed into the ground again and seemed to be out.

Batman grabbed the side of his head for a moment and shook his head trying to get the ringing to stop with no luck. He knew that it would subside soon though and so he turned and began walking toward the street and then turning and heading toward the building that the shooter had come running out of.

Batman pulled open the door of the bodega and stepped inside. He looked around the store and didn't see anything to terribly out of place; all the aisles seemed to be in order. Batman almost yelled out before realizing that with the ringing in his ears he wouldn't be able to hear anything. Suddenly something caught his eye.

'Is that blood?" He thought noticing that by the cash register there seemed to be a spray of red covering some of the cigarettes that were on display behind the counter. Batman quickly made his way to the counter and looked over to see a man crumpled on the ground.

The man was old, in his sixties at least, with a balding head and gray goatee. He was wearing a red button up shirt with his name, Desi, embroidered on the left breast pocket. The man looked at Batman with absolute terror as he was clutching at his left shoulder which was bleeding profusely.

'He got hit in the arm.' Batman quickly leaped over the counter and crouched down next to the man.

"It's okay, I'm here to help." Batman said. Though he still couldn't hear well. He moved the man's hand to look at the wound. The bleeding had already slowed significantly. The bullet was acting like a cork keeping the man from bleeding out. "You should be okay until an ambulance gets here. Just keep pressure on it."

Batman then felt the mans hand grab his shoulder and turning him to look at the man's face. The man was trying to tell him something but he still couldn't hear clearly. He tried to read the man's lips but he was talking to fast. He noticed the man was pointing at one of the aisles of the store. Batman reached over and grabbed the stores phone and handed it to Desi.

"Call for help. I'll be right back." Batman jumped back over the counter heading toward the aisle, thinking that perhaps there was someone else who was hurt. Just before he reached the aisle that Desi had pointed at Batman's hearing cleared enough for him to make out a sound. The sound of crying.

A baby crying.

As Batman turned down the aisle the masked teen felt his heart seem to stop in his chest. There in the middle of the aisle was a young woman with brunette hair and a denim jacket curled up on the floor. She was holding a purple blanket with stars in her arms, the blanket seemed to be moving and was clearly where the cries were coming from. But what made the vigilante freeze was the large pool of crimson liquid that was pooling on the floor around the woman.

After two seconds of pausing, which felt like days to the teen, Batman sprang into action. He rushed to the woman and knelt down next to her. He gently but quickly moved the woman so that he could get the baby out of her arms. The woman offered no resistance, she didn't move at all. Batman held the child to his chest as he reached out and felt for a pulse. He found none. He looked at her nose and chest looking for a sign that she was still breathing. But both were completely still.

Batman felt the bundle in his arms struggling. Batman looked down to see that the baby, who's blanket was half soaked in blood, was reaching out toward the woman. Struggling to get away from the monster that was holding her and back to her mother.

And for the first time in his young life Ron felt his heart completely shatter. A whirlwind of emotions tore through him as he looked at the baby trying desperately to get back to her mother. A mother that would never hold her again, or tell her that everything would be okay. Ron felt his eyes begin to burn and tears begin to gather at the edges of his eyes. His breathing began coming in sharp gasps. He tightened his grip on the child and placed his chin on the child's head. He closed his eyes tightly as two tears slid past the mask and down his cheeks and said as quietly as he could to the girl.

"I'm sorry." He didn't know what else he could say to this child that just had her world ripped away from her. And then suddenly that whirlwind of emotions settled as one emotion took control as the Batman opened his eyes.

Rage. White hot rage.

Batman quickly rose up and moved back toward the counter that Desi was behind. He was vaguely aware of the squeaking his boots were making as he left crimson footprints behind him. The vigilante walked around the counter and kneeled down to hand the crying girl to the man. Before the old man could say anything, the Batman spoke.

"Hold on to her until help gets here." The words were harsh, leaving no room for question or debate. Batman then leaped back over the counter and rushed toward the door of the bodega. Slamming the door open with such force that the glass shattered and the top hinge of the door broke off. The Batman then turned and began sprinting toward the alley just a few hundred feet away.

The image of the thief, no, the killer kept flashing before his eyes, along with the woman's body and the crying girl. The rage grew hotter and brighter as he made it to the mouth of the alley. Rushing down the trash strewn alley Batman came to a stop at the spot where he had left the killer moments ago.

Now he was gone.

'He came to.' Batman thought to himself as he began sprinting to the other side of the alley. Bursting out onto the street on the other side and searching for any sign of the man. 'I didn't tie him up. Stupid! Stupid!'

Batman stood still in the empty street the rage festering inside him with nowhere to go. Images of the woman, the baby and the killer kept flashing across his mind. Finally, the masked teen tilted his head back and screamed out into the night, trying in vain to ease the frustration and guilt that were clawing at his insides.

'I'll find you.' Batman thought to himself as his scream finally stopped.

'Even if I have to tear half the city apart to do it.


Author's Notes:

Well, I finally got this issue written and uploaded. Sorry it took so long but life gets crazy and things get in the way of writing.

Some of you might remember that initially I was going to call this small arc LEARNING CURVE, but then I decided that THE FIRST made more sense to me.

Mostly because it's about the first time that Ron/Batman has to confront death on the job. That's something that I have heard police and paramedics say before, that the first time you deal with a death on the job it sticks with you. Not that others won't but that the first one just sticks with you.

And that is what Ron is having to deal with here. Ron isn't naïve, he knows that people do get murdered and killed but he has never been front row when it's happened before. This is the first time he's had to deal with that and it's not an easy thing to come to terms with.

So, this is his first murder. It's also going to be the first time that he has to track down a criminal, as up until now he's been stopping them as he came across them. He'll also have a few more firsts before this arc is done, which if all goes according to plan should only be one more issue.

I hope that you've enjoyed this issue and that it was worth the wait. I've already started on part two of the story so hopefully it won't take me two months to get it out for you.

See you next update everyone. Same Bat-fic. Same Bat-site.