Hey Guys! Here we are again! Sorry that this took so long. The Job has really been amping up and my head is in 100 different places. Had an issue with my laptop, and I didn't have enough money to replace it so I had to give it a go myself at fixing it. Fortunately it's good enough to get some done for now. I'll be going on leave over the weekend for a while so I hope to write the next chapter while I'm back home in NJ but no promises about that one, because I'm gonna be super busy. I hope everyone has been good. Check the bottom for more. Lets Get into the next Chapter!

Chapter 12

GOTHAM CITY – BATCAVE/WAYNE MANOR

APRIL 5TH 2008 1830 EST

Batman POV:

So many sounds could be heard echoing and reverberating off of the walls in the large cave, a cacophony of small intermingling sounds causing such a wide but filled space that would seem quiet to be anything but that.

The slight squeaks from the many bats that lived in said cave, the combinations of whirring, and spinning from the many different mini motors, actuators, and other moving parts from all the different machines that were strewn about doing their own work.

And above all of it; the seemingly booming typing coming from the figure sitting at a high back black swivel chair that sat upright upon its bolted position on a metal slide track, stationed in front of the multi assembled monitor system with the main screen sitting at a towering 65' inches. The Bat-computer was a truly impressive thing to behold, and the person sitting at it even more so.

Bruce Wayne, the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, or as he could be seen now in his better known persona as Gotham's dark protector... The Batman.

He cut an impressive figure as when standing he towered at 6'2 weighing in at 210 pounds, and the man could easily outclass most any athlete on the face of the planet. Years leaning dozens of martial skills had honed his body into the perfect weapon, and that was when one was only considering his skills if he were fighting bare handed.

Though the man not only had his great physicality that made him a weapon against the enemies of Gotham, but also the looks to sell his alter ego's deception.

Because while many would not know it, Bruce Wayne had died in the alley that his parents had been murdered in. Bruce Wayne was the façade…Batman was all that remained after all the trials and tribulations that the boy who became this man had been through.

Much like many others in the city Bruce Wayne played a role, the one that would sell the lie that made him seem completely and utterly incompetent if someone even considered him for a viable candidate of being the Batman. Bruce Wayne liked to party, spent money frivolously, and came off as a cad and a rude moron to many people he crossed paths with.

Let it not be said that the Batman wasn't an excellent actor in his own right.

With a handsome visage consisting of jet black hair that was perpetually slicked back, and a deep set of blue eyes that any woman (and some men) would fight over it was no wonder that the man had so many admirer's the world over.

Batman had taken great strides to balance the view the outside world had of his own public identity, and the contradictions left many simply saying that he was an eccentric billionaire playboy with far too much time on his hands.

For while many would say he seemed to have many flights of fancy, and was quite well known for throwing ridiculously extravagant parties and could travel the world at a moment's notice, Bruce Wayne donated hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

He didn't often physically show up to meetings at his family's company, but when he did involve himself it was often to the benefit of Gotham City at large.

Many would say that all the donations were barely a drop in the bucket for a man such as him, while others would gladly sing his praises for days for all that he seemingly did for Gotham City overall.

Many days in private it would leave Batman questioning the duality of his own life, wondering if he'd ever really find a way to truly let anyone in. To find peace.

Too bad not even one of his many admirers or so called acquaintances would ever see him for the real man that he was, the one currently sitting at the work station. Batman knew that the life that he would catch himself daydreaming every once in a while was an impossibility.

Gotham… would always need The Batman.

But it was not all for naught, as Batman used this as he did many other things to his own advantage.

As it stood, the way things were they afforded him to have the many convincing cover stories that allowed him to wage his war on crime as his true self.

The duality allowed him to better his home to the best of his ability, even though there were many working against him from not only outside but inside the city's own infrastructure.

Batman was currently seated and dressed in the manner most befitting his situation, wearing his legendary cape and cowl.

Though at the moment sitting sans cowl, it did not detract from the fact that upon close inspection one would easily be able to see that the Batman was in fact a danger to anyone that found themselves in his crosshairs as his icy blue eyes fixed upon his main monitor.

The Bat-suit that the caped crusader wore was designed with specific multi layers that provided great protection utilizing titanium Kevlar bi-weave, temperature regulators, and added reinforcement for the joints to allow for maximum mobility and safety. The suit also had many smaller electronic features that had been added over time, like micro transmitters, micro transceivers, and a few other additions that made the detective work he did far easier.

The mixes between the black and dark grey colors of the suit not only adding to the Dark Knight's ability to hide and blend into the shadows while taking down criminals, but adding to his overall menacing appearance when one took the actual cape and cowl into consideration.

Running into Batman in a dark alley had proven to be a horrific experience for many of Gotham's criminally inclined.

On top of the wearer's own acting skills and personal attitude, the suit became the symbol that all criminals came to associate with dread. It made many of them think twice.

And the suit alone was only the tip of the iceberg when considering all that the Hero could bring to bear against the criminal underbelly of Gotham.

Batman's vast wealth had not only afforded him the lair that he currently sat in but all of the weapons that lay within, some of them even being of his own design. The Wayne family fortune had helped give Bruce Wayne the chance to hone not just his body, but his mind into a lethal weapon that he would turn against anyone that he felt would do his city harm.

In his pursuit to chase the criminal filth from his city Batman had devised many new methodologies, and on top of it gadgets to help him do just that.

Unfortunately at the moment it wasn't the criminal element of Gotham that The Batman had his sights on.

At the current moment, much like many others over the past month when given the opportunity Batman's focus was on one sole individual and all of their comings and goings… Gotham's New 'Superhero' All Might.

The Caped Crusader had gotten word of him on the very day of his debut, and he had also heard of the way that said 'Hero' had handled each incident that he had been involved with since then.

Every piece of Intel that Batman could gather was at his disposal and in a folder on his main computer from interviews with witnesses, to traffic camera footage, and even security footage from buildings the new hero had been in.

Even personally posted videos of interactions with said hero that had made it onto the internet were quickly copied and then scrubbed from the web, followed by the dropping of a kill program that would delete any follow up post of said videos from the internet.

Batman had even taken time to visit as many of the sights that All Might had been seen conducting rescues or capturing criminals at as possible, trying to discern the extent of his methods and abilities by combining all the data he had acquired.

He knew for a fact that All Might had his shield that he somehow was able to recall to himself, as well as the utility belt he seemed to wear which from the looks of the video footage he'd seen had many compartments.

He already knew for a fact that the young hero at the very least had the glue capsules he utilized that were very reminiscent of his own, which allowed him to subdue and secure criminals.

Not to mention the remnants of a few other types of capsules.

Batman's own young ward and partner Robin (aka Dick Grayson), had at first been extremely excited at the prospect of meeting the new young hero, and had expressed so when he realized that Batman had a vested interest in Gotham's newest defender when he first came upon him looking into him.

That is until Batman had explained exactly why he had such an interest in the new young 'Hero', and what the ramifications could be for Gotham City at large now that it had a listed 'Superhero'.

It had taken some serious convincing as Robin had been very excited about not only the prospect of a new young Hero in the general sense, but one being in such close proximity as he had stated that maybe he could become All Might's friend.

Robin had even expressed his opinion that Batman should see if he could bring All Might on board to help them root out the criminals of Gotham.

That particular thought had since been discarded and then picked up again over time, waging a complex war in Batman's mind.

There had been many following conversations about the new element working in Gotham, and the vast majority had wound up being unpleasant in Batman's opinion.

In the end however it seemed that Robin at the very least understood Batman's point of view, and had agreed to not seek out the new hero on his own until Batman had first spoken to him.

Under any and all normal circumstances Batman was all for Dick having friends and having as close to a wholly 'normal' life as he could, considering all that had happened to his young ward and that it was also being compounded on top of the fact of what they did on a nightly basis in their protection of Gotham.

But the fact stood, that so long as Batman had any sway in that particular arena he would do everything he could to protect his son… even if it was from All Might.

Batman would only ever consider having Dick become friends with All Might, if only to have a better firsthand understanding of said young man.

As wrong as he knew it would be to betray Dick's trust or to even ask him to be a spy, he would make sure to record and catalogue everything he could regarding the young man.

As it was, most of the meta-humans Batman encountered were typically unstable and they needed to be thoroughly investigated so that he could have the proper countermeasures in place to deal with the possible threat they posed.

Gotham already had a few criminals stored in Arkham Asylum, that because of their abilities and fragile mental state they could never be trusted to be integrated back into society at large.

He would not under any circumstance allow a threat to grow right under his nose in his city.

Though if Batman was being honest with himself he would only push for that possibility as a last resort, as he hoped to find and curtail the new young hero's activity all together before it continued on too long.

Though if he was being honest with himself it was already to the point that if he found him and convinced him to stop, it would seem strange to the citizens of Gotham. The young hero had only been active for a month but he was active every single day, even more so than Batman himself was…that type of presence tended to leave an impression.

And his absence might have the possibility of leaving a vacuum, if his departure were too sudden or wasn't handled properly.

The fact that the young hero was not as restricted in his own movements also worked against Batman, as All Might seemed to operate from the early morning of each day to sometime in the late evening.

Though Batman hoped to at least use that fact to his own advantage to force a meeting with the young man.

Batman had poured over everything he had relentlessly, and he felt he was close to having All Might's base of operations.

He had been doing his best to track if there was any pattern to All Might's patrolling movements so that he could find his base of operations, and if he were being honest with himself if he didn't know any better… Batman would say that the new young hero seemed to be variating his movements on purpose.

To top it off the fact of the matter was that Gotham City herself didn't help when it came to the matter of attempting to monitor All Might's movements, as it seemed that thus far he operated solely out of Southern Gotham and didn't often venture far past that area.

The lack of functioning traffic cameras posed a great hindrance to Batman's information gathering, and no matter how much money Bruce Wayne seemed to pour into the effort of fixing said problem it just wouldn't stay fixed.

Clearly those who operated on the seedier side of things in south Gotham understood the need for their own anonymity, and they were taking strides to remove the extra ways they could be monitored.

Though that in itself was telling in a way as Batman had at least narrowed down that All Might was stationed in south Gotham somewhere.

Those thoughts and more kept nagging at the back of his mind; along with the general fact that this new 'Hero' had super/meta powers which was leaving Batman far more on edge than usual.

The Dark Knight couldn't quiet the thought that All Might was actually anticipating his wanting to look for him to tell him to cease his movements in 'his' city, and the thought was beginning to change into full blown agitation.

That compounding on top of attempting to understand just exactly what All Might's full power set could be and where he was getting his gear from was leaving Batman... for lack of a better word bothered.

The Shield was clearly a staple of the young hero's fighting style, and after watching what footage he could piece together not only would Batman have to admit that not only was he a beyond competent fighter but more than anything All Might's powers gave him pause.

He was clearly fast enough to outpace a moving vehicle going at 55 miles per hour, as had been clearly demonstrated in a car chase that All Might had helped stop. There were also the displays of his feats of strength ranging from the fact that he could lodge his shield into a solid brick wall and remove it with what seemed to be little to no effort, kick or rip a car door clean off its hinges, and he had even been seen deadlifting a portion of brick wall at one scene saving a young couples lives.

The brick wall portion had been weighed at over 500 pounds after Batman had taken its dimensions, and that was not a small portion of weight considering it equaled out to All Might being able to deadlift a quarter of a ton. Factoring in that All Might was seemingly young that left the idea that he could potentially get much stronger physically, and that thought gave Batman pause.

Because while he not only could grow stronger physically over time, Batman had no way of knowing how much of his actual strength All Might was even using at the moment.

The thought was causing him considerable worry.

The lightning that surrounded All Might clearly had something to do with it, and Batman banked that the lightning was either a simple aura signifying that All Might was currently using his power or that the aura itself had something to do with magnetic fields though he was leaning toward the former as magnetics would have yielded no help in the moving of the brick wall.

Though Batman also wasn't ready to just discount the possibility of All Might having magnetic powers of some kind, considering he could just summon his shield back to himself and that left room for a myriad of possibilities.

Beings with extraordinary powers bothered Batman.

He valued his partnership with the many members of the Justice League, but overall those with enhanced abilities always gave him pause.

He had made it quite clear early on into the forming of the Justice League that while they were a team and were there to back each other up, Gotham City was first and foremost 'his' to handle.

Batman had worried from the moment that he had become aware of his first super that they were going to start dominating the world, and sure enough that worry became more plausible all the time.

He did not need this new Meta 'Hero' in Gotham, the possibility that it would heighten tensions and cause serious kickback from the criminal underworld was too great; and only made him want to find the young man more to put an end to his work in Gotham.

He could operate anywhere else…just not Gotham.

Batman already had more than enough to deal with on a daily basis because of the existing criminals in the city, keeping up his own appearances, and having Robin as his ward…he didn't need to be concerned about this other young hero and what ramifications he could bring on top of all of his other responsibilities.

And that wasn't even taking into account that this young hero may be harboring an unstable element in the even newer vigilante 'The Huntress'.

Batman kept tabs on not just a great portion of the criminal element of the city, but also those that worked inside the city's infrastructure. He currently had eyes and ears on about half of city hall itself to a limited degree, and about a quarter of Gotham's police force.

Using the information from the GCPD he had come across the mention of another new vigilante, and lo and behold apparently All Might had already had a run in with this newer element himself.

Going over the report had left Batman more than agitated as not only did the name 'Huntress' once belong to a former criminal that he knew all too well, but the new holder apparently wasn't far off in their own behavior either.

The perp that had been treated at Gotham General had been pretty seriously wounded, the doctor having had to remove four crossbow bolts from the man on top of having to treat a few different lacerations across his arms and even a quite nasty one on the left side of his face that would leave a deep scar. The perp had expressed a fear for his life, and had stated that 'Huntress' had even said that his days were numbered.

Listening to the audio recording that he took a copy of from GCPD of the perps interview had been illuminating, but also after hearing said statement it had left Batman with one main question.

'Was Huntress going to kill this man?'

All the evidence pointed to a hard yes in his opinion, so he'd also now have to process tracking down 'Huntress' when he had the time to spare.

It was beginning to look like he wouldn't be getting to spend a lot of quality time with Dick in the following week as he was already trying to clear out time for normal patrols, his investigations into these two fledgling 'Hero's', and to top it off he had a meeting with the League later on that day.

That particular thought brought a string of annoyance to the forefront of his mind, as he continued to try and concentrate on the files in front of him regarding All Might.

He had wanted to nip the All Might issue in the bud before it had gotten any real traction, but he found that if he wasn't dealing with another investigation nearby in the city itself the League had need of him and he'd be helping them do work at large.

As he was going to close the files and get ready to move onto the next possible thread he could follow to try and locate All Might through some more recent footage, Batman was interrupted by the cultured and measured voice of his oldest and closest confidant…Alfred Pennyworth.

"Master Bruce. I hate to intrude at the moment but young Master Dick was wondering if you were available? He's finished his homework and was wondering if you had some time to sit down and watch a movie?" Alfred said as he stood with a questioning look on his face.

Alfred had been the one constant in Batman's life since the death of his parents, and was just as much family as either of his parents had been to him considering he had stepped in and filled the role of his guardian upon their deaths.

Alfred was currently 62 years old, and still maintained a very neat and trim appearance. What hair he retained on his head was still relatively full and intact but slate gray, his small trim mustache bearing the same coloring though his icy blue eyes were still as bright and sharp as Batman could ever remember them being.

His Black suit jacket and pants were immaculately ironed, as well as his white dress shirt and the red vest that he wore which was accentuated by his black tie. Alfred's posture as immaculate as ever, as he stood waiting for the Dark Knights response.

Unfortunately Batman would have to disappoint both Dick and Alfred on this occasion.

"Not now Alfred. I have to finish going over this video footage." Batman said as he resisted the urge to lift a hand and rub the bridge of his nose to ease the tension that was building behind his eyes.

Batman could feel Alfred's eyes focused upon him and when he spoke he could feel the full weight of his displeasure in the tone he used.

"Master Bruce if I may be so bold. The young man is a Hero, much like yourself. He is helping to clean up Gotham, and I feel it would behoove you to consider that since his debut he has taken quite the load off of your own proverbial plate. With that bit of business being out of the way it would also be remiss of me if I didn't tell you that it would also behoove you to spend some time with Master Dick…he needs you Master Bruce." Alfred said his own tone softening a great deal as it petered out towards the end.

Batman had to take a slow and deep breath before exhaling after listen to Alfred's words.

He always valued Alfred's advice and in this case from at least the last perspective he was 100% right, as he hadn't gotten to spend as much time as he'd like with Dick in a setting that didn't involve taking down a criminal or training.

More often than not lately there was something having to do with the Justice League that had called him away, and that on top of everything else was starting to spread him a bit thin.

'Perhaps after we add a few more members I'll tender my resignation.' Batman thought as he planned to stand so that he could change out to go spend time with Dick.

Batman could still to this day (and always would) remember what it felt like knowing that his parents were gone, and that he could no longer spend any time with them. That they had missed his life. Knowing that Dick felt the same caused a great empty feeling in his stomach.

When he had taken Dick in he had sworn he'd do right by him, and not just in the way of helping him get justice for his parent's murder.

Dick needed a family and while he knew he had his own issues and that living with him may not always be the easiest thing, Batman wanted to make sure that Dick knew that he loved him.

He had never outright said the words…but Dick was his son. Dick was most probably the only son he'd ever have because of the lifestyle he lived, and he wanted to make sure that Dick knew how much he cared.

Considering that any night might just be his final one.

He would always do all he could to avoid that outcome at all costs, but make no mistake Batman knew that the end could in fact come at any time.

The only fear that particular thought inspired being, that he hadn't been good enough too the very few people he still had in his life.

Batman closed the video feed as well as the folder and put the main monitor on standby as he stood and turned to face Alfred.

"You know what Alfred... I think you're right. Some quality time together is exactly what we nee…" Batman tried to say before he was cut off by the main monitor cutting back on fully by his alert system.

The loud blaring of the alarm gave him a moment and Batman could feel his facial features harden again, even as he heard a sigh pass from Alfred's lips as he reached over and picked up his cowl and secured it in place over his head before hitting a button and firing the video feed back up.

The video fired to life in high def on the screen revealing none other than the 'Man of Steel' Superman. He could be seen with his back to a large set of windows, showing the cityscape of Metropolis bathed in the fading light of the sun.

Superman had a slight smile on his face as he stood in his typical uniform, though his eyes betrayed his focus and the reason was quickly illuminated as he spoke.

"Batman. Hello again Alfred. Batman I could use a hand if you have a moment. I have a situation here in Metropolis with Metallo, while I'm handling that I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me track a lead I have on Intergang?" Superman said as he seemed to glance off screen for a moment.

Batman was already about to retort and make an excuse but was cut off by Superman speaking again.

"Professor Hamilton is looking at a batch of schematics I retrieved from a site where I captured a sect of Intergang. Apparently there's a new element here that they'd already finished analyzing, and they've found a way to turn it into a bomb. I really need some help with this Batman. I don't know how much of this stuff they have, or where they might have it." Superman said as the look on his face turned slightly sympathetic while showing his own frustration, interpreting Batman's body language for the fact that he had something going on.

Batman could clearly tell that Superman felt bad that he was interrupting him, but as always it was a moot point.

'The Mission comes first. Always.'

He took a moment to run over the facts in his head and knew that this was something he needed to help out with, whether he wanted to at the moment or not. He and Superman had slowly but surely been making headway in dealing with Intergang, though the overall process was extremely slow going.

Intergang had expanded over the past couple of years and now more often than not some random alien tech would pop up across the globe with the majority of it being weapons, and one of the many things that the U.N charter allowed the Justice League to try and deal with was Intergang's illicit weapon trade which was now apparent in at least twelve separate countries.

'Not counting the fact that it's so heavily imbedded in Metropolis, and has already made appearances here in Gotham.' Batman thought as he considered the ramifications of a new alien tech bomb being up for sale to the highest bidder.

Batman turned to address Alfred, but the moment he had his most faithful confidant proved once again why he was one of if not the biggest of reasons that Batman was so very successful.

"I shall let Master Dick know an abbreviated version of what's going on sir. I shall also take the liberty of setting up the usual excuses. A ball game perhaps?" Alfred asked with a slightly raised left brow.

"That'll be fine. Thank you Alfred." Batman said as he glanced back at the main screen.

"Wonderful. Travel well sir." Alfred said as he turned and started his walk towards the walkway that would lead to the high speed elevator that put him back in Wayne Manor.

Batman fixed his eyes directly upon Superman's and then switched back into business mode.

"Forward me the files here. I'll download them and read through them on the plane ride over." Batman said as he settled back into his chair.

"I really am sorry Batman. I hope I didn't…" Superman started as he tried to apologize to his friend.

But in true Batman fashion it was quickly glossed over.

"Save it. We're on the clock. I want to make sure that Intergang doesn't start producing these weapons, less chance of them being sold to any of the more dangerous elements here in Gotham. That... and you have a homicidal robot to handle. I'll be in the air within twenty minutes." Batman said as he started to type into the Bat-computer to leave instructions for Alfred for the next two days just in case he was gone for a lengthy amount of time.

Superman looked slightly put out for a moment but quickly masked his features back into a slight jovial smile before signing off.

"Understood. I'll see you within the hour." Superman said as he cut the feed.

Batman sat and as soon as the recorded data came over from S.T.A.R. Labs Metropolis he downloaded them onto his portable laptop and then purged the original from the Bat-computer, lest he leave it and allow Dick to come snooping around.

'He sure has gotten better at hacking.' Batman thought with just the slightest upturn at the right corner of his mouth.

The thought though quickly faded and Batman stood from his chair to make his way into the storage locker he had here in the cave. He'd have to pack his utilities, re-outfit his utility belt, and gather the rest of his essentials including his undercover bag for maintaining his cover.

As he passed through the double three inch thick metal sliding doors to enter said locker his phone pinged, causing him to pull it out.

Alfred had already went ahead and booked him the presidential sweet at Metropolis Manor, the cities five star hotel.

'Once again a step ahead of even me.' Batman thought as once again he couldn't help the small upturn on the side of his face.

Batman would never admit it, but Bruce Wayne did in fact at the very least exist in some capacity...for the people he cared most for.

He'd make it up to Dick when he returned.

GOTHAM CITY – SOUTH SIDE DIXON PIER WAREHOUSE

APRIL 5TH 2008 1900 EST

All Might POV:

The sound of the automatic gunfire and shouting all mixed in the air as he dashed between stacks upon stacks of wooden and metal shipping containers and crates, causing havoc as he left the fading streaks of green from 'One for All' behind as he dashed around his Quarry.

One of the many bits of Intel he'd gathered had led him here. The Falcone crime family hadn't fully dispersed from Gotham when Batman had started to wage his one man war against organized crime. The Falcone crime family had simply gone to ground, lowered their own profile so that they could bide their time and make a serious comeback.

It seemed that over the past few months they had brought in recruits from other rival organizations, ones who were looking for greener pastures as they felt that they weren't getting paid enough in their previous employment.

But that is what had resulted in their current run in with All Might. Mores the pity.

Jack was currently running in between the stacks of crates, dodging errant gun fire as he would pick off the large group of goons one or two at a time as he weaved in and out through the warehouse laying into each of the goons with a straight right or a hard left hook.

Jacks comm crackled to life, as he made a quick right using 'Danger Sense' to let him know to drop to his back and tuck his legs; using his shield as an impromptu sled so that he could kick the perp that was around the corner sending him ass over tea kettle into a crate breaking it to splinters where he remained as he moaned from the pain of the kick and the subsequent crash.

: I could be a lot more help if I was in the building ya know:

Jack quickly kipped up and drew the shield into his left hand, doing his best not to pinch the bridge of his nose as he heard what had become a very common statement from his companion. Jack raised his right hand to his ear and did his best to keep his voice down, as he started a brisk walk to again continue his move through the stacks.

: Huntress stay there. Over watch is where I need you. Make sure no one makes a break for it. Over and out:

He received no reply like the last few times he'd gone through this, and he honestly couldn't say whether or not he was glad for it. Thinking on the lack of response reminded him of how he had gotten to here and now, and the deal that he'd made with Helena.

FLASHBACK:

She looked like a deer in headlights.

She was completely coiled, tensed and ready to run or fight. He was banking on fight. He could tell that the next few moments were gonna be big, and he wished that they didn't need to go this way but there was no turning back.

Jack reached up slowly and unbuckled the strap keeping his helm on, and slowly brought it up off his head so that Helena could look him in the eyes when it was just him.

Slowly but surely her eyes opened as wide as he'd ever seen them go, and her mouth dropped and hung open; twitching every other second as if she was trying to work her mouth to say something or rather anything.

Jack decided he'd beat her to it.

"Helena why don't you close the door and take that seat, we really do need to talk." Jack said as he placed his helm on the table and took his shield off to set on the couch before taking his seat at the coffee table while gesturing for Helena to do the same.

Helena sat working her mouth up and down for a moment, still struggling with trying to speak until she finally settled on setting her lips into a thin line as she leaned back and closed the door.

She then walked towards the table and took one of the two vacant chairs turning it so that she could rest her arms on the top of the back of the chair, and then proceeded to glare daggers at Jack.

Jack took a breath and got ready to try and get his thoughts out but Helena wound up cutting him off.

"So. You've got super powers. Were you ever planning on telling me that, or is our supposed friendship a joke to you?" Helena asked with nothing but the typical bite Jack knew she reserved for when she was putting on the show of talking shit to someone.

Jack went to say something in response but was again cut off, though this time it was Ted who interjected into the conversation.

"Why don't you go ahead and pump the breaks there Helena. You're in no position to be throwing any kind of accusations around, especially at Jack who's been nothing but a friend to you. The girl I've been training knows better than that." Ted said as he uncrossed and then re-crossed his large arms across his chest, the cup of coffee in front of him seemingly forgotten.

Helena changed the position of her vision to Ted, and her scowl softened some, but only just. Her voice remained as waspish as it typically did when she felt slighted.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize that I needed to extend that curtesy to someone who's been keeping secrets from me when they're my closest friend!" Helena said while slapping her right hand down on the table top.

That statement caught Jack flatfooted as he could feel himself slightly gaping at Helena. He had known that they were friendly, but to hear her actually say not only that but the fact that he was actually her best friend was giving him mixed feelings.

He was glad that she trusted him and saw him as someone she could confide in, but the overall situation was far too complex to get wrapped up in.

Jack had already brought himself back into the moment only to realize that Helena wasn't finished.

"And what about you huh? I thought we were close Ted. I've been with you way longer and yet you're cutting me out of the loop? What? You didn't think you could trust me with this? You think I'd be a gossip girl and run my mouth about it to someone?" Helena said with biting sarcasm as she looked at Ted.

Jack could see the vein on Ted's left temple starting to pulse, and he knew that the older man was very close to losing his temper. Jack could understand it. Not only had she been out working as a vigilante possibly putting herself in danger, but now she was here in Ted's house talking like she wasn't the one doing something dangerous.

Jack could understand that her feelings were hurt but the fact was that he really didn't owe her any favors when it came to his own plans, and he decided he wasn't gonna let this blow out of proportion.

Any more than it already had anyway.

Jack stood placing both hands on the table and spoke up knowing that if he didn't Ted may very well vent the frustration that was mounting, and that would just put Helena further on her defensive side.

"Alright that's Enough! Yes… Helena we kept you in the dark about my abilities. Why? Simple. Why would I tell you? You didn't see fit to tell Me that you planned to go out there and become a vigilante yourself. That's one. Number two and the reason I asked Ted to bring you here…" Jack said as he tried to get to the meat of this impromptu meeting.

Helena had other plans though, and she stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"You asked him to bring me here to tell me to quit! Well guess what?! You can Go to Hell! I'm doing this! I don't need permission from either of you to do this! It's my Life. Ted You of all people know Exactly why I'm doing this!" Helena said practically screaming towards the end as she let all of her frustration and hostility bleed to the surface.

Ted's face took on a thunderous look as he went to speak, but Jack jumped in again hoping that things wouldn't get much more heated.

"Helena Stop! Look I'm not here to tell you not to be a Hero!" Jack stated as he made a fist with his right hand and banged the table, surprising both Helena and Ted.

"Helena if you wanna be a Hero I'm all for it. But first and foremost you're not outfitted right. You have zero body armor in your suit, and don't try and tell me you do…we had a couple very up close and personal moments in our little scuffle and I can tell you don't have any proper protection."

That statement caused Helena to actually slightly avert her eyes from Jacks gaze as a dusting of red gathered on her cheeks, and as soon as Ted caught on he snorted out a small laugh causing Helena to put on an indignant face.

Jack quickly pulled the attention of the room back to himself.

"You need to be outfitted properly Helena, and Ted and I can help with that. But this here is the second and more important thing that needs to be said. You were gonna kill that man. If your gonna try and deny it don't, because I'm not an idiot and you were most definitely trying to kill him. So here's the deal, we'll help outfit you because we don't wanna wind up seeing you dead on the news. But if you're planning on fighting crime like you did tonight then you can do it in another city." Jack said, at first receiving an almost grateful look from Helena and a proud one from Ted. Towards the end of his statement however the other two both had matching incredulous looks.

"Kid?!" / "Excuse Me?!"

Jack let them have their initial exclamations but then jumped right back on his talking points.

"Helena you're my friend, and I want you safe. I meant what I said I don't wanna turn on the news and see you dead, and let's face it this is Gotham…there's a decent chance that that could happen especially because you're not properly protected. It's almost happened to me and I am protected. But my other point stands, and it's nonnegotiable. You wanna be a Hero? Great. You wanna help and save people? Fantastic. But under no circumstances are you gonna kill Anyone." Jack said as his eyes bore into Helena's.

Helena looked ready to argue but Jack curtailed it and started up again.

"I don't think you've actually thought this through so let me help you out with that. I've said it already a few times tonight Helena…This is Gotham. Whadya think is gonna happen when Batman gets word of what you did to that perp? Because make no mistake he's gonna find out. Just like I'm expecting him to show up here one day, it's just a matter of time. I don't know if you noticed this but how many Heroes come to this city, even when it seems like it's a situation that should be handled by more than just Batman? The very simple answer is none. Now if I was a betting man I'd say it's because Batman doesn't want anybody stepping on his toes, and whatever the reason for that it's held up. Not even Superman comes to Gotham. There's only two recorded instances of another hero coming to Gotham City, and they haven't been back since. Do you think Batman is just gonna let what you did go? If I can figure out from first glance that you were gonna kill that perp what do you think the chances are of Batman figuring it out? Because I gotta tell ya it's pretty much a damned certainty that he's gonna figure it out" Jack said as he held his gaze steady.

As Jack got closer and closer to the end of his statement Helena and Ted's faces both contorted in discomfort, showing that both were now thinking of the implications.

It was plain to see that both of them knew it wouldn't be pretty. Jack took the energy he had built up and kept the run of it.

"Helena. You're not gonna like what I say next but you need to hear it. I know why you're doing this…I really do." Jack started.

Helena's countenance immediately shifted at Jack's words and she attempted to go on the attack.

"The Hell you do! What do you think you know about.."

"I'M NOT DONE!" Jack shouted as he banged his fist on the table again, actually now shocking Helena not only with the fact that he'd actually screamed at her…but the aggression he'd done it with.

Jack took a small breath to compose himself and started again before Helena or Ted could try and cut him off.

"You and Ted never told me why you were living in the group home, and my curiosity got the better of me. Helena I understand. Believe me I do. Not in the same way as you, but I get it. You want revenge. You want that piece of trash to pay and trust me…if it was me in your position I'd be going for the same damn thing. But Helena, it's not happening here. Not in this city. Not to Mandragora and especially not anyone else as a way for you to cut your teeth and harden you're heart. I'm telling you right now I will be watching, and if you kill anybody you won't have to worry about Batman because I will drag you kicking and screaming to GCPD myself." Jack said, as he allowed 'One for All' to power up to 8%; putting the quirk on display to help Helena understand just how serious he was being.

Helena looked first like she was almost ready to spit fire, before switching to contemplative, before she cycled to somewhere between trying to feign disinterest and arrogance while seemingly having a fight with whether or not she was intimidated.

"You shouldn't be talking so tough. I could have taken you in that fight. I just didn't wanna get caught up with the cops for being in a fight with the city's new Hero." Helena said as she flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder, as she tried to put on an air of superiority.

Jack was more than happy to wipe the look off her face.

"One. You now know I have superpowers. Two. I'm the only person from this gym to ever hand you a defeat other than Ted, and I did it while operating with less of my power than I'm currently using right now. Three. I didn't even use all I'm fully capable of in our fight, I didn't wanna run the risk of hurting you. And here we are at the last part. What makes you think that I was actually trying to hurt you in that fight? Because I have to be honest if I was…you'd already be in jail because I woulda knocked you out with one hit." Jack said watching again slowly as Helena's face went through a range of quick changes in emotion, only to finally stop and end with what looked like annoyed acceptance.

Helena looked as though she wanted to say something in retort, but was cut off by Ted who jumped in with a small bit of excitement.

"Wait a second Kid. You said you were running on 8% like you normally do when you two were duking it out. I thought that was the max of what you could handle right now? What could you have gone to?" Ted asked as he seemed to settle back into a more relaxed and slightly happy mood.

Jack tried not to feel guilty or sheepish, but he had kept the advance he'd made from Ted in hopes of handing him a defeat. It seemed that that particular ship was about to sail.

"15%. But I can't hold that for more than about thirty minutes all total. Trying to puts way too much strain on my body, and it's how I broke my toes that one time. I can jump up to 15% and hold it for intervals but I haven't tested how many I can do before it winds up actually hurting me, and even then I still have sore joints and my entire body aches afterwards." Jack said causing both Helena and Ted's eyes to widen, though Ted's look was accompanied by a smile.

Jack was happy that both of them seemed to be where he had hoped they'd be at this part of the conversation when he had even considered this hair brained plan in the first place, but now he needed to get them back on track.

"Helena. I said it earlier and I'll say it again. I get it. If it was me I'd probably be exactly where you are. But if that's the road you're going down then you better take it out of Gotham. Because doing that here of all places will get you nowhere except jail. The detectives from earlier know me, we've worked together. You didn't exactly ingratiate yourself with them with tonight and make no mistake one of those partners already doesn't like you, and the other is indifferent at best. If you cross the line I guarantee that they will happily put out an all-points bulletin to bring you in, and that's again just the tip of the iceberg. I'm not gonna sit here and wax poetic at you about it any more. So here it is, my offer; one I honestly don't wanna make but will live up to. You work with me for now. Train with me for now, and patrol with me for now. When I have you a set of gear that's fully upgraded you can walk, but what I said stands. No killing in Gotham. Outside of Gotham you're someone else's problem. You're my friend Helena, and believe it or not I care about you…so do us both a favor and think about this offer before you just throw it back in my face." Jack said as he lowered himself back into his seat and folded his hands over one another on the table.

Jack could see out of the corner of his eye that Ted was nodding slightly in approval, and that left Jack feeling very proud. It meant a lot that Ted was standing behind the way that he was handling the situation.

Helena herself seemed deep in thought, and though she was thinking a lot of the hostility had bled out of her visage.

When she finally settled for looking Jack in the eye she seemed resigned, and yet just as determined as ever.

"Fine. I'll take that deal. I'll work with you and I'll train with you. But let's get a couple things straight. I appreciate the advice, I really do. I hadn't stopped to think about all of this like that and there really is a lot more to it than I thought. I'm also grateful for the offer on the new gear and I'll gladly take it, it'll be nice to feel a little more secure. I think it goes without saying that we're friends, so it sucks that you didn't tell me about your powers... even though I know you had your reasons. Now one major point…you had zero right to go behind my back about looking into my past, and I'm gonna make you pay for that one on the mat. But the most important thing outta this conversation is this. I'm not gonna stop. You say don't kill in Gotham, fine. I can live with that. But if I get the chance to bury Mandragora…I'm taking it. You said it yourself, you'd do it if you were me." Helena said as she stood up and outstretched her right hand towards Jack.

Jack couldn't help the slight smile that broke out on his face as he stood up and clasped Helena's hand in his own.

Thankfully... Jack still had 'One for All' going though as when he clasped her hand Helena tried to add every bit of pressure she could and tried to pull Jack forward, though both things didn't yield the result she had been hoping for as Jack had expected her to pull something.

Even though Jack could see she was slightly annoyed by that, she threw a smirk on her face before she spoke again her voice taking on a slightly challenging tone.

"Oh. Before I forget there's just one other small detail. I'm not your god damn sidekick so you better not try and treat me like it." Helena said as she stared Jack down.

Jacks smile shifted and turned into his slight smirk.

"Wouldn't dream of it…Partner."

FLASHBACK END:

Jack dropped that line of thought as he cleared the stacks and was back in the main open area of the warehouse, surrounded by the downed bodies of the unconscious gun smuggling gangsters.

Jack had 'Danger Sense' locked in and was moving confidently now, moving to each body to drag all the grown men to the middle of the warehouse so that he could pop a few glue capsules and leave the perps for pick up from the boys and girls in blue.

Jack tapped his earpiece and called Helena to have her join him in the warehouse, and get her to help him move all the unconscious perps. There had been three dozen of them in total, and by the time Helena had joined him he had moved over half of them to the open center of the room near the crates that they had been crowded around when he had busted through the window of the second floor and started his sweep of the place.

They continued to move the unconscious criminals and soon enough it was down to the last one, and Helena was going over to pick him up as Jack palmed his belt to get a few capsules ready.

"You know one of these days you'll actually let me help you out here. What is this the seventh time I've been out here with you and I haven't seen any real action. It would be nice if you'd let me put some of that training to usoof…" Helena had been saying as she approached the downed perp, only to have him quickly jump up and throw himself bodily into her almost taking her to the ground though fortunately Helena had the wherewithal to half turn with the perp throwing him slightly off kilter making sure that he didn't take her to the floor.

What the perp and Helena hadn't expected, was for Jack's shield to slam into said perp and take him off his feet and leave him in a wheezing heap on the floor.

Helena was quickly on the perp and had kicked him twice in his already injured side, before she backed off at Jack's behest as he approached while setting his shield on his back.

After checking to make sure Helena was okay and had calmed her temper he handed her the capsules and asked her to secure the others, Jack then walked over to the perp and proceeded to grab him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to sit him up against one of the crates.

"Talk. Who were you guys meeting? What are all the guns for? I heard you guys talking before I came in. I know you've got these AK's and all the small arms because you're getting ready for war but with who? Is it Black Mask?" Jack asked as he looked the older gentleman in the eye.

The perp had to be in his forties or fifties, though the fact that he was completely bald almost made Jack think otherwise. All the wrinkles on his olive skinned face were telling, revealing a great deal of stress. He wasn't dressed in a particularly gaudy fashion, which was kind of out of character for a lot of the so called mobsters Jack had already run into.

Most of them were dressed in suits, tailored and clean cut looking. This guy was wearing a worn black leather jacket with a grimy looking grey polo underneath, black pants and shoes, and not a speck of jewelry on him outside of a pinky ring that honestly looked so cheap it was probably fake.

The perp looked at All Might for a moment with disbelief in his dark brown eyes, but then his face filled with contempt and he turned his head to the side and spit on the ground.

"Pound salt ya freak I ain't telling you nothin. The lighting ain't that good in here, and the boys swore that you were Batman. But you ain't Batman, and I ain't scared of no shield-slinging punk kid. I got nothin to say to you." The mobster said as he turned his head to avert his gaze.

In a way Jack could respect that the man wanted to keep his mouth shut, but overall he'd be lying if he said the mobster's stubbornness wasn't annoying.

Jack decided to take a slightly rougher approach to see if he could get what he wanted. He amped up to 12% and decided to give the guy a story to spread so that people would understand that while he wasn't Batman, he wasn't just some punk kid that you could ignore.

Jack quickly reached down, and the dancing green sparks brought the man's eyes forward before they widened when Jack grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and picked him bodily off the floor and slammed him back first into the crate.

"I wanna know why you guys are arming up for a war. Your gonna tell me or things are gonna get nasty." Jack said as he looked the man in the eyes.

The man was clearly afraid for a few moments but that quickly tapered out as he realized that nothing on his person was broken yet.

"Is this little display supposed to make me think your gonna pull a Batman and break something on me…because I gotta tell ya that it doesn't seem like your style sport." The mobster said as he started to grin at Jack.

He was surprised when Jack set him back on his feet smiled minutely and patted the lapels of his leather jacket back down.

"Ya know…It's really not. My style that is. But it's Her's. Huntress?" Jack said as he backed up two feet with a smile on his face.

"Finally." Huntress said with a Cheshire like grin as she quickly made her way forward.

It took a little longer than he had expected it would, but Helena got the answers Jack had been looking for.

And if he was being honest he wasn't any happier after he'd gotten them.

Chuckie Sol was apparently getting all the guns together at the behest of Sal Valestra.

They were getting ready to go to war with the Black Mask for the Falcone crime family.

GOTHAM CITY – GRANTS GYM

APRIL 5TH 2008 2130

Jack had dropped Helena off in front of her flats building after they had first made a stop so that she could get out of uniform, Jack siting that the easy thing to explain All Might dropping anyone off was that she had needed a ride out of the Narrows after she had been attacked by some punks.

Helena had rolled her eyes and said it seemed too unbelievable, but Jack disagreed stealing one of his favorite lines from a movie back home.

'It's so overt it's covert.'

Jack made sure to double back twice to ensure he wasn't being followed by anyone and then pulled into the back and parked the bike in the garage, happy that Ted had delivered and taught him how to ride proficiently enough that he felt comfortable getting around this half of the city.

As Jack came in through the back door to the apartment he could see Ted on the phone with one hand to his face, his brow pinched in worry.

"Yeah I get it. Look... Selina, I'm retired you know that. Sigh. Look…Would ya listen to me? There may be something I can do. Let call ya back. Okay, Bye." Ted said as he hung up the phone before placing it on the counter.

"Ted?"

"Kid, Selina needs our help. Well… more specifically Catwoman needs your help."

And That's the Chapter Everyone! Once again I wanna apologize for it taking so long for me to deliver, it's just I've been swamped by life lately. Still going strong though. Please let me know what you think. How did I do with Batman? Do you think the dialogue between Batman and the other characters was good? Did I do good on Alfred? That's a big one. Alfred's the man. Anyway I'll stop Rambling. I hope Everyone has been safe, happy and healthy and continues to be so. Once again thank you so much for all the faves, and follows. Don't forget to leave a review if you have any questions, though as a reminder you need an active account for me to get back to you. Also if I somehow missed something and have glossed over a question please feel free to DM me. The site sometimes glitches and I don't get updates and the like.

Take care Ya'll.