I do not own Bruce Wayne/Batman, Lucius Fox, Alfred Pennyworth, Leslie Thomkins, or J'ohn J'ones/Martian Manhunter. DC does. Please enjoy for free.

Basement of Wayne Tower Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

The batmobile's headlights briefly illuminated Lucius Fox's tight, carefully blank, twitching face. After Batman parked, he emerged from the vehicle facing his old teacher. "You can let it out around me, 'only' me Leslie and Alfred for now."

Lucius stopped tapping his foot and shouted. "John Jones can turn invisible and use telepathy!"

Batman gave a brief nod. "The evidence 'seems' to indicate that, but remember what you taught me." Batman began to stride down the hallway to the main labs.

Lucius spun and followed. "Whatever he can do, he can do something extraordinary! And to think I used to see him all the time and never KNEW!"

"None of us did perhaps he didn't 'have' these mysterious skills then. Though, Alfred always suspected him of something. He's going to reach out to a contact to learn more."

Lucius caught up to Batman with quick steps. He looked up into his employer's face. "He thinks Jones and his unusual talents were on the radar of the government of England?"

"Possibly. Lucius, did you hide something you learned from the freezer from me all these years?"

"Never. What we found, we told you. No secret doors, just the very weirdly bent one that seemed normal till the firemen found you."

Remains of the Soup Kitchen: Two Years After Waynes' Deaths

Bruce stared at the blackened, mostly cleared area that used to be the soup kitchen. Alfred, Leslie, and Lucius stood behind him. Alfred whispered, "You don't have to do this Master Bruce. Everyone whose job it is to do has already looked."

Lucius added, "He's right. If the case weren't so firm, or we had any less influence, it'd be illegal to go look for ourselves."

Bruce replied with a hard face for a ten-year-old. "I know. But I need to look."

He heard his Aunt Leslie's voice, stiff with worry, ask next. "And if you find something?"

Bruce swallowed. "Then maybe I'll know. And even if we can't bury him, we can … memorialize him knowing he's gone." Bruce began walking carefully over the remains of the floor. Though they'd been told what was left was stable, its very charred and patchwork appearance demanded caution. His guardians followed doing the same. Bruce reached the kitchen area, which looked cleaned out, except … Bruce paused, tilted his head, and stared at the now somewhat melted and misshapen freezer. "Lucius …"

"Yes?"

"Does the door lying on the floor, broken off its hinges, make sense?"

Lucius squatted down next to him squinting with him. "I assumed the firefighters did that trying to get to you."

Leslie broke in. "They didn't … I heard a firefighter saying it fell off by itself. It drew their attention, and made them look inside and see you Bruce."

Bruce bent over further getting his face closer to the evidence. "It's like the hinges were melted together, and then snapped apart."

Lucius turned his head and then pointed while shouting "That's the handle there!" The engineer then stood up and stepped back to take in the sight of the whole door. "It's shaped like it ballooned 'outward!' With the air hotter on the outside than inside that should be impossible!"

Bruce, while telling himself it was impossible, began to look for hand prints in the metal. There was none. He looked over his shoulder at his godmother. "The fire was out when they found me?"

Leslie nodded. Bruce switched on a flashlight he'd brought and shone the beam over the interior of the freezer. No matter where it landed, there were no visible signs of human remains. "Can I go in?"

Lucius answered, "No, but tell you what. If the people in charge let me, I'll bring the whole thing, door included, to Wayne Labs and 'really' give it a going over!"

"If we can't find anything, then he 'must' have gotten out alive too …"

Lucius sighed and knelt down next to him. "Bruce."

The boy turned to meet the man's gaze. Lucius' face had crinkled up in stress and sadness. "I don't know what happened here. The evidence is 'beyond' confusing. But I've been trying to teach you to think scientifically. There is one thing 'anyone' who wants to be scientific 'cannot' let themselves do."

Bruce heard his godmother's warning voice off to the side, "Lucius ..." But his teacher went on.

"You cannot interpret evidence, especially confusing evidence, a certain way, just because that answer is what you want it to be. In fact, the more you want something to be true, the more suspicious and demanding of the evidence you have to be. We don't know how John could have caused what we're seeing. We can't assume he did. We can't find a body here. We can't find it anywhere else. We really have 'no' answers. But we can't just choose the possibility we hope for the most and commit to it more than any other."

Bruce clenched his jaw and swallowed. Emotion drained from his face as he switched the flashlight off. Then he hung his head, shutting his eyes, and let his arms hang at his sides. "Even if he is alive … he just left."

Leslie, who'd been staring daggers at Lucius during his speech, finally spoke up, "Bruce, let's not assume the worst of someone's character either …"

Lucius nodded and added, "Let's not assume 'anything.'"

Bruce barely opened his eyes and continued without looking at any of his guardians. "But there is a pattern … he runs away. If science is noticing patterns then that's the best explanation. He left me and ran away."

Basement of Wayne Tower Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

Batman sighed. "We may have seen the last of him since he ran again. Samson seems to be 'safe' and healthy enough he's our priority."

"I already have the equipment checked over and in the van."

"Thank you Lucius."

Bruce got out of his Batman gear, which Lucius said he'd look over as well and into a disguise. He hoped Samson would see him in his light brown wig and mustache as well as Wayne Security Systems uniform and decide to avoid his godmother's home altogether. If not, hopefully they would catch him on footage illegally trespassing. Samson would hopefully not be worth bailing out or bribing a judge for the South Side cartel. Then maybe they could stop worrying. Trespassing laws were surprisingly harsh in Gotham, because most of the property was owned by old and powerful families. So, while drug crimes had some of the lightest penalties in the country in Gotham City, trespassing had some of the harshest.

Street Across from Dr. Leslie's Thomkin's House Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

Bruce pulled up behind the car Alfred had driver there to pick up Madge and his godmother. Madge, Bruce saw, wore a tired disgruntled look as she came out of the house holding luggage. He gave a slight upturn of his mouth since no one could see him. Anger and exertion added a blush to her face that made her more attractive. I'm sorry Madge. I didn't want to force you and Alice to live together again so soon. But I can't let Samson near either of you again.

As Madge handed the luggage to Alfred, she turned to seemingly stare at him through the service truck's front window. Confident the Wayne Security Systems hat, lowering sun's reflected rays off the window, and the fact she'd only seen in him in mask before would keep her from recognizing him, he waved. He saw her mouth move. Then Alfred seemed to give her a reply as he put the luggage in the car's trunk. Without a wave back, Madge got into the car. Bruce grinned a little wider. His smile fell away as he considered other precautions they might make for her.

Maybe he should ask Thomas to give her firearm training. Strict gun control laws were in place within Gotham City limits, but in the countryside the old families managed to keep them light due to their love of hunting and shooting tournaments. Bruce never glanced at a gun if he could help it. But teaching Madge to use other weapons would either take longer or be less effective a scare tactic.

Knives were so common a weapon on the streets, most of Gotham's underworld members had already wrestled one or more out of the hands of someone they'd sized up and guessed rightly they could overpower. Samson would definitely win anything that came down to a test of strength. Plus he'd been a professional wrestler, so making Madge "more" experienced in a martial art than her former "landlord" would take years at least.

Bruce was distracted by seeing his aunt come out of her house. He exited the truck and approached her with a wide smile meant to portray friendly costumer service. He tipped his hat to her while asking, "So, you'd like your security system checked and upgraded today Dr. Thomkins?"

She turned to fully face him. Then her eyes widened. When they were a mere foot apart, she turned her back on the car and spoke in a low voice, "Was this supposed to fool me?"

He shrugged keeping his large grin in place. Leslie shook her head and responded in a louder voice. "Yes. I'm going to spend some time with my sister, so I and my house guests will be out of your hair. Do be mindful of my neighbors though."

He nodded. "Will do! Have a good evening Doctor!"

Leslie turned shaking her head and got into the car. Bruce briefly met Alfred's gaze before his butler drove the car away. Then Bruce started his work. As he did, he marveled at the stillness of the somewhat genteel neighborhood. There was the usual traffic noise in the distance, but it had to be one of the quietest occupied neighborhoods in Gotham. "Crime-alley" was mere blocks away, yet most of these homes were still occupied by those who'd lived here before his parents' deaths like his godmother.

Despite the area's fallen reputation, the cartels respected old money and made sure other criminals did the same. Still … Bruce checked Leslie's current system and made the upgrades. As he did, he kept standing up and scanning the area to see if Samson or anyone else noticed. A few neighbors glanced out their blinds. When he was finished, Bruce drove back to the tower, and got back into his Batman suit.

Hours later, Samson approached Dr. Thomkin's fancy house. Everything was dark. Alice's blonde hair would be obvious if she got close to "one" window with the light on. Getting close and looking in would be hard. He held a light stone that shouldn't even badly chip glass, but would hopefully made her look out.

He circled outside the fence. He should have come sooner, but he'd had to walk his girls to the clubs to show he could and deserved that job in whatever "consolidation" was coming. He sighed. The house was dark and still. Like everyone was gone or asleep. He was about to turn and walk away, when a light came on and poured through an upstairs window. Moments later, he saw the familiar form and glowing hair of Alice right on the other side of the window. He climbed over the fence and looked up beneath the window. As he shifted the rock in his hand, the light went out and a deep voice came from the shadow of the house. "What are you doing?"

Samson spun thinking of one person. He turned and squinted into the darkness. Then he growled, "What business is it of yours anyway? Huh? What did you even do with my other girl?" He lowered his voice, so even if she opened the window and looked out, Alice wouldn't hear. "She was 'dead' you had no business butting in last night or tonight or any other! They live with me cause that's how attractive ..."

Before he could get the next word out, the Bat-themed costume of his nightmares smoothly moved across the grass. A gloved hand snapped out and grabbed his throat. Samson's eyes bulged. The Batman hadn't done this before!

He played his memories of their other altercations in his mind just to be sure. Then the familiar voice hissed, "Do not come back." He was shoved back on his butt, which was familiar. Samson glared and got to his feet his rage urging him to take another swing. Then the hairs on his arm stood up. He swallowed.

There was something more ... chilling than usual about the Bat tonight. Oh, what use was it anyway? Better go back and ask for more different work to do till there was a better chance to talk to Alice. He turned, strode away, and even went through the gate rather than over the fence again, wincing at the creak it made. Doctor-lady should spend her money to get those hinges oiled. Samson then strode down the street and back toward the clubs. The figure watching him nodded and turned only to freeze at an only slightly less chilling and more confused voice from the shadows. "Who 'are' you?"

The figure in the cowl and cape stepped back as another stepped into the dim, reflected glow of streetlights. The two then faced each other like a bat and his reflection. Then, the one who'd chocked Samson, turned and ran. Bruce followed.

Both vaulted over the fence. The one who'd confronted Samson continued on foot, but Bruce fired his grappling gun and began swinging after his double who ran down the alley. As he closed in on him, the form turned and began to turn translucent just as Bruce fired his handmade device for his "other" glove.

Two lines popped out and landed on the raised arm of the other individual sparking with electricity. Bruce was inwardly sighing. Even if they were not as well made as his own gauntlets, the effectiveness of electricity would surely be weakened on that surface coating his double's arm. Instead, his impersonator screamed, convulsed, and re-solidified. As soon as he landed, Batman pressed the button to stop the current from running through his device. After that, the figure swayed and fell over.

Bruce ran forward and caught it. Then, he turned pale, his eyes widening as his double ceased to be his double. The bat suit and lower half of his face seemed to melt away and reform into a naked-looking, green form with red glowing eyes. Bruce blinked. "'What' are you?"

Whumptober 2024 alternate prompt "Secrets Revealed."

What do you think now?

God bless

ScribeofHeroes