"It seems sir, that your activities last night have not gone on unnoticed" Alfred mused as he watched as his charge walk down the stairs. Bruce grunted as he was handed the newspaper and saw the photo of the Penguin being arrested with his thugs. Bruce smiled
"This should send the message clearly" Bruce said
"So may I ask who's next?" Alfred asked
"I don't know" Bruce frowned as he sat down at the table.
"Well maybe you can think about it at the board meeting" Alfred informed him
"That's today?" Bruce asked
"Yes it is:" Alfred nodded
"Just what I need, more stuffed suits blabbing on and on about how they think the company should be run" Bruce groaned.
"I'm sure you'll be fine" a driver said as he looked back to see Selina looking nervous.
"I hope so" Selena said as she was driven up to the mansion of her father, someone she never thought she would EVER interact with. The car stopped allowing the driver open the door. "Thank you" she smiled as she stepped out, two of her father's guards walked over to her and waved a wand over her
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!" a voice shouted making Selena's heart skip, she turned around and saw her half brother Alberto Falcone shouting the guards; "What did pops tell you?"
"We don't check the members of the family" one of them said
"That's right you dolt!" Alberto snapped before he turned to Selina "hey Lenie, you look good"
"Hello Alberto" Selina hugged her brother "I take it he's in?" she asked unsure
"Yeah sure, come on in; he's probably in the kitchen" Alberto smiled
"Well, well, well look at what the riff raff dragged in" a woman said making Selina scowl
"Hey Sofia, hung anyone lately?" Selina asked as she walked past
"I may be thinking of skinning a cat" Sofia smirked "or two" she added.
"hey! Dad wants to see you Selina" Alberto said
"Oh where is he?" Selina asked
"The kitchen" Alberto told her.
"Grazie" Selina kissed his cheek and walked into the kitchen as Alberto gave Sofia a glare before she walked off.
"Hm, needs more Basil" an older gentleman said as he was cooking a large pot of meat sauce;
"Ciao Papa" Selina said as she walked in the kitchen, a smile on her face
"Ah, Selina" the man cheerfully said as he walked over and hugged her. Even though she was the product of an affair he had at his club , no one would ever dare to say that Carmine Falcone did not say that he didn't love his daughter Selina like his other children Alberto and Sofia.
"Ragu ala Bolognese?" Selina asked as she stirred for a bit, grabbing the tasting spoon and tried it.
"Well?" Carmine asked
"Needs more Basil" Selina confirmed
"I thought so too" Carmine said adding some into the sauce. "I've heard you have been hanging around that Wayne boy" Carmine said
"Is that a crime?" Selina asked nervous
"No, no in fact I like the Wayne boy, sorry Mr Wayne. You know he's father saved my life after Salvatore shot me, he rushed me to his manor house and dumped me on the pool table" Carmine said as he stirred the sauce again. "And when I intended to go straight and open my own restaurant, he was the first true investor I had" Carmine mused. "It was a shame what happed to the. Shot down in front of their young son like that" Carmine frowned
"You didn't?" Selina asked worried
"No, in fact I wanted to find the person who did it and ice them personally, how's the pasta?" Carmine asked
"Nearly al dente" Selina said
"good" Carmine said as he growled at a newspaper, Selina saw it and was curious
"papa?" Seliena asked
"It's nothing, just The Penguin was taken down" Carmine said
"Cobblepot?" Selina asked "What happened?"
"Not sure, all I know it involved some guy in a bat costume, took out all of Cobblepot's men and rescued the Captains' daughter before disappearing into the night as if he was a ghost. Problem is he's upset the delicate balance" Carmine said
"Balance?" Selina asked reading the paper.
"Yes, if the power vacuum left by Cobblepot is not filled soon, then Gotham will be at war" Carmine said "Which is something I have been trying to avoid"
"I see" Selina frowned before she saw something.
"Looks like Batman made his mark" Alfred said placing a newspaper down on Bruce's desk, who looked at it and picked it up, reading the article
"I see they assigned Vicky to it" Bruce said
"Indeed, but what is more concerning is this new blog: Knightwatch" Alfred told him
"Knightwatch?" Bruce asked
"Indeed" Alfred said showing him. Bruce smiled as he read the first entry
"A Dark Knight, I like it; well the imagery at least" Bruce said smiling.
"Indeed, and it was started by Captain Gordon's daughter" Alfred informed him
"The girl I saved from that Bliss overdose?" Bruce asked
"Indeed sir, by the way Lucius Fox wants a report" Alfred told him
"Let me guess, about the new tech he made for me?" Bruce asked as he got up and walked to an elevator.
"Yes sir. Now how are you going to handle the imbalance made by Penguin being arrested?" Alfred asked
"I don't know, all I know is that there are some things that may be chaotic coming in the future" Bruce frowned as the doors to the elevator closed.
"The Amber Tiger, a priceless artefact" Selina said as her pet black cat rubbed itself against her leg. "Such a pretty kitty that needs rescuing. So who owns it; The Maroni family! Well I guess Daddy will be please if it went missing. Now where is it?" Selina asked as she read on. "It was returned Gotham Museum, huh I haven't tried to rob that place; and there's a gala tonight. I'm sure socialite Selina Kyle wouldn't be out of place there, don't you thing Pewter?" she said stroking her pet cat. She then walked over to her cupboard and chose a tight fitting red strapless dress, a white bra with black lace, matching panties, her metallic red high heels and black stockings. "Perfect;" she then went over to a trunk and unlocked it then pulled out a black body suit, claws gloves and a pair of goggles that looked like cats' eyes. "Time for Catwoman to reappear. And hopefully she bumps into the Batman" she smiled "I wonder what he's up to at the moment" she pondered.
"I see, very well Mr Wayne, it seems like the suit and batarangs worked quite well" Lucius said reading the report
"Indeed, but I'm worried I may have to face people overdosing on some sort of drugs again, think you can do something about that?" Bruce asked
"Well there was something your father was working on. A rapid injector he called it, a way to quickly administer medicine, such as counter-agents to narcotics. I can try and make a prototype for it." Lucius nodded as he went over to a filing cabinet and looked through the plans. "Now tonight's suit for the Museum gala" Lucius said
"Alfred has that covered" Bruce said
"I see, now about that other thing you wanted" Lucius said as he unrolled something on the table "I have finalised the design and have sent it to our mechanic friend to finish building it. So you will have it soon" Lucius said
"Thanks Lucius" Bruce said as e looked over the plans.
"I must warn you this is not what you would be going for
"Very well, until next time, shall we head back up to the main offices?" Lucius asked
"Indeed" Bruce smiled as he and Lucius walked over to the elevator and rode it up.
"So sir what shall it be tonight?" Alfred asked
"Pack the suit and have it so I can use it if I come across
"I mean do you want the navy blue, the charcoal grey, or the black" Alfred said holding up three different suits
"What did I wear last time?" Bruce asked
"The dark brown one with the pale blue pinstripe, the one you wore to the Queen Technologies s charity ball" Alfred said
"Oh yeah" Bruce mused as he examined them. A frown on his face before he walked over to his phone and dialled a number
"Hey hey Brucie, what's up?" Harvey Dent asked
"I'm having trouble with my suit for tonight" Bruce frowned
"What are the choices l?" Harvey asked
"Navy blue, Charcoal grey and basic black" Bruce told him.
"What are the choices for ties?" Harvey questioned.
"Standard variety Mr Dent" Alfred nodded
"I'd go Charcoal grey with that red tie you have" Harvey said
"Thanks Harv" Bruce hung up and looked at his butler, who had a mirthful smile on his face.
"Well you heard him" Alfred mirthfully smiled
"Knowing him, he'll be wearing a two tone suit" Bruce rolled his eyes.
"Very much so" Alfred nodded
"So what is this event?" Bruce asked
"An event at the museum, apparently a statue that the Maroni crime family had taken was recovered and is being put on display" Alfred said
"I see, meaning the Maronis would try and get it back" Bruce said
"I'll pack that suit as well" Alfred nodded.
That night Bruce showed up at the museum; he smiled and waved to the press, cameras flashed as he continued down the red carpet, museum security and member of the local police were there handling security. Bruce saw a familiar face in the crowd.
"Captain Gordon" Bruce smiled as he walked up to the Captain of the GCPD
"Oh Mr Wayne, good to see you" Gordon shook his hand.
"I heard about Babs, is she okay?" Bruce asked
"Yeah, thankfully we got her to the hospital. Only after this new vigilante; Batman helped us stopped the Penguin and rescue Babs, if we didn't get her to there in time she would've die" Gordon explain, Bruce smiled
"That's good to hear. So Batman huh?" Bruce asked
"The guy looks like a giant bat Bruce, didn't you read the newspaper?" Harvey laughed as he walked up to him and slapped him on the back.
"Indeed" Gordon said before a new car pulled up, out of it stepped out Selina; who automatically stole Bruce's breath.
"He's smitten isn't he?" Gordon asked as he watched as Selina walked over, looking like a movie star
"Hey Bruce, Harvey, Captain" she greeted them
"Miss Kyle" Gordon nodded
"Wow" Bruce said "you look nice" he smile
"Thank you, you're quite handsome yourself tonight Brucie" Selina cooed, charming her friend as he lead her inside.
The museum was packed, most of them looking at the exhibits. Selina was no different as she walked around, a glass of white wine in her hands, he critical eye looking at all of the items there, judging which ones she was going to steal later when she came for the Amber Tiger. What she didn't notice was Bruce looking around, trying to pick out who was there to steal the exhibits.
"I have to keep my guard up, who knows what will be here that would try and steal this artefact' Bruce pondered
"Bruce Wayne, I never thought you and I would cross paths" Alberto said
"Mr Falcone, how's your father" Bruce asked shaking his hand
"Not too bad, he's busy with his restaurant" Alberto said as he sipped his wine, only to scowl upon seeing "Maroni"
"Salvatore Maroni? I wonder what he is doing here?" Bruce asked
"I have heard that they are here to see if they can steal back an artefact that was recovered by the police: The Amber Tiger" Alberto said
"I heard about that, apparently it was among the Penguin's stuff when the police recovered it and gave it back to the museum" Bruce said
"I see, so that is why the police is here" Alberto nodded "I hope this new guy takes them down" Alberto then scowled
'So the Falcones can move in and take over more, I doubt that will happen' Bruce though. While this was going on Selina smiled as she saw the Amber Tiger, which was where Sal Maroni was as well. A scowl on her face as she sipped her wine
'Sal Maroni, dad's biggest rival and the only obstacle he still has to face to become the top dog of Gotham, now that the Penguin is out of the picture, but there is still the Batman. I wonder how Maroni would handle that one?" she though
"Ah Miss Kyle" Sal said as he raised his own glass of wine towards her "How splendid to see you here" Maroni smiled "Tell me have you seen your parents at all?" he asked
"Why do you care?" Selina asked as she was scowling
"Oh you know, just hoping you would see them one" Maroni started
"SELINA!" Bruce shouted waking over "Ah Salvatore Maroni, it's good to see you again" Bruce shook his hand; "But I'm afraid you're not welcome here" he said as several cops looked at them with hands on their sidearms
"I am not in any trouble am I?" Sal asked
"I'm not sure, are you going to start trouble?" Gordon asked as he walked over a stern look on his face
"No not at all" Sal said
"Good, keep it that way Maroni, otherwise you'll be like your boys and bee inside a cell in Blackgate" Gordon scowled
"Very well" Sal grunted as he walked off. "I'll leave"
'He'll be back' Selina and Bruce thought.
Once the party died down and the museum closed Selina was on the rooftop, zipping up her catsuit with a hood and her cat eye like goggles on her head, she looked around and saw the skylight stalking over she flicked out a claw and quietly cut the lock, lifting it up and lowered her goggles, looking for any laser tripwires, which thankfully there weren't any, So she quickly and skilfully jumped down to the floor, using a mix of gymnastics and her whip. Landing on all fours to soften the impact
"Now where is my purrfect prize?" Catwoman asked looking around before she heard something and quickly hid
"This way" a familiar voice growled, she scowled knowing that Sal Maroni had
"Boss, are you sure about this?" a thug asked
"I do, it was unfair that my Amber Tiger was stolen by Cobblepot but it was seized by the police and returned to the Museum, but at least we now know where it is" Sal said "so shut up, spread out and find it!" Sal ordered.
"Yes boss" they all said spreading out. Catwoman scowled and slinked off, quickly she snuck through the museum looking for the same item as them.
"There are 10 signatures in the museum sir" Alfred told Bruce as he pulled on his cowl becoming Batman.
"Maroni and his men I take it?" Batman asked
"Indeed, but there is one that is not a part of the main group" Alfred told him making Batman frown and turn on Detective vision ion to have a look. He saw the nine Maroni men, including Sal himself before spotting the person Alfred was talking about
"I see them; they appear to be female" Batman frowned as he walked over to the skylight and ran his fingers over the sill. A frown creased his face. "Someone cut the lock" he said he jumped through the skylight and unfurled his cape, using it to slow his descent so he could quietly landed making barely any noise. Deactivated his detective vision he pulled something out of his belt and opened it up. A screen popping up and saw a bunch of letters scrolling through it using the thumbsticks to access the internal security, pulling up the security cameras; he looked through them "A cat burglar" Batman murmured as he looked up and hid in the shadows as a thug of Maroni's passed by. Reaching out Batman grabbed the thug's shirt, pulled them into the shadows and knocked him out, making him slump forward. Batman put him against the wall. Once he was done with the thug he crept out of the shadows, pulling out his grappling hook and firing it so he could get to the second floor; which was completely of her got a better view of the ground floor.
'What could they be after?" Batman pondered before he realised something. 'The Amber Tiger" he scowled as he crept through the museum. He then spotted the cat burglar who was trying to hide around the pillars.
"So that is our cat burglar?" Batman asked as he leapt down and approached her.
"Damn; there's more of them then I first hoped" Catwoman snarled before she heard footsteps behind her; she whirled around pulling out her whip and cracking it at whatever was behind her, only for the tip of her whip to bounce off the shadow. "Oh crap" Catwoman blanched as she saw the shadow was none other than Batman "You're the one who took down the Penguin!" she gasped.
"And you are?" Batman asked before a familiar perfume entered his nose and he realised who it was. 'Selina Kyle"
"How?" Catwoman asked shocked.
"Let's just say you wear a familiar perfume" Batman informed her
"no way" Catwoman gulped
"What are you doing here?" Batman asked
"I'm here to recover something" Catwoman told him
"You mean liberate" Batman said "And by liberate you mean steal" Batman growled.
"What would you prefer he have it?" Catwoman asked
"No" Batman sternly told her as he grabbed an incoming thug and pulled him straight him into Batman's fist, knocking the thug out.
"HEY!" a second thug shouted before Catwoman stepped up, withdrawing a bola and throwing it at the thug's feet, tying him up and making him fall forward right into Batman's fist.
"that was good" Catwoman purred as she turned only to see no one there "I bet that gets real annoying" Catwoman growled as she rushed off.
"There it is" Sal laughed
"Shall we get it out of the case boss?" a thug said
"Yes" Sal said as one of his goons pulled out a cutting tool and started it up..
"Hey boss, what's topping the cops from stopping us?"
"Nothing, I've got a smaller group of the others attacking a bank. That will keep them piggies off our backs" Sal laughed
"And this new bat guy?" another thug asked
"Oh please, like we will bump into him" Sal snorted
"I bet the penguin thought the same thing" the goon said
"I agree" Batman said as he strolled out of the shadows and looked at the group
"Holy shit he's real!" a thug exclaimed
"So what he's just a man" Sal said as he pulled out a gun and aimed it at him, only to see no one was there "where did he?" Maroni asked looking around before he suddenly appear, and grabbed the arm of the goon with the cutting tool, twisted it around and slammed his elbow down, breaking his arm and making the cutting tool fall to the ground. Flicking his cap up Batman stunned a charging thug and ten delivered a series of rapid punches to the various pressure points on the body, making him slump to the ground
"TAKE THIS!" another thug shouted throwing a crate at Batman, who caught it and threw it back making it break apart and hit two other thugs. Spinning around batman grabbed the arm of the biggest goons around and quickly dislocated his arm and used it to cut off his oxygen supply to knock him out, leaving only him and Sal Maroni, unaware that there was a thug that he hit with the crate was getting up and pulled out a switchblade. Batman whirled around and planted the toe of his boot in the thugs face knocking him out.
"So look like Cobblepot lost for a reason" Maroni said as he removed his jacket and shit before flexing his arms. "But I'm not a push over like that overgrown bird" Maroni smirked
"Bring it" Batman just stood there before Maroni swung at him, Batman quickly stepped back making the punch miss him, only to have the bat themed hero stepped in and strike at Maroni's solar plexus and then an elbow to the neck. Maroni shook his head as he tried to punch Batman again swung at him, only to have Batman counter and clap his hands over Maroni's ears to confuse him more. Glaring at him Batman buried his fist in the abs before he used his grappling hook to pull him back into range and clothes lining him, making Maroni crashed into the ground who groaned. Looking up he saw that the Amber Tiger was gone.
"She must have taken it while I was fighting Maroni." Batman murmured
"GOTHAM PD FREEZE!" a voice shouted as Batman grabbed his grappling hook and shot up into the roof and out the nearest skylight; he watched as Maroni was taken into custody
"Selina Kyle, she may be a slippery one" Batman said as he looked over Gotham City. "One I'll surely bump into again."
G'day Guys Grizz here, and just like I promised now that Ultimate Alliance Protocol is over, Enter the Batman is now here to take its place, with the first chapter being posted months ago just to let you guys get a feeling for it. So we have Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni brought in here with Carmine being the father of Catwoman (who's name I mispelt last chapter) and of course Catwoman got away. I also figured I'd make the action scene like a Arkhamverse brawl instead of the predator map like last time
so until next time I'll catch you on the flipside