Issue #37: The Brave and The Bold

The next few days are a whirlwind of excitement and what can only be described as both a PR clusterfuck-slash-goldmine.With my father announcing his candidacy and running alongside Charles Chesterfield, the media–both local and state–was abuzz with articles, interviews, and the occasional cringy viral videos produced by their campaign managers.It had been absolutely baffling news, confounding pundits and political neophytes alike. After all, Father may once have been one of the most influential and rich elite of Gotham, but there are other better and, often, less obnoxious candidates at Chesterfield's disposal. Sure, there may have been the issue of willingness of said candidates, but it was an open secret at that point that most, if not all, of Gotham's elites do not like the current mayor. Even more so when he briefly appointed Batman as a deputy commissioner during the Greatest Riddle Incident last year.I asked mother what she thought of the matter and had told me that she heard about the candidacy the moment he arrived on-site. Apparently, the candidacy has been in the works for months, even before I got kidnapped by the Court of Owls.That was the reason why he was courting and endearing himself to Bruce and his company, having known that being in Wayne Enterprises' good graces would do well in his candidacy.I know that the Gotham chapter of the Court of Owls have a hand at this matter, seeing as its members are either elites that hold a sway in state and city politics or genuine heavyweights that have rooted themselves unto the foundation of Gotham far before my family ever came from Italy.All that means is that father and Chesterfield is going to win no matter what happens, unless, of course, Batman or any hero, in fact, interferes in the election and actively campaigns against them.Although I doubt Batman will use either or both of his persona to go against their imminent incumbency. It is a relief, however, to know that if they ever cross a line, the full weight of both personalities can damage their reputation and standing in both courts.In any event, what has happened has happened and, frankly, the announcement of their candidacy ruins any of my plans. Bar, of course, the fact that I had wanted to stay off the limelight for a little while since I will be training to the fullest of Batman's and J'onn's potential.'Speaking of…'"What's with the secrecy?" I ask as Batman stands in front of me with his hands and most of his body cloaked by the dark cape around him.Dick sits behind me in front of the Batcomputer's blue light which is the only other illumination besides the overhead fixture directly above Batman and two cylindrical chambers that normally houses his suit variants."I mean, more than usual." I chuckle at my own joke and so does Dick, but stop once Batman fixes me with the usual glare."Stand in front of me." He orders, which Dick and I follow obediently. He now stands in between the massive chambers, visage only visible through the ceiling fixture that dims by the second."You are rough stone hewed from the very same boulder I was cut from. Tainted by the sludge seeping into the very hearts of Gotham, the boulder now perches precarious between utter chaos and an abomination of our own creation." He sighs, gazing back at us with a different light. A more… gentle light. "The boulder should be lifted from the quagmire of corruption and evil and… Such is my burden, a vow I had taken following the death of my parents."Silence pervades the chamber, broken only by the loud gulps in Dick's throat.Batman looks at me. "For decades and even now, I have polished and honed my body and mind to be a vessel of physical and mental perfection, a combatant capable of unerringly delivering justice to those averse to it. I… became an entity able to strike terror to the hearts of the undaunted, to risk my life in the pursuit of helping those who are helpless. And, yes, while Bruce Wayne," He says his name with disgust and venom. "...Can do so much more in a day than Batman can in a week, there are… variables in the city that would prevent me from doing so. Such is the way of life, however, and I will persevere."He steps forward, causing Dick and I to shake a confused look–an action that he catches quite easily."I have learned many things during your training, like how truly hard it was to parent a rambunctious child." He playfully glares at Dick, who lowers his head to hide his guilty smile. "And how truly terrifying it is to have the lives of someone you love or care about in the line."With that, he gazes at me with a heavy nod. "As such, It is with a heavy heart that I must share my burden to someone younger than I am. Not a successor–only God knows when I'll retire or… die–but an… aide.""A sidekick!" Dick says."Partner in crime." I correct, no way will I be a sidekick and wait for Drake to elevate our statuses."Partner in crime, then." Batman nods at my wording, "My body can only take so many wounds and have a finite amount of energy…""Unlike a certain someone." Dick snickers."It will be hard and you will fail more often than you win, or a facsimile of a win. You will be wounded, scraped, bloodied, beaten, and possibly broken. Remember that every time you get knocked down, I will be there to tell you to stand up. Every time you break a bone, I will be there to tell you to walk it off. And every time you have blood in your hands, I will be there to tell you that there will be more."He stops his spiel, letting the words meld into our minds. While Dick erupts, and subsequently restrains, with joy and pleasure, I let out an overwhelming breath.'This is it. This is where I get my codename. He's going to bless us like he's the lady of the lake and we're… I don't wanna be King Arthur. No, not Lancelot either. Gawain? Isn't he the Green Knight one–'"Yet…" Batman's words interrupt my train of thoughts, "This burden must not be shared without your consent. Something I have not been keen to take, as remarked by Alfred and J'onn and Superman.""So… you're asking if we want to fight crime with you?" Dick asks with an incredulous look."Yes. Will you fight by my side and protect Gotham? Will you take another mantle and save the city from the very corruption it has produced?""I will!" "Yes."Our combined and different intensity answers cause Batman to nod, a swell of relief flooding his mouth as I spy a twitch or two in there."Good. Your training will be amplified to scale with Richard's proficiency in combat and non-combat skills, as well as Edmund's growth. While that means that you will rarely have a session in the same intensity, you can now train within the cave at the same time."Batman nods at us and turns on the lights of the cave, illuminating its main portion as he makes his way towards the Batcomputer."Wait? That's it?" I ask, earning his attention. "What about our codenames? Our–Dick's costume?""Uniform!" He corrects."Ah, that." Batman chuckles, startling both of us. He presses something hidden behind his cape that releases a swoosh sound behind us.As we look back, the metal coating the glass of the two chambers recedes upwards and reveals two costume–uniforms."Why don't you try it out?" Batman appeals to our need to try out new things and, frankly, we don't even need his permission as we enter our fingerprints and wear the damn things.The chamber to the left reveals the familiar uniform of the Boy Wonder. The crimson red short-sleeved leotard torso reflects the light coming from the fixture above the chamber; three metal sheets the size of rectangular plates are attached in the center of the costume, more likely to protect the wearer's heart, ribs, and stomach from piercings and slashing attacks.Two 'R' symbols stick out to me, one in the center in between two metal sheets and another in the belt buckle that seamlessly combines the torso and pants. Speaking of pants, it looks elastic and stretchable, which will certainly help Dick do his acrobatics and, at the same time, not help him from teasing.A thick, black cape on the back of the torso extends past the knees of the pants, hopefully made from the same materials as that of Batman's cape.'Otherwise, boy, will he have problems.'"Why do yours look so much cooler?" Dick's complaining earns my attention as I turn towards my very own uniform.Unlike Dick's colorful array of the electromagnetic spectrum, mine looks like it's been drowned in brown paint. A silicon jumper steeped in chrome metal plating along the outer limbs and torso, reminiscent of Indian pangolin except with glossy chitinous armor seen only in beetles and its subspecies.One edge of the plates is sewn into the jumper while the other is free to move about, giving it a heavy yet flexible texture. While I don't have a textured cape, Batman has given me a thermal scarf with a hood that I can wrap around my neck to regulate my temperature and hide the rest of my head.Both of us have a mask that hides our upper face from CCTVs and most facial recognition softwares. It also has a built-in communication device that can send one message to the Batcomputer–really anywhere Batman has access to–which also sends a location beacon that lasts until the mask is removed. After that, it becomes inert and can only function as a cool anecdote."How does it stick to my face?" Asks Dick as he removes and re-plant the mask on his face. "This is amazing."Seeing our new suits, I don the mask and activate the communication device. "Hey. Do you hear me?"Dick notices me walking back and moving my lips. A grin spreads across his face as he also dons his mask. [Do you copy me?]"Copy." I say, delight on my face before morphing into hesitant curiosity. "Hey, do you think that he'll let us spar?"[Uh, what? We can spar–]"No. I mean, like, real spar, not the judo-boxing tournament kind. Spar with suits and powers." I expound.[I don't think so. I'm going to lose if you use your powers. How about no powers. Just technique and hard-hitting punches.]I grin. "You've got yourself a deal. Now put on your red underwear."Dick flips me off as he grumbles about my little joke and walks away to don his new clothes somewhere in private. While mine can be worn over my shirt and jeans, Dick's Robin uniform is a bitch to wear, which elevates the fact that it has more utility gadgets than mine."Speaking of," I walk to Batman as he types away on his computers. "Anything cool I should know about?"He clicks two keyboard keys at the same time, which changes the filtering light on the screen from light blue to crayon brown. A 3D version of my suit appears on screen with key characteristics pointed out by the computer....Project: SparrowBase Suit:

Super-heated saturated elastomers mixed with Durasteel fiber lining

Five hidden pockets for utility equipment and gadgets

A mask with thermal vision, nightvision, and communication device with a disposable tracking beacon

Sparrow-themed hood lined with face-recognition suppressor and cyber-detection scrambler

The main suit is suitable for short-burst instantaneous combat, with replaceable options for ambush and stealth missions.Combat ModeEnhanced keratinous hexagonal scales provide a flexible yet sturdy anti-abrasion dermal armor all throughout the suit. This mode has two removable plates at the joints of the elbow, wrist, and ankles with tracking and magnetic mechanism.Exploiting the relative thickness of the hexagonal scales, the forearms of the suit has a fifty (50) feet grappling cable that is wrapped around the inch-thick arm gloves that ends with a steel alloy hook that can penetrate below any materials with classification E in the Rockwell Scale.Dilusteel covers the lining and soles of the suit's metal boots. Being highly durable and extra-dimensional in nature, the alloy can negate much of the physical damage extended to the user, as well as remove the wear and tear of daily activities.Stealth ModeReinforced tripolymer with molecular kevlar padding for sleek, agile movements. An endoskeletal prosthesis shaped along the soft points on the suit's back, ankles, shoulder blades, waist, and nape.Glider wings extend across the suit's elbow joint to its knee joints made from Wayne Enterprise's Memory Fabric material, with two redundancies connected to the spinal prosthesis and a secondary drudge to force eject the glider wings.A thermal scarf protects the user with temperature, radiation, and oxidation resistance.Ambush ModeUnavailable...."Most of it you already know, as I've given you the basics of a suit during your training." He says, swiping through material fabrications and allocations plans for further power developments, "I assumed you wouldn't want a symbol at your chest, even when I attested to its functionality?""You assumed correctly." I say, as I try to shake off the sheer bafflement in my body. "How-how long did this take, Batman?""Three months." He answers with candor. "I was hoping that you would be a… permanent fixture in my life. That is not to say that I would inhibit communications with you after your training, but there will be a time where our relationship is going to deteriorate far enough for you to not bother. As such, it has become a… pastime of mine to see what I can do to protect you in the event it occurs.""What do you mean? If I didn't want to become a true superhero and go back to my civilian life…""The Sparrow suit will be your final gift." He says as a smile appears on my face."I… thank you, master." I utter aloud as a blush appears on my face.A ghost of a smile appears on his face before it returns to a neutral one. "There's no need for that, Edmund. You may call me Batman during our training and once you join us in a patrol.""Patrol?" My eyes widened at his words. "Holy–You're going to let me patrol with you?""Yes. Your attitude during the incident on your birthday clearly indicates an acceptable level of responsibility and combat adaptability. Further in-house combat training would provide no sustenance to your growing prowess." Batman explains, truly working up an effort just so don't say that I did a good job."Does that mean Dick is also at an acceptable level, like me?""Indeed. He has proven to be an adequate combatant, utilizing his gymnastic abilities and tactile reasoning to their full extent." Batman responds manually, as he begins typing up a full report on Gotham's triad. "I'm sure you're questioning why your suit has three different variations and if Robin also has one. While your suit variants are to preemptively accustom you to the sudden influx of metahuman ability activating in your body, Robin only has one suit that reinforces what he does best. Your suit focuses on functionality and comfort, whilst Robin maximizes the full extent of his extraordinary ability."I notice a certain cadence in his voice that, throughout our time together, I have gathered to be… pride. He's proud of what Robin has achieved in the last few months and, frankly, so am I. Sure, I know what he's going to be in the future and the lives he will save, but as they say somewhere, I don't really remember where, to see it to believe.'There are people out there who will be given the same amount of resources and attention, yet never still do what Dick did during our training. You know what…'"Do you think I can beat Dick in a fair battle?" I ask which stops Batman from his typing.He unmasked himself as a brow hooks up tentatively. "There is certainly a scenario where you may be able to eke out a victory, although fair is a relative term.""No powers, just technique and punches." I expound.He grunts. "Just ask what you're about to ask and don't waste anymore time.""You're no fun. Fine. We want to spar with our suits and I won't use my powers." I say my terms.He contemplates for a moment before humming in approval. "It has been some time since I have seen your martial arts. I agree, but your suits cannot be worn during the spar. Any mistake made in that suit can be doubly deadly. Understand?"I crack my neck as I answer, "Crystal!"