The Good Cop

The next day Walter was back in the cave beneath Wayne Manor. "Okay, give it a try," Walter calls over to Alfred after hammering a bracket into one of the cavern walls securing a light fitting. Alfred flipped on the generator, lighting up the various overhanging lights in the cavern.

"Charming," Alfred says drily, looking around at the dimly lit surroundings.

"At least you'll have company," He remarks, noticing the bats hanging from the ceiling. Walter lowers himself down and sees a brick structure. "That's the foundation of the southeast wing, right?" Walter asks Alfred.

"I believe so, sir," Alfred replies, following after him. They climbed up to the foundations and found an old service lift.

"In the Civil War, your great-great-grandfather was involved in the Underground Railroad..." Alfred informs Walter. "...Secretly transporting the freed slaves to the North..." He pauses and watches Walter look up at the elevator shaft, shaking the chains to test their integrity.

"...And I suspect these caverns came in handy," He finishes, giving a cursory look around. They exit the foundation, and Walter takes his rope and harnesses, walking to the waterfall while Alfred stays back.

"Alfred! Come up here," Walter calls, holding his hand under the downpour of water. "I can see everything alright from down here, sir. Thank you very much," Alfred declines.

[Line Break]

A few days later, Walter stood by the now-fixed service lift, unloading equipment and materials for constructing his secret base of operations. "That should be the last of it," He sighs wiping the non-existent sweat from his brow.

As he arranges his blueprints and equipment, his old League phone rings. He looks at it momentarily then answers the call, realising only two people can call him.

"Hello, Talia."

"Was it really necessary to blow up the monastery?"

"It was an accident."

"I'm sure it was Kuffash. You're always so dramatic."

"If you're using my old alias. I'm guessing you have company?"

"Not really, just being cautious... Thank you for sparing Him."

"I don't kill Talia, and I didn't do it for him."

"Thank you nonetheless. Anyways I'm guessing you're back?"

"Yes. I'm currently busy getting everything ready before I start."

"Is there any way I can help?"

"If it won't be much trouble. I need some extra pieces to complete my project."

"What do you need?"

"I'll send you a list of what I need and where to send it to."

"Sure... My times up, I'll talk to you later."

Natasha ends the call and waits a moment for the list to be sent. After memorising the list she deletes it and pockets her phone, just as Clint Barton walks over with two coffees in hand.

"Any movement yet?" Clint asks as he sits next to Natasha taking a sip from his coffee. "Nothing yet," Natasha shakes her head as she leans back in her chair and takes a sip from her coffee.

"God, I hate reconnaissance," Clint whines as he glares at the building at the end of the street. "By the way, who were you talking to?" Clint asks.

"A friend" Natasha shrugs as she takes another sip of her coffee. "Fine, keep your mysterious call to yourself," Clint huffs as he turns his attention back to the building. Natasha chuckles at his childish display.

[Line Break]

James Gordon sits in the passenger seat of his police cruiser, glaring at his partner, Flass. Flass was in the liquor store, extorting money from the liquor store owner.

Flass walks back to the police cruiser with a wad of cash in hand and chewing on a candy bar. "You want some?" Flass offers the candy bar to Gordon, who just blankly stares at him. "I keep offering, maybe one day you'll wise up."

"Nothing wise about what you do Flass," Gordon sneers as he looks out the window. "Well, Jimbo, you don't take the taste makes us guys nervous," Flass cautions as he side-eyes Gordon.

"I'm no rat," Gordon glares at Flass and then shakes his head in disgust with a sigh. "In a town this bent. Who's there to rat too anyway?"

Flass laughs as he starts the police cruiser and drives off.

[Line Break]

Batman sat on the ledge of a building in his old League of Assassins garb. He observes Gordon's office window, which has a perfect view of his desk and chair.

Batman traverses over to Gordon's office window, just as Gordon takes a seat by his desk. Batman sneaks in through the open window and picks up the stapler on the side table by the window.

"Don't turn around," Batman growls as he presses the stapler against Gordon's nape making him freeze in fear. "What do you want?" Gordon asks.

"You're a good cop. One of the few. Carmine Falcone brings in shipments of drugs every week. Nobody takes him down. Why?" Batman asks keeping his voice rough and unrecognisable.

"He's paid up with the right people." Gordon shrugs helplessly.

"What will it take to bring him down?"

"Leverage on Judge Faden...and a D.A brave enough to prosecute."

"Rachel Dawes."

"Who are you?" Gordon asks. "Watch for my sign," Batman says as he removes the stapler causing Gordon to relax slightly.

"You're just one man?"

"Now we're two."

"We?" Gordon asks incredulously but gets no reply. He tentatively turns around and sees no one there, he quickly gets up from his chair rushing to his open window.

He sticks his head out and looks around up the fire escape and the building over but sees no one as if the unknown man just disappeared without a trace of even being there in the first.

"Damn nut," Gordon curses with a sigh as he returns to his desk chair sitting down with a heavy sigh.

[Line Break]

"Your packages have arrived, sir," Alfred announces as he enters the cave with two duffel bags slung over his shoulders.

"Just place it over there, Alfred," Walter nods off to his side as he concentrates on grinding a piece of metal into the shape of a bat.

Alfred drops off the duffel bags on a table and walks over to Walter, who is now examining the bat-shaped piece of metal for any imperfections.

"Why bats, Master Wayne?" Alfred asks curiously.

"Bats frighten me." Walter looks up at Alfred with a smirk. "It's time my enemies shared my dread." Walter skilfully throws the Batarang into a support beam.

[Line Break]

A grey sedan drives down the docks and stops in front of a group of men, loading boxes full of bears into the back of a truck.

Flass exits the car, walks up to the group of men who stop what they're doing and nervously watches as he picks up one stuffed bear. Flass cuts open the bear and pulls out a small package covered in brown duck tape.

"What is this?" He asks flatly, watching as the men glance at each other unsure what to say. Flass laughs as he places back the stuffed bear, "Continue."

Flass walks away as the men go back to work. He walks up to a black sedan and climbs in the back passenger seats. "Looks fine out there."

Falcone nods at Flass while looking at a grey stuffed rabbit in his hand. "The bears the go straight to the dealers," Flass says as he looks at the rabbit in Falcone's hands.

"Yeah, and the rabbits go to the man in the Narrows." Falcone gestures to the rabbit in his hand.

"What's the difference?"

"Ignorance is bliss, my friend. Don't burden yourself with the secrets of scary people."

Back out at the docks, a man in a black hoodie walks to an open shipping container to retrieve another box of stuffed animals.

As he enters the shipping container, he bends to pick up a box. He is yanked into the container with a surprised yelp escaping his lips.

Three other men standing by the truck, stop what they're doing and look in the direction of the sound.

One of the men with a fur-lined jacket looks at the other two men and then walks over to the open shipping container. "Hey. Steiss." He calls out to only silence.

He walks cautiously towards the shipping container with another man in a grey hoodie and jacket following behind him with a gun.

"Steiss?" The man calls out again as they stand a few feet from the open container.

The men both flinch when the three overhang lights behind them are destroyed one after the other, engulfing the are in darkness. One of the men hears a clattering sound and looks to the ground, seeing the shiny glint of a bat-shaped piece of metal.

He slowly picks it up and looks it over curiously. He turns and sees the gun-wielding man staring up frozen in fear. "What?" He asks and slowly looks up as well.

The man's eyes widen in fear at the cloaked figure hanging like a bat from the underside of a crane. "What the...?"

The cloaked figure swoops down and envelops the man with the grey hoodie with his cloak.

The other man screams and runs away in fear. He runs down a corridor of crowds frantically looking behind him. He turns a corner and sees one of his partners in crime but skids around another turn, trying to escape the maze of shipping containers.

As he turns another corner yet again. The cloaked figure zips by and snatches him from the ground.

Another man with medium-length hair and a brown leather jacket with a submachine gun walks cautiously down the rows of containers.

He hears a rustling sound and immediately turns, firing a hail of bullets in the direction of the sound. He stops firing and quickly turns again when he hears another rustling sound behind him.

He pants, heart pounding as he tentatively walks in the direction of the sound. He sees a shadow move between the containers and fires another hail of bullets.

"Where are you?!" He shouts, his eyes flickering to every shadow wildly as he slowly moves backwards.

"Here," A gruff voice says behind him before he is consumed by darkness.

Carmine Falcone sits alone in his car with Flass having already cleared out when the commotion started.

Falcone looks out the window of his car before he grunts in frustration and gets out to investigate the commotion himself. He walks down a corridor and comes to a stop at an open area.

He watches in disbelief and shock as six of his men are effortlessly beaten by a cloaked figure with bat ears.

He hurries back to his car and gets in the back passenger seat. "Take a ride. Oh shit." He curses when he sees his driver knocked out by the wheel.

He pulls out his double barrel from under his seat and checks to see if it is loaded. He looks around breathing heavily when he hears a rustling sound.

He looks up at the roof of the car when feels the car slightly shake. "What the hell are you?"

A hand shoots down from the sunroof, grabs him by the collar and pulls him out. He comes face to face with a man in a cowl with bat ears.

"I'm Batman."

[Line Break]

Rachel Dawes stares out the window of the moving train lost in thought, not noticing the man a few seats behind her, giving her subtle glances.

As the train comes to a stop at the station, Rachel picks up her handbag and walks out the opening doors. The man waits a moment and then quickly follows after her.

Rachel nervously glances back when she notices the man following her. She reaches a hand into her handbag, to pull out her taser gun. Another man coming from the front of the platform grabs her and pushes her back into the arms of the man behind her.

Rachel swings her handbag, hits the man behind her and points her taser gun at the man in front of her, "Hold it."

The man looks behind her in fear and runs off. "That's right, you better run," Rachel smirks. She turns to confront the other man but yelps in surprise and shoots her taser gun at the cloaked figure sitting on a railing staring at her.

Rachel took a moment to examine the cloaked figure. His head is covered by what seems like a black reinforced cowl with bat ears and white eye lenses.

His Kevlar body armour, black with grey camouflage on the sides with a black bat symbol as a centrepiece. The body armour had plates on the shoulders and biceps. Armoured gauntlets with blades attached and reinforced gloves.

The Kevlar pants from what Rachel could make out, were also black with grey camouflage on the sides. Reinforced knee guards and black steel-lined boots.

Finishing off the ensemble was a black cape which was covering most of his right side.

"Falcone sent them to kill you," Batman says unfazed as he removes the taser wire. He tosses a bunch of pictures at her feet. "He wasn't too fond of you rattling his cage,"

"What's this?" Rachel asks as she examines the pictures of Judge Faden exiting one of Falcone's establishments with a blonde woman on his arm.

"Leverage." 

"For what?"

"To get things moving."

"Who are you?"

"...Someone like you. Someone who'll rattle the cages."

Rachel crouches down to pick up the pictures and when she looks back up the cloaked figure is gone without a trace.

[Line Break]

Gordon closes his car door as another officer walks up beside him. "Falcone's men?" The officer asks as they look at the group of men tied up.

"Does it matter?" Gordon asks as he looks around the docks, at the other police officers unloading a truck full of drugs. "We'll never tie him to it anyway."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." The officer nods his head over to two other officers that trying to cut down, Falcone who is knocked out and chained to a spotlight.

"What the hell is that?" One of the officers asks as he points to the bat-like shape that is made by the spotlight.

"...Cut him down." Gordon orders after staring at the bat shape and walks away, glancing at Falcone once more.