Chapter 17

"That was a long time ago. I got rid of that name too. I do not want to be known by it." The large Man said with a smile as he scratched the back of his neck.

Terry cannot fathom how this large man with a gentle smile was one of the most vicious opponents that his predecessor as Batman, Bruce Wayne, has faced.

"Isn't he supposed to still be locked up?" Batman asked.

"I helped him shorten his sentence by giving him dangerous missions that we can't afford to send our own soldiers in." Amanda Waller explained.

"That's probably enough reminiscing about my past. I'm getting too embarassed about it. Please go inside." The man nervously laughed. He was genuinely self-conscious of his past.

They went inside as the Warden led the way.

"This is where I fought him. He was searching for a prisoner and was going through our files to find his target's cell. It's the previous vice-mayor. We changed his cell now in case of another break-in." Warden Dorrance explained the scene.

The counter was wrecked. Terry imagined what went down. Somebody was thrown there. Bane... The warden must have been the one who executed the throw. Deathstroke fell on the counter and immediately got back up and started slashing at the Warden.

"9mm rounds..." The place was riddled with bullets. A semi-automatic pistol was most likely used because of the quantity...

"Yeah. I used my uzi." Bane confirmed. "What do you think he wanted to do with the vice-mayor?" He asked.

"Let's go ask the man himself." Barbara said.

They walked passed the visiting rooms, the cafeteria, the field, and then through halls of cells.

"Is that Batman?"

"I know Batman. That's not him."

"Probably just another copycat."

"I can take him on."

"Bah. He doesn't look scary, does he?"

"Shhh! He's with the warden. Shut up."

The chatter of the inmates entered their ears. They seem to be more afraid of the warden than anyone else.

"We're here. Just so you know, I already tried talking to him but he won't listen." Warden Dorrance pointed at a man that looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. He was drenched in cold sweat.

Tang! tang! tang! The Warden banged on the iron bars with his large baton that was made to proportion with his size. It looked like a small bat if a normal sized person holds it.

"Kiiiieee! Don't kill me! I didn't say anything!" The man in his cell cried out.

"We're here to talk to you vice-mayor. We need your help if you want to be safe." Barbara said.

"No! You won't be able to keep me safe! I have a higher chance of surviving if I keep quiet!"

"He's been agitated like that since he heard the news of deathstroke breaking in here and trying to search for him. He won't talk to anyone."

"Does he have any family?" Batman asked.

"No, as far as I know." Warden Dorrance replied.

"Commissioner..." Batman whispered something to them without the vice-mayor hearing it.

"Okay." Barbara agreed to whatever Batman proposed.

"If the commissioner approved it, then it's okay." Eduardo Dorrance said.

"I asked for your help, remember?" Amanda Waller took a roundabout way of saying yes.

----

The sound of the rails from a prison door being opened echoed.

"Vice-mayor Sullivan Clark. Please come out of your cell." Eduardo said.

The vice-mayor hesitantly walked up to the warden. His anxiety and paranoia was high.

"Wha-what is it?"

"You are free to go, sir."

"No! You are going to kill me!" He shouted as he was about to turn back.

Eduardo Dorrance held his forearm and pulled him. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have already done it." He said with a menacing smile. "What I'm saying is true. You are free to go under one condition. Run away as fast as you can. No one will stop you. Not even me."

The man had disbelief written all over his face. "That's too easy..." He thought in a daze.

"If it is, then why don't you try it." The warden smiled at him and let go of his arm.

The vice-mayor looked at the direction where the exit was then looked back at the Warden thinking 'This is too good to be true.'

"You better go now before I change your mind." The warden's tone and demeanor changed and became serious.

He started walking towards where the exit was. He looked back at where the Warden was and the warden just gestured for him to go on.

He continued walking. Then, he picked up the pace and started walking faster. Fster and faster, he picked up his momentum and started running. All the other inmates were yelling while they were watching him run away to freedom. The guards acted like they didn't see him.

The vice-mayor began panting as he continued to run. The doors to freedom were finally in his sights. He pushed them away and a smile began to appear on his face. He already has plans about leaving Gotham and starting a new life miles away from it.

But a man suddenly appeared and blocked him. His face hit the man's chest and fell backwards upon collision. He couldn't see the man's face clearly but he appeared to have horns.

"Kiiie!!"

"You thought you were safer out here?" The man asked him.

"Wha-what are you?"

"I'm Batman." The vice-mayor's face was then met with a fist. "Tell me, Vice-mayor. Are you afraid of the Warden in there?"

The man lying on the floor looked at him stunned.

"Tell me!" Batman shouted.

"Y-yes!" He stuttered to answer.

"Then, who are you afraid of out here? The owls?"

He was stunned yet again and couldn't answer.

Batman grabbed him by his collar and punched him in the gut.

"Let me tell you something, vice-mayor. The one who you should be more afraid of is me!" Batman punched him again on the face. When he was beginning to fall, Batman pulled him up again to maintain his balance. The vice-mayor, Sullivan Clark, got knee kicked over and over again before he was allowed to fall to the ground.

Batman crouched down and put his face near the man's face. "I am Gotham now. Not the Owls! You won't be safe from me anywhere if you don't do as you are told!"

"You better talk or I will have to remind you again who you should be more afraid of." Batman said as he stood up.

The vice-mayor was then assisted back inside the penitentiary.

"Thank you for agreeing to this." Batman said to the two women that was also outside.

"I perfectly understand." Barbara

"If this is the only way to bait deathstroke, of course I'll agree to it." Amanda Waller smirked.

What batman proposed earlier was to make the vice-mayor comfortable talking to them. He was more afraid of the owls and their connections outside that might also have reached blackgate.

What he did was to make himself someone more feared by the vice-mayor for him to overcome his fear for the court of owls. Unbeknownst to Sullivan Clark, Batman also made him inhale low dosage fear gas to increase the success in intimidation.

The two women weren't new to this kind of game, especially the woman known as Amanda Waller.

----

"Vice-Mayor. Are you ready to talk now?" Barbara asked him.

His strength finally came back to him as he has rested for an hour. His eyes scanned Barbara then the ones behind her.

"Eek!" He saw Batman among the people behind her.

"Hey! He won't hurt you while I am here. Okay? But I'll leave you and him alone if you don't talk."

"O-okay."

Barbara smiled. She finally has a witness of her own instead of relying on someone affiliated to the mutants.

The next morning, a headline shocked Gotham.

-A syndicate has been controlling Gotham from the shadows for years! Witness, Vice-Mayor Sullivan Clark tells all!

Derek Powers. Son of the owner and head of Power Tech and current vice-president of Wayne enterprises was included in the list of people that the mayor gave.

Derek Powers ripped the newspaper apart and cursed.

"Call Deathstroke, NOW!!" He shouted at his assistant.

Meanwhile, somewhere hidden in Gotham, an albino man was smiling as he read the news. His friend, Henry Page, was also smiling brightly as he looked at the news from his phone.

They both looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

"They did it!" Henry Page shouted.

"Don't celebrate yet. This is a huge win for us but it's not over yet." The mutant leader said calmly. But it was clear that he was also happy.

Riiiing. Inside Terry's bedroom, the alarm clock rung.

"Ugggh" He was still tired from staying up late at night. He wondered how Bruce Wayne ever got used to this. Or he didn't. He recalled Alfred telling him that Bruce used to sleep during his company meetings.

Unfortunately for Terry, he was a student. Unlike Bruce Wayne who was owner and ceo of the company when he was Batman. He can't afford to miss classes.

He dragged himself downstairs to get some breakfast before his online class starts.

"Terry! Did you stay up late last night? Didn't I say that you should take better care of yourself? You still have work later, too."

"Uuugh" He heard it but the only reply he came up with was a zombie moan.

"Geez. We're going now, okay?"

"Bye, Terry!" His brother, Matt McGinnis said.

"Mmhmmm" Terry mumbled goodbye as he ate his cereal.

He got back upstairs to his room after he finished eating and put on his online class on the computer. He crashed his bed as he listened to it.