Talon chapter 9

Chapter 9 - I'm Batman

'I wonder if he'll have enough time to eat,' Was the main thought going through one Alfred Pennyworth as he carried a tray down the stairs of the cave, ignoring the bat that nearly flew into his head with practised ease. He could have gone for the elevator but had opted to take the stairs as he hadn't walked much recently.

Alfred could admit that he had lived a fairly adventurous life when he was younger and living in Britain. He had several jobs during his lifetime. He had worked at a bakery at one point in time, had worked in a hospital and had even been considering a football career at one point. Real football, mind you, not what the Americans insisted on calling football. He had even been a former SAS soldier at one point. Yes, Alfred had lived a colourful life. But few things had brought him joy as much as working for the Wayne family.

During one of his final missions as a soldier, Alfred had the pleasure of meeting with Thomas Wayne. To this day, Alfred still felt unable to adequately word what he saw in that man, but he knew very shortly after meeting him that he was the sort of person that Alfred would happily take a bullet for. Thomas and his wife, Martha, were both unique, special and kind. So rich, so powerful and yet so humble. Taking the job as their butler had been a godsend, firstly because he enjoyed having things tidy, but also because he could spend time with two of his favourite people and get paid a very good wage to do so without worrying about stuff like rent. To this day, he remembers exactly what it was like when young Master Bruce was born; the Wayne family had never been happier.

Alfred had been more than happy to help raise the child; some of his best memories were of looking after baby Bruce. Alfred had learnt early on that Bruce wasn't your average child; he had been up and walking earlier than most. He was quick to pick up on words, and he was always curious, always paying attention to everything. Even when he was older and gifted gifts, he stared at each present as if trying to work out exactly how it worked from the inside out. One thing Alfred never doubted was that the boy loved his parents. All was right with the world; the Waynes were a happy family with a wonderful child.

Unfortunately, the story didn't end there.

One night, he received a call that he would never forget. Thomas and Martha had been killed! Shot down in an alley by a random thug! Alfred had hurried to the Gotham City Police Department as soon as he could and had found young Master Bruce there; his eyes were stuffy and red; it looked like all his tears had dried up, as if he couldn't cry anymore. Not only that, there was something different about him from that day. More often than he'd like, Alfred found himself wondering if Bruce had ever truly left that alley.

He had done his best over the years, tried to guide Bruce, and offered support when he could. He liked to think that if it wasn't for him, then Bruce would have been much worse. Even still, that didn't mean that Alfred was completely happy with how Bruce had turned out. He could admit that Bruce was doing a lot of good, but with the absence of Martha and Thomas, Alfred had stepped up and became the closest thing Bruce currently had to a father. And what father didn't want their child to live a happy and comfortable life?

Alas, that didn't appear to be in the cards because Bruce had chosen his path as Gotham's saviour. Years of dedicated studies and travel had helped shape him into the man he had become. The Batman. At first, Alfred had done his best to persuade Bruce that dressing up in a costume and going out at night to fight criminals was a bad idea, but there were few in this world as stubborn as Master Bruce. At first, people thought he was a joke. But over time, the joke started becoming less funny. It started with whispers; soon, those whispers began concerning common criminals. Stories were passed from ear to ear, door to door. The criminal underworld started taking notice of his actions, and it wasn't long before he became front page news.

Gotham's crime rate hadn't stopped completely, but nobody could deny how much it had dropped thanks to Batman. Not only had Batman saved the city multiple times, but he had even gone on to become a founding member of the Justice League and even raised one of the greatest heroes this world had ever seen, Dick Grayson, A.K.A. Nightwing.

But things were far from perfect. A few years ago, Bruce had adopted another child, one Jason Todd. It had been good for him; the two complemented each other well, and Alfred could see that Bruce was just a tiny bit brighter with Jason around, just like he had been with Master Grayson. But then, tragedy struck in the form of the Joker, one of Batman's long-time foes. The dastardly villain had managed to capture and kill Master Jason; it felt like something had broken that day.

Stopping in front of a metal door, Alfred absently typed in the code on the keypad next to it. The door opened, and he walked into the fabled 'Bat-cave'. Like the name suggested, it was a large cave with all the features one would expect, like hanging stalactites and bats. There were several floors built into the cave; the second lowest floor was where Batman would keep his crime-fighting vehicles. Amongst the vast reaches of the cave were a trophy room, many souvenirs Batman has collected since he began fighting crime, a lab and holding cells on the bottom floor. Cells that they had actually ended up using more than once, unfortunately. One rather ingenious feature of the cave was the long poles that descended from the top of the cave and holes in each floor, all the way to the bottom of the cave. Not only could one slide down them, but if you grabbed it just right, then the pole could pull a person upwards. Bruce, Jason and Dick had no problems with that, but Alfred preferred to stick with stairs and elevators, thank you very much.

To Alfred's right, there was a large, semi-circular-shaped desk fitted into the wall with all manner of buttons and screens of various sizes added in. The 'Bat-computer', Master Bruce's supercomputer, which he used to help himself prevent crimes. Just as Alfred thought there would be, Master Bruce was sitting in the chair in front of the computer.

"I don't know if you noticed, but you missed dinner, Master Bruce." Alfred pointed out calmly, knowing it wasn't the first or last time that Bruce had missed a meal in favour of his 'job'.

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce replied absently.

Bruce had grown into a rather attractive man; he had a handsome face and blue eyes, along with a muscle-packed body that came from years of training. That, plus his tall height and ridiculous wealth, made him a prize catch for the average woman. As of right now, he was wearing his 'Bat-Suit'. A dark grey costume with a black bat symbol across his chest. He also had black boots, trunks and matching coloured ballistic combat gloves that had reinforced knuckles. His arm gauntlet contained three custom-made bladed fins that were used to block knives and other slashing weapons; not only that, but inside the left gauntlet was a mini computer that was linked to the Bat-computer and possessed holographic displays. Around his shoulders was a black cape, which was connected to his mask. When the mask was pulled over his face, it would cover all but the mouth. The mask had two large bat-ears that not only contained communication devices inside but also helped with Bruce's bat persona.

"Master Bruce," Alfred sighed as he put the tray down on the desk. "I am well aware that you seem capable of surviving on nothing more than several naps and a slightly concerning coffee addiction, but for my sake, will you consider having a home-cooked meal and taking a full eight hours of sleep?" Bruce looked away from his computer and towards Alfred, his gaze softening slightly.

"I'll take the meal," Bruce told him. "But it'll have to wait." He said as he stood up. "I've got business to attend to." He said, pulling up his mask over his face. It had the benefit of not just protecting his identity but also protecting his head, being capable of withstanding hard blows and even bullets.

"I'll warm it up for you when you get back," Alfred told him with a small nod as Batman picked up his yellow utility belt and tied it around his waist. "Good luck, Master Bruce." He called as Batman walked over to the pole.

Grabbing onto the pole, Batman slid down all the way to the floor, where he kept the 'Batmobile'. His main mode of transportation was not your typical car. Equipped with highly advanced, military-grade tech, an armoured body, and powerful offensive/defensive capabilities. It was primarily designed for speed and fast movements through the city, but it had been constantly upgraded and improved over the years. Not to mention that it was possibly the best-looking car ever made. The roof door slid open as he neared, allowing him to jump inside.

Within seconds, the thrusters came on and the car shot off, heading straight through the tunnel that would lead it just outside of the city. It took several minutes of high-speed driving, tight turns and the occasional drifting before he managed to reach his location.

A child had gone missing, Kenneth Jones, the son of a famous lawyer. Apparently, a ransom had been made; it was supposed to be delivered at midnight tonight, which was in an hour. After hearing about the case, Batman quickly got to work and found out as much as he could about it. It was child's play to work out who it was that had kidnapped the child. A simple look into who the lawyer had defended over the years and an examination of the home where the boy had been taken had told Batman everything he needed to know.

Arriving at the destination, he slipped into a nearby alley and exited the Batmobile. He took out his grapple gun, aimed it up and shot out a grappling hook that pulled him up with ease, allowing him to get on top of the building in less than three seconds. From there, he quickly broke into a run, rushing across the roof and jumping onto the next one. He slowed down and made his way to the edge of the roof and spotted the building where he had located the boy.

It was old, three stories high and fairly unimpressive looking. Right now would typically be when Batman would use his detective vision, an advanced device fitted into his cowl. It had multiple features in it, such as recording and enhanced vision. Not to mention one of his most useful features, allowing him to look through walls with X-ray-like vision that could rival Superman's. Unfortunately, the detective vision was currently unoperational and wouldn't be up and running until tomorrow morning. Batman knew he couldn't wait that long. It wasn't the worst thing in the world; he had fought many criminals without the detective vision. Still, it was something he wished he had on his side. It was invaluable when it came to planning.

Shooting another grappling line, Batman swung off the roof and landed on the third floor of a fire-escape on the side of the target building. Putting away his grappling gun, he carefully opened the window and snuck in. The room was dark, which was fine with him. The dark was nothing strange to him. He crouched low and quietly made his way through the room and into a hallway. There was a door on his left and a door on his right; he opted to go for the one on the right. He gingerly walked over to it and cautiously opened the door.

In the centre of the bare room was a boy gagged and tied to a chair; he was young, clearly, and scared, obviously. Dressed in the typical blue uniform of a Gotham Academy student, with round glasses and short blonde hair. The boy was definitely the one Batman was looking for. The frightened child stared at him, flinched at the sight of the large bat that had just walked into the room and then slowly began relaxing. Batman was well enough known in Gotham by now, and it was well known that only criminals had anything to fear from him.

Batman walked over to him after another glance around the room. He took the gag out of his mouth with one hand while using his other hand to signal the boy to remain quiet. Thankfully, the boy understood and didn't utter a word. Batman gave him a nod, knowing that children especially reacted well to clear instructions along with praise. His hands reached for the ropes that kept the boy tied to the chair when a large hand burst from the floorboards and grabbed Batman by the leg, pulling him down through the floor and slamming him down onto a table, which collapsed under his weight.

Pain flared through Batman's back and shoulders before he managed to look around. The room wasn't as bare as the one upstairs; a kitchen was on Batman's right, a home gym on his left, along with a large couch and several bottles of wine. Looking at the hand that grabbed him, he saw it was green and scaly. He absently noted that his earlier suspicion was confirmed as he looked up at the grinning face of Waylon Jones, A.K.A. Killer Croc. Standing at just over ten feet with green skin, razor-sharp teeth while wearing nothing but a pair of large trousers, he was an intimidating figure, more than enough to freeze most people with fear. But not Batman, he had faced much bigger and scarier.

"Long time no see, Bats," Killer Croc snarled.

"Not long enough," Batman replied, pulling a smoke pellet from his belt and tossing it directly into Killer Croc's mouth. It exploded inside, sending out a large quantity of smoke that blinded the man. Croc gasped and stumbled back as he spat the pellet out. Batman reached into his belt and pulled out a small disk-like object, and quickly got up and charged towards Croc. He avoided Waylon's wide and blind swings and attatched the device to his chest before rolling away just as the smoke began clearing.

"What the hell?!" Coughed Croc before he noticed the device stuck to his chest. "Oh shit," He barely managed to get out before jet-like engine flame shot out from it, pushing Croc backwards and through a window.

Batman didn't waste any time and quickly jumped out after him, his cape extended out and took on a shape not unlike a bats wings, allowing him to glide after Croc, who had landed on the roof of the next building. There were a couple of deck chairs, a tennis table, and just behind where Croc landed was a large swimming pool. Batman landed a short distance away, right next to the tennis table.

"You little shit!" Croc roared as he got up to his feet. "I spent a month planning this thing! I want that money, Bats! And I'mma get it, one way or the other!"

"You took a child from his home," Batman said coldly, discreetly sticking a low-powered explosive to the table. "Scared him, tortured his parents with his absence, tied him up. All for money? No, you're not going to get a single cent from anyone. The one thing you're getting from me is a trip to Arkham."

"Screw you!" Killer Croc charged towards him, Batman grabbed the table and tossed it towards Croc, who easily snatched it and raised it up over his head. He brought the table down with the intent of smashing Batman to pieces, but his plan didn't succeed as Batman leapt forward into a roll, avoiding the table. The device on the table exploded, causing Croc to stumble back. "Fuck you!" Croc recovered quickly and grabbed one of the nearby chairs. Batman took his grapple gun out and shot a grappling line upwards. He was yanked off the ground just before the chair smashed into where he had been. He swung forward and landed on the opposite side of the pool.

"You're slow," Batman taunted. "Perhaps it's time to shed some skin, Waylon."

"You think you're safe from me over there?!" Demanded an angry Croc. "You can't stop me with a little water!" Croc charged forward and leapt headfirst into the pool.

"Try this on for size," Batman pulled out a small pellet from his utility belt and tossed it into the water. Upon immersion, the water in the pool instantly began freezing. A couple of seconds later, Killer Croc shot out of the water, arms stretched out and jaw wide open as he came at Batman with killing intent. He didn't get very far as he was instantly covered in ice, his mouth a couple of inches away from Batman's head. Batman took a step back to observe his work. The pool was completely frozen, and Croc was suspended in the air by ice that was connected to the pool. It wouldn't hold him for long, but long enough for the GCPD to come and pick him up. Batman's hand reached up and touched his right ear. "Send Gordon to my location." He said into his communication device before he shot upwards using his grappling gun and headed back to the building where the child was.

It didn't take him long before he got back into the room where the child had been, walking around the hole that he and Croc had made. He knelt down in front of the boy. The boy was looking at him, his face covered in tears. Crusts under his nose from dried-up snot.

"Kenneth Jones," Batman said softly as he undid the boy's gag and restraints. "I'm here to bring you back to your parents." He told him calmly. Once the restraints were gone, Kenneth leapt forward and into Batman's arms, as a fresh wave of tears hit him. "It's okay," Batman whispered into his ear. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

(.)

A short while later, Batman sat down in the Batmobile. Commissioner Gordon had arrived along with the GCPD. After briefing Gordon on what had happened, the man had his men working to transport Croc to prison as soon as possible. Once Batman was sure that the boy was safe, he left, intent on heading straight home, provided he didn't run into any more criminals on the way back.

"Master Bruce!" Alfred's voice hit him as soon as the Batmobile's sliding roof had closed over his head. Alfred was - especially in Bruce's mind - the perfect picture of composure. It was a rare day when Alfred was anything but calm and collected. Hearing his faithful butler's frantic voice instantly set him on Alfred. "Master Bruce!"

"Alfred?!" Batman quickly answered his call. "Alfred, what's going on?!"

"In the cave!" Alfred answered quickly. "Master Bruce...in the cave...come quick!" Alfred said before the call was cut.

"Alfred? ALFRED?!" Batman yelled.

Hearing no response, he quickly slammed his foot down, and the Batmobile shot off. A small part of Batman's mind knew that Alfred would have likely criticised him for not putting on his seatbelt; that portion was quickly drowned out by the rest of his mind screaming at him to get back to the Batcave as soon as possible. God help anyone who thought it wise to delay him now.

After breaking many driving laws and smashing the speed limit with the strength of a Kryptonian, he arrived in the Batcave. He leapt out of the car as soon as it was parked, and he practically jumped towards the pole. Grabbing onto it, he was pulled up and up until he reached the top floor, where he saw a stunned Alfred standing near his chair, looking as if the world had been flung upside down.

"Alfred," Batman spoke up quickly. "What happened? What's going on?!"

"M...Master Bruce," Alfred said quietly, slowly turning his head to look at Batman. "I...I think it's best that you see for yourself, Sir."

In that moment, the chair spun around. Sitting in his chair, dressed in a black and red ninja costume, was one face that Batman thought he'd never see again. Batman shook his head and stared at him again. For a moment, he was wondering if he was seeing right. He couldn't be, that was what he was telling himself. It couldn't be him sitting in his chair. It couldn't be. One of the worst memories of Batman's life was finding his body, burying him in the same graveyard Martha and Thomas and Wayne had been buried in. Yet, it was hard to deny what was in front of him. The same hair, the same face, the same look in his eyes and even the slight curve of his lips.

"Jason?" The name escaped his lips before he could stop himself. His heart filled with hope, he had seen many things in his lifetime that others would deem as impossible or miracles. Was this his own miracle? A reward from the universe for all the good he had done?

"Hi Bruce," Jason smiled. Not his usual smile, this one was far too sad for Bruce's liking. But the look in his eyes, that more than anything, convinced Bruce that what he was seeing was real. "It's good to see you again," Jason said, slowly standing up. He had barely been on his feet before a small mountain of muscle had rushed forward and pulled him into a tight hug. Jason's arms moved before he could think and hugged Bruce back.

"You died," Bruce said, his voice barely above a whisper as he stepped back, removing his mask. "Jason, you died. How? How are you here?"

"It's a...long story," Jason sighed. "A really long story,"

"And that's not even mentioning our second surprise," Alfred said, having finally recovered somewhat.

"Second surprise?" Batman asked, not sure he could handle any more surprises. He had just found out that the son he buried was alive and well; how much more was there?

"I sort of made a friend while I was gone," Jason revealed. "Bruce, I'd like you to meet Harry," Jason said whilst gesturing behind Bruce.

Bruce turned instantly and promptly froze. Standing a small distance away from him was a child, a young one, perhaps ten or eleven years old. He was dressed in a ninja outfit as well, except he had also taken one of Bruce's spare cowls and capes and was now wearing them over his head and shoulders, giving Bruce access to a rather comical sight of a child wearing Batman's mask and cape, both of which were far too big for him. The child - 'Harry' as he was apparently called - grabbed the cape with both hands and spread it outwards as much as his comparatively little arms could before he spoke in an over-the-top deep voice, or at least as deep as a child could make it.

"I'm Batman!" The child announced dramatically. "I live in the shadows! Justice for Gotham!"

"Dude!" Jason groaned as he walked over and yanked the cape and cowl off of him. "Not cool!"

"Screw you, that was hilarious." The child replied easily before looking up at Bruce. Time seemed to freeze as both seemed to be examining each other's faces. Bruce, in particular, had a hard time keeping his heart rate steady. The child in front of them looked like he had been ripped out of one of Bruce's old childhood photos. With the exception of his emerald green eyes and the lightning bolt scar on his head, he looked to be an exact copy. Then, as if his night hadn't been hectic enough. A snowy white owl flew down and landed on the shoulder of the child, who didn't show any reaction to that at all.

"Bruce," Jason spoke up. "Allow me to introduce you to Hadrian Al Ghul,"