Ultimate Batman #2- Friend or Foe

Knock.


Knock.


Knock.


Leslie Thompkins threw her lab coat on as she rushed to the door. She looked down at her watch to note the time of the knocking. The fact that it was midnight told Leslie who was knocking on the doors of the Martha Wayne Memorial Clinic. Even so, with the clinic being only a few blocks from Crime Alley, where her dear friends Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, she double checked before swinging the door open.


Batman pushed through the door carrying a young man who appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years. Leslie could see from Batman’s appearance the boy had lost a lot of blood.


“Take him to room number three.” Leslie shouted as she raced after him. Leslie stopped off to get a set of surgical tools from her office. When she entered the room Bruce had dropped the cowl.


“Who is he and what happened to him?” Leslie asked as she pulled the shirt off of the red-haired young man.


“Right now we don’t have a name for him. Alfred is running his finger print through our database, but I haven’t heard back from him yet. The kid was part of a six man crew who crashed Tommy’s gala. When I cornered them they shot the kid to cover their own escape.”


“So they ran into the fundraiser? Was anyone hurt?” Leslie casually made small talk as she readied her instruments.


“I took out two of them at the Elliot House and the rest ran before anyone could be hurt. I’m sure a lot of folks are shook up tonight, but they should all be safe and alive.”


“Was it the Red Hood Gang again? They’ve been making a name for themselves down here in the narrows.”


“How is it that tonight is the first time I’ve seen or heard of them?” Bruce asked


“You have a whole city to protect, Bruce. No matter what you miss things. The Narrows are growing restless. Gotham is doing nothing for the citizens that live here and the Red Hood Gang is preying on their fears to recruit the young men and women to their cause.”


“And what exactly is their cause?”


“Their cause is their own wellbeing. They’ve seen Gotham turn its back on them time after time. It’s just now they’ve decided to do something about it. They’ve developed a twisted Robin Hood style to their crimes. They steal from those who have taken advantage of the citizens of the narrows, but they keep everything for themselves. They don’t give back to those who were hurt by the white collar criminals who targeted the Narrows.”


“I’ll have to look into it. I need to leave now Leslie can you call me when the boy comes around? Betrayal is a bitter pill to swallow, but it can also be a powerful truth serum.”


“I can do that, Bruce. Send Pennyworth my love.”


“Will do, Leslie.”


“And Bruce… take care of yourself.” Bruce said nothing as he slid the cowl back over his head.



“Where did you go last night, Bruce?” Harvey asked as the two of them sat down for dinner. Harvey didn’t show the strain that his work day surely caused. His hair and suit were impeccably pristine despite the 14 hour day Harvey had already put in.


“I guess you couldn’t see through the crowd, but I tried to move closer to the robbery. I was trying to help funnel everyone out and one of the gunmen took me hostage. They let me go when Batman cornered them though.” Bruce said carefully contorting his face to show his concern over the whole affair. Alfred’s years on the theatre had gone to great use when it came to the lies. Bruce always maintained acute awareness of his features and was able to masterfully manipulate them.


“Incredible how bold the criminals are getting these days. We nearly had these types wiped out five years ago, but we let it slip through our fingers. We can’t let that happen again. Carmine Falcone’s announcement surely only emboldened them more. If Falcone is elected we lose. There won’t be a comeback from that.”


“I know. Falcone being in charge would cripple my company. Stock prices plummeted just because he declared his candidacy. My legal team and every private investigator I can get ahold of are working around the clock trying to find a way to keep him out of office. How the hell did he make it out of Gotham with nothing that would prevent this from happening?”


“Falcone is a master strategist. You don’t make it to the top of the Gotham food chain by being sloppy. Every time I came close to compiling a case against him I would get railroaded. Judges who threw out valid evidence for a substantial contribution to his retirement portfolio or officers who wouldn’t read Miranda Right’s so they could put meals on the table for their families. Falcone owned this city for years and when we had the chance to stop him it all fell apart.”


“That chance still exists. Falcone’s put everything out there and has landed himself in a precarious position. This is his final gambit if he wins Gotham’s his. If he loses, he has nothing left. All we have to do is find a way to remove him from the election.”


“Or we present a stronger candidate who can defeat Falcone head to head. We need someone Gotham believes in, someone they trust, someone like you, Bruce. You need to run for mayor.”


“Harvey, we’ve been over this before I can’t run for Mayor my obligations with Wayne Industries fill my time card out I can’t just abandon the company my family has built over generations. “ Bruce fired back.


“Bruce, you and I both know Lucius Fox has been running Wayne Industries ever since you cleaned house when you came back from gallivanting across Europe and Asia. I know the only thing filling your plate these days are supermodels and galas.”


“I am a very busy man, Harvey.” Bruce replied with a cocky smirk.


“Think about it, Bruce. You revitalized Gotham when you came back. You created thousands of jobs when you expanded Wayne Industries holdings here in Gotham. I know I am being selfish asking this of you, but Gotham needs more of you. I know you have already given more to this city than any other Gothamite, but Bruce I need your help. I can’t keep doing this by myself.” Harvey desperately pleaded.


“Harvey, you’ve never been alone. Just because you are the face of the fight doesn’t mean you are alone. I’ve always been behind you trying to motivate the people of Gotham to be more then what they think they are.”


“Bruce , that’s not what I mean. I am talking about the frontlines. Gotham is still a Warzone. Falcone physically left, but what he started is still going on in our streets. Fighting the mob in Gotham is like fighting the goddamn Hydra. For every Falcone we run off two more jump up to take his place. Then we have gang violence between the two of them while they fight it out to see who is top dog. Then we get to start the whole damn thing over again. I need someone I can trust in the Mayor’s Office who is going to make sure when I put someone away they stay that way.”


‘Harv--,”


“Bruce, it’s over if Falcone gets in. I won’t be the DA anymore. And everything we’ve lost fighting the mob here in Gotham is for nothing. I’ve said my piece, Bruce. You take some time to think about it and get back with me. “ Harvey said as he quickly tucked his chair back into the table and briskly exited the restaurant.


The smell of Gotham’s sewers was enough to bring most men to their knees, but not Jimmy Owens and Mark Payne. The two seasoned Gotham sanitation workers powered through the stench as they worked towards a reported blockage in Sector 5 of the northwest quadrant.


“Did you see the Knights trounce those clowns from Hub City last night? Stark threw five touchdowns in the first freakin’ half. That game was just a thing of beauty. I think this might finally be Gotham’s year to win it all. “ Jimmy exclaimed.


“Yeah that game was absolutely ridiculous. I can’t believe that catch Barros made in triple coverage to boot!” Mark added.

“What do you think is clogging the line this time? I wonder if it’s one of those fatbergs Terry was telling us about. You know the ones that form from baby wipes that get flushed in the toilet and animal fats that get rinsed down the sink. “


“Nah, it’s probably just another damn decomposing deer.”


The smell hit Jimmy’s nostrils first. Mark stopped in his tracks as his partner’s gags echoed off the sewer walls. Mark saw what was causing his partners distress. Less than one hundred feet away a huge animal was devouring a rotten, bloated, human body.


As soon as Mark saw the creature it turned its attention toward Jimmy and himself. Mark began tugging on his partners arm as the creature stood on two feet. It’s scales shimmered as they were caught in the sanitation workers flashlight beams. Mark started backing away from the Leviathan that had finally reached fully erect posture. The beast had to be nearly ten feet tall.


Mark continued tugging on the arm of Jimmy as he backed away from the crocodile man. The creature’s tail looked to be as big as a full grown man.


“Get back! Shoo! Go Away!” Mark shouted as loud as he could. His voice was cracking as fear shot through his spine.


“Come on, Jimmy we have to get out of here. “ Mark tried to snap his buddy out of the terrified trance that left him glued in front of the slowly approaching giant.


“STOP!” Mark turned towards his partner hoping the words were coming from him and not the terrifying creature before them. Croc swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked at the all too familiar expressions on the face of the sanitation workers.


Croc tried to quiet the other voice that reminded him how much of a freak he was. The voice that reminded him of all the times the other children had thrown things at him and called him names. All of the times his aunt threw her empty liquor bottles at him.


“Stop!” Croc blurted out still approaching the two sewer workers. Why can’t they see I am just like them? I was just trying to eat. Why do they always have to stare?


“Leave us alone you freak!” One of the orange uniforms shouted. Croc snapped at the word that had tormented him his entire life.


“I am not a FREAK!” Croc yelled as he lunged at the men swatting them both into the sewer wall. The sewer walls slowly changed colors. Croc ripped the men’s limbs from their bodies. All the while the other voice repeated:


Freak.


Monster.


Croc looked down at the swirling mixture of blood and water and looked at his reflection. The blood that painted his face disgusted him. Croc sniffled as the cold, cruel voice in the back of his head whispered


Freak. Time to eat.



“I wasn’t sure if you’d come or not.” Jim Gordon said with his back turned to the Caped Crusader. Batman emerged from the shadows the dark gray suit still shrouded in the darkness. He sat in grim silence as he waited for Gordon to continue.


“I know we can’t go back to what we had before. At least not right away. I just want you to know I realize my decisions held consequences for you and Harvey.”


“Not just for us. Every citizen of Gotham paid the price for your decisions, Jim.”


“I left for my family.”


“You left for yourself. You were afraid!” Batman growled.


“I was protecting my family.”


“You were running away. You saw what happened to Gilda and then what happened to Tommy and you were scared. We all were, but you left, we stayed.”


Jim pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. Jim turned away from Batman to light the cigarette. Taking a deep puff he slowly exhaled and released the smoke.


“I’ll admit I was afraid, but it wasn’t of Falcone or anybody else. I was afraid to lose my family. Not to a hitman or a hired gun. I was afraid I was going to lose them because of who I was becoming.”


“You knew who we had to become to save Gotham.”


“Yes, I knew, but I never knew the toll it would have on the ones I love. The only part of my family still intact is my daughter. My wife is a shell of herself and my son is almost catatonic since he was kidnapped. They deserved a second chance.”


“We all made sacrifices, Jim. We all lost something or someone. The only difference is some of us fought for what we believed in.” Batman responded as a cold rain began to fall.


Jim took another deep puff of his cigarette. His auburn hair stuck to his forehead as the rain fell. “I fought for what I believed in, but it changed when I saw what it was doing to my family. I didn’t believe in saving Gotham after Tommy’s death. I didn’t feel like the city deserved to be saved after that. I believed my family deserved to be saved. No matter how much you try to convince me I was wrong I won’t apologize for that, Batman.”


“If it wasn’t to apologize then why did you use the dead drop in the Narrows?”


“Why are you still checking it?” Jim threw the question back at Batman.


“What is this all about, Detective?”


“I needed to know where we stood and you’ve answered that already. I am only going to tell you this once if you aren’t helping me this time stay the hell out of my way.”