(Bruce Wayne POV)
"Sir, it has been six hours since you have been watching that footage from the store. What exactly are you looking for?" Alfred asks as he hands me a drink, and after taking a sip, I continue to comb through the footage. From that Goth Mart, that boy Lars seemed off to him.
The encounter was simple, with one hostage and two gunmen who were either high or had no trigger discipline. It was seemingly both as even with automatic weapons in an enclosed space, not one bullet hit me. Yet that boy acted as if he knew it would happen, and after looking into it as well as analyzing some footage from a street cam near the boy's apartment, I saw him being threatened by the Joker's goons.
"It might be nothing, Alfred, but the way that boy looked at me left me feeling a sense of unease like I was being analyzed and that boy knew everything about me before we even met." Alfred raised his brow and asked, "So what is this boy, some kind of psychic? You had dealt with these types, such as before when you brought over a Mister Zatara for that case involving Bat-Mite."
That name brings me a small amount of irritation. While having an extra-dimensional imp as your biggest fan seems beneficial, his whims are more random than an average day in Gotham. But still, that boy's look remained in his mind, and after checking over the footage, the boy seemed to be almost playing with those two as while the boy was injured, he saw that his acting was not able to hide his lackadaisical tone.
Regardless, the boy was clean as he had no crimes on his record other than failing to report the deaths of his parents, but seeing as he knew he would not be able to afford a place in the cemetery, he cremated them himself. That specific moment left an odd impression of the boy as both strong willed and apathetic at the same time.
The cameras at the junkyard where the boy destroyed the bodies saw him being entirely blank, similar to when he was being threatened at the supermarket. My paranoia may be acting up again, but I can't shake the feeling that something is off. Then the batcomputer's police scanner goes off as I hear news of an explosion at the boy's apartment, and immediately entering the batjet, I see Robin enter with me as he asks, "What's the situation, Batman?"
"Explosion at an apartment complex that may be an attack to silence a possible witness. More men may arrive to confirm the kill we will need to intercept." Robin nods as he says, "What's the witness's name?"
"Nathan Lars Rockwood, a high school student and employee at the Goth Mart near Gotham High School, the footage I was reviewing came from a recording he took." Robin put his seatbelt on as we exited the cave.
As we flew towards the site of the explosion, I sent over a set of coordinates for the Batmobile to meet us there and continued, "The footage I was reviewing led to the arrest of two of Joker's men, and this may be retribution from The Joker gang, or a type of false flag operation be ready is everything may not be as it seems."
Robin then pulls up the street cam footage and says, "Batman, I have eyes on the kid, and he seems to be just sitting there and staring off into space."
After saying this, we arrived at the scene, and after setting the net to autopilot, we jumped out with us, gliding onto a nearby rooftop to observe the situation. Yet, as we got closer, that feeling returned, and as I looked at the kid, I thought I almost saw him staring right at us with those same empty eyes.
(Nathan POV)
"It seems the dynamic duo has arrived," I thought to myself as the gacha revealed ten new cards to me. Looking at them, my expression remained blank, but I was definitely satisfied with this development.
1. Third Assimilation Slot Unlocked
2. Background Customization Cards (X3)
3. Alex Mercer (Prototype 1&2)
4. Power Boost Cards(X3)
5. NZT Pills (Limitless) (One Bag Full)
6. Vongola Hyper Intuition (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)
7. Byakuran (Katekyo Hitman Reborn) (Sky Mare Ring Included)
8. Inventory (The Gamer Webtoon)
9. Everlasting Gobstopper (Willy Wonka) (All Harmful Side Effects Removed)
10. Martial Arts Book: Way Of The Death Fist By Isshinsai Ogata (Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple)
This is definitely an amazing development, but before I can decide which template to begin assimilating, I feel a hand on my shoulder and see Harvey Bullock. As he looks at me, all he asks is, "You alright, kid?" I nod, and he hands me a cigarette, and as I look at him, he says, "You look like you could use one."
Taking it, he handed me his lighter, which I used, and then proceeded to fail to light it the right way. The smoke causes me to cough as he chuckles and says, "You know how you can tell when someone isn't meant to smoke when they fail to smoke their first cigarette? It's a bad omen, you know?" Giving him a small look, he asks, "You got anywhere else to go, kid?"
Shaking my head, he says, "I know a couple of places for ya if you want to have a roof over your head, but it's your choice." Looking at the burning ruin, I hear the sirens of the fire trucks arriving, and after stopping in front of the place, they got to work, moving any civilians and dousing the flames as they could jump to the other buildings.
Since the bomb wasn't dirty and was only a normal explosive, the fire was easier to douse, and as the flames settled and the officers arrived, I was taken back to the police station and placed into the interrogation room. After a couple of minutes, the door opened, and Commissioner Gordon himself walked through and sat down on the other end. After a minute of silence, he spoke first.
"I apologize for what happened, as we did not expect any action against you so quickly, but rest assured, we will find you a new place to stay, but we ask that you allow some officers to accompany you home for the next few days." Understanding that this was not a gesture I could refuse without arousing suspicion, I nodded and said, "So, for how long will this last?"
After asking that, he sighed and said, "To be honest, kid, I don't know. With the Joker in Arkham and his men off the leash, this city is going to be in chaos for a while. If I could do anything else, I would, but this is the immediate future, so my hands are tied." Nodding, I say in a calm manner, "I understand, sir. It's just another day in Gotham, after all."
The commissioner then chuckles and says, "I would try to tell you something else, but you seem like a calm sort. This will blow over, and we will take care of it."
His attempts to calm me would work if I did not understand the universe I was in on a much deeper level than he did, as he exists in a world of gods and monsters yet still does his part. It is admirable in a way, but after saying this, he said I could go, and lodgings would be provided for me.
Shaking his hand, he makes a comment, "Good grip." Smiling to myself, I say to him, "I like to keep in shape, and it helps when you are constantly running away from criminals." Gordan nods his head, and I am sent off to another apartment complex with some cops as my neighbors for the coming weeks. So there I was sitting in witness protection, and after checking the room for cameras and bugs, I did find some and learned where to practice and in what areas to talk out loud.
So, I began my daily practice after clearing out a side room as a small practice area. While it was small, it was enough, and so, focusing my mind on the way Batman fought, I began to mirror his moves and practiced against that karate master again. While there were gaps in my knowledge, I am a quick study. I could replicate it and improve upon it; I just needed time.
And time was a commodity I had for now, so as the hours went by, I practiced and practiced while also getting my butt kicked by various masters of martial arts. As the night passed by and the sun rose in the distance, heralding a new day, I sighed in regret as I would need to return to school after many years of education. But, such complaints did not really mean much as I planned to graduate early or at least as quickly as possible.
After grabbing my bag and laptop, I exited the apartment, and the two cops drove me to school. After dropping me off, I thanked them, to which they nodded and left. After entering the school, I began to hear whispers about the explosion, but since no one knew that it was my place, no one questioned me about it.
Such is the beauty of anonymity: you can be right next to a person while they're talking directly about you, and they'll never know.
But after quite a boring time and a couple of surprise tests, which I did well but not well enough to arouse suspicion of cheating, I left the school grounds and found the car waiting for me.
As they waved me over, I got in, but as I closed the door, I had already noticed that these two were different. And when I asked where the other two were, they both laughed. And I knew that my suspicions were confirmed as we went in the opposite direction of the apartment.
Truly the police department in Gotham is the exemplification of corruption and inept, and as the cop in the passenger seat turned towards me with his gun to my face, he looked me in the eyes and said, "You know, I thought you would start pissing yourself, but you seem unfazed. You are not afraid to die, kid?"
"That would assume you two are a threat to me in the first place." I said, and after saying that, he pushed the barrel right up against my forehead and as he looked at me with annoyance in his eyes, he said, "Well, we were told to bring you in alive, but they did not say unharmed, so which one kid's hands or feet?"
"I choose the third option, which is you both dying here." Before he could do anything, I phased my hand through the driver seat and the driver, and after focusing, I materialized my hand only and jerked the wheel off the small bridge we were on. As the car sank, he started firing off shots that hit nothing but the interior of the car as I was still in my phasing mode.
And I made sure that those doors remained shut, and they both drowned, and after making sure both were dead, I swam up to the surface but not before breaking the window near where I was sitting to make it seem like I broke it to escape. After doing so and scraping myself up, I swam to the shore where, luckily, no one else was looking. I grabbed a nearby ledge and pulled myself up.
As I believed myself to be in the clear, if not having to explain that I made the car lose control in an act of self-defense and panic, I then felt a sword at my neck and saw a group of ninjas staring down at me.
My luck must be at the level of Spider-Man at this point, but this is just absurd. So, as the sword remained at my neck, I batted the sword away, jumped out of the water, and turned to them.
The stare-down continued for a moment as I studied their form, and as one came at me with his blade drawn, I dodged under him and, using the small amounts of martial arts experience, managed to grab his arm and break it to grab his blade, I kicked him into the water.
But before the others could rush me, they stopped and looked behind me. I saw a fist flying toward my face, and then, after dodging the strike, I saw Talia Al Ghul herself looking me dead in the eyes. "Your eyes have the same emptiness as him. I wonder what makes you so special."
That comment seemed almost emotionally motivated, and as we fought, I could feel my mimicry working overtime to keep me in the fight. As I improved, she noticed, but instead of seeming angry, she smiled and said, "Yes, show me more."
The fight then continued on as our blades clashed again and again, but due to her experience, she managed to disarm me but held her by the throat, and as we stared at one another, I heard another voice from behind me. They really do like catching you from behind, don't they?
The ninjas and Talia bowed as the Demon's Head observed my form. As he said with a large amount of interest, "Yes, I like what I see. But the question now is, what do you wish to do next, Young Man?"
Gotham City truly was the worst.
( Assume the League has been watching Batman for a while now but has yet to reveal themselves.)