Chapter Text
Sometimes, Jack debated retiring. He was getting too old for this vigilante lifestyle as it was. But there was no chance in hell he would leave Duella, Steph, and Duke on their own. And sure, Ed and Harvey were there to help, but they weren’t vigilantes, nor did they have the training to do so.
Admittedly, he had been Jestor, the White Knight of Gotham, for nearly twenty years at this point. Maybe he should probably take Gordon up on his offer to help reform the GCPD, it would definitely take some of the stress off of the whole vigilante thing.
Speaking of taking stress off, Jack was currently tracking down the ‘King of Crime’. The name was given to him by the media, as no one had ever asked him what he wanted to be called. It wasn’t like he ever broadcast a name for himself, so ‘King of Crime’ was what he had been saddled with.
“Hey, papa,” Duella called out over the commlink, the sound of tools clinking around in the background. “Think you could swing by my lab?”
The city was quiet tonight. It couldn’t hurt to just pop in for a second. “Sure, give me one moment,” Jack answered. He knew Ed was on the computer elsewhere in the city. He was sure the riddle-lover with tell him if there was crime anywhere.
It didn’t take long to get to Duella’s lab. It was on the edge of the city, by the ports. She chose the spot herself, wanting somewhere away from the apartment.
“So,” Jack called out as he climbed in through the window, dropping down to the ground with a soft thud. “Why is it you wanted me to come by, Duella?”
Jack could see that Duella wasn’t alone. Steph was there as well, sitting up on the table as she watched, eating a snack.
Duella turned to face Jack, gesturing to the machine in the center of the room. “Steph brought this by yesterday,” She answered, circling it with a watchful gaze. “I haven’t got a clue what it does, but it’s weird.”
“Why not try turning it on?” Steph suggested, lowering her snack. “We’d probably know what it does if it were powered on.”
“No,” Jack answered at the same time as Duella. He glanced at his daughter with a smile before looking back at Steph as he continued, “That is a bad idea on so many levels.”
Unfortunately, the machine had other plans, as it started to fire up. “Steph!” Duella shouted as she gazed over to the blonde, who just lifted her hands.
“I didn’t do it!”
***
The Gray Son sat perched on the edge of a building, sharpening the blade of one of his throwing knives. It was just something to keep his hands busy. It felt strange how he was different from the other talons.
He still completed missions, still did the kills, still obeyed orders to a T, but he had a longer ‘leash’ than the others. His head whipped up when he heard an explosion, his eyes narrowing behind his golden goggles.
The Gray Son slipped the throwing knife into his pocket, his curiosity piqued a bit. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he leaned over the edge to look at the building, seeing smoke bellow out.
The Gray Son watched a figure clad in all black dragging out two others. Adjusting his goggles, he picked up the two were Duella Dent and Spoiler. The other, it took a moment longer to recognize him.
The ‘King of Crime’, Bruce Wayne. The Court let him operate in their city because he didn’t bother them. The costume was new to him, but it didn’t… look new? He slinked down the side of the building, staying in the shadows as he kept an eye on him.
“Oracle,” Wayne called out as he lifted his finger to his ear. “Do you have eyes on Robin? We got separated.”
Robin. The name seemed so familiar to him, but he couldn’t place it. It put him on edge that he couldn’t remember where he had heard it before. So on edge that it took him a second to realize he had been spotted.
***
Bruce tilted his head to the side when he noticed the Talon, slowly setting Steph and the girl with pink hair on the ground. He narrowed his eyes, not letting him out of his sight as he cautiously walked over. “What do you want?” he questioned, knowing the Court always brought trouble.
The Talon tilted his head but he didn’t move when Bruce approached. “Who’s Robin?” He asked, his voice setting off alarm bells in his head. Why did it sound so familiar yet so wrong at the same time?
“You know I’m not giving any answers to the Court,” Bruce hissed, but shouldn’t the Court of Owls know about Robin. They apparently knew everything, did they not? “What is your business here?” He questioned, hands hovering by his weapons.
The Talon seemed to notice this, because he took a step back. “I don’t have any specific business,” he answered before giving Bruce a quick once over. “You’re not Wayne.”
Before Bruce could question what that was supposed to mean, he heard a car pulling up. He looked over to check, but when he glanced back over his shoulder, Talon was gone.
Bruce went back over to where Steph and the girl with pink lay unconscious. The car looked familiar, a bit on the fancier side but nothing special. It was when the car came to a stop and someone climbed out that gave him pause.
“Who the hell are you?” Harvey Dent questioned as he walked over, hand hovering over that gun on his side. It was actually him, not Two-Face. No scar to speak of on his face.
Given the strange encounter with the Talon and now Harvey looking nothing like Two-Face, Bruce decided to play along. “Batman,” he introduced himself with a nod, taking a healthy step back. “That lab blew up, so I dragged them out,” he explained, his gaze never leaving Harvey.
Harvey inspected the two, checking for any indications that they were hurt. “Their vitals are fine,” Bruce added, folding his arms over his chest. “It was one of the first things I checked after the explosion.”
Harvey nodded slowly, but he visibly didn’t trust Bruce. “Thank you,” he said, picking up the girl with pink hair. “Are you new to Gotham? I don’t think I’ve seen or heard anything about you before.”
Whatever was going on, Bruce just played along until he figured it out. “No, I’m not new,” he answered, his gaze following Harvey when he set the girl in his car. “And I avoid ending up on the news.” A half-truth but helpful for the time being. “How do you know these two?” He questioned, mentally restraining himself when Harvey moved towards Steph.
Harvey paused, Steph in his arms, as he thought over an answer. “Allies of mine,” he answered, before setting her in the car as well, but his gaze said something else. It was the same look Bruce had when he looked at any of his children. “Was there… was there anyone else in that lab when it exploded?” He questioned, looking over to Bruce once more.
“No,” Bruce answered, trying that comm link in his ear but still being greeted with static. “There was no one else in there.”
Harvey let out a hum, looking towards the lab before looking at Bruce. “Again, thank you for saving them,” he replied as he climbed into the driver’s seat of the car. Rolling down the window, he met his gaze once more. “Stay out of trouble,” he said before pulling away to leave.
And Bruce, he slinked up to the rooftops, following. Because even if something was wrong here, that wouldn’t stop him from making sure Steph and that stranger didn’t get hurt by a villain.