Chapter Text
It was another night in Gotham City. The moon was obscured by dark, thick clouds. Sirens blared on in the background, partially drowned out by the sounds of heavy rain which was occasionally punctuated by a flash of lightning and a roar of thunder. A dark figure was perched atop the Gotham National Bank, gazing down upon the city.
Tonight, an exchange of smuggled goods was planned to take place. A newcomer to Gotham's underground scene was looking to make a name for themselves by establishing a new supply chain of illegal weapons and technology with the mob. However, this would not come to pass. It would not be allowed to come to pass. The suspects would be apprehended, the goods would be seized, and hopefully, would provide a lead on the source of new and unusual tech that has recently appeared on the black market.
It was almost time. The figure waited for confirmation that the targets had arrived. He received it. He leaped from the building, spreading his wings and soared across the night sky. He landed atop a building a short distance away from the warehouse where the crooks had gathered. He made his way to the edge of the roof.
Two guards were at the entrance, with four more patrolling the area. There was also a bright blue and yellow car parked nearby. A getaway vehicle perhaps, though a strange choice considering it's distinct colouring. Unimportant. The police would be here soon, and the figure had to act quickly.
He quickly incapacitated each guard one at a time, being careful to not alert anyone. He waited for a few moments, listening. He could make out voices from within the warehouse but was unable to hear what they were saying. They didn't seem panicked at least, so like likely remained unaware of his presence. Good.
Time to crash the party.
---
The doors to the warehouse flew open. A menacing silhouette stood in the doorway.
"IT'S THE BATMAN!"
Weapons were quickly drawn but several projectiles had already been thrown and were flying quickly towards them. Guns were knocked from hands, limbs caught in nets, and thrown knives connected with nothing.
Those who avoided the initial barrage made a run to the nearest exists, only to find they had been blocked off.
In desperation, some ran back towards the entrance where Batman was waiting for them.
He took them down one by one.
By the time the last of the criminals had been bound and restrained, the police had arrived on the scene.
The criminals were quickly rounded up to be taken to the station for questioning. A few officers remained to investigate the warehouse.
One officer approached the caped vigilante.
"Batman."
"Commissioner Gordon."
"What are we looking at?"
Batman had pried open one of the creates brought by the smugglers and was examining somethin that had been stored inside.
"I'm not sure at the moment. I've never seen anything like this."
It looked like a gun. It was far too large for a person to use, but it had the shape of something hand held and no indication of what ammunition it used. Perhaps it was stored somewhere else in the building
He set the 'gun' down and moved to another crate. It was filled with several smaller boxes packed between foam and paper. He opened one and was greeted with six small vials of a glowing, bright pink liquid.
"The hell is that?" Gordon muttered. "Some kind of Venom variant?"
"I will look into it." Batman replied as he tucked a few vials into on of his belt pockets.
Gordon sighed. "I'm sure you will."
They continued opening crates. One was filled contained what looked like car parts, except they didn't seem compatible with any vehicle Batman knew of. There were many more crates of weapons and parts, but upon opening the last one, they were greeted by the sight of a severed arm.
A giant, robotic arm.
It was white with a red car door connected to the forearm and a black hand. At the shoulder, there were torn cables and tubes. The arm has likely been ripped off of whatever it had been attached to. It was splattered with pink.
"This just keeps getting weirder." Whispered Gordon.
The insides of the crate was covered in the same pink substance on the arm. It was likely the same substance that had been stored in the vials.
Batman collected a sample from the crate along with the vials he had already taken.
"Well then," started Gordon, "I'll have he boys take this stuff to the precinct to pick through. I'll send you anything they discover, but I'm guessing you'll want to do your own investigation."
"Yes, I would."
"Alright then. Anything else?"
Batman was silent.
After a moment, he said "Before I entered the building, I saw a yellow and blue car parked by the warehouse. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now we know car parts were one of the things being sold, I'm wondering if these part would be compatible with that vehicle."
Gordon hesitated. "We didn't see a car of that description when we arrived. Maybe someone escaped?"
"There were a total of six guards outside and eight people in the warehouse. How many did you arrest?"
"Fourteen. Could we have missed someone?"
"It's not impossible..."
"Was there anyone inside?"
"No."
"There's also a chance it is completely unrelated."
"I doubt it."
Gordon sighed.
"I'll look out for any vehicles with those colours then. Is that it?"
"For now."
"Got it."
Gordon turned towards the opened crates scattered throughout the warehouse. When he glanced back towards Batman, the was nothing but empty space.
He sighed again.
"I have a feeling this is going to turn into a massive headache." He mumbled to himself.