Coran
11-18-2001, 03:03 PM
Mayor Frank D. Hall sat in his office looking over the paperwork that would be discussed
at tomorrow’s budget meeting. Mayor Hall wasn’t a bad man, but he had a flaw that was
common among politicians. He thought he was the only person able to keep his office
working at peak efficiency. Because of this, he was zealous about guarding his past, just
in case anything he had ever done could be mis-construed as something that would keep
him from getting votes. Mayor Hall sighed as he leaned back in his chair, his mind
wandering to all the crimes that had been committed lately. “Why now?! The year had
been so good, and now this!” he sighed and said in a heartbroken voice, “And it’s an
election year too.”
**************************************************
The boss sat in the car outside City Hall. He smiled coldy to himself as he contemplated
the prize ahead. One of the many of the socially elite in the city had granted Mayor Hall
the privilege of displaying the “Mercury Diamond” in the main room of City Hall. The
“Mercury Diamond” was like no other... while some diamonds came out a light pinkish
color, or a slightly darker shade that was construed as red, this diamond was a dark, dark
red, almost to the point of being crimson. When it had first been discovered, people
thought it was a ruby. When it was discovered that the precious stone was a diamond,
millionaires the world over tried to buy it.
The boss began laughing to himself, and his four men looked at him curiously. Who cared
if they thought he was crazy? This diamond would make him the fortune he desired so he
could get back at his brother... life was good. Looking around carefully he saw that the
police that usually guarded City Hall had been pulled off to go out to the Marina... just as
expected!
**************************************************
(10 years before)
Jake and David were brothers. Twin brothers. Identical twin brothers to be exact. They
enjoyed many of the same things, and they even had the same taste in women. Growing
up they had competed for girlfriends, but when they went to separate colleges, this ceased.
Over Jake’s senior year, he married Marilynn. He thought she was the most beautiful girl
he had ever seen. After David found out they were married, he came and visited. Upon
leaving, he wished them both a happy marriage. Just a few months later both David and
Jake moved to Gotham City. The two of them lived near each other in Gotham City, and
life went on happily... for two years.
(8 years before)
Two years later Jake found out that his wonderful brother David had been having an affair
with his wife Marilynn for practically his whole marriage. The day after Jake found out,
Marilynn served divorce papers on him, and as soon as the papers went through she
married David. Jake was crushed and swore to get even with David.
After these sorrowful events, Jake moved to Metropolis. He lived their 4 months, and
then began steadily moving around the country. Jake studied criminals of the past and
present. He studied their mistakes and their successes. During this time he also studied
kickboxing and marksmanship. Years passed and Jake began to decide on his own master
plan. David still lived in Gotham, and it was time for him to pay. Jake now began to
study Batman, and every bit of information on him. He studied all of Batman’s arch
enemies, learning from their blunders what not to do.
(Present Day)
Jake shook his head, and looked back at City Hall. He smiled coldly, and then nodded
quickly, “Now.” All the men got out of the car and they walked in. Stepping inside they
saw four armed security guards. Jake’s four men quickly lifted their uzi’s and sprayed the
area efficiently. The four guards dropped, and screams filled the air. Jake walked forward
and smashed open the case holding the “Mercury Diamond”. Laughing to himself he
quickly stuffed it into a pouch at his side and turned to head towards the door.
Immediately his face went hard, as he held up a hand to motion his men to a stop.
Standing in front of them were the intrepid threesome, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. Jake
glared at them from behind the shadows his face was hidden by, “What do you three
want?”
**************************************************
Nightwing gunned his engine as he raced back towards the main part of Gotham. Over his
police scanner he had heard about the reported attack on City Hall. His eyes were
narrowed as he sped along the twisting road.
**************************************************
Batman’s eyes were hard and his voice was cold, “Put down your weapons. None of you
have to get hurt tonight.”
Jake laughed softly, “You know Batman, I didn’t want this to happen, but it isn’t exactly
unexpected, or unplanned for. There is more to this than meets the eye. I would suggest
that if you don’t want either of your friends, or yourself for that matter, to get hurt, then,”
Jake’s voice suddenly became full of menace, “get out of my way!”
Robin laughed, “I wish I had a penny for every time someone threatened Batman... you’re
obviously not up on your current events.”
Jake shook his head sadly, “I’m sorry... you’ve been warned.” spinning suddenly, his hand
flashed out, launching a grenade towards a group of employees that had collapsed to the
floor when the guns were fired. Completing his 360 degree turn, he fired off his own uzi,
spraying the area where the three heroes stood. Batman launched himself past the men,
trying to get to the grenade in time. Robin and Batgirl lept away, doing their best to avoid
the bullets that all five men were now firing. Quickly charging outside, while still firing
after Robin and Batgirl, the five criminals jumped in their vehicle and sped away.
Batman dove on the grenade and rolled up, throwing it with all his strength out a window.
The window shattered and the grenade suddenly exploded. Time seemed to stand still for
a moment, and then Batman suddenly fell back, rolling away from the explosion. Rolling
back to his feet, he stared ahead, and realized something... he couldn’t see anything.
**************************************************
Robin charged over and knelt by Batman, “Are you ok?!” he asked in a worried voice.
Batman nodded slowly and murmured in a soft voice, so that no one but Robin could here,
“The flash blinded me... you need to help me out to the Batmobile.” Robin nodded, and
they turned, walking out with Batman’s hand on Robin’s shoulder.
**************************************************
Several hours later Bruce sat in the batcave as Alfred put bandages over his eyes. “I was
so close Alfred!” Bruce said in a frustrated voice. “If we had attacked as soon as we got
there, we would have had them!”
Alfred shook his head slowly, “Master Bruce might I remind you that you are only
human... you are not expected to be perfect.”
Bruce sighed and slumped back into the chair as soon as Alfred was done, “I’m not sure if
I should let Batgirl and Robin go after them alone... I’m not sure they can handle it.”
Alfred laughed softly, “Do you really think you could stop them Master Bruce? If Master
Tim and Mistress Barbara wish to go, you can’t stop them. There is however another
option...” his voice trailing off at the end.
Bruce nodded slowly, “I know. But the question is will he want to.”
A female voice suddenly rang out, “Why don’t you just ask Nightwing instead of debating
it?”
Bruce looked over towards the voice with his sightless eyes, “What are you doing back
here? I thought you went home.”
Barbara smirked slightly as she walked over, “I wanted to talk to you when Tim wasn’t
around. Did you already know that Nightwing is back in town?”
Bruce nodded slowly, “Yes... but he didn’t give me any way to contact him.”
Barbara glared at Bruce for a second, “I’ll got find him since you think that I need a
baby-sitter to finish this.” Barbara then turned and stalked off.
Bruce started to say something, then stopped and murmured, “That is one strong headed
girl.”
Alfred smiled as he silently nodded in agreement.
**************************************************
Nightwing stood with his arms crossed as he watched the police running around in front of
City Hall. He was silently cursing himself for being so stupid as to not have seen what
was happening. A small smile flickered across his grim visage as he watched Mayor Frank
D. Hall scream at Harvey Bullock. Nightwing lifted his eyes and looked over the city, his
mind still asking questions.
“Beautiful night.” the voice of Batgirl said quietly.
Nightwing did not bother to look back as he answered, “I’ve been too busy to notice...
besides it’s not as enjoyable when you have no one to share it with.” Not waiting for a
response he turned, “Batman sent you. What do you want?”
Batgirl’s eyes narrowed slightly as she said sarcastically, “I see you still know how to
make a girl feel welcome! And he didn’t send me... I volunteered! Batman wants to talk
to you.”
Nightwing turned to look back over the city as he murmured to himself, “Finally set out
on my own, and I still have to be at his beck and call...” then he spoke up so Batgirl could
hear him, “I’ll be there in an hour... after all, who am I to ignore when Batman calls?”
Batgirl glared at his back and opened her mouth to make a snide remark but thought
better of it and turned, deciding to simply walk away instead.
**************************************************
Dick Grayson smiled slightly as he walked into the Wayne mansion, “Still as nice as ever.”
he murmured to himself. Several more minutes passed as he talked to Alfred. Finally
Dick headed down to the batcave where he knew Bruce was waiting. When he got
downstairs he was slightly surprised to see both Tim and Barbara there also, but simply
shrugged it off as he walked towards Bruce, “You rang?”
Tim and Barbara looked up, both slightly startled. They had been so immersed in their
research on the computer, they had failed to hear Dick enter. Bruce nodded slightly and
stood up, “Let’s go upstairs Dick.”
Barbara immediately spoke up, “Hey, if you’re going to talk about the case, Tim and I
deserve to hear it too! And if you’re talking about us, then we really need to hear it!”
Tim nodded quickly, “I’m with her!”
Bruce turned his bandaged eyes towards the two of them for a moment, then sat back
down, “As you wish.” he then looked back towards where he knew Dick still stood, “I
need take over the hunt for a while. I’ve been sidelined for a while and I don’t think that
Barbara and Tim can handle this.”
Tim’s eyes flared slightly, “We can handle it Bruce! We don’t need anybody to watch us.”
he then turned his eyes to Barbara, “Right?”
Barbara nodded, her angry eyes locked on Dick, “We can handle it ourselves.”
Dick shook his head, looked at his watch, then returned his gaze to Bruce, “It wouldn’t
matter to me if Tim and Barbara wanted me to help. I can’t. First off, if I’m in charge
they have to listen to me. Tim might be willing, but Barbara never would. Second, you
would be busy second guessing everything I came up with. Not gonna happen. Thanks
for the thought, but those two are on their own for this one. I may help a bit, but no
partnerships.” he then turned and strode back upstairs.
Bruce stood quickly and walked after him his voice slightly annoyed, “Wait Dick!”
Dick stood still until Bruce caught up, and then they walked up the stairs together,
“They’re not ready for this kind of challenge Dick!” Bruce said, “You know it, and I know
it.”
Dick shook his head slowly, “No, I don’t know it. Barbara and Tim have both grown up a
lot over the past year or two, and you need to give them their chance to handle it by
themselves! If you’re not careful, you might come close to losing them like you lost me.”
Bruce’s face showed some pain as he stopped at the top of the stairs, “I never though I
totally lost you.”
Dick looked at him and said quietly, “You didn’t... but that was my decision. You
couldn’t decide it, I had to... just like they have to decide.” he then turned and walked out
to stand on the patio looking out.
**************************************************
“Fine, you two have the job. I’m here for advice.” Bruce said as he sat back down.
Tim jump up and punched the air, “Yeah! Watch out Gotham, Batgirl and Robin are on
the job!”
Barbara smiled at Tim’s enthusiasm, then suddenly turned and headed upstairs.
**************************************************
Dick looked out over the ajoining land and smiled as pleasant memories of his time hear
came back.
“Thanks for what you said.” Barbara said as she suddenly walked out from the house,
“It... it meant a lot.”
Dick looked at her, then back at the lawn and said quietly, “Whatever... just don’t go and
get yourself killed.”
Barbara stood with her hands on her hips and stared at him, “You don’t think we can do
it, do you?!”
Dick turned and headed towards her and the door inside, “No... I think you can.” suddenly
he stopped and kissed her for a moment, then said softly, “But I still worry about you.”
Before Barbara could recover from the shock of both the kiss and the statement, Dick
swiftly moved through the house and back to his motorcycle outside. Kicking the engine
on, he sped off just as Barbara stepped out the front door after him.
**************************************************
at tomorrow’s budget meeting. Mayor Hall wasn’t a bad man, but he had a flaw that was
common among politicians. He thought he was the only person able to keep his office
working at peak efficiency. Because of this, he was zealous about guarding his past, just
in case anything he had ever done could be mis-construed as something that would keep
him from getting votes. Mayor Hall sighed as he leaned back in his chair, his mind
wandering to all the crimes that had been committed lately. “Why now?! The year had
been so good, and now this!” he sighed and said in a heartbroken voice, “And it’s an
election year too.”
**************************************************
The boss sat in the car outside City Hall. He smiled coldy to himself as he contemplated
the prize ahead. One of the many of the socially elite in the city had granted Mayor Hall
the privilege of displaying the “Mercury Diamond” in the main room of City Hall. The
“Mercury Diamond” was like no other... while some diamonds came out a light pinkish
color, or a slightly darker shade that was construed as red, this diamond was a dark, dark
red, almost to the point of being crimson. When it had first been discovered, people
thought it was a ruby. When it was discovered that the precious stone was a diamond,
millionaires the world over tried to buy it.
The boss began laughing to himself, and his four men looked at him curiously. Who cared
if they thought he was crazy? This diamond would make him the fortune he desired so he
could get back at his brother... life was good. Looking around carefully he saw that the
police that usually guarded City Hall had been pulled off to go out to the Marina... just as
expected!
**************************************************
(10 years before)
Jake and David were brothers. Twin brothers. Identical twin brothers to be exact. They
enjoyed many of the same things, and they even had the same taste in women. Growing
up they had competed for girlfriends, but when they went to separate colleges, this ceased.
Over Jake’s senior year, he married Marilynn. He thought she was the most beautiful girl
he had ever seen. After David found out they were married, he came and visited. Upon
leaving, he wished them both a happy marriage. Just a few months later both David and
Jake moved to Gotham City. The two of them lived near each other in Gotham City, and
life went on happily... for two years.
(8 years before)
Two years later Jake found out that his wonderful brother David had been having an affair
with his wife Marilynn for practically his whole marriage. The day after Jake found out,
Marilynn served divorce papers on him, and as soon as the papers went through she
married David. Jake was crushed and swore to get even with David.
After these sorrowful events, Jake moved to Metropolis. He lived their 4 months, and
then began steadily moving around the country. Jake studied criminals of the past and
present. He studied their mistakes and their successes. During this time he also studied
kickboxing and marksmanship. Years passed and Jake began to decide on his own master
plan. David still lived in Gotham, and it was time for him to pay. Jake now began to
study Batman, and every bit of information on him. He studied all of Batman’s arch
enemies, learning from their blunders what not to do.
(Present Day)
Jake shook his head, and looked back at City Hall. He smiled coldly, and then nodded
quickly, “Now.” All the men got out of the car and they walked in. Stepping inside they
saw four armed security guards. Jake’s four men quickly lifted their uzi’s and sprayed the
area efficiently. The four guards dropped, and screams filled the air. Jake walked forward
and smashed open the case holding the “Mercury Diamond”. Laughing to himself he
quickly stuffed it into a pouch at his side and turned to head towards the door.
Immediately his face went hard, as he held up a hand to motion his men to a stop.
Standing in front of them were the intrepid threesome, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. Jake
glared at them from behind the shadows his face was hidden by, “What do you three
want?”
**************************************************
Nightwing gunned his engine as he raced back towards the main part of Gotham. Over his
police scanner he had heard about the reported attack on City Hall. His eyes were
narrowed as he sped along the twisting road.
**************************************************
Batman’s eyes were hard and his voice was cold, “Put down your weapons. None of you
have to get hurt tonight.”
Jake laughed softly, “You know Batman, I didn’t want this to happen, but it isn’t exactly
unexpected, or unplanned for. There is more to this than meets the eye. I would suggest
that if you don’t want either of your friends, or yourself for that matter, to get hurt, then,”
Jake’s voice suddenly became full of menace, “get out of my way!”
Robin laughed, “I wish I had a penny for every time someone threatened Batman... you’re
obviously not up on your current events.”
Jake shook his head sadly, “I’m sorry... you’ve been warned.” spinning suddenly, his hand
flashed out, launching a grenade towards a group of employees that had collapsed to the
floor when the guns were fired. Completing his 360 degree turn, he fired off his own uzi,
spraying the area where the three heroes stood. Batman launched himself past the men,
trying to get to the grenade in time. Robin and Batgirl lept away, doing their best to avoid
the bullets that all five men were now firing. Quickly charging outside, while still firing
after Robin and Batgirl, the five criminals jumped in their vehicle and sped away.
Batman dove on the grenade and rolled up, throwing it with all his strength out a window.
The window shattered and the grenade suddenly exploded. Time seemed to stand still for
a moment, and then Batman suddenly fell back, rolling away from the explosion. Rolling
back to his feet, he stared ahead, and realized something... he couldn’t see anything.
**************************************************
Robin charged over and knelt by Batman, “Are you ok?!” he asked in a worried voice.
Batman nodded slowly and murmured in a soft voice, so that no one but Robin could here,
“The flash blinded me... you need to help me out to the Batmobile.” Robin nodded, and
they turned, walking out with Batman’s hand on Robin’s shoulder.
**************************************************
Several hours later Bruce sat in the batcave as Alfred put bandages over his eyes. “I was
so close Alfred!” Bruce said in a frustrated voice. “If we had attacked as soon as we got
there, we would have had them!”
Alfred shook his head slowly, “Master Bruce might I remind you that you are only
human... you are not expected to be perfect.”
Bruce sighed and slumped back into the chair as soon as Alfred was done, “I’m not sure if
I should let Batgirl and Robin go after them alone... I’m not sure they can handle it.”
Alfred laughed softly, “Do you really think you could stop them Master Bruce? If Master
Tim and Mistress Barbara wish to go, you can’t stop them. There is however another
option...” his voice trailing off at the end.
Bruce nodded slowly, “I know. But the question is will he want to.”
A female voice suddenly rang out, “Why don’t you just ask Nightwing instead of debating
it?”
Bruce looked over towards the voice with his sightless eyes, “What are you doing back
here? I thought you went home.”
Barbara smirked slightly as she walked over, “I wanted to talk to you when Tim wasn’t
around. Did you already know that Nightwing is back in town?”
Bruce nodded slowly, “Yes... but he didn’t give me any way to contact him.”
Barbara glared at Bruce for a second, “I’ll got find him since you think that I need a
baby-sitter to finish this.” Barbara then turned and stalked off.
Bruce started to say something, then stopped and murmured, “That is one strong headed
girl.”
Alfred smiled as he silently nodded in agreement.
**************************************************
Nightwing stood with his arms crossed as he watched the police running around in front of
City Hall. He was silently cursing himself for being so stupid as to not have seen what
was happening. A small smile flickered across his grim visage as he watched Mayor Frank
D. Hall scream at Harvey Bullock. Nightwing lifted his eyes and looked over the city, his
mind still asking questions.
“Beautiful night.” the voice of Batgirl said quietly.
Nightwing did not bother to look back as he answered, “I’ve been too busy to notice...
besides it’s not as enjoyable when you have no one to share it with.” Not waiting for a
response he turned, “Batman sent you. What do you want?”
Batgirl’s eyes narrowed slightly as she said sarcastically, “I see you still know how to
make a girl feel welcome! And he didn’t send me... I volunteered! Batman wants to talk
to you.”
Nightwing turned to look back over the city as he murmured to himself, “Finally set out
on my own, and I still have to be at his beck and call...” then he spoke up so Batgirl could
hear him, “I’ll be there in an hour... after all, who am I to ignore when Batman calls?”
Batgirl glared at his back and opened her mouth to make a snide remark but thought
better of it and turned, deciding to simply walk away instead.
**************************************************
Dick Grayson smiled slightly as he walked into the Wayne mansion, “Still as nice as ever.”
he murmured to himself. Several more minutes passed as he talked to Alfred. Finally
Dick headed down to the batcave where he knew Bruce was waiting. When he got
downstairs he was slightly surprised to see both Tim and Barbara there also, but simply
shrugged it off as he walked towards Bruce, “You rang?”
Tim and Barbara looked up, both slightly startled. They had been so immersed in their
research on the computer, they had failed to hear Dick enter. Bruce nodded slightly and
stood up, “Let’s go upstairs Dick.”
Barbara immediately spoke up, “Hey, if you’re going to talk about the case, Tim and I
deserve to hear it too! And if you’re talking about us, then we really need to hear it!”
Tim nodded quickly, “I’m with her!”
Bruce turned his bandaged eyes towards the two of them for a moment, then sat back
down, “As you wish.” he then looked back towards where he knew Dick still stood, “I
need take over the hunt for a while. I’ve been sidelined for a while and I don’t think that
Barbara and Tim can handle this.”
Tim’s eyes flared slightly, “We can handle it Bruce! We don’t need anybody to watch us.”
he then turned his eyes to Barbara, “Right?”
Barbara nodded, her angry eyes locked on Dick, “We can handle it ourselves.”
Dick shook his head, looked at his watch, then returned his gaze to Bruce, “It wouldn’t
matter to me if Tim and Barbara wanted me to help. I can’t. First off, if I’m in charge
they have to listen to me. Tim might be willing, but Barbara never would. Second, you
would be busy second guessing everything I came up with. Not gonna happen. Thanks
for the thought, but those two are on their own for this one. I may help a bit, but no
partnerships.” he then turned and strode back upstairs.
Bruce stood quickly and walked after him his voice slightly annoyed, “Wait Dick!”
Dick stood still until Bruce caught up, and then they walked up the stairs together,
“They’re not ready for this kind of challenge Dick!” Bruce said, “You know it, and I know
it.”
Dick shook his head slowly, “No, I don’t know it. Barbara and Tim have both grown up a
lot over the past year or two, and you need to give them their chance to handle it by
themselves! If you’re not careful, you might come close to losing them like you lost me.”
Bruce’s face showed some pain as he stopped at the top of the stairs, “I never though I
totally lost you.”
Dick looked at him and said quietly, “You didn’t... but that was my decision. You
couldn’t decide it, I had to... just like they have to decide.” he then turned and walked out
to stand on the patio looking out.
**************************************************
“Fine, you two have the job. I’m here for advice.” Bruce said as he sat back down.
Tim jump up and punched the air, “Yeah! Watch out Gotham, Batgirl and Robin are on
the job!”
Barbara smiled at Tim’s enthusiasm, then suddenly turned and headed upstairs.
**************************************************
Dick looked out over the ajoining land and smiled as pleasant memories of his time hear
came back.
“Thanks for what you said.” Barbara said as she suddenly walked out from the house,
“It... it meant a lot.”
Dick looked at her, then back at the lawn and said quietly, “Whatever... just don’t go and
get yourself killed.”
Barbara stood with her hands on her hips and stared at him, “You don’t think we can do
it, do you?!”
Dick turned and headed towards her and the door inside, “No... I think you can.” suddenly
he stopped and kissed her for a moment, then said softly, “But I still worry about you.”
Before Barbara could recover from the shock of both the kiss and the statement, Dick
swiftly moved through the house and back to his motorcycle outside. Kicking the engine
on, he sped off just as Barbara stepped out the front door after him.
**************************************************