Ghost King Meets Batman

Meanwhile

[Edited August 1, 2022]

June 26th

[This chapter covers some of what the Batfam are doing while Nico is in the pit/jar]

It had been four days since Nico had disappeared and Bruce had yet to rest. He had exhausted his own search through all the channels he had at the League's disposal. According to satellites, GPS, facial recognition, and his many contacts, Nico had disappeared off the face of the Earth. 

Commissioner Gordon had even gone so far as to contact Delphi Strawberries to get a statement from a man named Mr. Bruner about where he thought Nico might have gone and come back with nothing. It had been a long shot in the first place since Nico had said that Delphi Strawberries was just the front for Camp Half-Blood. He had hoped that he could get in contact with this Chiron character and get a better idea of where Nico could be found, but he had no such luck. Bruce was running out of options. 

Dick and Tim were both out on patrol with the team, chasing down any leads they could think of, but Bruce had little hope anything would come from that. Nico hadn't really made his debut as Ghost yet so there wasn't much on the streets about him. While Nico had more-or-less become a household name, no one cared enough to keep tabs on him outside of what was said in Gotham News. 

Bruce knew why his searches were coming up in vain. He knew deep down inside that Nico was far beyond his reach, but he'd done the impossible before. There was no reason to think that he couldn't do something to help now. He'd been to space, to different planets, to different dimensions. There was nothing that was going to keep him from pursuing leads when there was even the possibility of reaching the demigod he had taken into his care. 

There was a beep that came from the Bat Computer that indicated that the secret entrance in the study had been accessed and the motion sensor had been activated. Moments later Nightwing and Red Robin came down the catwalk to where Bruce was sat staring unblinkingly at CCTV footage in Italy. 

"Anything to report?" He asked without looking away from the screen. He asked more as a formality rather than for the answer. 

"We still don't know anything about his whereabouts, but there is something else you should know," Dick started, taking off his mask, "Poison Ivy knows Nico's true identity. And ours."

This got Batman's attention. He tore his eyes away from the screen and met his oldest's gaze. He and Tim looked uncomfortable and Bruce realized that they were expecting him to get angry. Under other circumstances, he might have. Not angry at them, per say, but angry at the breach in protocol and the vulnerability that came with being exposed. He took a moment to compose himself before he spoke.

"How?"

"She says that she sensed death on Ghost just as she did on Nico. She promised that our secret is safe with her, but I'm not so sure." Batman hummed in agreement. He was relieved to know that Nico hadn't said anything to the villainess, but that didn't change the fact that they'd been exposed. 

"There's something else," Tim cut in, "She's running with Harley and Catwoman. She's decided to take matters into her own hands and shake down Gotham's criminal Underworld." 

"Like this situation hasn't already gathered enough attention." Bruce set out a facial recognition scan for Poison Ivy in Gotham City. He got a hit within seconds. She was at one of Penguin's clubs but didn't seem to be causing any real problems. He'd monitor the situation and intervene if necessary.

"She seemed to believe that she had your permission," Dick noted. Batman hummed noncommittally and Nightwing sighed in resignation. He knew that it was pointless to press an issue that Bruce wasn't talking about. Sometimes he could get some answers out of the older man but usually, it just ended in an argument. Neither of them was in the mood for an argument that night.