The Birds of Prey: Nightwing (Batman Fanfic)

Chapter 12:The Man-bat

Bruce's P.O.V

The image of the creature that we had just seen, seemed to be imprinted in my memory as we pull out of the batcave in the batmobile. In all my years doing this I had never seen anything that looks like that. I had seen many metahumans and deformities but this case seemed unusual. Somehow this was linked to the Joker and he is linked to the league of assassins and Richard.

"I think I might have found something" interrupts the voice of Barbara, she rings out through the speakers in the Batmobile.

"Go ahead" I say.

"There are sightings of you all the time, when you first appeared all those years ago there would be hundreds of sightings in one night but obviously now the people reporting you have become less and less. In fact there really hasn't been many at all but there has been an increased spike in the last couple of months. It must have been an over sight on my behalf, that I didn't notice it until now. Three police reports have been filed in the past hour showing a sighting of the Batman but of course we were at the party. People have been left injured"

"Where were these sightings?" asks Tim, who shifts uncomfortable in the seat next to me. 

"All across North Gotham. 301 First street, Gotham Park and at a restaurant on Seventh Avenue"

"Jesus" he muttered "He must be moving fast to be able to move that fast in an hour or so".

"Well you saw those wings, he'd be able to get anywhere" she sounded disgusted.

I put my foot down harder on the accelerator, not wanting to waste any time. It should not take me long to find a spot to park and then grapple to North Gotham.

"At which location did the victims sustain injuries?"

"Gotham Park, claw like wounds to the chest"

"We'll start there" I mutter.

Within half an hour we were out of the Batmobile and descending into the heart of Gotham. Tim moves fluidly by me, he exuded confidence from him that I had not noticed before. Maybe his time away from me really did help, he will make a fine hero when he ventures out on his own, like Nightwing.

I shake my head as we descend a building, into Gotham Park. We blend easily with the surroundings, it is quite obvious where the crime scene is as there are flashing red and blue lights from where the cops had mounted their cars onto the grass. 

The ears on my batsuit pick up the audio, I  listen in to their conversation "It was a great big thing, it was that Batman. I saw him".

"How can they really think that it was you? Why would you so easily turn on the people you fight so hard to protect, some people really have no sense" Tim says exasperatedly.

"Well at least we know he was here and there has been no other sightings?"

"None"

I stay quiet for a while, thinking things through. I go quiet for so long that even Tim has to ask whether I am okay but I ignore him.

"Bats use echolocation to navigate, I can only assume that the noise that we heard on the tape was his way of doing so. what if we reverse engineer the idea from my boot that will summon the bats, instead we can locate him" I say slowly, thinking it through as I speak.

It takes a moment for Barb to process the information"Yes...Yes. That could work. I mean I would have to take audio samples from hundreds of cameras but it is doable. I'll get started right away, I'll start with North Gotham and just hope that he hasn't left the area".

"Let's get to some high ground then and wait" Tim says before we both grapple to the top of the highest building near by. 

Tim sits down on the ledge looking down at the city beneath him "I'm not going to leave this city, like Dick did. I love Gotham and I want to help it, just not as Robin" he mumbled, refusing to look at me.