Batman: Genesis

Chapter Six - Fear Is A Fickle Thing

"Didn't go as you expected?"

Bruce groaned and sat up. Alfred stood over him, watching intently. Bruce was back in his oversized room at Wayne Manor.

"Who was that guy?" Bruce asked, rubbing his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know. I lost all connection when you entered that house. You didn't see his face?"

"He- he had a mask on. It was so dark. Like he didn't even have a face."

"Oh dear. Sounds like you messed with the wrong person."

"And that's another thing. Nobody was afraid of me."

"The point is not to make people afraid of you, Master Bruce," Alfred explained. "It is to get information."

"I know, but sometimes people need a little persuasion, a little fear, to wake them up."

"Are you suggesting torture, Master Bruce?" Alfred squinted his eyes.

"No! No, of course not. I just- I want my costume to be a symbol," Bruce furrowed his eyebrows, thinking of ways in which he could accomplish this.

"You want to be a symbol of fear. So what are you afraid of?" Alfred asked.

"Bats," Bruce answered immediately.

Alfred smiled, "I'll see what I can do."

—
[Jim]

Jim Gordon sat across from Harvey Bullock at their desk in the GCPD. Jim was tapping his fingers on the desk. This seemed to annoy Harvey, but Jim didn't care. Harvey's very presence annoyed him. He bet the feeling was mutual. A man walked up to the desk.

"We got several calls in last night about a man dressed in all black breaking into their homes."

"Multiple calls? That's strange. You sure it was the same man?" Bullock questioned.

"All the descriptions of him are the same. Nothing has been reported missing from any of the homes, though," the officer replied.

"No one was hurt?" Jim asked.

"Nope. They didn't even seem too shaken up. The people out in those parts are tough."

Jim nodded, relieved. He took the case file from the officer and opened it as the officer walked away.

"Seriously?" He exclaimed when he opened the file.

"What?" Harvey asked.

"These break-ins were on the same street as yesterday's murder."

"Well it looks like we know where to start investigating," Harvey replied and stood up.

—

"He just came out of nowhere and was behind me," the first woman to call in was explaining. "Then he got distracted with something, so I grabbed a knife to defend myself."

The woman lived in a small house, a one story building that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a few months. Dust was circulating everywhere but the couch, which is where she must spend most of her time. The woman did not look frightened by the fact that someone had just broken into her home and had explained to Jim that it happened very frequently. Jim felt sorry for her.

"He started asking for information about a murder that happened somewhere near here. I didn't tell him anything. Why would I? He had just broken into my home. Then he left," the woman concluded.

"That's strange," Harvey pointed out helpfully.

"So, do you know anything about the murder?" Jim asked.

Harvey glared at Jim, grabbed him by the arm, and him me outside.

"This poor woman has had a rough night. She does not need to be questioned by the likes of you!"

"But it's all connected!" Jim said, annoyed.

"No. That's not why we're here. From now on,you follow my lead. No more questions. For anyone," Harvey finished matter-of-factly.

And that's how it went. We travelled to two more houses. A older man and a woman in her forties. They all had the same story. A masked man showed up in their house, asking about the murder. They didn't tell him anything, so he went away. That's all. The older man said he thought the intruder might have been a cop. Jim was just standing behind Harvey, doing nothing, the whole time. He felt like he could strangle himself if he went any longer without asking a question. When they got back to the department, Jim spun around.

"What the hell was that?" he yelled at Harvey.

"Woah, language, partner."

"We could have learned so much about the murder. But no, instead you wasted time filling out forms and making me shut up!"

"You work under me, Gordon! That means you do as I tell you until you get a high enough rank to be truly partners with me." Bullock fired back. "For all I know, you could be the vigilante that broke into those homes! I wouldn't put it past you, Detective."