Detective James Gordon stands in front of a burning pile of melting metal as the rain puts out the flames of the burning vehicle. He sighs and flicks his cigarette into a puddle.

“Never took you for a litterbug.” Detective Harvey Bullock chuckles.

Gordon, unamused, turns to him “What’s the word on the culprits?”

“Couple of daredevils. Go by the names Crash and Burn. He’s a crazy, she’s crazy about him. A real Bonnie and Clyde story. They crashed their car into a jewelry store and looted the place. Nobody got hurt but I guess they liked risking it.”

Gordon grimaces. “This city is starting to crack… What about our friend?”

Harvey returns the grimace. “Friend? You mean Bat-Freak? He didn’t- “

“Tell me the whole truth, Harv. Nothing but.”

Harvey’s disposition surrenders into a shrug. “It looks like Bat-Freak has wheels of his own. Got into a bad game of chicken and wrecked Crash and Burns ride. The car got the worst of it, the lovely couple are fine. Banged up and terrified, but fine. I don’t think they’ll be joyriding anytime soon.”

“And the Bat?”

“Not a trace. As usual.”

Back at the station, Gordon, Bullock and the other cops are gathered around a television as Vicky Vale reports on the night’s events. “The couple were brought to justice by Gotham PD late into the night, but not a single officer was willing to comment when asked about the Batma- “

The television is shut off as the cops all turn around to see Commissioner Loeb holding the remote. “How the hell are you all watching this? We’ve got a vigilante running around this city making us all look like clowns! I’m personally commissioning a taskforce specifically to catch that flying rat bastard. Who’s in?”

Gordon takes off his hat and approaches. “I am, sir.”

Harvey frowns and stands next to him.

Gordon and Bullock are driving down the dark streets in silence, Bullocks is behind the wheel and pulls over the car. Gordon turns to him and the silence remains until Bullock sighs and speaks.

“Wait here.”

“No.”

The two men approach a warehouse with a thick metal door. Bullock knocks four times and a metal slot slide open as a pair of darks eyes peer out at them. The slider clacks shut, and the door unlocks and opens. A large Irish man is standing there, he nods at Bullock and glares at Gordon as the two step inside.

The warehouse is full of wooden crates and cigar smoke. In the center is a card table, surrounded by known criminals playing Blackjack. Standing behind the table, acting as the dealer is a muscular albino man, Warren White, the head of Great White Gang.

“Harvey! It’s been a while. Come to try your hand at another game?” His raspy voice hisses into a dry chuckle.

Gordon shoots Harvey a dirty look but remains silent. White takes notice and smiles at Gordon. “I see you brought the partner. Date night?” The henchmen begin to laugh until Warren’s black beady eyes fall on them, silencing them immediately.

“I’m not here for games, White.” Bullock growls. “I’m here for information. I understand you recently had a run in with a certain man in black.”

Warren licks his teeth and steps away from the table, approaching the two detectives until he towers over them both. He reaches into his back pocket and Gordon reaches for his gun but Bullock gestures for him to stop as Warren pulls out a large white envelope.

He taps the envelope on the brim of Bullock’s hat, mockingly. Bullock swats away his hand and the two locks eyes. Warren grins and breaks the silence, “You can have the money or the info. Pick one.”

Later that night, Gordon is home with his family. His second wife, Sarah, is holding their newborn baby, James, Jr. They sit at the dinner table as Gordon stares at his plate. Sarah clears her throat, and he looks up at her with a pitiful attempt at a reassuring smile. She cocks an eyebrow but decides to simply smile back. “I’m worried about you, Jim. Your job is taking too much out of you, you’re not even eating.”

Gordon sighs and reaches for her hand. She takes it and he looks into her eyes as he tries to explain. “This city is full of filth. Crime and corruption are rampant, even down at the station.” He looks at his sleeping baby boy then back at his concerned wife. “I must make things right. I want this city to be a safe place for our son to grow up in. I just need some time, I just- “

“It’s more than one man can handle, Jim” Sarah interrupts. “We need you here… you’re a good man, James Gordon. It’s why I fell in love with you, why I still love you. But you’re just one man…”

Meanwhile, Bullock is sitting in commissioner Loeb’s office as the two drink whiskey and discuss the formation of the new taskforce. “Do you think Gordon can play ball?” Loeb asks, lighting up a cigar.

Bullock sighs and shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s a good man. But I think he knows too much. I took him to see White and you should’ve seen his face. I thought he might arrest everyone there, me included.”

Loeb shakes his head and looks down at the phone on his desk. “There’s a way things work here, you know that better than anyone else. The media might call us dirty cops but the way I see it, the only way to be a cop in this city is to get your hands dirty.”

Bullock takes a long sip from his glass to settle his nerves. “Don’t ask me to do it myself. Like I said, he's a good man.”

Loeb narrows his eyes at Bullock and smirks. “You’re getting soft, Harvey. Don’t worry. I think Mr. White will be happy to nip this in the bud for us. After all, he’s been wanting to see what Stirk can do.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Harvey shoots up out of his chair “Stirk?! That damned cannibal??”

Loeb stands up and calmy steps towards Bullock. “Dirty hands, Harvey. Don’t forget what you owe because those animals sure won’t. If it weren’t for me, you’d have been sleeping with the sharks a long time ago. If you don’t have the stomach for it, then get out of this city and don’t look back. Not that it’d change much for long. Those dirty hands reach far.”

Bullock looks down, defeated as he walks out of the office. Loeb picks up the receiver of the phone and begins dialing a number.

The next day, Gordon walks into the police station with a thick folder under his arm as he marches into the commissioner’s office.

Loeb cocks an eyebrow as Gordon approaches his desk and slams the folder down onto it.

“Sir. I understand that Batman has been a priority project, but I’ve come to you with something more urgent. I believe the corruption of this city has bled into the force itself and I’ve compiled a list of names and evidence connecting many of our officers with the many gangs and crime families. I know you don’t want to hear this; I understand you’ve worked with many of these men and women for years, but we can’t begin to initiate real change until these dirty cops are exposed and brought to justice.”

Loeb pauses and picks up the file, thumbing through it, nodding along each page. “I see… Good work, Gordon… Why don’t you head home for the day. When this stuff gets out it’s going to put a big target on your back, and I’d like to handle this with as little pandemonium as possible.”

Gordon tries to hide his smile as he nods. “Thank you, sir. I knew you’d understand.”

Loeb’s eyes stay on Gordon until he sees him leave the building. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and pours himself a drink. “Poor, stupid boy scout…”

Loeb feels a chill as he quickly turns to his window. Nothing is there.

As Gordon approaches the stairs to his home, his heart skips a beat and his blood runs cold to see the door has been smashed open. He bolts inside to see his wife, bruised and beaten unconscious. He takes her into his arms and attempts to wake her. “Sarah! Sarah!”

Her eyes shoot open as she sobs through her bloodied mouth “James! They took James! They took our baby!”

Gordon looks on in horror as he begins to put the pieces together. Sarah screams “We need to call the police!”

Gordon’s face hardens as he unholsters his gun. “No.”

Before he can run out the door, he sees Bullock standing in the doorway. Gordon points his pistol at him. “You son of a bitch! Where did they take my son?!”

Bullocks holds up his hands. “I’m sorry, Gordon. I thought- “Gordon fires his pistol and Sarah screams. The bullet went over Bullock’s head, firing off his hat. “You’re going to take me to him, or the next one goes between your eyes.”

Cornelius Stirk licks his lips as he holds the crying baby in his arms. He sat in the back of a white van as he imagined how well the soft flesh of the child would go into a stew. White told him to send a message, he couldn’t imagine a better one than a new page in his cookbook.

“It’s a shame we didn’t have time to finish off the wife.” He snickered. “Woman flesh is so sweet.

The van was being driven by one of White’s henchmen, who shivered at the thought of the man he was escorting. His chill heightened into full on shock as his eyes widened from what he saw in the side mirror. “What the hell is that?” He exclaimed as a long black vehicle, like a rocket on wheels was bolting after them.

Distracted by this, the henchman driver slid into the wrong lane and nearly hit an oncoming car, he yanked the wheel too hard and sent the van rolling towards the end of the bridge.

The henchman was suspended upside down, fading into unconsciousness as THE BAT approached the wreck. THE BAT followed a trail of blood from the back of the van’s busted rear doors to the end of the bridge where Stirk stood, wobbling as he held the baby over the edge. He tried to catch his breath as he warned “Don’t take another step! Believe me, I’ll drop him.”

THE BAT stood there and narrowed his eyes at Stirk. Stirk took pause and smiled as he stared into the swirling black holes where THE BAT’s eyes should be. “Oh, I see… you’re like me. A predator.” He began to laugh as he let go of the baby.

THE BAT dove passed him off the edge of the bridge. As they plummeted towards the icy black waters, THE BAT caught the child in one arm and turned his back to the water, reaching out with the other arm and firing a grappling hook to the bridge. With a clink and a zip, there was a sudden stop as they dangled there, only a few feet from the water. He’d dislocated his shoulder but bore the pain as the gun began retracting the coil, slowly bringing them back up to the edge.

The baby was crying, which was a relief, proof he was still alive. As he pulled himself up to the edge, Stirk was already making a run for it.

Until he was quickly bashed by the hood of Bullock’s car, his face smashing into the concrete, shattering his teeth. Gordon bolted out of the car and ran towards the BAT, not even bothering to point his gun as he was overwhelmed with relief to see his child alive. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he took James Jr. into his arms. He looked up into THE BAT’s eyes.

“Thank you.”

THE BAT simply looked over to Stirk as Bullock stood over him, pointing his revolver at his head, ready to execute him.

“Don’t!” Gordon called out. “We do this by the book. We’re going to take him in and question him.”

Gordon turned to face THE BAT again, only to see him gone. He caught his breath and looked down at his crying son and began to shush and comfort him. “You’re alright, Jimmy. I got you. I got you…”

As the month went on, many police officers were arrested. An anonymous source had given Gordon’s file to Vicky Vale’s office, where she eagerly reported on the new evidence of many cases of corruption within Gotham PD. The most prolific of these arrests were Commissioner Loeb along with the entirety of the Great White Gang.

Mayor West made a very public statement regarding these matters, announcing a new era of law enforcement in Gotham. His next course of action, after the arrests and prosecutions of the guilty parties was to instate James Gordon as the new Gotham Police Commissioner.

Gordon sat at the desk of his new office with Bullock. An uncomfortable silence filled the room until Bullock couldn’t take it anymore and finally asked. “Why wasn’t I on that file, Gordon? I’m just as dirty as the rest of them. I deserve to get the book thrown at me.”

Gordon smiled and adjusted his glasses. “I always knew you were dirty, Harvey. But you’re also a good man. Well… you will be if I have anything to say about it.”

“So, that’s it then?”

“No.” Gordon cleared his throat as there was a knock at his office door. “We’re going to need all the help we can get. Come in!”

A dark haired woman steps into the office and Gordon gives her a nod. “Bullock. I want you to meet your new partner, Detective Rene Montoya.”

Meanwhile, in Blackgate prison; Warren White is rudely awakened by a group of prison guards who beat him down with their batons. Bruised and bleeding, he’s dragged through the cafeteria and thrown into the kitchen’s walk-in freezer. Before they lock the door shut, one of the guards’ whispers, “Carmine Falcone sends his regards.”

White drags himself into a seated position against the wall of the freezer as he looks over to see the frozen dead body of ex-Commissioner Loeb.

A few nights later, Commissioner Gordon is standing on the rooftop of Gotham PD, he lights a cigarette and the small flame reveals THE BAT standing right in front of him. He jolts and sighs. “You can’t keep doing that!”

“Those things will kill you.” THE BAT’s voice scared him more than the initial shock of his sudden appearance. Gordon nervously chuckled as he took a drag from the cigarette. “We’ll see who gets me first.”

“How is your family?”

Gordon smiles. “I think they’re going to be okay. Thanks to you.”

THE BAT nods and looks at the tarp covered shape next to Gordon.

“Right.” Gordon pulls the tarp away to reveal a floodlight. He flips the switch, and it shines a shaft of light into the sky. A black bat resting in the center of the beam.

“A signal.” Gordon explains. “In case we need your help again.”

“No.” THE BAT growls.

“A warning.”