[CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/0xjS780.png[/IMG][/CENTER] [b]Gotham City, Wayne Tower The Cave 9:47 PM[/b] [color=8882be]"When I warned you to take it easy, lad, I expected you to at least [i]pretend[/i] to follow through. Heaven forbid you allow yourself a single night's rest of your own volition."[/color] I allow the comment to wash over me as I snap the belt into place. Alfred's chiding me for making a full recovery much faster than he could have anticipated, but it's been three days since Harvey was targeted by an assassin that I failed to capture. An assassin who's still out there in Gotham, ready to make another move against either my friend or another innocent civillian. Seventy two hours is long enough for me to have been out of action. Whatever poison that Deadshot utilized against me in our initial encounter is a chemical agent that I'm more than prepared against now. From what Lucius and I have been able to discern ever since I awoke in better spirits, the toxin is of foreign origin, derived from a series of plants spanning half the globe. Whoever made this compound is someone far above Deadshot's paygrade, and given that this individual is also likely to have ordered the hit on Harvey, I intend to find out who that person is. Whatever the cost may be. [b][color=DarkGray]"And I already told you that I feel more rested than I've been in months, Alfred. Everything's under control."[/color][/b] Grabbing my cape and gloves, I lean forward to activate the retinal scan attached to the Batcomputer. Lights on thirteen seperate monitors suddenly flicker to life, and a series of three-dimensional models appear on the table behind us. The first model is a recreation of the crime scene as put together through reference photos and video from the night of the rally, from the point of view of someone filming Harvey just after he was hit. The second is that same recreation from a different angle, rewound to the point that Deadshot was about to fire the rifle. The third and final depicts an entirely different scene altogether, compiled from the footage removed from my cowl's camera of the actual fight between Deadshot and The Batman. I've been studying all three for the past hour. Going over the variables, trying to find a pattern to my enemy's tactics beyond the obvious. The toxin unfortunately helped to blanket alot of my memory of that night, but from what I can still recall, he was more bark than bite. Used tactics that befitted a rookie in his respective field as a mercenary. I can use that to my advantage as soon as I've discerned his current whereabouts. [b][color=DarkGray]"Though if you're [i]really[/i] concerned, I could use a second pair of eyes. Take a look at this angle, here, and tell me that you're able to make more sense of it than I can."[/color][/b], I begin, indicating the first and second models. [b][color=DarkGray]"From the trajectory of Deadshot's stance and the caliber of the weapon, the shot should've been fatal. And it would've been, had the bullet not bounce off of something else. But when I replay the footage, the bullet itself seems..."[/color][/b] Alfred squints as he leans over to look at the scan, once I replay it from the beginning. [color=8882be]"Hmm. You're right. There is something rather peculiar about the trajectory, isn't there?"[/color] I smile to myself as Alfred inspects the scene closer. There's a small part of me that relishes the opportunity to utilize Alfred's expertise in the field. As much as I learned overseas at the hands of a series of different masters, I've always considered the old man to be my original mentor. And with good reason, given that he was considered a legendary field operative under the codename of "Outsider" - as a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. [color=8882be]"Infact, I may be willing to disagree with you about the assassin's stance, given I don't think he was aiming directly for Mr. Dent. As I recall, we once called these types of hits 'dodgers', given their proclivity to aim for one target with the intention of hitting another."[/color] Placing the gloves on and snapping the gauntlets into place, I look back at him with a curious glare. [b][color=DarkGray]"You mean to tell me that Deadshot meant for the bullet to bounce off of a stray target in the environment to cover his tracks?"[/color][/b] Alfred folds his arms, eyes still affixed to the model. [color=8882be]"Perhaps not to cover his [i]tracks[/i], necessarily, but to hit his intended target more effectively and from an angle unconventional in a crowd as large as the one gathered at the rally. From Lawton's range, any rank amatuer would have been able to pull off a successful hit that would have sent Mr. Dent to the morgue."[/color] I pause as I'm just about to don the cape, turning back to Alfred. [b][color=DarkGray]"Lawton...?"[/color][/b] Alfred turns to me, realizing that I'm unaware of a vital piece of information that he knows. He shakes his head. [color=8882be]"Apologies, Bruce. A force of habit. While you were unconscious during the fit with the anti-toxin, I took the liberty of identifying the assassin by sending over a screenshot from your cowl's footage of when you unmasked the hapless fellow, for the purposes of utilizing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s facial recognition software. My contact came back with an immediate match. Deadshot's real name is Floyd Lawton. He's a mercenary that's been making waves across the country, not just in Gotham."[/color] Resuming the assembly of the suit, I try and hide my skepticism towards the fact that Alfred has a secret contact within S.H.I.E.L.D that has given us a considerable number of leads. They've all been on the level, but I don't like having a secret ally. Out of respect for Alfred and his past entanglements, however, I've refused to pry. After everything that he's done for me over the years, he's allowed some secrets of his own, even if it makes me uneasy. [b][color=DarkGray]"Then I was wrong in my assumption that he's an amatuer. Which makes the theory that Lawton missed Harvey entirely even more unlikely, as I think about it."[/color][/b] Alfred smirks. [color=8882be]"You? Being wrong about something? Surely not, lad."[/color] I shoot him a glare, to which he shrugs. We've developed an understanding, at this point, that nothing we say to the other is meant to be taken entirely seriously - until it is, of course. Trading jab at eachother is practically the norm. Though lately, I've been concentrating more on the work at hand to really engage. [b][color=DarkGray]"We're going to have to take another look at that footage. See what really led to Lawton's inability to take Harvey out, and if it has any relevance to the events of the night in question."[/color][/b] Alfred queues up the footage once again and replays it, as I type in the nessescary commands to render the playback at a much slower pace. Largely for his benefit, given that he latched onto the bullet seemingly disappearing from thin air as quickly as I did. [color=8882be]"Wait. Pause there."[/color] I comply with his request and pause at the exact interval that he instructs. Once he's able to grasp what he's looking at, he turns back to me with his eyes widen. [color=8882be]"Bloody hell. You're going to want to take a look at this, Bruce. I can hardly believe it myself."[/color] Walking over to join him, I stop dead in my tracks as the footage reveals something that I would have never even thought possible six months prior, let alone now. The three-dimensional model depicts the figure of a person leaping into the air and catching the bullet with their bare hands. Leaping being a generous term, given that the height of the catch itself renders this incident a metahuman interference, nevermind the fact that they caught the bullet and remained unharmed. I immediately go back to the computer and begin furiously typing in a further series of commands, as Alfred joins me. [color=8882be]"What do you think this means?"[/color] I stare back at the screen ahead of me, initiating an "enhance" to the clarity of the models. I hadn't thought it nessescary before, given that I at least knew the faces everyone that was in attendance. But with this metahuman, it seems I was mistaken. [b][color=DarkGray]"It means we have a new player in the field. One that can fly and, potentially, deflect bullets. This person may have saved Harvey's life without even being seen."[/color][/b] Turning back to the digital recreation as it clarifies the human models, the figure reveals itself as a human female. Black hair, caucasian, scarf, leather jacket, jeans, fingerless gloves and leather boots. Mid-to-late twenties, possibly even early thirties. I don't recognize the woman, but she has the look of someone who's determined. Must've been apart of the crowd at the rally as either a participant or a bystander. Enhanced senses could've given her forewarning as to when Lawton was going to fire off his shot. [b][color=DarkGray]"Alfred, I need you run a second facial recognition profile while I'm gone. If there's a meta operating in Gotham, I need to know."[/color][/b] Pulling the cowl over my head, I begin to load some of the equipment I'll need to take Deadshot on into my belt. [color=8882be]"Certainly. And what you do intend to you in the meantime?"[/color] Completing the tasks at hand, I activate the voice modification unit built into the cowl to lower my baritone to a register unrecognizable as Bruce Wayne's. [b][color=Gray]"Pay a visit to a friend about a project we've been working on for the past month and a half. If it's ready, it'll prove useful whenever I take Lawton down."[/color][/b] Alfred follows me as I mount the "Batcycle", as he suitably named it. [color=8882be]"And Mr. Dent? Do you wish for me to continue the surveillance on him via the drone you dispatched?"[/color] Pressing a button on the side of my cowl, a hidden visor slides over my face, similar to traditional enclosed motorcycle helmets. With the exception that this one is entirely bulletproof. Another gift of Waynetech's R&D department. [b][color=Gray]"For now. But I'll be taking over guard duty on Harvey later tonight. I have a feeling that if I want to lure Lawton out of hiding, we're going to have to take a gamble with his safety."[/color][/b] Alfred raises an eyebrow. [color=8882be]"I was under the impression that we were to protect your friend at all costs, lad."[/color] [b][color=Gray]"I [i]won't[/i] let him die."[/color][/b] Revving the engine of the Batcycle to life, I kick the stand back and prepare to head into Gotham. [b][color=Gray]"But I won't let his assassin get away again, either. Lawton's days are numbered."[/color][/b] [i][b]VROOM! VROOM VROOM VROOM![/b][/i] With that, the engine roars against the hollow crevices of the bunker as I thrust forward, hitting 80 MPH in a span of seconds and entering the tunnel that leads out of a secret entrance, located just beyond an abandoned subway system beneath a warehouse leased to me and formerly owned by my late grandfather. An area of the city nobody pays attention to, and even if they did, would be discreet enough to escape their notice. The road I'm taking leads out about fourteen miles away from the freeway into Bristol, but I can make up for time with the cycle's thrusters. Within another minute, I've bypassed the entrance to The Cave and made it into Gotham. Even though it's only been three days, it feels as if I've been gone a week. I won't lie and say that feeling the night's air against my skin is a welcome return to form. The important thing is, I'm back on the trail that Deadshot left behind. And when I catch up to him, he's going to wish he'd killed me when he had the chance. [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/lJI37YW.png[/IMG] [b]Gotham City, The Narrows BMB's Pawn Shop 9:55 PM[/b] [color=82ca9d]"We're about to close up shop. Just lettin' you know before..."[/color] The owner stops as he recognizes the woman that enters, arms tucked into her jacket and with an intense glare on her face. The man apologetically closes his cash register, indicating that he was counting the day's earnings before closing up shop. The woman seems oblivious, or perhaps disinterested, as she leans against the front counter. [color=82ca9d]"Ey, what can I do for you this time? Try and match another gold tooth to a mark you're lookin' into? Or are you actually gonna trade in something of value, this time? I ain't exactly in the business of offering my services as a freakin' forensics expert."[/color] [b][color=92278f]"Cut the shit, Vinnie."[/color][/b], the woman coldly responds, reaching into her jacket. [b][color=92278f]"This won't take but a second of your [i]valuable[/i] time. You can resume jerking off to stag porn or downing a bottle of cheap whiskey whenever I've run out of use for you."[/color][/b] The owner chuckles, before being shown a rather unusual item. A halfway bent shell-casing of a high-caliber bullet. He reaches up to take it from her, but she relents. [b][color=92278f]"Oh, no. Not before you're willing to make me an offer. And follow-up with some information that I need about this thing."[/color][/b] Flustered, Vinnie slicks back his own greased matting of hair and glances the bullet over the best that he can. [color=82ca9d]"A caliber that high, I already know I'm not gonna get away with lowballing you. Though it's condition ain't exactly pristine..."[/color] The woman clasps the bullet in her hand, withdrawing it. Indignant, but playful at the same time. [b][color=92278f]"Fair enough. Guess I'll have to pay a visit to one of the [i]other[/i] pawn shops in the area with this. A pleasure talking to you as always, Vinnie."[/color][/b] [color=82ca9d]"Hey, I was just bustin' your chops, lady. Let me get a closer look at that thing."[/color] The woman turns back towards him, having pretended that she was just about to leave. [b][color=92278f]"Put on some gloves. I need to make sure no one leaves any prints on this thing aside from mine... and whoever shot it to begin with."[/color][/b] Vinnie complies with the woman's request, reaching from behind the counter and producing a pair of cotton gloves used for inspecting weapons, stolen goods, and anything else that just happened to come his way that he would rather avoid being implicated in the sale of. [color=82ca9d]"Fuck me, you're gonna want me to get you that other set, aren't you?"[/color] The woman smirks. [b][color=92278f]"Good dog. I knew you'd eventually learn a trick or two if I came around often enough."[/color][/b] The truth was, Vincent 'Vinnie The Shark' Valestra had connections to more than a few unsavory individuals from all across Gotham. He'd done dealings with everyone to the Grissom family to Jefferson Skeevers, a high-ranking member of Capo Italiana. The woman knew this because finding out such information about people was her trade. And right now, she needed Vinnie to help her on a case in progress. Notably, the case of who really shot Harvey Dent. Because despite what the papers were saying, it wasn't The Batman. She knew because she had been there to catch the bullet herself. [color=82ca9d]"I'll see what I can do, Jess. But I ain't promisin' no miracle, here."[/color] Slamming the bullet on the counter, 'Jess' immediately turned in the opposite direction and began to walk away. [b][color=92278f]"That's Ms. Jones to you, Vinnie."[/color][/b] As she brushed against the front door to the shop with her shoulder, she side-eyed him with a hostile glare. Vinnie may have her only lead, but that sure as hell didn't mean she had to like him. He'd make good on his promise, though, given that he knew what she could do if he had the guts to refuse to help. [b][color=92278f]"Jessica is reserved for my friends." [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/RI7iZfj.png[/IMG] "And that sure as shit isn't [i]you[/i]."[/color][/b]