THE BATMAN

I AM BATMAN

                                                                   CHAPTER 6: I AM BATMAN

The cold breeze shakes the curtains nervously as the windows are left open. The reflection on the glass door reads "RALPH DIBNEY; PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR". It was hard to notice that detail as the darkness of the cape had covered the letters. Bruce had solemnly sworn on The Knight's grave that he would get to the bottom of this revelation but a part of him felt lost without the fear-inducing voice of his alter ego. He was in the suit, his heart was as cold as stone but he couldn't feel like he belonged in that suit. However, these thoughts were nothing but trivial in the grand scheme that the Riddler had hatched for Gotham's crusader. He rummages through the drawers, scattering files and documents everywhere. He was convinced that he had his man but there was no clue in sight to solidify his judgement. Bruce heads over to the other drawers but this hadn't been left unlocked, unlike the other drawers. Was the answer to his prayers locked away in this very drawer? Bruce tried to unlock it but it would budge, it was clear that the Riddler never wanted Bruce to come after him, or is it what he wanted Bruce to think all along? Bruce forced his fist through the drawer, shattering it and rendering the lock useless. He pulls out a folder and flips through the pages. Nothing. Nothing of value. A complete waste of precious time. Close to giving up all hope, Bruce threw the folder away and punched a hole through the table in front of him. He looked helpless as he removed his helmet to draw a breath properly without feeling like he has to share it with the evil within him. It had been eradicated but it had made its mark and conveyed his point. Bruce panted as he looked through the hole that he had willed into existence, his eyes falling on an interesting detail. A newspaper clipping, poking its head out from the mess and the heaps of useless papers. Bruce reached for it and held it gently. The clipping featured him and an ally whose face had been cut out and replaced with a paper cutting of Bruce in The Knight's uniform. It was an old picture, from before his travels around the great wide world. It was a distant memory. As he attempted at remembering whose face had been cut out, he heard a faint buzzing. Flies, nothing serious or worthy of note. He went back to remembering but he was being constantly disturbed by the faint echoes of the buzzing flies. Frustrated and on the brink of his patience, he grabbed a fly between his fingers and looked closely at it before squishing it, but what was it doing there? He could hear the other flies but their buzzing sounded muffled, by what? Bruce followed the sound across the room which led him to the refrigerator. Spoilt food? It never hurts anyone to be completely sure. Bruce swung open the fridge, not surprised by the sight that he came across anymore. A body, falling with a thud in front of him. Lying down on its face. Bruce rolled the body over and realized instantly where Riddler would be next. He did want Bruce to find him all along. The question is: is he too late? The body had a piece of paper resting in its coat pocket. Bruce held it and took off, not wasting a split second in doing so. He leaped out of the building for it was a riddle that had been inscribed on the piece of decorative paper. The dark green colored paper swirled in the wind as it slowly kissed the chest of the lifeless body.

"To some a source of trust and love,
To others, ball and chain,
For me, some go beyond, above,
While others but complain.

For I'm a thing you cannot choose,
You're stuck with what you've got,
But I'm a thing that one can lose,
For granted, take me not.

What am I?"

The riddle was stuck in Bruce's head as he raced through the city in his armor car, the vehicle glowing in the sunlight. Bruce felt the need to whisper the answer as the riddle kept on bothering him, "Family." He whispered as he remembered the body. Its face had been replaced with a paper cutting of, Bruce's most trustworthy ally, Alfred Pennyworth. A neon green question mark on Alfred's forehead letting Bruce know about the next victim in Riddler's hitlist. The cold breeze back at "Ralph"'s office ripped the tape holding the paper cutting on the dead man's face. The face flew away to reveal that the body was missing a face! Who had met such a gruesome fate!? All the clues led to one solid answer. That was the REAL Ralph Dibney, and Bruce couldn't save a man on the path of redemption yet again.