Batman: The Animated Series - A Bounty Hunter's Love

The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne

Batman: The Animated Series 'Fan Fiction Love Story'

By Tayla Drago

Episode #32 – The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne

Out on a closed bridge, a solitary woman, Judge Maria Vargas goes to a meeting with a couple of thugs unaware that Batman is following her. As Megan was too on the other side to report to him right away from her belt.

"Bruce, do you copy?" she contacts him. "I see Judge Maria Vargas walking into the un-finished bridge. Is like you said, something's up."

So, Batman notices like Megan did too.

"Keep an eye on her, I'll follow you from behind. If anything comes up, we'll stop it together."

"Roger that!"

What Batman do without Megan by his side? The thugs demand money but she says that they were to make a trade. The men show her a videotape and she hand over the money. However, the thugs claim it's not all there and demand another hundred grands. Vargas insists she can't afford that much but the thugs refuse to listen.

"Looks like the price went up for you, Missy." said one of the thugs.

Not good on Vargas's end from the sound of it...

"No... it's not fair...!"

"Nah, you'll pay. You make a mistake, you always pay." said another thug.

Megan comes up from behind with her gun out.

"Oh, really...?"

"My sentiments exactly." and Batman.

Batman and Megan intervene to fight with them, for one thug throws the bag at Batman, for Megan uses her baton to swing it at his partner to get hit instead. During the chaos, the tape falls onto an I-beam hanging from the bridge and Vargas desperately goes after it. While putting her life in grave danger.

"Ah! Hey, lady! What are you doing?!" Megan had to tell Batman about this. "Batman! There goes the judge!"

Batman sees her after throwing down another member too on his end.

"Judge Vargas! Stop!"

The two thugs get away in their car for Megan scans the licenses plate on it with her watch, while she and Batman try to save Vargas.

"Help...!" she cries out.

Unfortunately, she loses her balance and is knocked out on the girder. Megan gets her magnet boots on to slide on the girder to grab hold of her, same with Batman too who manage to back his partner up as well from falling below the waters.

"That was close..." said Megan. "Hey, Bruce, I have a feeling the tape the judge wanted back must be important to her. For those thugs asked for a lot of money, it looked like a blackmail to me." Megan might be on to something there...The police later arrive and take Vargas to the hospital. Although she's not hurt too badly, she'll be out for a while and cannot provide any information, leaving Commissioner Gordon to wonder what she was so afraid of. He insists that Vargas was an honest woman and had nothing to hide so he's sure that blackmail was out of the question. "How is she, Gordon?"

"Well Megan, be happy she's not badly hurt." Gordon answered. "But they will not know when she'll wake up. I knew Maria Vargas for twenty years to be the best judge in Gotham. It can't be blackmail."

Batman, however, isn't too sure about it.

"I doubt it..." Megan said.

"There was something on that video tape she didn't want anyone else to see." said Batman.