Batman: The Dark Knight

Chapter 4: Beware the Bat

Gotham had barely changed since Bruce had left all those years ago.
Crime was everywhere, even in the police department! The city clearly needed some help for its current problems.
Bruce was thankful that Lucius had kept busy with Wayne Enterprises.
As soon as news traveled that Bruce was back in Gotham, he would be ready to devote a chunk of Wayne Enterprises to helping Gotham.

Bruce smiled as he and Alfred walked up the steps of the manor.
Alfred said, "Lucius will be happy that you've returned, I'm sure."
Bruce nodded and said, "good to know. Once I get into some better clothes and pack everything away, I need to do a bit of landscaping around the manor."
Alfred asked, "may I ask why?"
Bruce said, "call it a…. Personal project…."
Alfred lightly rolled his eyes and said, "very well…."
Bruce and Alfred entered the manor. A thousand sights, sounds and smells flooded Bruce's memory as he brought his stuff to his room while Alfred went off for a moment.
Bruce smiled. He was home….
….
We see a dark chasm of some kind, running water echoing around the place.
And slowly climbing down via a harness and climbing gear is Bruce.
Bruce landed on a ledge. He turned on a flashlight, which brightened up the area around him.
A gigantic cavern that seemed to lead under the manor.
Bruce heard Alfred calling down, "Master Bruce? Find anything down there?"
Bruce said, "yeah. Giant cavern. Just what I was looking for- WOAH!"
A bunch of bats started to fly around. Bruce steadied himself as he stood up straight.
Bruce looked up and said, "I've gotta talk with Lucius as soon as I can. My project is gonna lift off the ground soon…."
Alfred called down, "might that wait until tomorrow? After a nice warm meal?"
Bruce smiled and said, "alright. It'll be nice to sit down with one of your delicious meals after five years."
Bruce began climbing back up….
….
Later that night….
Bruce is sitting at the dining room table, waiting for Alfred.
Alfred soon entered the room, two plates of steak for the both of them.
They discussed various things over the course of the meal, soon leading to….
Alfred said, "sounds like quite the story. Living on the streets, working with thieves, and joining a group of highly trained ninjas."
Bruce chuckled and said, "it was quite eventful. Gave me quite a few skills to use."
Alfred joked, "and will this Ms. Talia or her sister ever end up joining us for dinner sometime soon?"
Bruce gave a sad sigh and said, "I doubt it. I left in the middle of the night."
Alfeed asked, "may I ask, why?"
Bruce said, "because the League wanted me to kill a man."
Alfred grew silent.
Bruce sighed and said, "I cared deeply for Talia…. I saw Nyssa like a little sister…. But I couldn't take a life…. I never plan to. So I took what skills they gave me and left."
Alfred said, "speaking of which, what is this new project of yours?
Bruce smiled and said, "it's time I fulfill that promise I gave to mom and dad…. If I'm to protect Gotham…. I'm gonna need the tech and base of operations to do so…."
Alfred said, "I'm guessing this base of operations will be that cavern you found under the manor?"
Bruce nodded and said, "indeed. And now I just need to build it. And for that…. I'm off to visit Lucius tomorrow…."
….
The next day….
Bruce had just arrived at the top floor of Wayne Enterprises.
He stood before the desk of the secretary, who was busy typing at her computer and hadn't noticed him yet.
Bruce said, "I have an appointment with Mr. Foxx."
She asked dully, "name?"
Bruce said, "Bruce Wayne."
She looked up at him in shock and said, "oh, so sorry Mr. Wayne! I'll let Mr. Foxx know you're here to see him."
She quickly turned on the intercom.
She said, "Mr. Foxx. Bruce Wayne is here to see you."
"Thank you Cassie. Send him in."
Cassie said, "right away sir", she turned to Bruce, "Mr. Foxx will see you now."
Bruce nodded and said, "thank you."
Bruce entered the next room, seeing Lucius Foxx sitting at his desk.
He said, "ah, Bruce. Good to see you again."
Lucius stood up as he and Bruce shook hands.
Bruce said, "good to see you too, Lucius. Word around Gotham is the company has been making more money since you were put in charge."
Lucius said, "well, your various proposals have managed to keep the company afloat."
Bruce smiled as he and Lucius sat down.
Bruce said, "well, I have my own plans for the company."
Lucius asked, "and what might these ideas be?"
Bruce said, "first off, I'm dedicating a small portion to help the more destitute and poverty stricken areas."
Lucius said, "very generous. Your parents always wanted to do something like that, but the company didn't have enough funds at the time."
Bruce said, "well now that it does, I plan on making their plans a reality."
Lucius smiled and said, "they'd be proud of you, Bruce. Thinking of this city. Now, is there anything else you need to talk to me about?"
Bruce said, "actually, yes…. I've got a…. Personal project, I'm working on…. Something that needs to stay absolutely discreet."
Bruce leaned forward and pulled out several blueprints.
Bruce said, "I looked into the company's canceled projects, and found several items locked up in RnD."
Bruce showed the blueprints for said items.
Lucius said, "ah yes. Before your father took control of the company, there was a weapons project that went nowhere. A special kind of armor that would be nearly impervious to bullets, special sonar tech, a prototype fabric that could work as a parachute, and even a specialized tank. Why so interested in this tech?"
Bruce said, "my special project involves fulfilling a promise I made years ago. To make sure no-one else goes through what I did."
Lucius asked, "are you saying you're planning to use this tech to wage war on crime in Gotham?"
Bruce leaned forward and said, "you and Alfred are the only ones I trust with this information. If you're not for this project, I won't force you into anything Lucius."
Lucius looked down at the blueprints and thought for a few moments.
He soon asked, "what's my first assignment?"
Bruce smiled and said, "I need help building a base of operations. In a cavern under Wayne Manor. After that, we'll work out the details…."
….
One week later….
"Alright, start it up!"
Alfred flipped a switch that turned on various lights built into the ceiling of the cavern.
Bruce stood on a large metal platform built into the cavern.
Alfred looked up at the bats hanging from the ceiling and said, "charming. At least you'll have company."
Bruce gave a light chuckle as he looked over the computer system as it booted up.
Alfred said, "a secure network plugged into the Wayne Tech and GCPD systems."
Bruce continued, "and for extra security, the encryptions are changed every hour."
Alfred asked, "where did you learn these skills with computers?"
Bruce replied, "the League has had access to various kinds of technology over the years, allowing me to work on my skills in that department."
Bruce then walked over to a mannequin that wore specialized armor of some kind. It was a dark gray color. Right next to it was a table with two gauntlets with spikes on the sides, and some sort of mask.
Alfred asked, "so, what will you call yourself? You must have some sort of motif."
Bruce picked up the mask and attached two pointed devices to the sides of it.
The mask now looked like an operatic bat mask.
Bruce said, "I was afraid of bats when I was little. Before mom and dad died. Now I'll use that fear on the criminals. And the best part is that the ears work as communicators."
Bruce then grabbed something from the drawer of the table. It looked like a cape.
Bruce placed it on the armor and said, "this cape serves various functions. When a current is blown through it, it'll look and act like bat wings, allowing me to glide through the air."
Bruce then showed several strange devices.
Bruce listed them each off as he showed them to Alfred.
A grungy, gun-like device with a hook in it.
"A prototype grappling hook that'll pull me up high with little damage to my arm."
Small round balls.
"Smoke pellets to hide from enemies."
A device that resembled a glue gun.
"A prototype gel that can be remotely detonated."
A small device that looked like something a hacker would use.
"Lucius called this little number; the Cryptographic Sequencer. It's supposed to be able to hack into various networks."
And last but not least, small metal objects shaped like bats.
"I'm workshopping names for these things. They act like boomerangs, with some of them being controlled remotely, while others are just blunt pieces of metal to cause distractions."out
Bruce walked back over to the computer as Alfred said, "I'm surprised you don't have a car or plane yet."
Bruce chuckled and said, "maybe if we get farther along with this…."
Alfred crossed his arms and said, "I must say Master Bruce, I'm quite impressed."
Bruce smirked and said, "just wait until you see me in action…."
….
A few nights later….
Bruce was looking over some files on the large computer as Alfred entered via the secret elevator that had been built.