Batman Beyond: The New Dynamic Duo

Prologue 2/2: Justice not Vengeance

August 8th, 2038
Gotham City
2:00 am

"Alright, boys, get the jewels. We ain't leavin nothing behind," the leader told his 2 goons. Quickly, they got to work and smashed the display cases that held priceless jewelry. "No sign of the cops, or Nightwing!" One goon commented. They all filled their bags up and turned to leave the store when suddenly a batarang wedged itself in the floor. "Awww, so you criminals do think about me," a female voice stated from above.

Surprised, the goons looked up to see Nightwing dangling from the ceiling. "Shoot her down!" As they began shooting, Nightwing dropped to the ground and threw 2 batarangs that knocked the guns out of their hands. The goons started to run towards her, so Nightwing reached into her gadget compartment and threw out a bola.

The bola wrapped around the legs of the goons, making them fall over. She turned around to see the leader making his way towards the exit, so she used her jet feet to make her way in front of him. Before the leader could react, Nightwing punched him out cold. 

10 minutes later, the vigilante watched from the roof as police entered the store. "Did you stop the robbery?" A voice said through her com. "Yeah, the police will be happy to take these criminals into their cutsody," Nightwing answered, looking at the officers who were bringing out the handcuffed criminals. "Good work, that's enough for tonight report back to the cave," the voice responded. "Roger that B," Nightwing said as she hopped into the Batplane.

"That's that 3rd jewel robbery this week, that can't be a coincidence," Eliana commented while petting Ace. Bruce was on the Batcomputer (as usual), pulling up the names of all the robbers that she had caught trying to rob high-end jewelry stores in the week. "It's not. All these criminals have something in common. They're all employed by the same criminal mastermind, Richie Mcvoy," Bruce replied. 

The name made Eliana go tense, Richie was one mastermind who could evade the cops easily. He was also the man who murdered Eliana's parents in cold blood. His two accomplices were tracked down and arrested, but he was the only one still romaing the streets. The very thought filled Eliana with anger.

"Can we find his location?" Eliana asked after a couple of minutes. Bruce turned his chair around to face her, "Not yet, the guys you captured tonight might give up his location. I'm hacking into police files as we speak." "Once you have a location, tell me immediately so I can hunt that scum down," Eliana answered, not caring for her bitter tone. Before Bruce could say something, Eliana had already stormed her way out of the cave.

'Trust me, I want this guy taken down just as much as you,' Bruce thought, as he glared at the picture of Mcvoy displayed on the computer.

~8~

Eliana only got a few hours of sleep, her mind fixed at the memory seeing Mcvoy's face on the Batcomputer. It had been six years since she witnessed her parents' death in front of her eyes. For six years, she's had no definite closure or justice; still haunted by the memory that her parents' murder was still free. Eliana needed to think or clear her head, so she went to the place she felt most at peace.

Eliana gazed at the tombstones with a sad smile, "Hey mom, hey dad, sorry I haven't been around to visit much lately. Being Nightwing takes up a lot of my life, but that's still no excuse. Truth is, I'm here because there's a chance I can finally take down the man who killed you both. I thought I'd be excited, but I'm actually overwhelmed and angry.

"After all this time, I have the chance to get justice for you guys. Can you believe it's been 6 years since you were taken from me? I think to myself at times what I'd do when I face the man responsible. Bruce has told me, "Justice not Vengeance," but I don't think I can follow that rule for this."