THE BATMAN

I AM TRUTH

                                               CHAPTER 3: I AM TRUTH

Every cop in the city had gathered in the GCPD building. Never had the building carried the weight of so many people at once but today, it carried the weight of their sunken hearts as well. Gordon slowly rose to the top floor, above all of his fellow law enforcers, but his head hung low. "We are gathered here today not to mourn but to celebrate. Celebrate all the little instances of joy that was brought into this grim city by this man." He pointed towards the coffin situated amongst the crowd. "A week ago, Lucas Hammond had agreed to go undercover to investigate one of the most notorious Gotham mobs the city has ever faced. He did it without regret or hesitation. He was a good man. The best of us. A soldier too good for the city's relentless criminals. Criminals who wear capes and expose Gotham's vulnerable to his brutality under the veil of the night. People who place themselves above -the law. People who strip this world of the little good that's left in it. People like-" "Me." The crowd was stunned by the familiar voice and turned around to face the man who taken a fellow soldier from them. "You have a lot of guts showing up here. Give me a good reason to not put a bullet in that thick skull of yours! Sure with your skill, you can probably kill us all! But mark my words, as long as hope thrives in this city it will never accept the likes of you!" "Well, good for me. Hope has become a foreign concept to this city. " Gordon walked down the flight of stairs, his eyes piercing into Bruce's soul. "Who gave you the right to take a noble life?" "The same people who failed to save the people I loved due to their incapacity." The coppers were tired of letting The Knight slip away. It was now or never. "DEATH TO THE TYRANT!" screamed one of them as they pulled out their gun and shot at Bruce, missing huis head by inches! Soon after that, the riot ensued. Guns blazing, the people who swore to protect the city started shooting in unison at the terrorist clad in black. Some missing by inches, some shooting their own friends by mistake, others shooting accurately only to have their bullets bounce off of the knight's body. No one could land a clear shot! This only boosted Bruce's ego as he started mock and taunt them. He leaped into the air using their heads as launchpads and danced in the air feeling like a god. He stopped and stood gracefully at the top floor looking down at the pathetic coppers as they ran out of bullets. "Protectors of the city, huh?!" he said mockingly as he laughed. However, his fun was short-lived as he noticed that a key figure was missing from amongst the crowd. "Dodge this." Said Jim Gordon as he shot Bruce in the head showing no remorse. Bruce plummeted to the ground to be surrounded by the very people he was busy mocking a few seconds ago. His cowl was cracked, his ears were ringing and he his entire body felt numb. He couldn't defend himself from the violent punches and kicks thrown by the people who were given the power to enforce the law in the first place. Vigilantes like him were no better than the criminals they took down on a daily basis. The beaten and bloody Bruce saw no other option other than retreating. He dropped a smoke pellet and grappled away from the crowd. "Don't worry, men. We will get our revenge soon enough." Gordon said as the others dispersed to carry out their duties with heavy hearts.

Bruce rushed home on this motorcycle barely managing to hang on to consciousness, dozing off every other minute and jolting himself back awake. He headed towards an abandoned graveyard, the place where his parents were worried and along with them died the last noble people of Gotham. The gates opened automatically as Bruce entered the eerie graveyard. The place had an energy completely separate from Gotham. Gotham may have been infested by suffering and pain but this place, it was as if the Sun never shone there, it born out of darkness. Bruce sped through the graveyard and took a steep turn to steer the vehicle towards his parents' graves! Suddenly, a ramp entered Bruce's line of sight, originating from underneath the gravestone. He rushed through it but lost his balance at the last second and crashed. He was inside a sort of room, some would even call it a cave. The cave lit up showering Bruce with light and overcoming the pain he was under he cracked a smile and uttered a single word with great joy, "Home.". "He wants to keep the place a secret and yet he makes a bombastic entran-" Alfred was walking into the room with tea as part of a daily routine but was shocked by Bruce's state. He dropped the tea pot and started helping Bruce onto a table to ease his pain. "What the bloody hell happened to you?! Who did this?" "Don't worry, Alfred. I'll be fine." "No, it is not fine! Your cowl is cracked. Your head in bleeding, I can see a bone poking out of your leg and....... Are those bullet marks?!" "Alfred! Relax. I can handle myself." "With all due to respect, Master Bruce, you're especially garbage in that sector of your job." Bruce could only growl in reply as Alfred gave him a dose of anesthesia to help ease his Master's sufferings.