35 Who were you in a former life?
Bruce was standing in the snow with his toes going numb listening to Gordon ask him about Marie and John while staring at the car with it's open door and scattered packages. The keys were laying there, they'd unlocked the door but had never got inside.
"Did you hear me Mister Wayne?" Gordon sounded impatient. Good, because Bruce wasn't feeling much patience himself at the moment.
"They were kids officer Gordon. Kids in trouble and I know you're trying to help but you'll have to forgive me for not having a great deal of trust in the police when it comes to this sort of thing." From the look Gordon gave him he was sure that he was remembering an eight year old kid whose parents had just died. At least Gordon had understood being told they'd gotten the man who'd killed them didn't solve anything for Bruce.
"Do you need me for anything else?" If not I think I'll be going." He could tell Gordon was frustrated there was a sense of it simmering under his breath but he nodded and let Bruce go. It would be easier to investigate without him.
Bruce stopped at the very edge of the scene, there was a small spot of blood, something had happened here and he was sure it was something the police couldn't handle. They didn't know the kids were mutants, and he wasn't going to tell. The government would be involved and cops couldn't go against the feds it just didn't happen.
When everyone was gone he examined the scene, and he made a trip to make copies of the police reports. He'd managed to make a fake persona that was allowed into the police station and used that access to get the information he needed from time to time. They hadn't found the blood, but they did have tire impressions. A truck with very distinctive tires, rare make as they were bulletproof and had a very high heat tolerance.
Definitely government issue.
The blood was John's blood type, probably his. Just a drop it wasn't like he was badly injured, maybe he was darted to keep him from using his powers. Otherwise there would probably have been fires and explosions with other things to draw notice.
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"Master Wayne, you've been up for two days."
"I'm aware of that Alfred." He was staring at the computer screen. The same screen he'd been looking at for hours now.
"If you exhaust yourself you won't be any help to them Master Wayne."
"And if I don't find them before they leave Gotham we'll never find them Alfred. They'll just dissapear." He didn't have that much memory of being anything other than what he'd become after his parents had died. Flashes of feeling safe, like someone was protecting him were most of it. After they died he'd become an open wound. It wasn't that he didn't have actual memories, he could remember the events and what they had said and done...the smell of perfume when his mother hugged him. But he couldn't remember what it was like to be open, to know that you were being taken care of.
It was like trying to remember another life, someone else's life.
He had been giving that life to Marie and John as much as he could and now someone had taken them from him. The keys in the snow next to the car haunted him everytime he closed his eyes.
He's been looking over satelite images comparing things from a week ago to yesterday, its a big town with lots of places to hide. Minute and obsessive details are his life, if his parents hadn't died he'd probably be a surgeon like his father, or an artist. Something where recognizing and seeing small details was important. The images weren't supposed to be available to the public but Lucius Fox was a good teacher when it came to computer hacking into things he shouldn't have.
And now he's found an inconsistency, something that wasn't there before but has lots of activity now. It's the best clue he's had so far.
"I'm going to get them back Alfred, dont' wait up." He knows it's useless to ask Alfred not to worry, everytime he left and put on that mask Alfred waited for him to come home again. He never knew if this would be the last time he left him.
He was always leaving.
"I know you will Master Wayne, I'll have tea on for when you return."
"Did you hear me Mister Wayne?" Gordon sounded impatient. Good, because Bruce wasn't feeling much patience himself at the moment.
"They were kids officer Gordon. Kids in trouble and I know you're trying to help but you'll have to forgive me for not having a great deal of trust in the police when it comes to this sort of thing." From the look Gordon gave him he was sure that he was remembering an eight year old kid whose parents had just died. At least Gordon had understood being told they'd gotten the man who'd killed them didn't solve anything for Bruce.
"Do you need me for anything else?" If not I think I'll be going." He could tell Gordon was frustrated there was a sense of it simmering under his breath but he nodded and let Bruce go. It would be easier to investigate without him.
Bruce stopped at the very edge of the scene, there was a small spot of blood, something had happened here and he was sure it was something the police couldn't handle. They didn't know the kids were mutants, and he wasn't going to tell. The government would be involved and cops couldn't go against the feds it just didn't happen.
When everyone was gone he examined the scene, and he made a trip to make copies of the police reports. He'd managed to make a fake persona that was allowed into the police station and used that access to get the information he needed from time to time. They hadn't found the blood, but they did have tire impressions. A truck with very distinctive tires, rare make as they were bulletproof and had a very high heat tolerance.
Definitely government issue.
The blood was John's blood type, probably his. Just a drop it wasn't like he was badly injured, maybe he was darted to keep him from using his powers. Otherwise there would probably have been fires and explosions with other things to draw notice.
--------
"Master Wayne, you've been up for two days."
"I'm aware of that Alfred." He was staring at the computer screen. The same screen he'd been looking at for hours now.
"If you exhaust yourself you won't be any help to them Master Wayne."
"And if I don't find them before they leave Gotham we'll never find them Alfred. They'll just dissapear." He didn't have that much memory of being anything other than what he'd become after his parents had died. Flashes of feeling safe, like someone was protecting him were most of it. After they died he'd become an open wound. It wasn't that he didn't have actual memories, he could remember the events and what they had said and done...the smell of perfume when his mother hugged him. But he couldn't remember what it was like to be open, to know that you were being taken care of.
It was like trying to remember another life, someone else's life.
He had been giving that life to Marie and John as much as he could and now someone had taken them from him. The keys in the snow next to the car haunted him everytime he closed his eyes.
He's been looking over satelite images comparing things from a week ago to yesterday, its a big town with lots of places to hide. Minute and obsessive details are his life, if his parents hadn't died he'd probably be a surgeon like his father, or an artist. Something where recognizing and seeing small details was important. The images weren't supposed to be available to the public but Lucius Fox was a good teacher when it came to computer hacking into things he shouldn't have.
And now he's found an inconsistency, something that wasn't there before but has lots of activity now. It's the best clue he's had so far.
"I'm going to get them back Alfred, dont' wait up." He knows it's useless to ask Alfred not to worry, everytime he left and put on that mask Alfred waited for him to come home again. He never knew if this would be the last time he left him.
He was always leaving.
"I know you will Master Wayne, I'll have tea on for when you return."