After Dark~(Batman x Vigilante Reader), Chapter 1.
Read Chapter 2! found on my ‘posts’.
Genre: action, mystery, crime, Noir..
Setting: Gotham City from ‘The Batman’ 2022.
Warnings: swearing, mention of violence, dark themes, mutual ‘tension’😉.
Word Count: 2.6k
Author Notes: Hi, this is my first time writing a fanfic (hope its not too bad!) and this is certainly my first Dcu fanfic. Most characters are adapted from ‘The Batman’ and character credits goes to Matt Reeves, the director. I’m hoping to make this an ongoing series, depending on the feedback I receive and motivation I get to write😫. Anyways, the reader is a newbie vigilante in Gotham(you'll know more about her in later chapters) and she's doing her own little ivestigative work when she crosses paths with Batman...
pls, tell me what you guys think (constructive criticism is always welcome) and hope you enjoy!
P.S there ought to be a lot of ‘tension’ between reader and Vengeance.😏😏
Fuck.
You witness the Mayor getting hammered by some fucked-in-the-head maniac, wearing a dull green trench coat and a leather- green face cover. He had a large, white question mark painted on the side of his coat.
‘What the hell could that mean?’
You blinked twice as you took in the sight of the man taping the Mayor’s head in Duck-tape and writing something on it.
With his own blood.
“Sick Bastard”, you murmured to yourself as you focused the binoculars even more to read what he wrote on the Mayor’s taped up face.
You couldn’t see it.
You had to get a better view, but you couldn’t go down now. If anyone caught you, you’d be a prime suspect in the upcoming murder case. And that would only consist of them digging further into your background which you figured wouldn’t go down too well for you.
You had to wait it out. And wait for the sick Fucker to leave, or you could end up like the unfortunate Mayor.
****
An hour passed and you soon saw the outside of the Mayor’s house crowding up with Police Officers, detectives and the forensic crew. Shit, you even saw Jim Gordon.
And seeing Gordon meant that ‘he’ could be nearby.
Hurriedly and by instinct,you looked up at the sky.
And there is was.
The notorious ‘Bat signal’ was lit.
It was the only thing that had been scaring the living shit out of the crime underworld of Gotham for the last two years. Well, it’s safe to say that Gotham itself is a crime underworld. Corruption, brutality and lies everywhere. Gotham wasn’t a compassionate city, nor was it a hopeful one..
Upon the realisation of the signal up in the sky, you immediately rose to your feet, taking your backpack and binoculars. You had to get out of the roof soon enough or Vengeance just might interfere. He’s always seen on high ground, right? On roofs and shit like that.
He stalks the city from above, and you were too vulnerable.. You had to get down, and now.
You raced to the door leading you to the stairs of the abandoned building which will take you down to the street.
You were breathless by the end of your journey down the damn stairs, and you had to convince yourself to get out of there fast. You crossed the street and went to the back of the Mayor’s house to catch a glimpse of what was going on, but you had to stay far away to keep a safe distance between you and the house. It felt like a fucking ridiculous plan but all you could find was a bush.
Great.
Making use of what you had, you crouched down behind it. Nevertheless, the spot you were in allowed you a great vantage point to the window of the Mayor’s TV room; the place he was murdered.
So, you held up your binoculars and watched.
Closely.
Trying to find clues or vital information about who the fuck the crazy maniac who did this was.
You made sure to stay low, watching the officers and crew scrambling around, clicking pictures and searching the furniture for hand prints. Minutes passed by and nothing out of the blue happened. Until…
You could faintly hear shouting and sensed the tension rise. You saw people running around, shuffling and shouting to one another.
And then..
You saw him.
Everyone seems to have froze, as The Batman walked in. Slow and steady in his movements, but no less fucking intimidating. You froze as well, a chill running down your spine.
This was going to be, interesting…
Hell yeah, fucking interesting..
You were extra cautious now that he was here. If he caught you, you were beyond fucked. Not that you were involved in the case in any shape or form right?..Or were you?
You just came here to spy on the Mayor, nothing evil at all!
And he ended up dead.
But Mr.Batman here wouldn’t understand that, now would he?
You crouched down even more from the position you were in and watched closely. You saw Jim Gordon trying to get Batman’s attention but his gaze was glued to the Mayor. Or to say, his corpse.
Suddenly the light lamp opposite you in the Mayor’s compound lit up, and it shone to the glass of your binoculars.
Shit.
The shine immediately reflected of the glass and onto the Mayor’s window…
The TV room window.
You didn’t notice it at first, but then you realised. And it was too late.
Vengeance took note of the shine and walked towards it, eyes desperately searching for the source. And then he took note of you, crouching down behind the bushes, with binoculars in hand.
You locked eyes with him..
Shit, shit, shit.
Immediate flight instinct.
You jumped out of your position and start running. Running away from the compound. A bit like a caught-in-the-act criminal, who knows he’s fucked it. A bit too much alike.
You run as fast as you could, not knowing where to go but still running as far away as you could from the Mayor’s house.
‘Could he be after you right now?’
You didn’t want to know.
Or you didn’t dare to look back and find out. You had no time anyway. You took a sharp left and ventured into a dark alleyway. You stopped running, trying to catch your breath but not getting enough oxygen.
Fuck, you ran like a bitch.
You haven’t ran as fast as that in your life..
You turned around to see if there was anyone behind you.
There was no one.
He probably thought you were a random curious reporter.
‘He probably let it slide, right?’
You frantically look all around you, eyeing your surroundings to make sure you aren’t being stalked or followed.
You look around yourself, but you don’t look up.. At the roof.
Suddenly, as if it were a gust of wind, a black figure jumped down from the roof. Before you had time to run or even react, he took hold of your arm, swinging you around and smashing you into the brick wall. You winced in pain, as it all happened so quick like the speed of light.
The tall, dark figure closed the gap between the two of you and held you further against the wall, his tall form hovering over you.
His hand went up to the bandana scarf that was half covering your face.
Oh no.
Oh hell no.
Quickly with your free arm, you hit his intruding hand away. He growled in annoyance, and took hold of your free hand in his other one.
“The fuck do you want?”, you shouted in utter hostility.
“To see your face”, He replied in a low growl, still resisting your restless form trying to break free from his firm hold.
“Yeah, right! Like you’ll even come close-“
With a swift move of hand, he snatched the scarf right off your face..
For the first time in your life you felt naked. Truly exposed. For what you are and what you’ve done.
You were about to shout, when you felt his large hand cover your mouth shut.
Something was wrong.. You realised weren’t alone.
You suddenly heard the loud banter of very obviously ‘drunk’ men walking by the alleyway. There was a club nearby, which explains it.
Vengeance made sure you stayed quite until they were gone, and then he released his hand from your mouth.
But this time you didn’t say anything. You just stared.
Into his eyes.
His gaze was intense, fixed on your face like he was trying to read you like an open book.
You wouldn’t let him get to you that easily, would you?
To his scrutiny you looked down.
But soon enough he placed his fingers under your chin harshly and tilted your head up forcing you to look at him.
“Look at me” he said sternly with a dark tone. You had no choice but to comply.
“Why were you there?”
“Why the hell does it matter to you?”
He pushed you further into the wall, reaching to a point where you found it difficult to breath.
“Tell me”.
You struggled against his form, wriggling under him and trying to find a way to break free.
You knew your own share of martial arts and things but he put you in quite the sticky situation here. Well, the man was pretty heavy.
Wheezing you say:
“I would tell you if you weren’t smouldering me to death!”.
You stopped fighting and let him think about the offer.
He backed away.
Now you felt like you were finally able to breath properly again.
“Now, tell me” he growled, maintaining an alert posture incase you tried to run.
“Alright, alright won’t you give a lady her space?”
He didn’t respond, instead just stared at you ominously, his steely gaze fixed on you. Damn it, you felt like prey being watched by its predator.
You knew he wanted answers and fast, so, you gave in. You decided to at least give him something to sooth his nerves, even though it wasn’t entirely the truth…
“Fine..I’m a GCN reporter and I was trying to get some scoop on the Mayor, since y’ know the election is near and he could be down to something that reporters like me just don’t wanna miss. But then…”
You trailed off, the memories of the murder flooding into your mind. He was listening, carefully.
Now you didn’t entirely give in.
You weren’t going to give him the entire details.
“Then what?”, he pushed.
You took a moment to inhale sharply. You then decided to give him a not-so-retarded answer that didn’t make your little lie so obvious.
“Then I got an important call from my friend, and I had to leave.. And when I came back to spy on Mitchell I saw that he was murdered and dead, sitting on the TV room chair with his face taped up.”
You prayed that it was a reasonable enough answer and that it would convince him to let you go.
But no..
“Bullshit” he murmured.
He took a step closer to you, a bit too close for comfort. He gazed down on you with utmost spite he could possibly muster.
“You saw who did it, didn’t you?”
You were offended. How dare he suspect you of lying?
“Listen Batboy, I don’t have a lot of time here and I don’t think you do too. So it’s better if you just let me go my way and do my thing, and you do yours. I didn’t kill anybody and didn’t do no wrong. I was just trying to do my fucking job here, and I think you should do yours-“
“Tell me the truth!” He growls, and places a hand on your throat. And holds on a little too tightly for your liking.
“OR WHAT?” You challenge, looking straight into his burning eyes.
“You’re not a reporter, nor did you leave when Mitchell was getting murdered. You stayed right there and watched it happen…You know saw killed him”.
You were astonished.
‘How the fuck was he able to read through you?’
Like a fucking open book.
There was no use in trying anymore. In trying to lie anymore. It would only make him suspect you even more.
‘Maybe there’s no use in lying?’
‘Maybe both of you can call it a truce?’
‘Maybe you and Vengeance can get along and come up with some, compromises?’… ‘And maybe even some ideas?’
All of it for the exchange of information and maybe even a little ‘cooperation’..
“And what if I did?” You ask with cockiness lacing your tone.
His eyes grew bigger, possibly by realising the possibility that you truly did see what happened.
He took another step closer and now your chest was flush against his abdomen.
“What are you gonna do, baby?.. Arrest me?”
You flutter your eyelashes at him, tone laced with the same cockiness from before, but this time also teasing.
“Maybe..”
With his head bent towards you, ocean blue eyes searching for answers, he adds:
“Maybe I’ll let you go if..you cooperate”.
You look into his eyes and then your gaze wanders to his lips and to his sharp jawline. You scan his face, noticing the sharp-chiselled features.
Damn, the man certainly wasn’t ugly…
Snapping out of your little day dream, you think about his offer.
‘He’ll let you go if you cooperate?’
Well you didn’t really want him to let you go. Not that easily, anyway.
“Cooperate? Me and you?”, you ask trying your best to sound surprised.
But he saw through your facade and silence was all you received.
“That would be a little dangerous don’t ya think, Batman?”
“I don’t care”, he replied with a heavy tone.
“Well, you seem to like danger don’t you?”
You held up your hand to cup the side of his face when he suddenly caught you by the wrist to stop you.
There was silence…
Moments passed as he spoke up again.
“Who are you?” He asked, unable to hide the curiosity within.
You cocked your head to the side, arching an eyebrow with a mischievous smirk forming on your lips.
“Oh you’ll soon find out, sweetheart.”
Just as He was about to speak, the sound of police sirens and tires interrupted him.
“Looks like your friends are here. They’re probably looking for you”.
He turns his head to look onto the road.
You were about to yank your wrist out of his firm hold and run, but he tightens his grip even further.
“I’ll find you”, he says, blue eyes focusing in on yours.
“I bet you will”, you smile..
You quickly slip a small piece of paper into his utility belt.
You didn’t think he noticed, as he was so focused on your eyes.
“Maybe we can..cooperate?”
The sound of car doors closing and footsteps approaching snapped him out of his daze.
Using his lack of focus as the trump card, you quickly snatched your hand away and ran off further into the alleyway, turning a corner and disappearing out of sight.
‘Perfect’, you thought.
He didn’t chase after you.. After all he was going to find you.
Bruce was interrupted with the loud footsteps of Gordon and two other cops following behind him.
“Why the hell did you just run off like that, Man?”…
“Nothing. Just thought I saw somebody.”
“Oh and you sure did. Who were you talking to?”
Bruce lets out a long, heavy sigh.
“It was just a GCN reporter. She was just snooping around.”
“And you let her go!?”, Gordon asks frustrated.
“She’s of no use”, Bruce insists.
“Man, she could’ve been a witness!”, Gordon shouts, unable to hide his anger.
“She’s got nothing, believe me”.
The commissioner groans in annoyance and and brings his hand up to palm his face, shutting his eyes.
“I thought we agreed in deciding on things together”.
“We did”, Bruce responds almost instantly without hesitation. Gordon just stares at him in disbelief.
“So you let go of a possible witness without even confirming with me-“
He was cut off.
“I told you, she’s got nothing” Bruce interjects, passing the commissioner a glare.
He resigns, shooting his hands up in surrender.
“Okay, I believe you man but if I ever find out you’re lying to me, you and I are going to have to talk”.
And at this Bruce scoffs.
Gordon backs away with his officers onto the street, and passes Bruce one last look before saying:
“I’ll be in the car”..
When Bruce was finally left alone in the dark alleyway, he took out the note you had given him. After all, he did notice your little trick…
It was a small, white, crumbled piece of paper. It had some digits written on it.
Your number….
