Fear

Have you ever had that feeling like you were being watched but you let your guard down? Like a deer who grazes in the forest who suspects of the wolf behind a tree but refuses to acknowledge its existence until the wolf strikes? In the hours that had passed by the Battle for East Gotham a wolf began to stalk the remaining heroes. On the scene had been Batman and I, making rounds and attempting to clean up the scene by incarcerating all the villains located on scene.

The three of us were faced with a predator none of us could take down. It was then that we realized that Gotham may just be irredeemable. The vileness and corruption had blackened the soul of the city. Everyday  would become harder and harder to cleanse the city. However we would not abandon the city. Even after realizing that everything that we had done, every villain brought in, every family saved, had been for nothing. For in the rafters of the barn that is Gotham a silent owl looked over the city. Observing everything. Planning everything. Winning everything.

The Detective kicked at a Cyberman's head, hollow thud arose from the impact between shoe and metal. He looked up at the destroyed buildings and the various bodies littering the streets. The terrible carnage passed before the Detective's eye. Hours passing but still no closer to having fixed anything. 

Batman approached the Detective with a cautious look, the steel and seriousness in his eyes had not left since their meeting on the first day. He approached the Detective with a sort of unnatural grace, almost as if this man was not human. 

"Good job." the Batman said simply before walking off to observe the fallen Cybermen.

The Detective cast a confused but proud look on his face. The Dark Knight was still as unreadable as ever but it was some form of progress. He shrugged and sat down, taking his fedora off of his head exposing his sweaty black hair that fell to the center of his dirt and grime covered forehead. He closed his eyes, trying to relax a bit before continuing on the cleanup.

The sound of a fist fight woke the Detective up from his trance. He opened his eyes to see Batman fighting an assassin dressed in all black. The Detective watched in horror as Batman was stabbed in the stomach and he fell to the ground wounded. As the assassin was realing back to deliver a deathblow the Detective ran over and punched it square in the face causing it to drop its knife. 

His knuckles touched cold steel and it deflected off of the assassin's helmet. Two yellow eyes gazed into his very soul as it reeled back and pulled another wicked looking knife from a belt that was attached around his chest like a machine gun belt. 

The Detective before he could blink felt cuts appear all over his body and a barrage of kicks and punches lined his chest and face. He fell to the ground in pain while looking at the assassin. The assassin gave him a curious glance before rushing off into the night of Gotham. The Detective stood up weakly and went over to Batman.

The Detective attempted to pick him up before collapsing into the dirt. Weak from his injuries. The world began to spin around like he was on a top, before fading to black, unconscious yet conscious of his surroundings. A trick the Time Lords had been born with.

In what seemed in moments that was stretched into hours the Detective felt himself being lifted up onto what felt like a gurney. and wheeled into what sounded like an ambulance. Too weak to open his eyes he began to wonder why he hadn't regenerated yet if he was this weak.

Sometime in and out of consciousness he felt himself being taken out of the back of the ambulance and carted into what he could assume was Arkham.He felt himself being hooked up to a monitor as they poked and prodded at him. 

The Detective thinking he was safe allowed himself to fall into sleep. The idea of not moving or fighting sounding spectacular at the moment. 

**********
A Few Days Later

The Detective awoke, every inch of his being was racked with a dull throbbing pain. As he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was a person staring at him from the foot of the bed. Crouched down on the bed railing. His eyes shot open as he tried to reach for his sonic screwdriver to defend himself but he found himself in a backless hospital gown. 

He rolled out of the bed and into a corner. Looking for something to defend himself with. As he looked he noticed something that made him feel foolish. The person was a small child no more than nine or ten years old. He gazed upon the Detective with a coldness in his eyes that no child should have. 

On the child's chest there was a yellow R that was in the center of a circle of black. The symbol looked familiar though the Detective failed to connect it to who this young person was. A hand that clasped the boys shoulder gave the Detective a small startle. He looked up to see a fully costumed Batman towering above both of them.

"I saw you get stabbed. You should still be in the hospital." the Detective told him matter of factily. 

"You saw nothing. Now get dressed," Batman told him while throwing him a bag. "You have a press conference in an hour." 

"A press conference? Who'd want to talk to me? Nobody here knows who I am."

"Let's say someone passed certain information along. Especially after an encounter with some Cybermen and an unknown assassin. Now get dressed." Batman ordered before he called the boy who was revealed to be Robin rendering an ah from the Detective, to come along. 

The Detective found new clothes in the bag but his fedora was still in there. He smiled and popped it onto his head. It was the little things that had to make you happy in his line of work, whether it be sitting down and readin a fantastic book, or something as simple as putting a fedora on his head. 

He exited the room no more than ten minutes later. Fully dressed in his normal attire, minus his trench coat which hung from his arms before his swung it around and put it on, pulling it closed and revealing in the familiar smell of new clothes that it always gave off no matter what vile smelling concoction he waded through. 

The Detective walked outside to immediately be greeted by reporters who plastered him with questions about their speculations of his behaviors. He attempted to answer their questions and gave a lack of seriousness to his answers until one reporter asked him a question that made him give him a death glare. 

"Detective is it true that you are having sexual relations with Supergirl?" Some blonde reporter from the daily reporter  who had obviously altered her chest with surgery of some sort asked him. 

"No. I just rescued her from becoming a fifty dollar hooker. Forgive me for acting rash." the Detective told her harshly. 

Something landed in the street. A mixture of dark and light blue with red. It was Superman with his TARDIS. 

"I believe this belongs to you." Superman told him while putting it down on the ground. 

He ran over and gave it a hug. "I missed you old girl." he told the blue police box while patting it. 

"Also this." Superman told him while handing him a watch like device. "It will allow you to contact anyone in the city. Simply say their name and you will be able to contact them." 

Superman after that waved goodbye and flew off. The Detective got into his TARDIS and ploted a point to another area in Gotham. Shortly before flipping the final switch his watch began to ring. 

He groaned and answered the etch with a dry greeting. 

"Detective. Your presence is needed in the Narrows." Batman said calmly  over the watch intercom. 

The Detective furrowed his brow in confusion. "Where?" he asked. 

"West side of Gotham near harbor. Meet you there in ten minutes." 

The watch went silent as Batman logged off. The Detective began to punch in coordinates. Shortly arriving in Gotham Narrows. He took a deep breath before stepping outside, this was his ticket to gaining Batman's trust. He could not afford to mess this up.