[A/N]: Another vignette [I think that's what we call these] because I'm having too much fun writing other people's perspectives in this story. I'll have to account for that when I move on to writing an original novel. For now, have a Batman!
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Batman drove a disguised Batmobile in silent running. Its fins had been retracted, rocket booster hidden in the false trunk. As he "mingled" with the rest of Gotham's traffic, the Batmobile looked like any old customized muscle car. Discovery on closer inspection was no issue—illegally-heavy tint was common in Gotham, and he made full advantage of that.
Someone rode with him in the passenger-side seat. It wasn't Robin in shotgun this time—he was tasked to monitor the situation in a mafia safehouse that they were staking out that night.
Sitting in Robin's usual spot was a woman in her early twenties. She wore clothing much too light for a cold Gotham evening, all fluffy cottons and not enough coverage. Sitting primly with her hands folded on her lap, she remained entirely motionless with an expression so placid that she could have been mistaken for a wax doll. The only signs of life were the steady movement of her chest and the occasional blinking of her eyes.
Batman had seen such things before. She was beyond conventional help.
'Lucian was right to find someone else to deal with her condition. The only oddity is that he came to me specifically... I usually have to interfere with these things in some way before people tried anything stupid.'
As he guided the Batmobile through traffic on a route that avoided law enforcement, he sent a discreet message through Justice League channels. All he had to do now was bring Tamara Watson to one of his private clinics and let her family know of her admittance.
'Now, the only question is... who should carry the investigation on the people behind this?'
Batman would have liked to handle it himself, but he simply didn't have the time. Even this detour cost him quite a bit. Still... this was a good opportunity to get a better understanding of Lucian Pearce, and his instincts made him believe this to be worth what it cost. It wasn't often that he listened to that part of him with how inconsistent "instinct" was between people... but he was not one to ignore his own when it became so pervasive.
He reached for the Batmobile's console and connected to Oracle's comm line.
"Batman."
"Oracle."
"I see you have the victim. How did the meetup go?" She asked.
"Better than most," Batman answered. "What do you say to coordinating with our 'finder' on this case?"
There was a pause before Oracle responded. "I wouldn't mind," she said. "It should be like the usual when I get in touch with other prospects... but shouldn't we wait a bit longer?"
Batman let out a short hum. "Let's just say I'm too curious to leave him alone for too long," he replied. "He's had a surprisingly good track record despite how reckless he seems. I want to see if it's all just been a fluke, or really something about him that counts."
Oracle's line went silent. "Alright, I'll do it," she said eventually. "I think I'll take the lead on this one. Do you think he'll be fine with that?"
"Nervous?" Batman joked.
The frown behind Oracle's avatar was palpable, even as the image didn't change on the small console screen. "No. But you have a better read on him than I do. I just want to have everything I can get and set them in order."
Batman shook his head, allowing the smallest smile to curve his lips. "It should be fine, as long as you're leading him to what he wants." He looked toward something past the street he was currently on. "I'm nearing one of our clinics. I'll drop off the patient and bring you the evidence that Lucian gave me. I'll return to dealing with the remainders of the mob once I've done that."
"Understood," Oracle replied.
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Back in the Clock Tower, Barbara leaned back in her wheelchair. The settling of her weight upon the backrest pushed a sigh out from her lungs.
On the desk before her, the image of Tamara Watson was centered on one of her screens. It was mostly empty at the moment, only bearing her closest relationships. Soon, it should form a virtual corkboard—a network of leads and other information that would spiderweb from her picture.
On another monitor was the image of Lucian Pearce without his improvised mask. Like Ms. Watson's, his "corkboard" was filled quite sparsely. His only connections were to the Lucky Coyote, the pairing of Waylon Jones and Nicolas Umbrage, and one Maxine de Luna. Oddly, Maxine was a common thread between him and Tamara Watson. Something to consider.
Casting that aside until Batman delivered the evidence to her, Barbara stared again at one of Lucian's few clear portraits. 'He looks a bit like Dick,' she thought, mind drifting. 'He's a little rough around the edges and a lot paler, but the resemblance is uncanny... I hope this isn't one of Luthor's schemes...'
This wouldn't have been the first time that Luthor had cloned someone for some inscrutable purpose. The question was, if he did indeed clone Lucian Pearce from Dick Grayson, what was he planning? Not only that, how had he managed to do it? Barbara could only hope that it was just a coincidence.
Leaning forward again, her wheelchair rolled ahead just a smidge. She noted down the beginnings of a plan to look further into who Lucian Pearce truly was. He'd just appeared in Gotham without any explanation as to how, after all. There was the lack of history as well—no matter where she looked, as far as the world was concerned, he never existed until his first sighting. There was also his inexplicable drive not quite to do good, but to punish crime.
'I'll unravel the mystery to everything you are,' she thought, more as motivation and instruction for herself rather than a threat to him.
Unwillingly, her gaze trailed over once again to the "thread" that connected Lucian to Maxine. Her expression cramping, Barbara banished the thought that wanted to form in her head before it could take root.
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[A/N]: How do y'all think Babs' relationship with Lucian should actually start?
Also, as you might have noticed, I changed the spelling of Nics' name. Also got rid of the k in his nickname. That k was grating on me.