The One-Seven

Chapter 1: Welcome to Gotham

Gordon grunted as he turned up the lapels of his jacket against the rain. Shielding his pipe in the innards of his coat, he struck a match and lit the tobacco inside. He took a look pull, savoring the sweet taste in his mouth for a moment, before letting out a slow exhale. He watched from the cover of his umbrella as the rain cut through the smoke. Checking his watch again, he sighed. The man he was waiting for honestly had no sense of decorum. He had lit the signal ten minutes ago; he could have been halfway home by now.

"Jim," came a low growl from behind him, in his earlier years, the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department would have jumped in surprise, maybe would have dropped his pipe and reached for his weapon. But after nearly a decade-long partnership, he was more than used to his strange acquaintance's...quirks.

Turning around, Gordon looked at the Batman. He was tall, standing at around six feet and two inches tall. His already impressive frame only enhanced by the powerful looking body armor the vigilante wore.

He didn't say anything, the Batman was never one for small talk or preamble. He was patient enough to wait for Jim to tell him why he was summoned. Instead of speaking, Jim simply reached into his jacket and withdrew a file, without a word he passed it to the man, who took it, the rain bouncing off the laminate casing around the pages. The vigilante took the file, and briefly skimmed over the contents. After a few moments of silence, the file was passed back to Jim.

The silence stretched on for a few moments before Jim grew impatient, "So?" he asked, "What do you think?"

"If you're asking if he's clean, then the answer is yes." the man said,

Jim rolled his eyes, "Of course you already ran your own background check." He took another puff from his pipe, adjusting his umbrella to keep the change of wind from redirecting the rain from pelting him in the face, "Don't know why I don't just have you conduct the interviews." he grumbled,

Batman's eyes narrowed beneath his cowl, but he wasn't the one to answer,

"Perseus Jackson. 26. Graduated from Goode High School in Queens New York in spite of a troubled childhood. Had a run in with the FBI when he was a kid for kidnapping, murder, and destruction of national property but he was exonerated. After graduation he joined the Navy, did four tours before he was honorably discharged following a bad operation in Markovia. Graduated Suma Cum Laude from NYU for criminal justice before he joined the Metropolis Police Department. Rose through the ranks quickly, became the youngest detective in department history. Had the best case closure percentage of all active detectives." The voice came from the other side of Gordon, turning around, Gordon saw the other half of the "Dynamic Duo."

He was young, far too young to be in the line of work that he was; couldn't have been more than thirteen. Dressed in a red and yellow armored body suit, his dark black hair matted down in the rain, the vigilante Robin was looking at a holographic file that was being projected on the gauntlet on the boy's arm.

The boy whistled appreciatively, glancing up, the boy looked passed Gordon and at his mentor, "Guy's good," he said, before he went back to typing on his gauntlet. "Looks like he's got a good career going, why's he transferring?"

Gordon looked at the young man with a frown, he vehemently disagreed with the young man's even being there but he knew better than to try and argue it. "He was there for the attack. His partner, Roger Davis, and his entire family were killed. From what Commissioner Corporon told me, Jackson was close to the family. Was devastated by their deaths. Needed a new lease and Corporon recommended I give it.

"I already talked to Superman. He had nothing but good things to say. He's clean." Batman said, choosing to ignore his partner's interjection.

Gordon snorted, "They all start that way." he said cynically.