Batman: A Maroon in Midnight Blue (Wattpad Edition)

CH 12.1: A Conversation

I took in a deep breath, netted my fingers, and placed my chin upon the back of my palms. I wanted to put my hands in my face and talk into them, but this was business, and there were rules about how to express fatigue in business. The night before drained me, and the internal conflict I felt about even having this meeting did nothing to help. But I had to power through it because—

"We need to talk about Minstrel," I said.

Lucius Fox nodded, "I understand, Bruce. This is a very delicate situation our city has found itself in. All due respect, I don't think Batman can punch his way out of this."

"No need for such formality, Lucius." I replied, "If I didn't want your unfiltered opinion, I wouldn't have asked you here. That goes for all of you, please don't feel like you must hold back, I want to hear everything."

Luke scoffed, "Don't tell me you're about to say, 'this is a safe space', man."

"It is." I assured him.

Luke shook his head, but his tone wasn't too derisive. In fact, ,it was almost comical, "Alright then. So, what do you want to talk about specifically?"

I cleared my throat and made a sideways glance towards Duke. I didn't know how to telepathically signal that I wasn't blaming him for what happened. I understood that he made a mistake. I could be reasonably forgiving of that mistake. But I couldn't ignore the deeper implications of what happened.

I sighed, this would be a difficult conversation to start. I chose technical language, hoping it could help the conversation flow easier. "Put simply, Minstrel's philosophy and tactics aren't the kind we typically see. His cause is more empathetic, and it's coming at a time when it may be hard for the average Gotham citizen not to sympathize with him."

"You mean, of course, that it's hard for the average Black Gotham citizen not to empathize with him," Luke corrected.

"Luke," Lucius warned.

Luke shrugged, "Look, if we're going to be real, then let's be real. You don't call vegans when Poison Ivy's on a rampage, but Minstrel starts a riot and you assembled what I suspect may be the only Black people you know as both Batman and Bruce Wayne."

"The Johns are both off-world, and Jefferson's on another assignment," I muttered. Regaining volume to my voice, I added, "If I've upset you, then I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. Yes, you are here because you're Black and I can confide both parts of my life to all of you. I know you aren't experts in this, that's not why you're here. You're here because you've lived life in a way that I haven't, a way that I need to understand better if I'm going to solve this problem."

Luke nodded, "Good. As long as you're honest with yourself and us, that's all I want. So, you're worried about Minstrel starting a revolution?"

"That wouldn't happen," Lucius quickly interjected. "Minstrel is insane and uncontrolled. He would never be able to lead a movement! At most, he could manage a small gang. No one with actual power or ability to affect change for Black people would ever follow him, much less listen to him."

"I think you're underestimating him a little," Duke added. His voice was oddly distant, projecting an air of childlike meekness. That wasn't like him, but it didn't surprise me. I could tell that he still blamed himself for last night's riot.

Lucius sighed, "I understand that he got to you but—"

"It's more than that!" Duke said. He looked to Lucius with pleading eyes, begging him to understand, "He got to me, yeah, but that's only because he knows what he's talking about. He understands people—Black people—on a fundamental level that we shouldn't underestimate. Minstrel's insane, and I can't say that his plans are well thought out, but he knows how to get people to react. He doesn't need or want anyone to follow him, he just needs them to react to him. He proved that much last night."

I nodded, "That riot lasted five hours, over three hundred citizens were detained, twenty-seven were rushed to the hospital, and there were three total fatalities. Businesses were destroyed, public property was damaged, and the governor called the National Guard in."

"They aren't actually here, though," Luke reminded everyone.

"Yes, because this is Gotham." I said. I could tell that Luke was only trying to point out that things hadn't gotten as bad as they could. But I didn't fully agree with that and made as much clear, "Though we were able to avoid things getting even worse, Minstrel did exactly what he set out to do that night; he demonstrated the brutality of the police and that Gotham's Black citizens are effectively living under a police state."

"An oddly woke statement to come from a white billionaire," Luke said with a smirk.

I couldn't disagree with him on that point. "Perhaps it is; blame it on me not patronizing Fox News. I stand by my claim. The fact of the matter is that the protest was peaceful until the gunshot. After Minstrel's round went off, it was the police over-reacted and escalated the situation even further. I told Jim to be on guard, but he didn't take my warnings seriously enough. Perhaps if he had, none of this would have happened."

Lucius twisted his mouth, "All due respect, I think that's a little naïve, Bruce."

Continued in CH 12.2