Corporate Rivalry #3

Bruce Wayne was in his office, dealing with paperwork and personnel matters, setting up charity fundraisers. It was shortly after noon, and his own lunch, a turkey club sandwich and bottle of ginger ale, sat half finished beside him.

"Sir," came the voice of his secretary over the intercom, "Miss Kyle has the International Procurements report ready for you."

Bruce sat back. "Send her in."

Selina Kyle was a rising star in the company. She wore a clingy black dress that ended just above the knee. The neckline was relatively conservative; the way the dress hugged her body wasn't. She had long black hair and glittering green eyes that shone with ambition and pride.

"The report, Mister Wayne, sir," she purred, handing it over.

He put it aside. "I'll read it later; for now, give me the highlights."

She nodded. "Very well, your partnership with several Scottish companies is proceeding ahead of schedule. Ever since they seceded from the UK, as you know, they have been looking for business opportunities on this side of the Atlantic."

"Good. Go on."

"Both Taipei and Hong Kong have accepted our support and business. The collapse of the Chinese government has of course enabled independence for both; their considered talk of unification between the two islands has spurred Luthor to move there. But," she smiled, "We got there first."

"The government may try to convince them to join the States entirely," Bruce responded. "For Hong Kong it's possible. Much less so for Taipei. Any new developments?"

"Stalemated against Luthor in Italy. Unable to break his hold over Japan. We're making headway in France and Australia. Oh, I almost forgot, that computer company in Seattle? You helped break their attempted monopoly by supporting their competitors. The Seattle company has agreed to settle out of court."

"'I'll arrange a meeting with their CEO. We might want to buy some of their shares. Not a controlling interest, just enough for influence."

"And profit, of course," She smiled.

"Of course. Was that everything?"

"Yes, sir, that's the highlights. The details are in the report." She turned to go.

"Then," Bruce said in a brisk voice that halted her, "Let's talk about what's not in the report."

"Sir?" she frowned.

"Sit down, Miss Kyle."

Slowly and warily, she did.

"Let us begin with the four million dollars you schemed out of the company through your bogus tool company in Sacramento. Or the two hundred thousand you personally pocketed by cooking the books of your own department."

Selina went pale. "Sir, I don't know where you hear such lies about me--"

"Miss Kyle," Bruce cut her off, "I am not a fool, however much the media may think so at times. I have been monitoring your activities for eight months. The fraud, embezzlement, the donations to orphanages and no-kill cat shelters; the off shore accounts....you've been very busy."

"Eight months?" she sagged and her face became hard, revealing the con artist beneath. "Then why haven't you....?"

"Stopped you before now? For the same reason I'm not going to report you to the police or FBI. If you cooperate, that is."

She sat upright, eyes wide. "Cooperate?"

"Yes. You will cease all such activities, but I will allow you to keep the money you have so far stolen. You will be transferred at the end of the month."

"Transferred?" she said with blank puzzlement.

"Yes...to our black budget department. Loss Prevention, as the euphemism goes. You will put your embezzling skills to work for me, against Luthor. You may maintain the "donations" to the cat centers and orphanages out of what you swindle from him. You will, however, report all such activity to me. Our people will show you how to not get caught, as I caught you. If Luthor does catch you, of course, we will disavow all knowledge of your actions."

Selina stood. "I understand....and thank you. If there is....any way I can show my appreciation...."

Bruce smiled. "By all means, so long as you understand that you will not influence my judgment in so doing."

"Of course, of course. Er....if I may make so bold...."

"Yes?"

"Why are you still willing to have me around, if you understand me so well?"

Bruce's smile was entirely different now. "Because my mother became Mrs. Wayne by following a path not too different from yours. Your actions were very familiar to me."

Selina sat down again, hard, digesting all the implications of that statement. "I....think I understand you, sir."

"Please, call me Bruce. We'll talk later. Take the elevator down to sub basement 4, they'll be waiting for you. You'll get a basic briefing today, and your new duties will begin at the beginning of the month."

Somewhat dazed, Selina walked out of the office.

His secretary had been listening to the exchange, as instructed. "Sir," she said over the intercom, "Are you sure you can trust her?"

"Of course not, Miss Gordon. Any more than my father trusted my mother."

"I....have no idea what to say, sir."

"Don't worry about it. Let me know when your father needs....another donation to the Police Benevolent Fund."

Barbara Gordon's smile was in her voice. "Will do, sir."

Luthor and his hit squads waited until well after sundown. Luthor didn't have Bruce's day to day itinerary, but he had been aware that Bruce had no public appearances scheduled today.

Luthor was briefly worried that Bruce might have some.....female entertainment....over for the evening, but that was not the case. He could have dealt with that, if necessary, but he wanted to avoid unnecessary complications. He wanted to expose Bruce as Batman and display his intimidating force and superiority. Killing Wayne was not an ideal solution. Not, at least, before he had been utterly discredited and humiliated. Once he had been exposed, lost the corporate war and fallen out of the public eye, then Luthor would kill him, yes. Not tonight.

But if he had to, he would. He had spin coverage prepared for that, too.

Wayne had ample security measures, of course. Luthor had known that well. His people had been quietly scouting those defenses for three years.

They had all the countermeasures they would need.

A similar alarm was braying inside Wayne Manor.

"Sir!" Alfred shouted. "Get to the Panic Room!"

Bruce nodded and dashed for the secure vault in the northwest corner of the first floor. There were caves below the Manor—he'd known that for years—but they were used solely for excess storage. When he had hired the man who would become Batman, it had seemed to him tactically unwise to have them based right under his very nose. Batman himself had quoted an old military saying about such things. But now was not the time for nostalgia.

He wanted to bring Alfred with him, but knew the old man would come as fast as he could.
If he went back to save him, then they might both be caught or killed.

Bruce dashed into the Panic Room, and glanced at the monitors. Alfred was hobbling along rapidly. He could here the thud and rattle of the automated home defenses. The private security had not yet engaged; they were hiding in the house as instructed, waiting to see if the enemy breached the Manor. If they did, they would doubtless they'd be wounded and exhausted by the outer defenses, and easier for the private security to take.

As Alfred stumbled into the vault, Bruce pulled home the door and spun the great wheel behind him until the satisfying thunk of the lock was heard.

"Who is it, old friend? Thieves, terrorists? One of the costumed villains?"

Alfred looked pale. "It's a corporate Battle Squad, sir. It can only be Luthor."

"Damn," Bruce muttered, punching his right fist into his left palm. "Why now? Why is he making his move now?"

"He probably drew a connection between you and Batman, sir."

"But we were so careful.....how did he find out?"

"Maybe he is merely acting on suspicion."

"He must be getting careless or desperate to do that," Bruce mused. "Batman will have been alerted the moment of the strike. The question is, will he get here in time?"

"Surely the home defenses and personal security can hold him off long enough?"

Bruce was grim. "If Luthor's desperate enough to strike like this, he's brought enough hardware and manpower for the job."

The battle squads had destroyed the house defenses, but at great cost to themselves; there were only six of the troopers left.

But Charity and Mercy were still going strong. They were taking on the private security guards. There were more like the Secret Service that protected the President; only they were armed with the latest beam weapons.

Charity and Mercy's shields held. Charity kicked one of the guards in the head, her shield adding to the power of her strike, and he went down. Mercy threw another one into the wall. Three of them fired on Mercy at once, but to no avail. Charity simply dived into them and tore them apart, while Mercy turned, seeking new targets.

A few of the guards were wise enough to attack the battle squadders instead, to thin their numbers further, but that only worked until Mercy and Charity caught up with them.

So as the last of the house guards fell, slammed into the ground by Mercy, there were three Battle troopers left, as well as Mercy and Charity.

Lex got out of his car, smiling thinly, and walked towards them.

The battle soldiers shorted out the electrified patio doors and opened them wide for him.

Taking out the troopers was almost easy. They may have been Luthor's elite, but that still left them many ranks down in skill from Batman, and certainly no match for Batgirl either. Splitting up was just about the worst tactical decision Luthor could have made.

Batgirl took out one, slipping up behind him and breaking his neck. Batman took out the other two, running one through from behind with the katana he was using that evening, and using an overpowered tazer to electrocute the other one inside his own suit.

This left only Luthor and his lethal ladies. By themselves, Charity and Mercy were almost a match for Batman. But they had their shields intact, if somewhat depleted in power.

Luthor had by this time found the vault and was pondering the door when Batman and Batgirl came in.

They wasted no time with catchphrases; they simply attacked.

Luthor whirled in astonishment as the vigilantes tries and failed to strike through Charity and Mercy's shields. "Batman? But how? I've had the place watched; surely Bruce couldn't have changed costumes so fast?"

Batman had no time to puzzle over Luthor's question; he was realizing he couldn't get through Charity's shields. "Fall back!" he shouted to Batgirl, and she withdrew from similar efforts against Mercy. Their weapons had not penetrated the shields.

Mercy and Charity pursued. Batman felt a sick weight in his stomach; they might actually lose.

Lose! That was unacceptable!

He had to figure a way to get through those defenses; withdrawal far enough to figure out a weakness. His tazer, maybe?

He threw a smoke pellet to cover his escape. Charity ran through it.....coughing and spluttering.

Batman realized the shields weren't air tight; they couldn't be, as the women needed to breathe.

Smiling grimly, he threw another pellet down. Again Charity raced through, thinking it was merely more smoke....when actually it was knockout gas. She fell in a heap.

Mercy was working Batgirl into a corner. Desperately, Batgirl pulled a small handgun and fired three shots; they bounced harmlessly off Mercy's shields.

Batman stepped up behind, and when he was sure Mercy was focused on Batgirl, he threw another pellet down. Mercy whirled to face him, then collapsed.

"Don't breathe!" Batman shouted through the rebreather he was affixing to his own face.

Batgirl nodded, slipping on her own. "Got em again, brilliant as always," she said, voice muffled.

"Yes, very clever," Luthor snarled angrily from behind him. "It doesn't matter now. This ends tonight!"

He fired a spray of five shots from his personal weapon, a photon pistol. Batman dived and Batgirl slid down the wall and rolled on the floor. Just in time, too. The deadly blue balls of light punched mercilessly through the wall.

"How did you do it Wayne?" Luthor snarled, his sandy red beard bristling every which way, spittle flying from his mouth. "How did you change without me seeing you leave the house? Is there something below the Manor? Caves beneath, is that it?!?"

Batman stared. "You think that I'm...."

Behind him, Batgirl began to laugh helplessly. "Oh, you idiot!" she chortled.

A hand reached from behind Luthor and knocked his pistol away. He turned and stared at Wayne, who had come out of his safe room. Alfred was standing beside him, poker in hand.

Luthor paled. "No....that's not.....that's not..."

"I suppose," Wayne said conversationally, "that you would justify your raid by revealing I was Batman to the media?"

"Only, as you can see, that didn't quite work," Batman said. Batgirl was still sniggering.

"This is some kind of stunt," Luthor snarled. "You anticipated my attack and had a body double don the suit--"

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!" Bruce shouted. "Lord above, you just can't let go of a bad idea even when you've been proven wrong, can you?"

"This would explain why that flying boy scout bested him so easily," Batman put in. "Whatever else might be said of him, he's never had an excess in the brain department."

"I'll take your word for it," Wayne said. "But going by what you say, they were well matched against each other. Perhaps you should have stayed in Metropolis, Lex."

For a moment it looked like Luthor would explode; then he sank to his knees. "I couldn't stay there," he sighed. "But I've failed here just the same as there. All right Wayne, you win." He was utterly broken. "Damn you. Just kill me and have done with it."

Bruce pursed his lips, as though seriously considering the idea, and shook his head. "I could, I suppose. The cops won't come unless I call them, and I assume you hadn't done that yet?"

Luthor shook his head without looking up. "I wanted to see your unmasked face first."

Bruce nodded. "And money will buy the silence of the neighbors, as it always has in this town. You were half right, Lex. Batman's real face would mean nothing to you. Or Batgirl's. But they are my proxies. I hired them; they work for me."

Luthor gave a bitter little laugh, but still did not look up.

"I have always wondered whether my parents murderers were employees of your father, Lionel," Bruce said. Now there was a hint of menace in his voice.

"Not that I'm aware of. It is possible," Luthor conceded.

"Well, in any case, I did briefly consider some sort of the vigilante career for myself, yes. Reality quickly corrected that notion. Even the most basic martial arts classes tired me. I learned enough to handle myself against a mugger, but that was it. Then I tried joining the CIA...." he laughed. "I flunked the entrance exam. Two weeks trying to learn to be a bounty hunter, six weeks in a survival course, a month with a private detective....I just wasn't cut out for it. But then I realized, I already had what I needed to avenge my parents deaths."

Now Luthor looked up. "Money," he said simply. It was, after all, something they agreed on.

"Exactly. I came back to Gotham and began to rebuild the city, inviting your competition....and also looking for someone with the appropriate skills and training to become my vigilante. When I found out he had his own apprentice in training, so much the better; they worked so well for me, I suggested they franchise. Hence, Batgirl's little strike force does for Chicago and the rest of America what the pair of them do for Gotham. Any questions?"

"Yes....why aren't you killing me?"

Wayne shrugged. "First of all, killing you, even in self defense, raises a lot of awkward questions. Second, I've just beaten and humiliated you; which proves that I can do that anytime I want. Far more sensible to do that then kill you and have someone stronger replace you, or worse yet some distant relation of yours come looking for revenge. But third, and most important; unlike you, I welcome competition. A monopoly would end my ride real quick. I had to stir up trouble with other companies to fight me before you arrived."

"I'm useful to you," Luthor chuckled hollowly. "God, what a farce."

"Take your women and go, Luthor," Batman intoned. "Count yourself lucky. Because rest assured, if Wayne ever changes his mind, I will he happy to eliminate you."

"Well have to clean up the rest of the mess, I suppose," Batgirl said distastefully.

"I'll call a cleaning service," said Alfred. "One with discretion."

Much later, Batman and Batgirl had returned to their cave.

"Luthor will find his own agents, of course," Batgirl said.

"Of course," Batman agreed. "But we will be ready."

"One small point," Batgirl said.

"Yes?"

"Wayne lied to Luthor about not knowing your real face, didn't he?"

The vigilantes smiled and slipped their cowls off.

Matching white hair. Matching pale blue eyes. His hair was spiky and had a matching beard; hers, free of the cowl, hung to her shoulders.

"That's true," Slade Wilson said. "I did do a task or two for LexCorp in my younger days. Of course, we're exclusive to Wayne Enterprises now."

"My strike force is subcontracted to the government, though, I think," Rose Wilson said.

"That is as it should be. Just maintain your independence and dicker for the best price."

"Always," Rose smiled. "So what now?"

"Luthor will take time to regroup. I think I will ask Bruce for a few days off. Once he's granted it, we'll call Joey and make it a true family reunion."

Rose smiled.