Chapter 39: Grayson
Young Amazons
By Ackbarfan5556
Executive Produced By Wanderer D
Chapter 39: Grayson
“So, there’s one last question that I think we are wanting to know from you, Bruce.”
Sunset leaned back on the barstool she was sitting on in the kitchen of Wayne Manor as she and Bruce were watching a local morning news story in the morning that Bruce was a guest on and that Sunset might want to see.
“Well, I can guess quite a few questions you might want to know, Tanya,” Bruce on TV chuckled as he was obviously turning up the playboy charm causing Sunset to roll her eyes.
“It’s related to the young woman that you’ve invited to a few events in the past year, a Miss Sunset Lucciola.”
Sunset now knew why Bruce wanted her to see this.
“Ah, that’s a good question, and I don’t think I’ve really given a proper answer to it before. Mostly it’s because I’m somewhat of her guardian while she’s here in Gotham. It’s no secret that she’s Zatanna’s assistant as well as Zatanna being her legal guardian.”
“Yes, I believe Zatanna mentioned that on our affiliate in Star City a few months back.”
“Anyways, it’s mostly just a favor to an old friend while Miss Lucciola finishes her schooling here in town,” Bruce said on the TV while Sunset was staring at the real one with a stern look on her face.
“Oh, is Zatanna a—”
“No, no, no, we’re just friends, as much I’m sure you’d love the exposé there.”
“Shame. We could’ve run that story for a few weeks. Anyways, once again, thank you to Mr. Wayne for coming today.”
“Happy to be here, Tanya.”
“This is Tanya Williams, Channel 2 News. Back to you, Keith.”
Sunset turned off the TV.
“Way to out me there,” Sunset huffed as she rolled her eyes.
“I had to tell them something. Besides, it was a legitimate question, and she did sort of ambush me,” Bruce told her..
“I know, I know. I just feel like that’s something I should’ve gotten a warning on. But like you said, she sprung that question on you.”
“Sunset, trust me, they’re not going to really do anything with this information. It’s a non-story to them,” Bruce explained.
“Well, that makes me feel better.” Sunset sighed. At least she wouldn’t be swarmed by photographers which would still make her duel life easier to maintain. “The news wouldn’t want to run a story on me. I mean, my normal self; obviously we’re in the news a lot more often… for different reasons.”
“Indeed you are,” Alfred said as he walked into the kitchen. “Oh, Master Bruce, you’ll be pleased to know that all the arrangements with Hailey’s Circus have been taken care of.”
“That’s good to hear. Thank you, Alfred." Bruce nodded as Sunset looked confused.
“Care to explain?”
“Hailey’s Circus is coming to town for the week and the first night’s show profits are going to local Gotham charities,” Bruce said.
“Of course." Sunset shook her head as she gave a small grin, knowing that she probably should’ve already known the answer. “So is this going to be another formal event with all of Gotham’s elite or?”
“Just your average Gotham crowd; so no need to really get dressed up this time.” Bruce smiled before he slid three tickets to the circus across the counter to her. “If you and the girls don’t want to go, that’s fine. I can easily give them to someone else.”
“Oh no, we’ll go,” Sunset told him as she took the tickets off of the table. “Though I am a bit concerned about this.”
“Why’s that?” Bruce looked at her with some concern.
“A circus? In this town? Who amongst Gotham’s super villains would be mostly likely to fit in with it?”
“Oh, you think Joker will crash the show?”
“It would be a safe bet when you think about it. Last thing I would want is to see Pam and Red gassed again." She shuddered, hugging herself. "I can’t get that image out of my head still.”
“I tell you what. About an hour before the show starts, how’s about the Batman and Alicorn make a quick hidden visit to Arkham just to put you at ease,” Bruce suggested.
“That’ll work. Of course, it might be so expected of him that he might just pass on the circus altogether.”
“Certainly got a crowd tonight,” Barbara said as the trio slowly made their way into the big top tent. There were so many people that getting in was difficult to the point that Pamela nearly lost her popcorn.
“Makes me worried about things though,” Sunset admitted as the girls finally made their way through the crowd and started to head up towards one of the bleacher seats so that they could watch the show.
“Still worried about some villain showing up?” Pamela asked.
Sunset nodded.
“I mean, we already checked before, no breakouts at Arkham and all, but I don’t know; just a nagging feeling.”
“I get what you’re saying, Sunny,” Barbara said as the three reached their row and started walking down it. “But, we’ve had so many baseball, football, basketball games in this town and nothing’s happened. Maybe that’s why I’m not feeling as worried.”
“Yeah, you’re right. When you point that out, those events have even more people and yet creeps like Joker or Freeze haven’t touched them.” Sunset eased up when she said that, calming her mind that was starting to be nagged with dread. “I guess with things being fairly quiet these past few weeks just put me on edge.”
“I hear that,” Pamela agreed as they all sat down. “Mostly just been your typical rabble of muggers and thieves right now. Not the typical, city destroying kind of threat.”
“I tell you what, if things come to that point, I think it would be safe to say we’ve probably helped really clean up the town.” Barbara chuckled.
“You mean we helped turn Gotham into a more normal American city?” Sunset teased.
“Hey, I don’t see any supervillains being reported in San Antonio or Tampa.”
The girls quieted down once some other people started to get close to sit around them.
The show began only a few minutes later as the typical circus acts started to come through; lion tamers, jugglers, some fun with a circus clown that thankfully wasn’t Joker in disguise.
Of course, the view was a bit obstructed for the girls as about fifteen minutes into the show, a very large man with a buzz cut and a hard scar on the right side of his face sat in front of them.
Next to him was a much smaller man who looked a bit leaner but obviously could carry some heavier things as it appeared, just as dark haired as the man next to him.
However, the place in between the two would cause Barbara to pay extreme attention as a sharp faced, silver haired man sat down between the two. One thing Sunset noticed about him was that he was wearing some leather gloves.
“Okay, you two,” the man had a very slick sounding voice. “I brought your snacks.” He handed them some concessions.
“Sunny,” Barbara whispered as she leaned as close to Sunset as possible.
“What’s up?”
“Can you make the three of us silent or something? Unable to be heard? Because I need to talk to you, like right now.”
Sunset could tell from the look and tone that Barbara was serious about what she needed to say so Sunset put up some subtle spells, keeping her hands fairly non-obvious so as not to draw attention from anyone who was sitting behind them.
“Okay, you’re good now,” Sunset told her.
“Am I?” Barbara asked. “Hey, excuse me! Could you maybe lean down?” Barbara shouted at the large man before them, but he made no response to her, not even a simple glance back and just rudely ignore her.
“What’s wrong?” Pamela asked as she too was brought into the silence field.
“Girls, do you have any idea who that is sitting in front of us?” Barbara asked to which the two of them shook their heads. “That is Anthony Zucco, a fairly high leveled member of the Maroni Crime Family; you know, The Outfit?”
“Wait. Gangsters!” Pamela exclaimed as she covered her mouth before remembering that she couldn’t be heard.
“Maroni… You know, I recall Umberto Maroni tried to put a few bullets into me during one of my earliest crime fighting days here in Gotham. Batman swooped in and saved me," Sunset told them.
“That’s Salvatore Maroni’s only son. Well, living one, I heard Pino died in a car crash, drunk drag racing I think was what I heard on the news,” Barbara explained.
“So what’s the problem, Barbara?” Pamela asked.
“Mostly just wanting to let you girls know to be completely careful and keep anything from slipping out. If these thugs knew who we truly were, need I say more?”
“Good idea.” Sunset nodded. “I’ll keep the spell up to be safe.”
“Hey, where’ve been all day, Tony?” The large man asked as the girls overheard them.
“Oh, running some errands and all that. Sorry I was keeping you two waiting,” Tony told them.
“I hope one of those was getting Leo out of prison and all,” the smaller man said.
“Sal is working with the lawyers and the bail right now. Leo will be out soon,” Tony assured them.
“Still can’t believe the Bat got to him,” the large man huffed as he crossed his arms.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. We underestimated the Graysons. That won’t be the case for much longer.”
“I’m sorry?” The smaller man looked confused. Tony reached into his pocket before he pulled out what looked to be some nuts and bolts.
“Oh, that’s why you have the gloves. And what you wanted for me to do earlier, I was about to ask.”
“Enjoy the show while you can. The ending is going to be quite memorable." Tony chuckled as he put back away the nuts and bolts and grabbed some popcorn.
“Tell me I’m not the only one who saw that?” Pamela asked as Sunset and Barbara nodded; though Barbara was obviously at a bad angle and wouldn’t truly be able to see perfectly in front of her what Pamela and Sunset observed.
“Nope. That’s certainly related to something in this place. Who are the Graysons?” Sunset asked.
“I can only think of The Flying Graysons. Trapeze artist family with the circus and all,” Barbara said as she looked through the circus’s flyer.
“Well, if he’s Mob, you think he was trying to intimidate or run a protection racket with them?” Pamela theorized.
“That sounds about right. Batman must have had a run in earlier since they mentioned that Leo guy went to jail; probably related to their intimidation tactic.” Barbara nodded.
“But what are those nuts and bolts for?” Sunset wondered.
“Ladies and gentleman!” The circus emcee shouted. “Please direct your attention to the top of the tent to witness the main stars of our show: The death defining daredevil family, The Flying Graysons!”
The girls' attention was turned to the family of three on the top of the platforms high towards the roof of the tent. There was a large, well built man with dark hair and a small trail of gray in it showing he was already pretty middle aged already, next to him was obviously his wife who was a much slimmer woman with red hair.
Finally, there was their son, a young, preteen boy with jet black hair waiting behind them.
“The Flying Graysons will stun and astound you all as they will swing on high, cheating death as we remove the safety net below. Don’t worry, folks, they’re trained professionals!” The emcee announced as the father, John, grabbed one of the trapeze ropes and started to make his swings across the towering platforms.
“He’s sabotaged the trapeze!” Barbara shouted as she and the other two all reached the same conclusion at the same time.
“And everyone else will think it was just a tragic accident!” Pamela added.
“That… monster…” Sunset growled as her eyes were pointed like daggers in the back of Zucco’s head. If looks could kill, there would be nothing but a faint trace of ashes where Zucco once sat. “Willing to kill a whole family because they wouldn’t be intimidated?”
“Zucco’s known to be both petty as well as ruthless; that’s what Dad has said,” Barbara muttered. “We’ve got to do something,” She said as the mother, Mary, began to do her routine behind her husband.
“We can’t simply just run out into the ring; Zucco will obviously see us and you two have more recognizable faces. Commissioner’s daughter and world famous magician’s assistant is going to be hard to forget," Pamela reminded them.
“So we just wait for something to happen, Pam?” Barbara asked.
“We have to,” Sunset admitted.
“Okay, fine,” Barbara took a deep breath as she quickly thought of a workaround to their issue. “How about a spell then, Sunny? Make the ground bouncy, summon a magical net.”
Barbara then noticed Pamela shaking her head as she gave a light chuckle. “Something funny, Pam?”
“Yeah. I should’ve thought of this sooner, that’s what’s funny. Stay seated, you two. I’ve got this handled,” Pamela said.
“‘You?’” Sunset questioned before both girls suddenly got it.
The Graysons continued their performance, jumping between the trapezes and performing different stunts before one of their biggest ones was about to come up. John latched on to the rope with his feet before he caught Mary in his hands, then the two swung a few times as they waited for their son to jump into her hands.
However, the rope finally gave out to the weight just as Dick was about to jump into Mary’s hands before everyone could see the tragedy about to happen.
“Dick!” Mary screamed out as she suddenly felt the weight give out and she and her husband were beginning to fall; in a small fraction of a second, she and her husband knew they were going to die.
Of course, Zucco was smiling as the crowd all gasped and screamed for a moment before the look on his face changed to one of anger as two titanic roots shot out from the ground at the bottom of the main circus ring and reached up to stop the Grayson parents from their fatal drop. The roots caught them about twenty feet from the ground as everything slowly started to calm down.
“Nice catch, Pam,” Sunset said as Pamela gave a smug smirk; proud of her plant’s quick rescue.
“That cursed plant girl is here!” Zucco growled as he stood up with his two men. “I swear, if I get my hands on that little brat, I’m using a weed wacker to dispose of her!”
The circus was quickly going to the aid of the two Graysons as Dick was quickly climbing his way down to the ground to rush to his parents. The show had obviously come to a premature conclusion and some people were already leaving after the scare; a perfect cover for Zucco and his cohorts to also slip away.
“The cops will probably be locking this place down soon. Dante, take the nuts and bolts I told you to bring and replace the ones I took,” Zucco ordered.
“That’s why you asked me to go get them earlier today?” Dante said.
“Yes, while everyone was paying attention to the tragedy and leaving, you were to sneak up there and make the switch so there would be no hint of sabotage. Now, it’s just to cover our trail,” Zucco explained. “Wait a few minutes for this place to clear out then go.” Zucco then grabbed Dante’s arm. “Please tell me you’ve made sure your prints aren’t on them, nor any identifiable evidence.”
“I’m not making that mistake again, Tony. No pints and no numbers. The cops aren’t getting anything.”
“Good.”
Zucco and the other larger man started to move away.
“What about you and Rocco?”
“Follow the plan; I’m disposing of the evidence, then we keep out of touch for the next few weeks until the heat dies down.”
“I’m going after Zucco,” Sunset told the girls as she stood up. “At least make sure to see where he disposes of his ‘evidence’ and point the police to them.”
Barbara grabbed her arm. “Be careful, Sunny.”
“Hey, it’s me.” Sunset smirked as the girls split up.
Pamela was going to sneak away to keep an eye on Dante, while Barbara was going to keep an eye on the Graysons as an ambulance and more officers certainly were on their way.
Sunset kept a close watch on Zucco as the circus began to clear out; though thankfully it would be just due to a close scare and not a tragic loss. Sunset’s eyes remained locked on Zucco as she made sure not to draw attention to herself from him until he walked up to a trash can and dumped something from his pockets as well as the popcorn he was still carrying.
Sunset then allowed him to walk away as she kept her eyes on the trash can. Zucco was probably thinking that it would get buried by other trash before being taken away and lost in a landfill somewhere, never to be found. He was going to get quite a nasty surprise in a few hours when he would find out how wrong he would be. Hopefully when the police would be cuffing him.
It was about twenty minutes later before Sunset, who was making sure the trash can wasn’t replaced, started walking back over to where Barbara was. She was by some police cars as she was apparently talking to Chief Rojas and a few officers near the ambulance where the two Grayson parents were being looked over with their son nearby. Bruce, who was also attending the show though sitting elsewhere from the girls, was talking to the family.
“Listen, Mr. Grayson, I will be more than happy to write you a check for all the lost expenses the circus will take this week because of the accident," Bruce told him.
“You’re too kind, Mr. Wayne,” John Grayson shook his hand as he winced in pain as the EMS was looking over his shoulder. “We might have to shut down the trapeze act for a time since the doc here says I may have fractured my shoulder. I landed on that root rougher than Mary.”
“I’ll take several broken bones over death every time,” Mary nodded. “I was so scared for a minute there, John. I thought for sure we were going to die and leave Dick all alone.”
Dick Grayson said nothing as he just stayed close to his mother and held onto her. His emotions were clearly shot for the time being since he nearly lost his parents. She gently brushed his hair as he obviously just needed it.
“One thing is for sure, I think we’re done with leaving out the safety net," John said. “I guess when you cheat death so much, you feel invincible until you come face to face with your own mortality so fast. Plus, it really hits you more when you think about how much more you can lose at this point in life.”
“Miss Lucciola.”
Sunset froze as she heard and then saw Chief Rojas and Barbara walk towards her.
“Barbara here was telling me quite the little conspiracy you all stumbled into.”
“I was just telling Chief Rojas about what we were overhearing and saw in Tony Zucco’s hands; and essentially what had happened next,” Barbara said.
“Good. Chief Rojas, Zucco dumped the evidence in the trash can around the corner, near those hedge bushes."
“Kowalski, Mears.” Two officers ran up to the large man. “Go around and get that trash bag from the can on the corner. Take it down to the station and over to forensics. Tell them to look for a pair of nuts and bolts. Oh, and keep this on the downlow for a bit.”
The officers nodded and followed their orders as Pamela ran up to the three of them.
“That Dante is fast!” Pamela panted as she tried to catch her breath. “He scurried up that support beam and quickly replaced the bolts, I think. I obviously couldn’t see from the ground; but I’m sure he did what Tony said,” Pamela explained.
“You didn’t happen to catch him on video or photo, did you?” Rojas asked.
“Uh, no,” Pamela shook her head. “Plus, I was trying to keep out of sight, and I don’t think anyone but me saw him.”
“I see,” Rojas sighed as rubbed his right temple.
“Sorry, Chief, but I didn’t mean to overhear and all, but you were all mentioning Tony Zucco?” John Grayson spoke up from the back of the ambulance nearly thirty feet away.
Rojas walked over to him with the girls close behind. “Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure I know why we fell.”
“Yes, Mr. Grayson, we’re fully aware of the earlier incident between you and Zucco.”
“What happened?” Barbara asked.
“Tony Zucco and his brothers, they all came to the tent a few days ago. They introduced themselves as old circus actors,” Mary explained.
“Zucco and his brothers used to perform for the circus with their father as children and early adulthood,” Rojas said. “Dante juggling, Leonardo lion-taming, Rocco the strongman and Tony did knife throwing until he served three months for manslaughter after accidentally killing his father during practice.”
Sunset guessed, considering Zucco’s current ties, that it might not have been an accident, but obviously he was able to convince a court it was.
“The four of them wanted us and the circus to pay them protection money. They obviously weren’t taking no for an answer and tried to rough us up in order to change our minds. John fought them off pretty well, at least long enough for Dick to call the police,” Mary added.
At that moment, Dick broke away from his mother and ran off several dozen yards away to the nearby bushes though was still in visible range to the group.
“And then they ran away before the—” Rojas cleared his throat. “—The Bat, got Leonardo.” Rojas still was obviously having some trouble admitting to the fact that essentially the Batman was no longer wanted, even after all these months.
“So that’s it then?” Barbara said. “All that you need to do, Chief, is get Zucco and he’s going to go away for a long time. He’s dead to rights.”
Rojas said nothing to Barbara as he turned back to the Graysons.
“Listen, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, considering that you’re probably not going to be able to perform for the rest of the week with the show in town, I think it might be better for you and your son to leave Gotham tonight and meet back up with your show somewhere in a few weeks,” Rojas said.
“Ar-Are you sure?” Mary stammered for a moment upon hearing that. “Do you think our lives are still in danger?”
“Tony Zucco doesn’t usually let a grudge go against those whom he feels has wronged them. As a Gothamite, I’ve read and heard quite a number of rumors surrounding him and those he’s associated with,” Bruce said.
“I’ll be more than happy to leave you with a few officers I know will keep you safe for the time being just in case Zucco tries anything else,” Rojas assured them. “You have my word of honor as Chief of this city’s finest.”
“Thank you, Chief Rojas,” John reached out to shake Rojas’s hand with his good arm before doing the same with Bruce. “And I’ll extend that thanks to Gotham’s heroes that obviously saved Mary and I’s life.”
“You’re welcome,” Sunset thought to herself and was sure that Barbara and Pamela were thinking the same thing.
She then glanced back over to Dick and walked over to him.
“Hey, are you going to be okay, kid?” She asked him.
“Y-yeah…” He wiped his face as Sunset could tell that he had been crying for a few moments. “I’m sorry, it’s just, I feel really guilty right now… and still so scared about what happened.”
“Guilty?” Sunset looked at him strangely for a moment.
“I was the one who called the police while Dad was fighting them, and then I shouted it out to all of them. I allowed them to get away and try and come back to kill us.” Dick almost looked like he was about to cry again.
“Hey, listen. Dick, is it?” He nodded at her question. “Listen, I know what it feels like to be so overwhelmed with guilt over a mistake. But I think the important thing to remember right now is that it’s all going to be okay. You’re all okay, so there should be no reason to stay guilty, right?”
Dick gave a slow nod as he calmed down a bit more.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he said.
“That’s the spirit.” She gave him a warm smile which he responded with a small grin.
“Thanks, I think I needed to hear that.”
“You’re welcome, I’m glad I could help a bit.”
Sunset watched him walk back towards his parents before the paramedics insisted that the three of them at least drive to the hospital just for some further tests on their injuries.
“Well, I guess I better head back down to the station, and see if we can get any sort of match on Zucco with that evidence. But I’ll be honest, it’s going to be difficult,” Rojas said.
“What do you mean, Chief?” Barbara gave him a confused look. “You’ve got evidence that he obviously tampered with the trapeze. We heard him discuss what he had done, and there’s probable cause to go along with the whole thing that this was obviously premeditated. Zucco should be facing long time with this, right?”
“Barbara…” Rojas shook his head. “Listen, I know you’ve probably heard from your father letting slip some information about The Outfit and all that, but it’s not so easy. I believe you girls, but the problem is trying to get that alone to stick in a court with these guys.”
Sunset couldn’t believe her ears. Tony Zucco obviously tried to kill all the Graysons, or at least orphan Dick, and would’ve gotten away with it had it not been for their just sheer coincidental seating and Zucco’s overconfidence. And yet Rojas still had concerns that Zucco could get away scot free?
“But I saw one of the brother’s climb the pole! We heard and saw them from where we were sitting,” Pamela argued.
“Eyewitnesses are good, but it would be just your word. That goes for you two,” Rojas pointed to Barbara and Sunset. “Zucco and his brothers aren’t dumb. They’ll all make sure to be on the same page with their story. Heck, Leo’s already been trying to give a different story revolving around the intimidation incident. There have been cases against him before that revolved on sole eyewitnesses that have been thrown out without any other proof.”
“And let me guess, some eyewitnesses have turned up missing as well?” Pamela crossed her arms as she raised an eyebrow. Rojas nodded.
“So, we’ve also got the evidence and all. Would that still not be enough?” Barbara asked.
“Maybe, the problem is that you told me Zucco was wearing gloves, and so was his brother, right Miss Isley?” Pamela nodded. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and they accidentally left prints at some point, or at least we can get some clothing fibers off of them. Of course, there’s quite a large problem if that evidence suddenly turns up missing.”
“Missing?” Pamela sounded surprised to hear that. “You think that someone could take that stuff?”
“The Outfit may not have as much power as it used to in the department, but there still are a few worms in this apple. Either on the take, or have close, personal relations with the families and might be willing to give them a heads up that we’re making a move. It’s happened in the past.” Rojas continued.
“So that’s why Gordon said you were one of the few he could truly trust when Temblor was running around.” Sunset thought to herself.
“And of course there’s the problem of finding him and all. If he bolts and leaves town, it’ll be much harder to bring him to justice.”
“He did say that to his brothers. The plan apparently is to lie low until the heat dies down,” Sunset told him.
“Sounds like him. Listen, guys like Zucco, the Maronis, the Falcones; there’s reasons why they’re still walking the streets these days. They’re smart. They make sure they don’t get caught. They keep a tight lip to the point it’ll be amazing if you get anything on them, and if you get them to court, their lawyers will use every trick in the book to keep them free,” Rojas explained.
“He’s right, girls,” Bruce spoke up. “They’re a difficult lot to catch, but sooner or later, their luck will run out. Tony Zucco’s, for instance, might be soon thanks to you three.”
“Good point, Wayne. If we can get prints or fibers, there would be really no need for eyewitness testimony. Of course, your father would have my head if I told him I might need you to take the stand and testify against one of Gotham’s most ruthless gangsters, Barbara.” Rojas put his hands into his pocket. “Paint an already larger target on you than there already is.”
“If Gotham’s criminals knew the truth, she’d be in the Top 4 of their lists of who to go after.” Sunset thought.
“Dad already explained the risks when he took the job to Mom and I. We know." Barbara nodded.
“Listen, I’ll try to do what I can to make sure that Zucco is locked away, but I just want you girls to know I can’t fully promise this. At least you three might have tightened the net around him at least for us,” Rojas said as he walked towards his car, but not before he looked back at the four, squinted his eyes for a bit, and shook his head. “Sorry. Crazy thoughts ran through my head. Nothing for you all to worry about.”
Sunset was sure that since Ivy was the one who caught the Graysons, and yet only the three of them knew Zucco was behind the sabotage, that maybe Rojas finally was putting two and two together. But, it also would be quite crazy if it was them to go straight to Rojas and explain the situation, so he obviously must have dismissed the idea that any one of them was Ivy or the other Amazons. Thank goodness Rojas wasn’t the smartest person on the force.
“Mr. Wayne, I trust you’ll escort the girls home?” Rojas asked as he got into his car.
Bruce simply nodded before Rojas closed the door and started to back out once he got the motor running.
"Didn’t think we would just help make one of the biggest busts against organized crime since the Batman first appeared when I woke up this morning,” Barbara scoffed. “At least give my dad less of a headache.”
“You girls did good tonight, especially you, Pamela. Thanks to you, this tragedy was averted,” Bruce said.
“Thank you, Bruce.” Pamela gave him a small smile before she frowned again. “Still, I just don’t like the idea that Tony Zucco is still free at the moment.” She then gasped. “Oh, no, I just realized this, but if he’s hiding; like Rojas said, he could flee town and go after the Graysons somewhere else!”
The other two gasped as they realized that.
“Damn it,” Sunset cursed. “I should’ve followed him, or asked for a tracker or something from you, Bruce that I could have used.”
“You girls don’t worry about him; I’ll make sure Zucco’s next few days will be the last ones he has not behind bars. You three just worry about your studies and dealing with lesser criminals. Leave the syndicated ones to me,” Bruce advised as he walked away. “Have a good night, you three.”
“You too, Bruce,” Barbara said.
“Unforgivable,” Sunset growled as the girls turned their attention. “It’s completely unforgivable what he tried to do.”
“Sunny?” Pamela put a hand on her shoulder.
“What he tried to do, what he did to that kid. Yeah, we saved his parents, but the mental scars that Zucco has already left. The sheer fact that he probably was willing to kill him as well! I know we’ve encountered quite a number of creeps, but almost none of them really went out of their way to kill kids. He’s almost as bad as Joker by doing that.”
“I agree.” Barbara shook her head. “And what’s worse is that he’s not insane like Joker is. That’s even more unforgivable.” She now tightened her fist.
“And the even bigger worry is that the Graysons still aren’t safe. If Zucco flees, you know he’ll follow them and finish the job if what you said about how vindictive he was is true, Red,” Pamela added.
“Pam, Barb, I don’t care what Bruce and Rojas said. We’re going to go after Zucco. One way or another, we’re going to make sure he stays behind bars for this.” Both girls nodded at Sunset’s words. “He’s not going to get away with this, nor is he going to hide from us. And anyone else that tries to help will find themselves sitting in a cell next to him.”
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heh. i guess there's not gonna be a boy wonder huh.
Good chapter, and good points from Rojas. Circumstantial evidence is pretty dang flimsy, and that's all the Gotham PD has at this point against Zucco.
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Time will tell, but it's hard to imagine Batman without Robin.
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that is very true. but how it'll happen is the question.
So, no Dick Grayson as part of the Bat family ? Well, on one hand I am happy for him he didn’t lost his blood family, on the other good he is so good as one of the Robin siblings, and it mean no relation with Starfire, which also really suck.
Also, will the young Amazons include others later on or will it just be a trio ?
Also, I hope this Harley is closer to the more common one than the one of this version of The Batman.
I get a bad feeling that Sunset is going to get dangerously close to a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Also everyone keep this in mind Dick was being scouted by the Court of Owls they could go after him. Then again has his destiny as the Boy Wonder been avoided or mearly delayed? I think he will be Robin, however the Court of Owls will be revealed to Batman very early.
For want of a nail, eh?
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I'm not cirtain the Court is part of this univers. Remember this is seperat from DC main line and the reason batgirl was introdused before Robin was becous he was in the Teen Titan show and duse they couldent get the lisence for him.
Love how everyones talking about Robin getting retconned. It's still early too say but the wings of the butterfly is still flapping after all.
I'm afraid the girls might end up biting on more than they can chew.
11196144
Really ? What make you think that ?
I think my favprite part of this fic is Pam/Ivy being part of the main cast. Always felt like she was wasted potential on the original series.
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media0.giphy.com/media/OOHWkMjIBAjpS/200.gif
11196706
Well, A) She was introduced in the 3 season with Barbara, heck, Dick wasn't introduced until the 4th! B) She just became another one of Batman's Rogue Gallery so of course she's barely going to show up much throughout the show; certainly not in a leading role for even an episode after her first one.
11196915
That's what I meant. She had a personal connection to Barbara because IIRC she was also her friend in canon... but as you said she just became "one more" of Batman's Rogues and aside from her introduction episode I don't think it was brought back again (might be mistaken since a) it's been a while and b) didn't like The Batman as much as BTAS so I didn't really keep close track of it, just watching episodes whenever I caught them).
11196923
Yeah, she only got one more episode in Season 3 which was the whole Pod People/Body Snatchers episode and after that, just cameos in later episodes. Sad waste. Poison Ivy (The Batman Animated Series) | Batman Wiki | Fandom
11196928
Just to know, why aren’t you the one posting the story since it’s yours ?
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Because I wasn't the one who came up with it. That was D. What I mean is that he came up with the original idea and published the first few chapters himself.
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Oh 😲 I see .
I look forward to the next chapters.
Is it wrong I want there to be a possible poison ivy and Harley ship here like the canon. If it’s not a adult harley and teen ivy one anyway
11195367
Fate has a way of resolving itself. There WILL be a Grayson Robin...
So, I just checked the Death battle video of Zatanna, and it made me wonder, how,strong is the Zatanna in your story ?
11208767 Death Battle is cute but not really a good measure of anyone's powers, since they like to play around with everyone's "max power and abilities" until it's inconvenient for a win. If we go by The Batman, which is what this is based on... imagine an experienced, but not quite there yet Zatanna, Maybe on the level with the first Justice League Dark movie.
11208782
Thank you.
I precisely asked this because it's pretty clear a 2003 "the Batman" Zatanna would be really, really far from anything like the one as strong as Peak Superman.
I don't really watch much of the movies, partly because the only DC stuff i could really be a fan of is Batman, and i don't like Multiverse bullshit.
How strong is your version of Princess Celestia ? And how strong is Zatanna compared to her ? As in what kind of feats can they do if they go all in ?
11208797 Unless Ackbar has done something, that has never been a consideration for the story. It's basically unimportant, as far as I'm concerned.
11208797
As D answered there on a few things, in my opinion. Zatanna is powerful, but I don’t really have anything to compare it but except for say she’s certainly weaker than Fate but still one of the more powerful magical beings on the planet.
And Celestia is such a non factor through this story that it doesn’t really matter. Sorry if that’s not exactly the answers you wanted to hear.
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I’m with you about Ivy and Harley shipping; but that’ll not be a case in this story, I feel like that’s not much of a spoiler. 1. As you said, the age differences, and 2. Harley and Ivy never interacted once in the show.
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Well, i do hope Celestia will appear.
I also hope Sunset will have her own magic-using Nemesis, Sunset both being a hand-to-hand fighter/sword user and a witch is something i love.
What are the chances than Sunset become a Alicorn ? Even if she is in a human body, therefore it seem odd, Sunset gaining the physical might of Earth Pony, wings of a Pegasus and the far greater magical Might would be great, and would be very interesting for her abilities as a human.
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I have reason to believe that the Lords of Chaos are magical beings, and it's been hinted multiple times that they're most definitely coming, though they are taking their time.
On the Celestia bit, she's not one to go looking for Sunset Shimmer (Celestia pretty much just waited for Sunset to return. She definitely wasn't around when Twilight was accepted as Princess Celestia's student — Twilight was a full grown pony when she went into the mirror, which at whatever age you take her — teen or adult — would be years). Thus I don't really think her showing up out of chance would be a thing. I might be biased because I believe the friendship dynamic between Pam, Barb & Sunset is the main driving force that holds my interest. A big benevolent alicorn coming to take Sunset away may ruin things...Also, the fact that being transferred to this dimension was a magical mishap, it makes it even less likely.
If Sunset Shimmer gains the powers of an Alicorn as you mentioned, I'm afraid it draws into OP territory. You have to note that in The Batman universe, there aren't really many magically supercharged beings. Having one win-it-all hero will also probably make the skirmishes quite dull and one-sided, especially comparatively against the other characters (even some of the most dangerous villains).
However, I would like to see how the author(s) handle things. Especially now that Dick Grayson is introduced...
...I wonder if Robin will come into play at all?
Enjoying it thoroughly, keep it up!
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Regarding Celestia, i never thought of her taking her away, but still, Sunset seeing her adoptive mother would be nice.
Regarding Sunset's Nemesis, it's because i really want her to have one.
Maybe one of the Lords of Chaos, i don't know.
Even if Sunset become really powerful, the idea is than as a human-shaped Alicorn, she would fight magical foes.
Furthermore, her not having her Ascension but using the name Alicorn is kinda silly.
I completely agree regarding Sunset's relation with Barbara and Pamela.
Overall, what i hope is than the Young amazons have their own Nemesis.
11210367
I do agree, having their own nemesis would really make the story very interesting. As long as it's a worthy foe, not one that Alicorn can wipe the deck with easily.
I think Sunset naming herself Alicorn without the ascension is a perfectly logical choice, though. Her aspirations were to take over Celestia before she left the MLP Universe. She furthermore is a superhero, not a common citizen (thus "above" the other levels of ponies back in Equestria). Plus, I'm pretty sure Alicorn is way cooler than Unicorn
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Who could fit from the DC Universe's rogue gallery ?
True, but i think than from a story perspective, she should Ascend.
More likely in a few years in universe though.
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Clarion the Witch Boy, particularly the version from Young Justice. Mostly a joke in other DC comics he ascended [hehe] into a proper villain in the Young Justice AU.
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Hmm.. Jason could still become a Robin. Maybe the first prodigal son of his.
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And ? My problem is than Dick don't become, I don't care that much of Jason, and i specifically talked of Dick.
Perhaps premonitions are part of Sunset's magical abilities. This is obviously the Season 4 premiere when Dick Grayson aka Robin was first introduced. We all know what that means.
Oh no, Zucco and his brothers. I know where this is going 😬
So here Tony Zucco works for the Maronis.
You know what I just realized. Carmine Falcone has children. I wonder why not use him instead of using Maroni and inventing a son for him.
Looks like Rojas almost figured out that they're Batman and the Young Amazons.
And now we another huge twist that results from Sunset's presence in this variant timeline. Sunset has indirectly stopped the deaths of the Grayson's and Robin's origin. How can you have Batman without Robin now? Perhaps fate is not so easily changed. Rather interested in seeing what happens with that.