Chapter Text
Neo Junk City, a festering ecosystem of crime and drug use, mainly in the form of ‘Poppers’, pills that can change the physical structure of the human body. The city was, for lack of a better word, untamed. Unlike its sister city- Macro City, capital of the Human Kingdom, and protected by Superman and the Justice Gang. But every city needs a hero, and it turns out, the ones this city has? They’re quite unorthodox.
The Buster units are a complete line of artificial, robot police, made by Dr. Hydnellum and meant to work as Neo Junk City’s police force, serving under Commissioner James Gordon. Even with the Buster units, however, crime continued to skyrocket.
So, to Buster 09? This sucked. Her job was to uphold the law, but it seemed that with every move, some other crime would pop up- a cycle, really. A really depressing cycle. Regardless, if Buster knew one thing, it’d be that she’d rather be scrapped than fail her objective. However, she’s been following one specific case for a while.
“Just who, or what...” Buster thought to herself, sitting in her cruiser as she lost herself in thought. “...Is The Batman?”
The case of The Batman was a perplexing one. A man, dressed up as a Bat- without any poppers, at least, to her knowledge, running around as a vigilante, always out of reach of confrontation, always out of sight.
The Batman, however, helped lower crime rates in certain areas. He’s busted Popper rings before the police even had word about them, he’s stopped muggings, and he’s been the thorn in the side of many of the city’s crime lords.
Buster simply pressed forward, it’s better to get things done instead of dwelling on a thought for too long.
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Everyone in Neo Junk City knew who Bruce Wayne was- Orphaned at 10, he spent most of his family’s fortune into helping better the city the best he can, having provided Dr. Hydnellum with almost half of her funding for the Buster project.
But, Bruce Wayne hid a dark secret. You see, when he had turned 18, Bruce traveled the world to learn techniques from all the kingdoms in the world, training in Insektia, Sukochi, Winterdown, Kyuutopia, and much more. In those years, he trained his body to the best it could be, returning after 10 years to the Human kingdom, prepared to start his mission.
Bruce Wayne is The Batman. The Dark Knight, if you will. Though, if you were to ask any generic criminal scum on the street, they’d simply call him, ‘Vengeance.’
Ever since the Batman showed up, Neo Junk City has seen the least amount of crime in the past 8 months, with most criminals being too scared to even leave their hideouts in fear of being trampled by the Bat.
However, that didn’t stop... all of them.
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“So what is this junk?” At the docks, a regular goon breaks open a crate of different, vialed liquids.
“Careful with it, the boss says it’s important.” Another one walks over, grabbing the crate and loading it onto a truck.
“Then, what is it? Don’t look like any kinda popper to me..” The First Goon leaned against the truck’s trailer, arms crossed.
“How am I supposed to know, I’m just tryin to get paid.” The Second Goon returned to his work, turning back only to see that he was completely alone. “What the...” Turning back, he saw that the truck was full of the other goons, all tied up and beaten. “Hey, this isn’t funny!” He’d yell, turning around- only to be met with blinding, white eyes. “GAH!-” The goon shouted as he was kicked into the trailer, watching as the figure stepped inside, eyes illuminating the trailer slightly.
“The drug. What is it.” The figure spoke, its voice dark and gravelly.
“I-I dunno! I was told to load it!” The goon was lifted up by his collar. “Eep!”
“THE DRUG. WHAT IS IT.” The figure spoke again, its eyes narrowing.
“I don’t know!” The goon cried out, before being dropped on his back as the figure turned, grabbing a vile of the liquid before moving, a black cape masking it as it flew off. “..I gotta get the hell out of here...” The goon scrambled up and out of the truck, running off into the bushes and leaving the others there.
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Standing on a nearby rooftop, Bruce held a vial of the drug in his hand. Lifting it up, he noticed its unnatural green hue. “Hm. Alfred, do you read me?” Tapping the side of his cowl, Bruce turned on his comms.
“Right here, Master Bruce.” Alfred spoke over the comms. “Shall I prepare your after-brooding coffee?”
“That’s not all, but I wouldn’t mind that.” Bruce tapped on his utility belt, hearing a horn nearby. “I need you to set up the Batcomputer for chem analysis.” Walking over to the source, Bruce uncloaked his main vehicle, the Batmobile. “I’ve found a new drug being trafficked around the city, and I need to find its formula.”
“Certainly, Master Bruce.” And with that, Alfred hung up, with Bruce hopping into the Batmobile and driving off.
---
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
Casing off the docks, Commissioner Gordon stood in front of the truck, watching as the goons were taken out of the truck one by one and arrested. “What happened to the drug?” Gordon turned to a Buster unit, specifically, Buster 09.
“No clue. They said that their boss took the remaining vials and left, but they won’t say who their boss is.” Buster nudged at one of the goons, causing them to groan. “I heard talks of a man named Bane, but apart from that, nothing.”
“Bane...” Gordon hummed, thinking about past cases. “Besides that, will any of them say where they got it from?”
“Not quite. They said they got it overseas, but they won’t say anything” Buster shrugged, adjusting her hat. “Should we head back?”
“...Unfortunately, Buster 09. I think we should.” Gordon tucked his hands in his pocket, before walking off to his cruiser, with Buster following suit.
---
Deep below Wayne Manor was a cave, turned into the Batman’s main base of operations- The Batcave. A large computer, charmingly named ‘The Batcomputer’ by Bruce himself, sat on the highest ledge, with bridges leading to other labs, training rooms, equipment and vehicles.
Sitting at his desk, Bruce poured the vial into a small basin, before inserting it into the Batcomputer, allowing it to scan the chemicals in it. “Hm.” Bruce’s eyes narrowed as the Batcomputer found the closest match. “Steroids... Who would be trafficking steroids, especially into Neo Junk City?” Bruce rolled away from his desk, pulling off his cowl and cape as Alfred walked up to him.
“Master Bruce, I implore that you get some rest now that you are home. You have an event with Princess Mayapple this morning.” Alfred handed Bruce a letter.
“Hm. The Princess?” Bruce skimmed over the letter’s contents.
“Indeed. She wishes to speak with you about bettering Neo Junk City to improve connections between it and Macro City.” Alfred nodded, adjusting his tie.
“Of course, I wouldn’t mind speaking with the Princess.” Bruce gave a small smile, before placing the letter down. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”