The drive back to the batcave was not a pleasant one. It was full of humiliation, he had been doing well up until the point that he met the five women who had ambushed him. Sure he had taken some minor punishment up until that point, but they had done a number on him to the extent he had not really had any offense so to speak. His ego and pride were as bruised as his body, his confidence tempirarily shattered just like the kevlar in his chestplate. He may have technically won with the chaos quelled, but he felt much more like he had lost.<br/><br/>-------------------------------<br/><i>The following afternoon<br/>
</i><br/>Bruce Wayne sat in his office hidden away from the rest of the business. He didn't have much to do in reality, which was a good thing, since he wanted to do research on this Joker. He was the World's Greatest Detective afterall it wad time he used those skills to his advantage. In an age where corruption ran rampant though his detective skills would have to be superb. Because Wayne Enterprises had developed the software that government agencies used for their databases Bruce had a copy of those on his computer, well mulitple computers in reality, that allowed him to search for incidents' and correlate data to build an overall picture of what was going on in the city. It had helped him numerous times in the past, and he hoped it would help him now.<br/><br/>He typed Joker in the query box and what he expected to happen, a few hundred results, turned up nothing. There was not one mention of her in any database, it was as if she didn't exist. It was ckesr that she did though, which meant her power stemmed beyond the criminal world all the way through the justice system. This would have been a moment where he contacted Jim Gordon, but the now retired and murdered former Commissioner was of no use six feet below ground. He sighed deeply, it would take a different approach, one that put him at more risk, but could prove worthwhile.<br/><br/>Work finished up in a relatively easy manner, Bruce was not too noticed on his way out the door, just a few, "Good evening Mr. Wayne, see you tomorrow!" messages on his way out the door. Alfred had been given the day off, the elder butler needed them more and more often and Bruce was more than happy to allow his oldest and likely only friend a few more days off than he previously had taken.<br/><br/>Bruce drove downtown to a quaint and small little diner. He didn't stick out too much since he took his tie off, the night life of Gotham was filled with converted businessmen who still worked nine to five shifts then enjoyed the freakish stylings Gotham brought forth. Harry's Diner was not anything special, but tonight it proved to be something a little better than normal. Some of the Joker's thugs happened to be in there, at least he recognized one of them as he nonchalantly walked past them to find an empty booth.<br/><br/>The nice thing about some criminals was that they had big mouths, especially those at the bottom of the food chain, they liked to brag about upcoming heists way more often than they should. "Yo, did you hear, we gonna bust Gotham National up tomorrow, closing time, big payday." There was no fear, there were cops in the room and all they did was smile and nod as if they were in on the plan. It made Bruce sick to his stomach while he ordered Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes and asperagus. The food wasn't quite Alfred quality, but it was sufficent for him on this night. When he finished there was still a pool of gravy all over his plate, a few sparse mushrooms, but that was it. He left $40 on the table for the bill and tip, and left the diner happy with the information he had received.<br/><br/>------------------------------------<br/>Gotham National Bank looked quiet from the outside as Batman drove up to it the following day. He was ready for action and adventure. More importantly he was ready to send a message to the Joker. He suspected she might have been in the background of the chaos a few nights prior and tonight he figured with the severity of the situation that she would be there. Of course he didn't know what she looked like.<br/><br/>As dusk was settling a few patrons left the bank, they looked rattled, somehow they were let free. That was the indicator he was looking for, and Batman exited the batmobile just as a storm was brewing once more. Thunder roared as lightning filled the sky and Batman burst into the bank hastily.