Tommy had been asking himself two questions a lot the past few days:
1) "How is Black Mask gaining so much new territory?"
2) "What am I going to do when the real Batman comes back?"
The first one was the more urgent query. Tommy had done well in his battle against the new mob bosses that were fighting to take The Penguin's place. He (well, Huntress) had cut off Great White Shark's money supply, Two-Face would most likely go into hiding after Tommy had disrupted his drug shipment at the port this very night, but Black Mask... well, Black Mask was actually expanding his territory. Tommy wasn't sure where the gangster was getting his resources; for every den Tommy busted, two more seemed to take its place. And the men Black Mask was using weren't common thugs, they seemed to work with almost military precision. Tommy was stumped.
But the second question had been burning in the back of his mind for some time. He had abandoned the cowl after Batgirl's accident without realizing that he had little money, job prospects, or future. He knew that eventually, hopefully, the other Batman would return. There was little doubt in Tommy's mind that Batman wouldn't appreciate his rather unique method of fighting crime. Tommy needed to set up some sort of nest egg for himself.
He wouldn't steal, of course; his experience as Batman had given him that much of a moral compass. But how could he raise himself some money, just in case? Tommy thought.
'I do know a lot about Batman,' Tommy thought. He knew the location of his hideout, who at least one of his partners was, the real Batman's identity...
'No,' Tommy shook his head. He couldn't do that to Batman. Tommy owed him everything. He couldn't betray that trust.
Tommy continued to think. Finally it hit him: he couldn't divulge any secrets about Batman, but he did know quite a few secrets about some villains. He could potentially sell some secrets about their fighting styles, their lairs, and who they paid off.
Tommy fired up the computer in the Batcave. He needed to find a reporter. And as he thought about his nights watching Channel 4 News, he knew just which one to e-mail...
***
On the roof of the her station, Vicki Vale shivered. She was feeling kind of stupid. 8 hours ago, she had received a mysterious e-mail telling her to be on top of her building at Midnight if she wanted to hear about a scoop about this city's underbelly. Vicki got e-mails like this all the time; there were always crackpots trying to sell her a story or a batarang that they swear they didn't buy in a novelty store or something like that.
This e-mail was different, though. For one, it didn't have a return address. Vicki had sweet talked the IT guy on her floor into trying to run a trace on the e-mail but he found nothing. For another, it had a very distinctive signature. It read:
"Sincerely,
Batman"
Vicki knew it was probably a dumb joke by someone else in the office. She knew it couldn't be real. But if it was... she had to risk it. Vicki had recently made some allegations against Commissioner Gordon that had ended up not being exactly truthful. She had managed to hold onto her job but just barely; she knew she needed a big story soon if she wanted to get back into her boss's good graces.
But now, as she shivered in the cold, she thought she had been hit with another setback. She felt stupid, especially standing there dressed as she was. She was supposed to have a date with a mid-level member of the mayor's cabinet that she was "pumping" for information that night but she had cancelled. She hadn't been able to make it home to change, though, and the slinky cocktail dress she had on didn't provide much warmth. Vicki luckily had a trench coat in her office but her legs were freezing.
Brushing some of her bangs out of her face, Vicki swore. She looked at her watch and saw that it was 12:15.
"Another Goddamned dead end," Vicki said to herself. She turned and headed towards the door to the roof.
"Sorry I'm late," a voice called behind her. Vicki jumped and wheeled herself around.
"Batman..." Vicki breathed. She couldn't believe it: Batman was standing in front of her. Vicki had been chasing this ghost for almost 8 years now, ever since she was a kid running the crime beat. Her gossip column wouldn't seem to be very much in line with Batman but, when you thought about it, wasn't knowing who Batman was the ultimate piece of gossip? Vicki had been researching for years but hadn't come up with anything. She had even dated Bruce Wayne for a while back when she suspected he was Batman but she dumped him when he turned out to be just as vain and oblivious as her stories made him to be.
But now, here he was. She looked closely at him, trying to get some kind of sign to tip his identity. He was standing in the light but somehow his face was shrouded in shadow. 'Just my luck,' Vicki thought.
"I got your e-mail," Vicki said aloud. She couldn't tell if she was shivering from the cold or the excitement running through her body. Everyone wanted to meet Batman. Vicki and her girlfriends had all shared a common dream that they had; one where Batman had come in through their windows to save them from an intruder, before taking them in his big arms and-
"I need your help," Batman said, interrupting Vicki's train of thought. She felt a jolt as she processed his words. 'Batman needs my help...?' She thought.
"I might be able to help you," She said, trying to sound confident," Depending on what you can do for me. What's the deal?"
Batman stared at her silently for a moment. Then he spoke. "I'm running a little short on capital at the moment. I need money. You need a story. I thought we could help each other."
Vicki forgot to breathe for a moment. 'An exclusive with BATMAN,' She thought. She was counting her regional Emmys in her head already. Fuck the Emmy's; she was looking at a Goddamn Pulitzer. Just like that bitch Loi-
"Hold on a minute!" A voice called out behind Vicki. Turning, Vicki saw who it was and her heart sunk:
It was that bitch Lois Lane.
***
Lois strode confidently towards Batman and Vicki Vale. She counted her good fortune that they were still meeting. If there was an important story going on, Lois wanted to be in the middle of it.