Thank you for posting this! You did a great job with the characters-specifically Gordon and Blake-and I enjoyed reading this.

Thank you again!

This is wonderful! You maintain the same dark edge as the first while also instilling a sliver of hope. In many ways, I can see this as a deleted scene from the film.

Two moments are vying for my favorite of the story - the first is Blake wandering up to the rooftop. I like how the others refer to it as the commissioner's spot. The description of the broken spotlight was beautiful: "It had long been cold and dark, its flame burned out."

The second moment fighting for the top spot is Blake drawing a bat among the children's artwork at the hospital. It was that small gesture that delivered a glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel these characters have been living in.

I still cringe when I read the full extent of Gordon's injuries. I hate seeing him injured and in pain. The man deserves some rest and a peaceful life after all he's endured! :-)

Poor Blake, I felt sorry for him when he got involved in Gordon's family affairs. No one wants to play the middle man. Though I have to wonder how a meeting would go between Blake and Barbara, Jr. She's a fiery one. :-)

The mention of Hugo Strange was a delightful surprise!

I do have one question. You wrote: "Bane is a mercenary so he doesn't have the same kind of ethics most do." The sequence of events is not fresh in my mind. Did the GCPD know Bane's identity at this point in the film?

I have to admit this is a bit dreary. The dirty dishes piling up, the shirts hanging from a door handle and the photos of a family he no longer has to come home to are a harsh picture of Jim's life. I hate to imagine him living like that, but it rings very true to how a separated/divorced man would exist.

Keeping Barbara's voice on the answering machine is just...heartbreaking.

I enjoyed seeing this slice of Jim's life through Blake's perspective, contrasting with his own childhood. In that respect, Jim's life doesn't seem *that* bad. His children have a mother and father, even if they aren't together.

I like how Blake needed to snoop around a little and cleaned up the kitchen. :-) He's a good man. I also like how he picked up the phone when Babs called. It's a relief that she's not worrying up a storm about her dad. I'm curious how this will play out in the next part.

I admire how you don't shy away from the stark realities of these characters' lives.

I do think a few spots are a bit clunky. For example, you wrote: "It was true with the Harvey Dent Act, crime was almost nonexistent, but there would always be crime." That might read smoother (and be less of a contradiction) if you changed it to 'violent crime was almost nonexistent'.

You wrote: "Once he put everything in the bag, except the files left the room." I think you might be missing a word: "Once he put everything in the bag, except the files, *he* left the room."

I'm looking forward to the second part!

P.S. I thought your penname was familiar. I've read most, if not all, of your Spidey work, though I wasn't always the best about reviewing back then. :-)