"The Bat would die so that Grovenor could survive living with himself. It was as simple as that." Together with his thoughts on his failure at the beginning, this is just what I meant when I said how Grovenor needs an "enemy" to define himself. Very, very, very good characterization there, and it begs to be continued.
I should have preferred a part with Gordon in the interrogation to let us know that they knew about him, and also letting us know his back story, but this was also good. It was good that Gordon understood that they don't have the necessary-ugh-stamina to break someone like him. Which is just nice, I wouldn't like Gordon as much as I do if he has. It was also good that Grovenor knew it exactly.

You should give us the second round between him and the Bat. I'm also putting this on my follows, besides favorites, even if it's tagged as complete, he he. Yes, I'm very hopeful person :D

Ah, hello Batman, it was *nice* to see you again :d
"Yes, but he just disappeared!" This was a classic Batman moment, made me smile, too.
Usually I have a hard time following the narrative in heavy action scenes, but yours was really great, easy-to-follow. There was only a few times I was confused, and I think it was done by purpose to pass to us the confusion of the moment. Your writing thoroughly and truly shone in those passages. It also kept me at my edge, usually I get a bit bored too with heavy action scenes.

So, I guess Bruce used the fear toxin, right? The effects, the demonized version of him that Grevonor saw with the gas seemed to me like that.

The talk between Brezhenev and Grovenor was very good. It was refreshing to see a villain who isn't the big boss, and knows his own place, and I think it's also very in character that how one could be a mob boss in Gotham. Someone like Brezhenev wouldn't let anyone talk to him like that, even it's Grovenor. It was very good, and the better was that Grovenor was knowing it, as well. When he said "shut up", he did, and listened.

His appreciation to Gordon still made me smile :D If only he knew.

This is getting more awesome with each chapter, and I'm a wee bit jealous of your talent that I craftily you built this story.

First things first; it made me smile he thought Gordon at least intelligent enough, and competent enough, then came "for cops". I had to laugh at that, I really did. It was gold. His contempt for these people really leaked of the words.

"Gotham PD would not know them, and might not cross reference them with the NSA or CIA. But the Special Forces team's support staff certainly would." Wouldn't they? You're the expert, but I think the police also could get in touch with NSA or CIA to cross check. Isn't there a police intelligence agency or something like that?

It was great how diligently worked Grovernor worked for his story to add realism, from porn sites to the accents. He isn't taking any chances, which explains how he survived through all these years. Your characterization is really spot-on for an ex-spy. His character is worth of a real book.

His view for the fundamentalist, radicals was spot on, too, much like his contempt again for Gordon and his partner's world-view, but what about cells? Because I thought the terrorists do actually hang up together. Perhaps there isn't a world, but there is a commune, very strict and very closed but it's still a world. The people who don't have a world is people like him, nor do they have a life, for that matter. On that matter, they're very alike, in fact always needs an opposition to define himself; Grovenor needs his "enemy" to define himself much like Al-Queda needs their Western hate to define themselves, because it's what make themselves, without it they couldn't be what they are anymore. I believe the last line was also about this; it's not only about "winning", no, it's about winning against the enemy you set yourself as your opposition. The reflection in the mirror. Grovernor's self-importance and narcissism was quite apparent there. You're really making a fantastic job with him.

Ah, that was cold, but it showed clearly how much controlled, cunning, and cruel an agent gets if the situation demands it. The rationalization of his actions makes sense in his mind, and his sociopathic tendencies shone through them. He admits he actually has feelings, he isn't kidding himself saying he doesn't, he just doesn't do sentimental. I believe that's a good portrayal of anti-social personality that borders psychopathy. Besides, he really showed him as a real menace, someone who could pay whatever it's needed to get his job done. It doesn't take a genius to understand why he felt such a personal interest into catching "the Bat Operation", cause it reminded him the old days, the better days.
I also liked seeing his contempt for the usual American lifestyle, that was a good moment too.

While reading this I also remembered how much I actually missed writing about "spy actions", creating fake stories, fake personalities, and all that imagination at loose. It was just great. I so liked the way you constructed the story for us, beginning with "once upon a time in Gotham City".
The beginning of the chapter was very good for that effect, too, the usual tactic; to catch your prey, first you lay your trap. "If you couldn't find where the mujahedeen were, you made them come to you."
"What would they find there at the warehouse? Documents refering to a massive influx of arms from the docks? Evidence of a corrupt politician? Perhaps a human trafficking ring?" That was kinda funny because all of these might get Batman's attention quicker than any terrorism threat, at least before the Joker. The LoS experience aside, Batman is shown more concerned with the mobs dealings, at least it was such as this before the Joker happened.

I still have to say this first because it's worth a repeat; this is really so good, one of the best ideas I have ever seen in this fandom. I've always thought that people could easily think Batman as a special forces guy, backed up by some government project and whatnot (that was why I found it very odd that Coleman Reese assumed immediately Bruce being Batman when he saw the Tumbler, because really, how logical was that?) but I've never thought nor seen him being as "team project". That was really cool, and Grovenor totally sold me his case. Like he said, to someone who doesn't know Bruce Wayne thinking that one single man could do that kind of things, without being armed, is just ridiculous, and of course, that's why he's Bruce Wayne :) One could always imagine how he would really feel when Grovenor learned the truth.

I'm amazed how easily you built the ambiance and the atmosphere of the neighborhood with only a few world. Very well done, and very crafty. "There was no graffiti because the last tagger Brezhenev caught was found in three different trash bins." You nailed here what a self-respected, smart mob boss would do in his domain; he would know better not to s!hit where he eats.

I so liked that you had Grovenor drinking tea, for some unknown reasons :) Perhaps because I'm a loyal tea drinker, perhaps it's just that cool, I don't know. I just liked it, and him sipping from his tea slowly as he talks about how to draw Batman out was so cool that I felt a bit disturbed. He he. The whole back story you created for Grovenor was solid, and very according to the history (I would expect nothing less from you, frankly) and I liked how you added little bits with mujahedeen and Spetsnaz in their talks. They all made these characters much more real. It was also very good to see how well Grovenor knows about his "enemy", their usual tactics etc etc. He reminded me a bit of the Jackal from Bourne series, too. (which is a very good compliant in my book :))

Oh, at first I wasn't very sure about the Star Wars style opening, but I think within the context, it suited well to the first chapter. Good thought there.

Hey, there, I was trying to find some time to read this one, especially after seeing you in the review game, and I'm glad that I've finally managed it, because this was pretty awesome. It's really, really hard to find a good Batman story which actually stars 'Batman' and his fight with the crime around here any more (I know I am not the one who should whine about it, as being basically a Bruce Wayne writer but still :D), so it was particularly good to see this one. I loved it, and will be back to give a better feedback too, when I have more time :) I just *just* read it, and wanted to say I really liked what I read. Till then, bye :D

Cool. It's nice to see the story keep going and the characters are all real, though for some reason the way you portrayed Grovenor as human seemed forced. I can't really point it out, maybe I've been reading to many stories where the villain is sympathetic and my head's decided that humanizing is annoying or something, but all I can really say is that I have this vague feeling that Grovenor's characterization is going to fast.

Jesus Christ, though, that is cold.

That's a lot of great character shading in a paragraph, and honestly, Bruce Wayne is looking like he's got quite the chess match coming up.
This was a really tight chapter, and his distraction was brilliant. Just enough stupidity to seem perfectly plausible.

Although I really think he should have tried the PRIVATE TERRORIST NOTES COPS DON'T OPEN route.

I like how gritty this is. Funny, I actually dislike dark, gritty fics. But I like how your writing really makes the reader feel like he or she is in a crime setting. It actually sounds like something villains would do.

Keep it up.

Hello there! Sorry for the delay, but I had to leave unexpectedly.

I’m familiar with the Batman plot, though my knowledge fails when it comes to more underground plot twists. However, this review shouldn’t be too atrocious )

I think you could do without the beginning “summary”. For starters, it seems very cliché and the following dialogue with Grovenor is not very consistent. What I mean is that while you are clearly stating facts within the first part, Grovenor’s dismissal isn’t exactly fitting, especially for a criminal who can get his butt severely kicked by Batman.

While I do like your third person narrative, perhaps you could do with a bit more concise dialogue and description, since there are a few situations within the first chapter that would be much more interesting if properly explained. Also, these short descriptions can spoil the reading since the plot ends up looking rushed. Take your time. This is one of the cases where the “show, don’t tell” rule could be applied.

In a strange, twisted way, I quite liked the character Grovenor. He seems a sort of nearly ruthless and sharp person who knows what he wants and wants to beat his competition. While I don’t think it was a very good idea to introduce his whole character and early life in the first chapter (the transition seems odd), it was interesting to know these details. However, it could prove more useful to your story if you scattered this background information throughout several chapters. Knowing everything about a character and especially in this manner is not only rushed as it can make readers a little wary due to the information dump.

Hope the review helped, happy writings!

Yes. A thousand times yes.

I'm sure if I looked, I'd find another thing, but this is such a fantastic idea. Of course, if they hired some painted lunatic, they'd try (slightly) more sane methods first.

Your writing is still pretty fantastic. It's confident and it's clear you know where this story is going, so all I have to do is sit back and enjoy it. You have a great mix of technical terminology and just plain good writing and a way of explaining such that I don't feel stupid for not knowing terms, and leaving some of the other terms (like spetnatz and mujahedeen) up to inference. You're not showing off, but at the same time, you expect me to keep up. It's addictive. Totally not jealous.

I also really like that even with the obvious fantasy of batman, this story is grounded firmly in reality, and it's a nice bit of flattery that such an accomplished gunman assumes it can't possibly be just one man.

I think you also did a bang-up job of getting across the tribalism and voluntary segregation in ganglands, without crossing into plain racism on your part. It takes a fine hand.

I do think that it's a little too much exposition on Grovenor at the end, and I'd see if you might sprinkle some of his history through the story, but I trust you've got reasons. Glad you're back!

Nitpick: Grovener says "The Batman is a myth." But based on all the exploits listed in the above section, how can he say that? It sounds like there's ample evidence for the existence of Batman because he's had such a powerful affect on Gotham's organized crime.

"Removing my night vision" doesn't sound right for a gangster. Wouldn't he say something more like "I couldn't see shit"?

I like how you showed how frightened Brezhnev was of Batman by having him unable to shoot. I also liked how you emphasized Batman dragging Tommy off into the darkness. That sounds almost as frightening as if Batman had killed them.

Ah, now I understand why Grovener says the Batman is a myth. I like his theory. It makes a lot of sense in a way, yet it also sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory. It says a lot about the way Grovener thinks, too, and helps give credence to the story we hear about him later on. I liked that you waited until the end to tell us who Grovener really is. If you had introduced him like this the chapter would have been too top heavy. You let Grovener speak for himself and filled in the details we needed to know later. I'm wondering if this story will be told from his perspective or Batman's. Great work!

The story idea actually fits rather well into the Nolan's Batman narrative. Other than that, it will take further chapters in order for this fic to flesh out more in my mind.