Hello people of The Dark knight fandom! This is my first story submitted in this area, but don't worry, it won't be my last. Y'see, I've truly become one of the many obsessed and devoted, so I can't help but think up many many interesting stories. Most are what-if stories like this! What has inspired me to finally post something are authors like Lauralot, dollhouseDISASTER, KitCat Italica, and a few others, but those are my main inspiration targets right now. Why..? BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THE WONDERFUL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS INSTEAD OF CONSTANTLY TRYING TO PUT IN "ORIGINAL" CHARACTERS. And that's all I'm sayin' on the matter. ;D

Alas, this is only an itty bitty drabble I thought up last night. I do those alot, but this is one of the rare few I felt like just typing up to see what would happen. So, let me get this clearly across so no one sends me any reviews like "I like it! Update soon plz!": I DOUBT THIS WILL EVER BE CONTINUED. OKAY? OKAY.

Besides, I have a freakin' chaptered story about Crane and Joker that I need to type up, so cut me some slack.

Enjoy this as it is!

Oh, yeah, and..

I OWN NOTHING.

Batman showed up sooner than usual at the GCPD. Not on the roof for once, but inside the building, and was lead right to Gordon who was waiting for him.

"Is it Joker?"

"No, but still close to being just as deadly. A sniper too. He's so sure of himself, he's given us an address that leads to his next victim. We managed to get to the young man and bring him here.. But we know we can't just keep him in here forever.. and he's pretty wound up, now that he knows there's a target on his head."

"And what's the price for this target?"

Gordon shuffled in place, fingering his empty coffee mug.

"We have no idea. We just know that the sniper has been called Deadshot and that someone hired him to do every single job, but there are no leads as to who and why. His list of victims is pretty high already, and usually there is no evidence of him being there at the scene of the killing except for the bullet in the body. He's obviously a very, very skilled assassin."

"Likely hired by one of the crime families.. they've been slacking," Batman mused, while Gordon sneered.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, considering who put them in their place and started killing them off."

"Speaking of which, are you positively sure there's no signs of Joker at any of the crime scenes?" Batman obviously didn't want to let anything, not even a tiny clue that the clown could be involved, pass him by. He made that mistake in the beginning of his on-going battle with Joker; Thinking he could wait to be dealt with while he handled the mob. If he could go back in time, he would go back to that day at the bank and punched himself square in the jaw.

"No. Absolutely nothing, Batman. Besides.. do you really think the Joker would want to get involved with such a criminal who just kills and moves on? As much as I hate to admit it, we know that madman better than that by now."

Batman nodded stiffly once, then quickly moved on. "So let's meet this new target. Have you gotten any information from him yet?"

As they headed for the interrogation room, Gordon snorted, "Hell no, the man looked ready to piss his pants when he saw us on his doorstep." He took a long pause, his lips twitching into a little slight smirk, "And then he ran."

"Why?"

"Exactly. He knows he's a target somehow. We chased him around his own oddly empty apartment and tackled him down and hand-cuffed him. The boy started mouthing off then. In every curse he knew, too." Gordon's smirk went upside-down at that. He had only been trying to do his job..

"Or maybe it isn't that he knows he's a target.." Batman's growl trailed off..

And before the commissioner could ask anything, they were at the interrogation room.

Batman went right in, for once, and for a moment Gordon almost wanted to shout out "What the hell are you doing?" But by now, he knew not to question to detective's motives.

Batman walked briskly over to the table, one glowing lamp in the corner of it the only source of light.

This was too much of a coincidence.

He knew Gordon was probably heading into the other room onto the side to record everything. Good.

He sat down and took in the man across the way.

He was pretty skinny, but well-tanned and his his body looked strong and as if he could possibly take on a challenger or two that tried to wrestle him down. Under the glow of the light, his shining eyes were so dark, Batman knew they must be brown, and he also had a slight darkness and a few lines under them. The man hadn't been sleeping well, probably. He was only covered in a black t-shirt that hugged his form, and some jeans from what Batman had seen as he'd come in closer.

His lips were tightly shut and in a thin line. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't angry. He seemed.. anxious.

And that's when the dark knight realized the man was slightly shaking. Bouncing. It was normal for many to have the habit of bouncing one leg or both, but the man's whole form was slightly moving up and down.

"Are you alright?" Were the first words out of his mouth, almost completely against his wishes, and almost not totally in his gruff disguised tone.

The man stopped bouncing.

He stared at Batman like a curious deer. Which was absurd. No adult man should be able to pull off such a look..

And yet it looks familiar. Déjà vu, almost.. In fact, just being in his presence is. Batman thought.

"I could get shot in the forehead with a bullet out of no where." The man finally replied, his voice was pretty deep, and almost a bit slurred, "No. No I'm not alright, Batman."

The way he said Batman so casually as if he'd talked to the vigilante many times before was the final straw.

"You know, you could've just told me next time I caught you that you were being targeted by this assassin."

The man just continued to stare.

"Like you said.. any time now. We have no evidence except his other victims. You'll soon just become one of them. And I mean that in every way." Batman leaned in, and stared hard at the dark curly-haired man, "Especially if you die looking like that."

The man started bouncing his legs again. His left eyebrow twitched.

"What, does this Deadshot have a problem with guys looking a little on the pretty side?"

At the very end of the come-back, Batman heard it.. the slight lilt. It was there. He was there.

Batman smoothly moved his left hand over to cover over the man's cuffed right hand.

It was warm. Like any other human's.

It was also a tight fist. Knuckles jutting out.

He was either scared... or pissed off.

Maybe a little of both?

"I thought you were used to being hunted by now." Batman let his voice drop lower, hoping not only to garble out his words from anyone hearing on the other side of that mirror, but to use the lower tone to actually soothe the man before him.. for once.

Because if he was actually upset for once, then this Deadshot guy must be bad news. Very bad news.

After another minute, the man leaned in, and there was soon barely any room left between their faces.

"I did my homework on him. He doesn't hunt." There it was, an emphasis on that last letter, "he simply shoots and scores and then moves on."

"And you don't like that." Batman simply stated.

"No. No, no no." His voice became even more whispery as he looked even deeper into Batman's eyes.

"And you think I can take him?"

The man didn't speak, he simply moved his hand around in Batman's grip, (he'd completely forgotten he was still holding his hand) and clasped the strong gloved hand in his own thinner one.

"I don't want..." He'd started off speaking in such an assured way, but it very quickly plummeted back into a trembling whisper that made Batman's heart start to pick up a fast beat against his will, "I don't want you to get in over your head, no. But I.. " His eyes darted around, mouth slightly open, before returning to Batman's guarded gaze. "I wouldn't go to anyone else." A tongue darted out and licked dry lips, "You're.. I know you."

"I know you do." Batman added in his mind, "But hopefully not completely. I'm not ready for that."

"Then you'll go after him?" It was truly surprisingly when he went right ahead and asked.

None the less, Batman nodded, "I'm already thinking of where to start." Before the man in front of him could say anymore, he added "And you do know what this means for you, right?"

The man blinked. His eyes looked around, once again that doe-eyed look that just unsettled Batman enough that he moved away to sit up straight again.

"You'll have to be put away somewhere for safety's sake."

The dark eyed man's innocent look vanished on the spot. A cold look of guardedness taking over it immediately.

"And where do you have in mind?" He asked, voice low and monotone.

"I have a bunker."

"A what?"

"A bunker. You know, a military shelter? A bomb shelter?"

"Well.." The man sat back in his chair and his lips started to twitch up.

"..so, that explains the tank, then."