Gotham City is filled with so much crime, chaos, and corruption that makes you wonder why people would ever live here in the first place.

However, even with all the criminals out there, someone needs to stop them... the only question is who?

You work at the Gotham City Police Department or GCPD for short, hellbent on cleaning up this crime-haven city by any means necessary...even if operating under the noses of your colleagues.

You were pacing around a conference room, staring at several photos lined across the wall, showing criminals that occupy the city, ranging from drug lords to business owners to politicians.

Commissioner James Gordon was leaning on a desk, chatting with a few other officers while Harvey Bullock was reading a newspaper and smoking a cigarette indoors despite complaints from others.

Bullock eventually glanced up from his paper and saw you moving a few photos on the wall to new places, trying to connect the dots between a few pictures, making him roll his eyes.

"Got something, Y/n?." He puffed on his cigarette. "Or are you just rearranging things for fun?."

"It doesn't make any sense." You spoke, focused on the board. "A bunch of massive breakouts at Arkham Asylum within the same day...they must be connected."

"Eh, so some loonies ran out of meds." Bullock scoffed and returned to his paper. "Not our damn problem."

In an instant, you turned around and tore the paper out of his hands, staring down at him with a look that could cut through steel.

"Those loonies, as you call them, are some of the worst criminals in this damn city." You tossed the paper on the floor. "Each one of those deranged lunatics has committed countless murders that could be punishable by death and all they do is plead "insanity" and they get thrown into that revolving door of a "psychiatric institution" that's just another prison!."

"Yeah, we have other things to worry about, kid." He stepped towards you. "Those loonies ain't worth chasing after, they've killed several good cops on the force...as much as it pains me to say it...The Batman should handle them while we focus on the criminals that aren't dressed in costumes."

"So we're supposed to sit on our asses and let someone dressed up as a bat take care of the criminals that plague these damn streets!?." You fire back, getting in Bullock's face. "He's not even a cop, just some man in tights and hockey pads-"

"Y/n, that's enough!." Gordon spoke up, slamming his hands on the desk. "We don't have the resources to deal with those kinds of criminals anymore, the mayor's cut funding and we're down half our police force from the last round of layoffs."

He sighed before looking down at the stack of papers on his desk.

"All we can do is focus on the day-to-day criminals."

Your hands shook with anger and rage hearing that the funding for the police has been cut once again.

"Of course, it's been cut again, goddamn Hamilton Hill is cutting our budget and now all these criminals break out." You paused. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's working with them."

"Workin' with one?." Bullock snorts. "Hell, I heard he's banging Harley Quinn on the side!."

"Even if he is working with them, there's nothing we can do about it." Gordon gives him a disappointing look. "We have multiple reports of robberies and gang-related violence that we don't have time to focus on Hill, and if we did arrest him, we'd all be in hot water...and the last thing we need is the media on our backs."

He suddenly shifts his gaze to Bullock.

"Speaking of which, can you please keep the "off the record" commentary down?."

"No promises, Jimbo." Bullock laughed and shot him a wink. "And you know, with all the problems, maybe the bat taking down the baddies will help us for once."

He then glanced over at you.

"Hey, maybe you'll become the new bat someday, L/n, you already got the brooding schtick down."

Another one of the officers, Howard Branden, head of the swat department in the GCPD, spoke up overhearing the conversation.

"Yeah, right-Y/n running around in that suit, throwing those toys, and gliding across the city?." He snickered. "Please Harvey, what would he do against someone like Penguin, Freeze, or Poison Ivy?."

He then turned to you, a smirk on his face.

"No offense L/n, but you'd be dead in five minutes if you faced off against them."

"Five seconds more like it." Bullock quipped and tossed his cigarette, stomping it out with his boot. "You've got heart kid, but there's no chance in hell you could take down a single one of those criminals, hell I'd put my fancy watch on it because I'm so confident-"

"That's enough." Gordon glared at them before turning back to you. "Y/n...just go home for the night, don't worry about the breakouts, and get some sleep...you're going to run yourself into the ground if you stay here overnight."

"I'm fine, Jim-" You tried to speak before Gordon cut you off.

"No, you aren't, you've been here since four in the morning trying to work everything out...I understand you're dedicated to the job and I appreciate that about you...but you can't stop all these criminals yourself...especially with next to no hours of sleep."

He sighed again before placing a hand on your shoulder.

"Just go get some sleep, Y/n, don't worry about the Arkham Asylum breakouts...you're a damn good cop and I'd hate for this job to take over your life."

"You and I both know it already has, Jim." You stormed out of the room, leaving everyone looking at the door.

"That kid's gonna get himself killed one of these nights," Jim said before looking back at his desk. "And for the record, I think he'd put up a helluva fight against those criminals more than you two."

"Please, Jim." Braden rolled his eyes. "With the way he handles himself, he'll be dead by Christmas, which means more money for us, eh?."

Gordon's eyes went wide and even Harvey's smirk dropped instantly and he glared at the swat captain.

"What?." Braden shrugged nonchalantly. "Guy's always in over his head, someone's gonna put a bullet in him soon-"

"Howard shut up." Bullock's glare hardened. "As much as I jab at him, he's a good kid...you say anything like that again and I'll pop you myself."

Just before you reached the door, someone put a hand on your shoulder, turning around, you stood face to face with Renee Montoya, one of the only good cops in the city.

"Heading out, Y/n?." She asked. "Be safe, okay, there's a bunch of crazies out there tonight."

"Thanks, Renée." You nodded and walked outside, though you could've sworn you saw a hint of blush on her cheeks.

The cold air hit you hard as you walked outside and to your car, getting inside and peeling out of the parking lot, listening to music on the radio.

As you were driving back, you noticed something strange as a figure was jumping from rooftop to rooftop with ease and elegance but clad in black, could it be the bat?

You silently followed him from below as he sat perched on a window sill, skillfully opening it and entering the building, a glance at the front of the building read "Dazzling Diamond Jewelers." on the front entrance...what the hell is Batman doing?

You slammed on the break and parked across the street, quickly opening the glove compartment and taking several things out before ducking into a nearby alleyway and changing out of your uniform into a grey coat, pants, boots, and gloves, along with a grey stetson and a mask that covered your face apart from your eyes.

After your quick change, you threw your uniform into the trunk of your car before running to the side of the jewelry store and finding a ladder to the rooftops, after a quick ascend, you found a ventilation shaft big enough that you could crawl through it which you began to after using a screwdriver to remove the bolts from the grate.

You crawled around in the vent for minutes to get a good view of Batman.

"Shoplifting?." You asked yourself. "So is this guy just a criminal acting like some big hero? Maybe he could be trying to take out the competition-"

Suddenly, you felt something lash onto the grate above your body, wrapping around the bars a few times before you felt a little tug.

"Oh shit." You cursed before a hard tug pulled the grate loose, causing you to tumble to the floor below, landing hard on your shoulder. "Argh, goddamnit!!!."

You heard some clicking sounds as you felt a boot on your chest. Looking up, you could only see the outline of the individual—a black suit, gloves, and, of course, the pointy...cat ears.

"Well, well, well...look what I caught." A feminine voice spoke, oozing in a seductive tone. "Looks like someone wants to try and play the hero."

Your eyes widened under your mask as you quickly pieced everything together...you weren't chasing Batman...you were chasing Catwoman.

"Catwoman..." You muttered, staring up at the feminine feline. "Should've known this was you..."

"Oh so you've heard of me, I take it you're a fan?." She smirked. "Well, I've had my share of fans but I didn't think one would try and perv at me while I'm stealing-"

"I'm no fan, lady." You growled. "I'm a cop, and you aren't stealing anything tonight-"

"Oh, is that so?." She raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking you seriously. "Well, where's your badge...don't all officers have one?."

You realized that your badge was in an empty pocket. Turning your head, you saw it lying next to you. It must have fallen out of your pocket after the fall you just took.

"Ah, here it is..." She smiled and picked it up, reading the name. "Y/n L/n...hmm...well, what a pretty little name you have, Y/n...if only that mask wasn't there so I could see what your face looks like."

She tossed the badge down and raised a hand, claws unsheathing where her fingers were.

"Guess I'll have to scratch it off and see for myself..."

You tried to get out from under her boot but she quickly straddled you, making sure you couldn't get away.

"Oh don't worry, sweetheart, this'll only hurt a bit." She swiped a claw at you but you got a hand free and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from scratching your mask off. "Hey-let go of my wrist!-"

You managed to get your other hand out from under her and grab her other wrist as she tried to claw at you again, quickly using her momentum to throw her off your body.

Without wasting a second, you got up and grabbed your badge, put it in your coat pocket, and looked back at Catwoman, who smiled again.

"Impressive, you move fast for a cop." She sauntered towards you, her hips swaying with each step as she readied her claws. "But I wonder how well can you handle yourself in a fight?."

"Come and find out then." You adjusted your hat and readied your fist. "I won't go easy on you just because you're a woman."

"Good." She licked her lips. "Because I like it rough..."

Without warning, she lunged at you with a fast claw strike, which you dodged stepping backward before quickly avoiding another strike to your side, she didn't let up however as she tried to slash your arm, allowing you to counter her, swatting her arm away and landing a kick to her shin.

She winced only slightly before you were the one now on the offensive, launching haymakers left and right, however not a single one landed as she moved quickly and gracefully, avoiding your punches like they were nothing.

"Gonna have to try harder than that, handsome." She taunted before blocking one of your punches and landing a well-timed kick to your ribs, causing you to stumble for a moment before she landed another kick to your right leg.

Seeing an opening, Catwoman ran at you and went for another claw strike but you moved out of the way at the last second, before grabbing and shoving her against a wall, pinning her to it.

"Oof, if you're going to be like that, at least take me out to dinner first." She smiled at you; she was having fun with this.

"You-wait what?." You paused after hearing what she said, giving her the opening she needed to land a strike on your chest, cutting open your shirt a bit with her claws. "Argh!!!."

You held your chest as you felt a little bit of blood seeping from your new marks before she landed another kick to your ribs, causing you to stumble backward, your back turned to her.

"Oh, did that hurt?." She said in a mock pouting voice before snicking. "Well, it's going to hurt a lot more, sugar."

You barely had time to process her words before a loud crack was heard and you felt a lashing across your back that brought you to your knees, she had just whipped you...hard.

"Argh!." You winced in pain as you tried to stand, only to feel the lashing of the whip again. "Fuck!."

Catwoman just walked over your body, walking to a display case showcasing several high-end and premium diamonds, she used her claws to cut out a circle and quickly snatched the diamonds from the case with ease, stuffing them into a sack she brought with her.

"Purrfect..." She prowled and then glanced at you over her shoulder. "Well, this was fun handsome, but I've got a client to see and a payday to collect."

She walked over to you and stepped onto your chest to get over to the nearby window, making you let out another painful groan.

She opened the window and was about to get away with the stolen diamonds but stopped and sauntered back over to you again.

"You know, I never did get a look at that handsome face up close." She prowled as she cupped your face with her hands. "Why don't you let me take it off for you?-"

"No!." You tried to pull away, but she had a strong grip, and you were still weak from the scratches and whippings so you couldn't do much. "Stop!."

"Stop, but I'm having so much fun with you...and I find new heroes to be quite boring these days." She laughed. "You're different than most...now, be still."

She started lifting your mask, much to your protests before something flew past the both of you and got stuck in a wall...a batarang...and dropping down from the ceiling was someone both you and her were familiar with...The Batman.

"Enough, Catwoman." He spoke, his voice could make even the most dangerous men shiver. "Let him go."

"Aww, and I was having so much fun." She rolled her eyes and then looked at her on and off again lover. "What's wrong? Can't a girl have her fun? Or are you jealous I'm interested in the new guy more than you?."

Batman's eyes went from her to you, then back to her.

"I'm taking you to the GCPD, Catwoman." He started to approach her, however, he froze when she put one of her claws to your neck. "Don't do anything you'd regret."

"Oh, you of all people should know that I don't regret anything." She smirked. "Now, this is the part where you let me go...I believe you have other matters to attend to, no?."

Batman glared at her, but she was right...there were other criminals in the city doing much more dangerous crimes than simply robbing a jewelry store...and he's often let her go in the past numerous times...for obvious reasons of course.

Catwoman smirked, taking his silence as a yes, and removed her claw from your neck, allowing you to keep your mask on your face as she walked towards the opened window, tossing the sack of diamonds over her shoulder.

"So nice to see you again, Batman..." She shot him a wink before looking at you. "And as for you, new guy...I think we'll be seeing each other a lot more..."

And just like that, she dove out the window and began leaping from rooftop to rooftop...she had gotten away...and Batman just let her go...

"She's getting away!." You got up and began racing towards the door but Batman got in front of you, giving you a look that could kill you where you stood.

"Who are you?." He spoke,  it was more of a demand rather than a question.

"That's none of your business..." You spoke, and while seeing the Dark Knight in person would leave most people shaking with fear, you didn't have any. "Just as this situation was none of your business...and thanks to you, Catwoman got away!."

"She won't get far," Batman spoke, staring into your eyes. "Now, I'll ask again...who are you?."

"I'm the guy that's going to do what should've been done a long time ago." You held your ribs, still in pain from Catwoman's attacks. "I'm going to clean up the crime in this city...by any means...because unlike you, Batman, I'm not afraid to take a life to save one-"

In an instant, The Dark Knight grabbed your arm and pulled it back, making you bend a knee.

"I don't know who you are, but I suggest you rethink your strategy of "cleaning up crime"..." He scowled, his grip on your arm as strong as iron. "Before I make you rethink your life choices..."

Despite your arm being in immense pain and discomfort, you refuse to listen to his words, instead, you try to wrench your arm back.

"You're one to talk, Vigilante...you're running around in armor with a cape and cowl, trying to be some figure of hope for this city." You spout. "You're not some crusader of control...you're just like the criminals you capture-"

The pain in your arm went from fifty to a hundred as Batman bent your arm back even more, you felt your bone nearing the breaking point, literally.

"I am Vengeance...I am the night...I am Batman..." He glared down at you. "I am the one who keeps the criminals away during the day, and the one who takes them down at night...but you never answered my question."

He bent your arm back even more as he stared into your soul.

"Who. Are. You?."

Suddenly, the doors were kicked open and two armed officers walked in, with them...Officer Branden.

"On your knees, Batfreak," Branden commanded before looking at you. "and who the hell are you, some new criminal scum I ain't heard of yet?."

"I am...The Cleaner..." You spoke calmly and clearly. "My mission is to cleanse this city of crime, chaos, and corruption..."

"The Cleaner?." Braden laughed, amused by your choice of name. "That's what you came up with!?."

He laughed harder and slapped his knee.

"And I thought Batman had a stupid name." He then pointed his gun at the caped crusader. "Now, on the ground, freak...I'm taking you in, you and your little sidekick."

He gestured to you as he said the word sidekick, however, you saw Batman holding a smoke bomb in his hand.

"Not tonight." He shook his head and threw it on the ground, covering the room in a foggy blanket that was nearly impossible to see.

"Goddamn smoke!." Branden coughed. "Open fire, you idiots!-"

His order was cut off when he got punched across the face by the dark knight who quickly took out the two officers beside him.

Before you could react, you were grabbed by Batman, who dove out the same window Catwoman did and used his grappling hook to swing over to another building, gently dropping you on your back.

You looked up at the vigilante with a puzzled look.

"You're hearts in the right place." He nodded. "But your mind isn't, and you need to rethink your "any means" way...or I'll do it for you."

He walked to the edge of the rooftop and turned his head back to you.

"Don't make me have to stop you from killing someone, I'll know if you do..."

Immediately after speaking, he dove off the edge and used his cape to glide away into the Gotham skies.

"So that's what the capes are for." You slowly got up, watching him glide away. "Good to know."

Timeskip...

You were driving in your car when you heard people screaming from inside a restaurant, since you were in your gear, you got out of your car and ran inside.

"What's the problem-" You asked before you paused. "Are you shitting me?-"

You saw someone wearing a picklehead, dressed in blue spandex and wearing underwear, armed with...Ketchup and Mustard blasters...

"Mwhahahahahah!." He laughed. "Yes, fear me, fear the Condiment King!."

"From Catwoman to Condiment King." You sighed and stepped forth. "Let's get this over with..."

Condiment King laughed as he sprayed people with Ketchup and Mustard, before noticing you walking towards him.

"Ohohoho, is that a new hero I see?." He smiled at you. "Tell me, hero, who are you?."

"I'm The Cleaner." You stated. "And you're...well, whatever you're doing, it's ending tonight, Condiment King."

"Oh is it?." He laughed. "I don't think you know who you're a-dressing."

"He's even got shitty puns." You sighed and looked down. "Alright, put the condiments down and I won't knock you on your ass."

"Ooh, such language." He grinned. "Well, with a little thyme, I can mustard a response!." 

He tried to spray you with mustard but you dodged it easily and advanced towards him, cracking your knuckles.

"Wait-wait-wait-wait-" He shook his head. "Just give me a chance to Ketchup will ya?."

You didn't waste a second before knocking him out with one punch in front of everyone in the restaurant. People started taking pictures of you...you were getting noticed...all for just knocking out a man who calls himself the condiment king.

Timeskip...

It was the next morning and you walked into the office, in your uniform, passing a few of your fellow officers before stopping in front of the medical bay where Branden was sporting a black eye.

"Rough night?." You asked with a smirk.

"Shut up...that damn Bat punched me...took it like a champ though, takes a lot more to take me." He said, lying through his teeth...but you knew better...after all, you were there, he just didn't know it.

"Sure..." You nodded, now leaning on the doorframe. "So, what happened?."

"We were called down to "Dazzling Diamond Jewelers", the high-end store right by Pauli's diner." He explained, to which you nodded. "We heard reports of a robbery in progress, and  we found Batman and some guy in a trench coat, hat, and mask...calls himself The Cleaner...stupidest name I've ever heard for a hero."

"Eh, I've heard worse names than that." You shrugged, smirking as you remembered Condiment King. "So, what, did those two rob the store?."

"No, it was that bitch, Catwoman." He sighed. "She was caught by Batman later that night, now I don't like criminals but Catwoman...ooh, I would love to run into her."

He chuckled at his own words.

"So, what did you do with your night?." He asked. "Try to hit up chicks in a bar again?."

"No." You shook your head. "I just stayed home and watched the baseball game...oh, and you owe me five bucks."

"Son of a bitch." He growled. "The monarchs lost to the knights?."

"Yep." You nodded again. "33-30, I guess the best baseball team isn't from Metropolis anymore."

He groveled and tossed the money at you, which you caught and continued walking down the halls before Bullock patted you on the shoulder.

"L/n, you gotta check this out." He pulled you into a room where the tv was playing, showing a news reporter talking about Condiment King being taken down by a mysterious new hero going by the name of "The Cleaner" Bullock just started laughing his ass off. "Can you believe this!?."

"Yeah..." You nodded, staring at the screen. "I actually can..."

"This has to be fake." He slapped the desk. "The Cleaner!?. That's the name they went with!?."

"Great, we've got someone else going around the city thinking he's Batman." Gordon sighed and sipped from his coffee. "Just what this city needs..."

You smirked and walked over to your space and began getting ready for a day of paperwork...then a night of crime-fighting, kicking ass, and taking names...