The Batman Chronicles #6

CHOICES 

Batman is in Istanbul where Ra's al Ghul has sent Bedouins under his command to the archeological museum. Batman notices that the Bedouins are searching among the Pre-Colombian artifacts from South America. Before he can question the Bedouins, one of them sets off his bomb vest, and Batman leaps out of the museum to safety.  Batman is saved by a man calling himself Talon, who claims that Ra's al Ghul is not there and he doesn't work with him. Talon tells Batman to forget about this incident. Talon leaves, and Batman sees one of the Bedouins escape with a book. He takes the book and leaves the Bedouin for the police.  The book is a diary was written by Talon in the 16th Century, in which he muses on the unpleasantness of immortality before deciding to join an expedition to the New World. He is disgusted by the treatment the Native Americans suffer under the Conquistadors, and after defending them, he is forced to flea into the rain forest where he settles with a tribe called the Wayanmede that has yet to make contact with Europeans.  He lives with the Wayanmede for over a year, learning their secrets and powers, before Ra's al Ghul finds him. The two become friends. Ra's al Ghul tells Talon that he has come to lead the Native Americans to paradise, but he was foiled by "El Corazon Negro," aka Blackheart, a Conquistador whom Talon knows as a fellow immortal.  Blackheart attacks the Wayanmede soon afterwards, and everyone except Talon, Ra's al Ghul, and his followers are killed. Ra's al Ghul tells Talon that he could have stopped Blackheart by using his power, and he demands that Talon teach him the power so that he can unite the Native Americans and prevent tragedies like this from happening again. Talon refuses, and they part ways.  In the present, Batman closes the book just as Ra's al Ghul and Ubu find him. Ra's al Ghul tells him that Blackheart still lives and he needs to learn the secrets the Wayanmede taught Talon, which he believes are in the book. When Batman refuses to hand it over, Ubu attacks, but he is no match for Batman.  Talon arrives, and he and Ra's al Ghul reminisce briefly before Ra's al Ghul and Ubu leave. Talon thanks Batman for his integrity before leaving as well. Batman believes that it won't be the last time he meets Talon.

SHADOW JOB: THE EDUCATION OF BRUCE WAYNE

Private eye Dan Mallory is investigating the Kensington kidnapping case alongside "Frank Dixon," a young man who works for free in exchange for Mallory's tutelage. He is unaware that his new apprentice is really Bruce Wayne.  They follow the kidnapper after he collects the ransom money, hoping to trail him back to his headquarters and find the kidnapped girl, but when the kidnapper outsmarts them, Dixon tries to outrace the getaway car. He fails, but he manages to grab the kidnapper's shoe. The creosote and ticket punches on the sole points them to the Illinois Western Railway Yards.  Mallory decides to go in alone before the cops arrive. Dixon walks into the kidnappers' hideout where one of them pulls a gun on him. The leader, Manny, declares that they'll leave two corpses instead of one right before the lights go out. Mallory tackles the Kensington girl to the ground as Dixon bursts in to fight the kidnappers. Mallory tells them to leave "the boy wonder" alone before joining the fray.  The cops arrive, and Miss Kensington is return to her parents. Mallory tells Dixon that he's going to be the best of them, compelling him to reveal that Dixon isn't his real name and that he's not sticking around much longer. Mallory knew that. He warns Dixon to "stick to the shadows," and he says that's a lesson he plans to live by.

CITYSCAPE

Many years ago, Hiram, a mixed-race man, is traveling to Bludhaven when he finds the seventh victim of the Mimic. He buries the man before making his way to the city where Benedict Rance confronts him over the murder of his brother. Hiram denies that he killed anyone, but Rance claims it is in his nature. Rance warns him that he will soon be a constable, and when he is, he will have Hiram arrested and hanged.  Hiram leaves town and is joined by a fellow traveler. They discuss the Mimic's killings before arriving at a construction site where Hiram is building a church. The traveler suggests that he should instead build an insane asylum. He suggests naming the prospective insane asylum "Gotham" after the village in England where (according to legend) all were bereft of their wits. Hiram would still prefer to build a church.  There is a storm that night. Hiram gives over his tent to the traveler and sleeps in the half-built church, and the traveler loans him a gun. Hiram wakes up in the middle of the night when he hears his companion cry out for help. Hiram fires at a darkened figure and finds out after he's killed him that it is Rance, the man who accused him of murder.  His companion is alive and well, and he speaks in a different voice as he reveals that he's the Mimic who has killed so many people recently. The Mimic tells Hiram that no one will believe he acted in self-defense and blackmails him into building the insane asylum.  In the present, Robin expresses shock that Gotham City began as an insane asylum populated by the mentally ill of Boston and New York City. He asks Alfred Pennyworth which one of the three men (Hiram, Rance, or the Mimic) was Bruce's ancestor, but Bruce has never told Alfred.