Penguin

For a while, Batman's popularity in Gotham City plummeted.

Bruce himself did not particularly care, though. One of his main reasons for becoming Batman was to intimidate criminals. A worse public image might even make Gotham City's villains fear him more.

"Master Bruce, are you all right?" Alfred asked cautiously as he brought coffee, bacon, and fried eggs to Bruce, who was reading the newspaper.

"It's fine, Alfred." Bruce smiled, eating his breakfast as he read. "But I think I need to meet this photographer."

The Abandoned Church.

"Huh? Who would've thought an upstanding-looking guy like Batman would do something like this? You really can't judge a book by its cover." Roland read the newspaper while eating some bread.

"I think Batman was probably framed," Jason said.

"Obviously." Roland folded the newspaper. "I've got it. Go gather everyone and have them spread a rumor for me."

"What rumor?"

"Batman's real identity is..." Roland glanced at the newspaper. "Diane Gilden. Yeah, that's her."

"Isn't that the photographer who took Batman's pictures?" Jason looked at the newspaper too. "Does that make any sense?"

"It makes perfect sense. Haven't you seen Spider-Man?" Roland patiently led him through the reasoning. "Why can Peter Parker always get firsthand shots of Spider-Man fighting villains? Because he's Spider-Man himself."

"...Then I'll have them spread the word." Jason paused. "But why are you doing this?"

"Because that little son of a bitch got me in the shot too, of course." Roland pointed at one of the photos.

"That's one ridiculous way to get revenge," Jason said.

"Just sit back and enjoy the show." Roland smiled. "Someone who dares to take sneaky pictures of Batman and publish them under her own name is obviously bait. In that case, it's only reasonable for me to scatter a little chum and draw in some other big fish, right?"

"So that's it." Jason nodded. "I'll get it arranged."

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

A few hours later, rumors about Batman were running rampant throughout Gotham City. Roland's theory that the photographer was Batman spread especially widely.

Those rumors soon caught the attention of a crime boss: Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot.

He had another name, too: Penguin.

"Let's go. I think we ought to pay this reporter a visit." Penguin picked up an exquisitely crafted umbrella. With his top hat, tailcoat, and eighties-style gentleman's monocle, he was dressed very formally.

Two burly men in black, each around two meters tall, followed silently behind him as his bodyguards.

The Gotham Gazette offices.

"Boss, am I really going to be okay?" Star photographer Diane Gilden hid in the restroom, speaking quietly into her phone. "Several groups have already come looking for me today, and none of them looked friendly."

"What are you worried about? With everything I've arranged, do you think I'd let anything happen to you?" a voice snapped on the other end. "Keep probing them. See if any of them seem suspicious."

"...I feel like everyone who's come looking for me seems pretty suspicious," Diane said after some thought.

"I'm telling you to see whether one of them might be Batman!"

"Well... I don't think so."

"Idiot. Watch yourself. If you screw this up for me, don't expect any mercy!"

The line went dead. Diane sighed, flushed the toilet, and stepped outside.

"Diane, someone's here to see you. He looks like a very wealthy gentleman." The publisher's secretary gave her a flirtatious wink. "Looks like you've become a celebrity overnight. You've got quite a future ahead of you."

Normally, that would have set her heart racing, but Diane was in no mood for such things. She simply walked silently into the reception room.

A short, stocky man sat inside. He looked strange, rather like a penguin, though he was impeccably dressed.

His clothes certainly suggested a gentleman of high society, but the sinister cunning in his eyes made it hard to think of him as one.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" Diane asked Penguin.

"Hello, Batman." The tip of Penguin's umbrella jabbed into Diane's chest. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. You've disrupted quite a bit of my business."

"I... I'm not Batman..." Diane stammered.

"Quite the performance." Penguin grinned viciously. "If I hadn't known in advance, I'd never have thought an unremarkable little coward like you was Batman either."

"I really am not Batman..." Diane took a step back. "I'm just a photographer. I only happened to get some pictures of Batman..."

"Oh, photographing Batman in one place could be a coincidence. But photographing him in five different places... heh heh heh..." Penguin let out a strange laugh. "I have to say, Batman, I thought you'd be a rich man, to afford all that expensive equipment. I never imagined you had to make money taking pictures of yourself."

"I really am not Batman..." Seeing that Penguin would not listen to reason and seemed ready to attack her, Diane decided to strike first and subdue him.

After all, Diane had once been a small-time thug who often got into street fights. As far as she was concerned, taking down someone so short would be no trouble.

But despite his height, Penguin had trained in martial arts and judo. Neither his strength nor his hand-to-hand fighting ability was anything to scoff at. He might not be able to beat Batman, but handling Diane was no challenge.

Penguin ducked low and caught Diane's fist, slipped his other hand beneath her ribs, then executed a beautiful lapel-grip shoulder throw.

"Don't underestimate my fighting skills..." Penguin said smugly as he pinned Diane down.

Just then, someone in a sharp suit and polished shoes pushed the door open and said to Penguin, "You're from the Cobblepot Family. Let her go."

"Falcone? What do you want?" Penguin looked back and discovered that the newcomer was a woman in a red dress whom he had met a few times at balls.

"She's one of ours."

"Are you kidding me? Batman is one of yours?" Penguin gave a scornful chuckle. "Hasn't Batman always been working against you Falcones?"

"She isn't Batman. She's our bait for him. Our people took those photos."

"I have a question." Penguin frowned. "While you were taking the pictures, why didn't you capture him? Or just shoot Batman dead?"