A/N: okay, so here's the thing. This is- well was- my first fix published 5 years ago. I opened it up the other day and decided to revamp it since my first version was... uh... crap. Literally half the entire story has been edited, so if you've read it before, i encourage you to read it again. And if you didn't want to read it before, again, i encourage you to at least try out the first chapter. I hope everyone likes the changes that i made; it took me all summer to improve it. Please let me know if you liked it, hated it, or wished you could see something different; cause you never know, i might end up editing it again. Anyway, ENJOY!
It's a crisp night in Gotham. All seems peaceful when looking out at the city skyline. In spite of the flickering TV lights faintly visible from the windows, a tourist would likely say most of this infamous city is sound asleep; but Gotham residents know all too well there are two kinds of man still stirring past the hour: the criminals and the crime fighter. Peace is suddenly broken when the legendary Batman is slammed against a wall on the roof of an apartment building and falls to the floor feeling slightly disoriented. Could this be the one time Mad Stan is too much for the young Bat? Most people wouldn't believe so. The spirit has been alive for over forty years and will not be taken down by some extremist who believes no world is left uncorrupted.
Mad Stan stands before him with the familiar grin upon his face, pleased with how easily he has taken down a legend of the night. With a boom in his voice, he gives his usual speech.
"This whole system is corrupt, man! I don't know why you think there's and ounce of justice in it, but you're going down with it!"
Laughing to himself like the maniac he is, he grabs a couple of grenades off his belt, removes the pin using his teeth, and happily chucks them at Batman. In an attempt to get away, Batman rolls and leaps to his feet before sprinting to the edge of the roof. Just as the second grenade reaches him, it explodes with a ferocious energy that throws him through the window of an apartment across from them.
It's hard to believe that this timeless legend is a silent stalker when he unexpectedly crashes through a window at two in the morning. The commotion startles the couple awake making them jump up in surprise. Shaking off the hard landing, Batman looks over to the bed and finds the couple staring back at him with frightened and confused eyes.
"Out!" He orders in his usual way when bystanders are caught in the crosshairs.
However before the couple has a chance to scramble to safety, fear cripples them motionless when Stan bursts through the window and grabs Batman roughly by the head. They watch him throw Batman into a wall and, with head still in his grasp, pins him against it.
"When are you gonna get it, man? The damn elections are rigged; the whole voting system is rigged!" He yells into Batman's ear, who is trying to pry the back of his head out of Stan's grip. "There's no such thing as a democracy; it's all a farce, a way to control the masses, man." He slams Batman's head against the wall again before turning to the two frozen spectators. "You two registered to vote?" He asks with a raised brow as he picks a small explosive off his belt.
Despite their fear, the two nod their heads in unison bringing a satisfied smile to Stan's lips.
"Damn it," Batman grumbles with the side of his face still plastered to the wall.
Before he could free himself from the hold, the bedroom door flies open revealing a woman glaring in. However, her furious face quickly turns to shock after she discovers the root of all the commotion.
"Are you a voter too?" Stan asks nodding her way.
"Gotta be kidding me," Batman groans before he drives his elbow into Stan's face forcing him to step back.
Although the action frees his head from Stan's grip, it also causes Stan to drop the explosive setting the timer for five seconds. Realizing the mistake, Stan doesn't waste time escaping out the window. Batman, meanwhile, barely has enough time to leap forward and push the couple out the door just before the explosive goes off. The hero's body manages to protect the couple from the flames, while the last woman takes cover behind the wall just before the flames engulf the room. Raising her head from the arm shielding it, she turns to look at Batman lying on the floor checking on her roommates' conditions.
"Are they okay?" She asks kneeling beside him.
Batman doesn't respond when he realizes the man had passed out after his head collided on the floor. He turns to the room to discover the blaze inside is getting worse, and the smoke is beginning to suffocate the other occupants.
He turns to the brunette who had first questioned him. "You okay? Can you walk?"
"I'm fine," she replies as she helps her friend, a red head, to her feet. "Can you put the fire out?"
"Gotta get you out of here first," Batman replies as he slings the unconscious man's arm over his shoulder lifting him up.
"I'll lead them out," the girl counters, and takes him by surprise when she tries to take her roommate off his shoulder. "You take care of the fire before you have a building's worth of people to save."
Batman doesn't have time to argue with her when he hears unwelcoming pops originating from the inferno. Realizing the urgency of the matter, he allows the two women to drag the unconscious man out before he steps into the room to try and control the fire using extinguisher pills from his belt. Meanwhile, the two women manage to drag their friend out of the apartment and into the fire escape down the hall.
"Holy crap, Kate!" The brunette exclaims as they lay their friend on the ground. "Was that Batman?"
"Who else could it be, Jazz?" She replies as she leans over he boyfriend. "God, Tim? Tim, honey, wake up!" She tries gently shaking him before she looks up at Jazz. "Is he okay?"
Jazz pushes her back a little and puts an ear close to Tim's mouth searching for signs of breathing. When she feels him exhale on her cheek, she nods to her friend before getting up.
"Hey, where are you going?" Kate calls when Jazz rushes out of the staircase in search for the hero in black.
The suffocating smoke she's greeted with alarms her forcing her back into the staircase. Ignoring her friend's calls, she sprints down to the floor below and burst out the doors. She starts banging on the apartment doors warning of the fire above before she pulls the fire alarm. As people shuffle out, she leads them to the fire escape.
She returns to her friend's side. "Hey, is he up?"
"Yeah, he's coming round," Kate replies with relief when Tim opens his eyes.
"Good, take him down quick," Jazz orders before racing back up the stairs.
"Jazz! It's too dangerous!"
"Just go!" Jazz yells before heading back to her apartment.
The smoke has turned considerably thicker since she was last there setting off a coughing fit that overtakes her. Crouching down to the floor where the smoke isn't as thick, she squints through it looking for the familiar dark shadow.
"Batman!" She calls out as she crawls back into the bedroom finding the room still burning.
Growing wheezy, she gives a last look around the room, but when she finds no sign of him, she figures he probably flew out the window. Still coughing, she turns around to leave, but stops short of the door when she notices a foot sticking out from behind the bed.
Crawling over, she finds the Dark Knight lying face down and passed out from smoke inhalation. Cursing under her breath, she turns him over and tries shaking him awake but to no avail. Figuring she'll have to pull him out, she grabs his ankles and drags him all the way to the hallways where the air isn't as thick with smoke.
"Hey, hello? Come on, wake up," she begs as she tries reviving him again. Just when she thought she would have to perform CPR, his eyes suddenly widen as he takes in a sharp breath filling his lungs with air.
"You okay?" Jazz asks as he scans the room.
"Yeah," he coughs getting up. "Couldn't put out the fire, so you need to get out."
But before anything could be said or done, they hear desperate cries for help coming from a neighboring apartment. Without hesitation, Batman leaps back into action rushing towards the voices and leaving Jazz behind. Jazz looks back at the exit but doesn't move towards it; she has the urge to help, or at least make sure the situation is handled. Coughing again, Jazz braves the smoke and follows Batman to the apartment to find his hands full with three women, two of which are passed out and one raving with fear.
As he tries to throw one woman over his shoulder, Jazz rushes over and pick up the other one, slinging her arm around her neck.
"Hey!" She calls out to the screaming woman, "hey! Calm down and take my hand!" She orders holding out a free hand to grab the woman's arm.
"My dog!" She screams instead and shakes away Jazz's grip.
"I got it! Just go!" Batman calls out when he finds the border collie whimpering behind the couch.
Taking the woman's arm again, Jazz drags her and her unconscious roommate out of the suffocating room and down the stairs to the sidewalk. Taking deep gulps of fresh air, Jazz lays the unconscious woman on the floor and flags down a firefighter to help. Free of her obligations, she turns her attention back to the building wondering where Batman was. Worry begins churning within her when she realizes he's taking too long. However, just before she makes the decision to jump back in, he walks out of the main doors holding the dog under one arm and the unconscious woman slung over his other shoulder. She lets out a sigh of relief as she watches him hand the woman to a paramedic.
He catches Jazz's gaze as he sets the dog down, and holds it when he realizes this is the first time he's getting a good look at his rescuer. Although covered in soot and a sheen of sweat glistens in the streetlight, he can still make out the fair skin and ruby red lips turned up in a reassured smile. What's most captivating about her though are her eyes, not because of their unnaturally pink color, but because of the respect and gratitude they convey. The strength resonating from them steals his attention from the rest of the world for a few seconds softening the hard gaze he usually wears.
Jazz on the other hand seems to be physically held down by those white discs staring at her. Somehow, she doesn't feel afraid of him. She understands that the slight nod he gives her is one of acknowledgement, before his wings flip open and he takes to the air, his dark silhouette dissolving into the night sky reminding her that he is made for the night.
After the fire was put out and the go ahead announced, Jazz manages to rummage through the debris to find that the few salvageable items left are a few pieces of clothing and her back pack full of books and her laptop. With a curse and a groan, she lugs as much as she can carry down to the sidewalk and looks through her bag hoping she has enough fare for a cab and a motel room for the night. Unfortunately, her stomach sinks when she realizes her wallet burned into an unrecognizable crisp leaving her with change that won't even be enough to buy her a value meal at McDonald's.
"Of course," she tiredly sighs irritated by the rotten luck.
She starts down the sidewalk with no destination in mind, but she's not worried about her homeless situation considering she's been worse off before. With the streets empty and quiet, she takes her time as she tries to figure out her next move. She wonders where Kate and Tim, her roommates, might be staying before remembering Tim is being treated for smoke inhalation and will probably spend the night in the hospital. As she tries to think of another alternative, unusual shuffling noises coming from an alleyway she passes makes her stop and turn. Curious, she takes a step into the alley squinting in the darkness as she looks for the source of the noise.
She doesn't expect Batman to suddenly step out of the shadows and into the streetlights making her eyes go wide. It's her first chance to get a good look at him, and she's surprised to learn just how tall and built he is even though he moves with the grace and ease of a snow leopard. She estimates him to be six foot three, and the way his muscles fill out the suit makes him look formidable. No wonder Jokers flee at the sight of him.
"Hey," he starts, his voice not exactly as harsh as she had imagined, but she struggles to find her own.
"Uh, hi," she manages still surprised to be in his presence. "Can I, er, help you?"
"Don't think you did enough already?" He replies with confidence she doesn't mirror.
"I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes back there; just though I could help," she apologetically mumbles taking a step back. His sheer size coupled with that confidence is starting to intimidate her.
"Relax; I just wanted to thank you."
"Oh?" she replies frowning with curiosity.
"Yeah," he nods before falling into a silence only Jazz finds awkward.
"Okay, uh, so you're welcome, but I'm gonna go now," she finally states tightening her grip on her bag and getting ready to leave.
"Need a ride?"
"More like a destination," she quips rolling her eyes.
Learning of her homelessness causes a wave of guilt to hit him. It's not like him to get involved with victims, but he can't just leave her to wander the city on her own.
"Come with me," he suddenly blurts out surprising both of them.
"You're not taking me downtown to spend the night in a cell, are you?" She hesitantly asks.
"Should I?"
"I don't have to answer that."
Batman narrows his eyes at the unusual answer; it's the type criminals usually give to avoid prosecution, but since he doesn't pick up anything sinister about her, he shakes his head. "No. Just trust me," he replies as the Batmobile parks itself on the street behind them.
"Just so you know," Jazz starts as she follows him to the car, "I will kick your ass if I have to."
He doesn't try to hide an amused grin.
-continued-