Chapter 3: The Rescue

"The Gotham teenager?" Batman asked. "Yes. She's been missing for over a week. I noticed something interesting in an interview with her friend- more than a few empty cases of Reach soda. I cross referenced the location of the University to the nearest Reach facility, and it seems to be more than coincidence to me," Nightwing said. Batman appeared to be in thought. "You're saying she's been abducted by the Reach because she's developed a metagene, yet I'm not seeing any definite connection to the Reach. Yes, she soda boxes are a link, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's who abducted her. It's Gotham City, Nightwing. You know what happens there. The Reach isn't the only villain out there."

Nightwing slammed his fist into the table. "I'm telling you, it sounds bad to me. A girl like this just can't go missing. Something is really wrong here, I just have a feeling," Nightwing retaliated. Batman looked down. "You know this girl…don't you?" Nightwing nodded. "Please…Bruce…she was my closest friend in middle school. I had to leave her with no reason. She doesn't deserve this- whatever has happened to her." Once again, Batman looked down. "Assemble a small, and I mean small, covert ops team. Do your research in the surrounding area, and report findings back to me before you even think of invading any Reach grounds. Understood?" Nightwing nodded. "Yes. We'll leave tomorrow night."

"Blue, Robin, I'm recruiting you two for a special mission." The two of them perked up at Nightwing's words. "Special mission?" Robin retorted. Nightwing walked over to a computer screen, and began to launch into his plan. Investigate the surrounding areas of the University, including the place the police found her cell phone and many pairs of footprints, and finally, the Reach center he was suspicious about. "And Batman almost shot this mission down? I see no hurt in taking a look," Blue Beetle said. "So it's just us two?" Robin asked. "I'm coming along too."

Robin froze. It wasn't like Nightwing to go along on missions like this unless it was extremely important. In his head, the kid figured it was just a basic search and recover mission, but he could tell that his mentor wasn't treating it as such. Something big was up.

The trio traveled to Gotham City via Zeta Tube the following night.

"This place looks like a ghost town," Blue Beetle said at the sight of the University's campus. "Every time I see this place it's usually alive with people going to and from parties. It's Saturday night after all," Robin responded as the three of them crossed the road to reach the area the police had designated as the only source of evidence to Samantha's disappearance. "The college put in a strict curfew after she vanished," Nightwing responded. Robin looked down. The sheer frustration in Nightwing's voice was starting to upset him. Blue Beetle, however, had already figured out why he was so disappointed. He knew this girl somehow, and the disappearance was frustrating him. He decided to use his best judgment and not ask Nightwing if his assumption was true.

Nightwing removed some type of tracking device from his utility belt and began scanning the ground. Robin began searching the area for any missed evidence, and Blue Beetle activated a similar scanning tool on his mask. "Wouldn't any prints be trampled by now?" Blue asked. Nightwing looked up. "No, the police have had this area roped off for the last week. Tonight was the first night it's not been designated a crime scene." Blue nodded and continued searching. In his view, a certain imprint in the ground dragged his attention. The Scarab quickly analyzed it. "Human female running shoe print, size 7."

"Hey Nightwing, I got something over here. Size 7 women's running shoe prints." Blue called out. Nightwing looked up. "According to the Scarab, they continue off in this direction," He said, pointing away from the scene. "Weird. I'm not picking up any prints in that direction. Are you sure?" Blue nodded. "The Scarab is positive." "Let's go."

After a few minutes, the Scarab had led the trio in the direction Nightwing was hoping for. Soon enough, the Reach clinic was in sight. "The tracks stop here," Blue said. Robin had uneasiness in his stomach. "Invading more Reach grounds; thank God we don't have Arsenal here."

"Do your research in the surrounding area and report findings back to me before you even think of invading any Reach grounds. Understood?" Batman's voice rang throughout Nightwing's mind. Tracks leading in this direction wouldn't convince him, he knew that with how stubborn his mentor was. If he reported back, Batman would abort the mission. If he didn't…he would at least be able to follow his intuition and only hope he was right. "Let's go," Nightwing said without regret.

When Samantha finally woke up, she was in some type of orange-ish colored tube. Her hands and feet were restrained, keeping her from making any attempt at escape. The claustrophobia began to set in. "Breathe, Samantha. Just breathe," she thought over and over to herself. She began to feel her heart rate increasing, and a slight sweat began to form on her brow. A quick observation revealed that she was in some sort of lab, much different than the clinic she had been in previously. Those creepy aliens were roaming around all over the place, clicking in their foreign language. When one glanced over her way, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. What was happening here?!

Robin had found an entranceway into the facility via an air vent in the side of the building. Blue Beetle had confirmed that there was no form of security on the outside of the building, which Nightwing considered very suspicious. As the three of them crawled through the spacious air vents, they began to hear strange noises; mostly machinery, but Nightwing heard the sound of their alien language very faintly. "We need to move down," he whispered. "This way."

Minutes of navigation brought them to an air vent that was located directly underground, Nightwing assumed. A nearby air grate revealed the scene below; much like the one they had been to only weeks beforehand when rescuing a batch of teenagers who had also been abducted. Except this one was slightly different. The lab was smaller, and only one tube was present. Blue Beetle zoomed in on the single orange tube in the room. The girl inside was a direct match to the picture Nightwing had showed them. "There's our girl."

Nightwing's heart skipped a beat. There she was, just as he had predicted. She seemed to be unconscious… The Reach members walked over to her tube occasionally, punching in information on a computer and speaking rapidly in their language. He wished they knew what they were saying- he felt dumb right after thinking it. "Blue, translation please."

"Way ahead of you; they're talking about her having some type of metagene that could revolutionize the war… something about… energy manipulation. Fire being just the beginning. I can barely keep up with them. They sound really…excited."

"We're getting her out. Now."

With that, Nightwing opened the air grate and jumped into the room below.

(Wooo! I am absolutely blown away by all these favorites, reviews, and follows. It means so much to me that I actually have an audience! It seriously encourages me to write like I never have before. Anyway, sorry for the no update yesterday- Fridays will most likely become my "off" day as it's usually the day I get all my college homework done before the weekend. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I already have chapter 4 going so it'll be up tomorrow. Be sure to follow, favorite, and review! Thanks!

-Opaque Sky))