Eliza had no doubt in her mind that Alfred and Bruce both would have preferred it if she'd decided to stay behind and have a quiet and safe dinner with the Butler, but she couldn't bring herself to care, this was her calling and nothing short of literally physically restraining her would have kept her in the mansion. Calling out a polite apology to Alfred as she fled the mansion she would head out the front exit at a sprint and towards the waiting car. She looked over the car with momentary wonder, had she more time she surely would have spent more time appreciating the fact that she was about to drive a car worth more than she likely made in a year. She didn't have time for that now though, she got into the driver seat, buckled herself in and then slid the keys into the ignition. She appreciated the purr of the engine for only a moment before she tore out of the driveway and back toward Gotham proper, turning on the radio to try and determine where the fun was happening as she got herself onto the highway. What she quickly realized was that Gotham was in chaos. Banks were being robbed, the streets had erupted in violence, after such a quiet period, everything had gone to hell all at once. She supposed she shouldn't have expected anything better from Gotham, she should have been more questioning of the uncharacteristic peace...
She was heading towards the center of town when the news reported rushed out something about Arkham being broken out of. With a curse she pulled a dangerous U-turn and started towards Arkham. That was where the real story would be. Well known for housing the most dangerous and insane of criminals, this was a complete disaster... Not a surprising one though, for a few years it had seemed like the Asylum was almost too easy to break out of for how often it happened. She could only hope the Bat and his team were getting a handle on things because the last thing Gotham needed was the Joker or someone else like him back on the streets.
Shifting the gear into the first drive while smoothly setting the cruise control, Bruce pulled down an overhead panel that displayed information on Arkham Asylum. It was then that a strange thought occurred. Everything so far had been directed towards him in some way. Granted, it was understandable that the men would be doing all within their power to bring out Gotham city's night time protector but what exactly was the purpose? Every citizen in Gotham knew that whenever Arkham had one of its routine breakouts, the criminals were never there during the time of the report. Why would they stay behind to wait for the Bat to make his way there?
Unless of course, they wanted to divert his attention?
Pushing down the breaks, The bat mobile came to a harsh drift on the road before halting at a stationary position. Reaching to the dashboard, he would activate a button that immediately brought up all the latest news. None of the incidents seem to make sense. It stated that fires had started and banks were being robbed but looking outside, Bruce could see none. The night was quiet as ever. This would bring up the suggestion that either Gordon was fooled or had been part of an elaborate plan to trick the Bat into thinking the city was in chaos.
Sitting in deep thought, Bruce let his mind roam through all the possible ideas of why a fake dilemma could have been created. If Arkham city was in a big a chaos as the news were portraying it to be, there would be only one sane person in the entire Gotham city that would set foot in there... the Bat. Even the police wouldn't be stupid enough to run into a building full of Gotham's deadliest.
What was the purpose of all this?
Bruce was about to pull the gear stick back, engaging the car into a reverse state when he caught sight of the family car Alfred had designed a couple years back. The direction the vehicle was heading was the same road that led directly to Arkham Asylum.
"Yep, I assumed you would have seen it by now." Alfred said through the vehicle radio.
"What's going on Alfred?" Bruce asked, pushing the car forward slowly as he tailed the vehicle Eliza would be in.
"Your reporter friend caught on to the disappearance and wanted to go investigate the situation on her own. I gave her the car for protection of course."
Bruce didn't respond and would amp up the speed of the batmobile, narrowly passing every other obstacle on the road until he surpassed Eliza.
At the speed she was going she hadn't expected anyone to catch up to her nor did she expect anyone would want to at least until she saw the car gaining on her in the distance. Her eyes widened with surprise as she recognized it. The Batman was heading in the same direction as her apparently. She would slow slightly and pull closer to the shoulder, expecting him to pass as he did, though she had assumed he was heading to Arkham.
To her surprise, he pulled up ahead of her then turned, blocking the road entirely, making Eliza slam on the breaks. "Eh, what the fuck!" She growled to herself, annoyed that he'd stopped her. She rolled down the window, meeting his intimidating stare with a careful neutral look of her own. He was just a man behind a mask, she wasn't going to let him intimidate her.
"Arkham's having a break out, and you're parked here, what, directing traffic?" She asked curiously.
The caped crusader stood vigilant as he studied her from his high position. Eliza was a reporter but unlike Alfred, Bruce couldn't comprehend the idea of someone as meek and little as her travelling to a danger zone like Arkham simply to capture a good story for the evening paper. There was absolutely nothing to gain from it. What would have happened if he wasn't here to stop her from advancing? She'd have walked straight into a death trap and lost her life for something that would hardly give her a full page coverage on the paper she so loved.
"The road ahead is dangerous. There's been a mix-up, all the news reports we have been hearing are false and have been planted solely to cause chaos and have me drawn out. Had you proceeded any further, you would have been walking into a trap that would have put your life at risk." he said in a voice that clearly was different from that of Bruce Wayne's.
"If you really want to help, turn your car around and go back to wherever you came from. Every road is blocked up and soon if any other car is seen out on the street, they will be held up for suspicion."
Despite her help, Eliza was a load of trouble and no manner of attractiveness could make up for it. What was wrong with just sitting still for once? One would have thought that nearly dying at the hands of a gunman would have forced her to reconsider her career.
"I've disabled your car's central engine. Don't take it personally but you don't look like a trustworthy reporter. If I didn't know better, I'd have suspected that you were told to stay home but resisted and made your way out here."
Never had she met a man she wanted to punch in the throat quite so much as The bat, who came of as bull headed, arrogant, sexist and ignorant all at once, something that surprised her coming from the supposed crusader for justice.
Everyone had a job to do out here, even her, and suggesting that she should be waiting at home was as laughable as it was insulting.
"I appreciate the 'eads up, but you can really take a feckin' leap off a tall building asshole. You expect me to stay at 'ome when the city is burnin'? I'm an investigative journalist, risk is part of the job, and a really don't appreciate the insinuation that I don't know how to keep myself out of damned trouble. I've been reporting in this town for a few years now, and 'ave thus far walked out of it unscathed. I thought it was your job to keep scum off the streets, not stop 'onest folk from doing their jobs. Re-enable the car or give me a ride where you're goin' but if you're thinkin' you'll drop me off somewhere and I'll stay put, you're a fekkin' moron. Not. Gonna. 'Appen" In her indignation her Newfoundlander accent was coming through thick. That ancestral Irish temper flaring up, not even the bat could intimidate her off the streets, she could be as bull headed as he was.
Bruce couldn't help but cringe at the sound of her immediate accent shift that sounded similar to something from a classic children's cartoon. It was getting to the point that the idea of this woman being truly insane began to rise up in his mind. Criminals, warlords and murderers of all kind were unable to look the Bat in the eyes due to his terrifying appearance yet this reporter merely relaxed and spoke to him as though he were a milk man from Kansas.
He would walk away from the car and gracefully walk off in the direction of the batmobile. "Stop wasting time and get in."
His demand made her growl with anger, she had half a mind to take her key to the side of his shiny precious batmobile in spite of his coarse unreasonable attitude. Grabbing her bags she would abandon the Wayne car as she stormed towards the batmobile. The story would be near him, that was for sure, but if she thought he was just going to take her back out of the front lines, she wasn't going to get in of her own volition.
Turning to her once more, Bruce looked down upon her as though she were beneath him. "You won't stop, will you? Let me show you something." he would reach into the car and bring out a few hard copies of the mutilated bodies and destruction that the new criminals had caused in their brief time in Gotham. He took a few steps towards her and stood by her side so that she would be able to see the photos clearly. Angela Smith; a reporter from the daily planet. Decapitated when she travelled to Arkham one night to capture the truth of the asylum." he moved to the next photo. "James Doyle, shot and killed when travelling to the scene of a crime ." the next. "Mary Andrews, captured and taken into slavery when investigating a high profile drug scene." he would switch to the next then gather the photos and place to in her hand.
"All these people Eliza, were just like you. They made their way to the very centre of a crime or vital scene by themselves to investigate the matter and ended up in a worse state than man could imagine. You were driving at a fast speed in the direction of Arkham Asylum. A place that only I have been able to enter and exit at will and even then, I'd be lying if I said I was unscathed. " he faced her fully and glared at her. "What is it about your job that makes you think that risking your life like that would benefit anyone? Imagine for one second If I had decided to turn around and head south, which I must remind you was my plan before I caught sight of you.
What would have happened then? You'd ask the worst murders and criminals that Gotham has ever known for an interview? Do you really think that the high black tied individuals running the gotham press would care if you were turned into a vegetable? Do you think your "readers" would care about your content when you're lying in a bed unable to speak as you wait for your dinner to arrive through a tube.
There are career choices that don't require you to risk your life, consider them."
His efforts earned him a look which suggested she thought he was dumber than a sack of shit. If she'd been intimidated by the bat before, she certainly wasn't now with all the ignorance pouring out of his mouth.
"What in 'ell is your problem buddy? You've made so many assumptions about me and the press in general that it leads me to believe you don't know shit about my job. I can't believe that you don't 'ave better things to do then stand 'ere and interfere with my job, but since you clearly don't, let's 'ave a lesson shall we?"
"Chris Terrel, investigative journalist - 'elped take down 'uman trafficking rings in Denmark, Belgium, and the Dominican Republic by infiltrating the very same gangs that were causing the trouble without back up. Tim Lopez, investigative Journalist Gave 'is life to expose large scale drug trafficking in Brazil. Antonio Salas -Investigative fuckin' Journalist Infiltrated and helped subdue a well known Jihadist Terrorist cell... You gettin' the picture yet b'y? I do this job 'appily, and I lay down my life for it if need be. If that's the price of the truth then so be it. Isn't any different than anything any other journalist has ever done. Moreover, I bet I'm not the only one 'eaded towards Arkham either."
She took a deep breath, she was shaking she was so angry. She hated it when people trivialized her work as insane, especially since some of the greatest points in history could be traced back to the brave people who were willing to risk their lives to make the people aware.
She would continue. "But wait, the insulting lack of understanding doesn't stop there. I didn't steal the car, it was lent to me when I suggested to call for a cab, something I'm gonna do right now if you don't get off my arse. What makes yah think I'm fool enough to go into Arkham during a breakout anyway? Just cause I'm speedin' towards it don't mean I'm planning on pullin' right up to front gate like a bloody idiot. Finally for someone who apparently knows the Gotham Press well enough to know my name, you don't know shit about how it's run. I don't have any black tie bosses, you're talking to the top of the chain right now, an if I die, then I am a martyr to the truth as many many other journalists before me 'ave been. A risk I am very well aware of, thank you. Now are you gonna piss off an' let me do my job, so that you can do yours, or are you interested wasting both our time further?"
Bruce stared at the woman in utter disdain. She was an idiot, there wasn't a form of expression that could be used to express it any further. "Eliza, you are well and truly an idiot." He said calmly. "I have the permission from the police to prevent people accessing locations and even with that aside, I won't be willing to let a person walk to their death. The sooner you get into the vehicle, the better." He widened his eyes as he looked down upon her. Why was it that the streets were now cleared? just moments ago, the road was filled with cars yet now the place had been isolated down to just the duo?
It was too silent.
"I knew it."
Lifting both of his hands, Bruce forced Eliza to the ground in a rush of adrenaline before taking three bullets to the shoulder. Releasing a grunt of pain, he held up his cape in an attempt to shroud her from the burst of machine gun fire that began to pour from behind.
There was certainly a difference in these men than that of the previous Gotham criminals. They didn't play around.
"Agh. Get inside the car." he muttered, clearly trying his best to maintain a level of tranquil.
Pressing a button on his belt, the doors of the batmobile would open providing some decent amount of cover for Eliza to use.
Bruce would then drop a heavy smoke bomb before vanishing from sight. His injuries were heavy but the best thing to do was to quickly analyse the enemy before retreating. This whole thing had been a set up.
Eliza kept silent. Funny how his misguided attempt to stop her led to the shootout being brought right to them. His even being there put her in far more danger than she ever would have been in, reporting Arkham's breakout from the relative safety from a surrounding building as she'd been planning on doing, something she would no doubt mention to the fool behind the mask when they got themselves out of the situation alive. The fact of the matter was, she wouldn't have been anywhere near the line of fire had he not involved himself with her.
She was not the weak, moronic, gentle flower he thought her to be, and she would prove it in her actions, as she quickly ducked out of the line of fire, and with a cool head, even managed to call the police line on her phone while the chaos ensued, alerting them to where they were as the creep that had messed up Bruce Wayne's party made his appearance with his gunmen.
Counting ten - no twenty men, all armed with heavy rifles and swords, Bruce was able to identify them as the same criminals who attacked the event previously that day. These men couldn't just be thugs, there had to be an element of a hierarchical order behind the curtains for their timing to be this precise.
Bruce would edge his way forward before being forced back by a bullet to the chest. How had they been able to see him through the smoke?
"Batman! What a pleasure it is to finally meet you. The trip to Gotham took some time but I was certain that me and the boys would come across you at some point. Don't be alarmed though, we aren't here to judge; our costumes were taken from the Halloween store as well." A voice said, laughing. "They call me the father by the way. I'm sure you could easily insert a sex pun in there but I'm not exactly the joker." the man would finally appear within Bruce's sights wearing a set of goggles. "So like, I've studied your work for bloody years mate. Don't be surprised that you get easily taken down by me and the boys. No offence; your tactics are a little... predictable."
"Smoke bomb this, smoke bomb that. Fuck me, you use smoke so much that even I wouldn't recommend you the nicotine anonymous club I go to." he laughed.
"I'm sure you've already noticed that the bullets we shot you with are all poisonous." he added, moving closer before crouching down to look into the eyes of the batman who was holding his chest, clearly experiencing some amount of pain.
"See the poison that the bullets were coated with right? They aren't your everyday Joker poison or any of that infant shit. This is pure home-made English speciality." he would reach into his pocket and drop a white card on the floor.
"That right there is the address of a small high class store that I have set up to specifically sell the things you'll need to cure you. Of course by now you will understand the reason for this ordeal." he paused.
"You show up not dressed as the bat in front of everyone, ask for the poison and we'll immediately know it's you - boom, the biggest mystery of Gotham is solved in an instant." the man said, grinning heavily.
"I must say though" turning back to the bat's location, he would see that the crusader had vanished off within their sights.
Laughing, the man turned to his men. "Alright boys, let's get packed up for the night. We've still got a few more banks to reach before the day is up."
Eliza watched the scene with careful perception, she was not the weak, moronic, gentle flower he thought her to be, and she would prove it in her actions, as she quickly ducked out of the line of fire, and with a cool head, even managed to call the police line on her phone while the chaos ensued, alerting them to where they were as the creep that had messed up Bruce Wayne's party made his appearance with his gunmen. Apparently putting Batman into a corner in what had to be the most ill conceived plan she'd ever heard of.
Considering the poison was already rendering the man in the mask unconscious, she already knew that whoever went to get him his cure wouldn't be him. Someone else would have to go, thus making it impossible to find out who the man under the mask was. On top of that, he'd handily given them the address, so they could simply raid the building if need be, her mind was already reeling with ideas as she reluctantly got into the batmobile, left with no other choices thanks to his short-sighted decision to disable the engine of vehicle she'd been driving.
She stayed low, videotaping the event on her cell phone until the men ran off and the Bat stumbled back to the car to pass out. She watched with amazement as the car began to drive itself. "Jesus fuck this has been the longest day of my life." She said to herself with a sigh. Her eyes shifting over to the unconscious bat. It would have been so easy to lift that mask and find out what insufferable asshat lay underneath it. She would have cared more too if she hadn't been so worried about him dying. She couldn't tear him a new one if he was dead. Putting herself into action she would look around the dash panel trying to figure out how to interact with the car.
"You'd better not die. I swear to god you're the most inconvenient man I have ever interacted with." She growled as she sped in a car towards god knows where. One thing was for sure, his choice to interfere with her ability to report was going to affect her. Her subscription rates would drop, the people would remain uninformed. Her reputation as someone able to get the most daring stories was on the line. If this was the way he interacted with the people who could actually help him, it left something to be desired.
The car rushed forward pumping up the speed at every possible moment while retaining a form of fluency throughout the rush. It would drive them far out towards the outskirts of Gotham city until they reached a point where the road stopped and all that remained ahead was the large waters that led out into the open sea. It didn't seem to slow down, in fact, if she was paying attention she'd be able to see that the speed was increasing far too much for something that seemed to be heading in the direction of doom. It was then that the middle of the water literally parted and opened up a small passage that led underground in the far distance.
"Holy Shit! HOLY SHIT!" She screamed as the car flew off the road, and then just like that the water opened up before her eyes and they were flying into a cave, obviously the man's hide away. She took a couple of deep breaths and tried to calm her furiously beating heart as the car continued.
Inside the batmobile, The seats would tighten up, making Eliza more secured before the vehicle itself leaped from the path before roughly landing on the small platform.
It would then amp up the speed once more, pushing itself down the ramp until coming down onto a long linear path underground that led up to a small gate. When they reached the gate, it would quickly retract and open up, allowing the car to move forward deeper into the structure before coming to a halt on a small platform. They had reached the batcave.
The roof of the car opened as if on instruction to reveal Alfred by the many computer screens, looking through the maps. With his back turned, he was completely unaware of the situation below.
"It's a good thing you came back, I was looking through the reports again and I'm starting to believe that some of these stories may just be a ploy set up to draw you out. Your thoughts?" he asked, looking straight forward at the screen.
She stood on slightly shaken legs as she tried to compose herself, as which point she noticed the man standing by the computer screens, who'd obviously not noticed her yet. "No shit sherlock.." she started before trailing off as she recognized the man. "...Alfred?..."
It clicked in seconds, and with a sharp gasp her eyes narrowed as they looked over at the unconscious man. "Oh, this is just fuckin' perfect isn't it. Your hypocritical ass of a boss got himself shot. With Poison bullets. I've got the address for the cure but it's a set up. I sure as shit hope Bruce has Nightwing or some shit on speed dial. "
Alfred quickly rose up from the chair, running to the edge of the balcony before leaning over to stare at the sight with his mouth wide open.
Not only was Bruce looking as though he were in a sorry state but the reporter was also in the batcave?
Bloody fucking hell.