Luckily, going back and bugging Layton's apartment wasn't that hard. She was still inside, and it was only a studio, so he had to wait for her to fall asleep before he could tag any of her personal effects. But before that, he put a receiver with a small transmitter on her door. Alone, the device couldn't give much of a signal, but it could get enough to go to a signal booster he set up on the roof, which, in turn, sent the signal on to him. Once she went to bed at last, which wasn't until near dawn, he quickly went back into the apartment again, bugged her phone and main room as well, and then quickly withdrew himself.

He was sure Layton was going to make a move soon. She had been hiding something earlier, obviously. In spite of not having any phone numbers written down or in her phone, Batman doubted that she didn't have any contact with her father at all…or, at minimum, any way to get in touch with him. Therefore he put off sleep for the time being, focusing instead on watching her actions. Unfortunately, she had been up most of the night and so when she went to bed, she stayed that way well into the next day. This was a bit of a strain on him. Although he wasn't perfectly rigid about only coming out as Batman at night, the fact remained he was used to using this time to "be Bruce Wayne". He ended up having to conduct most of his business from the phone, as a result, and used the moment to send along a message to the other "members of the family" with an update on status. It would keep them from chasing any more wild geese, at any rate.

Unfortunately, again, the investigation hit a slowdown. Whatever he had said had definitely made an impact on Sophia, because other than light movement, she didn't say a word for nearly another twenty hours. No phone calls. No outside communication. She didn't even leave her apartment after waking up. Finally, near the end of the next day, she got a call from Arkham Asylum which was finalizing various procedures for firing…but that was it. Nothing else. She just sat there afterward. And since she had been fired, she honestly had nowhere else to go. Night fell, and she continued to move around. She turned on the TV once or twice…but then she went back to bed.

By that time, Batman set an alarm for the next signal that was picked up on his planted bugs and hit the sack himself. He was a bit reluctant to do so at night, for a change…but there was no reason not to. Gotham was quiet. Doing better than ever, in fact. One of the local autumn music festivals ended up having a somewhat bigger turnout than projected as the city had been so still as of late. Buying power was continuing to pick up as well. People were standoffish to get too optimistic, but he managed to listen in on several companies and found that they were beginning to plan "fast-track" events for the city, seeming to take advantage of the interim without heavy crime. Even the inmates at Blackgate seemed to be doing less "trouble" nowadays. And Red Robin, who had been keeping an eye on the Iceberg Lounge thinking one of the inmates might arrive, found out that operations were moving a bit slower. After all, these had been the "psychos"…not individuals that the mobs could move in on the territory of. And since they weren't around to hire the typical crowd of thugs and henchmen, things were slow on that end as well.

Gotham City was, to be honest, quiet. And now had been so for eight days.

After a few hours, Batman awoke and resumed his stakeout…and saw nothing. Sophia had gone to bed again and was still in bed. At this point, he began to wonder if it would be simpler just to notify the commissioner and have an official police stakeout. Once he relayed everything he knew so far, it would be more than enough to have the police consider her a person of interest. However, he realized that might not be possible. The only concrete thing they had at the moment was a connection to a potential suspect, and that was only enough to have the police "keep her on speed dial"…not to stake her out. To be honest, Batman was a bit nervous about staying off the streets…but there was little need. The other local vigilantes were taking care of the petty crimes, and that's all there was right now…petty crimes. As yet another day passed with Layton barely making a move in or out of her apartment, still nothing. Evening fell again…and nothing.

Nine days now, with nothing to show for it.

At this point, Alfred had come down into the Batcave several times to check on him, but he had taken off the Batsuit and hadn't even bothered putting it back on. He actually had gone ahead and watched a movie or two and went through his training routines while waiting…but still no change. It was making him tense up a bit. He knew what had to be going on with the inmates, and yet here he was…sitting around waiting for his one lead to say something instead of trying to pursue anything else. Lives were at stake, but all he could do was wait…

Again, he wondered if it really was "all" he could do.

He supposed he could have looked into Latvia again. It wasn't a large country. There had to be clues there. Something that stood out that signified the eight arriving or moving. He could have shook down the various staff members again, telling them more about Labdaris and what he was doing. Perhaps it wouldn't generate enough sympathy for the criminals…but maybe his nature would at least make them talk. He could have even gone back to Layton's apartment and tried to get the information out of her again. Yet he wasn't doing any of that. He was sitting here and waiting. This may have been good enough for the police…but with all of his resources and natural faculties, was he really "reduced" to just waiting for word from Layton? Could he do more if he put some more "effort" into it?

He didn't know…at least…he hoped he didn't know…

He began to wonder if subconsciously he had other ideas…

He thought of the torture that Layton had spelled out to him in their conversation. He wondered if being submitted to an oven was as bad as laughing so hard you couldn't breathe and eventually snapped your own neck, leaving you dead with a sickening grin on your face. He wondered if electrocution was as bad as having your face or hand bitten off and devoured by a psychotic cannibal right in front of you. He wondered if being made to run in a great wooden wheel was half as bad as spending a week stricken by fear toxin until at last, so desperate for suicide, you clawed out your own throat with your fingernails.

Most of all...a part of him wondered if the sum measure of all of the pain and suffering those eight inmates had caused over the course of their careers, each of whom planned to cause infinite more for the rest of their natural lives, who felt no fear or respect for the law or remorse or pity for their fellow man and were totally confident that they could continue doing so forever...could ever possibly be "outweighed" by whatever torment Labdaris was devising...

At any rate, after two days, around 8 PM on the third evening…he finally got a break. He had nearly been nodding off at the computer again when it beeped. Immediately, he looked up, and saw a signal that indicated that the cell phone was being used. A moment later, he heard a ringing tone come from the computer, transmitting from her cellular. He straightened up soon after as he began to hear words.

"Rapidia Travel Services, direct line access.. How may I help you?"

"Hello…I need to book a flight from Gotham International Airport, United States to Riga, Latvia as soon as possible." The voice of Sophia Layton answered…clearly still tense and uneasy.

"Round trip or one way?"

A pause. "…One way."

"One moment, please." There was a sound of some typing. After about a minute, there was an answer. "I have one flight leaving tonight and one leaving tomorrow with one stop."

"I'll take the one for tonight, if you please."

"It's an Air France ticket, miss. The price is $2,568 dollars without tax."

There was a lengthy pause on the line, and finally a sigh.

"…How much for the ticket tomorrow evening?"

"That's Turkish Airways. It's about $858 dollars without tax."

"…I have to take that one. It's all I can afford."

"Would you like to pay over the phone or at the terminal?"

"The terminal. I'm between credit cards."

"Alright…" Some extended typing. "1 one-way ticket to Riga, Latvia. 14 hours, 45 minutes estimated time, departs tomorrow evening at 10:15 PM with arrival time at 7:35 PM the next day. Will this complete your order?"

"Yes."

"The cost of the ticket will come out to $937.98 plus taxes and fees. Please have your passport ready and arrive early for security clearance. Thank you!"

"Thank you…"

The phone clicked.

Batman switched off the reception from the transmitter and leaned back soon after, rubbing his chin and thinking this over. Layton obviously had been impacted quite a bit by yesterday's discussion. In spite of claiming she knew nothing…he had a feeling she was running back to Latvia after hearing about this. She appeared to genuinely know nothing about what her father was doing prior to their meeting, but she had to have some sense of where he was, and now she was going to him. She had looked devastated at what he did…but she had also said she honestly believed he was "a good man". And given her nature, that meant she was likely running to him to try and tell him to "stop this madness" or something like that…

Well… Batman thought to himself. I wanted a lead…and now I have it. The question is…what move do I make now?

That was actually a bit more difficult that it seemed at first. Gotham City was peaceful for the moment, but, at any time, other criminals or the mob could try and take advantage of this "momentary peace". The playing field was "clear" for other insane inmates in Arkham to make a move, after all. Sure, for now, individuals like Red Robin, Nightwing, and…in spite of his chagrin…the Huntress were handling things all by themselves. Yet that could change in an instant. Major criminal minds were still in the city, after all. He hadn't heard anything from Bane or Sionis in a while…which was usually a sign of a "calm before the storm". He wouldn't entirely put things past Cobblepott either, even with Red Robin keeping his eye on him. And even if he wasn't planning on them causing trouble, if any of them made a move, they would be doing so with him responding in mind along with the rest of the vigilantes in Gotham City. If he did this, it was going to have to be a rather long "out of town" trip. Latvia wasn't one of his more "familiar" destinations, either. Which meant he didn't have ready access to equipment or facilities. The nearest Wayne Enterprises affiliate he could make use of was in Sweden, but it didn't have any "Batman-related" facilities there. The nearest place he had was in a Wayne Enterprises branch factory in Poland, practically in Germany, and that was little more than a storage garage where he could put the Batwing. Either way, he'd have to rely mostly on whatever he brought and contact with mercenary groups to get him where he needed to go. The smarter course would be to take a private jet licensed by a smaller private company…but doing so meant he would have to either store or leave behind a great deal of equipment. Plus, even if he succeeded, getting the eight inmates back to Gotham City would be a trial in and of itself. He'd be violating all manner of extradition laws to do so, and that meant he'd need a rather great plan for moving them back out as well. All such things would take time. He'd probably have to start making his plans and moves soon if he was going to manage to beat Layton to Riga and still be "ready" for everything that would come afterward. This was leading to him going into a potentially highly dangerous situation with little in the way of backup, and being stuck in the situation for days…during which Gotham City would be "Batman-Free" along with everything else.

Still…what choice did he have? The alternative was to try and contact the authorities overseas. And his word would only have so much impact with the Latvian government. He'd have to go through Gordon, who, in turn, would have to go through a multitude of other legal channels and red tape. It could take weeks before word got to Riga, and when it did…then what? They couldn't say: "Please follow this woman so she'll hopefully lead you to a man who is a suspect in a mass kidnapping from American soil."

Much as he hated this, he realized this was the only course of action to take now. He only hoped that Gotham could "stay quiet" during this excursion…

"And to think, Master Bruce, that I was just getting used to seeing more of you at home."

Alfred mentioned this as he set down a laundry basket on one of the tables in the Batcave. It was filled with the usual things that one would expect for travel: socks, underwear, shirts, pants, a suit or two, toiletries, etc. It was near a rather average-looking suitcase and a steamer trunk…at least on the outside. The inside, however, revealed that the linings were actually interlaced fabric with digital sensors throughout them, and a small device wired into the sides to go with them. The result was that the fabric emitted a special signal that nullified x-rays at airport security, resonating with them. However, Batman would still need "conventional" luggage to put in front of it in order to look innocent enough.

The suitcase was already filled with a Batsuit. Not his best kind, and certainly not his armored type, but rather one that utilized less Kevlar and space for items. It had to be small enough to fit in one suitcase. He had been foolish enough on a similar excursion once to split the Batsuit over two cases, and when one got delayed…he found himself unable to go out due to having an incomplete suit. He wouldn't make that mistake again. He needed it in one case, and not a large one so he could grab it and it alone in a crisis. The trunk had more room, but, to be honest, there was still only so much he could put in there. Ideally he would take all sorts of luggage with him when going into unfamiliar territory…but that too was impossible given his current plan.

"Did you make the call to Fox?" He asked the butler as he covered the smaller case.

"Yes sir. I notified him that you were so thrilled by your recent dinner that you have a new enkindled passion for tennis, and you have decided to travel to France to track Monsieur LeBlanc's performance, and possibly engage in some sightseeing once that is done, and to spread this message. I have already phoned one of your 'stand-ins' to go to the airport tomorrow using a passport that is registered with your number to make the trip aboard your private jet. I also took the liberty of making contacts to form a story about a 'broken toe requiring a hospital stay' if you need to remain 'away from Gotham' any longer, sir."

"And my other ticket?"

"Already prepared. I charted a private flight with a small yet reputable company and picked you out suitable attire that I felt matched with the makeup for your alias persona you plan to disembark as. Knowing your fondness for speedy departures, they will be departing Gotham Regional Airport in four hours, three minutes and have been paid in advance to leave with or without you, sir, but I'm expecting you will still be there in plenty of time."

After adjusting his flap on his suitcase, Batman readily went over to the basket, removed some of the socks and underwear, and began to cover the contents of his case with them. In no time, it was filled, and he closed it and locked it soon after, adjusting the combination as he did so. In the end, he had elected to go straight to Riga. There were complications any way he looked at it, but it seemed to be the least complicated of the two. There was no way to make the flight "nonstop", but by his calculation he should still beat Layton to Latvia by two hours minimum. That was one of the reasons he was only taking two cases. He couldn't struggle under more than that, but also, more luggage would look suspicious. He wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen on arrival in Riga, but he knew from his week of research that Labdaris wasn't located in it. It was simply the only place that Sophia could arrive in. Once there, she would likely go out to a different city or the country, and he had to follow. That meant whatever hotel room he had rented would have his luggage inside it for an extended period with him not there to watch it. Therefore, the room he had booked had been at one of the cheaper hotels that was clearly struggling. He had offered four months worth of rent for only a single month's stay, along with a generous tip, under the condition that he be given total privacy in his room for the entire month. The manager couldn't afford to say no to such an offer, and so the deal was done. He planned to hire additional people to keep an eye on the room and make sure the staff kept to the bargain on arrival, but that would do for now. The point being…two suitcases wasn't terribly notable, even if one was a trunk, but seven or eight in a room indicated he might have been bringing something that shouldn't have been there.

Choosing gear for the trunk, however, had given him considerable pause. He couldn't afford to take much under these circumstances. His standard belt was one item, which contained his flashlight, Bat-tracers, recorder and minicam, and a crime-scene investigation equipment. He also made sure to take a medkit that had drugs that were mostly antiviral in nature. He included some of his analysis equipment but, sadly, he would need facilities afforded by the Batcave or the Batcomputer to be able to synthesize vaccines. He had brought along a supply of vaccine for the virus he had isolated from the mouse, but there was no telling if the virus had mutated or if Labdaris had alternate strains with different purposes, so it might not help. His standard grapple gun, line launcher, and a few small pre-packaged explosives were also along. In terms of weaponry, he only brought a dozen Batarangs. He had packed about thirty Bat-darts, however, each one loaded with a tranquilizer so potent that it would keep its target unconscious for three days. In addition, he had packed about sixteen EMP Grenades. These weren't the standard sort, however, which had a seven foot radius. He had shortened this one to three feet. He couldn't afford to make it any larger. After all, his own equipment would be knocked out by an EMP, and he intended to use these on more of those dummies of the doctor's if they tried to stop him again.

These already took up quite a bit of room in the trunk, and at the moment he was trying to decide on the last few components. The one thing he hated about this mission would be being "deaf and blind" in Latvia, with no access to the Batcomputer or any other resources he had under his power. There wasn't even the time to arrange to ship a Batmobile overseas. And his analysis had determined that Latvian airspace was under a watchful eye of the Russians if no one else. He might be able to orchestrate two or three "missions" if he was able to ship a special collapsed version of the Batwing to the Polish facility and keep it away from prying eyes, which, if given a day or two, he was certain Fox could work out…but that would leave him in the dark at first and would allow him only two or three contacts with help from the outside world. Plus, he wasn't sure exactly what sort of mission loading he could get, or what he would need yet. After all, he was very much "in the dark" about what could arise…

Alternatively, he thought of bringing a relay that could bounce a signal from Riga to his personal communication devices no matter where he went, so he would at least have clear and continuous access to Oracle and Fox if he needed to make any emergency shipments to the "quartered off" region of the Polish facility. Yet that was dangerous. He could get it through airport security, but once in Latvia, it was a clear signal that something was up if it was discovered, especially if it was taken apart and analyzed to determine how sophisticated it was. In addition, it was bulky. He wanted something that could operate over a very small area, ideally, and be inconspicuous. But his devices of that nature would work only at a distance of 50 miles at best. So, essentially, it came down to the transmitter for continuous direct access or more beacons for contact via Batwing flybys…which would entail more preparation to ensure it didn't raise any heads in Poland to begin with…

"Shall I notify Ms. Barbara to 'keep her ears open' for contact from you, sir?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure how many clear transmissions I'll be able to get." Batman responded. "Just in case, however."

"I explained the situation to Master Tim as well."

"What did he have to say about it?"

"He seemed somewhat disappointed that he would not be accompanying you, sir, but he agreed to get a relay to the Batcomputer in order to stay in contact as well. He also asked if this meant that Wayne Manor would be empty for the next week, including the weekend."

Batman paused. "…What did you tell him?"

"I reminded him that as he does not currently reside here and has not yet claimed his inheritance, that your word still stands as the 'supreme ruling' regarding guest policy. Therefore, while he is welcome to stay in any room within the manor he wishes, there are to be no unwelcomed guests here without your acquiescence. However, I also said if he truly wished for more personal interaction while staying here, I have not had a good game of backgammon in years."

The man smiled again in response as he turned back to the trunk. "I pretty much already know I can count on you to keep the 'wild parties' to a minimum, Alfred."

"Or at least have them fully straightened up prior to your return, sir."

Batman paused at that, blinking, and then looked up. However, the butler had merely removed the last few items from the laundry basket and turned, beginning to take the now-empty basket back upstairs. After a moment, he let out a small chuckle, and then resumed his work.

The trip went pretty much according to plan. Batman had indeed packed, once again slapped on some older age makeup to hide most of his features, took the phony passport, clothes, and his two "special" suitcases, and headed out for Gotham Regional Airport. Mostly a private airfield with no gates or terminals, it was a nice place to take off from as opposed to Gotham International. Far less conspicuous. He would never have done so as Bruce Wayne, just the same, however. That was far too much of a well-known face and identity. Luckily, he knew enough of how to reproduce a near-flawless phony passport. It may not have been legal, but it was necessary. Soon he was on the plane and taking off for Latvia.

As it turned out, after using the trip to catch up on some rest, not knowing when the next time would come that he could afford one. He woke up when the flight still had plenty of time to go, just in time for the stop in Paris, France, to refuel. Once that was done, they again got up and flew for Riga, and arrived a few hours later. On disembarking, Batman checked the time and found they were only eight minutes late. Grateful for the lack of a delay, he himself took his things when the crew unloaded them and went from there.

It was a bit nerve-wracking, being outside of Gotham. Considering some of the places he had been, a foreign country where he spoke the language should have been small potatoes. It was October but, unlike many other places a bit further east, Latvia was temperate. It wasn't any worse than the United States, and better than a great number of places inside it. It was a bit cloudy on his arrival, clearly signaling a shower brewing, but nothing too bad. Still…this wasn't his normal "sphere of influence". And even if he could get in normally culture-wise, even a stay in Metropolis would have left him feeling uneasy, much less Riga. There was no Commissioner Gordon here. No relationship with local authorities or reputation. Not even legal jurisdiction. No…he was definitely at a "disadvantage" here, and he kept that in mind as he left the airport.

A taxi ride later and he made his way to the struggling hotel where he would be staying. He checked in personally with the manager, making sure only to speak the local language and in the dialect the whole time. He didn't need anyone hanging on the fact that he was an American. He was soon led to his room which, just as he had also pre-ordered for, had a nice balcony with window doors that could be walked out of…and led only to a dark, dirty alley behind the hotel, clearly the result of a later building's construction and the hotel not having enough money to remove it. It would do nicely.

By that time, there was only about forty-five minutes left, so he moved fast. In ten minutes, he had set up all of his equipment and gotten out the Batsuit. Five minutes later he was in it and fully armed. That done, he went out the window and headed for the roof. It had been years since he had tried to get around in an inner city without the aid of a vehicle, and he didn't really "miss" his former ways of getting around…one of which was little more than jumping on the roofs of cars. But unless he got to a major building, he couldn't exactly employ the glider in his cape. At least there were busses. Ones loud and noisy enough to where no one riding them would hear him landing on them. However, not knowing the schedule, he had to alternate between jumping on them and going via the rooftops. It was a bit of a reckless way to go, but he managed to use it to finally work his way across town. All in all, that took about another thirty minutes to finally reach the airport. He wasn't too stressed, however. He knew getting through customs had been a lot easier for someone like him than someone going in through the main airport. Plus she would have to wait longer for luggage and the sort.

When it came into view, he fired a grappling line to get himself to the roof of the nearest building that had a view of the front of the terminal. There were a lot of entrances here, and a lot of people…and normally finding Layton would have been too much of a challenge even for him. However, he still had one other item in his favor…namely the bug on her phone. And when he activated his transmitter, sure enough, he got a signal from within the airport. He left it on that channel afterward, looking to see if she would make any more phone calls.

As it turned out, as he settled into a spot and got out his binoculars, she did indeed. Unfortunately, they didn't say much at first. There were three separate phone calls made, and each one turned up nothing but ring tones, whoever was on the other end obviously not saying much. Shortly afterward, however, he caught the transmitter closing the distance. He didn't have one with enough range to be terribly accurate from where he was, but it was enough to get her coming for the doors. And when she neared, he aimed his binoculars out and scanned the doors.

Layton appeared through the doors a moment later. Surprisingly enough, she didn't have a suitcase at all. Rather, she had a backpack that was clearly meant to be used for a great deal of country excursion. Judging by the fact that it had a water bottle strapped to the side, a compass dangling from her hip, a jacket tied around her waist, and hiking boots on her feet…she clearly expected to spend some time outside.

She looked around a bit on leaving the airport, looking past the people and around toward the street. A moment later, she waved her hand as one of the airport cab services drew near. It saw her and stopped, and immediately she went over to him and began to say something in Latvian. Batman hadn't really brushed up on his ability to read lips in that language even though he spoke it…but it didn't matter as that wasn't his concern now. He had something else that caught his eye.

As Layton had emerged from the terminal, he had noticed three men who appeared to simply either loitering around the front or move around the same luggage bags or looking at the same cars go by, react. They noticed her when she emerged. And when she did, one of them automatically flagged another cab. They didn't give the driver any place to go, however, but rather held him only until the woman got in her own cab. Only then did he get into this one, without giving the driver any requests, along with the other two men. A moment later, when the first cab went off, the second followed it.

It seemed Batman wasn't the only one who had tracked Layton here. Quickly, he sprung to his feet and took off on the rooftop. If the cab went into the inner city, it would be fast enough to follow on foot…but if he wasn't careful he'd lose her long before then. Neither cab was in a very good position, but as he ran he quickly got out one of his standard transmitters from his belt. Luckily for him, the pneumatics in his basic grapple gun could be reconfigured on the fly to launch one of them. He did so as he pulled off the adhesive end, took aim at the nearest cab, which ended up being the one of Layton's pursuers, and fired. In spite of the bad shot, it made it, tagging onto the rear end of the fender. That done, he quickly put the gun away, got out the transmitter, recalibrated it, and continued his pursuit as he jumped off of the current roof, spread out his "wings", and glided to the next.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for both cabs to vanish from view, but his transmitter had enough range to keep track of them for at least a two mile distance. Still, he'd have to be fast. He only dashed over two more roofs before reaching one of the main roads in town, and from there he leapt off and landed on another bus. It wasn't going in the exact direction he wanted, but it went in enough to keep the cab from getting out of range. When it went one way and the bus went another, he cut to another bus and followed it from there a bit longer. For a moment, he actually closed this distance a bit, but eventually it turned off again. There were no busses this time, but there was an old farming truck loaded down with sheep. He leapt onto this instead, and managed to keep up after them, especially since it seemed this one was lucky enough to be going the same road as they were.

All in all, the tailing lasted about 45 minutes. It was definitely dark by then, and the cars moved away from the busy inner streets more toward the quieter, emptier parts of town that were closing up for the day. It wasn't truly "on the outskirts", just in a place that was "cheaper" and a bit less crowded during the evening. It seemed like the older parts of Riga. Definitely fewer people around. The occasional car or pedestrian, to be sure, but not as consistent as before. Sophia couldn't possibly know she was being followed. If she did, she would never have gone to this part of town and left herself so vulnerable.

Yet after a time, the tracer suddenly got a lot closer. Seeing that, Batman realized the cab had to have stopped. He wasn't sure if the driver would hang around or keep going, but in any event…he knew that meant they were disembarking, so he had to be on them soon. Luckily for him, shortly after the cab began to move again, he came up on a street corner where they had to have been let out. It was dark aside for some street lamps which were more "low to the ground" rather than hanging overhead, and provided little illumination, but his knowledge of his own "gadgetry" let him deduce that this was the location where he noted the cab stopped based on the reading. Although the cab itself was nowhere to be seen by the time he pulled in, and neither were its passengers, he nevertheless used his grapple gun to launch himself onto the next nearest rooftop when the sheep wagon kept moving.

As the truck roared off, he looked on down the road. A moment later, he managed to catch a glimpse of one of the men. Between the darkness and the lack of lighting it was hard to make out, especially since it seemed the men were dressed in darker clothing to begin with. However, he spotted a bare spot on the back of one of their necks of skin, acting as a "signal" to him, and immediately he took off in that directly. Soon after, he heard the sound of footsteps clicking on the pavement over his own silent running. A bit closer, and his own darkness-adjusted eyes began to make out the men advancing rapidly down the road. Further ahead of them was the tell-tale backpack of Layton, moving along as she walked.

Shortly after spotting her, she looked behind her momentarily…and spotted the three men. He could see the anxiety appear in her body language almost immediately, even in the darkness. She turned away and tried to walk a bit faster, for a moment, it seemed, thinking it might have been her imagination. But a moment later, when she turned back around, and saw they had only picked up speed to match hers, she turned back and began to go into a jog. She heard their footsteps increase their pace behind her soon after, and as a result went into a run.

Unfortunately for her, there was no contest. The men, realizing she had picked up on them, weren't about to let her run for long. They were still in a district with occasional pedestrians and cars. They couldn't risk her getting the idea to shout for help or even be out in the open that long, and soon broke into their own full-speed run. And with her under a heavy backpack, it didn't take long for one of the more able-bodied men to catch up to her and come in from her right, grabbing for her shoulder. She let out an exclamation and tried to turn for a side street to get away, but Batman could tell that had been partially the intention of her pursuers as they drove her into a more secluded lane that was little more than a glorified alley, more "out of view" of anyone who could help her. He had seen it hundreds of times before in Gotham City, after all. And once she was there, the other men began to catch up. She struggled to run further from them, but they soon overtook her again, enough to snatch her backpack. She held a moment before managing to wrench free, but the result was she stumbled and ended up tripping, crashing down into the road.

The men didn't immediately grab her, but they quickly spread out. With one side to the wall, they took the other three, cornering her. As she struggled to pick herself up, she opened her mouth to cry out…

Only to have one of the men draw a gun with a silencer and point it at her.

"Miss Labdaris, please don't scream." He said in Latvian. "Your father doesn't want you hurt or damaged, but that's only secondary to bringing you in."

Sophia's eyes widened as she pushed herself up and out of the road. "My…my father? So it's true? He really is behind what happened in Gotham City?"

"You'll be coming with us now." The man simply answered. "And the first thing you can do is hand over your cellular phone. You won't be making any calls for the next few weeks."

The woman got onto her rear, and shrank back a bit, looking up to the three men fearfully.

"But…but why is he doing this?! I thought he was done! He told me he was done!"

"That's of no concern to us. We only do what the doctor hired us for."

"But why does he want me?"

"To keep your mouth shut." The man answered. "The moment he enacted his plan in Gotham City, he figured that the police might possibly scrape together enough clues to find you, and that you, in turn, would lead the authorities to him. The police in America could do little about it, but if you were to return to Latvia, with your citizenship, you could make a case to the local authorities rather easily. We can't have that. The doctor won't allow you to interrupt treatment in the middle of a session. And the men left behind in Gotham City to monitor you revealed you have had a talk with the vigilante they call 'the Batman', the one who knows these current patients the best. We didn't make a move on you there as it would have made things all too obvious. Now that you have 'come home', however…"

The woman shrank back a bit more. The other two men began to advance from either side.

"Come quietly, Miss Labdaris. Think of this as a 'vacation' of sorts. You'll be given a clean, pleasant room in the asylum…nothing like what the patients are receiving. And in a few weeks, it will all be done."

"No!" The woman shot back. "I know what my father does… I know how he'll 'treat' these people! I can't abide it! It's inhuman!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice." The man answered, as the gun raised a bit higher. "And you are getting far too 'loud'…"

Sophia tensed. She began to recoil, looking fearfully up to him as he began to squeeze the trigger…

Before a pair of black boots smashed into the man's face under his jaw, ripping him off of his feet and sending him flying back and to the ground. A moment later, a sweep of black fabric came down and flattened, revealing the form of a bat-cowled figure touching down on the ground behind it.

The two men on either side of Sophia immediately snapped up to him in alarm, seeing the imposing figure of the Batman now in their midst in all his glory. Before one even had a chance to react, a smacking sound resounded as a gloved fist smashed him in the face, sending him flying back as well. The other figure managed to aim a punch for his head, but his own hand went out, seized it in a crushing grip, twisted the arm around, and then quickly went inward to deliver two resounding blows: one to the man's side and kidneys and the other to his face, causing him to recoil too from the force.

Normally, Batman would have considered everything "done" at this point, but even as the third man went back, his vision caught the first man. Far from being stunned, he was already leaning up, aiming the gun at the dark knight instead. He was a bit surprised at the recovery time, and quickly swept his cape in front of him to obscure the shot. A moment later, he heard not the familiar sound of a silenced bullet, but rather a "thwip"…indicating a pneumatic gun. He had thought as much from what he overheard. Labdaris didn't want his daughter dead…just tranquilized. At any rate, he intercepted the dart with ease as a result, and lowered his cape to make a move on the man…

Only to feel a solid blow to his back with a two-fisted hit. It wasn't a light, unfocused strike either…but a precise one aimed at a shoulder joint, and it sent pain radiating through him. It would have been enough to drop most other men, although he managed to withstand it just faltering. He turned his head slightly behind him, and was again surprised to see the second man was up too.

Even more surprising was when he suddenly found one of his flailing arms seized and wrapped behind his back, courtesy of the third man. Now…this was a true shock. He had just wrenched the man's own arm. He heard the ligaments strain when he twisted it. No thug from Gotham would have been able to use that arm for twenty-four hours at least. Yet he was holding him back with his full strength now in both arms.

The first was getting up now, and fired another dart at him. Batman was wearing the thinner Batsuit, so he wasn't really eager to see if those darts had enough length and "pop" to get through, and quickly he swung his gauntlet around and, by equal parts luck and skill, intercepted the dart. Of course, the second immediately came on him after that, seizing that limb as well, meaning to move it back as his first arm had been pinned and to leave him an easy target for a third dart. Yet as he grabbed for it, Batman grit his teeth and swung his elbow back, smashing it into his gut, and knocking him back a bit, before giving him another blow up with his elbow into the jaw with sufficient force to fracture and knock out a tooth or two. He then swung the arm around and gave the man holding his other limb a blow to the shoulder joint with a chop, before punching for his face twice, smashing it so hard his nose was smashed and blood rolled out from both the nostrils and abrasion lacerations.

Yet shockingly enough, neither man was deterred. The force of his blows only pushed the second one back…and after they were done he grabbed for the arm again, breaking off the assault. As for the third man, in spite of having to have had a broken nose and a blow to the nerves, his grip never lessened. He continued to hold on throughout. He even flashed a bit of a grin at Batman for trying to "beat his way out". Neither man was even getting tired from the struggling or the blows.

These aren't machines… The dark knight realized. But they're reacting as if they were. It's like they've been deadened completely to pain…

Soon, his other arm was grabbed again, and the first had loaded yet another dart. For a moment, Batman resisted a bit more…before letting the second guard "win" a bit. He let him pull his arm back, and once again expose his face and torso. Quickly, the first man took aim at him during the time he was held and pulled the trigger…only to have Batman suddenly yank the second man in front of him and let him take the dart. This one's eyes went wide for a moment in shock…but then almost immediately glazed over, and a second later he fell to the ground in a heap. The effect was so instant it was as if he really had been shot by a bullet.

The third, on seeing this, lost his smile and grit his teeth in anger. Quickly, he went around the twisted arm and brought his knee into Batman's gut. It was another solid blow, and made him double over as a result. He was punched across the face a moment later, making him lower a bit more. However, when the third released his arm and brought both hands over his head again, meaning to bring them down on his neck to flatten him…Batman again stopped "playing possum" and suddenly shot up with his previously twisted arm, seized the man by the neck, and then lashed out his other arm to grab him by the leg, lift him up, hoist him over his head, and flip him onto the street on the opposite side. It was a solid impact, but even if he couldn't feel pain it took him a moment to get out of that position. Batman used the moment to move a hand to his belt, and a second later emerged with a Batarang that quickly flew out to the pneumatic gun before it could fire again. If this one was immune to pain too, he couldn't get him in the tendons…so instead he smacked the gun directly, not only wrenching it out of his grip but damaging the sensitive barrel.

In that short time, the third thug was up again and charging for him. As he advanced, Batman drove his arms up and caught him under the jaw with a solid uppercut, knocking his head into the air and stunning him whether he liked it or not. He quickly followed up with a kick that lashed out to the ankle of one of his feet, knocking it out from under him and making the already stunned man lose his balance and fall face first to the ground. He tried to get up as quickly as before, but Batman was faster, quickly leaping over and getting on his back. He didn't try to pin him, but rather seized him by the head and neck, brought him up, and then wrapped an arm around his neck in a sleeper hold, making sure to pin the carotid artery. Pain or no pain…the man's body couldn't function without air to the brain. He went wide-eyed, realizing what was happening, and tried to break free…but in only seconds his body went limp.

Even so, that amount of time was enough for the first thug to nearly be on Batman again. Forgetting the weapon, he instead drew a knife and advanced on him. The dark knight barely had time to drop the thug before the first one stabbed out for his face, making him spring back just in time. He continued to advance, slashing wide arcs in front of him to try and keep the vigilante at bay while pushing him back into a wall. Unfortunately for him, this was, once again, "veteran territory" for the man. After making one wide swing, Batman abruptly advanced and intercepted the arm with the knife, and performed a disarming move on it with both palms of his hands. The good thing about that move was it triggered the mechanics of the arm rather than relied on pain. Against his will, the thug found himself dropping the knife, and soon getting his face smashed as Batman advanced on him, hitting him again and again with the goal of backing him up to where he could administer a finishing blow rather than try to beat him outright.

However, at one point, the thug suddenly ducked under one hook, letting it go harmlessly overhead, and then shot forward and managed to get both of his hands around Batman's neck. Immediately, he tightened it into a crushing grip, intending to throttle him. Batman's eyes went wide, and he quickly put his hands on the arms in a look that seemed designed to remove them. Yet the thug just grinned in spite of his bloody face, thinking he finally "had him".

Yet what he didn't realize was Batman was allowing this, for it gave him a moment to go for his belt and pop out one of his tranquilizer darts a moment later. The man didn't even see it due to the presence of his arm. A moment later, the dark knight shoved it right into the man's side, letting the compound sink into his body. The thug, immune to pain, didn't even notice it. He continued to grin even as the drug went into him, but slowly his expression eased and "melted away". His grip loosened and went flaccid, and as Batman stood fully to his feet, the thug slumped to the ground.

Batman exhaled once. That had been a bit tougher than what he was used to in a standard "three-on-one" fight. He was accustomed to using the pain of his opponents to weaken them and slow them down. If he was going for "quick disables", it usually wouldn't be in a fight like this but striking from the shadows. It seemed he would burn through those tranquilizers quick on this mission. He had better use them conservatively…

Yet he ignored that for now, turning to Layton instead. She, like most civilians would, had watched the entire fight in spellbound awe, pushing herself further against the wall. But now that she was spotted, she shot back even more in alarm for a moment. Yet after blinking twice, she regained her composure.

"You…" She stated. "You followed me here all the way from the United States…"

"Apparently it was a good thing I did." He retorted. "You weren't being honest with me, Ms. Layton."

Realizing she had been caught, the woman cringed a bit for a moment. She hesitated, but then shook her head. "I'm sorry…I had to. I couldn't tell you any more. What you said…it was a horrible shock to me. I was stunned to learn that my father would be up to his barbaric treatments again… After I had seen him last, I thought he had given them up forever…" She held, and then anxiously looked up to his face. "He's my father. Even if what he's doing is terrible and wrong…you can't expect me to just turn on him so easily. He's the only family I still have."

"Even if protecting him means he'll kill others?" Batman coldly answered. "Torture them to the point of suicide?"

The woman bowed her head, cringing again at that. She didn't have an answer.

"I came here because citizens of Gotham City, no matter how depraved and grotesque, were kidnapped and brought here. While people might accept, even argue in favor of, them deserving to receive whatever torture your father is submitting them to via his 'treatment', doing so is against the law and effectively making himself judge, jury, and executioner. I won't stand for that, and I know neither will you if you truly see these individuals as having a 'human' side. I won't be leaving without them. You can either talk…"

He gestured to the fallen three thugs.

"…or you can deal with the next group of your father's 'delivery boys' on your own."

The woman looked up a bit at this, growing more anxious as she looked to Batman. However, his stern expression revealed he was serious. She swallowed, and looked around to the men about her, definitely not liking the looks of them. After a time, she exhaled and bowed her head.

"Could…could you at least give me an hour to think about it?"

The gaze beneath the cowl narrowed. "You've already had close to three days to 'think about it', and the more you 'think', the more pain those eight are being put through. As 'nervous' and 'conflicted' as you are right now, your indecision is costing lives."

"Alright! Alright!" She finally exclaimed, closing her eyes in exasperation. "I may know where he is…but I needed to make some phone calls to make sure. No one is picking up, so I was trying to check out one of the places myself…"

"What places? And where would he be?"

The woman held a moment, but then shook her head. "…I won't tell you. I'm sorry…I'll let you accompany me wherever I go, but I won't tell you so that you can run on ahead. I want to make sure I at least have a chance to reason with him before you make a move."

The dark knight paused.

"I understand you're his daughter, Sophia. But in the face of what's going on, I'm surprised you're still trying to protect him so much. It seemed like you fled to the United States to escape his 'specter'."

The woman's hands clenched into fists and relaxed, and she slowly began to push herself up.

"…Maybe." A pause, then a sigh. "No…you're right, it was the reason. But…there's more to it than that. I insist that my father is a good man because I know, in spite of all of his horrors and atrocities, that he is."

"…How?"

Rising to her feet, Sophia bowed her head, took in a deep breath, and then slowly released it before looking up, having made herself firmer. "I swore on my life I would never tell a soul when I found out. So I'm sorry…there is nothing you can say or do that will make me answer that question. Even abandoning me to my father."

Batman continued to probe her with his glare. He had hoped for more than that, but he could tell, much as he could with the sixteen Arkham staff members, that she was serious. She wouldn't answer this question. Not for anything. Even leaving her to the men being sent after her wouldn't change that. There was the temptation to indeed walk away here. After all, the next time a group came after her, he couldn't simply follow them and, until then, watch her from the shadows. However, he wasn't too eager for that course of action. Labdaris had already demonstrated back in Gotham his ability to "spirit people away". He could assume the same would happen to her.

With that in mind, at least for the time being, he decided to play it "her way".

Standing off to one side just slightly, he let his cape fall around him.

"…Lead the way."

To be continued...