I'd like to thank, as always, RebelByrdie and Zarathustra1030 for their kind words of encouragement. I'd also like to thank those of you who added this story to your alerts/faves list.

Batman & Benson 4

Chapter Ten

"What the hell are you all looking at?" the Tactical Team commander yelled at his men. "DROP HIM!"

Olivia flinched as a dozen automatic weapons opened fire on Mr. Freeze all at once. And yet the iceman merely stood there, glowering at them, while bits of ice flew off his armored skin from the bullets. Although Olivia had already seen Mr. Freeze in action before, the image of him calmly standing there while being sprayed with bullets was still a staggering sight to behold. And Olivia didn't think it was possible, but it looked as if the commotion was making Mr. Freeze even angrier.

Freeze abruptly raised his arms, and within an instant Olivia found herself standing in a snowstorm. It was stunning how quickly the air around her had chilled down to artic levels. She placed her hands up against her face in a feeble attempt to protect herself from the flying ice crystals that stung her skin while she fought to take a breath in the freezing air.

"Back off!" Gordon called, struggling to be heard over the gusts of icy winds that had kicked up out of nowhere. "Everybody get out, now!"

When she felt somebody bump into her within the white out conditions, Olivia saw that it was the female officer whom she saw earlier, the one named Katie. She was stumbling around in the blizzard with both arms held up over her head. Olivia grabbed the young woman and helped her--along with one of the tac squad guys--to the exit.

'Oh Christ,' Olivia thought with horror. She glanced around her and saw only white. 'Where's the frigging exit?'

B&B

When Alex anxiously watched as Olivia entered the Penguin's nightclub with the other officers, she was torn between wanting the Penguin to be there--so she could watch the little bastard get arrested for good--and not wanting him to be there, just so Olivia could be spared the danger of a deadly confrontation.

'Where's Bruce?' she wondered. 'Shouldn't he really be tackling the Penguin, anyway?'

But with a glance at Rachel, who stood by her side in support, Alex felt guilty for wanting to exchange Bruce for Olivia in this dangerous situation. She may have been joking with Olivia earlier about being a superhero's girlfriend, but the fact of the matter was that both she and Rachel had lovers who pursued a treacherous path of finding justice. She was grateful that Rachel was here, to commiserate with her--as Alex was sure that Rachel had spent her fair share of panicked moments, when she worried for Bruce's well-being.

After a short period of silence, Rachel began to say: "Looks like nothing--"

And that was when they were shocked to hear the riotous gunfire from within the nightclub.

"OLIVIA!" Alex cried as she started to run towards the nightclub.

But Rachel had a firm hold on her arm. "Oh, no you don't! Stay here, Alex."

Alex tried to squirm her way out of Rachel's grasp. "But Olivia--!"

"--is a trained police officer," Rachel cut in. "And if I'd let you get hurt, she'd be very pissed at me."

Several police officers who remained outside with them began running towards the entrance of the nightclub. But they stopped when the doors were flung open and the tac team, along with the escort group of cops, all came staggering outside. Alex was relieved to see Olivia--she led a young female cop and a tac team member to safety by the ambulance.

Alex then frowned when she saw what looked like snow billowing out of the entrance from behind. Then her eyes grew wide behind her glasses once she saw the source of the snow: Mr. Freeze. The iceman smashed his way through the doors, ripping one off of its hinges and flinging it through the nightclub's glass display case. Mr. Freeze then grabbed another door and held up high over his head as he strode into the street.

"GET DOWN," Olivia shouted at her and Rachel. "The both of you, take cover, now!"

"Um, I can't argue with that logic," Alex muttered, as she and Rachel quickly ran for cover behind a police cruiser.

B&B

"There he is," Batman said.

Once they came around the corner, Mr. Freeze was hard to miss. He stood in the center of the street, surrounded by police and emergency vehicles. He held a large object in both hands above his head. As the Tumbler came closer, Batman saw that it was one of the massive front doors from the Penguin's nightclub.

"Hope Penguin doesn't mind that Mr. Freeze is doing a little redecorating," Robin said with a broad grin. "Looks like their little love affair is now over, huh, Batman?"

But Batman was too busy calculating to reply. The police and emergency vehicles completely surrounded Mr. Freeze, cutting them off from him. And it appeared he was about to fling that heavy door at the people and police who were gathered around the area at any second; to stop the Tumbler and attack on foot would take too much time--plus it would leave them too exposed. Their attack would have to be fast, and it would have to be done right now.

"Robin," he said, "hold on."

"What's happening?"

"Remember when you said how you've always wanted to see the Tumbler's rocket thruster in action?" Batman asked, as he flipped a switch. "Well, brace yourself…."

Once the rear rocket thruster engaged, the Tumbler was propelled forward at five times its speed--straight at the police cars in front of them. But before they hit, Batman flipped another switch--one that read FLIGHT--which commanded several armored plates on the exterior of the Tumbler to abruptly shift in position. When they did this, they redirected the air flow over the vehicle just enough so that the front wheels raised up. The wind flowing under its chassis, along with the maximum thrust of the rocket in back, was enough to make the bulky Tumbler leap into the air.

"You didn't tell me it could do this!" Robin said, as he stared out the windows with wide-eyed alarm. "Holy sh--"

B&B

Olivia smiled when she saw Alex and Rachel had managed to join her by the ambulance. But her happiness at the sight of both her lover and best friend was short lived, because just then they saw Mr. Freeze moving towards them with the massive door held up above his head. Olivia, along with Katie and the tac squad member, all pulled out their guns and began firing, but it was painfully obvious that this had no effect.

Then she heard a roar, and when Olivia glanced up, she was surprised to see a massive shadow in the air just above Mr. Freeze.

It was the Tumbler.

Olivia watched, awed, as the Tumbler landed several yards away from Mr. Freeze. The Tumbler continued it's forward motion until it slammed right into him. The force of the blow managed to knock the iceman straight into an exterior wall of the Penguin's nightclub. When the Tumbler backed up, Olivia saw Mr. Freeze had been shoved right into the wall, which buckled inwards from the impact.

'If only that was the end of it,' she thought grimly.

Sure enough, Mr. Freeze begun to move around, as if to get back up. And then Olivia was stunned to see the Tumbler spin around, as if to drive away.

"Is Batman leaving?" Katie asked her, looking shocked.

Olivia just shrugged helplessly, not knowing what to say, because even she didn't know what was going on, here.

B&B

"We're leaving already?!" Robin asked.

"Far from it," Batman replied, as he spun the Tumbler around so that it's rear now faced Mr. Freeze. They could see the iceman disentangling himself from the brickwork in the rear view screens. "I've just discovered a new function for the Tumbler's rocket thruster."

Batman backed the Tumbler up so that the thruster was practically right in Mr. Freeze's face--and then he turned it on, full blast, while he kept his foot on the brakes.

"Instant anti-freeze!" Robin cried triumphantly, as they watched Mr. Freeze angrily roar under the volcanic glow. Still partially trapped under the debris, he had little choice but to sit there while the majority of his icy armor melted.

Batman switched off the rocket thruster and pulled the Tumbler away when he thought Mr. Freeze had had enough. He spun the Tumbler around and swung it back so that the front of the vehicle now faced the downed iceman. Batman opened the main hatch, stood up and stared at Mr. Freeze.

Most of the ice that covered his chest and face had been blasted away by the Tumbler's rocket thruster. Yet Mr. Freeze himself appeared unharmed as he hatefully glowered at Batman.

"Victor," Batman called to him. "It's over! Nora is safe! Do you hear me? Your wife, Nora, has been rescued from her kidnappers. She's back in the hospital right now. There's no further need for you to--"

"YOU LIE!" Freeze yelled at him.

With that, he lifted a keystone from the ruined foundation of the building and raised it up in his hands--but instead of throwing it at the Tumbler, Mr. Freeze smashed the keystone into a support column that was directly behind him. The result was that the entire corner of the building collapsed right on top of him, with the weight of all the brick and stonework crashing through the ground and into the basement below, taking Freeze with it. The iceman had just effectively made his escape.

"Damn it!" Batman exploded, as he sat back down and closed the hatch.

"He couldn't have possibly survived that," Robin said. "Could he?"

"Trust me, Robin, he can."

"Is it my imagination," Robin asked, "or is this guy getting stronger each time we see him?"

"His powers are getting stronger," Batman confirmed. "And he's also getting smarter. But he's still too blind with rage to see the reality of the situation. That makes him even more dangerous."

"Um, speaking of dangerous, Batman," Robin said, as he glanced around them. "We're now presently surrounded by more than half of the Gotham City Police Force."

"Yeah," Batman muttered, as he pulled the Tumbler into a tight turn, "I've noticed…."

"Where are we going?"

"Just taking a little short cut," Batman replied, as he rammed the Tumbler through the wrecked front doors of the Penguin's nightclub. The Tumbler then mowed down the tables and chairs in the main dining area as Batman drove it towards the kitchen. "I figure we can let ourselves out the back."

"First Mr. Freeze, and now the Tumbler," Robin said with a broad grin as he watched fine china and dinnerware shatter against the armored hide of their ride. "Man, the Penguin's gonna freak when he hears what happened to his club tonight!"

"I've got a feeling that this nightclub is the least of the Penguin's worries right now," Batman replied.

B&B

J'onn J'onzz smiled slightly as he watched the Tumbler crash through the Penguin's nightclub in an effort to avoid the police. Leave it to the Dark Knight to think fast on his feet, as always. He had been in the neighborhood, while taking a walking tour of Gotham City, when he noticed the ruckus just down the street here. J'onn had been careful to morph his appearance so that he appeared to look like a regular human male, dressed casually in jeans and a shirt. The battle was already over by the time he got here.

"Oh, thank God," an older woman said to a man in the crowd. "I thought they were gonna catch him!"

"Yeah, as if the cops could ever catch the Dark Knight," he told her with a laugh. "That'll be the day!"

"He got away," an African-American man who stood next to J'onn said into a cell phone. "Yeah, it's cool, babe. Batman got away. No, he's too much of a badass to let himself be caught by the cops."

As the crowd began to dissipate, J'onn marveled at how the people on the streets of Gotham City still cheered for the Batman, even when their leaders had turned against him. He realized that humans intrinsically knew the right path in any given situation--just as he witnessed here--and yet, despite this fact, things so often went dreadfully wrong.

Like with the Justice League.

When Superman had informed J'onn that he had been forced to dissolve the League--under threat of military action by the President--J'onn had been depressed beyond words. The League had become a second home for him--actually, it had become his only home--and now it was gone. Superman had invited J'onn to come stay at the Fortress Of Solitude once more, like he did just after the Starro incident, but that wasn't really the point.

After the battle with Wonder Woman, and now the disbanding of the League, J'onn had discovered he had lost hope in his adopted home--he had lost hope in all of humanity. He had needed to walk, to try and clear his mind and set his thoughts right. He arrived at Gotham City because it was the first place that entered his mind. But even after walking the streets for most of the day, J'onn still found himself feeling very alone and lost.

Until now.

A pretty young woman smiled at him as she walked by. She gestured at the scene with her hand. "That's really amazing, isn't it?"

"Yes," J'onn said, returning her smile. "It is."

"Makes me feel safe, sleeping at night, knowing he's out there," she said, as she ran off to catch up with her friends.

J'onn knew what she meant. In that instant, he realized the reason why the ordinary people on the street still cheered for the Batman--in spite of the fact that their leaders had made him a fugitive. Not only was it because the regular man and woman understood what was right--even when their leaders didn't--it was also the lesson that J'onn himself learned just now, from watching the Batman in action.

And it was a simple one: don't ever give up.

Regardless that the entire Gotham City police force now hunted him, regardless that he had been made a fugitive in the eyes of the law, the Batman still fought valiantly and boldly for truth and justice. J'onn was both awed and moved to see him in action tonight. And J'onn also realized the reason why Batman still fought so hard: because the average person on the street was well worth the struggle.

And that was the main thing that he had forgotten. The Justice League may well be history; most of the superheroes he'd come to know as friends may become hunted by very the very same law enforcement they'd worked side by side with, as the governments of the world turned their backs on them. But the battle for justice continued.

'And if the Batman could continue to fight the good fight,' J'onn thought, with renewed confidence, 'then so can the Martian Manhunter.'

B&B

"Superb work, gentlemen," Alfred said with a smile, as Batman and Robin emerged from the main hatch of the Tumbler in the Batcave.

"Not good enough," Batman grumbled. "Mr. Freeze kept getting away."

"True, sir," Alfred admitted. "However, you still stopped him from causing any further harm. Not to mention the fact that you've rescued Nora Fries and also helped to build solid evidence against the Penguin."

"There's that at least," Robin replied. He glanced over at the empty chair by the Batcomputer. "Where's Barbra?"

"In bed," Alfred told him. "Once you radioed that you were on your way home for good tonight, I took the liberty of relieving Ms. Barbra of her duties."

"Good move, Alfred," Bruce said, as he wearily pulled off the cowl. "It's been a long night for all of us--but for her, as well. And Babs did a great job of backing us up, tonight."

"You might want to tell her that yourself later, Master Bruce," Alfred said, as he took his cape and cowl. "She would greatly appreciate hearing it from you."

Bruce nodded as he sat down on a bench. "I fully intend to, Alfred."

"Did we make the news, Alfred?" Dick asked, after he stripped off his Robin mask.

Alfred paused for a moment with an uneasy look, then he nodded. "Yes, your battles with Mr. Freeze were mentioned, tonight. But there was other news, I'm afraid. Bad news. The Justice League has been disbanded."

"What?!" Bruce asked in disbelief.

"It was all over the news," Alfred told him. "Superman just made the official announcement from Metropolis."

Bruce got up and went over to the Batcomputer. He switched it on and quickly found a newscast. "Continuing our coverage of the disbanding of the Justice League right now," the female anchorwoman said. "Superman announced earlier today that the largest group of superheroes the world had ever seen would now be disbanded--thanks to growing tensions between them and the United States government. This was due in large part to reports of an imminent invasion of Gotham City by the Justice League."

"Tensions were only made worse between the two sides when Wonder Woman attacked the offices of the Special Victims Unit at Gotham City police headquarters," the anchorwoman continued. "Although Superman, and several other League spokespersons, have steadfastly insisted that Wonder Woman acted alone--the incident caused the White House to demand no less than the complete disbanding of the League before the U.S. military would be ordered to stand down from its full combat alert status. Here's what Superman had to say about the disbanding in Metropolis."

The scene switched to a disheartened Man Of Steel, who stood before the main steps of the Daily Planet. "It's with great regret that I announce the termination of the Justice League, today," he said. "People should know that we tried to be a force for good; we tried to be of help to humanity in any way that we could. And we still do this even at the end--because, by disbanding the group, we now allow this simmering crisis to die down for the good of all. Thank you."

"Whoa!" Dick said, as he slowly shook his head. "What the hell happened?"

"It's simple," Bruce summed up. "The Justice League went eye to eye with the U.S. government, and the League blinked."

"Yeah, that's obvious," Dick said. "But, I mean, couldn't they have worked out a compromise or something? Why'd it have to come to this? What was Superman thinking?"

"My feeling is that Superman didn't have much choice in the matter," Bruce replied. "He was between a rock and a hard place, and being the decent man that he is, he chose the only safe option available to him--which was to disband the League. It must have been a terrible decision for him to make."

There was a moment of stunned silence as Dick shook his head in bewilderment once more. "I guess at this point, Bruce, we can only hope that, with the League's disbanding, this rampant paranoia will finally be over."

"In related news," the female anchor added, "law enforcement officials in Upstate New York have launched a pre-dawn raid on the Xavier's School For Gifted Children. Professor Charles Xavier, who ran the school for special children whom he referred to as Meta-Humans, has been formally charged by federal prosecutors for running what they call a terrorist training camp. While most of the occupants of the school have been rounded up, several have managed to escape the dragnet, and are still on the loose. FBI officials have expressed confidence that they will be captured shortly."

After viewing that ominous piece of news, Bruce solemnly shook his head and said, "On the contrary, Dick, the overall mood of paranoia is still in full swing. And it now looks like things are going to get much, much worse."

B&B

Olivia wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for a week--preferably with Alex cuddled next to her. She had been awake all night, thanks to the big break in the Penguin case. Along with Marlene Lewis, and Brendan Lazlo, the Penguin now had a third witness who was willing to testify against him. Emil Rondos, one of the men whom the Penguin had hired to abduct Nora Fries, wanted to squeal against his former boss--in exchange for leniency for killing his partner in crime, Bruno Lansky. The Batman had left Rondos gift-wrapped for the police, along with all of the evidence that he'd killed Lansky.

'Bruce had a great night last night,' Olivia thought, as she checked herself in the mirror in her office. 'But, knowing him, he's probably steamed that he didn't nail Mr. Freeze, as well. He's always been too hard on himself.'

Although they didn't really need Rondos' testimony, Rachel was determined to pile as much solid evidence as she could get against the Penguin. "When I put him away this time," she had told Olivia and Alex earlier, "I want to make sure he stays put away."

The mayor was so elated by these turn of events that he called for an early morning news conference--one which he wanted Olivia and Alex to attend, as well. The mayor saw this as being a big win for Olivia, who had tried relentlessly over the past few months to nab the Penguin, and he felt that she deserved her turn in the spotlight. For her part, Olivia had wanted to hold off on the celebrating and back slapping until they actually caught the Penguin. But then, who was she to say no to the mayor?

Alex appeared in the doorway of her office. "Ready?"

Olivia nodded. She had splashed cold water over her face before, and that helped to stave off the tiredness for about five minutes. "Now I'm sorry I gave up drinking coffee…."

"We can go home afterwards," Alex said, giving her shoulder a little affectionate rub as they left Olivia's office. "We'll head back to the Manor and sleep till noon."

"I'm gonna need to stop off at the house and get some more clothes, first," Olivia told her. She smiled when she saw Linda had entered the SVU bullpen. "Hey, Linda!"

"Morning, boss," the younger woman said with a smile. "You're here bright and early."

"Oh, I know," Olivia said with a groan. "We've been here all night. Thanks for the reminder!"

"You hear about the new charges against the penguin?" Alex asked Linda.

She smiled broadly. "Yeah, heard it on the radio on my way in. Great news! Good job, guys."

"Most of the credit belongs to Batman and Robin," Olivia said with a grin. "They really kicked ass last night."

Olivia frowned when Linda suddenly made a shushing gesture by placing her finger over her own mouth. "Be careful about how you talk about the Batman these days, boss," she said. "Especially within police headquarters."

Olivia glanced around the empty SVU bullpen--it was still too early for the rest of the regular day shift to come in. "Linda, we're the only ones here!"

"Sorry, boss," Linda said sheepishly. "Chalk it up to paranoia on my part. But you can't be too careful these days."

"Did something new happen, Linda?" Alex asked.

"Well, it's more like what's about to happen," she replied. "There's talk of a special unit being formed within the GCPD that will be led by somebody from the IAD. The sole purpose of this unit will be to hunt down and capture the Batman."

Olivia's eyes grew wide with shock at the thought of an Internal Affairs Division investigator in charge of a special anti-Batman squad. What was even further shocking to her was the fact that Jim Gordon would allow that sort of thing to occur within his department. "That doesn't sound right."

"A lot of things don't sound right today," Linda said. "Did you hear about the Justice League? They've been disbanded."

"Oh my God," Olivia said softly, as she exchanged a somber look with Alex. "What the hell is going on, lately? Has everybody gone crazy?"

"I don't know," Alex said with a glance at her watch. "But we're expected at the press conference, Liv."

"Uh, yeah," Olivia said with annoyance. "Talk to you later, Linda. Hold the fort while I'm away."

"Will do, boss."

Olivia was still fuming as she rode in the elevator with Alex. "I just can't believe Jim Gordon would do this," she told Alex. "He's probably an even bigger ally of the Batman than I am!"

"You sure this isn't just another baseless rumor created by interoffice gossip?" Alex asked.

"No, Linda's my eyes and ears for that sort of thing," Olivia replied. "She wouldn't have even brought this up if she didn't think there was some truth behind it."

"Well, we're going to be seeing Commissioner Gordon at the press conference," Alex said. "No better time or place to bring it up with him."

"Oh, you bet I will, Alex! I've got some hard questions to ask him!"

"Um, just keep in mind that he is your boss," Alex gently reminded her.

"I promise I won't bite him," Olivia muttered.

When they arrived at the press conference, Olivia saw that while most of the media had arrived, they were still busy getting set up. She saw Gordon speaking with the mayor off to the side of the stage, and went over to them. Alex went over to Rachel and started chatting.

"Excuse me, sir," Olivia said politely to Gordon. "May I speak with you for a moment, please?"

"Yes, of course," Gordon replied. He appeared worn-out and haggard; as if he was fighting some personal problems of his own. After he excused himself with the mayor, he took Olivia into a side alcove, where they could speak privately. "I take it that this is about the new anti-Batman task force?"

Olivia just stared at him in shock. "Pardon me for saying this, sir, but how could you let this happen?!"

Gordon gave her a weary shrug. "Because the mayor wanted it to happen, Olivia. I was ordered to form the task force--completely against my will. I had the choice of either going along with it, or be pushed aside. Either way, this task force was going to happen."

Olivia nodded in understanding. She glanced angrily at the mayor, who was busy glad-handing someone off to the side. "Does he have any idea that the gains that we've achieved against the Penguin were all a result of the Batman?"

"He does indeed, Olivia," Gordon said with a sigh. "But the mayor is also uunder pressure from the feds. He has been told very recently that either the Gotham City police force steps up its pursuit of the Batman, or else the FBI will be brought in to lead the hunt for the Dark Knight."

"What the hell is going on, here?" Olivia asked, being careful to keep her voice down. "I mean, respectfully, sir, I had assumed the warrants against the Batman would just go away once we announced that we were going after the Penguin."

"So did we," Gordon said. "But apparently, breaking up the Justice League isn't enough for the feds in Washington. They're intent on keeping up the pressure on all of the superheroes. They've just raided Professor Charles Xaiver's school earlier this morning." He shook his head in disgust. "Little children were being led away in shackles like they were a bunch of damn animals…it's a disgrace!"

"What are we going to do?"

"Whatever we can, Olivia." Gordon glanced over when he saw the conference was about to begin. "But, for right now, I need you to look pleasant and smile as if there's nothing wrong. I know it'll be hard, but--"

"No, I understand, sir," Olivia replied, as she forced herself to smile. "Now's probably not the best time to discuss tactics, anyway."

"At least this way is better for us," Gordon whispered in her ear, as they strode over to join the others at the podium. "As long as the task force is under my control, Batman should be safe."

'But how long will that last?' Olivia anxiously wondered. 'And what will happen to the Batman when and if the Feds ever do start hunting him?'

But these chilling questions had to wait for now, as Olivia forced herself to patiently endure the tedious torture of smiling for the cameras as the press conference had finally begun earnest.

B&B

"Arrgh," the Penguin muttered, as he watched the press conference with extreme annoyance. It was bad enough that the mayor was standing up there, proudly bleating about the new charges that had been filed against him. But to make it worse, the Penguin also saw Olivia Benson and Alex Cabot standing by the podium with DA Dawes and Gordon.

The Penguin was still sore at the fact that Benson and Cabot had personally captured him the last time. And now these two damn dykes were parading themselves on TV, as if celebrating his misfortune, while the official announcement was made that the law was after him again.

When a reporter asked Benson what was her reaction to the Penguin becoming a fuigitve once more, the Police Inspector flashed a brilliant smile. "The Penguin is scum," she firmly said, "and since he's scum, it was just a matter of time before his true, odious nature revealed itself once more."

"ARRRGH!" the Penguin roared in a murderous rage, as he shot the TV set right off of his desk with his umbrella gun. "Scum, am I?! Well, let me show you what this 'scum' is capable of, my dear Inspector Benson!"

The Penguin picked up his cell and sped-dialed a familiar number, just as Scanlon and several other of his men burst into the office with their guns drawn. When they saw nothing was amiss, they lowered their weapons.

"Penguin, what happened?" Scalon asked.

"I shot the TV," the Penguin said casually.

"Uh, why?" Scanlon asked with a puzzled look.

"Why not?" the Penguin said, as he waited for his call to be answered. "Have you seen what's on, lately? Absolute garbage!"

"Um, yeah, ok," Scanlon said with a slight nod--although he still looked a little confused. "You mind if I ask what you're doing, now, Boss?"

"Formulating my revenge, Scalon m'boy, formulating my revenge," the Penguin said. His cigarette holder shot up as he smiled broadly. "And once I get Benson and Cabot firmly strapped down right where I want them, they're gonna be in for a rollercoaster right straight to hell! Waugh! Waugh! WAUGH!"

B&B

Harvey Bullock smiled as he glanced down at his side. Renee Montoya was sound asleep on his shoulder. They sat in the front seat of their unmarked police sedan, which was parked down the street from Jonathan Pressman's apartment building. When they tailed him from police headquarters, this was where Pressman had led them: right to his home.

After they waited in the car for a half an hour, Renee had wanted to call off the stakeout, saying that Pressman was home to stay. But Harvey had wanted to stick it out a little longer, just in case. And despite her constant assurances that she would stick it out along with him, Montoya had drifted off to sleep.

Not that Bullock blamed her. He and Renee had been going full-speed ahead for pretty much the entire night, and now the sun was just coming up. The way he saw it, let her sleep--she earned it.

Bullock was startled to see Jonathan Pressman, clad in regular street clothes, leave his apartment building through the main entrance. A glance at his watch told him that Pressman had been home for barely an hour and a half--and yet here he was, abruptly leaving once more. "Now where the hell are you going, Jonny?"

He glanced down at the sleeping Renee and gently murmured her name several times--but the result was that she merely snuggled up even closer against his shoulder, like he was a big teddy bear, or something.

"Oh, for pete's sake," Bullock grumbled. Then he leaned over and said, "YO! MONTOYA!"

"Wha-? Whazzat?!" Montoya cried, as she awoke with a start. She nearly reached for her gun in a panic, until she realized that she was still safely in the car with Bullock. "Harvey, what the hell--?"

"Pretty boy Pressman is on the move," Bullock informed her, as he started up the car.

"He is? Already?" she said, stunned. "He just got home from the night shift!"

"And now he's back out, after being inside for barely two hours," Bullock said. "And Pressman sure looks like he's in a rush, huh?"

"You got that right," Montoya said with suspicion. "He's in a big hurry. Wonder where he's going?"

Bullock quickly pulled their sedan out into traffic and began to follow Pressman's car. "Let's find out, shall we?"

To his surprise, Bullock soon discovered that Pressman had headed right back to police headquarters. As they watched while Pressman parked his car in the garage, Montoya asked, "Did he forget something?"

"Dunno," Bullock replied. "Look, you tail him on foot while I park the car. Call me on your cell and let me know where he winds up, huh?"

"Got it," Montoya said, as she got out of the car and casually strode a few yards behind Pressman.

"Something ain't right," Bullock muttered to himself as he sought a parking space. Pressman moved not like a person who merely forgot something at work, but like a man who was on an urgent mission. And call it what you wanted--a hunch; a woman's intuition from his feminine side, whatever--but Bullock got a nasty feeling that something really bad was going down right now.

Once he finally found a parking spot, Bullock hurried into the building. He arrived at the elevators just when Montoya called him on his cell. "Yeah, Renee," he said, answering the call. "What's up?"

"He's in the department of records," Montoya told him. Her voice was low, as if she didn't want to be heard. "He just flashed his badge at the clerk who runs the counter, and she got something for him."

"I'll be right up," he told her. Bullock shook his head as he shoved his way into an elevator. He really didn't like the way this was going. What was Pressman up to?

When the elevator arrived at the proper floor, Bullock practically ran over to the department of records, where he found Montoya standing by the doorway.

"Took you long enough," Montoya loudly said, annoyed. "Did you get the basketball tickets?"

Bullock was about to ask what she meant when he suddenly saw Pressman walking straight towards them, on his way out of the department of records. He was within earshot, and Montoya was just making light conversation, just in case Pressman overheard them.

"Yeah, I got them," he replied, trying to sound angry. "But it wasn't easy!"

"With you, nothing is," Montoya shot back. She then nodded and made the all clear sign once Pressman had walked past them. "He's gone."

"You keep tailing him," Bullock told her, sotto voce. "I'm gonna go see what he was after, here."

"God damn it! That's the last time I ask you to get basketball tickets, Harvey!" Montoya shouted at him as she stormed off in a pretend huff.

'Girl oughta get an Oscar,' Bullock thought with a smile, as he walked up to the counter. He flashed his badge at the clerk. "The guy who you were talking to just now--what did you get for him?"

"The IAD detective?" she asked. "He wanted an address from me."

Bullock's eyes grew wide. "He ain't no IAD detective, darling. In fact, he ain't a detective at all! He's just a regular uniformed cop who's presently under investigation himself."

"Oh, my," the clerk said, looking confused. "But his IAD badge looked so real…."

Bullock pounded his fist on the counter. "Whose address was he asking for?! Tell me!"

"Inspector Olivia Benson," she replied, frightened.

"Oh, sweet Jesus," Bullock muttered, as he pulled out his cell and called Montoya. "Renee, you still with Pressman?"

"Yeah, we're at the elevator," she replied. "But he hasn't gotten on, yet. He's been busy speaking on the phone."

"STOP HIM, RENEE!" Bullock yelled into the phone, as he ran as fast as he could out of the department of records. "Arrest him right now!"

Bullock shot down the hallway in a panic, shoving people out of his way as he did. When he arrived at the bank of elevators, he found Pressman with his hands up against the wall. Montoya stood with her gun aimed at him.

"I don't know what the problem is, detective," Pressman innocently said.

"SHUT UP!" Montoya roared at him.

"He was in the department of records, getting the home address of Inspector Benson," Bullock told Montoya.

Montoya cursed in Spanish. "Yeah, well, it looks like he passed that information on to whoever he was speaking with on the phone just now."

"I really have no idea what you guys are going on about," Pressman nervously said. "Honest! I never--"

He was cut off when Bullock grabbed Pressman from the wall and hauled him up by the collar until they were face to face. "What did you do, Pressman? Huh?" Bullock said, enraged. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!"

B&B

'He said I did a great job!' Barbra Gordon thought giddily, as she paused to stare at herself in the mirror inside her room. She was back home, after Alfred had driven her there, to pick up some more clothes and further items for an extended stay at Wayne Manor.

But before they left Wayne Manor, Bruce had made it a point to seek her out and tell her that he thought she did a great job last night backing them up. Barbara had been so exhilarated that Bruce--basically the Batman himself--had commended her on a job well done, that she'd barely heard Alfred when he'd announced that they'd arrived at her home.

She had collected some more clothes and stuffed them into a suitcase--but when she saw a particular outfit tucked away in her closet, Barbra hesitated. She slowly took out the new Batgirl outfit and held it up in front of her while she stood by the mirror. She had worn it before, and it fit even better than her old Batgirl suit. Oddly, the sight of the Batgirl outfit had now made her sad, although she knew why.

'I'm finally accepted as part of the team--but only as support,' Barbra realized. 'I wonder if Bruce and Dick will ever really accept me to the point where they'll let me truly help them. Will Batgirl ever go out on patrol with Batman and Robin? I'm ready for it at last…I know I am.'

She was startled out of her reverie when Alfred called her name from on the other side of the closed door. Having already dressed in fresh clothes, Barbra opened the door to see Alfred speaking into his cell phone. "Sorry to disturb you, Miss Barbara," he said. "But I just called Olivia and Alex, who are also picking up some things at their place. Would you mind very much if we picked them up on the way back to the Manor?"

"No! Of course--" Barbra was interrupted when Alfred's expression abruptly changed to that of horror. "What is it, Alfred? What's wrong?"

"Alex?! Alex!" Alfred said frantically into the phone. He pulled the phone away from his ear, and Barbara gasped when she could hear the screaming even from where she stood.

"THEY SHOT LIV!" Alex cried in horror. Then she let out a piercing scream, just before the line went dead.

"Oh, gawd," Barbra said, as she gaped at Alfred with her eyes wide in terror.

"W-We have to contact Master Bruce," Alfred anxiously said, as he frantically began to redial the phone. "He'll know what to do."

But Bruce wasn't just a few blocks away from Olivia and Alex's home, as she and Alfred presently were. Barbara glanced back into her bedroom, at the Batgirl outfit that she had placed on the bed. "Alfred, wait! I've got a better idea…."

B&B

"From this point on," Gordon said into the phone, "I want the department of records to be run like goddamned Fort Knox! You understand? Nobody just comes in and gets whatever personal info they want just by flashing a badge! Oh…really?! Well, if you have trouble understanding that concept, then fine! No problem! Consider yourself fired! Put your assistant on, and let's see if he's more amenable to my way of doing things!"

Bullock and Montoya rode in the back of the armored Tactical Squad van with the Tac boys, as well as with their frustrated commissioner. As soon as it became clear what Pressman did, Bullock and Montoya had desperately raised the alarm all over police headquarters. Gordon immediately ordered a tactical squad to accompany them over to Olivia and Alex's home.

Montoya had tried calling Inspector Benson, but the line was continually busy. She dropped her cell in her lap and stared at Bullock with despair. "Oh, God…Harvey," she said with a sob. "We may already be too--"

"Don't say that!" he told her firmly. "We'll get to them in time, Renee!"

"Not at the rate we're going," Gordon muttered, as he closed his cell phone. He turned towards the driver and yelled, "Hey, how about it?!"

"Just a few more minutes, sir," the driver promised.

"I wanted to be there five minutes ago!" Gordon shouted at him. "MOVE THIS HEAP!"

B&B

'I must be insane,' Alfred thought, as he stopped the Bentley in an alleyway next to Olivia's home. 'I must be completely certifiable for letting her talk me into doing this!'

He turned around to try and talk Miss Barbra out of this crazy idea--only to see that she was still in the process of getting dressed. Alfred quickly spun back around and faced front. "Miss Barbra, please," he pleaded. "This is a very bad idea…."

"I know what I'm doing, Alfred," she confidently said. "I'm here, now. And I can help them."

"But who's going to help you?!" Alfred said. "Miss Barbra--"

He stopped speaking when he turned around and saw the black-clad, masked young woman who stared calmly back at him. The sight of her in that sleek outfit had literally taken Alfred's breath away.

"And the name's not Barbra, Alfred," she told him. "It's Batgirl."

And with that, she threw open the door and shot out of the car.

Alfred got out of the driver's side and stood by the car just in time to witness Batgirl rapidly climb up the fire escape with a grace and poise that was almost unnerving to watch.

"Dear Lord," he whispered in shock.

B&B

Olivia cried out in pain, which was muffled by her gag, when one of the men yanked out the taser darts from her bare shoulder. She shook her head in anguish as the group of goons loomed over her bound body.

It had all happened so fast, and without warning. One moment, she was speaking with Alex--who had just answered the phone--and the next, Olivia was writhing in pain on the floor. She was barely dressed, clad in just jeans and her sport bra--and Alex was wearing even less.

'Oh, Jesus, Alex!' Olivia thought with horror. 'Where is she?! What have these bastards done with her?!'

Olivia let out another muffled cry, but this time in despair, when she witnessed several of the men haul out a woman-sized canvas bag that wiggled frantically. She could hear muffled screaming from within. They were dragging Alex right out before Olivia's eyes, and she was helpless to do anything about it.

"Oh my," the Penguin said, as he leered over Olivia. "You poor, poor dear! This must have come as quite a shock to you, eh? You thought that, once you formally filed charges against me, that once you finally made it official, that I would somehow be vanquished, eh?"

Olivia grunted in pain when the Penguin stuck the tip of his umbrella against her throat. "You may have wiped away my legitimate life, Benson. But I am here to stay. For I, the Penguin, am the new crime lord of Gotham City! As for my first act as crime lord, I shall torture both you and your pretty little girlfriend to death. And then I shall dump your bodies on the steps of City Hall, to send a message to those self-righteous fools who would dare to oppose me! Waugh! Waugh! Waugh!"

But Olivia wasn't paying attention to him--instead, she stared up in puzzlement at the Penguin's men, who all took a wary step backwards as they stared at something in amazment over by the window.

"Uh, boss," one of the men said. "Get a load of this…."

Once the Penguin glanced over at what his goon pointed at, he finally released the pressure on Olivia's neck, which enabled her to crane her head to see what had caught their attention. And what she saw made Olivia's eyes grow wide with shock.

It was Batgirl.

The young woman, clad in a black and yellow outfit, with her long, flowing red hair covering the upper part of her cape, slowly moved towards the Penguin and his men in a combat-ready stance.

Olivia frantically shook her head as she tried to scream at Barbara to run away, to flee, before it was too late. But her gag prevented her from saying anything. Olivia could only watch in terror as Barbra bravely stood her ground and faced the Penguin and his band of goons. But she was just a kid--she couldn't possibly know what she was doing! She couldn't possibly think that she could actually take on these guys!

"And who the hell are you?!" the Penguin asked her, sounding annoyed.

But Batgirl never answered him.

Instead, her cape billowed upwards as she abruptly flung her arms out and fearlessly lunged herself straight at the Penguin and his men.

To Be Continued....