For my reviewers. Even my friend who hadn't read it yet.

Chapter 10: Line of Sight

Several Minutes Ago

"Are you sure we have to stay here, puddin'? I wanna go and watch the fireworks!"

"Sit down, Harley!" the clown quickly countered his crazed consort. "That's all going on way up in space! What do you expect to see from here?"

"Boom…?" Harley timidly answered, miming an explosion with one hand and holding up a telescope she had extracted from Lord knows where as she spoke, though clearly faltering somewhat under the Joker's enraged stare. The clown was getting impatient, and that had lead him to be in one of his angrier moods, as opposed to manic ones.

"Get your head back from the clouds, you dope!" Joker chastised her again. "You're forgetting what this is all really about! The rest of these capes are nothing, not next to the Bat! Hitting the Leaguey Weagueys where they live is just the set up. Batman is the punchline!"

"Yeah, but puddin', we're still just sitting around waiting down here. I wanna see the heroes exploding…" Quinn moaned, sounding almost like a spoiled child starting to throw a tantrum.

"Forgive this bird for interrupting your discussion, but it is clear that you are waiting for news of our exploits with the rodent at the home of the now very ex-Mayor. Well I can assure you that our woman in the vicinity is highly skilled and highly drilled. She will inform us once she is in position and things are set for the next phase of your comedic caper. Since we must await that signal, might you inform me as to what shenanigans you refer? Every good businessman must make a point to know the dealings of those he goes into business with, after all."

Penguin had finally interrupted after finally listening to the two jesters squabble for one sentence too many. Plenty of time had passed since Penguin had left his office to sit in the main part of the Iceberg Lounge with the Joker and his moll. It was time that had all been spent waiting while the mercenaries in Gotham got themselves sorted, got themselves ready and into position for the night that was to come. This was clearly very important to the Joker, something he, uncharacteristically, seemed to be taking very seriously. The clowns sheer focus on getting this night right had created almost a nervousness amongst the rest of them. Penguin himself had remained very quiet, other than keeping the Joker informed about their men and women in the field. Cornelius, his bodyguard, had actually taken to standing as far back as he could to do his job, so as to be as far away from the clown as he could get while still doing his duty. Only Harley ever really interrupted what seemed to be intense concentration on the Joker's part, and then she was being constantly shot down.

Of course, now that the time was upon them more of the Joker's traditional self had started to creep in again. At least it had done when he gave the first order to the mercenaries to do what they were hired to do. The Joker's laughter had reigned supreme as he had ordered "Hammy" to be the first to die. After that though, he had largely settled back into his concentrating state, waiting for the next opportune moment, especially once he was told Batman had arrived by the killer he had ordered to stick around, even after Hill was shot.

Now though, as the Penguin asked him the question, the smile was coming back to those red lips. That was good. Penguin would have hated it if the Joker had snapped and Cornelius been forced to "take care of him" in order to protect his employer. After all, until they knew whether the Bat would be able to escape the carefully laid trap the Joker was singlehandedly planning for him, the clown was still of use.

"Why Pengy, of course! You won't have heard!" Joker exclaimed. "The whole world will want to hear about this soon enough, and I'll tell them, but only after the Bat goes splat! But for you, my friend, I'll spill the secret a little early, as a token of gratitude for all your hospitality. I've done what so many folks have tried but none have ever managed to do. I've hit the Justice League right where it hurts. And I'm not meaning the gonads… First I arrange it so their own little robot marching band goes wacko and beats a few of the runts to a bloody pulp, then I have it so their systems all shut down on them, then I trick them into thinking the whole place is going to go boom right around their grubby little ears! And then, hoo hoo, the pièce de résistance. Just when they're all getting their innocents and their younglings the heck out of there on the little Javelins of theirs, oh hahahaha, that's when the real bombs went off! That's when all those kiddies they tried to save became a billion specks of dust! All while the more senior head, including Wonder Toots, watched on, helplessly! Ha! Hahahahaha! It's brilliant! Ahahahahahaha!"

"Indeed so, Joker," Penguin said as the Joker laughed away, his voice but a drawl as he took in what he was hearing. He had no idea that the Joker's plan would go quite this far. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. The Penguin had had plenty of run-ins with the Bat, and would likely have plenty more going forward if they didn't do anything to change that. But the entire Justice League combined… Now that was an animal that Penguin did not want to enrage. He far more enjoyed sneaking in under the radar, but if the Joker was taking this right to them, perhaps that was not going to last. That was why his voice was so flat. "Indeed so."

"And that's not even the best part!" the Joker resumed, as if Penguin had never said anything at all. "When Batsy hears about this it's going to cut him deeper than any knife ever could! At least until when I catch up to him at the end of this night and plunge mine straight through him! Ahahahaha hahaha ahahahaha!"

"But pray tell, my friend," Penguin spoke up again, seeing that it was the time to ask the question again that he had asked before. "How is it that you have managed to accomplish all of this mayhem? How is it that you have eyes on the rodent and hands on his allies?"

"Oh, I have a special friend with them up in space," Joker explained as the laughter died down enough. In fact, he was starting to sound serious all over again. "A friend who'll keep up the good work. But speaking of which, isn't it about time that damn agent of yours hurried up and called in again?!"

That wasn't the first time that the Joker had made a remark of such an ilk. However, this was the time when he had selected his moment most aptly. Barely had the Joker finished the words than the beeping sound was issuing from back behind Penguin. Cornelius displayed his lack of adequate brainpower by taking a moment to respond, but soon he was stepping forward, holding out the chiming radio ready for Penguin to answer.

"Yes?" Penguin said into the device Cornelius held before him. "I trust you have good news for your financier, my dear."

"Depends what he thinks of as good," the voice came back from the other end. It was a voice that Penguin recognised, the voice of one of the best of Ottman's troop. Her name was Priya Shah, a woman who had honed her skills fighting in the seemingly endless battlefields of the Middle East, right near her native lands. And those skills were well honed. That was why Penguin had seen to it that she would be the one in place for the first of the Joker's targets. That was the best way of ensuring that nothing went wrong when the inevitability of the nosey rodent arriving struck. "I just got into my new position to observe some more, calling in as requested. The cops are now swarming all over the place to get a look at Hill's corpse. The commissioner himself showed up for a gander. In fact, he's stood over the body right now. I'm looking right at him through my scope. Bit odd that he's in there alone but… No, wait. There's someone else in there with him, lurking in the shadows. It's… It's Batman!"

"May I?"

That was odd, so odd that Penguin had to look up in surprise at the clown. He was not normally one to ask permission, certainly not so politely. Because of that, Penguin could not hold back from allowing the Joker to take over the radio, despite the fact that until then Penguin had done all of the talking with those in the field. At Penguin's gesture, the Joker snatched out like a pouncing python, grabbing the radio from Cornelius' clutches to the extent that the big bodyguard actually recoiled.

"Miss… Shah, isn't it? Do you still have the special armour that was set aside for you? Say yes if you want to stay in my good books. I'd hate for you to get hurt if those police numbskulls track you down."

"Erm… Yes, yes I still have it. I'm wearing that vest, just as instructed," Shah answered the Joker, sounding confused, clearly not knowing who she was talking to, but playing along since the Penguin wasn't complaining. "Are you wanting me to go into the heart of the action next rather than just sniping? What is it, a more personal attack required for the next target?"

"Something like that," the Joker dodged the question. "First though there's a little something else I want you to do for me, from right where you are now, especially if you want to see even one of those dollars you're after. I want you to kill the commissioner, however you see fit."

"You're the boss."

Even as Shah accepted the Joker's order, this time the Penguin really did turn to stare at the Joker in shock. Not that the clown had ordered another death, nor that Commissioner James Gordon was the target. It was the fact that the Joker had given that order in spite of the fact that Shah had already confirmed that Batman was on the scene too. Killing the commissioner, a known ally of his, would certainly bring Shah to the rodent's attention. In fact, Penguin had the very real sense that the Joker had just sacrificed one of their best operatives to the enemy.

And that was even if the Bat didn't save the good Commissioner any way. Considering it all, Penguin could not help but wonder what the Joker's angle was. He had been under the impression that the plan had been to scaremonger around Gotham, to stretch the Bat thin and set the city, ablaze before giving him his own end. This did not align with that plan.

Throw in the attack on the Justice League and now this, Penguin suddenly found that he was really interested in finding out everything the Joker had in mind for that night.

The next second, Penguin heard the gunshot sound over the still open line. The fact that Shah did not immediately come back with a comment on its success was not a good sign.

The grapnel reeled in fast, dragging him along with it. In no time he had cleared the crevice between the buildings but that wasn't enough. Batman had his shoulder tucked in already as he flew up to the rooftop, enabling him to roll and keep moving as soon as he got there.

The sniper was already on the run. They may have been brazen enough to kill the former mayor and attempt to murder the police commissioner, but they apparently weren't foolhardy enough to stand and fight. The shooter was practically at the entrance to the stairwell that led down into the building by the time Batman was on his feet again. He had the batarang hurled before he got that high up, though. The problem was that this assassin was good. Just as she was about to disappear into the building's innards she spun, using the butt of the very rifle she'd used to shoot at Gordon to block the batarang from striking her. She didn't stop moving either. The next second she was out of sight.

But she would not be for long. Batman gave chase, thundering after her along the roof with his cape billowing behind him. This building was plenty wide enough. He had a lot of ground to cover, but he made it in record time. Soon he was bounding through the doorway that the assassin had left open in their wake.

Batman paused when he got there. Patience, intelligence and strategy were always key, even when speed and timing were vital. From his position, Batman could take in everything, could plot his next move. It was a square stairwell, dropping down as far as the eye could see to the lowest floor down below. The place was lit, becoming increasingly so, starting from the top down. Batman soon spotted why. They must have been on a motion sensor, and there was plenty of motion on those stairs below him.

There the assassin was, running down as fast as her feet would carry her. She had made it down about three storeys in the time it had taken him to reach the stairwell. It was nowhere near enough. Not for her.

Surefooted, Batman not only stepped forward but stepped upwards. He didn't chase the killer directly; he didn't head for the stairs. Instead he climbed up onto the handrail. And then he jumped.

The gap was closed before the killer had even descended several steps. Batman's cape billowed out behind him as he dropped, giving him a greater control of his fall. In fact, he was in great control of all of it. It was because of that that he was able to land with such precision and perfection. Tucking in his limbs to both brace and act, both of Batman's feet hit the banister just one flight below the running assassin, allowing him to spring himself down onto the steps beside it. It was an incredible physical feat, one that he would probably be feeling when this day was over. Right now, the testosterone was still pounding.

Slowly and in his full intimidating glory, Batman stood to his full height, glaring up at the killer who was now at the landing just above him.

He saw the panic in her eyes as she stared back down at him. It was his first proper look into them, and they were exactly like those of all of the many other killers and criminals he had dealt with in his time. There was plenty of coldness, perhaps even a little madness, but there was also plenty of fear. Fear that he could play on.

Fear that he was already playing on.

She panicked. In that second it was almost like she completely forgot that she had the gun, even though Batman knew he could have dealt with it if she hadn't. Instead, flight beat fight. She kept on running, only this time in a whole new direction. She had one hell of an obstacle in her way down the stairs. However, the corridor leading off them to her right and into the heart of the building was wide open. It was that way that she skidded towards as soon as her legs would allow her.

In other circumstances that fact may have worried Batman, but he had scouted this place out on his way to investigate Hill's death. This building had once been a bustling hive of activity, a building full of people and their homes. This area wasn't always as prosperous a part of Gotham as it was these days. It was getting improved every day as part of a renovation of the area, the kind of renovation that Hill would have been playing on as part of his failed effort to get power back. It was the play toy of politicians, displacing good Gothamites from their homes in favour of an improved public image. Because of that, the entire building had been cleared out to be turned out into luxury apartments like Hill's. A bad move, a very bad move that Bruce Wayne was fighting, trying desperately to get those who had been displaced into decent homes, along with reparations. Right now, though, it was playing right into Batman's hands. With the building still having its cosmetics redesigned around its sturdy frame, not to mention the fact it was night time, there wouldn't even be the builders around right now. Most importantly, that meant no civilians to get caught in any crossfire, and no hostages for the assassin to try and protect herself with.

It was still just her, and him.

He gave chase, surging up the steps two at a time so that in only three strides he was at the same level as the assassin. However, he had barely stuck his head around the doorframe than he was being forced to duck back from whence he came.

It was the sound that saved him, that tell-tale sound that had haunted his every moment now for so, so many years. It was the sound of a gun being fired. The assassin had regained her composure. That alone told Batman that she was good; normally the criminals took far longer than that in his presence, the smart ones anyway. This killer, though, had tried to use surprise to her advantage. She had stopped and fired, likely from behind cover, clearly hoping to time it right to bring him down as he inevitably gave chase. Luckily, this wasn't his first ball game. Luckily, his skill got him out of the way as the bullet sailed harmlessly by into the wall at the opposite end of the stairwell.

Batman quickly ducked back down beside the frame as yet more bullets started raining in. They weren't constant or consistent, but they were enough to prevent him giving chase through the doorway. From the absence of any footsteps, she was clearly stationary, putting her cards into bringing him down. No doubt she also had a contingency plan, an idea to run, to escape from him. It was a contingency plan that she would surely put into action just as soon as she realised that Batman wasn't fool enough to walk right into her line of fire. However, he wasn't going to allow her to get away. Justice would be served.

A quick scan of the area showed him exactly what he needed. The fuse box was just up above his head. Undoubtedly the shooter had some form of night vision gear, but in here she wouldn't have it on. Instead she was relying on the lights that had all come on with her motion, light that Batman was about to take away. She may have thought that she had him pinned down, that she had opened up her window of escape. But the darkness was his domain. No criminal escaped him.

Over the sound of ongoing gunfire, despite the risks of a stray bullet making it through the walls, he stood and got to work. In no time, he had the job done. Practically a flick of a switch later, and the whole floor descended into blackness.

The assassin panicked once again. She was showing a tendency for that. As before, she seemed to have forgotten that she had the gear to handle this, forgot that she had night vision equipment. As soon as she noticed that her light was gone, all she could do was squeeze even tighter on her trigger. It was just a shame for her that her weapon wasn't an automatic. It meant that even under her constant shooting, the opening was there. Especially as she had lost her chance to aim.

Batman quickly shifted the cowl onto night vision mode. With it, he could easily see into the room. However, before he could go in, he heard the unmistakable click. It was again the sound of a gun trying to be fired. Unlike before, though, this time there were no more bullets.

The assassin growled in both frustration and fear, throwing her gun aside. But she didn't stop there. The sound of footsteps were immediately following. She must have miscalculated her remaining ammo. Now, for her, there was no option but to run.

In turn that was the signal for Batman not to wait around either. It was time for him to give chase again, and so chase he did. Batman didn't wait around. He surged onwards, charging into the abyss. Chances were he would have been able to close the gap quickly anyway. As things were, with him the only one who could see, that gap was closing even quicker.

He should have seen it coming. He should have recognised the signs. He should have seen her actions, her motions. But he didn't, not until it was too late. He didn't see the flash-bang grenade that she dropped on the run until it was practically hitting the ground.

He made to switch off the night vision, but he was the merest fraction of a second too late. The grenade blew, sending blinding light out in all directions. Light that was even more blinding under night vision. So blinding that it was painful. For several moments Batman couldn't see a damn thing. The pain didn't really matter. What mattered was that, blinded, the assassin was having every chance to stretch out that gap all over again.

Eventually Batman managed to blink away at least some of the light, bringing himself some vision back. With it he could see the assassin running onwards, running beyond the long, empty area devoid of all non-load bearing walls and furniture. Running straight into the lift at the far end of the building.

The lift which she then had descending before Batman could get to her.

But Batman didn't give up. She wasn't away from him yet. Even nearly blinded, Batman was not down and out. Slowly but surely he was getting his vision back. The assassin, though, would not be getting any freedom back. Not for a long, old time.

He skidded to a halt right in front of the closed lift doors, doors which had sealed only a few seconds before he got there. He did not wait around though. Quickly he drew the batarang from his belt. Even quicker he jammed it right into the gap between the two doors as hard as he could. Using the weapon as a lever, he pulled, dragging the doors apart enough to get his fingers inside the gap. Then, with all of his might and a growl of effort, he heaved the doors open wide.

The ruckus of mechanisms was unmissable as the lift car descended down towards to base of the building, ferrying the assassin away. Batman could have dove straight after it. He could have gone in direct pursuit, leaping onto the bar despite the distance and then going for the assassin from there. But that wouldn't solve all of the problem. The lift would then still be descending, carrying her further to the ground she was obviously keen to reach. If he wanted to strike fear into her even more, if he wanted to make his job of catching her that bit easier on himself, then halting that lift car before it reached the bottom was vital. That was the reason that his eyes were not drawn downwards straight away. Instead they had been drawn up, up towards the scaffolding still in place from where the redevelopers had already sorted out the lift shaft.

The scaffolding that held the temporary generator that was all hooked up to the lift mechanism. The generator that was clearly giving the lift all of the power it needed to shift.

Batman's hand dashed to his utility belt. Without even having to look his fingers clutched onto the right device within the right pouch. With an instant flick of his arm, he had the device flung. His aim was true as well. It stuck, right on the generator. It was then only a case of flicking the switch.

He had developed the pad as a way of dealing with brutish or superhuman foes that would have a great strength advantage over him. Every device, though, only got better if it could do more than one job. For such a small pad, it could sure hold a lot of current, current that all got released with just the press of a button. Right now, that button was pressed. Right now, all of that current was running through that generator, visibly so. So much so that the generator was being completely overloaded with raw electric power. It didn't take long for the generator to then give up the ghost. It was designed for electricity to run through it, but only so much. With all the extra that Batman had thrown in, it just couldn't cope.

The power was out.

The moving lift immediately groaned and squealed down below. The common misconceived thought would suggest that without power to hold it up or switch on the brakes the thing might plummet. In fact, the opposite was true. The loss of the generator switched off the electromagnets in the lift's brake systems, locking them onto the closed position and bringing that entire car, assassin and all, screeching to a halt down below.

She was sure to be panicking once again now. Batman had her trapped, right where he wanted her.

When he had leapt down the stairwell he had used his cape to steady his fall. This time he needed it for that job all the more. This time, as he calmly stepped off the ledge, he had even more storeys to plummet. Another of his newer gadgets, the cape that he could turn into a glider should he so wish. Right now, though, he was just falling, with style. In no time at all his feet were touching down onto the lift car that held the assassin. He made sure not to make it gentle though, that his impact sent the whole thing rocking. All the better to scare her with.

It would have worked beautifully, if only the assassin hadn't discovered a second clip of ammo that she had clearly forgotten earlier. The roof of the lift may have been metal but it wasn't thick enough stuff to stop the bullets. They were wild, weakened, but still deadly. And the assassin was firing madly and blindly once again. In fact, it was rather miraculous that Batman wasn't hit by those early shots. He wasn't about to stick around and let her find some luck, though. Drawing out his grapnel, he quickly zoomed back up the shaft, to the roof of a neighbouring car hung a floor and a half up from where the assassins had come to a juddering stop.

Through the holes she had shot in the lift Batman could hear the assassin's mad yells as she desperately tried to bring him down, not knowing that he had swung away. She may have been impeccable normally, but the sight of the Batman coming after her had clearly gotten to her far more than she had ever thought it would. Little did she know that she was about to see him again, up close and very personal.

Safe on the roof of the other car, Batman reached into his utility belt once again. Upon the successful field tests of the electroshock pads he had developed a variant. With thieves and scum always going after armoured vans full of cash and with the mobsters so fond of the armoured car or bunker, he had always had the need for some sort of explosive ordinance to be able to blow open sealed yet small places without harming the occupants within. That was what the explosive pad was designed to do; blast metal apart without sending deadly shrapnel and flames out with it.

Right now, with the assassin still all distracted shooting away, the latest pad did its job too. With only a small boom, the metal on the side of the assassins lift car was torn open before Batman's eyes. The whole lift rocked yet held onto its cables, though through the gap now created Batman could see as the assassin almost lost her footing. She lost poise just enough, was thrown off balance just enough that there was nothing that she could do to stop him.

Leaping and gliding once again, Batman hurled himself through the opening that he had just created. He kept going to, slamming all of his weight hard against the assassin, finishing the job of knocking her clean off her feet and the gun from her hand. As they both crashed down onto the metal floor of the lift car, her hand quickly darted for her own belt and the knife that she had sheathed there. Bad move. Batman spotted it immediately. With his power and the high ground, he easily caught her wrist. With his strength and a quick, jerking motion, he had her wrist snapped, the bone shattered. The assassin screamed instantly in pain, the knife suddenly forgotten, but Batman was not done. She could not be allowed the chance to remember how much she wanted to escape and to try something else. She could not be allowed to even partially forget the pain that he could cause her.

With his other hand he grabbed her by the forehead, slamming her head hard against the deck to smash the fight out of her even more. Afterwards and without hesitating, he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Considering he lacked the speed of Kent or the Flash, he moved remarkably quickly as he hoisted her up by it, before proceeding to thrust her towards the opening the he had made. He kept her in the lift, but he held her head out there, to the point where if he were to let go she would fall. Especially with only one working hand now, there was no way that she would save herself from what was still a fairly significant drop. That was a fact that she realised as soon as she blinked the stars away from her vision. Her eyes opened wide as she stared back and forth between the drop and his cowl, particularly at the intense fury that lined the visible part of his face.

"Where is the Joker?!" To the outside ear it may have sounded like he had lost his control, but he hadn't. His training, his extra training had seen to that. Yet he didn't want the assassin to know that. He wanted her to talk, to confess everything, starting with the clown's location. That was why he put so much anger into his voice, so much mad fury. That, thrown in with the fall that was facing her, was so typically Batman, and so typically worked. "Who is the next target?! Who are you?! Why did you kill Hill?!"

"Why not him?" the assassin growled out immediately, her eyes still darting between Batman and the drop but clearly giving up the thought of fighting her way out. There was a note of defiance in her voice but it was clearly for show. The way she started speaking without hesitation, the way she kept speaking, meant that she was clearly ready to blab. "You should know better than most of us how useless he was. Besides, my employer seemed to have a grudge against him, and promised me plenty of cash. Of course I shot him. And the old fool Gordon was meant to be next, until you got in the way. Next for me anyway. I can't tell you who'll be following the bastard Hill into the grave. Only the orchestrators knew that. Our assassins are everywhere, even if the rest are hardly Priya Shah. Now let me back in."

Priya Shah. That must have been her name. It was a name that Batman had heard of, an assassin he knew had operated out of the Middle East for years. But she had never come across Batman's radar, not least of all because she hadn't worked in Gotham before. For her to be here now showed even more that the Joker meant business. That wasn't good. But then, none of this whole thing was good. Both in Gotham, and far, far above…

"Where is the Joker?!" Batman howled out, repeating the first question, not missing that Shah had dodged that one, the one that was perhaps the most important. Stopping the assassins one by one was all well and good, it could save lives, but stopping the Joker was the only way to bring an end to all of this fast. All of it. Including what was happening on the Watchtower. Despite all of the action, Batman hadn't forgotten that, not even slightly.

"The Joker?" Shah repeated, starting to sound confused, almost like she had missed the words first time around. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't know that that clown had anything to do with this. I was hired by the middle man of a middle man of an unknown employer. But hell, if that is the Joker, I don't care. And I have no idea where he is. All I ever cared about was that I get paid."

"Oh, it's too late for that, my dear."

Batman didn't say that line. Neither did Shah. Instead, it had come from elsewhere, an electronic source. It was that same voice again coming over a radio. That same, maddening voice that caused such chaos. It was the Joker all over again.

"Hiya Bats!" the clown's voice continued to rain out over them. With his trained ear, Batman quickly picked out the source. It was coming from within Shah, from beneath the bullet proof vest she was wearing as part of her assassin's kit. "Boy, am I glad to see you made it! I'd have hated for you to miss the show, particularly since it's all being done especially for you. Well, you and that lovely new bit of squeeze of yours. I hope she's enjoying all of this too. You're just such a wonderful pair, and not only because she's got such a wonderful pair! Seriously, seeing her makes me want to upgrade my Harley! Ha! Hahahahahaha! Oh, Batsy, you do make me laugh! But, you see, the thing is it's all still way too early for you to find me, or to discover any more of tonight's little surprises. I'm sure you're Bat-chums are keeping you up to date with the big bang going off in space about now. Well there's another one set to go too. One far, far closer to home. Hehehehe ha hahahah ha! Later Bats! This broad's about to blow!"

Batman was in action before the Joker had even finished talking. He had to be. He had to act fast. He had picked up the Joker's meaning before he had even put it so bluntly. Utilising his hold over Shah, he practically threw her back inside the lift car and against the still closed doors. Shah was still too shocked, scared and hurting to do anything to oppose him. From the look on her face she had no idea that the Joker had any sort of radio on her, most likely told simply to keep some mysterious bit of kit on her for whatever her next task was supposed to be.

She still didn't resist as Batman drew a razor edged batarang and plunged it into her torso. The weapon didn't cut into her though. Her vest saw to that, the under part anyway. Kevlar, worn by an assassin who knew that she would possibly have to tangle with police gunners. Kevlar that had apparently been supplied to her by either one of the "middlemen" or the "employer", since she apparently didn't know what lay in wait for her inside it.

The Joker had always had a habit for disguising explosives and weaponry. His acid squirting flower lapel and exploding marbles were prime examples. This vest was another. It wasn't actually bullet proof or stab-proof as Shah had clearly thought when she had put it on in the false belief that it may protect her. Batman tore open the outer vest to reveal its innards in the exact same instant that the Joker stopped talking. Instead of linings and layers to help shield her, the Joker had used the vest to hide his radio, using it to listen in on everything. But that wasn't all he had used his special vest for.

He had used it to turn his own assassin into a living bomb.

A living bomb that was about to go off.

There was an electronic squeal, a kind of warning as if a signal had been received. Batman knew exactly what it meant without having to see the movement of the small mechanisms of the compact device. Shah clearly knew it too, her eyes widening in horror. Despite everything that she had done, Batman would have saved her if he had had just one second more.

But he didn't have that second. There wasn't time to rip that vest off of her. There wasn't time to cut it lose and then get them both clear. There was only time to jump.

Batman could feel the flames chasing him as he leapt out through the hole he had already blown in the lift car, trying not to think about the pieces of what was once Priya Shah that would be being blasted in all directions at the same time. He tumbled fast out of there, relieved once again that the lift had stopped with plenty of the building still left below. The Joker hadn't been able to make the explosion too large with such a small detonator, but he had done plenty well enough. The fireball bursting out said that plainly.

Batman fell fast, not bothering to slow himself with his cape this time. This time he needed to move rapidly to escape from the chaos. There was not only the flames, but all the damage they were doing too. The lift car was being shredded, shrapnel flying out. Most notably, the lift car finally gave up the ghost. After all it had been through, the cable finally snapped. The remains of the wrecked car fell, starting to come crashing down after him to deliver a death knell blow, even if Batman could have landed safely. And yet he could not grapnel up, not right away. He had to get clear of the flames first.

That was why he continued to let himself fall. That car came crashing towards him, its cables lashing out like a whip, with very little he could do to dodge. Thankfully he wasn't hit. Thankfully it didn't take him long to fall. Thankfully he was soon able to fire the grapnel.

He made it just before a chunk of shrapnel reminiscent of a dagger crashed through just where his body had been tumbling. Thankfully the second lift car survived the blast. For the second time in minutes, grapnelling onto the roof of that lift had just saved his life. Down below, the lift came to a tumultuous stop.

Steadily Batman stood atop the surviving car to his full height, staring down at the chaos that the Joker had just unleashed. There was plenty of it, just as there always was when that clown was loose. And this was just the start. Hamilton Hill was dead. They had tried to kill Jim Gordon. And now the one solid lead that they had to the Joker had just been killed in a fiery cataclysm.

All because of him. All because he had let Diana in. All because the Joker knew…

This could not be allowed to go on. They may have only been at it for a short amount of time, but suddenly Batman knew that this had gone on for too long. The game of cat and mouse had gone on too long. Being stuck simply following the Joker's line of madness had gone on too long. This whole thing had to stop, before everything got even worse. They could not allow things to get worse. He could not.

"Batman? Batman, are you there? Are you all right? How's my… How's the commissioner? The police band's going crazy. They say someone took a shot at him, and now they're saying there's been some kind of explosion within one of the other buildings. I–"

"Your father's fine. The bullet missed," Batman quickly interrupted. Barbara had sounded frantic as her voice had suddenly rang out over his comm unit. He had to reassure her. He liked to tell himself that it was in order to help her keep her focus on the mission, but he was also more human than he liked to admit. "The explosion was the Joker's assassin, the one who killed Hill. I caught her, but the Joker was listening in, and he'd managed to trick her into wearing a bomb."

"So he blew up his own assassin?" Barbara questioned, sounding like she could hardly believe it. "Even for the Joker that's pretty insane! Did she know anything? Did she know something that could have lead us to him? Oh, and thank you. I know it was you that saved the commissioner."

"She didn't even know that it was the Joker paying her," Batman responded, ignoring Barbara's ending comment. Barbara didn't need to thank him for that. No one would ever have to thank him for something like that. He was just doing what he needed to do. He had just saved a good man. "He just killed her out of his twisted sense of humour. So tell me that you've found something on your end. Because if there is any evidence here of where the Joker is or who his next target will be, it's either gone or buried so deep that we'll never find it in time."

"I'm sorry, but I've got nothing yet," Barbara answered, the regret entirely evident in her voice. She knew the stakes, she knew the time constraints. She knew that they were in big, big trouble. "I've hacked into every camera in the city I can get into but there's been no sign of the Joker yet, nor have any flags come up regarding known associates, no matter how wide I cast the net. He's covered his tracks well. I haven't found anything in the recording you sent me either, not even a background sound that might be a giveaway. But Batman, there is one thing that I've noticed. Unless the Joker said anything else before he blew up his assassin, I think that Diana is safe."

Batman fell silent. He had been wanting to ask the question, had been absolutely desperate too, but he had to stay in control. He had to keep his focus. He had to stop the Joker. But now that Barbara had mentioned Diana's name, he also had to know. He had to know if she and the rest had survived. He had to know what was going on up in orbit.

"I still can't reach anyone on the Watchtower," Barbara went on after only a moment of Batman staying quiet. "I can't confirm anything about the toxin alert we had earlier. But other satellites picked up explosions off the Watchtower a few minutes ago, and several craft flying around there. More importantly the Watchtower is still there, and still giving off plenty of a heat signature. People are still alive up there, Batman, and I'm convinced that Wonder Woman is one of them. The Joker made a point of referencing her in that recording he left you. If he'd killed her, there's no way that he wouldn't be gloating. She's still alive. I'm sure of it."

Barbara was making one hell of a point. The Joker had referred to Diana again over Shah's hidden radio, referred to her in the present tense. He had also talked about an explosion, not a toxic attack. All things considered, it suggested that the Joker's attack on the Watchtower had been largely thwarted. Still, there was no way of knowing how much damage had been done beforehand. There was no way of knowing if Dick, Kent, John and the rest of them were still alive.

There was no way of confirming that Diana was still alive.

Once again Batman looked at the carnage down below him in the lift shaft. This whole thing had gone too far. Way too far. The rage was building up inside Batman even more than it normally would, so far that he truly had to fight to keep it under control. This had to stop. No one else could be allowed to die. And what they were currently doing, it was going to take too damn long. They had to get more proactive.

"Batgirl, keep doing what you're doing," Batman quickly instructed, not voicing the thanks that he felt towards her. "Keep trying to track the Joker down."

"And what about you?" Barbara asked. "What will you be doing next, if there's no evidence at Hill's place?"

"The Joker's working this one from underground, keeping himself out of the limelight," Batman answered her, his voice a very deep growl. "Hunting him as the GCPD would isn't going to work. We'll just end up chasing after shadows until everyone is already dead or dying. We need someone who lives underground themselves, who's tight in enough to that world to be able to point us in the direction we need to go, who will have heard things, know things, but who has enough of a conscience tucked away that they'll actually help without needing time consuming coercion. And since she's been back in town for a couple of months now, I know exactly the person who fits the bill."

Batman clicked his comm off as soon as he said that. Barbara was smart enough to figure out who he meant, but he had no desire to discuss it in a committee. He did not want to argue about this and discuss the merits of it, the rights and wrongs. He had decided. There was a chance that this could go nowhere, but there was also a chance that it could reveal everything to him.

Reaching up, he fired his grapnel towards the top of the lift shaft, planning on exiting this building the same way that he had entered it. However, even as he soared upwards as the line reeled in, his mind kept drifting back out to the full breadth of Gotham, certain that the Joker's next victim would not be far behind Hill and Shah. More, his mind drifted back up to the Watchtower, to Dick, to Clark.

To Diana. She had to be safe. He had to save them all.

He could only hope that she would know something. There was no doubts that she would be keeping her ear to the ground, even if she hadn't been active enough to draw the Batman's attention since her return. She was just too embedded in the underworld, in the life of crime these days to ever be truly out of it, and that meant that there was every chance that she might have heard something, that one of her contacts from all those thefts that she had to fleece might know something useful. After all, Shah had mentioned middlemen. Someone must have heard who they were.

And there was every chance that Catwoman might know just who that someone was.