The next chapter of The Tapes.
"Selina!" Batman yells, hoping for a response. When no response comes, he quickly presses a button of his gauntlet, activating a frequency tracker. Batman quickly grapnel boosts up and off a roof and glides in the direction the frequency was coming from. He glides through the city, from the Bowery towards Park Row. He soon finds that the frequency leads to a alley below. He quickly down into the alley, landing a feet from where the frequency was coming from. He looks up to see a frantic looking April with tears in her eyes, kneeling next to a face down Catwoman. Batman quickly makes his way over to them, kneeling to check on Catwoman. "What happened?" Batman questions, shocked.
"I-I don't know!" April answers, still frantic, "She screamed and tackled me, then there was gunfire! I just... I don't know!" Batman sees a gunshot wound in the top left side of Catwoman's back, and bloody bandage from her earlier wounds. He then checks her neck for a pulse.
"Still alive." Batman thinks. He then looks up at April. "Are you alright?" he questions.
"Y-yeah?" April replies.
"Good." Batman says, "Because I need you to get to the Church and tell them what happened."
"Is she gonna be okay?" April questions, concerned.
"She'll be fine." Batman informs, "Now, hurry!" April is hesitant for a moment, then runs off. Batman gently starts to roll Catwoman onto her back, a few painful groans escaping Catwoman mouth. "Selina." Batman whispers. Catwoman eyes twitch for a moment, then she opens them a bit to see Batman.
"...Batman..." Catwoman mutters, barely conscious.
"Don't speak." Batman says, "You have to conserve your strength." He slowly starts to pick her up into his arms, even more pain groans escaping Catwoman. "Hold on, Selina." Batman whispers, as he quickly makes his way down the alley, "Please... just hold on." He rushes through the streets and alleys, trying to make it to the Church. Eventually, he reaches it and kicks open the front gate. He enters through the front door, then enters into the Cathedral. Batman sees April talking to one of the doctors, then she looks over at him and points to him.
"There she is!" April informs. The doctor looks over to see Batman carrying a bloody Catwoman in his arms, then rushes over.
"We got a gunshot victim!" the doctor announces, as he takes Catwoman Batman and rushes her into another part of the Cathedral. Surgeons and other doctors follow them, carrying some medical supplies with them. Batman looks down to see Catwoman's blood on his suit. All of a sudden, Robin comes up to him.
"What happened?" Robin questions, shocked.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Batman answers, then looks over to see Dr. Parkins sitting alone. He makes his over to her. "Does you PhD include Child Psychology?" Batman questions.
"Uh... yes." Dr. Parkins answers, a bit confused, "Why?"
"The girl." Batman says. Dr. Parkins looks over at April, then back at Batman. "She's suffering schizophrenia and she's run out of her medication." Batman explains, "She needs your help. Try to keep her stable as long as you can."
"Who is she?" Dr. Parkins replies.
"Your patient's daughter." Batman informs. Dr. Parkins eyes widen in complete and utter shock.
"A-April?' Dr. Parkins questions, "Oh my god! How did she-"
"That's not important." Batman states, "What is important is that you take care of her."
"...Does Jason know?" Dr. Parkins replies.
"No." Batman answers, "And he won't."
"But it's his daughter!" Dr. Parkins says, "He has a right to know!"
"Not now." Batman states, "Kane's not in his right mind at the moment."
"But you don't understand, this might help him towards recovery!" Dr. Parkins explains.
"This isn't the time or the place to worry about Kane's recovery." Batman informs, "When he's relocated to the Asylum, then the recovery process can begin. But right now, Kane's suffering from extreme paranoia. Telling him the condition his daughter's in right now will only send him over the edge. And if that happens, people are going to get hurt. Or even worse, killed."
"Jason isn't like that." Dr. Parkins replies.
"You're letting your infatuation for him blind you from the truth." Batman states.
"I'm not infatuated with..." Dr. Parkins tries to say, but stops. She is silent for a moment, then sighs in accept. "Please... enough." she says, "I know he's not the same. But something's happened to him, I know it. Please... he can't be held responsible for his actions."
"I've heard many doctors make excuses for the criminally insane, Parkins." Batman informs, "And they've all been wrong. There's no reason why I should look at this any differently." Just then, he hears Catwoman groaning in pain from across the Cathedral. "...I have to go." Batman states, "If you really care about Kane, you'll take care of his daughter." Dr. Parkins is silent for a moment, then nods. Batman then turns and makes his way towards the exit, passing by Robin on his way. "Keep me informed on her condition." Batman orders.
"Whose?" Robin questions, "Selina's or April's?"
"Both." Batman answers.
"Don't you think you should clean up first?" Robin replies. Batman doesn't respond, as he leaves the Cathedral and the Church. He marks the location Catwoman was shot at on his map, then grapnel boosts up into the air and glides in the direction of the location on the map. After a few minutes, he arrives back at the alley, then makes his way over to a small puddle of blood. He then notices the words "NEVER GET IN MY WAY" written on the wall in Catwoman's blood, along with the initials 'RH' written below it. Batman narrows his eyes, as he switches to detective mode and begins to scan the blood on the wall. After the scan is completed, he sends the data to the Batcomputer.
"Bruce, what am I looking at here?" Oracle's voice questions in his ear.
"Blood." Batman answers, pressing the button on his cowl.
"I know that." Oracle informs, "But it's... Selina's. What happened?"
"She was shot." Batman explains, as he notices another small puddle by the wall and scans it, "Possibly trying to protect April. I need you to cross-examine the blood for any particle that may stand out." The scan completes. "Whoever did this used bleach to clean Selina's blood off of their body, covering their tracks." Batman says.
"You don't think it's Hush again, do you?" Oracle replies.
"Unlikely." Batman states, "Hush's only motives were to kill me and ruin my reputation. Someone was trying to kill April for a reason. Possibly to send a message to Kane."
"Two-Face?" Oracle questions.
"Likely." Batman answers, as he turns and sees where the bullet impacted into the ground and begins to scan it.
"You think Deadshot could be involved?" Oracle replies.
"Unlikely." Batman says, "Still incarcerated in an isolated facility. Scan the criminal database for any assassins or mercenaries with the initials 'RH'. For now, I'll follow the trajectory of the bullet to see if I can find more clues."
"While you do that, I'll keep cross-examining the blood." Oracle informs, as the transmission ends. When the scan is complete, the trajectory of the bullet could be seen with an illuminating orange line. Batman turns and grapnels boosts up into the air and glides in the air, following the orange line. Eventually, he reaches a roof where the line ends. Batman sets up a crime scene and begins to search the area for evidence. He eventually spots a shell casing and scans it. When the scan is completed, he picks it up and examines it. He presses the button on his cowl.
"The shooter used an M24 sniper rifle." Batman informs, "He left behind his shell casing."
"Any prints?" Oracle questions.
"Negative." Batman answers, "The shooter made sure to leave little evidence behind. How's the search coming along?"
"Nothing promising yet." Oracle states.
"And the blood?" Batman adds.
"Hmm... it seems to contain trace amounts of residue from a Kevlar thread." Oracle says, "Just like the ones that make up your suit. Unfortunately, any remaining residue may have been washed off by the bleach, so you won't be able to use it for tracking."
"Is there anything we can learn from the gun?" Batman questions.
"Only that we can rule out Dent as a suspect." Oracle explains, "There's been a few shootings that the sniper was involved in for the past few weeks, before Kane took over Joker's turf. The gun was used to kill the drivers that were delivering medical supplies to Arkham City."
"So, they're connected." Batman says.
"What are?" Oracle questions, a bit confused.
"I'll see if I can gather anymore evidence." Batman informs, "Until then, keep searching for any matches."
"Got it." Oracle replies, "I'm also adding the finally touches to another tape. I'll send it to you when it's finished. ...How is Selina, by the way?" Batman is silent for a moment.
"...I'm not sure." Batman answers, "I'm waiting for an update from Tim on her condition."
"...And you?" Oracle questions.
"What do you mean?" Batman says.
"I mean... I know what kind of relationship you've had with her." Oracle explains, "And after what happened before... I'd hate to see what'd happen if Selina-" Before Oracle could finish, the transmission statics out.
"Barbara, are you there?" Batman questions, confused, "Barbara?" The only thing Batman could hear was static. He ends the transmission, a bit confused.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What will happen next? Please Review. Thanks.