Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot! The plot belongs to me; DC Comics basically owns everything else.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Friday
December 9, 2005
10:26 AM
Gotham City Library
"No offense or anything," Donna started off as she took a seat at the back table behind the large bookshelf in the back of the library, "but why did you guys want to come to the library exactly? Wouldn't it be more suitable to go to a store with a lot of people or something? That way no one could hear us."
"No one could hear us back here either," Dick replied as he took a seat across from her and Kory sat at the end of the table, "mostly because no one comes to this section. Not even the librarian. So, talk."
Donna explained every detail of what happened in the court room after the Justices started the two hour recess.
"They're most likely gonna kill the Justices." Kory said after Donna finished telling them what happened. "They're not Gotham judges. They won't be paid off so they'll most likely get killed."
Dick pulled out his cell phone and turned it on before turning to Donna.
"What was the number he dialed?" He asked as he started a text message.
Donna closed her eyes, trying to call back the brief image of the number that was somewhere in her mind. Slowly the numbers started to come to her.
"5…5…5…9…8…7…" She paused and bit her lower lip in concentration as she tried to recall the last number, "…6."
Dick punched in the numbers and typed something else into the message before sending it out.
"Now," He said as he got up, "let's grab a quick bite before we go back to the courthouse."
"Works for me." Kory said as she got up.
"Yeah, me too." Donna replied before they left the room.
Meanwhile-Gordon House-Barb's room
Babs sat at her desk tapping her pencil as she looked down in disinterest at the book in front of her.
Her cell phone started vibrating so much it fell off the table but she caught it easily while still staring at her homework.
She finally brought it up and, the instant she looked down at it, she jumped out of her seat and rushed out of her room.
She slid down the banister until she got to the front door and grabbed her basketball jacket and keys.
She picked up the pen next to the small notepad on the table next to the door and wrote a quick note to her dad before rushing out the door and down the street.
She pushed past the pedestrians as she ran down the sidewalks, not even stopping at intersections when cars were passing by.
She was finally forced to a halt when she ran into someone and they both toppled to the ground.
"I'm really sorry." She immediately started apologizing as she got up and helped the girl she had run into, back to her feet.
The girl just grinned.
She had dark black hair and bright blue eyes which were alight with happiness. She was a few inches shorter than Babs and seemed to be a year or so younger.
"I'm Toni Moretti." She introduced herself proudly as she shook Barb's hand.
"Aren't you the daughter of the Senator of New Jersey?" Babs asked immediately upon hearing the girl's last name.
"That's me." Toni replied with a shrug, "Dad got invited to Mr. Waynes annual Christmas party and he already had some business to do here in Gotham so he decided to bring me for an extended vacation."
"Cool." Babs said with a smile before catching sight of her watch. "I gotta go. Sorry again for knocking you over."
She called her last sentence over her shoulder as she took off down the sidewalk again.
She ran at top speed until she finally reached Wayne Manor and burst through the door.
She went straight for the back room and didn't look back.
When she finally reached the cave, and was in the computer lab she and Vic shared, did she finally breath a sigh of relief.
She took out her cell phone from her jeans pocket and copied the number into a special tracking program in the computer.
The doors opened with a swoosh as the computer started searching the city for the location of the cell phone.
"What are you tracking?" Bruce asked as he walked up behind her.
"A cell phone." She answered as she opened up another program, "Dick sent me a text saying that Grant was going to try to kill the Supreme Court Justice's and wanted me to track the number Donna saw Grant call and find out who owns it, where he is, what he's up to, you get the idea."
"I do." Bruce said as he put on his coat. "I need to go to the hospital for a while but while you're searching for that cell phone, can you do me a favor and call this number?"
"Sure," Babs said as she turned and took a slip of paper from hi hands, "why?"
"Alfred's been feeling a little under the weather lately," Bruce just told her as he started to walk away, "so he gave me the number for his nephew. Call him up and tell him that Alfred's not feeling well and needs a little help around the house. My private jet will be waiting to pick him up around tomorrow."
"Got it." Babs said as she picked up a headset and opened up a phone on her computer. She was just about to type in the number when she called back to Bruce. "Why are you going to the hospital?"
He just left the room.
She sighed before typing in the number he gave her and waited for a reply on the other line.
"Hello," Came a male voice with a thick British accent, "who's this?"
"Um, hello," She paused and looked down at the slip of paper and read the name off of it, "is a Nicholas Pennyworth there?"
"This is he," Nicholas replied, "but who is this?"
"This is Barbera Gordon." Babs introduced herself, "I'm calling because your uncle, Alfred, isn't feeling so well and would like some help here at Wayne Manor. Mr. Wayne has offered to send his private jet over to pick you up around this time tomorrow."
"Uncle Alfred?" He said concernedly, "Is he alright?"
"I'm not sure, Mr. Wayne just asked me to call you and let you know. Do you think you could come?"
"Of course. I'll be ready by eight o'clock tonight. Do you think he could send his plane over then?"
"I could set it up."
"Very well than. Eight o'clock tonight. I should be in Gotham by morning."
"Thank you."
Babs clicked on the button with the red phone on it, ending their conversation. Just as she did, the screen she had opened to the tracker and a small blue dot started blinking in one place.
She clicked it and a file immediately opened up on him. She clicked recent calls and found a list of all the people he had received or made calls to and printed it out.
She easily hacked into the phones camera and was able to see the roof of an small building.
She minimized the screen before double-clicking the dot which made an address appear and she quickly jotted it down.
10:23 PM-G.C.P.D. Headquarters-Roof
"So," Commissioner Gordon said as he leaned against the bar surrounding the large signals that were currently covered over by a thick tarp, "this guy is going to try to kill the Supreme Court Justice's."
"Call up cell phone company and ask for a transcript of his last twenty-five calls sent over." Batgirl told him as she lent against the entrance to the roof. "And keep a close lookout on the Justice's. Nightwing, Starfire, and Wonder Girl are already nearby in case anything happens but you guys are the only ones that can take the culprits in. We can only give you a hand."
"Anyway you can help is good with me." Commissioner Gordon told her with a grateful smile.
"Good to know." She told him, smiling back before taking out her line gun and shooting off to the building across from the rooftop and flying off.
She ran across the snow covered rooftops until she reached one of the buildings surrounding the hotel that housed the Supreme Court Justice's.
She stopped on the ledge of the building just behind Wonder Girl.
"How's it going?" She asked her older friend as she pulled out her binoculars and focused in on the floor the Justice's resided on.
"No movement so far." Wonder Girl reported, "They just went from the conference room to their separate rooms now. Wing and Star are down on ground level keeping an eye out there."
"Okay," Batgirl said as she checked around, "I'll head over to the other side and make sure no one tries to sneak in from there."
Wonder Girl nodded before picking the younger girl up.
"It'd be better if I brought you," She said as she flew up high, "that way there's less of a chance of them spotting you."
"Good call." Batgirl said with a grateful smile as Wonder Girl swiftly flew her over to the other side of the hotel and set her down in the shadows before taking off back to her spot on the other side.
She watched carefully through her binoculars for hours, only putting them down for a few seconds to rub the sleep from her eyes.
"Do you see what I see?" Came Starfire's voice through the communicator in her ear.
She lifted her binoculars once more and looked around her side of the building.
"Ten floors down and slowly working their way up." Starfire told her from her place on the ground.
She brought the powerful binoculars down a few floors and saw a few window washers working their way up the building.
"Well that's not odd." She said sarcastically before shooting off her line gun and swinging over to the building.
Her feet touched down on the glass easily, and she removed the line from the gun and hooked it to her utility belt and stared down at the shocked window washers.
"Going somewhere boys?" She asked them with a huge smirk.
"We just came to wash the last few windows." One of them said coolly.
"At eleven at night?" Batgirl told them, cocking her head to the side a bit, "I don't think so."
Before they could pull out their guns she took out two bat-a-rangs and flung them at the lines holding the platform they were on, slicing them easily.
They screamed loudly as they fell only to be caught a few floors down by Starfire who flew them over to an alley not to far away.
She threw the platform to the ground, causing them to jump off as it shattered.
"Don't you think that was a bit much?" Wonder Girl asked from behind her as some of the men started to groan.
"Are you kidding?" Starfire said before firing a star bolt at one of them for trying to get away. He fell to the ground in seconds. "I'm just getting started."
She fired a few more until only two were left, cowering against the wall of a nearby building. They tried moving back as she stepped toward them.
"Let's begin with the questioning, shall we?" She said as she put her hands, palms out, in front of each of their faces, "And no lying."
Meanwhile-Back at the Hotel
Batgirl was just about to cut the line when something started pulling her up.
She looked up and saw a blue bird's head over the edge and a partially shadowed face.
"They weren't the only ones." Nightwing told her as he pulled her over the edge of the building and onto the roof. "Do you have anything that can take out security cameras yet?"
"I knew one of you was gonna ask eventually," Batgirl said with a smile as she pulled out a few thin, metal, bats from her utility belt, "so I made sure to have these ready. They're built with-"
"You can explain later." Nightwing cut her off as he pulled her over to the roof top entrance and pulled out a lock pick set. He opened the door in a matter of seconds and they both hurried down. "Right now, just set them up and make sure they take out every part of the security system. Lasers, security camera's, lockdown system, everything."
They edged closer to the top floor and she slipped one of the thin bats onto the wall next to her and waited a few seconds.
A few seconds was all it took before its eyes lit up.
She grinned.
"It worked!" She whispered happily.
"Good for that, let's go." Nightwing said passively as he moved down from the stairs to the carpeted floor.
"At least it's warmer in here." Batgirl muttered behind him as they slowly made their way to the next set of stairs.
"How many of those do you have?" He asked as they slowly made their way down the stairs.
"Eleven." She told him as they continued down, not stopping at the next floor.
"Nightwing, Batgirl." Came Starfire's voice from the communicators in their ears, "We have major trouble. The other members of Falcone's gang that are in there are dressed like bellhops and waiters. They plan on setting up a bomb in the vent system and grabbing the Justice's with knockout gas. It's a set up for a murder. Hundred of people will die and once the building goes down it'll be hard to find out whose body is who. The people will think the Justice's are dead."
"Starfire, get up to the floor the Justice's are on and help me stop whoever's going to use the knockout gas on them." Nightwing immediately ordered as he pulled out his gas mask from his utility belt and slipped it on, "Wonder Girl, you head to the security room and let them know what's going on. Batgirl will fin the bomb and disarm it. They probably started a few minutes before the guys that were trying to make themselves out as window washers were caught, so we don't have much time left. Let's move!"
He moved quickly and silently down the stairs and kicked down the door to the fifty-second floor.
The hallway was already thick with knockout gas but the lenses of his mask easily saw through it and over to the men pulling the Justice's out of the room.
He pulled out a night-a-rang and threw it high until it hit one of the ceiling sprinklers and caused the whole system on that floor to go off. The smoke started to die down and he moved swiftly through it, flipped up into the air, and landed hard on of the gang members heads, jumping off before he crumpled to the ground.
The window behind one of the other gangsters was blasted open by a star bolt and hit him square in the back, knocking him out.
Starfire and Nightwing quickly fought their way to where the Justice's lay. Once they were each at one side of the unconscious Justice's Starfire spoke.
"You think you could've found a better way to get rid of the gas?" She asked with a smirk.
"You think you could've found a better way to get inside?" Nightwing shot back with a smirk as well.
One of the gang members still standing tried to jump Nightwing but he sent a smooth uppercut that hit him square in the chin and knocked him back into someone else.
Starfire shot a star beam out that hit the gang members closest to her.
Meanwhile-In the vent system
"You'd think a nice hotel like this would have bigger vents." Batgirl muttered to herself as she slowly crawled through the vents, a bomb tracker in her hand.
She looked at it and saw that she had to keep going straight.
She crawled through slowly and finally made it to the end of the vent only to find that it led to the elevator cable.
She looked down and went back into the vent just as the elevator sped past her.
"Next time Wing or Star is gonna climb through the vents and I'm gonna take care of the gang members trying to kill innocent people. It'll be much safer that way." She whispered to herself once more before looking out to see that the elevator had stopped a few yards above her head.
She moved quickly and jumped onto the cable before checking the bomb tracker once more.
She slid down the cable, looking up every so often to make sure that the elevator was not moving yet, until she reached the thirtieth floor and quickly jumped from the cable to the vent.
She grabbed the side of the opening while the rest of her body slammed into the metal wall. Just as she started to pull herself up, the elevator started moving down, slowly at first, then it started speeding up.
She quickly pulled herself up and into the vent, the bottom of her boot just skimming the fast elevator.
She let out a sigh of relief before continuing.
Finally she heard the beeping of a countdown nearby and turned at a connecting vent to see a large bomb with only a minute left until it blew.
"Shit."
Down in the lobby
"Clear them out slowly." Commissioner Gordon ordered his officers as they helped take the hotel guests out of the hotel.
He turned to Wonder Girl who had a finger to her ear and a small microphone near her cheek.
"Okay." She finally said, "I'm on my way." She turned to Commissioner Gordon.
"Bomb's in a vent on the thirtieth floor." She told him as she floated up, "There's less than a minute until it blows which means she doesn't have enough time to stop it herself."
"I'll send up a few bomb squad members to-" He started as he turned to some of the bomb squad members in the corner, waiting to be called in.
"No need." Was all Wonder Girl told him before she went over and pulled open one of the doors to the elevator and took off from there.
She flew quickly, and pushed the elevator up when it started coming down, before she finally stopped and flew into the vent system hooked up on the thirtieth floor, opposite Batgirl's side.
She easily broke the thin metal above the bomb and herself and floated up easily.
"Don't wait up." She told Batgirl before switching the bomb back to the other side and down the vent.
She stopped when she reached the elevator and didn't hesitate before flying up, raising one of her arms over her head and busting through the roof of the building.
Once she made it through she threw the bomb up into the air and it exploded in seconds.
She sighed as smoke filled the sky and sat on the snow covered roof top to catch her breath and rubbed the back of her neck.
Finally she pushed the button on her new communicator and spoke.
"Bomb's clear." She told them before looking around at the damage she had caused, "But we may need to pay for a new roof. And vent system for the thirtieth floor."
"Don't worry about it." Starfire said with a laugh, "The city has a fund for repairs to damage that's made by us or any villain that caused it."
"Thank goodness." Wonder Girl replied with a smile. "So, how'd it go for you and Nightwing?"
"Let's just say we were done before you cleared the roof." Nightwing replied, and Wonder Girl could practically see the large smirk on his face.
A/N: Woohoo! Two updates in one week. I'd say that's an improvement. We also have an Argent sighting! She won't be a major part of this story but she will appear again.
Hope you all liked this chapter! Please review!
