"Didn't your daddy tell you to stay home tonight?" the man's voice purred in my ear.

My knees felt weak. A brick had just settled in my stomach. A tingling sensation spun through my head.

"Well, didn't he?"

I nodded and whispered, "Yes."

"Look what happened since you didn't listen. You're in trouble yet again, but this time, no one can save you. You are mine, now, and no one will ever know what happened to you."

I felt the arms release me. There was no point in running. He was right. I turned to look at him. A pair of villainous green eyes leered at me.

"I thought you were supposed to be in jail," I mumbled, looking at the ground.

"I was in jail, my dear little thing. Do you think a silly little jail building could keep me from getting what I wanted?" Surtoff scoffed.

"Apparently not." I took a deep breath and looked around. There was no one here. It was the middle of the night. The knot in my stomach tied itself tighter.

"Now, since it seems like you're going to cooperate this time, would you like to know how I knew you'd be here, Miss Thomas?" the doctor smiled widely at me. I was in trouble, and he knew that I knew it.

The longer we stood here in the middle of the disaster site, I thought to myself, the better chance there was of a nighttime patrol man coming by and spotting us. "Yes, please," I meekly replied.

"They never found your precious little boyfriend."

"How'd you know that?" I breathed.

Surtoff raised an eyebrow. "My entire Gotham team was killed in those explosions. Idiots didn't have any idea what they were doing. Blow up the university. Easy. Well, they got the job done, but they didn't get out." He chuckled. "Idiots! At least I'm rid of them now." After a moment's pause, "I know exactly what's happened here. It was my plan, it was my doing!"

"Well," I laughed in disbelief, "you didn't do a very good job! Look at the thousands of people who got away. Barely anyone died, and only a few people were hurt."

"No, no, no," Surtoff interrupted. "I didn't mean to kill, no, not at all. It didn't hurt anything that a handful of people were killed, but that was never the goal, Miss Thomas. The goal was that I get you back into my grasp, and get everyone else out of the way. Look, it worked! Everyone's tired after today's events. They entire police team aren't thinking of coming back here until the morning. You're out here all by yourself, no doubt searching for your boyfriend. Now, come. You'll come with me. We've stood out here long enough."

My mind spun as I went through all the options in my head. Bruce would wake up in the morning and find me missing. Someone would find his car here. I glanced at it. It was in the open where I'd parked it. It was hard to miss. Gordon would find that Surtoff had broken out. Why didn't they know that already? Oh well, I couldn't do anything about it at the moment. Surtoff needed my DNA. He'd probably have to keep me alive, at least for a while. The chances of Gordon and my father finding me weren't too shabby, I figured.

I nodded. "Okay."

Surtoff grabbed my forearm and pulled me around a large pile of broken concrete. A large black SUV was parked there, perfectly hidden from sight. He pulled open the back door for me.

I screamed as something flew out of the SUV and into Surtoff, knocking him backwards onto the concrete. There was a sickening thud as his skull met the blocks. Upon shaking my head and looking closer, I found that Surtoff was now wrestling with a man dressed in a long black coat and a black stocking cap. I couldn't tell who it was, but I didn't care. Whoever it was, whether he was a thief or a looter, I was thankful. I'd rather deal with a feisty young man than a malicious evil scientist.

There were grunts and cries of pain, but all from Surtoff. The newcomer was completely silent as he delivered blow after blow.