Chapter Twenty-Four

Damian's display of loyalty seemed to surprise his mother, since her eyebrows went up a bit. But that was the only tell she let on. "My love, it is time for you to come home," she said, imperiously cold. "Your grandfather is waiting for you."

"My home is in Gotham," he said, over Jason's loud declaration of "Over my dead again body", Dick's shout of "You are never touching him again!", Tim's protest "You and Ra's can rot in hell", and Steph's snorted "You're crazier than I realized, lady." Cass didn't bother with verbally replying, but her batarang that passed close enough to Talia's head to cut off a lock of hair left no doubt to where she stood. Even for the very serious moment, I couldn't help but feel a bit of a glow at their sibling love.

"As you can see, Talia, my son is not going anywhere with you," Bruce said, stepping up beside Damian, with Sel on Damian's other side. It also conveniently put them all between me and the crazy lady, giving someone (I assumed Dick, but had no way to know, since whoever it was didn't say a word) a chance to slip up behind me to begin untying the rope holding my wrists behind the chair. "This doesn't have to get any worse. We can leave now and put this all behind us." Sel snorted, but didn't contradict him.

"It's much too late for that, beloved," Talia purred. "I refuse to let you marry that woman. You are meant for much more than that mongrel."

Sel literally growled. "Better a mongrel than a crazy inbred-"

But just exactly what she was, we didn't find out, since an explosion behind me stole everyone's attention. "Better late than never, I suppose," Talia sighed, like the whole thing was a big inconvenience. To her. The one who arranged my kidnapping.

Her hired thugs came crawling through nearly every entrance like a plague of locusts or flies or not particularly bright ninjas. Duljas? I shook my head to rid myself of the ridiculous thought. Dick really had rubbed off on me if I was punning, even in my head. Or maybe whatever the thugs had given me was affecting me more than I'd realized.

The person freeing me turned out to be Cass, since she was the one pulling me up and out of the way as soon as she had me freed from the chair. She pushed me into a dark(er) corner and shoved something into my hands. "Stay here. Stay safe," she ordered, then dove back into the fray like the silent, crazy-good ninja she really was.

I knew I wasn't much good in a fight, evidenced by how easily I'd been taken, so I pushed myself further into the shadows, trying not to be a distraction for my family who had come to save me. Nothing says damsel in distress like needing saving, I thought darkly, not terribly pleased with myself. If I get out of this alive, I'm definitely working harder on my self-defense.

The Bat clan swirled around the warehouse, putting a thug down with nearly every movement. But Talia had access to an entire organization of thugs, and it seemed like nearly every single one of them was there at her bidding. Red Robin was directly in front of me, and then he danced away, throwing his bolas to expertly entangle two of the other men together. Then Red Hood was happily punching faces and shooting kneecaps ten feet away from me. Then it was Batgirl, happily choking a man with her legs around his neck as she also used him to take out some of his compatriots. And Nightwing flipped over another man, grabbing his shoulders on his way to landing and throwing him down.

That man skidded, stopping a few feet in front of me. I think we surprised each other, though he recovered a bit faster than I had. He grinned, coming to his feet far more quickly than I would have. "You could put a very effective end to this," he said, sounding reasonable, but given the fact that he was stalking toward me with a terrifying grin and utterly dark and empty eyes while holding a gigantic knife, I didn't really think we were on the same page. "Come with me and we can-"

I cut off his smarmy words and forward movement for just a moment by bringing my hands up. And the gun that Cass has slipped into my hands. "Really, a gun?" he sneered, continuing closer to me. "You're on Batman's team-"

I didn't think. I simply squeezed the trigger, and his instant shout of pain and surprise sounded nearly on top of the report of the gun. He dropped to the ground, clutching his knee, and suddenly, the ground was no longer under my feet. "Way to be, Gen," a voice laughed in my ear as my surroundings blurred. "Though I would have aimed a bit higher, to be honest."

The world coalesced again back to normal, outside of the warehouse, though I was left with the feeling that I might be sick. "Now, stay with Arty, she'll keep you safe. Love you, babe," Wally said, kissing Artemis before zipping back inside, presumably to help the others.

Artemis steadied me a bit, though her eyes only focused on me for a few seconds at a time. "You okay, Gen?" she asked, armed and ready for anyone who tried to come for me again.

"I'm not really a fan of the way your boyfriend gets around," I mumbled, leaning over to try to catch my breath. "Or being kidnapped, but ya know, just peachy otherwise."

She huffed out a laugh. "I knew I liked you for a reason. After all, someone who can joke after being kidnapped is someone strong enough to handle being part of this life."

I hummed in acknowledgement, but still bent over. "Not that I'm not super excited to see you, but I thought you guys were retired."

"Retirement is a rather fluid concept in some circles," Artemis smirked. "After all, Dick asked for help, and you're the one who was in trouble. You're family. And we come out of retirement for family."

I stared at her for a long moment, long enough that she seemed to flush just the tiniest bit. "If you weren't so happy with Wally, and I didn't love Dick, I would marry you right now."

That startled another laugh out of her. "Don't tell Wonder Woman that. She's here, too, and I remember someone wanting to have her babies."

I legit gaped at her, jaw hanging wide open. "Wonder Woman came to help save me?" It came out a bit strangled, but I was too awed to bother worrying about it.

Artemis smirked, looking far too amused, even as she continued to keep an eye on our surroundings. "Nearly the entire JL are here or will be soon, and most of the Titans. It only took Dick about twenty minutes after you should have been at the manor to realize something was wrong, since your car hadn't moved, and that's when the Bats realized the prison break was a ploy to get to you."

"To get to Sel, actually," I corrected. "It's Talia, trying like a crazy person to somehow get Bruce back. Apparently, romance to her means killing the competition."

She tensed up, her grip on her bow suddenly white-knuckled. "That crazy, psychotic- Honestly, it would be better for everyone if she were to spontaneously sprout a few arrows in some rather vital body parts. She's done so much to hurt them, all of them. Between her and Ra's, it's a miracle any of the Bats can function."

The sound of sirens pierced the night. "Ah, the cavalry's arrived," Artemis grinned. The sirens got closer, and in only a minute, seven or eight police cars and two whole SWAT vans pulled up. Police officers, fully taced up, spilled out, converging on the entrances of the warehouse while the commissioner hurried toward us.

"Ms. Thornton, Artemis, it's good to see you safe," Commissioner Gordon said. "Please give us an idea of what's going on inside."

Between the Bats, the JL, the Titans, and the police, Talia and her duljas were quickly overwhelmed. But even as they were trotted out in handcuffs, Talia didn't lose her haughty demeanor. "Fifty bucks says she claims diplomatic immunity to wiggle out of this," Artemis growled.

My jaw dropped again. "She's got diplomatic immunity? How is that fair?"

"It's not." Dick's voice behind me sent a surge of relief through me that nearly knocked me off my feet, which made it particularly handy that he wrapped his arms around me at nearly the same time. "You're safe," he breathed in my ear. "You're safe, babe, I've got you."

With the amount of people milling around the parking lot, it was easy to blend in, staying in the shadows to keep eyes off us. After all, it wouldn't do to out all the Bats' secret identities, but I was more than happy to accept all the comfort and security that my boyfriend was willing to give to me, especially with knowing it was helping him as much as it was me. Sadly, it didn't last for long, since we each had to give our statements, but it was enough to get me through it all.

"So, this was all a case of mistaken identity?" Commissioner Gordon asked me, after I'd told him that I'd been grabbed because I looked like Sel. "Was that the case last time, too?"

I shrugged, exhaustion settling in now that the adrenaline rush had passed. "I have to assume so, but I don't know for sure. But really, Sel and I don't even look that much alike."

"You look like you could be sisters," he replied.

"Yeah, still not the same person," I muttered, too tired to care that I probably sounded like a child.

His lips twitched, like he was trying not to laugh. Or smile, at the least. "No, you're not, Ms. Thornton. But speaking of Ms. Kyle, I personally called Wayne Manor to inform them that you're safe. Would you like a ride back? I'm sure they're all quite concerned." Again, his lips twitched, and I just knew that he knew the identities of Gotham's heroes, if not the rest. But it made sense, since his daughter was the tech support for them.

"Um… I-" I had no idea what the right answer was, but thankfully, Wally answered for me.

"I've got her, Commissioner," he said cheerily. "I'll deliver her safely to- Where am I taking you, Miss?"

I gaped at him, taking way too long to realize he was trying to act like he didn't know me. "Oh, uh, Wayne Manor, please. I'm dating Dick Grayson, so that's probably where he's waiting for me."

"So, that's why some psycho took you, dating a rich guy. Makes sense," Wally said. "Ready to go?"

I turned to the commissioner, but he simply smiled. "If we have any questions, Ms. Thornton, we know where to find you."

"Thanks," I replied, aiming it at him, and Artemis, and everyone who had come to save me.

"That's what we're here for, Ms. Thornton. Give my best to the Waynes, will you?"

I barely had time to nod before Wally had me in his arms again, zooming us to the manor in less than thirty seconds. Alfred was there on the front steps, waiting with cocoa and a hug for me.

AN: I know it's been over two months, and I'm so sorry! I just hate writing fight scenes, and all my brain was coming up with for the longest time was Bam! Pow! and I didn't think you guys would appreciate that very much. Though it does make me giggle a bit. But hopefully this satisfies everyone, and to make up for the very long wait, I have two more chapters to post today! So, thanks for reading, and a big thanks to Eden Kibret, Smol Angry Bean, and ZileRacer for your lovely reviews. Reviews make my day!