Zatanna
Wayne Manor
She knew he had been standing there for a few minutes. She wanted him to stand there and listen...see that she was trying. Selina wasn't trying and now her eyes were filled with anger as she stared her down.
"It's her house as much as it's mine," Bruce said, leaning on the door frame and studying them both. "Alfred is getting you a room set up on the other side of the manor. You're staying here until I find Dent."
"The hell I am," Selina spat out.
"I don't need you getting yourself caught again or killed. I need to be able to work and right now he thinks you blew yourself up."
"He doesn't know I was there?" Zatanna asked, relieved that she wasn't back on anyone's radar as a target.
"No, there weren't any cameras in the house and we leaked a false report of human remains being found at the site. For all he knows, Selina got loose and set the trap off herself."
"Oh, no...you're not using my fake corpse as some kind of bait."
"Already am," Bruce said, walking in and kneeling down in front of the couch. "Are your wards set?"
Zee nodded. "She can't get out unless I let her." I really want to let her.
"Good. It shouldn't be long. He'll be losing his patience now that she's gone."
"Wait, you have me imprisoned in here?" She practically had smoke coming out of her ears.
"For now," Bruce said. "I can't trust you not to sneak out."
"This is bullshit! You can't just..."
Bruce stood suddenly and faced her, going into Batman mode in an instant. "Go find Alfred and settle in. Don't cause trouble and don't cuss around Thomas again."
"You have got to be kidding me," she said, mouth hanging open.
"Go." Her eyes darted between them several times before she finally headed toward the door, muttering under her breath. Once she was out of the room, Bruce brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed it, sighing. He finally turned back and knelt down again. "This is a bad idea."
"It'll be fine." Zee ran her hand through his hair and gave him a small smile. He grinned back and played with the edge of the blanket covering Thomas. "Go ahead, he already knows you're here."
Thomas had been bouncing his legs since he heard his daddy's voice, ready to see him after a long night.
Bruce smiled wider and pulled the blanket back. "Hey, son. Don't stop eating or mommy will get mad at me."
"She won't...slightly annoyed, at most."
Thomas unlatched and started babbling and reaching for him.
"Hey...eat, young man," Bruce said, grabbing his tiny hand and moving to sit down and put his arm over her shoulder. Thomas latched back on and resumed eating while watching his daddy's face. "There. That's a good boy."
"Anything else interesting happen last night?"
"Just the usual. Glad to be home with you two."
"Diana dropped by. She wants me to come to the meeting on Monday and update the League on all of the Tsaritsa stuff."
"And you're going?"
She sighed and looked up at him. "I guess so. Unless you don't want me to."
"Of course I want you to," he said, kissing her forehead and squeezing her shoulders.
"She also wants me to bring the baby."
He chuckled. "They have all been asking...demanding, really...that he make an appearance. He'll get passed around like a football."
"I don't know. Maybe we should just have Alfred watch him."
"No! No, I mean...bring him," Bruce stammered uncharacteristically. "They'll keep bugging me if you don't."
He was being squirmy. He was never squirmy. "What aren't you telling me?" Silence. "Bruce."
Clearing his throat, he squirmed again in his seat. "I don't want to say."
"I have ways of making you talk."
With a huff, he looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Promise you'll still go?"
"No. Talk." She moved Thomas to the other breast as Bruce continued to squirm.
"They're throwing a baby shower/wedding shower thing."
"Oh, no. No way."
"Yes. And we're going." He attempted to give her a hard Batman stare, but she saw the hesitation in his eyes. He knew she wouldn't want them making a fuss over things.
"We are not."
"Yes...we are." He leaned down and kissed her before she could retort. "Please." He kissed her again, fully taking advantage of his power over her. "For me."
"You're a manipulative man, Bruce." She leaned into his kiss when his tongue ran along her bottom lip. "This isn't fair," she mumbled against his mouth. "You know you don't want to go, either."
"I do. And I want you there." He smiled and pulled her head down to rest on his shoulder. "Thank you."
"I haven't said I'd go yet."
"But you will."
Yeah, I will.
Selina
Wayne Manor Prison
At least breakfast was good.
Alfred had always known just how she liked her eggs and she was glad to have at least one person in the house she wasn't angry with. She sat in her new room fuming at Bruce and his witch fiancee. After testing every window to see if she could get out and meeting invisible barriers at each one, she conceded that she was stuck for at least the day. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to think of how she could talk her way out of being held captive...again. At least she had a pillow this time.
I need to check on my apartment.
A bright flash of light engulfed the room and her chair appeared in the corner, filled with her cats.
"Babies!" She ran over and sat down with them. "Oh, I missed you so much. I'm so sorry mommy hasn't been there."
Okay, fine. She brought me my stuff. I still hate her.
The picture of her grandparents appeared on the table next to the bed.
Still hate her.
Harvey
Gotham City
Explosives are easy enough to learn, even when your head is half fucked up. Just some wiring and the proper ingredients. They took a little time and a steady hand, though.
"We need at least six. More than all the Bats can handle at once."
"What about the League?"
"We'll have to move fast enough to make sure they can't get involved."
"Faster than The Flash and Superman? You're a fucking idiot."
"Just shut up."
Red wire to left, yellow wire to right. Simple. A few locations and they would be set.
We're going big.
Bruce
Wayne Manor
"No. Please, this is so dumb, Bruce," Zatanna complained while she changed a diaper.
"I know it is, but we're going. Pretend to have fun."
She frowned and rolled her eyes. "I'm running out of good arguments, could you please just..."
"We're going. Don't make me kiss you again."
"That...was that a kissing threat? Are you trying to use kissing as a threat?"
"Not my best strategy, huh?"
She laughed and handed Thomas to him. "You can torture me with kissing anytime you want, but I still don't want to go."
"Hmm...I'll make it worth your while later if you do," he said, leaning down to kiss her softly.
"You cheat. You always cheat."
He pulled her toward the Zeta tube, ending her last protests. When they arrived, the Watchtower was fully decorated and the smiling faces of the team greeted them.
"Congratulations!" They shouted together.
Zatanna put on her best surprised face and hugged everyone as they fawned over Thomas.
"He's so handsome!"
"Look at that hair!"
"Those eyes!"
"He looks so much like his daddy!"
"Let me see the ring!"
The voices rang out and the tower was filled with a joy that it hadn't seen in a long time. As predicted, Thomas was passed around from person to person, smiling and charming them all. He became particularly excited when he saw J'onn, and immediately reached for him. The Martian cautiously took him and seemed shocked when Thomas laid his head down on his shoulder and played with the shiny buttons securing his cape.
"He knows a good guy when he sees one," Bruce said, smiling at the newly-formed bond and walking over to grab some food.
"Heard you have an extra house guest," Clark said, grabbing a glass of punch and leaning against the counter with him.
"For now. We were lucky to get her out alive."
"And the walls are still standing?"
"For now," he muttered again. "They're keeping their distance from each other. I'm very glad I have a big house. You and Diana did well with this. Zee's having fun."
He could hear her laughter carrying through the room while she chatted and showed Thomas off. Victor walked over and took the boy from her, dangling him in front of his chest and studying him like a science experiment. When a tiny hand reached out to touch the light over his heart, it suddenly flickered and changed colors. Thomas touched it again, bringing out another color, which led to a giggling fit that made Victor smile. He walked him around the room, the colors flickering and changing with each tap of the light. Whole room full of potential babysitters.
Barry zipped over to Bruce and grabbed a drink. "When's the big day?"
"May 20th, if all goes well. It's going to be quite the event."
"I'd expect no less from Bruce Wayne."
"Okay, everyone. Time to open presents!" Diana's voice called out over the noise.
Zatanna walked over and grabbed his hand. "This is way too much."
"Agreed, but they wanted to do it. And don't pretend like you're not enjoying yourself."
She laughed. "I am. Thank you for making me come."
"Zatanna, we both know I've never made you do anything."
Leaning toward him and stretching up to his ear, she whispered, "you made me come last night."
"You know half the tower still heard that, right?"
She pecked his cheek and pulled him to the conference room. "I do."
Zatanna
Watchtower
She opened the pile of presents while Thomas dozed off in Bruce's arms, feeling relieved that her first visit since resigning hadn't been a tense one. As always, Bruce was right...she was enjoying herself.
"I'll buy him a real one when he's big enough," Ollie said when she opened the toy bow and arrow. "We'll go out and learn to shoot. He'll love it."
Zatanna laughed and nodded. "Thanks, Uncle Ollie. He'll be a pro in no time." He beamed and put his arm around Dinah's shoulders. "Okay, this one's from Barb...and Dick." She looked around the room and saw that they had sneaked into the back at some point. "Thanks, you two." The small box had a series of pairs of shoes to fit his growing feet and several more small toys for him to float around the house.
"You're welcome. Make Bruce open the next one," Barb said. "He's being lazy."
"I'm holding my son," Bruce grumped, taking the box from her hand and kissing her forehead. "Okay, from J'onn. Better be from Mars or I'll be disappointed." When he opened the box, he found a small projector nightlight that lit the room with stars and planets.
"Not from Mars, but it's represented in there," J'onn said. Bruce smiled and nodded, handing the next box to Zatanna and sitting back again.
"That wasn't much help, but thanks for opening one." She continued on through the gifts until the floor was covered in wrapping paper and Bruce was getting drowsy with a sleeping baby in his arms. They started telling everyone goodbye and she transported the gifts to Thomas's room. Diana came up and hugged her again.
"Did you enjoy your first meeting back?"
"I'm not 'back', but does this mean that the issue we discussed doesn't need a meeting yet?"
She grinned and shrugged. "It might not be quite as pressing as I hinted. We should still consider it soon, though."
"Okay. Thanks for the surprise. I enjoyed it."
"Mmm...surprise, huh? When did Bruce tell you?"
"As soon as he got home," she laughed. "I was still surprised by how over-the-top you went, if that helps."
"It does. Go home and sleep. Thanks for letting us have a little fun for a change. Thomas has quite the extended family now."
"Yes, he does. Goodnight, Di."
Bruce walked up on cue and handed Thomas over to her. They waved and she transported them home, landing in the nursery, exhausted.
"Are you glad now that you went?"
"Very," she said, kissing him and heading to put Thomas down in his crib. Bruce followed, wrapping his arms around her looking down at the sleeping boy.
"Impressive team of aunts and uncles he's inherited," he whispered in her ear.
"The best," she said, looking over at the pile of gifts. "You've made me so happy."
He turned her around and ran his hands through her hair until they came to rest on her neck, thumbs stroking along her jaw. "You mean that?"
"With all my heart."
His eyes sparkled in the low light. "Thank you," he said, almost too quiet for her to hear. She knew what her words meant to him. She knew he never believed he could make someone truly happy. It wasn't a lie and she wasn't saying it to make him feel better. She felt happier than she ever had before, filled with love and hope.
"Take me to bed. Let me show you how happy I am."
Selina
Wayne Manor Prison
There has to be a weakness in this fucking barrier.
She was getting sick and tired of ramming up against the witch's traps. When she finally crossed paths with Bruce in the morning, she decided to start playing nice.
"I promise I won't cause you trouble. I just want to be home in my bed, Bruce."
"No. I know you want to go after Dent and I don't want you caught twice. I can't trust you to stay out of it."
Rather than yell at him, she took a deep breath. Playing nice. "You used to trust me, you know. We worked well together."
"When you felt like it. Otherwise you were testing my patience and the limits of our friendship."
Alfred walked into the breakfast nook with food and Zatanna showed up with the boy to make sure playing nice would be even more difficult. It didn't help when she smiled at Bruce and kissed him before she sat down.
"Morning, all," she said, putting Bruce's son in her lap and grabbing a bowl of baby food. "Everyone sleep well?"
Selina put on her sweetest smile. "Not as well as I would at home, but I rested."
Bruce's eyes scanned between them and she could tell he was waiting for the claws to come out. Nope. Playing nice.
"Good. Would you mind not trying to get out in the middle of the night? It wakes me up when you test my barriers."
Nice. Nice. Nice.
"Mm hmm. Sorry about that. Just miss my place."
"I understand. Thanks," she said sweetly, taking a bite of eggs. "Thomas and I are going to Shadowcrest today, so you'll have free run of the house. I can extend the barriers to the fences, if you'd like to get some fresh air."
Just so goddamn sweet, aren't you?
"Sounds lovely," she said matching her tone and smiling.
"Okay, can you two stop pretending to get along and just eat quietly?" Bruce rolled his eyes and continued eating while Alfred snickered.
Zatanna shrugged and fed another bite to Bruce's son. "I know you slept well," she said. "Hungry, huh?"
"He sleeps better than we do, at this point," Bruce said. Sick of the adorable family scene, Selina quickly finished off her food and stood up.
"If you'll excuse me."
"Barriers will be extended after we eat," Zatanna said as she left.
Great. Enjoy feeling me fuck with them all day.
Bruce
Wayne Manor
I've gotta catch Dent before they murder each other.
He couldn't take anymore fake niceness from either of them and he didn't need them to be friends.
"Fine, I'll stop trying," Zee said, changing clothes.
"I don't want you to stop trying, just don't fake it. This is temporary."
"I know," she said in a small voice without looking at him.
"Hey, c'mere."
She pulled her shirt over her head and came to rest her head on his chest. "It's weird."
"It is for me, too."
"I'm sorry if I'm making it harder for you."
"You're not. Just relax and try not to think about it."
"That would be a lot easier to do if she wasn't walking around and scraping her claws along my barrier," she mumbled, muscles tensing up.
He ran his hand along her back and kissed the top of her head. "I'll talk to her before I go to work."
"Don't worry about it," she said, turning back and getting Thomas from his bassinet. "I can handle it a few more days. Just end this whole saga so we can go back to our normal level of crazy."
"I'll see you before patrol." Kissing her and then Thomas, he headed to the garage. He had a long day of meetings ahead, but didn't want to think about anything other than finding Two Face.
"Good morning, Mr. Wayne. We have our business partners from Japan in today for a meeting. Hope you had your coffee," Lucius greeted him when he entered the board room.
"I did. This a merger meeting or an expansion meeting?"
"Neither. Just a we-already-do-business meeting."
"That sounds like a great use of time," Bruce complained, flopping down in his seat.
"It's not, but it's all about decorum. Make nice, keep up relations, shake hands..."
"I'm good at all of that."
"...stay awake."
"Okay, I'm good at most of that."
Lucius walked over to the phone and hit a button. "Hello, Jana. Would you please bring Mr. Wayne some coffee? The whole pot, if you don't mind."
"That can't be good for my heart."
"Neither is fighting criminals all night. You'll live."
With a huff, he slouched back in the comfortable chair that he wouldn't be sleeping in. The meetings commenced and dragged on for the whole day. He put away enough coffee to fill a bathtub and his hands were jittery when he left and headed back toward the manor. Halfway up the driveway, his watch started to buzz and Alfred greeted him at the garage.
"You need to see this," he said, leading him into the den. Zatanna, Thomas, Selina, and Tim were already there, gathered around the monitors.
"What is this? What are we watching?"
"It's on everything," Tim said. "Every single air wave in Gotham is broadcasting the message." He turned the volume up on the looping message. Harvey Dent's face appeared on the screen.
"Listen to me closely, Batman. You have twelve hours to give me what I want. If you don't, I will set off a string of destruction and terror that you've never seen before. If you try to find me, I'll set off the bombs. If you try to trick me, I'll set off the bombs. If the League tries to intervene, I'll set off the bombs. If I so much as feel the eyes of one of your bat friends on me, thousands will die and the city will be thrown into chaos. Stop fucking around and give me what I want. Put your stupid symbol in the sky and I'll meet you. Twelve hours."
The feed cut out and the room stayed quiet. He finally turned and looked at the group.
"Bluffing?" Tim asked.
"No. He doesn't bluff."
"Is he capable of that much destruction on his own?"
"I don't know. He didn't tell us how many bombs there were. Maybe he's been planning this part, too."
An alert sounded from the desk and he turned to see Gordon's line lighting up. Shit. Hiding Elliott was about to come back and haunt him. He sat down and connected.
"What is this, Batman? What's he talking about?"
"We're trying to figure that out right now."
"You don't know what he wants?"
"Maybe he's left his demand somewhere else. I'll keep you in the loop." He cut the line and leaned back in the chair. "Batgirl and Batwoman?"
"On the way," Tim said.
"I can track..." Zatanna started.
"No. You've done your bit. This is my job."
"Let me help," Selina said. "You need everyone you can get."
"No. No one's helping. I'll make the exchange and we'll..."
"Make the exchange? Are you crazy? You can't give a serial killer away like that!"
He didn't want to. The thought of letting Elliott go now made him sick to his stomach, but he didn't know what else to do. Twelve hours wasn't enough time to come up with a better solution and it wasn't enough time to determine how many explosions Dent had planned.
"I'm open to suggestions," he said. Zatanna started to speak. "That don't involve you."
She muttered something and he could feel her glaring at him, but he kept his eyes on the monitors.
"You won't let me help! You won't let the most powerful person in the room help! Do you want him to win?" Selina yelled.
"Stop. This has gone far enough. Robin, get ready for the exchange. Get a signal on the top of the Eastern Steel Warehouse. We'll make the trade at 3:00 am when no one's around. Everyone will be there to back me up, but don't interfere unless I tell you to and don't let him see you."
He headed toward the cave with Zatanna hot on his heels. "What are you going to do to keep yourself safe?"
"Exactly what he wants. I'm going to put a tracker on Elliott. We do what he wants and then we find them both."
"And you don't think he'll be ready for that?"
"Of course he will. So we have to use two trackers."
"Use me." She said, grabbing his arm with her free hand. "And before you say no, just think a minute. I don't have to leave here to track Elliott. I won't be in danger at all and he won't get anywhere without me knowing. Once you've secured the bombs, I'll just tell you where he is and you can end it."
He didn't have to consider her words long. She was the only tracker he could put on Elliott that Dent wouldn't be able to detect.
"Okay. Okay, you're right. What do you need me to do?"
"Make sure Elliott doesn't know I'm tracking him. Knock him out cold and I'll hex him up. From there, it'll be easy."
Nothing about this had been easy, but he hoped this would be the least complicated part of the next twelve hours.
"Meet me down there at midnight and we'll get started."
She nodded and stepped back as he got on the elevator and headed down. The ruse would have to be good. He was going to plant two trackers in Elliott that Dent could find and stay back until the explosives were disarmed. After that, he could take them both down. Easy. We can do this. Once he was suited up, he walked down to the prison cell and woke Elliott.
"Here to feed me already? Feels early. Is it? Fuck, I can't even tell anymore," he rambled, struggling to sit up.
"We're leaving."
"We're...right. What kind of trick is this now? Want more information? Fine. I killed Jensen because Catwoman was already following him and I wanted to scare her off the hunt. I was setting him up to try to keep you distracted, but you didn't fall for it...she did, so I just killed him. It was fun." He forced a fake laugh.
"Shut up. I don't want to listen to you anymore." The information wasn't useful and likely wasn't even true; he'd told him a new story every time he came to the cell over the last two weeks. He opened the door and pulled Elliott out by his collar. "Hands behind your back."
"Why?"
"Just do it." He pushed him against the wall and put zip ties around his wrists. "Walk."
He shuffled along the corridor, barely able to stay on his feet. "Arkham? Blackgate?"
"No." A few steps from the first set of doors, he stopped and injected him in the arm with a sedative.
"Ah! Fuck. What was that?"
Rather than answer, he held him still until he slumped onto the floor. Robin showed up and hoisted him over his shoulder.
"What's next?"
"Place trackers and then Zatanna is going to put a tracking spell on him. He's not going to be out of custody long."
"Good," he said, dumping the body onto the floor near the tech table. "I'll get the trackers in. Barb and Kate are upstairs, ready to go when you are."
"You've contacted the League?"
"Yeah. Clark's going to be nearby." Tim stopped and turned to face him. "This seems too easy."
"I know," he said, turning back to head upstairs. "Be ready."