"I'm Batman. I don't kill. I wouldn't even if I was a normal guy," Terry
growled as he raced toward Wayne Manor. "But damn if I'm not tempted to
make an exception."
He hoped Hannah and Craig would be there when he arrived; there was an interesting move he'd learned fighting Stalker that he was dying to show them up close and personal. Very personal. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed when they weren't there, but he decided to take advantage of their absence to search their rooms.
The first thing he found were pictures- the old-fashioned type, with negatives. He wondered about that for a moment, then guessed she'd stuck with the old technology either because it was familiar or because it was harder to trace. The subject matter was both what he expected and something he'd happily have gone the rest of his life without seeing. He gathered both pictures and negatives together, placing them on the dresser where he could easily grab them if he needed to make a quick exit.
After finding the pictures the other evidence started piling up. Files, discs, even a diary filled with embarrassingly purple prose and incriminating details. What he couldn't find was what the bitch used on Bruce. He did find the Wayne Diamonds, though, and returned them to their proper place. When he got back to gather what he could, he noticed something odd: Hannah had three identical perfume bottles on the dresser. He knew he didn't understand women yet, but that just struck him as wrong. He grabbed his cel phone and made a call.
"Max, this is gonna sound weird, but how many bottles of perfume do you have? Of the same scent, I mean."
"Me? None. -Oh, wait, I do have some. I think. But women in general, then just one. Perfume can go bad, you know, so unless you've got one of those bluehairs who marinates in it she might not finish the first before the second turns."
"So three bottles..."
"Uh-uh. You onto something?"
"I think so. Thanks. Bye"
He hung up on her indignant squawk, grabbed the evidence- all the evidence- and headed for the Batcave. He dumped it on the table, deciding to secure the cave first. That took a while, as he used the old manual bolts; they couldn't be reprogrammed or reached from the other side. He then disabled the elevator and called up a certain program on the computer. One aspect of it gave him some trouble, but he eventually found a solution he liked.
He dashed back upstairs through the one door he'd left open. he hadn't searched Craig's room and he didn't want to take a chance on letting the bastard get away. The decision was taken out of his hands; he heard their car pull up outside. He slipped into the nearest room- a closet, actually- and pulled the door almost closed. He waited, listening.
"...guess I was too much for him," Hannah laughed. "Well, at least he signed the new will first. Now all we have to do is take care of the boy. Did you get anything useful from his girlfriend?"
"How about a list of enemies, starting with her father and going all the way to Charlie Bigelow? Big Time would pay big money for a chance at his old friend Tiny, I hear."
"It shouldn't be too hard."
"That's not what you said before."
"He's just a boy, and without Bruce backing him up he's at best only half as effective. He may be Batman, but he isn't the real Batman."
Terry smirked. That crack had hurt coming from Grayson, but from her? He was looking forward to disillusioning her.
"Not a real any kind of man," Craig snarked. "Maybe it's a good thing for Dana I came along. She really-"
Terry got to use that move after all. He exploded from his hiding place, intent on shutting Craig's mouth in the most painful manner possible. Seconds later the other boy was a whimpering heap on the floor and Terry was turning to face Hannah. However, instead of taking her down, he found himself dodging a bullet. She prepared to fire again, but Ace tackled her. Terry ran for the library, only stopping at the door to whistle for the dog. He wasn't going to leave him behind.
It was a mistake. Hannah's bullet caught him in the shoulder, knocking him back through the door. He managed to kick it shut anyway, Ace flying past him just in time. He picked himself up painfully and locked the door.
"Old-fashioned camera, old-fashioned gun- does she even know what year this is?" Terry muttered. "And since a lobotomized chimp could pop that lock in less than thirty seconds, it should give her some trouble. Let's go, pooch."
He bolted the last entrance to the Batcave behind him. As soon as he was in range of the computer he called, "Computer, initiate lockdown."
He paused just long enough to make sure it did then headed for the first aid kit. He couldn't remove the bullet himself, but he could and did clean and bandage the wound. Doing it one-handed was difficult; he hoped it would be effective. It had to be.
*************************************************************
"Is this all the evidence?" Barbara Gordon looked at him suspiciously. He'd changed into the Batsuit, figuring if she couldn't see his face she wouldn't guess how much pain he was actually in. He'd told her Hannah had only winged him. Now he was wondering if she'd bought it at all.
"I didn't get a chance to search Craig's room."
"That's not what I asked."
"There was a slight accident with the pictures. And the negatives."
"Pictures?"
He stayed silent.
"...I see." Barbara glared down at what he'd brought. "Bruce will be furious at you for destroying evidence, you know."
"Too damn bad."
He didn't expect her to laugh at that, but she did.
"Keep that up, kid, and I might start to like you."
"Can't have that."
She laughed again, then sobered abruptly.
"You said she's been in the Batcave."
"I locked it down. Only way in or out is through the hangar. The kill switch is pretty effectively disabled. Computer's down and the only way to get it back up is with a password she'll never guess."
He was getting dizzy. He had to get out of there and rest for a few minutes.
"Doesn't know how you think, does she?"
"Not even close. Wouldn't help her anyway."
"Oh?"
"She'd need to know how my dad thought. He was really into light opera- I couldn't help picking up a bit It's a word that 'teems with hidden meaning'. Never thought it'd be useful."
Barbara nodded approvingly.
"Good job, kid. I mean it."
"Thanks, Commish. Now I'd better-"
He turned as he spoke, took one step, and collapsed.
*************************************************************
"I've worked with Nightwing. I've worked with Batgirl. I can work with Devon Lydecker." Selina exchanged a glance with her Coon Cat Freya. "And if I keep saying it, I might even start to believe it."
The doorbell rang; she answered it. Devon entered quietly, her eyes red.
"You've seen the news."
"Yes."
"Maybe we've been fighting the wrong person."
"Hannah."
Selina frowned. She didn't like Devon, she didn't want to sympathize with her, but she couldn't deny her rival seemed devastated. She decided to cut the preliminaries.
"I'm going to take the bitch down. Want to help?" ********************************************************
He hoped Hannah and Craig would be there when he arrived; there was an interesting move he'd learned fighting Stalker that he was dying to show them up close and personal. Very personal. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed when they weren't there, but he decided to take advantage of their absence to search their rooms.
The first thing he found were pictures- the old-fashioned type, with negatives. He wondered about that for a moment, then guessed she'd stuck with the old technology either because it was familiar or because it was harder to trace. The subject matter was both what he expected and something he'd happily have gone the rest of his life without seeing. He gathered both pictures and negatives together, placing them on the dresser where he could easily grab them if he needed to make a quick exit.
After finding the pictures the other evidence started piling up. Files, discs, even a diary filled with embarrassingly purple prose and incriminating details. What he couldn't find was what the bitch used on Bruce. He did find the Wayne Diamonds, though, and returned them to their proper place. When he got back to gather what he could, he noticed something odd: Hannah had three identical perfume bottles on the dresser. He knew he didn't understand women yet, but that just struck him as wrong. He grabbed his cel phone and made a call.
"Max, this is gonna sound weird, but how many bottles of perfume do you have? Of the same scent, I mean."
"Me? None. -Oh, wait, I do have some. I think. But women in general, then just one. Perfume can go bad, you know, so unless you've got one of those bluehairs who marinates in it she might not finish the first before the second turns."
"So three bottles..."
"Uh-uh. You onto something?"
"I think so. Thanks. Bye"
He hung up on her indignant squawk, grabbed the evidence- all the evidence- and headed for the Batcave. He dumped it on the table, deciding to secure the cave first. That took a while, as he used the old manual bolts; they couldn't be reprogrammed or reached from the other side. He then disabled the elevator and called up a certain program on the computer. One aspect of it gave him some trouble, but he eventually found a solution he liked.
He dashed back upstairs through the one door he'd left open. he hadn't searched Craig's room and he didn't want to take a chance on letting the bastard get away. The decision was taken out of his hands; he heard their car pull up outside. He slipped into the nearest room- a closet, actually- and pulled the door almost closed. He waited, listening.
"...guess I was too much for him," Hannah laughed. "Well, at least he signed the new will first. Now all we have to do is take care of the boy. Did you get anything useful from his girlfriend?"
"How about a list of enemies, starting with her father and going all the way to Charlie Bigelow? Big Time would pay big money for a chance at his old friend Tiny, I hear."
"It shouldn't be too hard."
"That's not what you said before."
"He's just a boy, and without Bruce backing him up he's at best only half as effective. He may be Batman, but he isn't the real Batman."
Terry smirked. That crack had hurt coming from Grayson, but from her? He was looking forward to disillusioning her.
"Not a real any kind of man," Craig snarked. "Maybe it's a good thing for Dana I came along. She really-"
Terry got to use that move after all. He exploded from his hiding place, intent on shutting Craig's mouth in the most painful manner possible. Seconds later the other boy was a whimpering heap on the floor and Terry was turning to face Hannah. However, instead of taking her down, he found himself dodging a bullet. She prepared to fire again, but Ace tackled her. Terry ran for the library, only stopping at the door to whistle for the dog. He wasn't going to leave him behind.
It was a mistake. Hannah's bullet caught him in the shoulder, knocking him back through the door. He managed to kick it shut anyway, Ace flying past him just in time. He picked himself up painfully and locked the door.
"Old-fashioned camera, old-fashioned gun- does she even know what year this is?" Terry muttered. "And since a lobotomized chimp could pop that lock in less than thirty seconds, it should give her some trouble. Let's go, pooch."
He bolted the last entrance to the Batcave behind him. As soon as he was in range of the computer he called, "Computer, initiate lockdown."
He paused just long enough to make sure it did then headed for the first aid kit. He couldn't remove the bullet himself, but he could and did clean and bandage the wound. Doing it one-handed was difficult; he hoped it would be effective. It had to be.
*************************************************************
"Is this all the evidence?" Barbara Gordon looked at him suspiciously. He'd changed into the Batsuit, figuring if she couldn't see his face she wouldn't guess how much pain he was actually in. He'd told her Hannah had only winged him. Now he was wondering if she'd bought it at all.
"I didn't get a chance to search Craig's room."
"That's not what I asked."
"There was a slight accident with the pictures. And the negatives."
"Pictures?"
He stayed silent.
"...I see." Barbara glared down at what he'd brought. "Bruce will be furious at you for destroying evidence, you know."
"Too damn bad."
He didn't expect her to laugh at that, but she did.
"Keep that up, kid, and I might start to like you."
"Can't have that."
She laughed again, then sobered abruptly.
"You said she's been in the Batcave."
"I locked it down. Only way in or out is through the hangar. The kill switch is pretty effectively disabled. Computer's down and the only way to get it back up is with a password she'll never guess."
He was getting dizzy. He had to get out of there and rest for a few minutes.
"Doesn't know how you think, does she?"
"Not even close. Wouldn't help her anyway."
"Oh?"
"She'd need to know how my dad thought. He was really into light opera- I couldn't help picking up a bit It's a word that 'teems with hidden meaning'. Never thought it'd be useful."
Barbara nodded approvingly.
"Good job, kid. I mean it."
"Thanks, Commish. Now I'd better-"
He turned as he spoke, took one step, and collapsed.
*************************************************************
"I've worked with Nightwing. I've worked with Batgirl. I can work with Devon Lydecker." Selina exchanged a glance with her Coon Cat Freya. "And if I keep saying it, I might even start to believe it."
The doorbell rang; she answered it. Devon entered quietly, her eyes red.
"You've seen the news."
"Yes."
"Maybe we've been fighting the wrong person."
"Hannah."
Selina frowned. She didn't like Devon, she didn't want to sympathize with her, but she couldn't deny her rival seemed devastated. She decided to cut the preliminaries.
"I'm going to take the bitch down. Want to help?" ********************************************************
