"Where are they?" Batman was in no mood for Joker's games. He had the clown by the neck and had hoisted him off the floor and shoved him up against one wall. Or, more accurately, up against the one bit of clear space on the one wall. The rest of the wall space…in fact, pretty much the rest of the whole room…was taken up by huge machines. Supercomputers, what looked like robots...and a lot of other stuff Nightwing didn't recognize. The robots had thrown him for a moment…while Joker had come up with robotic thugs or traps in the past, it wasn't a well-known quirk of his MO.

"Errk…heh…cough" It wasn't as bad as he'd first thought…Joker wasn't in any danger of immediate asphyxiation…Batman was still in control…not that Nightwing could ever see him losing control. But the stupid clown wasn't answering…just trying to laugh in Batman's face…that's gonna cost him. Nightwing grinned as Batman roughed Joker up a bit. He turned his attention to the room. Batman had Joker under control, but Harley Quinn was still missing, and those robots looked like they could do some serious damage should they be activated.

"There we go…" Nightwing spotted what looked like a control panel. He hopped over the console and examined the myriad buttons and levers. "Oooh….pretty!" He chuckled to himself…too bad Bab's wasn't "online" now…she had had a call from Dinah, and she wanted to see if she couldn't try a few more ways to locate Robin and Batgirl. Of course, Nightwing had a feeling that she may also simply not have wanted to be present to hear the exchanges between the heroes and Joker.

A crash behind him made him glance back, but Batman still seemed to have things well in hand. A movement caught his eye, though, and he sighed. Well, seemed like Harley decided to join the party after all. He abandoned his attempts at figuring out the console and moved to intercept…after all, she was stalking towards Batman with an obvious purpose…and a very large mallet.

"I'll take that!" He grabbed for the mallet and she jumped backwards, apparently surprised. What? Had she not seen him? All the better! He lunged again, ducking as she swung the weapon at him. He managed to get one hand around the handle, and a short round of tug-of-war ensued.

"Ya want it? Allll-righty!" Harley suddenly released the mallet, leaving it in Nightwing's hands. He frowned at it…if Harley didn't want it, it was probably rigged. He hurled it across the room, feeling both relieved and vindicated that his hunch had been right on target as the thing exploded, taking out a good portion of the wall. The explosion and resulting cascade of debris and dust distracted both Batman and Joker from their attempts to maim one another…Batman checking to make sure Nightwing was all right, and Joker taking advantage of the distraction to escape Batman's grasp and instead attack Harley.

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of this?" For a man whose face was permanently white, the remarkable shade of red that it was turning was quite fascinating.

"But Puddin…erk!" Joker had Harley by the neck this time, and somehow Nightwing doubted he'd be as restrained with her as Batman had been with him. He sighed…insane criminal or not, he really should remove Harley from her "puddin's" grasp. He had only moved three steps, though, when another explosion shook the building.

"What's this?" Harley, taking advantage of Joker's new distraction, squirmed away and made a run for it. Joker began a rather eloquent monologue of a tirade against the building, which had apparently taken exception to the rigged mallet's explosion and was now in the process of destroying itself.

"Come on!" Batman pushed past Nightwing, catching Joker unaware and hitting him with a knockout gas…much easier to transport when he was unconscious. Nightwing grimaced as another of the machines erupted in flames…it would have been nice to know where all this stuff had come from…and what its purpose was. He followed everyone out of the room, pausing to glance back once more…which is when he noticed the gas tank. A huge tank…apparently there to fuel the robots, or as a back up generator, or something…the purpose was unimportant at the moment. What was important was the fact that the container, if full, held enough to blow up not only this building, but those surrounding it as well. As the room was even now being engulfed in flames, Nightwing estimated that only a minute or two, possibly only seconds, remained.

"At least all the buildings nearby are abandoned too…" he muttered as he made a mad dash for the exit. Then he skidded to a stop. Robin…Batgirl…Tim…Cass…they could still be in this or one of the neighboring buildings! "Damn!" He reached for his comm, "Batman! We've got a problem!"

"What?"

"Gas tank…going to blow." There was no response, but then Nightwing hadn't expected one. No time to waste words. He turned back, praying there was a way to stop the flames before they reached the tank. Before he could move he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Batman shoved him towards the exit.

"Joker's tied up, Quinn too. Get them out of here!" He turned and disappeared back into the smoke. Nightwing wanted to go after him…stop him…or help…or …or, well, damnit! Something! They were his family too, after all. But he knew Batman's mind better than anyone else, save, perhaps, Alfred…and he knew what he had to do. He found Joker…and a pile of what were probably Joker's most prized possessions…another utility belt…Robin's…along with what looked like Robin's boots and…mask? He didn't have time nor inclination to ponder the ramifications of the discovery. Instead he dragged Joker towards the exit.

After what felt like years he finally made it outside…not that that would help him particularly…but he felt less confined. Harley was right outside, not having been willing to completely abandon her "puddin"…especially in light of the flames towering above them as the whole cannery went up. For once being somewhat reasonable she allowed Nightwing to prod her into a run as he hauled Joker towards the waiting Batmobile…Batman must have called it, as it certainly hadn't been there before they entered the edifice.

He threw Joker in, shoved Harley in after making sure she was restrained as well, and then hesitated. He couldn't just walk away! He punched in a few commands on the Batmobile's console, intending to send the two criminals back to Arkham, when a thought stuck him.

"Quinn! Where are they?" It was a long shot…she could be just as reticent as her lover. But he could save a lot of time if she would just…

"Don't know what you're talkin' about." She said it airily…would probably have waved her hand around had she not been tied up. Nightwing growled and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her and eliciting a startled "eep!" out of her.

"Listen, if you don't tell me where Batgirl and Robin are right now I'm gonna send this car right back into that building there, understand?" Her eyes widened as she glanced back to where he was gesturing . He prayed her fright and general insanity would prevent her from realizing it was an idle threat…the Bats didn't kill. Luckily for him she didn't remember that slight detail.

"I don't know!" she wailed. He shoved her back against the seat and reached for the controls. "Wait! I…I really don't! Mistah J…he did the drivin' and I always was bad at directions!" Nightwing considered her thoughtfully.

"Driving? Then they're not inside?" He pointed to the burning building. She shook her head. "If you're…" he let the threat hang between them, though he was inclined to believe her. Her makeup had become smudged and wiped off in the struggles and from her tears…and underneath she was still white as a sheet. She was scared…and that meant…

"Batman!" He toggled the comm again. There was no answer. He shook his fist at the fiery building. Stubborn...stupid… "Batman, listen! Robin, Batgirl…they're somewhere else. Do you copy? They aren't in the cannery…you have to get out! Now!" There was no response. Nightwing moved towards the building, only to be driven backwards as the building exploded. He could feel the exposed skin on his face burning, but at least the fire was far enough away that it would be more like a severe sunburn…Batman, on the other hand…may not have been so lucky.


The smoke was blinding…and had he not been wearing a gas mask already, he would have choked on it long before now. The decision to go back hadn't been difficult…it never was. Batman accepted it as part of the "job". He had turned around even before Nightwing had called him about the gas tank…his discovery of Robin's things had made him stop. He knew there was a remote possibility that the younger vigilantes weren't even in this factory…Oracle had said she'd planted a trace on Robin's boot. A boot which was here, and not attached to the "boy wonder" himself. He prayed that that was the case…that only his boots and belt…and mask, a discovery he'd have to ponder later…if there was a later…were here. That they were safe…as far as anyone under the Joker's power could be safe…elsewhere.

While he hoped that was true, he couldn't take any chances. He didn't have time to find them…he had to stop the gas tank from exploding…then worry about the fact that the whole building was being engulfed in flames. He reached the machinery-filled room…just in time for the ceiling to collapse, blocking his path to the gasoline tank. He pulled out a few capsules…two were filled with a chemical agent that would foam and act as a fire extinguisher…though not in a large enough quantity to make any significant dent on the current inferno. The others were also filled with chemicals…one used to flash-freeze objects, one that created a sticky web that solidified to trap someone or something, and another that was filled with a carbon dioxide/ chemical mixture that would push oxygen out of a room…commonly used to subdue large amounts of suspects in a room at once.

He threw all the capsules in a strategic pattern to give himself a fire-free area in which to work. It didn't clear the whole room, but he managed to make his way towards the tank…which somehow…miraculously, had yet to be touched by the deadly flames. Possibly this was because of it's position…back in a corner, more of a niche, actually, with walls on three sides, shielding it from the rest of the room. This also explained why he hadn't noticed it before…he hadn't looked backwards into the room as he left.

He considered the tank…it was much too large to try to remove…he could never carry it. A pipe ran down from the bottom of the tank; apparently to supply…something…with fuel. The valve was closed, so at least there weren't any leaks to worry about…a spark hitting a thin trickle could lead the fire right to it. Batman checked his utility belt. He had a few capsules left…he could see if any could form a coating around the vessel, protecting it until the fire was extinguished. Or…

"Batman!" Nightwing. He didn't have time for this. "Batman, listen! Robin, Batgirl…they're somewhere else. Do you copy? They aren't in the cannery…you have to get out! Now!" He hesitated…his mind was naturally skeptical…how sure was Nightwing? Then he turned, moving with nearly super-human speed…the speed born of adrenaline and fear and…and the desire to survive. Nightwing wouldn't sacrifice Robin, nor Batgirl. Even as he passed out of the room, though, a flame licked at the edge of the gas tank. His eyes missing no detail, he recalled a drain a few feet away. Knowing that time was up he managed to kick off the screen, slipping inside just as the tank went up…taking the entire building with it.


To be continued…