Chapter Eleven: A Typical Villain's Rant

In hero circles, the Batman is renowned for his ability to remain calm in the face of practically any crisis. Stolid, stoic, seldom losing his cool, he is respected for his stability in situations that make virtual gods panic. He is admired for his ability to bring those same gods under control with no more than a few words or a glare.

Other heroes possess this quality. Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Martian Manhunter are chief among them. Even so, it is the Batman that everyone looks to. His methods, while blunt, get the best results.

"What do you mean they took Buffy?" Dawn demanded. The heroes had returned to the Magic Box, and told Anya and Dawn what had happened. "Why didn't you fucking well go after her?"

"Dawn, don't swear," Willow told her.

"Am I the only person that sees the obvious here? Buffy is gone and those nutjobs are doing god-knows-what with her!" She turned to glare at Batman. "I refuse to lose my sister again! She helped you, and they took her and Nightwing too. I want to know what you're going to do about it, and I want to know now!"

"Damn," Xander breathed.

"First," Batman told her, "Spike is about to tell us everything he knows about Dala and the Monk. That information may provide a clue about what they will do next. In the meantime, I have sent Robin and Batgirl to Willy's Bar, where they will grab him and bring him here. At the same time, Mr. Giles is using his connections to find Nightwing and your sister, and as soon as Miss Rosenberg and Miss Maclay recover enough, they will cast a locator spell. If all that fails, there are contingencies." His voice lowered, and became gentle. He put a hand on her shoulder. "We will not abandon them, Miss Summers. That is a promise."

"In the meantime, Dawnie," Willow said gently, "it's bedtime for you."

"But-"

"School, remember?"

"Can't you just call in and say I'm sick or something?"

"They're gonna want to talk to Buffy, too," Willow pointed out.

"Can't you change your voice?"

"Uh, maybe I could figure out a spell for that, but right now I don't know how."

"Well- what about the Buffy-Bot?"

"I can't fix it that fast, not even with magic."

"But-"

"Home time, Dawn," Willow said firmly. She looked at Batman. "I'll walk her home. If it's okay, I'll stay and have a nap myself. It'll help me get my energy back."

"Understood."

"I'll go, too," Tara said. A minute later, they left.

"Spike," Batman said, looking at the vampire. Spike sighed and recapped what he had told Batman and Buffy about Dala and the Monk.

"Those two keep secrets," he concluded. "Most of the time the rest of us didn't know what they were up to until it was all over, except for the Master. I can tell you that everything they did they did for some purpose. Those thefts that made you first cross paths with them? They had some kind of meaning." Spike snorted. "You wouldn't believe what those two are capable of. Ever hear of a guy named Rasputin? That was the Monk. He engineered the Russian Revolution. He got a bit of power and set a whole bunch of plans in motion. The one that finally set the whole thing off is when he got some jealous bint to summon up a vengeance demon to off her cheating husband."

The room fell silent because everyone realized which vengeance demon it was. They looked at her. "Well, it was a job," Anya said defensively.

"Interesting, but irrelevant," Batman pointed out. He looked straight at Spike. "You know them. They have control of a situation. What would they do?"

"They don't act, they react to prophecies," Spike snorted. "But in general, they'd hunker down in a nearby stronghold and work out their next move. I can't be more specific because, if you'll recall, I tried to stay away from them."

Batman scowled. This was getting them nowhere. "Robin and Batgirl will be back shortly with Willy. We should learn something specific then."

The first thing Buffy felt was the pain in her forehead, quickly followed by the pain in her neck.

"Oh," she moaned as she looked up. She blinked her eyes open several times. She was in a dungeon-like room, and she was strung up. (Oh, goody.) She looked around, and she saw Nightwing hanging limply, also strung up. (Maybe I woke up first because I'm the Slayer)

He woke up some time later. "Great," she heard him mutter. "Captured and strung up- again. Oh, how I love my life."

"Tell me about it," Buffy smiled.

He looked up at her, and flashed her a nice big grin. "You too, huh?"

"I'm sorry I got you into this," she said apologetically.

"Don't apologize," he said firmly. "Hey, for all we know, I got you into this. Only one of these guys is your enemy. The others are mine and Batman's. Two-to-one, you're here because of me."

"You would lose that wager," a voice said. It was the voice of the vamp that came out of the Chalice. Both Buffy and Nightwing turned to look. A man in a red mask and robe entered the cell.

"The Monk," Nightwing spat.

"Correct," the Monk said with a bow. "Nightwing, who was once the first Robin. Reports of your struggles against Trigon have spread throughout all the hells." He turned to Buffy. "The Slayer. You and your predecessors have tormented my kind for millennia."

"I plan to keep up the good work," she quipped lightly. She saw Nightwing grin.

"Smile while you may," the Monk told her. "It will not be for long- only until tomorrow night."

"What's tomorrow night?" Nightwing asked. The Monk started to laugh.

"You think I will enter into a typical villain's speech, yes? One where I tell you every detail of my plan because I am confident that you cannot stop me? Sorry to disappoint you, boy, but spending time in Hell has taught me much more than this." He said something in a foreign language. The Monk began to laugh again.

"Oh yes," he continued. "I know. I know a great many things, and I will use them to my advantage after you are both dead." His tone became speculative. "Still, since you are my guests I suppose I owe you a little something… you, my dear," he told Buffy, "are very special. There are a number of prophecies concerning Slayers, but very few deal with ones that come back to life." He leaned in until he was inches from Buffy's face. "You have a destiny before you. You will change the world- not just you, but your children as well. Unfortunately, those changes are not in the best interests of my kind. Therefore, we will shatter the prophecy tomorrow night. You will die then, Nightwing, but you Miss Summers- you will linger." He backed away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make. I will see you both again tonight. Oh- don't bother trying to escape. The chains are enchanted. They will only maintain their integrity once, but in their one use they will hold anyone short of Lucifer himself. Good night," he bowed, and left the cell.

"Well, that was informative," Buffy muttered after he left.

"Tell me about it," Nightwing muttered. "Usually it's getting them to shut up that's the problem."

"I think it's a superiority thing," Buffy said. "Who doesn't like to gloat?"

"True, but the smart ones at least wait until they think you're dying before they start."

"Does that mean the really smart ones don't do it at all?"

"God, I hope not."

They hung there in silence for a few minutes. Nightwing surreptitiously tried to escape from the restraints, but it was no use. The Monk was probably telling the truth, which meant that he would have to wait until the restraints were removed to transport him before he could act.

"What did he call you?" Buffy asked him suddenly. He looked up at her. "He said something in a weird language, like he was calling you something. What was it?"

Nightwing weighed his options. (Should I tell her? It's not like it's common knowledge. Bruce wouldn't, but I'm not Bruce.) He came to a decision.

"It's my name, in the language of my people," he told her. "I'm Romany. That's a-"

"A gypsy," she finished. "Yeah, I know. One of my friends was a gypsy." She looked away. "She was killed a few years back."

He could tell that she was very upset and not just because of the death. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really," she finally said. "It's just that I said some things to her that-"

"That she didn't deserve?"

"Oh no. She deserved them. At least, she sort-of did. I didn't know that she was trying to make it right when I said them. She died, trying to make it right. I just wish I could apologize to her, and thank her."

They hung in silence again for a while. "So, uh, you've been doing this for six years?" he suddenly asked her.

"Feels like sixty," Buffy smiled.

"Yeah," Nightwing said, giving her a rueful grin. "I know the feeling."

"Is it the long nights, the low pay, the constant danger, or the lack of public appreciation?"

"Oh I dunno. I think I'm gonna have to go with all of the above."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Her face became quizzical. "Do you always talk like this when you're tied up?"

"What- you haven't been tied up before?"

"Not like this. Usually people try to kill me shortly after I come to."

"Well, when there's a protracted wait, there's not much else to do but talk and sleep. I'm not tired, but I can shut up if you are."

"I'm used to weird hours," she said, sounding rueful. They sat in silence for a while longer. "You don't have to answer this," she said suddenly, "but I was wondering- in the Batcave, I saw that Robin costume in that glass case, and I know a memorial when I see one. That guy that was resurrected with the Monk- the Joker was saying some things to Batman about him. Is he- does that costume- is it his?"

Nightwing's eyebrows rose under his mask. (Perceptive) he thought. "Yeah. It is."

"Ouch," Buffy said softly. "How'd he die?"

"The Joker beat his head in, and then blew him up. How about you?"

"Let's see- the first time, a powerful vampire bit me, and pushed me into a pool of water. My heart stopped. The second time- well, it's a long story."

"It's not like we're going anywhere," Nightwing pointed out.

She told him a story about a tower, a dimensional portal ritual, and a crazed hellgoddess. It was a load of crap. His detective training told him that she wasn't exactly lying, but she was holding something back, something important. He wouldn't press her, not yet. "And that's it," she finished. "But because the energy killed me, my friends thought I was trapped in hell, so they brought me back. I wasn't in hell, though."

"You were in Heaven."

"I don't remember much about it."

"I know a guy in similar circumstances. He remembers everything, but he chose to come back. It's a complicated story."

"Are we going anywhere?"

Nightwing briefly recounted the story of Oliver Queen's resurrection. "He wanted to come back, though," Buffy said. "I didn't. I really didn't. I remember that much. When I got back, I thought I was in hell." She looked Nightwing straight in the eye. "I can't imagine what that Robin is going through. It was bad enough for me when I came back, but if the Joker's got him…" She paused, swallowed, looked away, and looked back at him. "I hope the others get here soon, for his sake."

I'm sorry that this is a bit late. I couldn't get to my user menu- I think the site was down or something. Anyway-

Doza: Thank you! As for the big names on the DCU magic front: as far as Batman knows, they are still incommunicado. There is a reason for that (insert shameless plug) which will be touched upon in the sequel, which is in the early planning stages.

Allen Pitt: I figured that Dala would want her sire returned already vamped, and besides- I wasn't sure who had possession of the Scroll. Will Willow go off? If she's pushed far enough… As for Xander/Anya, I am not necessarily hoping that they will work out, but I think that they could. Their relationship would never be the same, but that might just be a good thing. As for Jason- he is back, but for how long? Yes, the Monk isn't as powerful as the Master, but he's still pretty ancient so he won't be a pushover. Finally- no, Dawn's Key-ness won't be coming into play in this story, but it will be touched on in the sequel.

Damia- Queen of the Gypsi's: That's pretty cool about your name. I'm glad that it's still fun. Will the Bats train the Scoobies? Hmm… I don't know about 'train' train, but a few moves and skills may eventually be taught. About Faith: she will not be appearing in this fic, but she will be showing up later down the line.

RogueFanKC: Hi! Don't worry about late reviews- you reviewed just in time! I'm glad that you still like it. I wouldn't take an insurance policy out on Xander just yet- remember that Anya can't use her vengeance powers on her own behalf. She has to get somebody to wish ill on him in order to do anything. About Batman and the 'agreement': yup, that's classic Batman. I don't think that ploy would have worked on any hero that's worked with him before, but Buffy hasn't. Buffy was dissed, and without a single insult delivered, which is also classic Batman. As you know by now, Jason's back. As for your reviews: I love them. Please keep them coming!