A/N: HA! Double Whammy! Boom! Hopefully, Chapter 15 and beyond will be out much quicker.

I feel like I say that a lot. Here's hoping.

Enjoy! And get ready!

Chapter 14

Barbara and Sam were sitting in Sam's office in City Hall, with Barbara staring out of the window. Her eyes and head were on a constant swivel, looking for anything remotely out of place. Despite the fact that they were guarded by over a dozen officers outside, Barbara couldn't help but be worried. Terry informed her about Bane's revelation and Barbara knew she would be in the crosshairs of Bane, sooner or later.

Finishing and saving his last report of the night, Sam looked up from his computer screen, studying his wife. "I haven't seen you like this in a long time, Barb."

"You remember Bane when we were kids, Sam," Barbara replied. "He's bad news. And with the prison break… sorry. I'm on edge."

"And about Bruce Wayne."

Barbara stopped and looked at Sam, in shock.

"You haven't talked about it," Sam pointed out. "But I'm here if you need to."

Barbara sighed. She walked over and sat in the chair in front of his desk. "It's just…" she leaned over and pinched the bridge of her nose. She sighed and kept her gaze fixed at the floor. "Bruce was a good friend. We got a little of that back in recent years. The thought of him dying… it's just putting a lot of things in perspective for me."

"In what way?"

"Like…" Barbara looked at Sam. "…maybe it's time… to hang it up."

Sam studied her in disbelief, as his eyes grew wider. "…what…"

Suddenly, the lights went, leaving the room in near pitch black save from the light from the window.

"Barb…" Sam whispered, nervously.

Barbara drew her gun and activated on her comms, "Report! What's going on?!"

"We don't know, Commissioner," an officer replied. "The power just went out. We're already sending a call for backup."

Barbara looked at Sam. She got back on her comms, while maintaining her stare at Sam, "We're leaving! Now!"

Barbara and Sam met with the officers standing outside of the office.

"What's the plan, Commissioner?" an office asked.

"We leave," Barbara answered. "Quietly. Stay away from the windows."

Barbara, Sam, and the officers quietly made their way through City Hall, along with dozens of other city workers who were lost in the confusion. Barbara couldn't help but think that this is exactly what Bane wanted. Barbara and her group made it to the service stairs and down to the parking garage. They were almost to the cars when the sound of machinegun fire was heard near the garage gate.

"What's happening?!" Barbara asked, urgently.

"These guys just showed up outta nowhere, Commissioner!" an officer answered. "They're trying to break through the security gate."

Barbara looked at Sam, "Get back to the stairs and stay there!"

"Barbara…" Sam said, worriedly.

"I love you, Sam!" Barbara pointed at four officers, "Take the district attorney and get him somewhere safe! Go!"

Sam stared at Barbara, worriedly. He nodded, "I love you." Sam and the officers ran back into the building.

Barbara looked at her remaining officers, "We're going out there!"

"Backup is on the way, Commissioner," an officer explained. "Capt. Val is on the way."

"Good work, Steins," Barbara checked her gun.

"How do you wanna handle this, Commissioner?" another officer asked.

"We're cops, Simmons," Barbara said, fearlessly. "And sometimes Batman can't be there. We don't run!"

"Whatever you say, Commissioner!" Simmons replied.

"We go out there… and we light 'em up! We're the GCPD and we're gonna handle this!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the officers replied, proudly.

"MOVE OUT!" Barbara and her officers hurried to the gate.

When they arrived, they found a hole in the garage gate. They rushed outside and found Scourge soldiers, led by Switchblade and Bulletstorm, firing on the officers. Barbara and the officers with her took cover and began to provide return fire. After over half a minute, Barbara couldn't help but notice that this particular shootout wasn't going in their favor. She prayed backup would arrive in time.

In another minute, it did. It just wasn't the backup police who were still in route.

But when Barbara looked up and saw Batman, she wasn't complaining either.

Batman threw a dozen batarangs at the Scourge soldiers, which exploded into tear gas. Then Batman dove for Bulletstorm, tackling him to the ground and keeping him occupied while the GCPD managed to take the fight to the other Scourge soldiers.

"Hell, this guy's good!" Switchblade noted. He drew two knives and started after Batman until he had to block a shuriken from the arriving Ghost-Wing and Jaguar. "Do you two have anything else to do except get on my nerves?!"

"You're not getting away this time, Childs!" Ghost-Wing growled. "We're taking you down!"

"You've said that every time you come at me! And ya two do realize there's a whole army here, right? Really, G.W., Jag? Why always focus on me? What's the real issue here?"

"About you killing Kya!" Jaguar gritted.

Switchblade paused. "Why do you care so much about her?"

"She was our friend, you son of a bitch!" Ghost-Wing growled.

"Well, duh! But it's not like I killed her outta nowhere! She rushed me first!"

"Don't try that! Your murdered her in cold blood!"

"In cold…" Switchblade paused again but then laughed. "Oh, wow! You… you two never put it together, did you?"

"Put what together?" Jaguar asked.

"Kya was my accomplice on that job!"

Jaguar studied Switchblade, suspiciously, as Ghost-Wing slowly stood up straight. "What?" Jaguar whispered.

"You lying piece of shit!" Ghost-Wing growled. "Kya Pierce was a good agent! She…"

"How do you think I knew where the guns were in the first place?!" Switchblade interrupted. "Pierce was in on it! I only killed her 'cause she came at me first. She didn't want her super-buddies to know she was a dirty cop."

While Jaguar froze in place, her face giving way to utter shock, Ghost-Wing seethed, "You're lying… you're LYING!"

Switchblade scoffed, "Yeah, right! You wish!"

Ghost-Wing unsheathed his light batons and Jaguar shook off her shock, entering a battle stance.

"Oh, please, G.W., this ain't even about Pierce. You think I don't know your shtick by now? Just admit it! The only reason you're even here is because you're jealous of Batman!"

Ghost-Wing and Jaguar growled at him.

"Hey, I don't blame you!" Switchblade defended. "Hell, I am, too! That ride is sweeeet!"

Ghost-Wing and Jaguar charged at Switchblade, initiating a battle.

Batman kept up his assault against Bulletstorm, finding him to be a more dangerous version of Mad Stan. Whereas Mad Stan had absolutely no finesse and relied on brute strength and weapons, Bulletstorm had the latter but was clearly far better trained than Mad Stan; much to Batman's chagrin. Bulletstorm kicked Batman away, sending him flying into a cop car.

Batman pushed himself up and groaned, "Dammit! When Bane finds soldiers, he doesn't skimp on quality."

Bulletstorm drew a metal box from behind him, which transformed into a rocket launcher.

"Oh, I'm gonna be so if Mad Stan ever gets one of those!" Batman jumped then flew out of the way as Bulletstorm fired a rocket at him. The rocket hit the car, destroying it and much of the ground in sizable blast. The force of the explosion pushed Batman further than he expected, causing him to hit a wall then the ground.

Bulletstorm took aim again, but a laser shot hit the side of the launcher, disabling it; the shot courtesy of Barbara. Bulletstorm ditched the rocket launcher, immediately, and rolled away, ducking behind cover. Barbara picked up a second gun and maneuvered around to get a better shot at Bulletstorm.

Barbara circled the corner just as Bulletstorm was getting to his feet.

She fired.

The shot hit him in the left shoulder.

But he had a gun in his right hand.

As he fell, he took aim and fired.

Barbara gasped and her eyes widened.

It had been a very long time since she'd been shot.

"NO!" Batman screamed in horror.

Batman flew over to Barbara as she crumbled. Batman caught Barbara just before her head hit the ground.

"T…" Barbara whispered. "Batman…"

"Hang in there, Commissioner! You're gonna be okay!" Batman looked down at her wound. In the side of the abdomen. He saw blood. "Oh, Jesus…"

Bulletstorm tried to aim again but Batman, quickly and viciously, hurled another batarang that cut Bulletstorm's previously uninjured arm, leaving a deep gash and causing him to drop the gun.

Switchblade grunted, "Ugh! Time to go!"

Ghost-Wing charged at Switchblade, "You're not…"

"Sorry, G.W!" Switchblade threw a flash grenade. "We'll finish this another time!" The grenade bounced once, then exploded into light.

After about 15 seconds, the light subsided, and Ghost-Wing looked all around to see Switchblade and Bulletstorm boarding another hovercar then take off. Ghost-Wing growled at the villains' escape.

"Ghost!" Jaguar screamed.

Ghost-Wing looked over to see Batman beginning to patch up Barbara. Batman looked up and screamed, "SOMEONE GET A MEDIC! NOW!"

One of the officers immediately got on a radio, urgently requesting the emergency medical services.

Jaguar hurried over, "Is she okay?"

Barbara tried catching her breath. "Don't… don't worry about… about me…" She looked at Batman, "Sam…"

"He's safe," Batman reassured. "The cops inside have been constantly checking. I scanned the building. He's inside. Worry about yourself, Commissioner."

"Oh, please!" Barbara groaned. "It's… gonna take… more than this… to take me out."

"I believe you, but I'd rather not test the theory."

Ghost-Wing came over, "They got away! Again!"

Batman looked at him, "Yeah, I kinda don't care." He resumed patching up Barbara.

"What is Bane after?" Jaguar asked.

"Koutetsu said he's targeting some pillars of Gotham's community."

"Sam qualifies," Barbara groaned then grunted as Batman added some salve to her wound.

Batman glared at her, "Yeah, and you do what? Stare intensely out of the window all day?"

"Oh, shut up!"

Batman chuckled a bit. "Yeah, you're fine."

"Wait." Jaguar looked around. "If Bane wasn't here…" she looked at Batman, "where is he?"

Barbara and Ghost-Wing looked at Batman, as well, curious to his answer. Batman's moment of contemplation already answered the question for Barbara, though.

"I've…" Batman began, "got a pretty good idea."

Bane, Ikram, Athanasia, and a dozen soldiers walked up to the Wayne Manor gates. Bane punched the gates open and took a few steps in.

Then Bane stopped. He examined the area, thoroughly.

"Beloved?" Athanasia asked.

"Something is wrong," Bane whispered. They walked up to the house, carefully doing so. When they arrived at the front steps, Bane stopped again. "Something is very wrong." He approached the door and kicked it open. They all entered the Manor, examining their surroundings.

"It's quiet," Ikram noted.

Bane scanned the area. "Search the house. As silently as possible."

The Scourge soldiers spread through the house. Bane headed for the study; he looked around, staring at the grandfather clock. He easily shoved the clock out of the way and punched a hole through the steel door behind it. He ripped the door off and walked down the stairs, entering the Cave. He looked around and, somehow, he felt it.

Bane snarled but stopped. He considered everything then slowly smiled. "Well played, Young Bat." He took a deep breath and looked around the Cave again, "So… this is where it all began, isn't it, Wayne? Interesting." He walked in a bit further then looked at the display cases. "Ah."

Bane walked over, studying each suit. Then he came to the last caped suit Bruce wore. Bane stared at the eyes of the suit then smirked.

"How times have changed," Bane whispered. He studied the suit a bit longer. "What possessed you go down this course?" He looked around the Cave again. "What lead you down here? What first initiated the crusade? Was it more than the tragic end of your parents? Was there nothing that could deter you from your mission? Did you have a choice?" He chuckled, "Doesn't even matter at this point?" He looked back at the suit, "This will be resolved soon, Wayne. Then… we will truly see who rules this kingdom. Only one legacy will be left when the dust settles." He walked back upstairs.

Athanasia and Ikram were just entering the study when Bane came back in. "We've found nothing, Beloved," Athanasia informed.

"You won't." Bane chuckled, softly. "They predicted this. They've already gone."

"They've fled Gotham?" Ikram asked.

"Father…" Athanasia chided. "Switchblade reported to us that they battled Batman at City Hall."

"Moreover, Batman is no coward," Bane added. "No matter who wears the cowl, especially not this Young Bat. They anticipated my movements and acted far quicker than I could've imagined. They've left their home base."

"But where are they?" Ikram asked. "Wayne Enterprises?"

"I overestimated you, Ikram. And that disappoints me. Further disappointment is how little you think of our enemy. You must imagine Batman some fool for his second hiding place to be a building his name on it!"

Ikram set his jaw and glared at Bane.

"But where could they have gone?" Athanasia asked.

"This is Batman's home, Beloved," Bane answered. "And the old man has had over 70 years to find a new place to hide. We won't know… until they want us to."

"Let's burn this home to the ground," Ikram suggested.

"No," Bane replied. "It stands. It can stand as a monument to the failure of Batman after we finish them all."

In a Scourge hidden bunker, Fiend and Rene were sitting in on top of some crates, watching Scourge soldiers move crates around and unload weapons. Rene took note of all the happenings, in particular of machinery and crates being brought in, but, not too long after, the Scourge would move the objects elsewhere. Suddenly, Fiend growled then jumped to his feet and started pacing.

Rene looked up at him, "Something wrong?"

"Yeah!" Fiend growled. "Sitting around! Doing nothing! It's boring! Might as well be back in prison!"

"But we are not."

"Yeah, that's what you say." Fiend stopped and turned to Rene. "I remember reading about Bane in history. Guy always mixed it up with the original Batman. But he's keeping us on a leash? Something ain't right. Plus, he pisses me off. He sounds a lot like my old man." He chuckled. "Man, I don't miss him!"

"I understand your frustration. But it seems Bane has his own plan."

"True." Fiend smiled, dangerously. "But… I don't like waiting around."

"You have a better idea?"

"I might."

Rene raised an eyebrow.

Fiend looked around, making sure no one was listening in. He moved closer to Rene and spoke in a lower tone, "How 'bout… we handle things on our own?"

Rene stared at Fiend. He also double-checked their surroundings and kept his voice low, "A dangerous notion, though. To go against Bane. Yes, we have our own agendas. But Bane clearly has his. Angering him… looks like a bad idea. He could be stronger than both of us. And we're on his turf with his soldiers."

"Yeah, yeah, I know! But we're still giving him something he wants! We just need to get something done!"

Rene looked back at Fiend. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying…" Fiend smiled. "…he wants Max dead, we kill her. On our own. After that… we go after Nightrunner. They'll never see it coming. Or, at least, go kick his ass. If we can't get Batman or his other little cult members… we can hurt them. And…" he laughed, "that's worth it, my man!"

Rene thought it over.

"What do you say?"

Rene looked at Fiend and nodded, "Agreed."

A/N: And so the plot thickens. What's coming next? We'll see...