Double or Nothing (Part Three)
By TheLostMaximoff
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Thanks to the people who review. I had to finish moving into my new residence before getting back to work on this fic. R/R.
She wished she had her suit on. She felt too exposed in this dress. Not that Cass thought it was a bad dress. She had certainly enjoyed Tim's initial reaction upon seeing her in it for the first time. That alone had been priceless. However, the dress just wasn't designed for stealth. Plus, it also wasn't bulletproof like her costume was. Not that Cass minded that part. She knew how to take a bullet. Her father had taught her that very well.
"Need distraction," said Cass, "I have to get to the basement."
"On it," assured Robin. Cass pressed herself up against the wall and waited.
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"We're going in," stated Robin as he took out his grappling hook and fired it at the casino's roof, "She needs a way to go down."
"So we go up," finished Huntress as she followed suit. Robin nodded as the two vigilantes swung towards the casino and landed on one of its ledges. There was an office on the top floor that would work. Robin quickly used a glass-cutter to make a hole in the window and reached inside to unlock it.
"It's tripped," assured Huntress as she noticed a blinking light on the little device connected to the window, "How careless of us." Robin grinned as the duo made their way into the office.
"Any chance of finding something in here too?" asked Huntress as she moved to pry open a filing cabinet.
"I wouldn't put money on it," assured Robin as he began poking around on the office's computer. He hoped that Cass was onto something. The quicker they could crack this case then the safer he'd sleep at night, assuming that he slept at all during the night.
"How long before they send some people up here?" asked Robin.
"Ten minutes tops," replied Huntress. Robin nodded. He just hoped they could keep the casino's goons busy while Cass did the real digging.
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She had managed to mingle her way over to a good vantage point where she could see the basement entrance and not be seen in return. Cass had been staring at the entrance for what felt like an eternity before the men guarding it received something over their earpieces and left their posts. Cass assumed this was Tim's work. She silently thanked him as she crept over to the unguarded door and made her way inside after picking the lock. She hadn't heard anything from down below after the two screams. Cass didn't know if she should take that as a good sign or a bad sign. She kept her ears alert as she crept down the stairs and went into the casino's basement.
"I'm in," she whispered. There was some noise in the background of the radio.
"Check," said Robin hastily. Cass wished she was up there with him. She wasn't an intelligence gatherer. That wasn't really her specialty. She sniffed the air suddenly. Smoke. She reached into her purse and pulled out a flashlight. Cass now understood the necessity for utility belts as opposed to bags or backpacks or some other such contrivance. The purse was too cumbersome for her tastes. Cass shined the flashlight around to get a better look at where exactly she was. She quickly realized that where exactly she was wasn't very pretty. There were tanks full of chemicals lining the walls. She didn't know if it was the drug itself or the chemicals used to make it. She'd let Bruce decide for himself. She fished out the camera from her purse and let the night-vision lens adjust itself before taking a few pictures. Cass sniffed the air. The smoke was still lingering. She knew it had to have come from a gun.
"Murder," whispered Cass as she entered the next room. She could smell the blood now too and she followed the trail to the gurney where the dead man was still strapped in. She made sure to snap some pictures. The gun had been double-barreled. She could tell that much. Cass had been out of the game a long time but she still remembered some of Batman's case files. Two-Face liked double-barreled guns. Two-Face also liked games of chance. The odds were good.
"Robin," said Cass. There was only static on the other end of the radio.
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Tim swore he could feel the little pieces of metal sticking into the skin of his ear canal. He was paranoid. He hastily checked the earpiece and found it to be worthless. The thug had gotten a lucky shot. Robin had returned the favor by knocking him unconscious.
"Radio down?" asked Huntress as she drove her knee into a man's stomach and then kicked him in the face. That was the last of the goons.
"Yeah," replied Robin as he fiddled with his ear, "Luckily that's the only thing on me that's broken."
"Always nice," said Huntress, "Where to now?"
"Basement," replied Robin, "Someone's hired an awful lot of protection. I want to know why."
"And here I thought you just missed your girlfriend," said Huntress with a smirk.
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Cass had come to a new understanding. It was hard to fight while wearing heels. Apparently there were still some stray goons about that Robin's distraction hadn't drawn in. Cass pitied them. At least Robin would've been gentler with them.
"Stupid shoes," muttered Cass as she kicked off one shoe and let it nail one of the goons in the head. She slipped the other one off before grabbing the stunned man and flinging him over her shoulder into one of his partners. The third one pulled a gun and found it removed from his hand thanks to her. Seconds later, the man also found his hand quite broken. With all of them down, Cass looked around to see if any more were coming.
"I have to say that I'm impressed," said a voice. Cass was momentarily blinded by someone flicking on the lights. She turned and rolled as she heard the sound of the gun being fired.
"That was a warning," assured Two-Face, "Harvey thought it was only fair. You only get one though. Leave." Cass stared at the man, her eyes lingering on his grotesque face. She was going to have to take him out. It was the quickest way to finish this case.
"I wouldn't take the risk," assured Two-Face as he pointed the gun at one of the chemical tanks, "You don't really know what's in here. There's a 50/50 chance it's explosive. You wanna gamble with a casino full of innocent people?" Cass hated it that he was right. She couldn't run that risk.
"Smart girl," said Two-Face with a grin as he saw Cass relax her stance. He slowly moved over to where the dead man was still strapped in, admiring his handiwork. Apparently, Lady Luck had decided to send him someone new to play with.
"This guy was a cop," said Two-Face as he gestured to the dead man, "You one too?" Cass didn't reply. She figured that Tim was on his way. Maybe that would be the advantage she needed to take Two-Face out.
"The way I see it, you're either a cop or you work with Batman's crew," explained Two-Face, "Of course I see everything 50/50 so that's nothing new. Still, odds are that I've got a pretty good idea you're not just an innocent bystander who happened to wander down here."
"Not your lucky day," assured Cass as she saw Robin suddenly charge into the room with Huntress right on his heels.
"Freeze, Dent!" ordered Robin. Two-Face turned and fired the gun at Robin. Robin rolled while Huntress fired a bolt from her crossbow that pinned Two-Face's arm to the wall, effectively silencing his ability to shoot at anyone else.
"You alright?" asked Robin as he looked to Cass. Cass nodded.
"I'm going back in there to make sure there aren't any more goons," said Huntress as she pointed to where the tanks were, "Get in touch with Gordon and tell him to get some people down here." Robin nodded as Huntress went back into the other room. He suddenly heard the click of a trigger. Everything moved in slow motion as he felt himself pushed to the floor. He looked up. Cass had taken the shot but it wasn't a bullet stuck in her arm. It was a dart.
"I think my odds are pretty fair," assured Two-Face as he held the second gun in his other hand, the one currently not pinned to the wall, "Too bad yours don't look too hot." Cass's eyes widened as she looked at the dart before yanking it out of her arm. Her skin felt like it was on fire. She found herself starting to sweat.
"Huntress, back in here!" shouted Robin. Cass looked at him and felt something jerk in her body. It was . . . it was like her body had a mind of its own. She was scared now. She felt like she couldn't control her body anymore.
"Robin," said Cass, "Help." That was the last thing Tim heard before Cass hit him in the face. He spun on his heel and turned it into a back handspring to dodge the kick that was coming his way. Tim tried to get his bearings. Two-Face had shot Cass up with Deuce and now he was a part of her worst fear.
"I can't stop," explained Cass as she hit him in the stomach. It was like a living nightmare. She could see it all happening but she couldn't stop it. Her body wouldn't do what she told it. It wanted to kill Tim. It wanted to kill him and all she could do was watch.
"Get control," urged Robin as he blocked a kick. The foot swung back the other way and struck him in the jaw.
"I can't!" whimpered Cass helplessly. She turned and caught Huntress in mid-air with an uppercut, effectively stopping her attempt at a tackle. Helena didn't need to be here. At least with Tim she could tell herself she was about to hurt someone she loved and that would give her a measure of control. Helena was just a warm body in her way. Cass could barely keep the killing instincts raging inside her body at bay. She had lived with these instincts all her life and all her life she had been afraid that they were too much to control. Now she was about to use them on the people she cared about.
"He shot her up," explained Robin as Huntress got back to her feet. He was worried sick. Tim could only imagine what kind of torture this was for Cass. Simply put, it was her greatest fear come to life.
"Wonderful," muttered Huntress as Robin grabbed Cass from behind and attempted to choke her into unconsciousness. Helena knew enough to see the advantage and went straight for Cass while she was open.
"Too slow," said Cass as she kicked Huntress in the face and then moved out of Tim's hold, flipping him over her back and into Huntress. She had to stop it. She was going to hurt one of them and then everything she had worked so hard for was going to be ruined. She couldn't be trusted. She couldn't be loved. She couldn't fight what everything else in the world, even her own body, kept telling her. She was going to kill again.
"Robin," said Cass as she blocked Tim's punch, kicking him in the side and then the stomach, "You have to . . . have to stop me. Please!" She was disgusted with herself because on some level she knew she enjoyed this. She tried to tell herself it was the drug talking and not her own soul.
"My pleasure," assured Huntress as she hit Cass in the back of the head and then rammed her knee into the younger woman's spine. Huntress knew the risks. She knew that Batman had wanted her on this case for this reason. She could do what Tim couldn't. She could kill if it became absolutely necessary.
"I won't take you out," assured Robin. Cass didn't register him. Huntress was the bigger threat. Her body knew what to do. She whirled and caught Helena's arm, snapping the bones like they were twigs. She heard Huntress scream before everything suddenly became muffled by the haze of smoke. Cass coughed as she tried taking blind shots at the air around her.
"Robin," she called out. Tim wanted to answer but he knew it was suicide. He grabbed Huntress and headed for the door. He hated leaving Cass behind but he couldn't do anything with her like this. Staying to help her would've landed all three of them in trouble. Tim knew he had to use his head instead of his heart.
"Too bad about the kid." Cass felt something sting her in the back of the neck. It was another dart but this one was different.
"I'm going to kill you," assured Cass as she turned to Two-Face.
"That's one option," replied Two-Face as he shot another tranquilizer dart at her, "There's always more than one option though. Like right now. You could just let those tranquilizers do their work and go to sleep like a good girl." Cass felt her muscles suddenly slacken and turn into nothing more than dead weight. She fought to stay conscious. She had to . . . had to escape.
"Just go down, kid," urged Two-Face with a sadistic grin, "Just go down." Cass stumbled and fell to the floor as he legs ceased to function.
'Sssh, Cassie,' whispered a voice in her head. Cass wondered who it was. It sounded strangely like her own voice.
"What?" whispered Cass as she tried to stay awake.
'Just sleep, Cassie,' said the voice. Cass obliged it as she felt her eyes grow heavy and everything drift away.
"Good girl," said Two-Face as he looked down at her. He figured she had to be with Batman's crew. There was no way the cops taught her to fight like that.
"Always the gentleman, huh Harvey?" asked Two-Face as he took out his coin and flipped it. He grinned as he saw the result.
"What're you gonna do with her?" asked one of the goons.
"Have some fun," replied Two-Face maliciously.
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"Your girlfriend plays kinda rough," admitted Huntress, "I'd be more careful." Robin didn't respond as he continued carrying Helena away from the casino. They couldn't stand around it and wait for backup, not with Two-Face and more of his goons lurking about.
"Batman's going to kill us for this," muttered Robin as he shot out a grappling line and hauled Huntress up to a rooftop. He set her down and looked at her arm.
"It's not bad," assured Huntress, "I can still help."
"You're done," stated Robin, "Call Oracle and tell her what happened. Where's your bike?"
"Couple blocks over," replied Huntress, "I stashed it in an alley." Robin nodded. He had to save Cass. He wasn't going to let her die and he wasn't going to let her go through life as an addict.
"I have to pick something up," said Robin.
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Huntress. Robin didn't waste any time explaining himself. He shot out his line and swung over to where Huntress had left the cycle. He had to get an antidote so he could help Cass. He knew of only one way to do it.
"Hang on, Cass," whispered Tim, "I'll be back with some help."
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Robin didn't let how much Arkham Asylum freaked him out get to him this time. This time there were other things to freak out about. Case in point was the fact that his girlfriend was now addicted to the deadliest drug on the market to date. She was lucky to still be alive at all although Tim was sure that Cass would beg to differ on that point. However, she was still alive and Tim was going to make sure that she was okay. He wasn't going to lose her, not again. If that meant getting his hands a little dirty then that was fine with Robin.
"Bruce is going to hate this," muttered Robin as he skidded to a stop at the front gate of the asylum and quickly used his grappling hook to vault over. There was no time to be subtle about this. There was no time to go have lawyers draw up pardon papers or any of that garbage. The person he loved was dying. Tim wasn't going to waste time on any ceremony. He was just going to do this the quick and dirty way.
"Thank God for routine," muttered Robin as he landed on a ledge of the asylum. He knew right where Scarecrow's cell was. It was the same cell he was always in. At this time of the night, Crane would be in there and that was what Robin counted on. There wasn't time to finesse this so he decided to use the hammer. Robin pulled out a small gadget from his belt and quickly secured it to the wall of the cell. He ran along the edge until there was enough distance and then clicked a button. The wall of the cell suddenly blew out, creating a tremendous amount of noise as mortar and bricks rained down onto the ground below.
"Birds are always so noisy," mused Scarecrow as Robin entered through the hole. He had figured a moment like this would come. There was no way that Batman and his allies were going to solve this case without his help. No matter how they chose to do it, Scarecrow knew that he'd be free.
"I don't have time for any of your useless prattle," assured Robin as he suddenly grabbed Crane by the throat and slammed him against the wall, "Where's the antidote?"
"Has my Delirium finally gotten to you?" asked Scarecrow snidely, "It's a beautiful little drug if I must say."
"Where is it?" demanded Robin, "Talk or I will throw you out that hole. If that doesn't kill you then I'll pick up the slack!" There was no time to listen to this maniac gloat about how much the rest of the world needed his help. Cass was in trouble and this lunatic held the key to her rescue.
"Manners, my boy," sneered Scarecrow, "Let me walk out of here and I'll take you to the antidote. You have my word on that."
"Figures," snorted Robin as he dragged Scarecrow towards the hole and then shot out his grappling line to get back to the cycle, "I don't trust you, Crane."
"Then why are you willing to let me help?" asked Scarecrow. Robin didn't have a straight answer to that one. The only thing he knew was that his girlfriend was going to die unless Jonathan Crane could give him the antidote. If it took walking through Hell to accomplish that then Tim would do it.
"Someone I love is dying because of your poison," said Robin as he got in Crane's face, "You're going to give me the antidote so I can save her or so help me God I will kill you."
"Admirable," admitted Scarecrow, "You would risk everything to save your fair maiden. I wonder though if you can risk making a deal with the Devil." At that point, Robin was inclined to ask the same question.
(Author's Note): More on the way!