Chapter 23 - "Showdown"

The group funneled out of the Jennings' house, Gordon in the lead. "Any ideas?" Dante asked, arms crossed.

Gordon stroked his chin. "I'm not sure—not yet, anyways. Usually I'd chalk it up to just a runaway or something, but that doesn't seem to be the case here."

"I don't know what it is," Annalise started, "but something feels off here." She didn't notice John staring at her, mulling over unspoken thoughts in his mind.

"You guys are getting too deep into this," Bullock snorted. "Gotham's a big city. This girl's probably off with some friends. Or there's the possibility that she's been kidnapped or something."

Nansi, who had hung back and been quiet throughout most of the questioning and investigation, raised an eyebrow at this. "You don't sound too upset at the possibility."

Bullock shrugged his shoulders. "You get used to this kind of things on the job."

Gordon glanced to Bullock and the others, sensing the growing apprehension between the group. He knew that things were getting tense, probably a combination of factors—restlessness from the encounter with the Bat and such. Things needed to be disbanded.

"I think we've all been through the ringer tonight," he announced. Nods circled around the group. "You guys can go your separate ways. Meet at the complex, head home, whatever you feel is best. We can regroup tomorrow and go over everything."

"Sounds good to me," Sean said, stretching and letting out a yawn. "I think I'll call it a night." He gave a brisk wave. "I'll see you guys all tomorrow. G'night."

The group waved him off as he left, and Nansi shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "I think I'll head on too." She gave a sheepish grin. "I'll catch you all tomorrow." She started off towards her bike, parked on the street outside.

Romero's eyes followed Nansi's slim build as she strode towards the curb. "I . . . I, uh, I guess I'd better shove off too. My friends are pretty . . . nosy when it comes to these kinds of things." The others laughed and bid him farewell. He gave them a farewell wave as he jogged towards the curb, where his bike was parked behind Nansi's.

"So," he started, "what do you generally do on your downtime?" She shot a glance at him, and he held up his hands. "If I'm not prying, that is."

Nansi's look softened, and she smiled lightly and shook her head. "No, I don't mind. I tend to spend my time learning new cooking methods and stuff like that."

Romero nodded. "Sounds like fun. I wish I could learn to cook. Right now, my culinary skills are shoddy—and my roommates have little better."

Nansi chuckled. "Maybe," she started before she paused, and she glanced to her feet as she stepped closer to her bike. "Maybe," she started again, "we could get together one night. You could have a bit of a break from your roommates' cooking."

Romero felt a grin lick across his face. "Yeah," he answered. "Yeah. I think I'd like that."

"Good." Nansi nodded. "You got any open nights?"

Shrugging, Romero shook his head. "Really anytime is fine with me. As long as it doesn't conflict with this too much, I guess. But I guess that'd factor into it, huh?"

"Yeah." Nansi gave him one last grin. "We can get that sorted out later."

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Sure thing."

Nansi turned and slung a leg over the Ducati, nodding to him as she revved it up. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See ya."

As she sped up and took off down the road, Romero felt some silly grin coming onto his face. Knock it off, Romero. Sure, you got a date—no, not a date, just dinner—sure, you got dinner with a cute girl, but that's it. He turned to his bike and saw Sean out of the corner of his eye, standing by his car, the door open. "So, you scored a date, huh, kid?" he said, a smug grin on his face.

"Shut up," Romero said, erasing the grin from his face as he climbed onto his bike and took off, speeding for his apartment, leaving Sean to chuckle to himself by the car.

The rest of the group dispersed. Gordon, Bullock, and Dante all agreed to go back to the GCPD complex and go over some evidence and theories and the like. Mia decided she'd go home; said she had to pick up something for her mom. Vermin had already gone her own way after the group left the sewers, as had Matt. That left Annalise, John, and Clyde.

Annalise and John had split away and were by their bikes. "I feel like stopping by somewhere and grabbing a drink. How about you?" Annalise asked.

John shrugged his shoulders. "Fine with me. You got a place in mind?"

"Sure do. There's a club that I've gone to before—they've held some galas and the like. They're pretty good."

"That sounds fine with me."

"Me too," a charming, Southern accent kicked in. Annalise withheld the usual eyeroll as Clyde drew close. Some nice-smelling cologne was filling her nostrils; he may talk cockily and ooze his charm obnoxiously, but he did have some strong-smelling cologne. "What's it called?"

John stiffened slightly. "Who asked you to—"

Annalise cleared her throat and flashed a smile to John, and he inhaled sharply. She turned and gave Clyde a sweet smile. "Leo's. Ever been there before?" she asked, giving him twice the charm he had laid on her. It seemed to give him confidence.

He gave a cocksure smile. "Nope. But it sounds like my kind of place."

Sure it does. "Maybe so." She turned to her bike. "It's in the fancy part of Gotham. The Uptown. Just go on Billings Street. You can't miss it; there's a great big sign."

The two men nodded and glanced to one another. Clyde was smiling cockily; John was rather stone-faced. Then, the two went to their vehicles, started them up, and took off behind Annalise.

"So," Alex started as he exited his bedroom, adjusting the bottom hem of his T-shirt, "were you able to get the blood off?"

"Uh-huh." Scarlet turned away from the cleared table, where Alex's Renegade uniform was spread out. She was holding a clear slide that had a patch of blood on it. "Voila. Giant bat blood." As Alex took the slide and examined it, Scarlet said with a grin, "You need to take better care of your outfit, Alex. It's getting pretty messy."

Alex grinned. "Tends to happen when you're wrestling giant bats and fighting crime."

Scarlet slowly got to her feet, reaching for her jacket. "I guess I'd better head on out. If I'm not back at the dorm soon, they're gonna start going bats. No pun intended."

"Suuuure," Alex said, grinning.

Scarlet allowed a smile at her little joke as she flicked a finger on the slide. "You gonna hand that in to Gordon tomorrow?"

"Yep. Maybe there'll be some traces in it that line up with other blood samples. Although I don't possibly know how this bat thing could be human."

"Maybe it isn't, not anymore," Scarlet answered with a shrug. "Time will tell." She smiled and gave him a quick wave. "Let me know how it goes."

"Sure thing." Alex motioned to the door. "Want me to walk you out?"

Scarlet shook her head. "Nah, I'm good. Take care of yourself out there."

"Thanks."

Scarlet exited the apartment, and Alex sighed as he walked into the kitchenette. After withdrawing a water from the refrigerator, he flopped onto the couch and examined the slide even closer, trying to find out what, exactly, he had fought.

Boy, I wish Batman was here.

Emily hurriedly slammed her bedroom door shut, twisting the lock. "Jill, get back! Get back!" she yelled as she drew nearer to her bed. Vivi was on all fours, eyeing the door as a growl escaped her mouth.

Jill was visibly shaken, and her tears continued to come. "Emily—I'm scared."

"I know, honey. I know." Emily began to feel her nerves kick in. Come on—not now, not now! Usually, her nerves wouldn't be a problem. She felt that she could handle the Bat enough so that she could either defeat it or, at the very least, outsmart it. But with Jill there, and the sudden surprise of its presence in the hotel—that had caught her off-guard.

She went for her cell phone when a splintering crash came from the door. Shards of wood flew on the paneling of the floor, and Emily turned back around. Quickly, she lunged for the bed, her hand flying underneath the pillow and withdrawing her stun gun.

"Stay back, Jill," she ordered again, but the little girl didn't need to be told more than once. Vivi was still standing a bit on edge, and Emily began to worry that the cat might bolt. She feared the results if it ran for the Bat. She saw what it had done to a full-grown man, let alone a little kitten.

Another crash came from the door, and Emily saw a leathery, clawed hand through a hole in the surface. She quickly aimed the stun gun and squeezed the trigger. The barbs flew through the hole, and they connected. She heard the Bat howl as it stumbled away, tearing the taser cartridge from the weapon.

She bit back a curse as she turned to her desk, filling another cartridge into the gun. She turned back to the door when a thought entered her mind. "Jill—I'm going to try and lead it away. Once it leaves the door, you run out and get out the front door. Okay?"

"But what about Vi—"

"Don't worry about Vivi! She can take care of herself."

Jill's cheeks were moist with tears. "But Emily—"

"Do it, Jill! Listen to me."

Silently, Jill nodded as Emily engulfed her in a hug. She pulled back and rubbed her head softly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Emily pecked her on the cheek before she turned and got to her feet, closing her eyes and letting out a breath. Then, she disappeared from sight.

When she opened up her eyes, Emily knew that she was removed from Jill's senses and the Bat's. She could hear Jill's whimpering, but she kept it from her mind. She had one focus now and one only: to get behind the Bat and draw it away from the door.

Thoughts began to fill Emily's mind on the best plan of attack, but she pushed them aside. There isn't time for plans. She had one urge, and that was the direct approach. Quickly, she moved for the door and flung it open.

The Bat was standing there, a curious look on its face as the door swung open. It then ambled forward, eyes taking in the room. That's when it saw Jill, who let out a scream as the Bat's eyes fell on her.

The creature let out a horrid hiss and Emily knew she had to act now. Quickly, she turned to her desk and hurriedly grabbed the confiscated police baton. Without missing a beat, she turned and slid between the Bat's legs. It felt the brush of wind that passed, but not any hint of the girl's form touching its legs.

Emily quickly stopped herself and sprang up, immediately causing her removal of detection to fade as she reappeared to the world. She then swung the baton and cracked it across the creature's skull. The Bat let out a shriek and spun around, its attention off of Jill. Yes! Emily continued to back away, and the Bat saw her.

It leapt forward and Emily raised the stun gun, firing off the next cartridge. It drove into the creature's chest, sending a jolt through its body. The Bat lost balance for a moment and crashed to the floor, giving Emily just enough time to dive away to avoid being crushed by its hulking form.

Emily glanced up to see Jill hurrying down the hallway and throwing open the door. She felt a grin come to her face before she felt a clawed hand wrap around her leg. "No no no no no!" she spat as she kicked with her other foot, connecting with the Bat's jaw.

It snapped back, and Emily crawled away. She reloaded the stun gun, chambering another round. This time, she fired it directly at the creature's face. The barbs jabbed into its forehead, drawing blood as the jolt shook the Bat's body. It let out a horrid roar, convulsing on the floor.

Emily loosened the barbs and got to her feet, backing away. The Bat slowly got to its feet, stalking after her.

This fight wasn't over yet.

"Boss." The slim, young punk in the suit was standing by Carmine Falcone's office door. "Cobblepot's here."

"Send him in," the crime lord's firm voice demanded. The man nodded and ducked away, opening the door and gesturing inside. The hunched form of Oswald Cobblepot entered the office, walking resolutely despite his . . . small stature.

"Falcone," Cobblepot greeted in his aristocratic voice.

"Cobblepot," Falcone returned. "Has your killing been taken care of?"

"Just arranged, good man. Nothing's happened quite yet. But it will soon enough, don't you worry."

"If the job isn't done," Falcone hissed, his nerves growing thin, "then why are you here?"

"Tut-tut, Falcone. You must have patience. I don't see how you've become a crime lord with such thin skin. I just thought I'd introduce you to one of my newer . . . accomplices."

Falcone guffawed. "What kind of accomplice is it this time? You've already got that kill-crazed maniac. Who's this guy, some balloon-brained buffoon?"

"On the contrary," Cobblepot said with a gleam in his eye, "they're far from it." He turned to the door and craned his head. "You may enter, Voltova."

Falcone leaned back in his chair, a clearly unimpressed look on his face, until he saw the figure enter the room. A tall, lithe woman entered, moving smoothly and sensually. A mischievous grin adorned her beautiful face, accentuated by the long, wavy black hair she wore freely down her back. Fashion-wise, she was dressed in the finest material one could buy—and it fit her figure to a tee.

The crime lord leaned forward, his interest piqued. "This is your accomplice, Cobblepot?" he asked, a stupid grin on his face.

"That she is, Falcone. This is Veronica Voltova. She comes from Russia, and her past is . . . rather colored. A bit too much to go into at the moment, I'm afraid."

"Oh, we have plenty of time," Falcone said, his eyes roaming Voltova. She noticed and seemed to revel in it. "I'd love to hear more about her."

"Well," Cobblepot began, "as I said, she hails from Russia. But things are a little complicated. You see, she began life back during the days of Nazi Germany."

"Be serious, Cobblepot."

"I am," Cobblepot answered firmly. "She was subjected to rather inhumane experiments that have transformed her so that she has halted her aging. She also has some special powers."

"You mean," Falcone cut in, "she's a freak?"

"Mr. Falcone," Voltova spoke for the first time, her Russian accent coming through clearly. She continued her walk around his desk as she drew near to him. "I assure you, I am anything but a freak."

Falcone could feel heat rushing through him as this beautiful woman was mere feet—no, inches—away from him. She slowly reached out, and her cool fingers caressed his cheek. "If you give me a chance, I am certain that we could become very, very good friends."

Falcone swallowed, nodding quickly. "Yes, I think that we could."

Voltova drew her hand away from him as she leaned back, sitting on his desk. Falcone cleared his throat and glanced Cobblepot's way. "Tell me, Cobblepot. Is she effective? I mean, her methods?"

"You tell me. You were just subjected to them. Only a small dose, mind you."

Falcone felt a grin come to his lips. "I'd say she is. Very much so."

"Then there you have it. She has a bit of a vendetta against the wealthy and the powerful—she wants what they have to offer. In our cases, you and I can offer her power willingly. Others, not so much. In their case, power must be taken. And that is where Ms. Voltova shines brilliantly."

"I can imagine so." Falcone twisted to look at the Russian once more. "Very well, Ms. Voltova. It looks like you're now part of the Falcone crime family."

Albert and Grace were strolling down the calm, Gotham street, arm in arm. They had decided to take the subway to their dinner engagement rather than using the car. Made for more fun, Albert had said.

"Dear, did you have to keep telling those jokes? I think Roger was getting rather tired of them."

"Oh, Roger's just a sour-puss. He wouldn't know good jokes if one hit him right in the face—which mine did."

Grace shook her head, chuckling—the very reaction Albert had hoped he would receive. As they walked, Albert began to stop and Grace looked up, following his gaze.

They saw Jill running down the sidewalk.

"Jill! What on earth is she doing out here?" Albert muttered as Jill started to yell.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

"Jill, sweetheart!" Grace said, getting down her knees and enveloping Jill in a warm embrace. Jill buried her head into her mother's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"It's fighting Emily, Mommy! The giant bat!"

Albert's face flushed as he glanced towards the hotel down the street. "Stay here."

"Albert, dear, I know how to—"

"I know you do, but we can't risk having Jill too close!" Without waiting for a response, Albert took off down the street at full speed.

"Emily!" he yelled as he burst through the hotel's front doors. Sounds of a beastly growl filled the air.

"Down here!" Emily's shrill voice cut through the air. Albert moved towards the hallway leading to the family suite. That's when he saw Emily standing in the corridor, the hulking frame of a giant bat, merely a few feet away from his adopted daughter.

"Oh, dear Lord," he muttered as he drew closer. "Emily—are you all right?"

Her breathing had begun to feel more even. "Yes—I think so." Albert nodded as he drew close.

"Good, good. Is this from your little side project?"

"You might say that."

"Huh." Albert nodded again. "Now I'm interested."

The Bat sniffed as it eyed both Albert and Emily. It seemed as if it could sense the power between the two of them, and it slowly slunk back, as if it was reconsidering this fight. "It looks . . . scared?" Emily mused.

Albert shook his head. "I have no clue."

Within a moment, the Bat turned and charged into Emily's room. Albert led the way, coming to the doorframe as the Bat leapt from her window. It shattered the glass with its massive form, and it spread its wings to fly. Under his breath, Albert muttered, "Oh no you don't."

He flung out his right hand, and the Bat stilled in midair. Albert's smooth, expressionless face drilled holes in the creature's back as he kept it hovering telepathically. The Bat began to shriek and squirm, but Albert had a tight hold on it.

Emily was watching it all in awe. She had known of Albert's powers, of course—Grace's too. But she had never seen them in action, in a battle scenario. They had used them around the house and to show her that they could, in fact, use special powers, but never to fight something—or someone. It was a new and amazing sight to even her, someone who possessed their own powers.

Quickly, with a snap of the wrist, Albert drew the Bat back into the hallway. It slammed into the wall, collapsing with a thud onto the floor surface. Albert relaxed slightly as Emily came to his side. "Is it . . . dead?" she asked, hopefully.

"Not likely," Albert said. "Get on your phone and contact Gordon. Have him send some people out to collect it. I don't want it getting on its feet again. Not while it's loose."

Emily nodded and she darted into her bedroom, picking up her cell phone. She dialed Gordon's number, and he answered: "This is Gordon."

"Commissioner, this is Emily Thomson," Emily answered.

"Emily! I'm surprised to hear from you. What is—"

"You need to get some men here quick! The Bat came here."

"WHAT?!" He yelled so loudly that Albert peered into the room. "I'll have men there right away. I'm coming too."

As he hung up, Emily glanced up to Albert. "He's on his way."

Albert slowly nodded. "He sounded pretty surprised."

"That's putting it mildly." Albert grinned.

"Yeah, I'd say it is." He heard a rustling behind him and spun to see the Bat getting up on its feet again. Without even moving a hand, he summoned a picture to fly from the wall and crash over the Bat's head. It buckled as the shattered picture fell down in a pile.

Albert snapped his head back to Emily. "If Grace asks, the Bat broke that picture—not me." He turned back and muttered under his breath, "Not that I ever liked that picture anyways."

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's chapter 23, and guess what? The Bat is finally in custody. Will he stay that way? We also got a bit more of a glance into the criminal underworld here. Things in that department have a bit of a complex structure, so I want to introduce as many parts of it as I can before things get too convoluted. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! As always, be sure to let me know your thoughts in a review, and give me your ideas, suggestions, and anything else in a PM. Also a bit of a sidenote: since the Bat has finally been caught, we're going to get some more downtime with the team now and everyone will get some time to shine in the next few chapters. Thank you all for reading! Until next time.