Chapter 7

Fighter

Hi everyone! So I had this idea to continue that story. After all, I can definitely do more with it. Tell me what you think!

Jim Gordon didn't only tell Bruce that the twins escaped, he also informed him of an alarming new: people had been found in the twins' lair. People who had been used for experimentation on the virus. They were all sick and at the verge of dying, and they had found no antidote for them in Jeremiah's lab. For all they knew, he might have created none. Bruce strongly doubted that. Jeremiah wasn't careless enough for that, he would have created an antidote at least for himself and Jerome, in case they got accidentally infected. But why didn't they found it? They had two lairs, could it be that there was a third hideout? It seemed improbable and yet…

Bruce tended his wounds in the bathroom alone, and wore a turtleneck. That was enough to hide the marks left by the twins. He had told Alfred about them holding him prisoner, but he hadn't told him details on how he…Handled things. He loved Alfred like a second father, really, but there were things he preferred to keep to himself. He prepared himself to leave, his chain, his leather jacket, a hood in case he had to hide his face, his light grenade and knife. As he crossed the living room and went to leave, Alfred stopped him, though.

"Bruce, I know that you want to do something."

He didn't try to lie, Alfred wouldn't have believed it. "I can't let them run free. Anyway if I don't go for them they will come for me."

"Well I bet my head they will," Selina voice just resonated.

Both turned to her, Bruce wasn't really surprised to see her, after all she also went through a lot because of the twins.

"Miss Kyle," Alfred greeted coldly.

"So, are we going after them, or not?"

"You're staying here, Bruce…"

"Alfred, if I don't go for them, they will come for me! I can't let them spread that virus everywhere! Attacking is the best way to protect myself, that's what you taught me."

Alfred was torn, he wanted to protect him, but on the other hand, Bruce was right. Since the kid had lost his parents, he had been a target for all vultures in Gotham who would be ready to attack an orphan. He had raised him to be a fighter.

"I don't want you to take unnecessary risks. If anything goes wrong, I want you to call me or the police, got it."

Bruce accepted, even though he didn't really promise. He later found himself in the police station. Selina and he had decided to split for now, she would go to Tabitha to ask for her help to find where the twins or the cultists could be, while Bruce would try to know more about what the cops found.

Everyone was overworked of course, but it could actually be a good thing. Overworked cops would be more talkative and able to make mistakes. He found Harper and Gordon, Jim was a bit surprised to see him but he still smiled.

"Hey, I just wanted to know how you were doing."

"We're still looking for them and for a cure, but we got nothing yet. At least nothing I can talk about to a civilian, a minor with that."

"Do you know how they escaped, though? I mean if they…"

"Don't worry. The twins corrupted one of our guys, but we unmasked him. Next time we get them, there won't be anyone to help them."

That's all he got. Of course, Jim wouldn't tell him everything, but at least, it was a hint: they had got something. Although Gordon didn't tell him anything, he allowed him to hang around. Knowing how to be discreet, to melt in the background, those were valuable qualities. He wasn't told much, but he heard one interesting conversation between some cops. He soon learned enough and left to retrieve Selina.

She was leaning against a wall nonchalantly, and couldn't help but smile a bit when she got in the car. He had that super-serious expression of his, when they were younger, she found it a bit boring, but with time she had to admit it was kind of sexy. Yet that face also meant bad news, she knew it.

"I guess they aren't preparing a nice picnic."

"What I learned is pretty alarming. Apparently, the twins want to create a bomb with their virus. It would spread it somewhere in Gotham and, well, you guess what would happen."

She did, and she didn't like it one bit. "And once we find them, what do you wanna do? Call the cops so they can escape?"

"We will call the cops. The twins escaped the first time thanks to a mole, a cop who switched sides. Now that they got the mole, it won't be that hard to keep them locked."

"Yeah, I have a hard time believing that. Anyway, Tabitha helped me, we got an address, an underground fighting ring where a lot of cultists are seen. They could be here."

"Even if they aren't, it could be a lead."

O o O

Hiding and tracking people wasn't new to them, and they eventually spotted a few cultists who looked a bit suspicious. Hiding, they heard them talking about the twins. Following them led the two teens to a warehouse; the streets around were deserted at that hour of the night, it was mostly an industrial area. One of the building was being repaired, and they both went on the scaffolding to take a look. It could be indeed a good place to prepare something. Using binoculars, Bruce sighted one of the twins inside.

"Okay, they're in here."

"Let's scout a bit," she suggested.

"Alright."

It was done soon enough, they both moved like shadows around and reunited below the scaffolding. "There is no one around," Selina confirmed. "They're all inside."

"They probably uses security cam. I'll use my scrambler to take those down."

"I have a bad feeling about this. It would be very easy for the cops to surround the building and get in. Too easy, in fact…" She trailed over.

Bruce frowned and nodded. "Yeah, it's not like Jeremiah. Jerome could take the chance, just for the thrill, but his brother wouldn't."

They looked at each other and knew the answer already: There was a trap somewhere. And the cops could come at any moment! Bruce quickly used the scrambler and they approached the building silently. It was Jeremiah who would have thought of that, so he had to think like him. There was one road leading to the building, the cops would come that way, with…His eyes widened as he saw what laid on the road. Of course!

"Selina, is there a speed bump on the other side?"

"Yeah, why?"

He ran toward the yellow and black bump. That thing shouldn't be here, it was pointless. Selina went at his side, and they noticed it wasn't even properly attached to the road. It was just…Here.

"I think we can lift it." They did, it was indeed only put on the ground, nothing more. What was underneath made both of them shiver and they looked at each other in horror. Mines. Oh Hell! "Anti-personal mines. It doesn't seem big enough to make the vehicule explode right away, but still enough to provoke a deadly accident, especially for a normal car," Bruce stated with a hint of worry.

"How do you know that?!"

"I just do."

"'Kay, What do we do?" Asked she, alarmed.

"We can't let those here, the cops will…"

"But what do we have here?!"

Selina and Bruce both froze at Jerome's voice. They turned to see him and another bulky man coming in their direction, with guns in their hands.

"And here I thought those were just little pests, little punks we would have to take down! But no, Brucie and his pet cat are paying us a visit! Hands in the air, you two!"

They both raised their hands in the air and approached. They looked at each other, and Bruce gave the slightest nod. He threw himself at the bulky man to take the gun away and Selina did the same with Jerome. Although he was taken by surprise, he didn't let go of the gun, unlike Bruce's opponent. Jerome elbowed her in the face and kicked her away hard. Selina yelped in pain and just had time to back away. She swiftly took her whip and sent it toward Jerome's hand as he pointed his gun at her.

The weapon fled away and the redhead yelped in pain. One second more and she would have died! Hissing in rage, she sent the whip right toward his face this time. He put his arm in the way and the whip rolled around it. With a smirk, he pulled on it hard, ripping it away from her hands. He lunged at her, dodged her next blow and punched her hard in the guts before hitting her face as well. He was about to punch her again when she blocked and kneed him hard in the side before punching him in the face. He fell, apparently unconscious.

The bulky man wasn't easy to beat, Bruce had given him a black eye already, and landed a few good kicks but he was still standing. Thank God, he was slower than Bruce. He tried to punch but the teen dodged kicked him hard in the plexus before hitting his throat, smothering him. One last punch was enough. Selina was also done with Jerome.

"Restrain them, I'll call the cops and uncover the other mine."

"Okay!"

She started to run. He just had the time to see Jerome opening his eyes again and going for the gun. He had only faked being unconscious! Jerome had the gun in hand and was about to shoot Selina in the back when Bruce lunged at him. He lunged at him and tackled him before he could shoot, and slammed his wrist to the ground to get gun back. He just had the time to take it before the bulky man caught him by behind. He didn't knock him hard enough! His arm encircled his neck. Bruce wouldn't use guns usually, but here, he planted it in the man's thigh and shot once. His opponent yelled in pain and feel on the ground, releasing him without even thinking about it. Before Bruce could raise the gun again, Jerome was on him.

Upon hearing the shot and the yell, Selina, who was on the phone with the cops, stopped running and went back to Bruce.

"What's happening?" Asked the person on the phone.

"Just come at the address I gave you, but be careful, there are mines on the road!"

She hung up wand went to her friend again. Jerome laughed as Bruce and he struggled to get the gun back.

"It's as I say, Bruce, you really love this!"

"And you love giving me openings!" Bruce pushed him hard and sent the gun on Jerome's temple hard, making him fall on the ground.

Selina just joined him at that moment and kicked Jerome in the head to make sure he was unconscious. They started to go toward the other side of the building, they saw three persons getting out. "Jerome!" One of them yelled. "Here they are!" Another shrieked. They only had time to hide behind a truck before the first gun shots echoed.

"Don't shoot! We have to get the guy alive!" A familiar female voice ordered. Once he heard that, Bruce turned to her: "Selina, go to the mine and uncover it, I'll take care of them!"

"Are you kidding…"

"They know they can't kill me, I'll be safer. Go!"

He rushed toward the newcomers. While Bruce was running toward them, she swiftly went to the other side of the building, taking cover behind everything she could. He kicked the first one as soon as he was in reach, his feet crashing in his stomach hard. The guy fell and he only had time to elbow the other one in the face, before sending another kick at the third one. This time he didn't hit anything. He heard a girl laugh and saw a girl with pigtails and a weird make-up. Wait…

"Don't recognize me, Bruce? Or did you think I was dead?!"

"Ecco!"

Hell! He indeed thought she was dead! The girl was entirely devoted Jeremiah and had once taken a bullet and finished in the river to protect him, months ago. How was she alive? She lunged at him and he backed away to also avoid the blow from one of the two guys. He punched and pushed him to crash against Ecco, and took the short opportunity to high-kick the third one in the face. The man lost balance a hard punch in the eye was enough to send him down. He was suddenly kicked in the ribs and the other guy grabbed his arm while Ecco went to hit him with a crowbar. He kicked her arm, making the iron club jump from her hand. Then, he elbowed the guy's side hard and bit him as well. He trashed like a devil and got free of his hold only to have Ecco punching him in the face, making his lip bleed. She locked his next punch but his kick hit her right in the side. He then dodged the man's next attack and punched his face hard. Two other kicks were enough to take him down.

Ecco had grabbed her crowbar again and Bruce dodged one and one hit his arm hard. He yelped in pain but managed to grab the iron. He pulled on it hard, surprising Ecco and making her take an involuntary step toward him. He crashed his forehead hard against hers. She released a strangled sound as her head snapped back. He violently sent her to the ground with punch in the stomach and pinned the crowbar against her neck maintaining her down.

"What are they…"

Police sirens were heard. He stood and realized Jerome wasn't here anymore. Shit!

Selina had found and lifted the bump just like the other, revealing the mine, when she saw the cops' cars coming toward them. Shit! It was too late! No, wait, there was one very simple way. She put herself before the mine, pulled her hoodie over her head and waved her arms at them, hoping they would see her and stop. She would certainly not talk to them, she would flee before they could reach her, but she just wanted them to stop. The first car indeed stopped a few meters away, and the others did the same. Good!

As the cops exited their cars, she just ran toward the nearest building, and climbed the emergency stairs. A few of them yelled at her to come back, but soon forgot her as they saw the mine on the ground. She heard Bullock's voice yelling to them to forget her and focus. She wouldn't keep fleeing, though. Where was Bruce? From the roof, she saw that the three earlier attackers were down, the bulky man was already seized by the cops who had just arrived, but Bruce and Jerome were nowhere to be seen. Where the hell was he?! She looked around and saw a shadow running on a roof on a building near the warehouse but far enough to be ignored by the cops. It was either Bruce or Jerome, she would have to check out.

What she didn't see was that the shadow was following another one. When he had ran from the cops, Bruce had seen Jerome fleeing in another direction. That was weird, knowing Jerome, he would usually have tried to shoot the cops. He is preparing something else. No, they are both preparing something. Of course, he was going to help his brother escape! No way!

Jerome was about to get down from a fire escape. The cops wouldn't see him from here, the stairs were giving on another street which was deserted. He was running quickly when Bruce rushed and jumped on him. He brutally fell face down and smashed himself against the steps. He yelped and grunted in pain, the right side of his face bleeding slightly, but he was fine. After all, he was used to handle pain. Hands turned him round, and he saw Bruce straddling him, ready to hit him again.

"Our first fight wasn't enough, darling?"

"You'd better talk right now!"

"Wooo…So scary, I honestly prefer the Bruce who would bit my lips and lick the blood from it." He reminisced on the memory, and enjoyed the uneasy little look on Bruce's face.

"I can surely make you bleed, no need to use my teeth for that. What is going on in there? You have a bomb?"

Jerome laughed in a suspicious way: "Oh yeah, a bomb, hostages…Everything to make you tremble, handsome! But you know, you should thank us! What if the police learned you did things behind their back? We could have told them everything before escaping…" He murmured in a seductive voice.

"Well, I would get a big dressing down, and I wouldn't be ever able to mess with you again. I'm sure you would enjoy that!"

"Such ungratefulness. If I didn't like having you on top of me…"

He suddenly butt-headed Bruce whose head snapped back and Jerome pushed him on the side. He seized him by his jacket, and pinned him against the stair rails. Seeing Bruce powerful was exciting, but taking over was even better!

"You know, it's funny how you seem to think we're stupid, Bruce! We know what's going on, we know how to play, much better than you!"

"Oh yeah?! Your brother will be arrested, and that bomb of yours will be history!"

"There are hostages, Bruce, you should think of that!"

"…The cops won't let them die."

Jerome laughed again. "You're so naïve! You still underestimate us a lot, Brucie. But with what will happen, maybe you'll learn not to."

The look of rage was so enticing that Jerome couldn't help but lean down toward him, ready to kiss him. The teen suddenly lifted his knee and hit Jerome's side before punching him in the face. The redhead yelped in pain, and blocked his next blow right in time. As Bruce tried to kick again, he punched him in the face, and pushed him against the trails again, pushing his head against the metal bar, half-knocking him out. As Bruce slumped over, Jerome started to run again. With a laugh, he jumped to the ground as soon as possible. Grunting and quivering, Bruce did his best to stand up. He tried to run after him, but soon realized that Jerome did escape him. Hell! Well, Jeremiah was still in the building, though. If he could catch him, then, he had all his chances to get Jerome. He would never let his twin in trouble for long.

"I was looking for you," Selina's voice surprised him, she rushed to him. "What happened?"

"Jerome fleed away…I think there is something we aren't suspecting, the way he spoke..."

Before she could ask more, his phone vibrated. He looked at it and was stunned to see it came from Gordon. What did he want?

"Hello, Jim?"

"Bruce! I tried to call you twice…Listen, I'm sorry to call you, but we have a big problem. Are you home?"

"No, I'm out with a few friends. What's happening? Is it about the twins?"

"Yes. Jeremiah is in a storage room, and Jerome is probably with him. They got hostages and a bomb which would spread their new virus. If we want to get to the bomb, we have to make sure the hostages are out of the way first, but we can't for now. Jeremiah will not release the hostages, unless we give him what he wants."

"Me."

"…Yes, you. Bruce, we surely won't handle you to those lunatics like that, we're preparing something, but we would need you to come over."

"Alright."

He hung up and Selina looked at him questioningly.

"I'm officially invited to go there. Jeremiah won't release the hostages unless I go to him."

"Seriously? And what are you gonna do?"

"I'm going there. At least I won't have to hide from the cops."

"I don't like that."

"Come on, it will be alright. It's not as if we planned to play safe anyway."

"As you wish. I'll hide around, just in case. Wait a bit before going to them, otherwise your little lie about you being with friends won't hold up."

"I know. See you later, okay?"

"Yeah."

She gave him a quick kiss and left.

O o O

Jim hated what was happening right now. At least Jeremiah had released one hostage after he accepted to call Bruce, as a proof of his word. Harper came back to him.

"It's okay, the guy they released had been knocked out, but we got him to the paramedics safely. He should be fine."

"At least one good new."

"You don't like it, don't you?" Asked she.

"They had tormented Bruce for long enough. I don't want them to hurt him again."

"I heard of that. But, it's okay, we'll do everything to keep him safe."

Let's hope so…When Bruce arrived, he saw a bruise on his face. He was still learning how to fight apparently. He took a deep breath and went to the young man.

"Gordon!"

"Bruce! Okay, listen, I know this isn't easy but we really need you. We'll try to make sure you won't get near the bomb or near the twins."

"Okay, I trust you."

This touched Jim, and he hoped that faith wouldn't be unjustified. He called Jeremiah again and allowed him to talk with Bruce.

"Jeremiah?"

"Bruce! Happy to hear you. Are you on speakers?"

"Yeah."

"Too bad, I wished we had kept that between us. But we'll have time to talk."

This made Harper frown, she couldn't help but feel disturbed at this. She could feel something in Jeremiah's voice, something vicious and she felt even more worried about Wayne. Bullock made his way toward them. The kid went on: "What do you want?"

"You. Didn't Gordon told you?"

"I mean, what do you want with me? What do you want me to do?"

He heard a little laugh at this. "We want you to come in. We'd really like to say 'hello' face to face."

"If I do that, will you free the hostages?"

"I already released one. Listen, if you enter the building, we'll release two more. And once I'm sure we got you, we'll release all of them. The cops will be able to get the bomb."

Something was really suspicious, he knew Jeremiah was preparing something else now, he was sure of it. "You seriously intend to let the cops take your bomb?"

"We're not stupid, Bruce. Now that they are here, there is no way we can leave that building with the bomb. That plan is over. So we might as well get a consolation prize."

Bruce saw Jim's jaw tightening at this. Harper seemed to be disturbed as hell, she wasn't that familiar with the twins yet. Bullock just breathed 'fucking psychos!' Bruce didn't focus on them much, however: "How can I be sure you will release them?"

"Please, Bruce, as if I cared about those people. It doesn't matter if they die or live, not in that situation. Anyway, it's your only chance to save them."

Indeed, they would surely die if he didn't get in. Jim took back the phone.

"Okay, we'll send him soon. I don't want him to be harmed, the same goes for your hostages, if anything happens, we'll get in and I swear you will regret it!"

"I'm so scared," Jeremiah declared in a voice which said the contrary. "See you later, maybe." With that, he hung up. Bruce could see how tormented Jim was.

"It's not okay, it's not the first time I escape them. And you can't save all of those people unless you send me in."

Jim smiled, a part of him felt proud to see how much of a fighter that kid became. "I know…But you won't get in like this."

"Here, take this," Harper said while giving him a bulletproof vest, pretty amazed at the teen's composed stance. "Whatever you do, stay away from the bomb as much as possible."

"You'll also take this," Jim told him, giving him a microchip and another little device. "This will allow us to listen to you, and to track you in case they manage to take you away. But that shouldn't happen if everything goes well."

"We have the SWAT prepared to get in at the first opening," Bullock declared. "Try not to approach them, but talk to them, try to take their attention away from the doors and exit. Once our men will break in, they will secure you and any hostages left."

In spite of all this, everyone was worried when Bruce started to walk toward the warehouse. The tension in the air was palpable, even though the other cops weren't as touched as Jim Gordon, none of them were indifferent at the sight of a teenager going to the wolves. Bruce breathed in deeply when he stepped in. He knew something was wrong. But whatever trap Jeremiah was setting, he would face it.

So, tell me what you think, I wasn't really sure about that idea. I feel it to be very different from the beginning, but I like to have it slip in a darker tone. And having Jeremiah demanding Bruce to the cops did fit with the rest of it. I know there was less sexual tension in this chapter, but don't worry, next one will have more!