Chapter 34: Down Time
The gang of thugs looked nervously at their surroundings, their eyes scanning the rooftops and every dark corner for what they feared was coming. They gripped their automatic machine guns tightly, with more than a couple of these men already having the misfortune of meeting the protector of Gotham. Some of the men who had not clashed with the Batman were getting cocky, with having already cased two other ATMs earlier in the night without coming across him or his female equivalent, Batwoman. Some of the men wanted to call it quits, not wanting to risk their already good fortune. However with most petty criminals, greed won out and so the group was robbing another local ATM, with one man hacking into the machine while the rest stood guard.
One of the thugs who was standing the farthest away from the rest was the first attacked. A grappling hook shot out from a nearby dark alley, wrapping around the man's torso and quickly pulling him into the darkness before he could even let out a shriek. The other men didn't even notice that they were down one man. Now there was only six left.
Suddenly, a car alarm nearby went off, spooking two of the goons close by. Sighing slightly at it only being a car alarm and not a lunatic dressed as a bat, they went up to inspect the vehicle to see what set it off. As the nearest man approached the car, the alarm suddenly stopped. The man, confused, inspected the vehicle, thinking perhaps there was something defective about it. His companion behind him was then attacked from the side.A shadowy figure swung across the street, catching the man and whisking him away into the darkness of the night. His gun clattered to the ground, startling the criminal who was checking out the car. He turned around expecting his friend, only to see his gun was all that was left of him. He had seen the Dark Knight tactics first hand, having clashed with him on multiple occasions.
"The Bat is here!We need to bail now!" The man shouted at the rest of the group, running towards them.
That was when he felt something wrap around his legs, causing him to tumble forward onto the street. He looked behind him and saw a baterang tied to a rope, with the rope going straight up to the rooftops above. He could only let out a quick scream as the rope jerked him upward into the night sky, another thug now gone. Only five were left.
What was left of the group was shaking in fear, their eyes and the tips of their weapons looking around the empty black street, and seeing nothing. The ATM was now long forgotten from the criminals' minds, their survival their number one priority. Three small black pellets then fell from the sky above and rolled underneath the men before exploding and causing almost three blocks to covered in smoke. The thugs tried to shield their mouth and eyes from the smoke, coughing loudly and using their arms to cover their faces. That was when two figures leaped down into the smoke field from above, attacking the men. It was Batman and Batwoman, which the men had clearly guessed by now that they were behind the attacks.
Batwoman twisted the arm of the man closest to her, causing him to cry out in pain and drop his weapon. She delivered a swift kick to his stomach, forcing the man to be shot backwards into the ATM machine behind him, knocking the poor man out. One of the other men was about to start firing into the smoke around him, more than likely going to hit his fellow men than the two vigilantes. Batman was instantly in front of him, grabbing the barrel of the gun and shoving it upwards into the sky just as the man pulled the trigger, firing a round of bullets upwards. The Dark Knight brought the butt of the gun backward into the man's face, making the man to stumble a bit. Batman landed a kick across the side of the man's head, causing the man to crumble down into the gutter of the street, out cold. Without missing a beat Batman threw two baterangs towards two of the last three remaining men, with the baterangs sticking into the barrels of their automatic weapons and exploding, making the guns unusable.
Batwoman landed a karate chop to the neck of her next opponent, making the man gag involuntarily and hold his throat. She then shoved the heel of her boot into the man's private areas, making the criminal let out a raspy cry of pain. Batwoman then landed to knockout blow to the man with an uppercut to his chin. The thug soared back through the air before slamming into the hard concrete ground, his clock clearly punched out. Batman dealt with the final two men, their beaten forms falling to the ground in front of him, groaning in pain.
"Good work Batwoman."Batman said gruffly.
"Naturally."Batwoman replied, flashing a smile.
That was when Batwoman spotted one of the men nearby, not quite out of the game as they had thought, reaching for one of the discarded guns. Out of instinct, a green vine shot out from under the sleeve of Batwoman's suit, striking the man across the face. He yelped in pain and shock before he was taken out, for real this time. The vine, like a snake, slithered back into the suit.
"Damnitt Ivy you are suppose to be Batwoman right now! Batwoman does not attack with plants!"Batman scolded, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"Oh calm down Dick." Ivy replied, not the least bit upset, "I'm sure with the lashing we gave him he won't be remembering that little detail anyway."
"I hope so. Or our months of doing this will be brought into question." Dick stated, "We need the people to know that The Dark Knight and Batwoman are still patrolling the streets."
"Give me a break Batboy."Pamela pleaded, sauntering up to him and leaning against him, "I'm still getting use to doing this. Harley makes this look easier than it actually is."
For the past three months Dick Grayson and Pamela Isley had taken on the role of Batman and Batwoman, making sure that the Gotham underworld was as fearful as ever from the wrath of justice. With their newborn twins, Bruce and Harley could not even get away for one night to patrol the streets, even with the help of Alfred. Although honestly, Dick thought the two didn't exactly want to leave their kids to fight crime just yet, instead wanting to spend time with Abigal and Thomas. He believed they were enjoying just being parents and just being a normal family. So Dick and Pamela decided to cover for them for the time being, taking on the mantle of the Bat.
"Pamela what are you doing?" Nightwing, though dressed in the outfit of his mentor, asked. Ivy's hand was slowly tracing the outline of his suit on his chest, rubbing it softly and sensually.
"Well everyone knows that Batman and Batwoman are a couple." Ivy answered, smirking, "I'm just playing the part is all."
"You're enjoying teasing me aren't you?"Dick questioned, sneering a bit.
"Very much so yes." Pamela replied, chuckling softly, "Besides, all this recent talk of marriage and babies has gotten me thinking."
"Well think again." Dick countered, "We need to hightail it out of here anyway. The cops should be along soon."
Without another word Dick pulled out his grappling hook from his belt, firing it at the rooftop. He flashed Ivy a cocky grin before surging forward into the air and onto the roof above. Pamela sighed, pulling her own grappling hook out and following suit. Not a moment too soon either, because three squad cars, lights blaring, pulled onto the street and surrounded the unconscious men.
Meanwhile, back at Wayne Manor, both Bruce and Harley each held one of the twins, feeding and rocking them in their arms. Dark bags were under both of their eyes and Harley couldn't help but let out a yawn, causing Bruce to let out one in turn. It was three o' clock in the morning and the kids were once again hungry, screaming in their cribs to alert their parents of their needs. It had been like this ever since Harley and the twins were allowed to come home. Late nights spent awake, consoling and feeding their children.
"For such small little bodies, they sure eat a lot." Harley stated, holding a bottle to Thomas' lips. The baby boy happily sucked away at it, "I wonder where they even keep it."
At that moment Bruce sniffed the air, a foul stench attacking his senses, "I think I know where Abigal is storing her food at least."
Harley let out a tired laugh as Bruce brought Abigal over to the changing station, holding the used diaper away from him like it was a bomb about to go off at any moment. He quickly tossed the thing into the trash, before giving his daughter a fresh one. Her needs finally met, Abigal fell back asleep, and Bruce carefully placed her back into her crib. He looked over to see Harley was just putting Thomas back to bed as well. Quietly, the two exited the baby room, making sure to close the door behind them before letting out a sigh of relief.
"I never would have guessed parenting would be the toughest thing I would face," Bruce stated, smiling weakly, "I think fighting Bane is easier."
"Yeah, it is tough."Harley agreed, placing her head on his chest as the two stood in the hallway, "But you know what? I wouldn't change anything right now."
Bruce smiled as he rubbed Harley's back affectionately, "Me either. Except for at least another hour of sleep before the kids wake us up again."
"Oh god yes!" Harley replied, taking care not to raise her voice too much. At the mention of bed the two parents tiredly walked back to their room, which was adjacent to the baby room. They would probably get less than an hour of sleep before Thomas and Abigal needed them again.