Chapter 80

Batwoman and I stand on the rooftop of Don Falcone's mansion, making final preparations for our break-in. The two of us remain silent as we tie out grappling hooks to the chimney and descend down to the top floor balcony. Batwoman kicks the glass door open, the cold night wind blowing into the empty bedroom. The bedroom has a double bed, a bookshelf, and a dresser, but not much else. The room is well-lit, with a modern overhanging light as well as two gas lamps. I deposit a bug into the flower pot sitting on top a bookshelf, while Batwoman stows one under the bed. We listen for any noise coming from the rest of the house, but everything appears completely quiet. Guess nobody's home.

After we've finished bugging the bedroom, I gingerly grab the doorknob. At a snail's pace, I open the door, peeking out to check the area. The door leads out into a dark hallway, while the bedroom was lit, the rest of the house is completely dark.

Batwoman shuts off the lights in the bedroom, and we put on night vision goggles to accommodate for the darkness. After glancing around, I gesture to Batwoman, signalling that the coast is clear. Under cover of darkness, we sneak around the hallway to the stairs. Descending down, a quiet shuffle to the right catches our attention. It was barely louder than a murmur, but was it loud enough to think that someone's in the house? It was loud enough for Batwoman to notice it as well, so maybe…

The house lights flash on, and we're surrounded by four large men in black suits, poised to attack.

I glance over to Batwoman, did they know we were coming? She responds by whipping out three sharp, blade-like objects. Twisting her arm back, she hurls them at our assailants, the objects twirling and twisting toward them in a boomerang-like fashion. They hit the henchmen in the head, knocking them back.

With the men distracted, we take off, running down a dark hallway lined with paintings.

"What was that?!" I cry aloud, now completely unconcerned with others detecting us.

"Just a new gadget V whipped up for me. I figured if you have your exploding marbles, I might as well have something too," she explains.

We race for the stairs, the guards now hot on our trail. Much taller than the two of us, they gain on us quickly, mere feet away from us. We start stumbling down a long staircase, and it looks like they're about to catch up with us. Reaching into my bag, I throw one of my marbles, turning away just as it bounces against the stairway railing and explodes, collapsing a the stairway. Batwoman and I exchange a mischievous smirk as we dash out the back garden door. But just as we're outside, flashlights waver wildly, carried by more men dashing for us. Batwoman and I face back-to-back, the both of us taking fighting stances. The first man attacks me, hurling a punch which I grab before kneeing him in the stomach. With my other hand I grab hold of his shoulder and toss him to the ground. Batwoman takes down her first assailant, swiping a high kick right at his face, knocking him square in the jaw and sending him to the ground.

"There's too many!" Batwoman cries, surveying the dozen other men surrounding us.

Grabbing one of the smaller henchmen under the armpits, I flip him over before flinging him into a crowd of thugs, knocking them all over and creating a path for our escape.

"C'mon!" I shout, making a mad dash for our opening.

Batwoman and I leap over the fallen henchmen, scurrying into the dark gardens beyond.

Heading for a hedge maze in the gardens, Batwoman and I run in, taking about four different turns before stopping to listen for our pursuers.

"You think they know we're in here?" Batwoman whispers, listening to their various shouts from nearby.

"They had their flashlights on us when we got in here. I wouldn't risk it," I advise.

Glancing forward, we see that the hedge maze forks into two diverging paths. We take one look at each other, before silently nodding and charging down a separate path, Batwoman taking the left, while I take the right. Even as I run in the opposite direction, the voices of Falcone's henchmen grow louder. Are they making gains on us? Are they surrounding the hedge maze? All of the possibilities of what could be happening flash before me. What about Batwoman? Is she still running from them, as I am? Or has she been captured?

I don't stop to hesitate as I make snap decisions on which path to take. Left or right, forward or sideways, I run into several dead ends along the way, turning back and hoping against all hope that the guards haven't caught up to me yet.

After an endless cycle of dead ends and circling back, I reach another dead end. But this time when I turn around, one of Falcone's men rounds the corner, and spots me. He charges for me, his flashlight wavering in the darkness, "I found one!"

Just as he grows near, I spin and kick him down the guard, stomping on him twice before he falls unconscious. Looking up, I see three other guards hounding my way. I run toward them, but then quickly dash to the side, going down a narrow side path. The men are in hot pursuit, and I know I can't outrun them.

The narrow path leads to a circular clearing, with a fountain at the center and stone paths lining the grass. This must be the center of the maze…

The men slow, inching closer to me, "Give it up kid, we've got the place surrounded."

So they do have the maze surrounded, guess there's no point in trying to run out the other end…

There's a rustling of branches and leaves to the side of me, as Batwoman breaks through a hedge, some leaves and branches still stuck to her.

Dusting off the debris on her suit, two of the thugs charge her while the remaining one tries to get the jump on me.

He lunges for me, and I side-step him, before coming back and punching him in the stomach, elbowing him down with my other arm. Batwoman blocks several punches from the first thug, but the other man gets behind her, grabbing her by the neck and stomach.

I respond by taking out my grappling gun and firing it at the henchman. The hook wraps around his leg several times before I pull, yanking him to the ground. Batwoman takes out the last thug by twisting his arm and punching him in the jaw.

"They have the maze surrounded, what do we do?" I ask her.

We look around, until Batwoman glances up and notices a tree hanging over the maze. She nudges me and points up, "There."

Batwoman takes out her grappling gun and fires it at the tree, the hook spinning around a branch until it runs out of line. She tugs at it to make sure it's secure as I run to unravel my hook from the unconscious thug. I've just finished untying when more flashlights begin wavering in-between the openings of the hedges. Their shouts grow louder as their flashlights cast silhouettes over the two of us.

"We've gotta get moving!" Batwoman cries.

I pull the trigger of my grappling gun, but all that comes of it was a *click*. I jab at the trigger several more times, but to no avail.

"Mine's jammed!" I shout, my hands shaking in panic.

The guards begin appearing out of the hedges, running toward us. I pull out the chord of my grappling hook and spin it around before launching it at the men, smacking the nearest man on the forehead, knocking him back. The next man grabs my grappling hook and pulls, but I pull back twice as hard, pulling him to the ground.

Batwoman, still holding onto her grappling hook, turns her head from side to side, trying to find another route out, but the numerous men are coming at us from all sides now. She grabs my shoulder, making me turn toward her. Before I can say anything, she hands me her grappling gun, and presses the trigger.

I instinctively grip on as the gun flies up to the tree, leaving Batwoman down in the maze. She picks up my broken grappling gun and starts snapping it at the assailants, using it as a whip while she kicks and pushes them away. But from the tree I watch as the henchmen overpower her with their sheer numbers, three of them grabbing her by her arms, waist, and legs while two others punch her repeatedly in the gut and back until she falls unconscious.

"Say, where's the other girl?" one of the henchmen asks.

Another one shakes his head, "Doesn't really matter, the boss just wants this one. And besides, we've got boys still scouting the grounds. They'll catch her."

The men then carry her back to the mansion and I follow them from the trees above. Grappling from branch to branch, I bound from the row of trees lining the gardens leading back to the mansion. Perching myself on the top of a flat part on the roof, I lean upside down to peer into the window. Don Falcone is pacing in a dark room with nothing but the dull glow of a fireplace to light. So he was here the whole time…

It's only a few minutes later when Falcone's henchmen bring in Batwoman, now conscious but with her hands and feet tied. Ending the procession is the henchmen's leader, Victor Zsasz.

"We found her, but the other one's still missing," he reports to his boss, holding a pistol to Batwoman's head.

"When you find her, kill her. I only have use for this one," he responds, his hands behind his back.

He gestures for his men to leave the room. They all file out, except for Zsasz, who stands with his hands folded by the door. Falcone strolls up to Batwoman, and rips off her mask.

"Barbara, you thought we didn't know what you were up to? Your parents would be very disappointed," Falcone shakes his head, looking down at her black mask.

She chuckles, "As if they aren't already."

"Your parents and I only want what's best for you, Barbara. What's best for both of our families."

"And what's that? You want me to roll over and kneel? I don't think so," Barbara spits.

Falcone shakes his head, "No, but I can make you a deal. You see, the Court has an ultimatum for you: join us, or be killed. I'm suppose to kill you if you don't recognize yourself as a member."

So Don Falcone is a member of the Court of Owls? That makes sense someone like him would be a part of a conspiracy like this…

"But, I know how adamant you are about not joining, so, as a higher member of the Court, I'm willing to let this slide if we were to make a deal."

After a brief pause, Barbara aims her fierce eyes at Don Falcone, "What do you want?"

"Your fiancee, James Gordon, is looking to take me down. He hasn't exactly gotten with the program yet...I want you to play victim, warn him, put him in his place. Before I have to seek...alternative methods, of getting rid of him. You will serve as bait to lure Gordon to my mansion, and there, I will give him his final warning...and possibly get him to switch sides."

Barbara scowls, her eyes reddening from holding back tears, "You'll never convince Jim to switch sides, he's a good, loyal man."

Falcone scoffs, "For now, but good, loyal men have a way of turning on you. Their naivete makes them more susceptible to suggestion, and, for both your sake and his...I hope you're wrong Barbara."

He exits the room with a strong, but slow calmness to his pace, Zsasz opening the door for him before stepping out himself and closing the door. As soon as they're gone I lower myself down just a little more in order to open the window and slink in.

Barbara whips around just as I enter, and she begins shaking her head violently. Running up close to her side, I whisper, "Babs! I'm going to-"
She shushes, her eyes darting around the room. All's quiet, before she begins speaking in a very hushed tone, "No, you're not going to rescue me, not right away at least. Falcone is going to somehow get the word out that I've been kidnapped or taken hostage. You're going to have to convince Jim not to come after me."

"What?! Me, convince Jim? Are you insane-"

"You have to! Please, if Falcone lures Jim here, who knows what he'll do to him! I can escape this alone, just trust me!"

I don't have much time to think on this, what if I can't convince Gordon to rescue her? Would he fail? What is he even capable of, if anything?

"...fine. But of you're not out of here in three days I'm coming after you!"

The door rattles, and I scurry back to the window, jumping up and kicking it close behind me. I scamper up the roof, reaching the top. Looking over the top of the roof, I find two armed guards standing by the front gates, and various other guards circling the gardens. Hmm...now how am I supposed to get out of here?

Author's Note:

Erik-is-my-angel1234: Thanks, I thought a Natalie/Oswald chapter would be good since this one is a heavy Batwoman/Trickstress chapter

Guest (Thalia): Hey, it's great that you're enjoying the story, although it's healthy to get a full night's sleep as well, I'm pretty bad about that too. I love musicals, and I've seen Phantom of the Opera (the show has a long history with my hometown, San Francisco), and I've listed it as an influence for BOAF. I've thought about using a song from the show in a long time, but there's never been a perfect opportunity, and I also tend to use songs from older musicals. Maybe one day though :)

Narutoske: Awe, thanks. It's always fun to write for Oswald and Natalie, but Oswald will be taking charge more often from here on out

Because things are happening out of order episode wise (Barbara getting kidnapped is from Episode 7 but Fish Mooney stabbing Oswald in the hand is from Episode 8) it's hard to say when we'll get to Oswald meeting Ed. Sooner than later I'm sure :)

Thanks! :)