Chapter 13 - Rock Bottom

The after party must have lasted several hours, because I remember asking a lot of questions. It was like having my own personal interview with the Justice League-any question I could think of, they were there to answer.

"Superman, what does it feel like to fly?"

"What is the fastest you have ever run?"

"Are you immortal? How long have you lived? What is the coolest historical event you've been around for?"

"So, what's Mars like? Can you shapeshift into anyone? How about Batman?"

"Since you're super rich, like Batman, can you make, like, gadgety bows and arrows? What can you do with them?"

"Is your hair actually on fire, or is that just a Tamaranian thing?"

"How are you related to Barry, again? Did you get your powers because of him, or…?"

"How do you do the scream? Is it a superpower, or do you have some sort of device?"

"If you're the space police, can you breathe in space, or do you need some sort of respirator? Is your weakness really the color yellow?"

I'm sure I annoyed them to bits, but in the moment, I couldn't help myself. I had to be the luckiest girl alive. I kept catching beaming smiles from the Batfam, and each smile I sent back felt bigger than the last one. I ate a lot of cake, too, so I was definitely hyped up on sugar. I wondered a couple times if it was a dream, but then Superman Kent would pat me on the shoulder, or his son would fly past Damian and poke him in the back, or Diana would slip me another slice of cake.

It wasn't a dream. It was a dream come true.

/

I went to bed at exactly 2:15 in the morning. I woke up at noon.

I lay in bed, ignoring my growling stomach, and recalled the joy and wonder of the night before. I felt unbelievably thankful for Bruce and his unexpected gift. And then I realized something. He had shown me the Justice League unmasked. Bruce… trusted me. He trusted me with probably the greatest secret in the world. The thought made my whole body tingle with warmth.

Still beaming, I rolled out of bed and prepared for the day. Or, what was left of it. Insane-the Batfam stayed up that late, and later, practically every night. How did they do it?

It was a slow day. Being Saturday, nobody had any plans and I was off work, so we lazed around the manor all day, watching tv and eating more than enough of Alfred's homemade doughnuts. Every few minutes, I would recall something from last night and start squealing. I annoyed the boys with random facts about the Justice League, which ones shook my hand, how many of them were taller than Jason-that last one caused Jason to try to silence me with a pillow. But besides that, the boys didn't seem to mind my enthusiasm too much. On occasion, Dick would even join me in my fangirling.

Later in the afternoon, Bruce walked into the television room, where Tim was obliterating Jason on Power Smash 3.

"Boys, and Sam." Bruce leaned over the back of the couch. "I was thinking, since we have some time before it's dark enough for patrol, we could have a movie night."

I glanced up. "A real one?"

Bruce smiled. "Yes, a real one."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, in that case, we have to do it right. Which means pizza, ordered, not homemade. And we eat in here, in front of the tv. Pizza movie night. That's how my family always did it."

Jason sighed as Tim punched his avatar out of the ring. "It'd be better than this."

"I, for one, am totally up for this," Dick said. "Who's picking the movie?"

"My family always went in order," I said. "Youngest to oldest. Damian, you'd get to pick."

"Movies are a waste of time. They're unrealistic and do nothing to benefit the human mind. If anything, they dumb it down."

"Okaaaay… Tim?"

Tim cocked his head. "Something light. Not an action movie. Maybe a comedy?"

"Rom-com!" Dick chimed in. "Heck, yeah, I haven't watched a rom-com in ages!"

"Just tell me when the kissing parts come on," Jason said. "I need to know when to cover Damian's eyes."

Bruce pulled out his cell phone. "I'll order the pizza. Any preferences?"

I felt a surge of nostalgia. "Yeah… Giannotti's. They do takeout and delivery. Not to mention they've got the best cheese in the universe-the kind that gets super melty and you try to pull it apart but it just strings, and it's all gooey and soft and…"

"Ugh, shut up, you're making me hungry!" Dick moaned.

Damian pursed his lips. "I think I'll just have a sandwich. Someone should watch the monitor, in case…"

"Damian Wayne, you are not missing pizza movie night."

"You heard Sam," Jason said. "If you try to skip out, I'm tying you to the couch."

Damian heaved a sigh. "Fine. I'll endure your forced entertainment."

"Good choice. Okay, Dick, give me some titles! Let's pick a movie."

/

The pizza arrived at about the same time we agreed on a movie. We squeezed all seven of us onto the two couches and turned the lights off, to fully enjoy the next half hour of eating pizza and laughing at one-liners.

Then, Alfred paused the movie. "Anyone for dessert?"

Dick threw his hand in the air. "Yes, please!"

"Not too much sugar," Bruce warned. "We do still need to patrol once this is finished."

"I'll do my best not to spoil them," Alfred said with a wink.

I grinned and snuggled further under my blanket. I was warm, I was happy, and my family sat all around me. What could be better? I tucked my head against Jason's shoulder.

"Don't fall asleep on me," Jason teased. "I don't want to have to clean your drool out of my jacket."

"You looked close to nodding off yourself, there. Are you really that bored?"

"I was staying rested for patrol."

"Mm-hm."

Jason glanced down. "You're kinda rosy. Are you too warm?"

"No."

"So, you are blushing. I didn't think the dude was that hot."

"Shut up, Jay."

Alfred came back bearing seven whipped-cream-topped milkshakes on a tray. We dimmed the lights again and started the movie back up. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the glowing, peaceful heat in my chest was making me sleepy. My eyelids drooped; they closed once, only for a second. Then again, for a longer second. Soon, I was only listening to the movie, leaning heavily on poor Jason's arm. Then the sounds of the movie merged into the soundtrack of dreams, and I fell finally asleep.

Alfred wiped his eyes as the credits began to roll. He was too old for romances; they always made him cry. He heard a soft chuckle from Jason.

"My arm is completely numb."

"Sam fell asleep on you?" Dick said.

"Yeah."

"I don't blame her," Alfred said, starting to pile milkshake glasses on the tray. "We had a late night last night."

"Speaking of late nights, we should get going," Bruce said. "Meet in the cave in fifteen minutes."

"Bruce…"

"What, Jason?"

Jason had his hand on Samantha's forehead. He looked up at Bruce with a wrinkled brow.

"She's really warm."

There was a moment of silence. Alfred set the tray back down and laid the back of his hand to Sam's cheeks and forehead. "He's right. She's burning up. Something's wrong."

Bruce was instantly alert. "Get her to the Batcave. If it's an attack, we can monitor it directly…"

"Monitor?" Alfred said, feeling his blood pressure rising. "What about making sure she's safe first?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so blunt. But if we're going to figure out what's wrong with her and how to cure it, we need more information. Jason, you carry her. Tim, Damian, you get the bed and monitors set up with the computer."

Jason lifted Sam into his arms. "Alfred, come with me. You can help me get her comfortable."

As Alfred followed Jason to the secret door in the study, his worry continued to grow. Samantha was completely unresponsive. And he could feel how warm she was, even with just a hand on her arm; she was radiating body heat. This didn't seem like a normal fever.

They took the elevator down, meeting Tim and Damian at the foot of the stairs. Jason rushed Samantha to the bed and laid her down, then stepped back so Alfred could stand by her side. Damian immediately started strapping her in and plugging her to monitors. Tim slammed his fingers into the computer keys, quickly bringing up Sam's medical files and linking up to the monitors.

The moment the heart monitor came online, Alfred froze. "Good heavens…"

"There's our problem," Tim said. "Rapid heartbeat. We need to bring it down. Alfred…"

"Already on it."

Bruce and Dick arrived in time to see the next worrisome sign. Dick stared at the computer screen.

"Is that her brain?"

"It is," Tim said. "Hyperactive. It almost looks like every part of her brain is going at once, at full capacity."

"Isn't that normal?" Jason asked.

"No, Jason! Where did you learn biology?"

"I think maybe the Alps…?"

"Not the time," Bruce snapped, joining Tim at the computer. "That's not all. Shallow breathing, high temperature, no movement. I've never seen this before."

Alfred looked up, feeling cold. "I have, sir. Only once… the day before her mother went into the coma." He gripped his niece's hand tighter. "She never woke up."

The Batcave went cold. Alfred looked down at Sam's limp, silent body and felt a cloud of dread settle over him. If this was it… no. This couldn't be the end.

"We're not losing her," Bruce said, turning back to the computer. "We just need to target each symptom as an individual problem."

"Jason," Alfred said, snapping into action. "Get the extra blankets from the locker. Damian, get over here and figure out a way to calm her heart and breathing. Dick, get me equipment for a blood sample, I want to make sure there's nothing in her system."

"Blankets," Jason said, running over with some bundled in his arms.

Damian tried pressing a couple pressure points. "Anything?"

"Heart rate's slowing," Tim said. "Fast… too fast! Alfred, she's fading!"

"Not going to happen! Jason, defibrillator, now!"

"She's not redlining," Bruce said. "She's just slowing down."

"She's going comatose," Alfred said. "Same thing that happened to her mother. I don't know what to do…"

"Force her awake!" Jason yelled.

"No, that could send her into shock, could even trigger a seizure. Bruce, Tim, research…"

Suddenly, Damian tensed. "Someone's—"

With no warning, something large and dark fell on top of Damian. There wasn't a moment to react before five more came tumbling down from the heights of the cave.

"Not these guys," Jason groaned, pulling out his guns as one of the giant humanoid bats turned on him. "Not now-!"

A second Man Bat snuck up behind Jason and knocked him hard in the head. Alfred looked to Bruce, but even the Bat had been taken by surprise. Alfred felt something massive breathing down his neck. A moment later, something collided with the back of his head, and Alfred fell into darkness.

/

Jason came to with a groan. He slowly dragged himself to his elbows, looking around the cave. Everyone else was still out cold-even Alfred. Jason growled in outrage that anyone would dare harm Alfred-but then he looked at the bed.

The rest of the sleepers were awoken by the sound of Jason yelling curses at the ceiling. Alfred pulled himself to his feet, and his eyes fell on the empty bed.

"Samantha…" Alfred looked up. "Jason. Where's…?"

"Gone!" Jason grabbed the pillow and threw it hard. "They took her!"

"No," Bruce said. He stumbled to the bed. "She can't be gone."

"She is," Jason snapped. "She is, and we failed her, and now she's been kidnapped!"

"Who would even know she was here?" Dick asked. "Who would want her?"

"Who else uses Man Bats to do their dirty work?" Tim asked.

"Grandfather," Damian snarled. "What would he want with Samantha?"

"Wait." Dick reached out and picked up a piece of paper that was sitting on the mattress. "They left us something."

"Let me see," Jason snarled. He reached out to grab it, but Dick moved out of his reach. He squinted at the paper.

"The girl is in good hands… Beloved."

"Talia," Bruce said.

"But maybe that's a good thing," Damian said quickly. "Maybe she's helping us."

Jason stared at the kid. "Helping? When has your mother ever been helpful?"

"Watch it, Todd."

"She kidnapped Sam!" Jason kicked the bed. "How would that, in any way, lead you to think she wants to help us?"

"That's enough," Bruce roared. "We haven't lost her yet. You boys, Batwing. Now. Anything and everything you see, report immediately."

"She'll be home before morning," Dick said, racing off without a moment's hesitation.

Jason lingered, his hands shaking. "It won't be enough."

"Do you want her back?"

"Yes!"

Bruce glared. "Then go with your brothers."

Jason scowled. He turned and ran to the garage. His eyes fell on one of the Bat bikes. Yes, Man Bats could fly, but they didn't have to. Maybe searching by air and land would give them a better chance.

And going alone would give Jason the space he needed to let out his anger.

/

The boys sprinted off into the cave while Bruce headed for the computer. Alfred pulled his gaze from the empty bed and started pacing. "Anything yet?"

"Alfred, I just started."

"Well, hurry it up, then!"

"Calm down."

"I will calm down, sir, when my niece is safe, and Talia al Ghul is back where she belongs! Now get to it!"

Bruce growled and kicked one of the processors. "I don't even know how long we were out, what direction the Man Bats went… Tim's better at tracking Ra's. I shouldn't have sent him off."

"You did, so stop whinging."

"If Ra's doesn't want to be found, he won't be!"

"That's not good enough. I know you can find him, Bruce, so for God's sake, find him!"

"I'm working on it, give me some peace!"

Alfred opened his mouth to yell back, then closed it. "I'm… sorry, Master Bruce. I didn't mean to yell."

"I understand. Go upstairs and get some sleep. I'll call you if I find anything."

Alfred's shoulders slumped. "Isn't there something I can do?"

"Not now. Please, Alfred, just…"

Bruce faltered and stopped, but Alfred understood the message. Bruce needed to concentrate, and Alfred was being a distraction.

"Find her, sir," Alfred said, turning to leave. "Please."

Bruce grunted, his eyes glued to the computer screen. Alfred headed for the elevator. As soon as the doors closed and the car started to rise, Alfred's knees buckled and he sat down hard. He dug his knuckles into his eyes, his teeth clenched.

Samantha was gone.

As far as Alfred knew, she could be dying-dead. She could be anywhere by now, depending on how long they had all been unconscious. And she was in the hands of Talia al Ghul. What would she and Ra's even want Samantha for? Bargaining? Revenge? Nothing good, certainly.

What about the Lazarus Pit?

Alfred's heart lurched. What if the Lazarus Pit was somehow involved? It could cure Samantha! It could make her healthy for good. But Alfred had read the file on that cursed pit. It did horrible things to those who used it. Jason was a perfect example, as was Ra's himself. It had a long and terrible history, and if Talia decided to throw his precious niece into those treacherous waters, her body might be healed, but what of her mind? Would she go mad? Alfred couldn't bear it if he saved her body, only to lose her spirit.

Alfred looked to the ceiling of the elevator car and prayed.

"Not my little girl. Please, not her."

/

"Alfred."

Alfred woke up on the couch in Bruce's study. Light was peeking through the curtains. It was morning.

All the events of last night came rushing back. Alfred sat up. "Did you find her?"

Bruce's lips tightened into a grim line. Alfred's heart sank.

"You didn't."

"I tried. I set the scanners for the Man Bats' biosignal, but I got nothing. I've tried hacking cameras and computers in every location I've known Ra's to inhabit, but everything led to a black screen. The boys flew and drove in every direction for miles, but there was no trace of anyone. Not even tracks leading in or out of the cave."

Alfred slumped back on the couch. "This can't be happening."

"We won't stop trying."

"No…"

Alfred stared at a fraying spot on the rug. He didn't know what to do. Samantha was gone, vanished into the wind. He didn't know if she was well, if she was hurt, where she was, or how to get her back. He had never felt so helpless. He wanted to do something, to get up, move, make use of himself.

"I should make breakfast," Alfred said, starting to get up. "What would you like…?"

"Alfred."

Bruce took his arm and sat him down, taking a seat beside him. "Not today."

Alfred sighed and put his head in his hands. "I can't… sit."

"You can."

Alfred dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. He couldn't think straight. He was angry. He was tired. He needed to know his niece was safe, now, if not sooner.

"Alfred," Bruce said softly. "I know this is hard. Heaven knows you've watched me go through this, with all my Robins, my friends, my allies… my family. Please, let me try to help you like you've helped me."

Alfred took a long breath and tried to get his thoughts in order. What was he supposed to do now? In this moment, what should he do? He felt so restless… shouldn't he get up, at least? Why couldn't he do anything but sit on this couch in silence?

"We will find her. She's not gone. She's just hidden. Ra's can't hide forever…"

"Yes, he can. We both know that."

Bruce hesitated. "Maybe. But all of us, the whole team-and not just us, the Justice League, the Teen Titans, anyone-we will keep looking. We'll keep searching until there isn't an inch of earth we haven't touched. We'll find Samantha. I promise you that, on my honor."

"You can't promise that."

"Alfred." Bruce knelt in front of him. "I swear, on the grave of my parents, I will find Samantha and bring her home, alive, safe, and whole."

Alfred looked up at Bruce. The man was serious. Alfred took a shuddering breath.

"I trust you, Master Bruce."

Bruce nodded. "I won't let you down."

The door of the study swung open a little, and Damian peeked in. "Father…"

Bruce stood. "Come in, Damian."

Damian came in slowly, then opened the door wider to admit Tim, then Dick, then Jason.

"We made breakfast," Dick said. He set down a breakfast tray bearing a plate of eggs and sausage and coffee. "It's not much, but…"

"Thank you, Dick," Bruce said.

"We're going back out," Jason said, his voice hard. "Should we wait for you?"

"Go ahead. I'll follow in a bit."

The boys vanished behind the grandfather clock. Alfred couldn't eat; he just held his coffee, taking a small sip whenever Bruce glanced his way.

Bruce, meanwhile, started going through the contacts on his phone and calling up Justice League members. He paced as he spoke, keeping each conversation as short as possible. With each new name Alfred heard, his hope grew just a little bit. Surely, with the entire Justice League on the case, Samantha would be found soon.

As Bruce moved on to other, more obscure contacts and called on older and older favors, Alfred got to his feet.

"I'm going to work on some things in the kitchen," Alfred said.

"Good."

Alfred set his cup on the tray and took it up. Bruce glanced over and covered the phone speaker with his hand.

"We'll find her soon, Alfred. I promise."

"I'm sure we will."

Alfred carried the tray out of the study. He let his feet take over, leading him to the kitchen on nothing but instinct. His work mode switched on mechanically, and he began to pile dishes in the sink, doing his best to ignore the deadly silence of the kitchen.

"They'll find her," he told himself absently. "They will find her."

/

It had been hours, and already, there had been at least a dozen visitors to the cave, offering their various skills to help find the charming young lady they had met at the party the other night.

Superman allowed Bruce to feed him sound clip after sound clip of Ra's and Talia talking; of Sam's heartbeat and breathing, normal, fast, and slow; of recorded Man Bats and League of Assassins ninjas and known associates. He then sat in one of the rooms upstairs, alone and in perfect silence, just listening. He flew all around Gotham, then the United States, and finally, all the way around the world, keeping his ears open for even the faintest snippet of one of their voices. He reported every single result, and though there were several hits, they were usually assassins on other missions, and once or twice, a rogue Man Bat flying circles over the ocean. He used his x-ray vision, flying close to every location Bruce gave him, then giving a broader sweep to the breadth of the Earth.

He found nothing.

Meanwhile, the Flash and his team of speedsters were running all over the planet. Cyborg rampaged through the reaches of technology; Aquaman combed the sea floor for anything like a secret base, or entrance to one. Bruce even sent Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter into orbit to see if Ra's could possibly have set something up in space. There were eyes and ears at work in every major city, every minor one, too. By the afternoon, there wasn't a square inch of earth that hadn't been searched.

And still, they found nothing.

By late evening, everyone was tired and fed up with the fruitless search. One by one, the Leaguers, the Titans, and their assorted allies had given their apologies to the Bat and returned home. But Bruce and the boys stayed up through the night, working the computer overtime and groping for any shred of hope they might find.

And still, nothing.

It was one in the morning when Bruce finally called a time out. The boys all made a beeline for their beds. Bruce, instead, went to the kitchen. He found Alfred still awake, brewing another pot of coffee.

Bruce sighed. Alfred was looking very much his age. His eyes were red from tears and exhaustion, the wrinkles in his face were deeper than ever, and his hands were shaking.

"Alfred," Bruce said with affectionate annoyance. "You should be sleeping."

Alfred just gave him a deadly glare and continued with his work.

"Fine. I'll have a cup, too, if you don't mind."

"Anything?"

"Not yet."

"I can take the computer tomorrow."

"No, you'll sleep tomorrow. You're not as young as the rest of us, you need rest."

"If you don't mind, sir, I'd rather not talk about this right now."

Bruce frowned. "Alfred, if you let your emotions control your common sense like this, you're going to waste away. I don't want to have to order you to bed."

Alfred slammed two mugs of coffee on the table. "Very well, sir, I'll take a nap. Later."

"Thank you."

Alfred plunked a spoon into his coffee and started stirring, with no apparent interest in taking an actual drink. Bruce frowned at him and took a sip of his. Then he grimaced.

"Is there sugar in this?"

Alfred looked up. "That might be mine."

"Alfred…"

"Here," Alfred said, switching their mugs. He dropped his spoon into the new one and resumed his pointless stirring.

Bruce looked down at his mug. There was definitely cream in this one. If Alfred had been thinking straight, he would have remembered that Bruce always took his coffee black. But Alfred clearly wasn't thinking straight, and Bruce didn't have the heart to correct him again. He steeled himself and took a sip. Yep-definitely sugar in this one, too.

Bruce leaned over the table. "Alfred, you remember me swearing I'd find her, right?"

Alfred nodded, his spoon clinking against the sides of the mug.

"And you know I don't break my promises, right?"

"You swore on your parents' grave, sir. You'd die before you broke a promise like that."

"Good. So, you know I'm going to find her."

Alfred bowed his head, and the stirring stopped.

"Come on, Alfred. All of this-not resting, not taking care of yourself, being scatterbrained-it looks to me like despair."

Alfred slammed his hand into the table.

"I have not despaired. I have not given up. Don't you dare suggest I would ever give up on my little girl."

Bruce couldn't stop a small smile from spreading across his face. That was the Alfred he knew-fire and spirit, unwilling to doubt for a second that good will win.

"I know you won't. But I need you to stop neglecting yourself. Make sure Samantha has an uncle to come home to. Okay?"

The spark in Alfred's eyes faded, and he sat back down. "Yes, sir."

Bruce nodded in satisfaction and took a sip of his coffee. Then he remembered and almost spat it back out. He looked sadly at his milky, sugary coffee and resigned himself to the long days ahead.

/

Around two-thirty in the morning, Bruce finally convinced Alfred to get some sleep. Alfred realized for the first time in at least twenty-four hours that he was exhausted. It took all of his energy to climb up the stairs to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed and heaved a sigh.

He glanced at the picture on his nightstand: a man and a woman, with a girl in her early teens between them. It was taken the day Daphne and Charles left on that fateful trip. Samantha was laughing.

Alfred found the strength to smile. He would trust Bruce with his life. He could trust him with Samantha's. She would be home in no time.

But as he lay back on his pillows and tried to close his eyes, the question continued to race through his thoughts: where was Samantha now?