The Page Penthouse was located in Gotham Village, an artsy area of Gotham known for its progressive nature. It was an unusual location for a business tycoon, especially one that dealt with oil. But Thomas Page loved the atmosphere, and their penthouse admittedly had a fantastic view of the area.
Bruce didn't spend a lot of time there, but knew the layout well enough. It was a 12 story building, with a lobby you needed a key card to enter. It was the nicest building in the area, easily distinguishable from the other buildings around it, with its bright white color and large, wall-sized windows.
Batman parked the batmobile several blocks away, in an alley out of sight. It would be hard not to stick out in this area, especially during the day time. That's why Batman traveled high, on the rooftops, above everyone's point of view. Across from the penthouse was a tall building that Gordon and some of his men were using to get a view inside. On the ground, several squad cars and a SWAT team were on standby. Police had the area blocked off, and media crowded the west side.
"What's happening right now?" Batman asked, walking beside Gordon, who was peering into the penthouse through a pair of binoculars.
"Working during the day now, huh?" Gordon asked.
"I have a special interest here. This cult has to be stopped."
"Well, we're running out of time here," Gordon sighed. "Our hostage negotiators aren't making any headway. I think the only reason they haven't killed the Pages yet is because they have no way out, but they're fanatics...unreasonable demands. They said we could have the daughter, if we let them leave unharmed. But regardless, they say Thomas Page dies."
"How many are there?"
"By my count? Four."
"And the Pages?"
"We haven't seen them. They're keeping them away from the windows, but our negotiators insisted they speak to the hostages, so the they let us hear from Linda Page. She told us her and her father are alright, for now."
"Anyone else inside?"
"The building is full of people. We've tried to evacuate, but the suspects are saying if we do, they'll kill the hostages. They don't want anyone entering or leaving the building."
"I'm going in."
"Batman, no! This is too tense of a situation. These people aren't afraid to kill. If they get spooked…"
"I'll be much more discreet than your SWAT team, Jim," Batman retorted, pulling out his grappling gun and launching it toward the side of the building. "Trust me."
Batman had been in hostage situations before, but dealing with a situation involving someone he truly cared about added a pressure he hadn't felt in a long time. He needed to play this smart, and carefully.
4 perps. 2 hostages. On the face of things, it actually seemed fairly simple. He had dealt with worse in the past. Plus, he knew the layout of the penthouse, giving him an advantage. Batman activated his 3-D imaging, to get a look inside.
It appeared Linda was in the dining room, on her knees with an armed cultist right next to her. Thomas was in the bedroom, struggling on the ground as two others were pinning him down. There wasn't much time at all!
The fourth was facing the window, on the phone. With hostage negotiators? Genesis? Batman could find out. Inside his utility belt, he had an IMSI-catcher that communicated with his cowl's hearing device. When activated, the device acted like a cell tower that intercepted the call, before the signal moved to the real cell tower. This allowed Batman to eavesdrop on any phone conversation he targeted.
"...I prepared you all for the risks. Complete the ritual, that is the priority. Remember, prosperity first comes to the families of those who sacrificed themselves for our cause. Your sacrifices would be no different."
"Of course, Progenitor. However, sabotage was Brandon's specialty in the Marines. I think we know of a way we can escape."
"Don't mess this up. Tonight has to be the night, and we've already suffered too many set-backs."
"Yes, Progenitor." The man hung up the phone, and headed to the kitchen. He went to the bar, and it looked like he was making himself a drink.
He had to take out Linda's captor first. With Linda safe, he could rescue Thomas. But that meant also taking out the man who just got off the cell phone. Regardless, he had to get in there now. Batman had an idea, but Gordon wouldn't like it...it was far from discreet.
The penthouse had a fireplace, one that was in the middle of the living area. Batman stood over the chimney, and tied his grappling hook around it, leaving the other end connected to his utility belt. He then activated every smoke grenade he had on him, dropping the four canisters down the chute. Finally, he activated the thermal imaging of his lenses, and dived off the roof, using the rope to propel himself through the glass and into the penthouse.
In Thomas' bedroom…
"Avi, ovi fer sanada. Porti sha fah ti rori." Cody was in the middle of preparing Thomas Page's body for the ritual, when he was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass, just as a copious amount of smoke began to fill the room. He looked at Daniel, another member of the cult, who glanced back at him nervously, dropping the knife he was holding and standing up. But soon, they could barely see each other.
There was gunfire, followed by a scream.
"That sounded like Brandon!" Daniel exclaimed.
"I'll go check it out. You start performing the ritual, now!"
"But the rest of the chant..."
"Now Daniel!" Cody yelled, grabbing his gun and running out the door of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
The smoke was even worse out here, Cody could barely see in front of him.
"B-Brandon?" He coughed. "J-Jeremy?"
"I'm here man, I'm here. Fuck, thank God." A hand reached out and latched on to Cody's wrist.
"Jesus man, you scared the shit out of me!"
"It's the Agent. He's here."
Cody's heart began racing. One of the reasons they chose to strike during the day was to avoid this problem. The Progenitor said if it was Bruce Wayne like he suspected him to be, then we wouldn't dare risk attacking during the day.
"Where's Brandon?" Cody asked, panicked, gripping his gun tightly.
"I don't know, man. I told him to shoot the girl and- AHHHHH!" Cody was tugged forward, as Jeremey was ripped off him. There was a snapping sound, more screams.
DAKAKAKAKAKAKA!
Cody began wildly firing in the direction of the screams.
"BRANDON?! JEREMY?!"
There was screaming from the bedroom now, but thankfully, it sounded like Thomas Page. The sound of a door being busted open could be heard. In the opposite direction, Cody saw a light, the elevator entering the clubhouse. Cody had to execute Brandon's plan...had to give them a chance to escape. Cody made a break for the elevator.
Meanwhile, Batman burst into the room after hearing Thomas' screams. The cultist was crouched over Thomas, who was writhing in pain, clutching his right arm that was now missing a hand.
"No!" Batman ran to the cultist, who raised the knife to plunge into Thomas' chest. Batman grabbed his wrist and tackled him, pinning him to the ground. The cultist struggled, wrestling his knife hand free. They fought for control of the knife, as he tried to bring it up towards Batman's stomach.
"You've lost, Agent." The man whispered, turning the knife and plunging it into his own chest, Batman's weight coming down on the knife as well.
"No!" Batman gasped, trying to prop the man up, while holding the blade in place to limit blood loss. Then he remembered Mr. Page, who was still crying and screaming."
"Mr. Page, stay still." Batman said, grabbing the sheets off the bed and tearing off some fabric, to make a makeshift tourniquet. He lifted Thomas up, and took him to the kitchen, and turned on the stove. "Mr. Page, this is going to hurt."
"No, no, no!" Thomas pleaded.
"If I don't cauterize this wound, you'll bleed out." Batman pressed. The smoke was starting to clear from the penthouse, venting from the smashed window. Once the electric burner was hot enough, Batman pressed the wound down on it, eliciting a blood curling scream from Thomas.
"I'm sorry Mr. Page." Batman took another piece of fabric he had kept, and wrapped the cauterized wound, before also making a sling and laying Thomas against the oven,
"Daddy!" Linda cried, running from behind the two and embracing her father delicately. "Are you alright, oh God...what did they do to you?"
"Linda, are you alright?" Batman asked. Bruce was so relieved to see her. Besides being shaken up and terrified, she seemed okay. Batman was furious. The fact that Genesis involved someone he cared about...whether intentional or not...made his blood boil. He wanted to find Genesis, and break every bone in his body.
"H-how do you know my- sorry, thank you." She broke down and embraced Batman as well. Batman comforted her for a moment, but then pushed her away. There was still one more cultist, but he was nowhere to be found.
"We have to get you two out of here." Batman activated his comm-link, tuned in to the GCPD frequency. "Gordon, I've got the hostages. Mr. Page has lost a hand, and needs medical attention. So does one of the cultists, who is bleeding out fast. One of the cultists made a break for it.. Don't let anyone leave the building."
"No can do Batman, we have a bit of a situation."
"What's happening?"
"The building's on fire. We're evacuating residents as we speak. You and the Pages need to get down here fast. The fire's been started on multiple floors, and is spreading quickly."
"We need to get you two out of here." Batman commanded, helping them both up, and heading for the window. He broke out more of the window, and shot a grappling hook across to Gordon, setting up a zipline.
Thomas was pale, and missing a hand, meaning he would have to stay with Batman.
"Linda, I need you to take this, and go across." Batman said, setting up a carabiner on the line.
"B-Batman, I c-c-can't." She sobbed, clinging to his side. "And what about my father?"
"We'll be right behind you, but you have to go now!" Batman could start to smell the smoke as it climbed through the air. The cultist who escaped must have started some fires as a diversion.
Linda looked across to where Gordon was waiting for her, but she was frozen in place, crying uncontrollably.
"Linda please. Your father needs help."
Shakily standing forward, she nodded her head and grabbed on to the carabiner. She took several moments to gather her courage, but eventually turned her head and made the plunge.
Gordon reached out and grabbed Linda as she made it across, and she clung to him for dear life as he patted her on the back, consoling her. She was terrified, and Bruce Wayne was nowhere to be found. It tore him up on the inside, but...focus. He needed to focus.
Thomas weighed over 200 pounds, and he wouldn't be able to make it across with the two of them. Ziplining wasn't the answer, meaning they'd have to take the stairs.
Putting Thomas's good arm over his shoulders, Batman turned them around and headed for the hallway. There was a private elevator directly in the suite, but the fire could've compromised it.
Thomas was slow and sluggish, and the stairwell was packed with evacuees, but eventually, they made it down to ground level. Linda was waiting by the ambulance on the ground floor, and Batman walked Thomas over to her.
"I'm alright, sweetheart." Thomas managed to stammer, as she hugged him tightly.
"Daddy…" She sobbed.
"Has everyone been evacuated?" Batman asked, as Gordon approached.
"The Fire Department is still doing checks. Luckily, the blaze is under control now." Batman looked up at the burning building, as firefighters worked to fight back the flames.
Batman grappled back up into the penthouse, and began helping firefighters check suites.
"Well thank goodness the Pages are alright...all things considering." Alfred said through his commlink, after Batman told him everything that had happened.
"Still, only three of the attackers are in custody. The fourth…"
Batman was on the 10th floor, and had just picked up a cat, when something caught his eye, stopping him mid-sentence. While everyone on the street below was walking toward the crowd of people to view the commotion, someone was walking away from the crowd. And it was his missing cultist. Again, his blood began to boil.
"Alfred, I found him."
He handed the cat to one of the firefighters, and jumped out yet another window. His cape snapped into a glide, and he rolled onto a nearby building, overlooking the attacker. He leapt from the building, his cape billowing, and landed directly in front of the man. The man screamed in surprise, and turned away in a sprint. Batman began chasing him, but the cultist began up a fire escape.
The man, desperate to get away, quickly made it to the top and stepped on the balcony of the fire escape,
"Stop!" Batman yelled.
The man took a leap for a neighboring fire escape, but Batman reached out his arm, and grabbed the man by his ankle, causing him to slam into the side of the metal railing. The man let out a yelp of pain.
Batman dragged him back onto the fire escape, and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, pushing him over the edge, but securely holding on.
"Stop, stop!" The man screamed.
"Where's Genesis?!" Batman screamed.
"I-I don't know, I s-s-wear!"
"Try again!" Batman pushed him out a little further.
"H-he's preparing for some kind of r-r-itual." The man whimpered.
"But where?!"
The man didn't respond, but instead looked away, whimpering.
"Fine, let's try this a different way." Batman yanked the man back on the balcony, but twisted him around and pulled him in close, bringing his arm around his neck. Batman's hold didn't obstruct the man's breathing, but did keep him secure. Batman then took his other hand, and held the man's hand outstretched. There was a snap, as he broke the man's middle finger.
"Ahhhh!" The man cried.
"You've got nine more chances to tell me where, and then I move onto more important places." Batman growled.
"I don't know where he is right now, I don't!" The man cried. "But as soon as it gets dark, h-he'll be under Gotham Square...i-in the abandoned subway terminal."
"Why?"
The man hesitated. Snap!
"BECAUSE!" He shrieked. "Tonight we get our prosperity. What we deserve!"
Tonight, Genesis was going to attempt to bring someone back to life.
"But go ahead, go." The man hissed. "Genesis needs Bruce Wayne's blood anyway! That's you, right?"
The attack on Wayne Manor must have confirmed his identity to them.
"How many of you are left?" Batman asked.
"Just think about how many of us you leave to starve every night. Our numbers will never dwindle as long as scum like you maintain your status quo." He said through gritted teeth. "You created us. Now, we will rise up, and take what should belong to all of us!"
"And how will you do that?"
"It's not talent that makes you successful, Wayne. It's not drive, or ingenuity that got you to where you are. You're rich because of your family. Because of your blood. And as soon as our ritual is complete, the blood we've spilled and consumed will grant our families prosperity for generations to come."
It was the same propaganda Genesis told him at the Cobb Mansion. Purposefully vague, Batman was sure that whatever ritual would be performed tonight would accomplish nothing of the sort. If what Zatanna said was true, then something truly awful would emerge tonight.
Batman would have liked nothing more than to continue snapping bones, but restrained himself, and instead, handcuffed him to the fire escape.
"Gordon, I have a the escaped cultist, down the street across from the coffee house," He switched frequencies. "Alfred, I know where Genesis is going to be tonight. But first, I need to see Linda. Where is she?"
"Thomas Page was transported to Gotham General 20 minutes ago. I imagine you will find her with him."
Bruce Wayne was directed to the casualty unit of the hospital. It was now 5 p.m., several hours after the attack, and Bruce Wayne's first appearance. He had tried calling and texting several times, but Linda was either too distraught...or too angry...to respond.
"Thomas Page?" He asked a nearby nurse.
"204-C." The nurse responded, pointing down the hall.
Flowers in hand, he opened the door and entered the room.
"Bruce! Are those flowers for me?" Thomas chuckled. Thomas was in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. He had proper bandages now, and donned a hospital gown. Linda was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his hand.
"How are you feeling, Thomas?" Bruce asked.
"I've clearly seen better days," Thomas sighed. "But I'll be alright. And more importantly, Linda's alright."
"Linda…" Bruce started, but she got off the bed and walked outside the room, grabbing Bruce's hand and dragging him out with her.
"Linda, are you-"
Whack!
Bruce was stopped mid-sentence by a stinging slap to the face.
Tears were welling in Linda's eyes,
"Linda, I-"
"Stop, Bruce. Just stop!" Linda whispered, choking back tears. "I'm done, okay?"
"Just...take a breath." Bruce softly spoke, taking her hands.
"No! I really needed you today, more than ever. And here you are, now?" Linda scathed, pulling her hands away. "The mayor's manor, the magic show, and now this. I've just realized Bruce, that you will never be there when I need you to be."
Bruce's heart sank like lead. "Linda, that's not true."
"Then promise me," She demanded. "Promise me that when I call because I need something, you'll answer. And that when I need you, you'll be by my side. Promise me, Bruce."
And then it hit him...she was right. His life as Batman has always taken a toll on their relationship, and always would. One day, he would like to think he could give up the Batman, and settle down...but that day wouldn't be today, with Genesis terrorizing the city. Or anytime soon, with criminals like the Penguin, or lunatics like the Joker, on the loose. And as he looked at her that moment, with so much pain on her face, he realized he was responsible. And it was nothing less than his own selfishness that caused it.
"I'm sorry…" Bruce stammered. "...I can't."
"Why not? Am I that unimportant to you?" She whimpered.
"No, that's not it…"
"Then why?" She demanded.
He couldn't tell her...he just couldn't. Instead, he remained silent.
Linda began softly crying, just nodding her head.
"You're right, you deserve better. And right now, your father needs you in there...like I should've been there." Bruce sighed, after moments of silence.
Linda nodded, and turned to go back into the room.
"Linda, wait." Bruce stopped her. "...are...are you alright?"
"No," She answered. "But I will be. Take care, Bruce."
Bruce stood outside the door for several moments, so many emotions whirling through his mind. He turned and headed for the exit, leaving the flowers in a nearby trashcan.
Across town, a different kind of argument was happening in Barbara Gordon's loft.
"...so infuriating! How can one man be that stubborn?"
"Trust me Barb, I know."
Barbara was venting to Dick Grayson via webcam, about her bat problem. She had just gotten out of the shower and was laying on her bed, towels wrapped around her body and hair. Her laptop was on the edge of the bed, displaying Dick's face, who was in his Nightwing outfit... minus the face mask.
"I mean, y'all haven't even talked since you left, right?"
"Nopeeeee." Nightwing said.
"I mean, what an ass!" Barbara groaned. "And you know, that's what this is really about. Because I've been Batgirl going on three years now, and my "safety" was only an objection when I first began. But now, because you left, he's all "I'm Batman. I don't need anyone's help." She growled her voice for a Batman impression.
"He may not admit it, but he does." Dick said. "I still worry about him, don't get me wrong. I may have left because his compulsive need to control everything was...suffocating...but that doesn't mean I don't think he needs help."
"I don't know." Barbara sighed. "Sometimes, I feel like breaking away from the Bat symbol like you did...to do my own thing."
"No babe, don't follow my lead," Dick disagreed. "You were never seen as a sidekick, Barb. He's always trusted you in a way that I don't think he's ever trusted me. Plus, Gotham City is your home. It needs you. Gotham was never that for me."
"Dick, of course it was. You spent a good part of your life here."
"Trust me, you have a much different definition of home when you grow up in the circus." Dick laughed. "Just...when you don the suit, think of Gotham. Not Batman. He can't defend the city by himself."
Barbara nodded, just as she got a text message. She picked up her phone and saw that it was from Zatanna.
"I just felt something big. Something powerful just awoke in Gotham," The text read. "Want to go on a magic hunt?"
"Sweetie, I got to go." Barbara told Dick. "Kick ass tonight, okay?"
"You too. Be careful out there." Nightwing smirked, ending the session.
Dick was right. She did this for Gotham...not Batman.
