Bruce POV
After leaving Gia's apartment, I drove down backstreets and alleys towards the address that Alfred had sent me. We'd been doing research to try and narrow down the Riddler's location for the past three weeks and this was the first sign of life we'd had.
Parking the tumbler in a back alley, I shot a grappling hook at the top of a nearby building. Once there, I settled myself down to wait.
The address that I was staking out was in the warehouse district and it looked abandoned but looks can be deceiving. Men, dressed and armed for a fight, patrolled the rooftop and nearby alleyways. Camera's trained on the doors moved at the slightest sound.
An hour passed and I saw a man in a well tailored green suit emerge from a side door and get into a waiting car. I turned up my volume to hear them better.
"Time for our party! You know how I do love to party!" a man's high pitched voice said with glee.
"Yes, sir. Driver- to Hypno," a gruff voice replied.
Hmm… Hypno. "Alfred, can you look into a place called Hypno for me?" I asked as I began my descent to the tumbler.
"Yes, it's a new club that's opened in the downtown area. It's become one of the area's most popular nightclubs. Anything else, sir?"
"Keep an eye on the police band. I think we may a problem there tonight."
"Will do, sir."
Sliding into my seat, the top of the tumbler snapped into place and I was off towards downtown.
As I arrived in the downtown area, it became clear that I wouldn't be able to take the car in close. Putting it on autopilot, I told it to drive to a location 2 miles away, far enough away to be hidden but close enough I could get to it fast if I needed to.
Traversing the rooftops, I made it to the back of the club as the man in the suit stepped out of the car. He and two of the men who had been in the car with him went inside, while two more remained to guard the back door.
Swinging down and into the first guard, I quickly disarmed his partner and knocked them both out. Satisfied they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, I entered the building.
The rooms and hallways were dark but using the sonar technology I'd developed a couple years ago, I could see my way around easily. Hearing voices, I moved closer to an open door.
Rows of computer monitors lined half of one wall, monitoring patrons of the club as they came and went. On the other half a diagram of the club was mounted on the wall with 6 slowly blinking red dots at various locations around the club.
Seven people were in the room. One man was watching the monitors closely; another had head phones on and was appearing to listen intently. The others were gathered around the diagram of the club with the man in the green at the forefront.
"But Boss, why don't we blow the ones at the front of the club first? I thought we wanted to kill people," one of the men asked.
"Be-cause…we want them to think they can escape all the while knowing that they won't." The high pitched voice belonged to the man in the green suit.
'So that's the Riddler.'
"They all have no idea that they were chosen weeks ago to die today! But they are obviously weak enough to need to die seeing as none of them broke my hypnosis," the Riddler, giggled with malicious glee.
"Uh, hey, Boss? We got a problem." The man with the head phones motioned him over to the computer screen in front of him.
The Riddler moved over, blocking the screen from my line of sight. "What's the problem?"
"Uh, this chick right here, she's never been here before and I think she knows something's up." The man gestured to the monitor. "She is paying too much attention to the servers and the hypno machine."
The Riddler chuckled. "Well even if she thinks something's up, she won't be able to stop what's coming."
As he moved away, I saw the woman on the screen, her face was turned away from me but there was something familiar about her.
Turning my attention to the rest of the room, I knew I couldn't let them blow up and kill civilians.
Pulling a tear gas canister out of my utility belt, I pulled the pin and rolled it into the room.
"What the-"Fits of coughing began as the canister erupted and spewed the noxious fumes into the room.
One by one the men began staggering out of the door right into my waiting arms to so speak. I quickly disarmed them and began rendering them unconscious with a quick knock the base of their skulls.
All the men had been accounted for except for the Riddler. The gas began to dissipate as I made my way into the room.
He was nowhere in sight. A voice came over the paging system above my head.
"So, Batty boy finally showed up. I was wondering when we were going to meet again since you rescued the Commissioner's brats."
"Come out and face me, you coward," I growled.
"Haha hoho, oh I think not. While I am infinitely smarter than you, I know I cannot possibly hope to match you with strength. Oh no, I just wanted to say goodbye and let you know how put out I am that we weren't able to continue this little game longer." His tone was almost apologetic and I knew he was going to blow the place up with me in it.
I began running towards the back entrance. Reaching it, I fired a grappling hook towards the sky and told Alfred to call the police anonymously and tell them that someone had just made a bomb threat at Hypno.
Reaching the roof safely, I pulled my burn phone out to call the burn phone I'd given Gordon when I saw a text from Georgiana.
"Hey, just wanted to let you know in case something goes down, I'm at this new club, Hypno, with Penny and a bunch of her friends."
My heart stopped for moment. Not again. It resumed at an agitated clip as I quickly thought back to the diagram of the club I'd seen. The bathroom facilities were located the furthest away from all the intended blast sites.
"Hypno? Get your sister and get to the bathroom. Now."
I ran along the rooftops as I heard and saw the first explosion take out the back room where the communications center had been until I was at the side of the building where the bathrooms were.
An agonizing minute later, my phone dinged again.
"We're here. What's going on? What do I need to do now?"
I took a deep breath and let it out. I would do this. I wouldn't fail her like I'd failed Rachel.
"Stay put. I'll get you out."
Seconds after I sent it, the next explosion rocked the main area near the rear of the building. I could hear screams of panic as the people inside rushed to the front doors.
I glided around to the front of the building only to discover that the Riddler's henchmen had padlocked them shut.
Pulling a small but powerful blowtorch from my belt, I went to the task of cutting through the chains so that as many people as possible could get out. I had succeeded on one door, opening it so frightened partygoers could escape, and turned to the other when the next two explosions ripped through the center of the club.
The next would be at the front, close to the doors if I remembered the diagram correctly. I hurried to finish and as I finished, the next blast erupted and threw me back with the force of it.
Dazed for a moment, I took in the damage.
Parts of the exterior walls were blown out in all directions and as I looked towards the bathrooms, I saw that part of theirs had been blown out as well.
Gia.
I scrambled to my feet in time to see Penny climbing up into the gaping hole in the bathroom wall and turning back, reaching a hand into the crumbling building.
Seeing a hand start to emerge, my heart leapt but it froze as I heard the building groan and saw a massive pile of cement and debris fall into the decimated bathroom.
No. I can't have failed again. No.
Hearing a blood-curdling scream, I lurched forward at a run towards Penny who was screaming and crying out for Gia.
"Georgie! Georgie! Can you hear me?! Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! What am I going to do?!" Penny screamed as she attempted to climb back into the unstable building.
Grabbing her carefully from behind, I lifted her from the building as I growled at her, struggling to keep the emotion from my voice.
"You – are going to go wait with the other survivors across the street. I will get her out." My hands trembled as they rested on her waist and I quickly removed them and vaulted on the now swaying wall.
Penny nodded, tears still streaming down her face, and she began walking towards the group that had gathered.
Sirens were starting to sound from all corners of the city and I knew I didn't have much time to reach Gia before I'd have to go to avoid being pursued by the police force.
Stepping down carefully onto a bit a floor that didn't have large chunks of debris covering it, I began carefully and methodically removing pieces of cement and rebar away from the area Gia'd gone down in.
I found a hand first and my heart stopped as I ripped my glove off to check for a pulse at her wrist. There. Faint but still there.
"Hold on Gia, I'm coming. I've almost got you." I struggled to keep my voice in its characteristic growl as I removed a large piece of ceiling that had fallen on her top half and shielded her face.
Turning her head towards me, she groaned and opened her eyes, focusing on my looming figure before her.
She was very pale, bleeding profusely from a cut on her head.
"Bru-," she caught herself. "Batman, what the hell took you so long?"
The bite and sass in her words relaxed something inside me.
"I was delayed."
"Well next time, take an earlier flight, mmk?" Trying to sit up, she gasped in pain as she realized her legs were still pinned.
"Hold still." I grasped the large cement slab pinning her legs and lifted it just enough for her to pull her legs out from underneath.
"Can you wiggle your toes?"
She nodded, testing her joints experimentally. "I think I'm okay except for the knock on the head and some scrapes and bruises."
Looking at the slab I'd lifted up, her expression was unreadable. "That was close. If it hadn't gotten wedged between the wall and the other debris, my legs would've been crushed."
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. I'd been so afraid that's what I'd find or worse.
Reaching a hand out to me, I helped her stand and test her legs.
Satisfied that she was all in one piece, I put an arm around her waist, readying a grappling hook.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Gia pulled away from me. "You can't be seen rescuing just one person from a building full of people hurt or trapped. You should know better than that. Here boost me up."
She went and stood next to the crumbling exterior wall, turning to me expectantly.
A low growl went through me.
"I need to be sure you're safe."
"Well you can come check on me after I arrive home, like my boyfriend would since he has no knowledge that I was involved and since he wasn't with me tonight."
Her pointed look and sharp tone reminded me that I was still in the suit and therefore, had to react as though she mattered just as much as everyone else.
Setting my jaw, I went over and gave her the boost she needed to get on top of the wall. It grated against my nerves to not do what I wanted, which was whisking her away from the scene and spend the next several hours checking her over to be absolutely sure she was alright.
With a grin and small smile, she hopped off the wall and out of my sight.
Hearing the rapidly approaching emergency sirens I fired my grappling hook at a nearby building and made my way back to the car.
"Master Bruce, Miss Georgiana is alright I presume?" Alfred's voice rang in my ear.
"It would appear that way, Alfred."
"I take you'll be staying at her apartment tonight then, sir?" My butler's tone was all too understanding.
"It would appear that way."
"Well then remember how you always feel when I fuss over your scrapes and bruises, sir. Maybe give the young lady a one night reprieve." Fatherly concern laced his tone and I knew that he was worried not only about Gia but also myself.
"I'll see you in the morning, Alfred."
Reaching the car, I turned my communicator off and headed for Gia's apartment.
I may not have been able to whisk her away as I'd planned but I sure as hell was going to follow through with the rest of my plan.
A/N: I know! 2 chapter in a week? Crazy! But I already had this written out for the most part and I don't want to keep you all in suspense any more than I have to. Enjoy!