Chapter 41

Dick jumped as the Gotham Review landed on his lap and he turned from where he was talking to Garfield to arch an eyebrow at his father.

"Seen today's paper, Dick?" Bruce asked.

Dick wrinkled his nose and took a sip of his morning coffee, eyeing the paper with apprehension. "Do I really want to?"

"Vicki's done it again. It's a lovely piece. The picture scarcely does you justice."

"Really?" Garfield asked, snatching the paper and looking at the front page. "Wow, you made the front page!"

Dick rolled his eyes.

Garfield cracked up laughing. "Oh my god. 'Grayson in love with alien.' Don't let Kori see this!"

"Do not let Kori see what?" she asked as she entered the library, Rachel not far behind.

Dick snatched the paper from Garfield and sat on it.

Kori raised an eyebrow. "Richard, you know that will not work. What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he muttered. "Just sitting here, drinking my coffee." He held up his cup. "See?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow as well. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain article in a paper would it? Cause we've already seen it."

"What?" Dick asked.

Kori nodded. "Indeed. Alfred delivered it to Rachel this morning. It was an interesting read."

"Aww, fine," Dick sighed, getting to his feet and giving Kori a kiss. "Haven't actually read it myself. Not really interested."

"Dick," Bruce said as he stood at the door to leave. "Don't forget, we have that fancy dress ball tonight and I've got Commissioner Gordon coming shortly to discuss one of my annual donations. Barbara will most likely be coming with him. Play nice."

Dick grunted in agreement before taking a quick glance at the article in the paper.

'Gotham's golden boy, Dick Grayson (17) has fallen in love with little known foreigner Kori Anders (17). They happened upon each other at the undisclosed school that Grayson attends and fell for each other even before she knew who he really was. One might ask if our Dick was leading the pretty redhead astray by not revealing the vast inheritance-'

Dick rolled his eyes and tossed the paper away. "Gah."

Kori giggled. So, you have a 'thing' for redheads?

He glanced at her in shock. What?

Kori looked surprised. You did not read the whole article?

No, but I'm beginning to think I should.

She looked at him blandly. It revealed all your past exploits, likening your previous girlfriends and the fact that they all have red hair.

Dick froze. What? But there's only ever been you and- He squinted at her. You're teasing me aren't you?

She giggled again and nodded.

Minx. He took another long sip of coffee. "So, what are we going to do today, guys?"

The door to the library slammed open. "Guys!" Victor bellowed walking into the room. "It snowed last night!"

"And?" Rachel asked dryly.

"Well, I challenge you all to a snowball fight!"

"Us all against you?" Garfield asked, sounding hopeful.

"No way! Free-for-all," Victor told him.

"That hardly seems fair," Rachel said tonelessly. "You will lose."

Garfield waggled his finger at her. "Not if you don't use powers. Remember, we're supposed to be incognito."

"We're also supposed to be mature," Dick said. "Seriously? A snowball fight?"

"You are perhaps afraid to lose?" Kori asked sweetly.

Dick arched his eyebrow at her. "To you? Not a chance. See, I grew up around snow and I know these grounds like the back of my hand. You, little lady, come from a planet where water can't freeze. You haven't got a chance against me."

Kori and Rachel exchanged a glance. "I think that was a challenge, Kori," Rachel said dryly.

"I do believe you are correct, Rachel," Kori replied.

Garfield gave him starry eyes. "Please, Dick?" he whined deliberately. "Can we go and play in the snow?"

Dick rolled his eyes. "All right fine. Grab your gear we'll meet in the foyer in five minutes."

TTTTT

Kori bounced into the foyer, smiling happily at her friends.

"For Azar's sake. Kori, put some warm clothes on. You make me cold just looking at you."

Kori glanced down at herself, wondering what was wrong with her jeans and sweater. "I am covered." She looked up at her friends in confusion, noticing that they all wore heavy jackets, gloves, scarves and in Victor's case a wooly hat. She thought she'd done a good job with the sweater and jeans, but perhaps she had been mistaken.

Dick came up behind her and placed a pink snow jacket around her shoulders. Put that on, just until we're out of view of the Manor.

But-

He flicked her nose gently with his finger. You're playing human, remember? We get cold easily.

She sighed and slipped the jacket on.

"All ready?" Dick asked as he looked around at his friends. "We'll head into the woods, that will make it more interesting. And it doesn't matter if you slip then."

The doorbell chimed and the Titans looked at the door.

Dick headed over to the door and opened it. "Commissioner Gordon," he said in greeting shaking the man's hand. He looked past the man and inclined his head. "Barbara."

Kori tilted her head in consideration.

"Dick, my boy. How are you?" the man asked as he entered the Manor, stamping snow of his boots, with his daughter a step behind him.

"Fine, sir, and you?"

"Never better. Where's your father? We have a few things to discuss this morning."

"Commissioner Gordon," Alfred said from the stairs. "This way, if you please, Master Bruce is expecting you."

Commissioner Gordon turned to Barbara. "We'll be a while. Perhaps you and Dick should spend this time catching up," he said and hurried after Alfred without waiting for an answer.

Barbara held up a hand to stall him but was too late. She stood there nervously glancing around at the Titans.

Kori looked around at the uneasy faces of her friends. Barbara and Dick had sorted things out between them the night before, so why was he being hesitant now? Was he still trying to protect her? Kori huffed. This was silly; someone had to make the first move.

She bounced up to Barbara and took her by the arm. "We are having a fight of the snowballs. You will join in, yes?"

Both Barbara and Dick looked taken aback and Victor, Rachel and Garfield's jaws all dropped.

Barbara recovered first and glanced at Dick. "Are you serious? A snowball fight? How old are you?"

He shrugged, a wary eye on Kori. "It would even the numbers a bit, I guess."

Kori frowned at him. "Even the numbers? You still believe you will win?"

He gave her a coy half smile. "Yup."

Barbara frowned at him. "You know what? I think you need to be brought down a notch or two." She nodded at Kori. "I'm in."

Kori beamed with happiness before dragging Barbara outside. "Glorious."

TTTTT

"Okay, rules," Victor announced as the six of them trekked deep into the woodlands near Wayne Manor, snow crunching under their boots and their breaths frosty. "First of all, no powers."

Rachel snorted. "Yeah, sure. Like the first thing you're not going to do is activate your console and look for heat signatures."

Victor frowned at her. "Okay, fine. Minimal powers. Second of all, let's make this interesting." He pulled out several different coloured flags, and handed a pink one to Rachel. "We'll play capture the flag. Each of you stick this in your back pocket, we run off in different directions and then try and capture someone else's flag. Only use snow balls as weapons. Person with the most flags, wins."

Rachel pursed her lips. "Fine, but one of you guys get the pink flag."

"Now way!" Garfield announced. "We're the men. I'll have blue, thank you."

Dick chuckled and rolled his eyes and Kori giggled at him.

"Pink for one of you girls," Victor said. "Non negotiable. We'll have ten minutes to survey the surroundings before attacking." He removed a small black box from his arm and set it on the ground. "When this goes off, not before. Third of all…" He turned to Dick and Kori. "You two… shut it off."

Kori felt the blood drain from her face and Dick's hand tightened around her waist.

"Hey, that's not part of it," Dick complained, holding out one hand in protest.

"Nah-uh," Garfield said. "That's a good idea. It will be cheating otherwise, you guys could gang up."

"We wouldn't do that. Besides, we can't just shut it off, it doesn't work like that."

"What are you talking about?" Barbara asked, looking between the Titans curiously.

"Leave them alone," Rachel snapped, "They're not going to cheat. I'll be able to tell if they do."

They all looked at her. "Really?" Garfield asked.

Rachel shrugged. "So, what now, we all go in different directions?"

"That's the plan," Victor told her. "Remember, ten minutes."

Dick gave Kori a kiss and with a Call me if you need me, promise, they separated, heading in different directions. Kori lifted off the ground a short distance away so as to not leave any footprints and surveyed the surrounding woodlands.

Lots of tall, snow covered trees, plenty of places to ambush her friends if she was clever. Kori giggled to herself as she flew. Sure if she was clever, but Dick was cleverer and he knew these woods. There was no way he wasn't going to hunt her down and attack her with snowballs. But maybe there was something she could do about that.

Kori hummed to herself and drummed her fingers against her lips as she arrived at a small clearing. Three fallen snow covered trees lay discarded on the ground, their roots upended and clawing toward the sky. She lifted higher into the air and hovered above the trees. They had roughly fallen at an angle to other, but with a little fiddling, they would make a really great defensive position. Or at least they would seem a defensive position, but Kori had already spotted an even better one.

A sly smile crossed Kori's face. She shrugged off the pink jacket that Dick made her wear and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt. She bent down and picking up the first tree and shifting its position in relation to the other two trees.

"Wow."

Kori dropped the tree she was holding and whirled.

Barbara stood timidly beside a tree and gave her a small wave. "Um... hi."

Kori cocked her head, checking Barbara's hands for snowballs. "Greetings, Barbara. The alarm has not sounded-"

"Yeah, I know. I wanted to talk to you before the all out brawling began. But now I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Oh?"

Barbara hesitated. "Well, we sorta got off on a bad start."

"We did?"

Barbara sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I made an ass of myself in the training room."

Kori frowned, Beast Boy was the one that can turn into an ass, Cyborg always made with the fun about that. Comprehension dawned. "That is another saying, is it not? You do not mean you turned into a donkey."

Barbara looked taken aback. "No. I, um, I made a fool of myself. I made you angry-"

"You are concerned I will try to hit you with my star bolts again, are you not?"

"Yeah."

Kori turned to fiddle with the position of the tree. "As long as you do not attempt to kiss Richard again, you have nothing to fear."

Barbara's face drained of blood and her eyes widened. "You saw that?"

"Yes." Kori picked up the next tree, changing it position on the ground.

"Oh, man, I knew this was a bad idea! I'm really sorry about that! I had no idea-"

"I know." Kori ran her hand along the fallen trunk to snap off several branches.

"Oh."

Kori sighed and turned to face Barbara. "Richard has already made it clear to me how he feels. You are a large part of his life. Even though he is currently upset with you, he retains the fondness for you. There are few in his life that he holds with such regard and I do not wish him to lose that."

Barbara eyed her warily. "Really?"

"I would that we be friends, too," Kori told her, giving her a bright smile and held out her hand.

Barbara smiled and took her hand.

TTTTT

Dick crept along silently through the woods. His shoes crunched softly as he snuck through the snow in search of his prey.

Victor, being much heavier and therefore less stealthy, would have to find a place to hole up and attack from, and Dick knew there were a limited number of places that he could do that from. Garfield could be hiding under any leaf. Rachel, well, if she wanted to attack him there would be nothing he could do about that. But Barbara and Kori? They were easy game.

Dick knew these woods. He knew each fallen tree, each mound of rocks, every nook and cranny that could hold a possible ambush site. He smiled smugly to himself; the girls didn't stand a chance.

He'd watched carefully the direction Kori had been heading when she left. There was a little clearing not far in that direction, three fallen trees scattered around it. It was open and the trees were in such a position that there was little chance of being snuck up upon. It was too good a spot to resist. Kori was sure to fall for it.

Something went plop on the back of his neck and he instantly shivered as a cold trickle of water seeped down the inside of his jacket. He looked up, his vision suddenly going white as a huge snowball was dumped on his head from above. His feet went out from under him and he slumped to the ground from the weight of the snow on top of him. Dick shivered and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the cold, wet snow in his eyes and on his face; his arms pinned beneath the snow. He blinked his eyes free of snow and was confronted with Kori's laughing green eyes as she hung upside down before him.

"Greetings," she said cheerfully.

"You'll pay for that one," Dick told her, laughingly.

She giggled and rotated in the air so she could face him properly. "You will have to catch me first."

Dick freed his arm from the snow and grabbed her foot. He lifted his other hand out of the mound of snow, dumping a handful on her head. Kori eeped and moved away from him, but he still had her fast by the foot and he used her movement to drag himself free and land another handful of snow in her face.

Kori grimaced as she scrapped the snow from her face, still moving away from him. Dick crawled after her, grinning, only to be blindsided by a barrage of snowballs.

"Gotcha dude!" Garfield laughed heartily, before a snowball splatted against his back. "Hey!" he cried, turning into another bombardment from Barbara.

"You snooze, you lose," she crowed at him, pegging amazingly accurate ones at both Dick and Kori as well.

Kori laughed and ducked, gathering up a bunch of snow to throw back at Barbara.

"Nice shot, Kori," Barbara crowed gleefully and poked out her tongue as Kori's snowball went wide.

Kori scrambled through the snow toward her. "I am not done yet!" she cried, still laughing and unleashed more snowballs.

Dick frowned. When did these two become so chummy? And did he really want his fiancée and his ex being so friendly toward each other?

Barbara grinned and bolted, zigzagging through the snow, tossing snowballs behind her. Garfield skipped a few paces forward, scooping up snow to craft into a ball. A white portal opened right above his head and before Dick could warn the changeling of the impending danger, a tital wave of snow cascaded from the portal and all that remained of Garfield was a blob of snow with two eyeholes.

"Raaaaaaae," the snowman called. "No fair!"

Dick yelped as Kori suddenly grabbed his wrist and darted away, dragging him through the air. She spun and tossed him a short distance away and directly into a drift of snow. He was instantly cold as he was surrounded by fluffy white snow before he felt a weight straddle him.

He blinked up at Kori as she grabbed onto his wrists and pinned him to the cold ground, a cheeky smile on her face. "That was a very mean trick," she purred, her face hovering inches above his own as she pinned his arms above his head.

"What? And this isn't?" he retorted, feebly struggling against her grip.

Her eyes twinkled merrily. "No," she replied, leaning down to kiss him.

He arched his head up to met hers, attacking her lips with a fervour. Her grip loosened on his wrists and he twisted one hand free. He buried it in her hair to grab the back of her neck and pulled her closer. She let out a soft sigh as he felt the tip of her tongue brush against his lips and he opened his mouth for her. Warmth spread through him as her weight settled down on top of him and she released his other wrist. He placed it on her waist and slipped it inside her shirt, kneading at her warm skin with his gloved fingers. Slowly, he moved his hands around until they were at her belt, before snitching the flag she'd tucked in there. When it was safely tucked away in his pocket, he satisfied himself by continuing to kiss her.

They were fair game for Rachel when she discovered them.

TTTTT

Victor sighed to himself as he sat on a pile of rocks. The girls were never going to make it past Dick and Garfield and he was never going to see a piece of the action. He grumbled and pulled another branch to pieces before glancing at his un-hologramed console one more.

He blinked in surprise.

A heat signature was heading toward him, moving rapidly through the snow, from behind him. He got to his feet, turning his head to look behind him, his eyes scanning the surrounding wood, but could see nothing.

He checked his console again. The heat signature had broken into two; both heading in opposite directions before one of them stopped. He charged forward, hiding his bulk behind the trunk of a tree before he peered curiously around it. Still nothing. Surely he should see something by now. He glanced into the air, maybe it was Rachel or Kori, using their flight ability but there was nothing there.

Maybe Dick and Kori really were cheating and were double teaming him! Glancing at his console again, he saw three heat signatures now, two of them moving through the woods toward him. Victor smiled, they were ganging up on him! Well, that just made it even more fun. He reached down to the ground scooping up a handful of snow as he prepared for battle.

Something went thunk beside him and he leapt out from behind the tree, his hands poised to strike and a 'boo-yah' on his lips. He froze. A burning branch shook slightly as it stood impaled in the snow. He took half a step toward it in surprise before something kicked him in the back and he ended up face first in the snow.

He rolled onto his back to see Barbara standing over him, holding the blue flag that had been previously tucked into his pants in her hands. She grinned gleefully at him. "I thought you would have been harder to surprise than that," she smirked before dashing off.

"Hey!" he bellowed, surging to his feet and charging after her.

She giggled over her shoulder as she dashed through the snow. He scooped up several snowballs as he ran and tossed them after her moving form, but she dodged with a dexterity and grace that he'd only ever seen in Dick and Kori. She seemed to know where she was going, it looked like she was following her own footprints in the snow, and Victor caught a sudden glimpse of what looked to be a snowman up ahead.

"Incoming!" Barbara bellowed loudly as she darted past the snowman and Victor frowned, wondering why she'd done that.

The moment he was level with the snowman, it became a bear that lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

"Dog pile!" Garfield shouted, happily.

TTTTT

A band played a mixture of soft rock and jazz in the background. There was the tinkle of champagne glasses being clinked together and the soft murmur of hundreds of voices wishing each other a Merry Christmas.

"I still say you cheated," Victor said with a grin.

"And I still say you need to get over it," Barbara retorted cheekily, tossing her red hair over her shoulder.

Kori glanced at Dick. "They are doing the flirting, yes?" she asked quietly.

Dick shrugged. "I'm not sure I really want to know." He turned to face her. "You look beautiful tonight, Star."

Kori felt a blush creep over her cheeks. "I have never been to a party of costumes before. I was unsure what to wear. Rachel said this might look nice." She rather liked what she was wearing. She was dressed as an Arabian Princess, a pink halter-top, pantaloons and slipper shoes, complete with a small pink hat and a veil that went around her chin.

She saw Dick's eyes rake her body and felt strangely proud. "So, do I get three wishes?" he murmered quietly.

She smiled at him coyly. "Perhaps later." She looked him up and down, a confused expression on her face. "What are you pretending to be?"

He wore a black tuxedo with a long red and black cape. He'd slicked his hair flat on his head and had strange fangs in his mouth. He lifted the corner of his cape, raising his arm so that his wrist was against his face, and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Can't you tell?" He sighed at her still confused expression, dropping the cape. "I'm Dracula." She cocked her head and he pouted. "Never mind."

Garfield jangled up to them, the bells around his neck ringing as he repositioned the horns on his head. "Hi guys!" he announced happily. "This party is really great! I love fancy dress stuff."

"And you had to go and pick an animal for it," Rachel droned. "I really don't want to be seen with a reindeer."

He scrunched his red nose at her and poked his tongue out playfully. "Well, yours isn't really original either, Rae. Couldn't you have least put some Christmas spirit into it, rather than coming as a witch."

"Hey, I helped Kori with hers. At least I get to be comfortable."

"Nuh-uh," Victor said, shifting his grip on his light saber. "You cheated with those fire stick thingy's. That wasn't fair."

"Well," Barbara retorted, adjusting her cat ears. "You cheated with your heat scanner. You're just sore that you were outsmarted by a girl, that's all."

"Oh, get over it," Rachel said tonelessly. "That snowball fight was ages ago. You two are fighting like an old married couple, just kiss and make up already."

Both Barbara and Victor turned to stare at her. "What?" they both yelped.

"I so don't need to hear that from you," Victor snarled, poking his finger at Rachel. "All the goo-goo eyes that goes on between you and BB and you think that-"

Rachel began to cluck quietly under her breath. Garfield descended into laughter while Victor began to sweat and Barbara looked between them with a curious expression on her face.

Kori grabbed Dick's hand and pulled him away; not really wishing to hear their friends pick on each other. "Let us do the dancing," she said quietly.

Dick tugged on her hand and changed their direction. "I have a better idea," he said softly and led her from the ballroom. He led her quickly down the corridor before ducking into one of the numerous rooms that lined the corridor. It was a small dark room and Kori was reminded of Dick's office back in Titans Tower. There was a desk and chair in the corner and several bookcases around the room.

There was a quiet click as he locked the door behind him before he turned and grabbed Kori by the back of the neck, pulling her into his embrace. His tongue dove into her mouth as his hand splayed across her breast. He pulled away for a moment, yanking the false fangs from his mouth before he attacked her lips once more. She let out a muffled yelp as his hand went to her bottom to pull her closer and she felt his hardness against her hip.

Here? she asked quietly as he pushed her back into the room with his body. He removed his hand from her breast and picked her up, planting her on the desk. She wrapped her legs around him to pull him closer, her arms snaking around his neck. His hands kneaded her bottom as he pressed himself against her.

Do you have a problem with that? he returned as he continued to kiss her.

No.

Good. He pulled his lips from hers to place wet kisses down her chin. He tore her hat and veil off so that he could have access before he nibbled on her neck.

"Master Dick," voice said from outside as there was a knock on the door and Dick pulled away, his face a mixture of horror and regret.

"God, how does he do that?" He wrapped himself in his cape to hide the bulge in his pants before he kissed her lightly on the nose. "Stay there a sec. Don't move."

She nodded and he crossed the room and opened the door a crack. "Al, what is it?"

"The signal has been lit," she heard the butler murmur quietly. "Master Bruce would like to know if you wish to accompany him tonight."

She could feel Dick's instant excitement at the prospect before she saw his shoulders slump. "Um, I'd really like to but-"

Go, she whispered in his mind, reaching for her hat to place it back on her head. I know how long you have wanted to do this. Go, have fun and be careful. I will wait for your return.

He turned to look at her. Really? You'll be okay?

She smiled and jumped off the table. I will be fine. I will return to our friends.

"I'll be right there," Dick said, turning back to Alfred before he crossed the room to give her a quick kiss. "Thanks Star, you're the best."

TTTTT

Nightwing peered through the glass windows above the darkened Gotham Bank. He hung upside down, his hands tight around the handle of the grappling hook that held him aloft. There was just enough light to see the crooks moving down on the floor below, a few of them carrying a glowing stick for light.

"What do you see?" Batman's voice droned in his earpiece.

Nightwing frowned. "Can't see the hostages from here," he muttered. "Got a clear view of the crooks though. Theres about twenty of them, too many to be a simple bank heist."

"Depends on what they're after."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes as he studied the layout of the bank below. "Ok, there is about ten guys loitering near the entrance of the bank, I'm guessing they're on the lookout for the cops, or you, or both. There's five at the back near one of the safes, they look like they are trying to unlock it and another five loading bags from another safe."

"Weapons?"

"Guns, knives… the usual. Here's an interesting question. Why would there be hostages at night? What'd they do, drag them off the street?"

"Probably."

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "So, what's the plan?"

"You tell me."

He blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Batman sighed into his ear. "You've been leading your own team for over two years. Show me what you've got."

Nightwing chewed his lip in consideration. "Ok, we'll hit them all at once. Hard and fast, don't give them time to use the guns. I'll drop a smoke bomb in the middle, you take the ones near the safe and I'll take the ones by the door."

"Right."

"Two minutes," Nightwing said in reply. He flicked his finger, pulling out a small glasscutter and cut a circle in the glass so that he could silently slip his hand through and unlock the window, knowing that the alarm had already been switched off. "Let me guess, you're coming through the skylight again, aren't you?" He could almost feel the smirk on Batman's face. He rolled his eyes and slipped the window open, dropping to crouch on its frame before stealthily leaping into the rafters.

He crept along the beams near the roof silently, positioning himself above the crooks hanging about by the door and waited, hiding in the shadows.

There was a crash and a tinkle of glass as Batman went for the dramatic entrance. Nightwing flicked his wrist, casting a smoke bomb into the middle of the room before leaping lithely down from the shadows. He landed on the shoulders of the first crook, slamming him hard into the ground. Several exploding discs were cast around the room, followed by two birdarang's before Nightwing pulled out his sticks and began with the pummeling.

When the first man he hit with his sticks went down hard, blood spouting from a broken nose, Nightwing had to remember to pull his strength. He pivoted sharply and kicked the man that rushed him from behind in the stomach forcing him away, before slamming his sticks into the chest of another man that attacked him.

He leaped gracefully into the air, coming down hard on the shoulders of another crook and leapt off, kicking another man in the head before he landed a short distance away. There was a short burst of gunfire from beyond the screen of smoke and Nightwing was momentarily distracted.

One of them leveled a gun at him and he tossed an exploding disc toward the gun before heading in the opposite direction. He dived behind a bank counter as bullets impacted it surface. There was a small bang as his disc exploded on the gun before a clatter as it hit the ground. Nightwing surged out from behind the counter, incapacitating the remaining crocks with several hits to the heads and chest.

"Right there Batman?" he radioed quietly, hearing silence on the other side of the room. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out several ties to bind the crooks hands and feet with before setting to work.

"Just about done."

Nightwing crossed the room after he'd finished binding the crooks and piling them against a wall. Walking through the now dissipating screen of smoke, he approached his father as he stood before the safe that the crooks had been trying to open.

Batman glanced at him as he approached. "They weren't trying to open this one," he muttered, his ear pressed against the safe door. "They were trying to lock it. There are people inside." He grabbed the handle and the two of them heaved it open, revealing five women and two men crouched down against the far wall, all of them bound and gagged.

Nightwing cast his critical eye around the dark main room of the bank carefully as Batman entered the safe to untie the hostages. There were no more crooks to be seen, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was different. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

"Nightwing, we've got a bomb in here," Batman snapped and Nightwing glanced at him. "We have to get these people out."

"Hang on, I'm not sure-"

Batman swivled around to face him, his eyes narrow.

There was a splattering of gunfire off to the side and Nightwing flipped backward and into the safe for protection as the bullets tinged against the door of the safe where he had stood only moments before.

There was a sudden grinding noise as the door swung closed and a soft whirring sound as it was locked before they were encased in darkness.

There was a sharp crack as Batman broke a light stick, illuminating the room in a soft green glow, before a cackling laughter was emitted from a small radio placed on the floor between the hostages.

Batman stooped down and picked it up as the laughter grew louder before a voice said: "Trapped like a rat, it's the poor little bat."

Nightwing stilled as he recognised the voice and closed his eyes. "Joker."