"Commissioner!" A well built guard yelled. He just ran into Barbra while she was walking down the hall of the police station. Another armed police officer was already escorting her down the hall.
"What is it?"
"We've gotten a report. There is a young man who claims to have enough money for the hostage case."
"How much?"
"Around six hundred dollars"
"These are serious people we're dealing with. It'll take a lot more than six hundred dollars to get Batman out alive. Tell him no and not to come back until he has a reasonable amount of cash."
The other police guard spoke.
"May speak for the majority of the police force here, Commisioner Gordon?"
Gordon stared at him.
"What is it?"
For a moment he hesitated before speaking. But soon, he spoke up.
"It's just that, we don't think that it's a sensible move on our part to be fulfilling the demands of these kidnappers. Not to mention that we think that it's out of character for you to be doing this."
The other guard was quick to back him up
"Here's what I think he's trying to say. We've broken up numerous typical hostage situations in the past, and we don't see how this one is any different. I think that we should get all of our available units and charge in there rather than advertise to the whole town that we're just as powerless in this situation as they are."
Barbra didn't speak for a moment. The guards became a little intimidated by her drawn out silence.
"I can't believe how foolish my own guards are. Good thing I don't pay you guys to think."
She began to walk away
"This is no typical hostage situation. And the moment you figure that out is the moment you…"
She stepped on something hard. She quickly took her foot off. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. A black and yellow batarang was just laying on the ground.
"you've gotta be kidding me…" she whispered. The two guards sprinted up to her.
"Commisioner! Step back!"
She did as they said. One of them picked it up and held it up and tried to inspect it.
"It looks like…Batman's" The first police guard announced. "But I thought he was…"
Suddenly, white gas sprayed out of it. It quickly gassed the two guards in the face. They began coughing violently. Barbra immediately covered her face with her jacket and stepped back. The officer who was holding it threw it down and sounded the alarm on his belt.
"Get back to your office commissioner!"
He pulled out his radio transmitter.
"Code seven! I repeat, a code seven! An unidentified trespasser has…"
He was trying his best to fight off the coughs and speak clearly, but it didn't do much good. He dropped his radio, knelt on the ground and passed out. The other guard fell down seconds after him. Barbra firmly covered her nose and mouth with the collar of her jacket. She turned around and ran. The entire building soon filled with a resonant alarm. Police officers began searching every inch of the building. Barbra went straight for her room, on the lookout for anything suspicious. She pulled out a small gun from inside her jacket as she quickly entered her office and locked the door behind her. She slowly looked around the room and did her best to listen for any movement under the alarm. She felt a breeze go behind her. She quickly turned around and noticed that it was just the open window. She took her eyes off of it, and just to be cautious, she loaded the gun. After a brief moment, she dropped it.
"Wait a minute…" she said quietly. She had just realized something. And this realization meant that the worst came to the worst. The trespasser had to have been in her room. Why? Because in her many years of working for the police, there was one thing that she never did. She never left the window open.
She heard a smash behind her. The alarm in her room suddenly stopped. She turned around and shot the gun once. When she quickly looked down, she could see the same type of batarang from before on the ground, and what remained of her overhead alarm under it. Barbra picked it up, making sure to keep a distance between the batarang and her face. She stood still for a moment and then unexpectedly spun around and threw it. Batgirl caught it with one hand. She was standing in front of the window.
"Nice aim." Batgirl said
Barbra didn't know what to say. Or for that matter, what to think. Batgirl put it back in her utility belt and began pacing towards the commissioner. Barbra took out her gun and prepared to shoot her.
"Why don't you put that away?"
"Who are you?" Barbra demanded
"You can call me Batgirl."
"You're not Batgirl" Barbra said in disgust
"And what makes you so sure about that?"
"Trust me, I know"
Batgirl pressed the center of her belt. The turbo charge kicked in, and she quickly flew over towards Gordon. Barbra tried to shoot her, but Batgirl had anticipated that she would try that. She easily dodged it and grabbed a hold of the commissioner's wrist. She snatched the gun from her and threw it out the window.
"Now that that's out of the way…"
The Commissioner smiled
"I can't believe you. You can't stand the thought of getting shot by an old lady like me, so you choose to overpower me and throw the scary gun out the window. You're coming across as a pretty lousy Batgirl if you ask me. The real Batgirl would be ashamed of you"
"I could say the same thing about you. You can't stand the risk of losing to a couple of kidnappers, so you choose to make deals with terrorists just to keep your "Perfect Arrest" badge polished. You're coming across as a pretty lousy commissioner. If you ask me of course.
Commissioner Gordon became angry.
"Your father would be ashamed of you"
Batgirl let go.
"What do you want from me?" Barbra asked.
"Batman's location."
"If I gave you that, then you would get yourself killed. I don't care who you say you are."
"I know what I'm up against. And I am going to bring him back. I'm the only one who can do that, I need you to understand that."
"I have done my homework on these guys, alright kid? And trust me, they are not people who will be intimidated by some amateur in a costume. Sure, if Batman flies in somewhere, he's built himself a reputation. And as much as we hate to admit it down here, people fear him more than they fear us. Half of the time, when he shows up, the criminals drop their weapons and quit right off the bat. But you? No one's recognizes you, no one respects you. And no one's gonna think twice before they shoot you in the chest."
"I understand that, but I am by no means an amateur. I have the training, I have the skills, now all I need is the information."
Gordon did not respond
"I can very well be the only person who can bring him back safely. I would not be standing here right now if there was anyone else who could help me do that."
A guard with a flashlight who was searching the outside perimeter of the building flashed over the gun. It took him a while to process, but soon, he realized that the gun had to have come from Gordon's office. He yelled into in receiver.
"All units, redirect yourselves to Gordon's office immediately! I repeat, all units to Commissioner Gordon's office now!"
The two of them could hear the footsteps climbing towards them. Batgirl waited for an answer.
"You understand that if I give you the address, and you fail…Batman dies, you die, and I'm left to die either by the kidnappers immediately or in jail after I'm accused of sending a non-police officer into a brutal hostage situation. You understand that don't you?"
"I won't fail"
Gordon hesitated. She mumbled the words.
"250 62nd Street."
Batgirl jumped onto the windowsill.
"But in case I do. I want you to know that you're wrong about something. I do have a reputation…"
Barbra was confused
"Because you gave it to me."
Barbra's eyes widened.
"I don't know what you're talking about"
"You're not the only one who's done her homework. Wish me luck Commissioner."
Batgirl jumped off and flew away. Two seconds later the armed guards came bursting into the room. One of them saw the broken alarm on the ground grabbed the Commissioner by the shoulder.
"What happened? Was the trespasser here?"
"No. She must have left before I got here."
She turned her head
"Forget the search. The nut's obviously gone. We have better things to be worrying about. Let's move."
She left the room. One of the guards closed the window and hung the drapes. The lights turned off.
-x-
Willie and Sable were on the rooftop watching intently for a police car. After a while of pacing up and down, Willie turned around and went through the door that led back inside. Two tall rooftops over, Batgirl was squatting down, holding a pair of electronic binoculars. She could see only Sable now somewhat clearly.
"There's no way I'm getting in there without a distraction."
She zoomed the binoculars in, and scanned the outside of the building for something she could use. Nothing. She moved her view a little higher. She could now see the electric power transmission lines that stood right behind the building. She put the binoculars down and stood straight. This was a gamble, but hopefully it would turn out right. She stepped to the very edge of the rooftop and pointed her Batarang Launcher. Instead of aiming for Sable or the actual building, she shot a black and blue batarang towards the power line. The batarang flew right over it.
She swore under her breath. She aimed and tried again.
This time, it hit the power line, spun around for a second, and then dangled on. Perfect. She did it a couple more times, and to her relief, it worked.
-x-
Willie barged into the room with King and Batman.
"You had better watch your temper..." King said without making eye contact with him.
"I've done enough watching all night. And still no word on anything. They're not coming, so finish this already!"
"Will you just wait?"
"No! I'm tired of waiting!" Willie shouted
They began a heated argument.
"Batman." He had no idea where the voice was coming from. He looked at King and Willie, and neither of them seemed to notice at all.
"Who said that?" said quietly
"What floor are you on?" The female voice said. There was a lot of static in the background.
"Who is this?" He whispered
"If you wanna play 50 questions with me then I recommend that we do it at a time when you're not seconds away from death. You gonna tell me where you are or not?"
"I think I'm on the first floor. There's a window to my left but I can't get to it.
"Got it. I suggest you close your eyes."
"What the heck?" Batman thought. The voice sounded somewhat familiar to him, but he had no way of telling who it belonged to.
-x-
Batgirl turned off the radio. She pointed one last batarang and hit the wire. She reached into her utility belt and held up a small remote. The remote was very simple. It had one blinker and had one dial in the center. The blinker flashed a green light. It was a success. The batarangs had synchronized with the electricity in the power lines.
"Lights out."
She rolled it counter-clockwise.
-x-
"It's only been a couple of hours, you need to give this more time."
"More time to do what? To let him escape?" Willie yelled
"In a game of cards, rushing gets you nowhere. You have to plan each move carefully" King said
"For goodness sake, this isn't a game of cards!"
"The point is that he's not going anywhere. And even if he tries, we have an ace in the hole."
King pulled out a small cylinder that had one single red button on top. He rested his thumb on the button
"Remember?"
"Of course I remember."
The cylinder flew out of his hand. Willie caught it.
"It was my idea."
"Then calm down! He's worthless now."
Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. Both of them stood there for a moment, and then looked up at the lights. For a moment, they were both speechless.
"What's going on up there…" Willie whispered.
Out of nowhere, the lights shined very bright and the light bulbs exploded. It temporarily blinded the two of them.
Batman seized the moment to try to take the chains that were fastening his wrists and ankles to the pole off. It didn't work in time. The first thing that Willie did was charge up to Batman and grab him by the chest. King ran over to the window and looked outside. There was nothing there.
"What did you do?" Willie demanded
"You have three guesses" Batman teased
Willie held out a fist
"Come on! We have to check it out!" King yelled
King ran for the door and opened it. Willie stared at Batman
"For crying out loud, the Bat will keep til we get back. I need you up there in case there's a threat"
"Fine." He let go and ran out the door.
Batgirl watched as Willie ran back onto the rooftop.
"Guess that's my cue." She said
She opened the suit's wings and prepared to take off. Just then, she saw King run onto the roof behind him. She froze. Mixed, but all bitter emotions ran through her body. This was her chance. She put away the wings and stared at her Batarang Launcher. She could kill him now and be done with it. He wouldn't even know what hit him. After a few seconds, she decided against it.
"If I tried it now the other two might interfere."
She put the wings back on.
"I'll save Batman first. Then I'll deal with you."
She jumped off the ledge.
King and Willie looked around. They could see no one.
"It's not just us. The whole city's gone black." King said.
"I refuse to believe that this is some coincidence." Willie said
"It's not." Sable replied. "Look."
She pointed behind the building, towards the power lines. Willie closed his eyes and levitated himself off of the ground. He slowly floated over to where she pointed. He couldn't believe his eyes. He picked up one of the six batarangs that were hanging from the lines. He scanned it, and then crushed it in his hand in fury. The batarang left several deep cuts in his hand, and blood ran down his fist, but he didn't care. He floated back to the rooftop.
"Bad news?" King asked
Willie handed him the small cylinder.
"Plan B is now in effect."
King took it. He nodded his head.
"Okay."
King went through the door.
"Plan B already? Why, what's going on?" Sable asked
"I think Batman might have company."
-x-
Batgirl tried her best to fly where she couldn't be seen. As much as she hated to admit it, her training with Wayne helped her to keep her balance. At least, it helped a little bit. She got shaky at certain points, but overall, she made it to the one of the windows quite easily. She grabbed on and tried to look inside. Unfortunately, there was a drape covering the window from the inside.
"Well that's just great." She said out loud. Although, she couldn't say that she was surprised. They would have been pretty lousy kidnappers if they left him in plain sight.
She looked up to the top of the building. It wouldn't be long before the others realized that no one was out there and came back to watch Batman. And that was provided that they wouldn't decide to just kill him on the spot instead. She didn't have much of a choice. She was going to have to break in here and hope that it was close enough to the right room. It was time for the Ten in her to go to work. She took out a laser cutter from her utility belt and cut the top corners of the window. She didn't want to cut a hole or just smash the window because she didn't want to risk sounding an alarm. Not that there was any electricity in the building, or for that matter, the entire block now, but even so it didn't hurt to be cautious. Be quick but cautious, just like in a game of cards. That was the first rule of the royal flush gang. It made her sick to even think about it, but she needed it to help her now. She then lodged a batarang into one of the corners to pry the window open a little bit, and then used her fingers to push it out from the inside. The window opened. She hopped in and looked around. She had gotten very lucky. This was the exact room he was in. She ran up behind him and grabbed a hold of the chains.
"Who's there?" He yelled
"Would you chill out, I'm trying to take these off"
He vaguely recognized the voice again, but still couldn't match it to a face.
"You're the one whose voice I heard on the radio."
"duh. Stay still."
She used the laser cutters and took the chains on his wrists off. Once they were completely off, Batman threw them across the room. Now all he had left on his arm was that small robotic device that Sable spat at him. It was what took away his powers. Batgirl walked in front of him and took a look at it. Batman quickly moved it away
"Who the heck are you supposed to be? And how did you get on my radio?"
"Batgirl, now would you let me see your arm?"
Batman laughed. "I never asked for any Batgirl to be my sidekick."
"Good, then that makes two of you."
She used the laser cutter to take the chains off of his ankles. Immediately, Batman began walking away.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Away from you. I have no idea who you are or if you were sent here to kill me."
"Don't be stupid. If I was sent here to kill you then why would I have cut you loose? It would have been a lot easier to kill you if you couldn't fight back, right? Anyway, neither of us have time for this so let's get out of here now."
"Thanks 'Batgirl', but I don't need you to get me out of here."
"Yeah, because you've been doing such a great job so far, right?"
"I was working on it…"
"Working on getting yourself killed, maybe. With your suit turned off like that, no one could have tracked you. Not even Wayne."
For a moment, Batman was speechless. He had to play dumb.
"Who's Wayne?"
"The guy you work for, Terry."
"I'm not…"
Batgirl walked up to him and stood there for a second. She quickly took off his mask.
"Yeah. You look like Terry to me."
Terry quickly grabbed it and put it back on.
"Surprised it didn't gas me? It's all in the thumb placement really…"
Batman was furious.
"Just who the heck are you really, anyway?" Batman whispered
After a moment, Batgirl finally spoke
"As far as you're concerned. I'm no one."
She ripped the device off of his arm.
"This thing burnt out a chip in your wrist. Wayne wanted me to give you this."
She took out the replacement chip
"It'll turn the power back on in your suit. I was only able to communicate with you because your earpiece is a radio that runs on a weak battery."
Batman slowly took the chip from her
"I don't get it. If the radio worked this whole time then why couldn't…" He hesitated before mentioning a name. Then he decided that there was no point in hiding it anymore. "Wayne…have talked to me on it this whole time?"
"Because without a working tracker, he had no idea where to pinpoint a signal. And plus, your radio's low on battery. The result of working on its own, trying to find a signal for however long you've been without power. I'd shut it off and let the chip recharge it."
Batman slowly complied. He turned off the radio. She held out the device that was grabbing onto his arm only seconds before.
"If you want to destroy this thing, be my guest."
"I think taking it back to Wayne for investigation might be smarter. Maybe he can use it to get me a chip that doesn't burn out quite so easily."
Batman took it and placed it in his utility belt. He took a look at Batgirl. Even her face looked very familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly who she reminded him of. Could it be possible that he already knew her from before?
"Come on. Let's go." Batgirl said.
She went to go open the window. Everything else happened too fast. Sable charged into the room and immediately shot Batgirl with a powerful taser. It hit her in the back, and sent her crashing towards the ground. Batman tried to run over and help her out, but soon a fist met his face. Willie came in right behind her. Willie picked him up mentally and threw him across the room. Batman smashed into the wall, sending a sharp pain through his entire body. He hit the ground. Sable grabbed Batgirl by the neck and held her over the window, prepared to drop her. She took out a gun and pointed it at her head.
"No sudden moves, okay?" Sable teased. "I can pull this trigger faster than you can say…oops."
Batman tried to quickly insert the chip into his wrist. He managed to open the fabric and pull out the old chip. He dropped it on the ground. He picked up the new chip. Suddenly, his hand began to shake.
"No!" He yelled. The chip flew out of his hand. Willie took it and examined it.
"I don't think so."
Willie sent it out the window. It flew right past Sable and Batgirl, and then dropped to the ground outside.
Batman looked up and Willie. With a smile on his face, he crossed his arms.
"This time, King isn't here to stop me." Watt closed his eyes.
Batman felt a small earthquake. He looked out the window. Different types of trees and rocks levitated all around the building.
Batgirl stared at him. This man was unlike anyone she had seen before. Maybe Barbra and Bruce were right. She didn't know what she was getting herself into.
"Since you like being Batman so much…"
Willie opened his eyes
"Let's see you fight like him."