AN: I'm really sorry I haven't updated sooner. In my defense I've been recovering from surgery and pain medicine doesn't really work as motivation to write.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OC's and my own thoughts.

"Born to be down
I've learned all my lessons
Before now
Born to be down
I think you'll get used to it"

Born to Be Down - Local H

"Come on you piece of shit! Unlock," Rebecca spat as she fumbled with the lock to her apartment. The deadbolt was notoriously temperamental during the summer season due to the heat and humidity and she was in no mood to fight with it tonight. Finally, the lock gave way under the pressure with a reassuring click. She sighed in relief. One of these days, she was sure her key was going to snap in two, leaving her stranded outside.

Twisting the bronze handle, she opened the door and was immediately thankful for coolness of the room. It was hot as hell outside, even this late in the evening, and she'd been sweating since she began her walk from the train stop. Normally she wouldn't have risked a mugging on the train, but Gotham University's campus had been swamped with visitors attending the game tonight and parking was too much of a hassle.

Flicking on the living room lights, she dropped her bag near the stairs yawned. She wasn't sure who had come up with the idea of Friday afternoon labs, but she suspected they needed a swift kick in the ass. This particular lab ended at five, which was nearly four hours ago. However, she had to re-input data for one of her group's experiments after the program had crashed yet again, because the engineering department was too underfunded to buy newer computers. Now it was nearly ten at night and she was starving.

She strode into the kitchen on a mission and opened the refrigerator door with purpose, bathing the darkened room in dim yellow light. Chewing on her lip, she stared at the contents, which mostly consisted of leftover Chinese cartons from a few nights ago. Taking out the nearest carton, which happened to be half full of sweet and sour chicken, she opened the lid and sniffed. Immediately she hadn't wished as she made a face and chucked the wretched food into the trash bin. She had meant to buy groceries tonight but going out to the supermarket was the last thing she felt like doing. Oh well, she could always order a pizza.

"Hey, Nikki?"

Her voice echoed throughout the apartment but there was no reply. Making her way upstairs, Rebecca opened Nicole's door and turned on the light, finding it empty.

Odd. I thought I saw her car in the parking lot. Where could she be?

Pulling out her cell, Rebecca keyed in Nicole's number and waited for her to answer. After several rings, it directed Rebecca to Nicole's voicemail. More than likely, she was with Stuart. In fact, since Stuart obviously liked her, they were probably in the middle of some sort of date. It would surely explain her not answering her phone.

She wasn't sure how she felt about the younger man in all honesty. He seemed like a standup guy but there were quirks that irritated her. For instance, what kind of man asks his charge out two days after meeting her when she's still in mortal danger? That really grated on her nerves. She was protective of her best friend and having the bodyguard put her in an emotionally vulnerable position, more so than she already was, really got to her. Sure, his intentions may have been honorable, but she couldn't be sure. And that gosh awful Chewbacca impression…she didn't even want to remember that!

After making her way downstairs and ordering a large veggie pizza, Rebecca collapsed into the couch and began skimming through the television channels. Luckily the pizza place was nearby and she only waited thirty minutes for her meal. After giving the driver a hefty tip for his fast delivery, Rebecca began hungrily devouring the pizza as she watched an old romance movie. After her fifth piece of pizza, which happened to be loaded with green bell peppers, something which she was adamant about and loved, she was satiated to the point of bursting. Lazily she rose from her position and went into the kitchen to put the leftovers away. As she cleaned out a place for the pizza in the fridge, chucking more leftovers into the bin, she realized that she would have to take the trash out and grumbled. She wasn't in the mood to venture back out into the heat. But it had to be done.

She tied the heavy white bag and fought with the trash can until she gained its release. All but dragging the bag, she crossed through the living room and slid her well manicured toes into a pair of pink flip flops. Opening the door, she made her way across the landing and down the flight of stairs to the parking lot as the sweat began to form on the nape of her neck under her thick hair. Glancing sideways at the red Blazer, she suddenly shifted course for it. Peering on the inside for evidence to validate what she already knew, she wondered why Nicole had left her car behind when Stuart's was obviously still in the parking lot. His car had cop written all over it.

Shrugging the concern off she turned saw the nearby dumpster that she frequented and groaned. The day's tailgating activities had filled it higher than she could throw the bag. Glancing sideways, she spied the dumpster in the far, darkly lit corner of the parking lot. She absolutely hated going there at night since it gave her the creeps but it would have to be done.

She picked up her pace as she crossed the sparsely decorated lot. It seemed everyone was still sitting in traffic after tonight's game or hitting up the bars. Upon reaching the blue dumpster, she noticed that it too was filled over the brim. Summoning what strength she had, she lobbed the white bag to the top of the pile and couldn't help smiling—until the bag fell off the side of the dumpster. It seemed that it just wasn't her night.

She made her way to the side of the dumpster, hoping nothing popped out behind the row of trees. She had successfully retrieved the bag when she noticed a polished boot reflecting what little light the moon gave. Cautiously, she crept to the edge of the dumpster and peered around.

The shock of finding the seemingly lifeless body wasn't what raised every hair on the back of her neck as she drew a mouthful of foul air. It was the familiar lanky form of the gingered haired bodyguard that shook her to her very core. Oh shit was the only thought that Rebecca could manage to grasp.

Bruce Wayne sat in the black leather chair, wearing his familiar black t-shirt and cotton pants. He wasn't quite ready to adorn the heavy armor of Batman yet and he saw no reason why he shouldn't be comfortable as waited on the computer to finish running the findings of the trace evidence he'd found a few nights ago. Even for the state of the art equipment that he'd pilfered from the basement of Wayne Enterprises, examining DNA evidence and toxicity screenings was a painstakingly slow process. The evidence he'd given to Gordon already was being processed in the crime lab and was nearly identical to the bit of evidence he'd gathered. Still, it never hurt to have multiple analyses being done.

He'd been staring at the photographs for quite some time. The height of the blood spatter on the wall indicated that the victim had been sitting or kneeling when they were killed. The spatter pattern itself indicated that they had been killed from the front, with the killer approaching them, and with brutal, excessive force. Knives were very personal weapons and it took a lot of hatred to do this to one person, much less multiple women. Not for the first time, he wondered what exactly the killer's motivation was.

He was frustrated as he pushed the photos away from him. He was little closer to finding the killer than he was a month ago. There was too little forensic evidence and nothing to compare it to and virtually no link between the victims. Lucius had given him a list of over a hundred gyms to check out on top of it all, and that was the narrowed down list. It seemed that unless there was some major break in the case that the latest victim would never be found.

He paused momentarily, settled back in the comfortable chair, and listened to the conversation on the police scanner. For the past half hour there had been reports of a major pile up on the interstate with serious injuries. After listening to the conversation for a few minutes, he was just about to get back to examining the files when he heard the report of an officer down. By now it was almost second nature to lend an ear to the scanner for such crimes, in case he was needed. He'd already risen from his sitting position, determined to get his armor considering the nature of the call when he finally heard the address. It took a second for him to realize why the address sounded so familiar to him, and when it did, an icy sensation of shock perforated his body as he put two and two together.

It seemed like it took him an eternity to put on his heavy armor when in reality, it was only two minutes considering he had the routine down. All he could think of was that this couldn't be happening. He may not have been romantically involved with Nicole like he was Rachel, but she was still a part of his life. Whether he would admit it to others or not, it was always his biggest fear to lose those closest to him. And for whatever reason he had yet to fathom, he considered Nicole one of those people.

He knew that he needed to allow himself to feel the fear. But he also knew that in just a few minutes he would need to compartmentalize it away. It was something he'd learned during his time at the monastery. Always pay attention to what you feel. Fear was an incentive. But it was necessary to control it, otherwise he would be vulnerable.

Still, Bruce Wayne and Batman were both human. And no amount of training that he'd gone through could entirely rid his mind of the two nagging thoughts that were racing through his head. The first thought was that it was happening again, even if it wasn't due to his actions this time. The second thought was that unless he came up with some ground breaking evidence soon, Nicole would die.

As soon as Bruce was in his Tumbler, the Batman persona took over. Within seconds, he was gunning the engine and bounding through the waterfall, racing toward Gotham, and hoping that the officers didn't contaminate the crime scene.

Sirens continually shrieked through the night as the automatic double glass doors leading into the newly rebuilt Gotham General, slid open for Gordon. He faltered in his stride for a second, taken aback by the sight of gurneys spilling into the waiting room from the triage hallway, most of the afflicted victims were from the accident brought in a short while ago. He never particularly did like hospitals, though he assumed it was due to the smell. As the momentary hesitation faded, Gordon continued his stride to the admissions window.

A plump, some-what harried woman slid the window open with a bang that echoed throughout the hectic room.

"Yes?"

"I need to check on the conditions of three officers that were recently brought in," Gordon stated politely.

"And are you related to them?"

"No but—"

"Then you'll have to wait out here. Only family gets back," she added dourly before shutting the window back.

Gordon breathed in deeply to keep calm. Slowly he tapped on the window again, as he removed his badge.

This time the window opened with a force that he was certain should have at least cracked it.

"I'm with the Gotham City-"

"I don't care who you're with. It's overloaded back there and unless you're the commissioner himself, you're not getting through. Now I said take a seat!"

"Look I am," he started only to be cut off again by a voice from behind.

"Commissioner Gordon! What brings you to the E.R. on a full moon?"

The woman in front of him paled significantly at his title, giving him just a little satisfaction in the process.

"Well three of my officers were brought in tonight, Mr. Day. Or is that Doctor Day? You didn't mention you were a doctor when we spoke earlier."

Julian gave a half smile. "Dr. Day is correct. I'm actually on loan from Metropolis to fill in for someone else on maternity leave. Now tell me Commissioner, how has our Betsy been treating you?"

Betsy slammed the admitting window closed and glared at the two.

"She'll come around, she's just embarrassed. Now, why don't I take you back to check up on your men?"

Gordon nodded and gave one last glare at Betsy who ignored him completely before fallin in step beside Dr. Day.

"Are all these from the accident?"

Julian nodded. "Most of them yes. There's also the run of the mill shootings and injuries we get every full moon. Some are illnesses. But victims keep pouring in from that pile-up. I was lucky I avoided it on my way in for the night shift."

Gordon couldn't believe how full this place was, even for a full moon; it was pushing its limits.

"Here we are Commissioner. Avery and Purefoy are in examining rooms C and D," Julian said, motioning to the rooms on his right.

"What about Mitchell?"

"He's currently undergoing an MRI. Of the three, his injuries are the most severe. I checked him out myself and there's severe head trauma. He was unresponsive so we'll just have to wait for the results."

Gordon had a sinking feeling in his gut. Mitchell was a great kid, but maybe he just wasn't ready for this type of detail yet. Don't jump to conclusions; you don't even know what's happened yet.

"Dr. Day, did you also treat Avery and Purefoy?"

"No, but I know the doctor that did. He said it seemed like some sort of poisoning from the symptoms. Avery is still out but Purefoy was lucid a few minutes ago."

"Do they know what caused it?"

"Not yet. The blood is in the lab being tested as we speak. But you're free to talk to Purefoy if you like. Just don't upset him Commissioner."

"Thanks," Gordon replied somberly.

Batman had ditched his Tumbler a few blocks east of the hastily rebuilt hospital, which of course, was partially funded by Wayne Enterprises in remembrance of Thomas Wayne, M.D. Naturally, after the Joker blew the former hospital sky high, the board insisted on making it as secure as possible. Unfortunately for Batman, this meant high tech security in all the right places. Considering Wayne Enterprises had designed the security system, Batman considered dismantling a portion of the system in order to make his entrance. Had it been any other slow night, it might have been possible. Tonight, however, the ER was bustling with patients and extra staff had been called in to deal with the overflow, not to mention the areas crawling with officers paying their respects to their injured comrades. Somehow, Batman didn't think the wisest course of action would involve strolling through the lobby and exchanging pleasantries in the elevator with other visitors while still in full regalia. After all, he was still on the most wanted list. Normally, such a task as entering a hospital would be delegated to Bruce Wayne, who could charm almost any female who crossed his path. Unfortunately, there was no sane reason Bruce Wayne would be strolling the corridors of Gotham General tonight.

And so it was that Batman was creeping like a prowler in the bushes on the far side of the hospital, thankful the offices nearby were darkened and prying eyes were not to be found. In some regards he was thankful for the age of Internet and technology. Most of Gotham General's patient data was now imputed into a new and secure state of the art computer system while using paper files as a back-up. Before the final version of the security system had been released, Batman had insured his secure access to the system with a ghost ID that could log on from the Cave, Tumbler, or Bunker. And tonight, that entrance had given him the room locations of the three police officers and had helped him form Plan C.

Squatting near the offices, he aimed his new grappling gun at the roof of the hospital. With a slight hiss, the black rope and hook soared unnoticed until it connected with the ledge. Batman gave it a tug, making sure it was secure, and slowly raised himself upward to the fourth floor. Once at the darkened window, he removed his pick lock from his belt and unlatched the window from the outside, thankful the hospital had decided to keep windows that could be opened in the design plans, even if they were only on the third floor and above.

The window opened silently, letting cold air seep into the night. Carefully he pulled himself through and retrieved his grapple. Once it was recoiled, he placed it on his belt and shut the window. He was fully of aware of beeps and whirs from the life support system upon entering the room but he was still taken aback by the amount of hoses and wires running to the man in the bed. Stuart looked horrible with the hose sticking out of his mouth, the machine in the corner breathing rhythmically from him.

He approached the bed feeling only slightly less angry with the man. He had known the extent of his injuries when he'd looked up the room information but he'd still clung to some hope that he would be lucid, that he had some bit of information. The anger that the younger man hadn't been able to protect Nicole ate at him, but so did the guilt. He knew it could've happened to any of the other officers. Hell, it did happen to them. And he even could have insisted that she stay the afternoon at work instead of letting her leave early, preventing this.

He heard the door handle turn and dove behind a curtain as it opened, bathing the sterile room in light. Peering out from the curtain, he held his breath, willing himself to be invisible. A second later he exhaled as he saw who had entered the room.

"He's not lucid."

Gordon jumped and looked at him darkly. "I gathered."

"Has he said anything at all?"

"No. He's been unconscious since it happened. They still don't know what he was hit with. How did you even get in here? There are cops all over the place."

"Climbed."

"Should've known," Gordon muttered as he gazed solemnly out the window before taking something out of his pocket. "Here," he said as he handed Batman a small bag.

Batman arched his eyebrow in confusion at the writing on the bag that advertised an antipsychotic.

Gordon seemed to sense his expression and gave him a half smile. "It's all they had."

Batman pulled out a vial of dark liquid and looked at the label. Purefoy's blood. "Where did you get this?"

"I pilfered it after the nurse drew it. There's a vial from all three guys. The third was harder to get but I made a trip to the lab. Look, I don't know how you do it, but I know you can analyze it faster than we can. The doctor said he thought it was some kind of poison. Purefoy admits to ordering a pizza and drinks. Avery is knocked out, he digested more of it than Purefoy did."

"Did anyone notice anything?"

"No idea. I haven't had any reports yet. I've been here the whole time."

Batman nodded and strode to the window.

"Where are you going?"

"To the crime scene, there's nothing more I can do here and there may be evidence left there."

Gordon watched as Batman jumped out of the window. Closing the window, he wasn't surprised that he saw no sign of the vigilante below.

Northridge Apartments consisted of four brick buildings with the fronts facing inward toward a grassy quad and a huge parking lot down the hill behind building two for everyone to use. The bottom of the buildings housed flats while the white and stone stairs on either side of the building led to the second floor balcony, which consisted of entrances to the two storey townhouses. The third storey housed a faded white community balcony that could only be accessed from one of the town houses and was littered with various chairs and other decorations. The view from the balconies offered various scenes, mostly of the city or of campus nearby. The apartments were not overly expensive but were affordable, especially for students.

Tonight, most of the tenants had attended the practice game, a tradition in Gotham, and were still out at the various hot spots, or choice of dives, reveling in the night life. Those that had arrived home early, were somewhat surprised to have the police knocking on doors and questioning what they had seen. Slowly, the air became filled with frenzy as residents speculated what had happened. Of course it was Gotham, a city with high crime rates, but "the Ridge" as students called it, was one of those places in Gotham where nothing bad had ever really happened in their memory. And now their safe reverie was shattered.

With the exception of a few police still questioning residents, the area behind the dumpster where Stuart was found was roped off and devoid of officers, which wasn't surprising since it was nearing one in the morning. Batman hadn't found much in the past half hour; a few hair and blood samples that probably belong to Stuart and a few footprints that matched the typical police boot. But a new theory was occurring to him as he looked at the darkened window of Nicole's room. Cassidy's friends had reported that she'd left to meet someone she'd met in the club; unfortunately they didn't know who. He'd overheard Nicole talking about her digital camera earlier in the day to Stuart and he'd wondered if she had accidentally caught the intruder on camera. Finding it was worth a shot anyway.

Slowly, by the same methods he'd used at the hospital, Batman ascended to the second window of the third floor, only to find it screened. He didn't want to destroy the screen but he saw little choice. Taking a knife out of his belt, he cut the screen out while haphazardly hanging from a rope. Slowly, he unlocked the window by sliding the lock to the unlock position with his knife and raised the window. Swinging lightly on the rope, he entered her room and retracted the grapple, gathering his bearings in the dark.

He stepped over a pile of hastily strewn clothes, ones that she'd worn to work today he noticed, as he approached her bed. The room wasn't overly messy but it was definitely lived in. Flicking on a pen light for accuracy, he checked the desk first. Papers were strewn across it consisting of various notes from her classes but there wasn't any sort of camera to be found. He moved on to a catch all box, hoping for luck.

"What the fuck are you doing here!"

Caught off guard, Batman whirled around only to find a large knife heading for his arm. Without thinking, his training kicked in and he dove to the right.

"You had something to do with this didn't you!"

Before he could answer, something dark and heavy collided with his chest.

"I know Tae Kwon Do!"

Before Rebecca could charge him once again he had her pinned against the door and was squeezing her wrist until she dropped the knife.

"Let. Me. Go," she growled through clenched teeth.

"Put the knife down."

"No, I'm not like Nicole," she muttered darkly.

The statement caught him off guard and he relaxed his hold briefly.

She took the chance to free her leg and knee him in the groin.

"Owww! What the fuck are you wearing? Geez!"

Batman resumed his hold. "Stop fighting. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oh, that's right Mr. Batman. You're not going to hurt me. You're just going to break in my house and pin me to a door and break my fucking kneecap and squeeze me until—dammit let go of my wrist. It hurts!"

Batman rolled his eyes. "Where's the camera?"

"What?"

"Nicole's camera, where is it?"

"Why do you want it? Are you on it? You DID take her didn't you? You fucking creep, she trusted you and went to bat for you!"

Batman had had enough. With quickness he didn't even know he possessed, he located a pressure point and she dropped the knife, and drew her hand to her chest, cradling it. Picking it up, he heard her scream as he stabbed it into the door above her head. If he found Nicole he'd have to buy her a new door and a new screen but so be it.

Rebecca opened her eyes and panted slightly. "Are you nuts? You could have killed me!"

Stepping toward her, Rebecca shrank against the door in reaction to his sheer size and presence. He leaned in toward her and simply growled, "I don't kill, but if I wanted you dead you would be cold by now."

Rebecca shivered and for the first time realized how truly terrifying his presence could be.

"I don't have time for childish games. Where is the camera?"

"Why do you want it?"

"Because I'm trying to find the guy killing these women."

"You think he's on her camera? The police would have asked by now if they thought he was."

Batman stood back. "Look, your friend is gone, taken by a maniac who kills women and poses their bodies. You want to help her? Give me the camera."

"How can I trust you?"

"Camera please," Batman commanded in a growl, ignoring her question.

Giving him a dark look, Nicole stalked from the room into her own while Batman followed silently behind. Turning on the light, she grabbed a black purse from her bed and turned to give it to the intruder. In the light, she was taken aback by his presence and size. The man looked positively evil.

"Here, the camera is in her purse. The officer gave it to me. Apparently it was left in Stuart's car."

"What else did they say?"

"Some kid saw a dark red car after it almost ran him down leaving. Other than that, they didn't say much."

Batman took the purse and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Batman turned.

"We were both at the same club that night. I want this back," she said as she handed him a new shiny red camera. "Look, you better find her. She's my best friend and she sure as hell doesn't deserve this. She thinks highly of you so you better not let her down. And if you do let her down, I'll hunt you down myself."

"You're threatening to kill me," Batman asked with a slight edge of humor to his growl.

"I didn't say that. But I will find a way to cut off your balls if you don't bring her back," Rebecca replied, completely sincere.

Batman didn't retort to the threat, he only just walked away, leaving Rebecca staring at his retreating figure. There was no doubt that she would find a way to do it.