Author's Note: Alright, are you guys ready to see some crazy speed-writing? I'm going to do what I can to get this up soon, but I have a paper due Wednesday afternoon that was just assigned today, so it could take a bit of juggling. But this could be the last chapter for couple of days. I'll elaborate more on that later, though. If it's not too much trouble, please leave a review and tell me how I'm doing; I'll love you forever.
Diana struggled with all of her might, but no matter how she tried, she could feel the panic and anxiety beginning to set in. Her breath became ragged, and she began to feel herself losing control. To make things worse, Strange was still standing in front of her, incessantly taunting her.
"Most interesting... You are holding up quite well... Possibly even better than the Batman." He said scribbling notes on a piece of paper. "I have no doubt that your Amazon blood is responsible... But I wonder how, exactly? Perhaps your strength provides resistance to toxins and chemicals? Or maybe it is the fierce mentality of an Amazon warrior? Oh, you are quite a fine specimen. It is a pity indeed that I do not have the time for a proper study.
"I'm... Not... Afraid... Of you..." Diana gasped as the anxiety deepened it's hooks in her brain.
"That is quite easily remediable, you see." Strange said, eagerly preparing another dose. "I think that a more concentrated dose is in order, don't you, Princess?" He carefully injected the syringe into her neck, being careful not to miss the vein. "Now, while we wait for that to take effect, why don't we have a conversation to pass the time? I think that it is once again time for us to discuss a mutual fascination of ours; the Batman."
"Shut up." Diana said shortly. She couldn't help but notice that Strange's voice was sounding more and more sinister by the second, as though it were being distorted.
"A touchy subject, naturally, given the circumstances. It must bother you to be the instrument of his undoing. Despite the best of intentions, you have failed in your efforts to rescue him from the darkness that lies within him... A darkness that will soon consume him completely."
"I hope you fry."
Strange merely chuckled. "I admire your tenacity, especially in the face of such adversity. But it will not help you in the least. It would be best if you were to give in now and spare yourself the long hours of suffering. But you will realize that soon enough. Until then, we shall continue. Let us begin at the very heart of your relationship... What is it, exactly? Simple lust? No, more than that. It is my theory that you love him like a lost and abandoned puppy. You feel sorry for him. I believe that your so-called 'love' stems from naught but pity." He paused for a moment to gauge her reaction before continuing his taunting. "Regardless of it's origins, your feelings are most interesting indeed. Simply amazing how two people from such different backgrounds can meld so well. Oh yes," He laughed at the look of surprise on her face. "I know all about your history on Paradise Island."
"You don't know... Anything... Abou... About... Me... Or him..."
"Oh, but you could not be more wrong. I know nearly everything about you and him, which is why I am able to see the irony. Just think... Rage and love. Don't you see? You were both born into luxury, but took completely opposite paths. And yet... You both ended up in the same place, fighting for those not capable of fighting for themselves. Truly amazing, no?" He grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look at his wretched face. "Wonder Woman, born from the love of a mother so desperate for a child that she fashioned one from clay. And the Batman, born out of a child's rage at a world that so cruelly took away everything that ever mattered to him. Rage and love... Yin and Yang. You could almost say that there's a bit of poetry to it." He let go of her chin, allowing her face to fall once again. "Alas it was not to be. Or should I say, it could not be. You should have realized that by now. All the time you've spent with him, and you've never noticed anything... Stunted? No, of course not. Because you, like so many others, have blinded yourself to the unpleasant truths. You've deluded yourself into thinking that he's capable of petty emotion. But this is mere fantasy, and you have me to thank for opening your eyes to reality.
"You're... Wrong." Diana croaked, feeling fainter.
"We shall see soon enough, I believe." Strange said confidently. "However, I think that I have obtained enough data from you. It is time to hasten the process. Am I correct in saying that the hallucinations are setting in? There's no need to answer. I can see it your eyes... You are beginning to question reality. This is good. These doubts are the seeds are madness. Your time grows nearer... My plan has nearly come to fruition. After so many years of work..." He looked up for a moment, relishing his apparent victory. "But now is no time to lose focus. Now is the time to put the final pawn in it's place." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a long black piece of cloth. " In all of my studies, I have learned that the most effective way to sow fear is through controlled manipulation of the senses." He wrapped the cloth tightly over her eyes so that she couldn't see anything. "To create true terror, one must strip away familiarity completely, leaving nothing but fear. Now... We begin phase two..."
Batman landed the Batwing a safe distance away from Strange's hideout, in the middle of a large barren desert. Nightwing jumped out first. "Aw, man... We couldn't get any closer?" He grumbled, eyeing the building that looked like a speck on the horizon.
"No." Batman said. "Any closer and I can't guarantee that the ship's cloaking devices will be effective. Now get back here. We need to establish a plan." He reached into the plane's console and withdrew an extra earpiece, which he handed to Catwoman. "This'll let you keep in contact with us and our guide." He explained, activating his own transmitter. "Oracle. We're here. Did you manage to get the building's schematics?"
"I had to break through about a million different levels of encryption, but I think I have it." Oracle's voice said. "Granted, this won't account for any modifications that Strange's made since he started using it as a base."
"Thanks, Oracle. We'll take what we can get. If we're careful, a floor plan should be enough."
"Right. I'm sending it to the Batwing's onboard computer now." As she spoke, the navigation computer on the plane's dashboard lit up, displaying a map of the building.
"Neat." Catwoman purred, eyeing the computer. "You boys have the coolest toys..."
"Don't get any ideas." Nightwing said abruptly. "What's the plan?"
Batman took a minute to analyze the map before speaking. "My tracker readings show that Wonder Woman is somewhere in the research labs. So we'll split up." He pointed at the map. "This ventilation shaft should get us in. When it forks, I'll go after her and Strange. I need you two to branch off West to the guard barracks and take out as many of the guards as you can without being heard. Hide the bodies, use sleeper holds, do whatever you need to. But don't be seen." He began selecting the gear he thought that he would be most likely to need. I'm counting on you to thin down his forces enough to let me have a fair shot at Strange without being interrupted." He finished, clipping a black box about the size of a book to his belt.
"Sounds simple when you put it that way." Nightwing said sarcastically. "Almost fun, really."
Batman ignored him. "Nightwing. You can get the map linked to your mask, so you're on point. When you're down, you can get out through the sewage maintenance tunnels."
"Terrific. Tonight just keeps getting better and better. You're lucky I like you. Or at least that I like Diana." Nightwing paused to think. "Say... How are you planning on getting out? It's not like you'll be able to just go the stealth route again..."
"It depends on what kind of shape Diana's in. Ideally, we'll be able to just punch a hole in the ceiling and fly out. If not... I'll find a way. It depends on what kind of security he has at his disposal."
"If you two are done talking," Catwoman cut in, "Kitty wants to play. I didn't come all this way to stand around in the middle of a desert after all." She backflipped away in the direction of the building.
Nightwing raised an eyebrow as he and Batman began to sprint after her. "You're positive that we can trust her?"
"To be honest, I'm not." Batman admitted. "But you're the one who has to count on her to watch your back, so I'd get over that fast if I were you."
As they got closer to the building they noticed that the ground was covered with a thick, metal plating that stretched the length of two football fields. Batman activated his scanners to analyze the metal. "These plates are designed to carry an electric current. It's hard to say how much exactly, but I'd bet that it's more than enough to kill any of us."
"Got a backup plan?" Catwoman asked, leerily stepping away from the panels.
"We don't need one. The sensors are inactive. It looks like most of the building's security is down. Smart, really. He knew that we would've taken a closer look at Cadmus buildings, and having security reactivated would've drawn attention to this one. Luckily we know more that he thinks. Let's move.
The trio silently approached the building, closing in on a ventilation shaft that was hidden in the side of the wall. Batman fired his grapple gun at it and pulled, silently yanking the cover off it's hinges. He caught the cover before it hit the ground and carefully leaned it against the side of the wall. He fired the gun again, this time pulling himself up to the shaft. Nightwing followed suit, and Catwoman climbed up behind him, using her sharp claws to scale the wall.
They crawled along the shaft for a short distance until they came to the fork that Batman had pointed out on the map. "You know what to do." The Dark Knight whispered solemnly. "I'm counting on you."
Nightwing nodded and took the turn; Catwoman gave a small salute and followed him. Batman took the right path, alone once again. Although it couldn't have been more than ten minutes, the tunnel seemed to continue forever. It seemed to Batman that for every second that he was delayed, he was letting Diana down.
Batman maintained a steady pace in order to give Nightwing and Catwoman time to do their job, until the silence was broken by a chilling sound. Batman froze in his tracks to listen closely; he could hear a muffled screaming directly ahead. "Nightwing. Check in." He growled into his earpiece.
"Six down. Thermal readings show this wing is nearly clear-" Batman heard a snarl like an angry cat on the attack- "Ok, clear. We're moving on to the next one."
"No. Leave now. I'm closing in now."
"You sure?"
"Go."
"Alright then. We're moving out."
Batman finally reached the ventilation shaft's exit into the lab; he found himself peering down from the ceiling over a fan, giving him a perfect vantage point. His blood boiled as he took in the details of the room; Diana was tightly bound, blindfolded, and gagged on one side of the room. However, Hugo Strange was barely a foot away from her; Batman wouldn't be able to make a move without risking her safety. Feeling desperation mounting as she squirmed pitifully, he searched the room for something that he could use as a distraction. His eyes landed on a radio on the far side of the room. It was playing eerie noises such as screams and moans, no doubt to intimidate Diana and act as a catalyst for Scarecrow's fear toxin. Not wasting any time, Batman pulled a signal jammer from his belt. He fiddled with the knobs, homing in on the radio's bandwitdth, and set it to overload. With a loud popping noise, the radio began to smoke.
"Hm?" Strange murmured, moving to examine the busted radio. As soon as he'd safely passed under the shaft that Batman was hiding above, the Dark Knight kicked down as hard as he could, sending the fan crashing to the floor. He dropped down, and was satisfied to see a new look on Strange's face as the mad scientist whirled around: surprise. Batman took advantage of Strange's shock drawing back his fist and releasing a mighty blow to the chest, knocking Strange to the floor. With the scientist safely incapacitated, Batman busied himself with untying Diana. He tenderly placed her on the floor, where she continued to tremble fitfully. He withdrew a syringe of his own from his belt, carefully injecting into her neck.
"Oracle. I've got her." He said, relief flowing through him. "She's safe. I've given her the anti-toxin for Scarecrow's poison, and it looks like she's calming down."
"Thank God." Said Oracle, also sounding relieved. "Nightwing and Catwoman just made contact; they're out. Now you two get out of there, and we can send in reinforcements."
"Not yet. I've got one more thing to deal with."
"Alright, but make it fast. I've got a bad feeling about this."
Batman approached Hugo Strange, who was lying on the floor, gasping for breath. However, he no longer looked distressed; on the contrary, he looked rather triumphant. "You... You never fail to impress, do you?" He wheezed. "Months of planning, and you still manage to surprise me... Most impressive indeed."
"It's over, Strange. I'm taking you back to the Watchtower."
"I'm afraid that I cannot allow that, Wayne."
"I'm afraid that you're not in any position to refuse."
"Oh, but I am." Strange grinned a chilling grin. "You see, I was not expecting you to arrive here... But that does not mean that I didn't plan for it." He pulled a small switch from one of the pockets of his lab coat and flipped it. "You see, My off-site auxiliary guard will be here momentarily. A guard that, may I remind you, is specifically trained to fight you. I went through great lengths to train them. All memories of their childhood; their families, gone. But to such great effect... Quite literally, all they know, is how to fight you. I'm sure you remember you last encounter tonight?"
"I'll take my chances."
"An admirable sentiment. But you have no idea of the true stakes. I have taken the liberty of rearming this facility's security features; in addition, the entire building will detonate in less than ten minutes. Now... You may be willing to risk your own life to bring me to justice... But what about hers?" Strange pointed at Diana, he was lying unconscious on the floor. "If you are confident that you will be able to make it in time with both myself and her in tow, then by all means, continue. Otherwise, your options are to leave me here... Or to kill me now." He coughed weakly and laid his head on the ground, a smug smile etched on his face.
Batman tried to work out a way around the situation, but couldn't. It came down to Strange or Diana, and there was no question at all about which he had to choose. He grabbed Strange by the collar, punched him in the face hard enough to knock him out, and roughly threw him back on the ground. He then retrieved Diana, slinging her over his shoulder, and barreled out the door. He charged through hallways, keeping his eye out for Strange's reinforcements. He ducked around corners, until he heard voices around the next hallway; "He's gotta be around here somewhere.. There!" Batman ducked into the nearest office doorway, and slammed it shut behind him. Realizing that he had no choice, he retrieved a handheld laser from his belt and ran it around the doorframe, welding the door shut. Leaving the soldiers to pound at the sealed door, he once again turned his attention to escaping.
Realizing that he was trapped in the room, he placed Diana on the office chair and gently shook her shoulders, hoping against hope that she was still strong enough to wake up. "Come on, Princess." He muttered urgently. "You need to wake up!"
Very slowly, she opened her eyes, and leaned in to kiss him. Batman was so relieved to see her moving that he didn't resist. For a moment, nothing mattered except her and the sweet taste of her lips. He suddenly pulled away. "Not now. We need to get out of here."
"How come we can only seem to do that behind enemy lines?" Diana asked groggily.
"It's a heat of the moment thing. Probably my fault. Can you fly?"
"I... I think so. I just need a minute."
"Make it a quick one. This building's going to blow in three."
Her eyes snapped fully open. "Alright, I'm ready. Where do we go?"
"Through the roof and away."
"Gotcha." She wrapped an arm around his chest, lifting him off of the ground as she began to levitate. "You're going to want to put your head down." She charged upward, smashing through two floors to get out the ceiling. However, as they crashed through the roof, Batman saw a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.
"UP! FAST!" He shouted. The wind roared in his ears as Diana picked up speed. Machine gun fire echoed below them; just in time, Batman pressed a button on the black box on his belt, activating a small, circular aura below them.
Batman peered down through the aura; a previously hidden turret had appeared on the rooftop, and was still firing at them, despite the fact that the purple aura seemed to be absorbing the gunfire..
"This isn't good." He muttered.
"It's a good thing you had this... Whatever this is."
"It's a mobile force shield generator. And it won't do us much good. It's a lot of bulk and not much bang."
"What does that mean?" Diana asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"For one, it's not portable once it's activated, so it won't offer us much more cover. Two, with that caliber gunfire, I'd say the shield has about another minute left."
"So if we move, we're dead, and if we stay, we're dead in a minute?"
"That's the gist of it."
"What do we do?"
Batman thought for a second. "We confuse it. I'm willing to bet that it functions by tracking heat signatures. The second I shut this down, you're going to drop me."
"I'm not seeing how this gets us out alive."
"It's tracking us as one heat signature right now. When we split into two, it'll have to decide which to go after. Those few nanoseconds should give you an edge when you rush it and take it out."
"And then you're street pizza. See the flaw here?"
"You can't deflect it's fire with your arms tied up carrying me. Besides, would I go through with this if I didn't have a good plan?"
"Yes. You would. Because that's exactly the kind of self-sacrificing jackass you are."
"Get ready. We move in ten seconds."
"I mean it. If you don't have plan, I'll kill you."
"If I don't have a plan, you won't have to worry about that." He said grimly. "Disabling... Now!" The aura vanished; Diana reluctantly let go, causing Batman to fall into a nosedive. 'I really wish that I'd thought to field test this beforehand...' He thought to himself. 'No time like the present, I guess.'
He grabbed the edges of his cape and pressed two fingers on each hand into the palms of his gloves; just as he'd hoped, the cape stiffened, catching the wind and allowing him to pull out of his nosedive and into a graceful glide. He heard the promising sounds of metal being smashed, and the gunfire stopped. Before he knew it, Diana had swooped down above him, wrapping both arms around his chest.
"I swear, of all the crazy stunts that you've pulled..." She muttered, sounding frazzled. "Since when can you fly?"
"I can't. It's more like hang gliding. I've been waiting for an opportunity to test it."
"When we get back, you and I are going to have a serious talk about unnecessary risk taking... Among other things." She added thoughtully.
There was an Earth shattering crash as the Cadmus building burst into flames. Diana looked over her shoulder, surveying the damage. "Do you think that Strange was still I there?" She asked hopefully.
"Not a chance in hell." Batman said, watching the dust clear.
Author's note: Holy crap, that was a long one. Two long chapters in two days; hopefully this makes up for the next few days of no updates. I'll get back on it as soon as I can, but I have other things to do, and I still have some details to work out before I continue. So I will see you cool cats when I get back, and until then, I hope that these last two chapters are up to snuff.