Batman heard the alert about the filtration plant go out on the police channel, and turned the Batwing around. The filtration system was a higher priority and for once the docks were completely devoid of illegal activity for him to take his frustrations out on.
The air filtration plant was a long low building that sat atop the water filtration system. The kindest word to describe it was utilitarian. Enough people had tried to poison the water supply over the years that the city had forked up for a state of the art security system. Three levels of authorization were required to get into the machinery and everything was automated. There wasn't even a key for the third level; just a bio lock that would only let two people in the city through.
As Batman hovered over the building, he could see how the security had been hacked. The outer level of the security had been bypassed in the traditional way. The outer doors were hanging open, the locks hanging broken from the frame. He set the Batwing to idle over the side of the building and dropped to the pavement while activating his camouflage as he stepped through the door.
The pace was already spartan, but the few trappings it did have had been tossed on the floor. It was a casual show of power that didn't do any real damage, and something a professional would never bother with. Batman quickened his pace.
Outside the second set of doors, there was a stunned technician. He'd been hit over the head but was coming around and a casual once-over showed no major injuries. Turning off the stealth, Batman knelt in front of the man.
"Hey, you okay? Who did this?"
The man raised a hand to his bleeding forehead then winced and closed his eyes. "I don't know. I heard them as I was coming out. I was running a system patch. They hit me as soon as I came through the door. Must have taken my access card."
"Did you see how many there were?"
"Umm three, four? Maybe more. Like I said I only heard them."
"That's fine. The alarm's already gone out, cops on their way. When they get here, tell them what you told me." Batman was fully camouflaged again before he was through the door.
Beyond the second checkpoint, the building was dark only lit by red track lights around the exits. Batman switched his visor to thermal and noted higher than normal level of radiation in the area. Nothing too dangerous to him but people without protection wouldn't want to spend lengths of time there.
The beam of a flashlight briefly cut across the wall ahead of him. A few running steps and he was pressed against the wall, glancing around the corner.
Well, now he knew what had triggered the GI-404. The idiots hadn't tried to bypass the security of the last checkpoint. They'd just blown it up. They'd use enough C4 to take out the steel door, the walls around it, and a good portion of the support structure for that entire end of the building. The idiots were lucky they hadn't brought the ceiling down on top of them.
The light came his way again and Batman pinpointed the culprits.
Jokerz. Because no one else would break into one of the highest secured buildings in the city for shits and giggles. There were five of them out on the catwalks that bordered the big room.
Above them, pressurized canisters were sending steam and worse shooting in streams through the air as the air filtration system for the city buckled, but the idiots were all hanging over the rail looking at the water purification system below them rather than the more immediate danger.
One of them was waving a hand, gesturing out over the vats, another pointed in response and a brief shoving match muffled Batman's approach.
"I'm tellin' ya man that's how it happened."
"He didn't just jump in. No one's that crazy."
"Even Joker? He be crazy."
"Crazy'r than a dreg like you."
One of them grabbed another and shoved him at the railing. "Do it then."
"Na, Man. It was Dig's idea, he should do it." They all looked at a member of the group with purple hair and a half white half black face. Dig, apparently.
"Wasn't my idea." Dig protested. "I was just telling the story. Wes's the one who said we should break in."
The attention turned to a female Joker in red and black, her face split into quarters with playing card suits on her cheeks and forehead.
"Weren't me." she pouted.
Because he'd rather not have history repeat itself Batman crept around the group, balancing on the railing between them and the chemicals.
"So let me get this straight," Batman said turning off the stepping seeming out of thin air. "You heard the Joker went insane by jumping into a vat of chemicals and thought you'd try it, but when you got here you chickened out?"
"Slag! it's the Bat." One of them yelled, and suddenly they were all panicking. One of them pulled out a blaster, another reached for a baseball bat, slung over his shoulder. The rest of them turned and fled, pushing each other out of the way to get back through the door. Wes, the one with the playing card face, stumbled and grabbed at the edge of the rubble that had been a door.
Batman took her out first under the logic that it meant one less Joker to deal with later. One knockout batarang to the rubble next to her head and the gas knocked her out before she could get back on her feet. By that point, the two runners were gone, but Batman wasn't worried about them. Either the cops would pick them up or not, but they weren't going to cause any more trouble tonight. The two Jokerz in front of him were a slightly different matter.
The first was tall and lean, wearing a straightjacket with the sleeves in shreds. He was the one with the blaster. The other was a classic bruiser, scars over his arms and a nose that had been broken at some point. His only claim to jokerdom was a yellow button on his jacket of a smiley face.
Smiley came in swinging as soon as his bat was free, but he was still a second behind Straightjacket's first shot. Batman ducked down to the side, then charged in and hit Smiley like a lineman. He lost his grip on the baseball bat sending it flying over the edge. The joker blocked well enough to handle Batman's momentum but with the suit, the man was outclassed in raw strength. Batman stepped in grabbing a fistful of the guy's pants and popping the Jokerz supporting knee out from under him.
With a cry of surprise, Smiley went over sideways, flailing his arms in an attempt to catch himself. Unfortunately, Smiley's fall cleared the line of sight for Straightjacket to open up on Batman.
The first two shots went wide and by that time Batman was moving again. He jumped over Smiley's bulk taking a shot in the shoulder that was absorbed by the armor before he could grab the gun, tearing it out of the second Jokerz' trembling hand. After that, a sharp blow to the jaw put him down.
Batman took a breath and rose to his full height, looking at the Jokerz at his feet. He was still tense; it hadn't been nearly enough of a fight to tire him out. But even if the two who had run had stayed and they'd all attacked together, he doubted the outcome would have been any different.
He pulled out a trio of cuffs and looked up at the ceiling again and the broken mechanics of the air filtration system.
Smiley, as it turned out, could still stumble to his feet. Batman glanced at him and said. "You can either walk out of here." he held out the cuffs. "Or I knock you out too and you'll have to hope the roof doesn't come down on you before the cops show up." The guy's spirit was already broken. He went willingly while Batman hoisted the other two - one on each shoulder.
There were more flashlights back where Batman left the technician. Two cops were already pointing guns at them when Smiley went through the door.
"Hands up." one of the cops ordered. The older of the two, a guy with red hair.
Smiley raised his cuffed hands causing the two cops to glance at each other.
"They've already surrendered." Batman stepped into the room. He noted the two jokerz who'd run bound up in the cops restraints and sitting by one wall. Dumping his two unconscious jokerz next to them he turned back to the officers.
"These idiots blew up the third level security door. There's structural damage; you'll want to call it in."
"Technicians are already on their way." Commissioner Gordon said stepping out of the shadows. The younger of the two cops flinched.
"Commissioner." Batman inclined his head.
"Batman."
"You got here quickly."
"I was in the neighborhood."
"Fine, they're all yours." Batman waved at the collection of people in the room, the jokerz, bound and unconscious, Smiley still with his hands in the air. He turned to the door.
"Batman." Barbara snapped at the same time the young cop shouted.
"Thank you."
Batman half turned, looking more at the young officer than Barbara. The kid had dark hair and a build that made it look like he didn't get enough to eat. He also had scars covering the visible skin on his arms, disappearing up under his shirt.
"You saved my life last spring," he said. "I never got a chance to thank you."
Batman dug around for a matching memory but all he came up with was a flash of red. Red on his hands.
"Can you thank Robin for me too? I ah-" the cop scratched at the back of his neck, and glanced at Gordon "I don't think he should be out here getting into trouble or anything, but I hope he's okay."
Batman's pulse raced faster then it had through the whole fight. He didn't have a Robin, had never had a Robin. This cop wasn't talking distant past. He looked like he was only a few years older than Terry, and yeah maybe he was familiar after all. Not that Batman could kriffing place where he'd seen him.
He nodded slowly. The cop didn't say anything else, just nodded back.
If he were any other hero he'd have to say something, make nice with the guy, but he wasn't. Gordon hadn't said anything else so with a half step back he vanished into the night.