Chapter 18

Spike had known that what Robson had asked of him as a final initiation was going to be very difficult to pull off. The only reason that he knew it would not be a fait accompli was that, unknown to almost everyone, he had called Willow the day after his meeting with the vampire in the middle. After the young witch had gotten over her surprise at the question, she had said that it could be done --- but only with a combination of science and magic that would be very difficult to wield, the exact kind of science that Willow thought only Wolfram and Hart had access. Spike's own inkling that Batman had access to that kind of technology had proven correct and the day after he asked, Spike was provided with a cryogenic chamber capable of inducing hypothermia.

The biggest surprise had actually come four days earlier when Spike had told Nightwing what he needed him to do--- and the young man had said "All right" with almost no argument. Spike knew that most people--- including quite a few back in LA --- would have put up a much bigger fuss, but the young crime-fighter had said "fine" and calmly walked into a chamber that gradually released his body temperature to almost zero--- effectively killing him.

It had been afterward that things had gotten tricky (not that stopping a man's heart is a walk in the park) mainly because the only person who was capable of using the kind of magic required was Andrew. While Spike's opinion of the young geek he had been held prisoner with for several months had skyrocketed in the last few weeks, he still wasn't thrilled about have anyone who wasn't a board-certified witch performing these kinds of spells, but he knew he had no choice. These were the conditions he had set up, and he was going to have to operate within them.

After removing Nightwing from the cryogenic chamber, Spike had performed the requisite amount of medical work to get his heart started. Then, before Nightwing began to regain body heat, Andrew cast a stasis spell that would help revive him but keep him at room temperature.

They had to wait for more than an hour before performing the next step --- a spirit clouding spell, one that would make it appear to all but the most keen of vampires or demons that Nightwing no longer had a soul. This had been nearly as dangerous as freezing him had been because having two kinds of black magic operating this close to each other could have caused some kind of reaction that could make Nightwing's heart or brain to explode (Spike had left this particular tidbit out of his explanation to the other crime-fighters.) Then he had made sure of everything by adding one last element--- the most critical one in fact.

After Andrew had recited the last incantation Spike had asked rather bluntly, "How do you feel old sport?"

Nightwing HAD hesitated for quite a bit. Finally he shrugged, smiled and said, "Pretty good for a dead man."

This was a common joke among vampires, but Spike smiled at it regardless.

From then until nightfall Spike had sparred with Dick to make sure not only that he was physically fit but also that he showed no sign of fighting like someone who had just been defrosted. He knew that he was probably asking for trouble by doing so but he knew that it had to be done--- if Nightwing didn't fight like Nightwing they were both going to meet swift ends the minute they walked in the door.

Spike and Nightwing had then made their way towards the poorer section of town. This, too, had been fraught with peril as the blond vampire had been worried as to what would happen if any of the lower strata of Gotham had recognized Dick or worse, if one of them needed saving. Spike no longer liked the sound of hearing people scream in agony but he had the willpower to resist it some of the time. He wasn't so sure that Nightwing would have the power to let it go.

The streets had been quiet and eventually the two of them had made it to the dilapidated building that was a minor hide-out for Thor and Robson.

"You're telling me that this is where some of the vampires go to their mattresses?" Nightwing was still having trouble believing what he had been told.

"What, all of us have to live in castles in Transylvania?" Spike had asked.

"I'm just not sure how they could have been under my nose all this time without me having a clue."

"We can be subtle we have to be. Don't judge a book by its cover." Spike said as he walked up to the door and rapped three times. "Gino's Pizza. We got an extra large here," he said cheerfully.

There was a brief hesitation. "Spike? That you?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Yes, Nestor, it's us."

"You've got that Wonder Boy with you?"

Now Dick was the one who looked pissed. "That's the other one, ass wipe," he said in as arrogant a tone as he could muster. "Let us in."

"How do I know you're the real NIghtwing?" Nestor was trying to sound clever and threatening and was doing a crappy job at it.

"When I rip the door off the hinges, you can see how the splinters show on my black uniform. Open the fucking door."

Nightwing had the mixture of threat and amusement in his voice that Nestor was trying for (and failing at) miserably. It did the trick because five seconds later the door was open. "Shee-it, you done it, Spike!" Nestor said in gleeful tone. "Come in, take a load off."

Thanking whoever was in charge that Nestor was thick enough to not try and test Dick's undead status by not inviting him in, Spike and Nightwing walked through the door, exchanging a mutual roll of the eyes.

Just as it had been the night Nestor had first revealed the hideout to Spike, the place was bustling with activity. This time, however, there were at least five or six more vampires than had been there before. They were familiar vampires too--- in addition to Thor and Q-Ball, two of the lower level vamp lieutenants, there were a couple of other higher-ups including Thor, who Spike hadn't seen in over a week. The place was also a lot louder--- several radios and computer screens had been turned on, and a lot of vampires were walking around and talking to each other. However, when several of the undead looked up and saw who Spike had brought into their hideout, the activity and the chatter slowed and eventually stopped.

Spike turned to Nightwing with a small smile. "Can't take you anywhere."

Thor was the first one to find his voice. "So this is the great and powerful Nightwing," he said as he walked over to Dick. "I must say I thought you'd be… taller."

"People have never complained about my size before," said Nightwing smoothly. "Besides it's not how big you are, its how you use it."

Spike was surprised; though he'd never seen it before Dick clearly had the vampire attitude down cold.

"Well, how do we know you're not alive?" Thor asked coolly.

"How do we know you're not a douchebag?" Dick said just as coolly. "Some things you just have to take on---"

Dick was abruptly interrupted when Thor grabbed him by his lapels and yanked. In one swift motion, Dick spun, kicked Thor in the chest and threw him nearly across the room right into a bookcase.

"Don't mess with the threads," Dick said as though he hadn't been interrupted. "It pisses me off."

Thor got up, looking like he was ready to do some kind of massive damage on Nightwing. Then a cold and authoritative voice spoke, "Enough of this foolishness."

Every eye in the room turned to the source of the voice. Even though there were nearly fifteen vamps in the room Spike had no trouble finding who had spoken.

The speaker was a vampire with so many scars and blemishes on his face that he made the Ubervamps look handsome. His posture was tall and stiff, his hands were practically claws and his eyes were narrowed and fervent. This was an old vampire and judging from his looks and his accent Spike thought that he knew where and when he had been in his prime.

"Well," he said in a tone that mixed his typical arrogance with what he hoped was a certain amount of deference, "let me take a wild guess as to where you come from." The old vampire did not react so Spike went on. "You're one of the Carpathian Guards," He looked the vamp up and down. "I haven't seen one of you since the uprising in Budapest. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if any of you were still around."

The vampire acknowledged this with a small nod. "It is true that our numbers have thinned over the years. But--- how do they put it in this country --- I believe that people prefer quality to quantity." He gave a smile that showed one of the ugliest mouths Spike had ever seen, and that was saying something. "And I believe we are in the presence of William the Bloody."

"That is correct." Spike said cheerfully. "And you would be?"

The vamp clicked his heels together. "Kotaski, second-in-command to his Excellency Prince Nicholae."

Spike was disappointed but only marginally so. For one thing, over the past week he had come to realize that one of the strengths of this Prince was that he made as few appearances as possible. The less exposure, the less risk involved. For another, to have met the second- of command was no small thing. Indeed, he would probably have complete knowledge of everything that was happening in Gotham City to the smallest detail. He needed to get in good with this Kotaski and begin to find out what he knew. Fortunately, he had a wonderful housewarming gift.

"Well, Captain Kotaski," Spike said hoping he had chosen the proper phrasing (apparently he had, as Kotaski nodded after he spoke), "I will come straight to the point. I believe that I can be an asset to your master and to this organization."

Kotaski nodded and smiled. "I will not pretend that we're unaware of your reputation. While it may lack artistry, your lack of pretension is one that other vampires would do well to model themselves after."

Spike was pretty sure that Kotaski was 'handling' him but for the sake of what he was doing he played along. "From a member of the Guard that is a high compliment."

Kotaski put his hands together. "The problem is, considering your behavior over the last few years, many of my kind--- including his Excellency--- have been wondering which side you are truly on."

"I realize my character has recently been associated with some undesirable people," Spike said calmly. "But I believe that my work over the past couple of weeks would eliminate doubts to where I stand."

"Ah yes. Robson and Wallace have said many admirable things about you, and I take their word very seriously," Kotaski walked over to Spike. "The problem is--- well, there's no polite way to say this, so I will be blunt. Your behavior in the past, well, it has raised the possibility that you are--- how do you say--- playing us for patsies."

Kotaski put his hand on Spike's shoulder. The blond vampire wasn't happy with someone digging his claws into his leather jacket, but he knew better than to say so.

"Your work with this most recent Slayer, the times that you supposedly averted the end of the world, the way you--- exited this earthly plane the first time." Kotaski put his unpleasant face into Spike's "They seem to indicate that you care more for humans than for your own kind."

"Oh, give me a break!"

Everyone turned their attention from the outburst--- even Spike, who knew who it was coming from. "Nightwing," he said warningly.

Nightwing paid no attention to this. "The man kills me, turns me into one of you, drags me here like I'm some kind of basket of flowers, and you people still don't trust him? Shit, I died for this?"

Abruptly Kotaski turned his attention to Dick. "Surely, you have been instructed on how to properly treat your elders?"

He spoke with a small but unmistakable menace in his voice. Dick chose to ignore it. "You don't know me very well do you, Captain? I've always had a problem get along with my supposed elders and betters. It didn't matter whether they were police commissioners or supervillains, I have a big problem with authority figures, and I don't see why this should have changed merely because I am dead."

For a moment Spike was afraid that this honesty (which he agreed with in principle a hundred percent) would end up causing Dick to earn Kotaski's wrath. The Carpathian, however, continued to surprise him. "Your aggressive nature and attitude were part of the reason why the Prince wanted you to become one of us."

"Really?" said Nightwing incredulously. "I thought I was some kind of rite of passage for getting old Spike here in good with you…. people." He finished with a deliberate slur on the last word.

"That was part of it. But his Excellency is not like most people… or even most vampires," Kotaski said smoothly. "He does not do things for only a single reason. We admit we wanted a showing of Spike's loyalty, but there are other people in this city who he could have had killed and," here the Carpathian paused deliberately, "turned to do so. Some of whom would have been easier targets."

It was here that Spike had begun to feel the first bits of doubts on whether he had been played. Kotaski was right; there were two or three other people on the side of law and order who would have been easier for him to kill and change (if he had set his mind to actually do it, of course). Something was clearly going on here, something far more sinister than an initiation.

"Part of the reason that we demanded this was…" Kotaski trailed off, "Well, why don't you take a guess?"

Dick hadn't had to think very long; Spike came up with the same reason within a few seconds. "You wanted me because of my relationship to Batman, right?"

Kotaski put his hand on Nightwing's should. "Well done, young man. Alive, you were one of the few men who can have actively challenged the Bat in hand to hand combat, correct?"

For a second it looked like Dick's face was about to flush at the Carpathian's comment--- which would have blown the game right then. Fortunately for the both of them, the cold and the stasis spell made it impossible for Dick's face to change. "I'm flattered you think so highly of me, Mister Kotaski, but I believe you have miscalculated."

"We have overestimated your skills?" Now Kotaski was baiting the young crime-fighter. Dick had chosen to ignore it.

"Rather you have underestimated Batman," Nightwing said coolly. "He's had no problems dealing with your people up to this point. And as much as I hate to admit it, he was a far better fighter than me. I don't know what you think I'm capable of but I'm pretty sure that fighting with Batman would just leave me in a pile of dust."

Kotaski considered this for a moment. "I think that you underestimate your skills as a fighter as well as what you can now do since you have been--- enhanced," he said slowly. "But let us act on the assumption, for now, that you are correct. "

At that moment Kotaski's face changed subtly. It was not as obvious as the demonic face that vampires usually used--- Spike thought that Kotaski was too old a vampire to have that usual power. Rather the change was from genial to menacing. Spike suddenly got the idea that the Carpathian was getting tired of this game.

"There are, however," Kotaski continued to speak in the faux genial tone that he had been using before, "other ways to destroy the Batman; ones that only you could provide."

To Nightwing's credit, he didn't plead ignorance. "You want me to tell you Batman's secret identity," he said calmly.

"Exactly."

Nightwing kept playing this. "What if I told you I had no idea who Batman was beneath the mask?"

"I would say that you are a very bad liar," Now any pretense of subtlety was gone from Kotaski's voice. "Then I would slice your belly open and shred your innards."

And then Spike realized how thoroughly he had been used. "This was never about me, was it?" he said softly. "This was all about finding a back door into Batman's lair, wasn't it?"

"Don't sell yourself short," said Kotaski mildly. "What you have done for us is no small feat." He had begun to circle Dick warily. "If, of course, that is what you have done."

And without any warning he took out a small vial and threw the contents on to Dick--- whose skin promptly started to steam.

Nightiwing then grabbed Kotaski by the lapels. "If you weren't such an important vampire I'd throw you through the window. I'm really getting tired of all this horseshit."

"I'm getting pretty tired of this crap myself." said Spike indignantly. In fact, he was feeling one of the greatest senses of relief he'd had a while. The last spell he had Andrew perform on Nightwing --- an illusory spell that was about as close to reality as you could make it--- had been one of the more complicated ones he'd ever heard a civilian use. If Andrew had gotten one word wrong, there would have been a very good possibility that he could have turned Dick's flesh to liquid. Yet even that end might have been preferable to what Kotaski would have done if the spell hadn't worked.

"What did you expect?" spoke up Robson angrily. "That you would just show up with Nightwing, say he's a vampire and we'd accept on faith that you'd done it? "

Yes, Spike admitted to himself, that was exactly what exactly what he'd been expecting. Now he realized that up until this point, he had thought that any organization that had a wanker like Nestor as one of its soldiers and Robson and Thor as its underbosses wasn't one that could be regarded as a viable threat. Now it was clear that he had seriously underestimated the Prince and that it was only by the slimmest of threads that they hadn't been chopped to pieces by now.

Throughout all this Kotaski reverted back to the level of faux calm that he had maintained earlier in the proceedings. Now it was really stating to seem exasperating, especially considering that the Carpathian had just been manhandled by someone who'd supposedly been his sworn enemy a day before. "I understand your frustration," he said coolly. "But we have to proceed calmly and in an orderly fashion."

Spike could not restrain himself. "What is this, a bloody fire drill?"

Kotaski ignored Spikes outburst and calmly removed Nightwings hands from his jacket. "Now that we are sure of your nature, you must now prove your loyalty to us."

"Who do you want me to kill?" Dick said snidely.

Now Kotaski appeared even more amused. "Patience, sir. That will come in good time. We ask for something far less provoking."

"And that would be?"

"Remove your mask. Let us see who the true Nightwing is."

They had now come to the sticking point. Spike had been pretty sure that this was going to become an issue but he wasn't sure if the young man could unmask himself in front of the enemy.

Apparently Nightwing had considered this himself because he hesitated long enough to put doubt into anybody's mind. Finally, he shrugged and untied his cowl.

There was yet another long uneasy silence as the vampires in the room looked at the face of the man who had caused them so much trouble whether they had been alive or not.

It didn't surprise Spike who spoke first. "Well shit fire and save matches!" drawled Nestor. "Goddamnit, all these years we've been afraid of an acrobat!!"

This got under Dick's skin in a way that few things could have. "I was proud of my family. Proud of my name," he said in a glacial tone. "Can you say the same, Maddox?"

"It does beg the question as to if you were so proud of your family that you did your work wearing a mask." Kotaski spoke, interrupting what could have easily become a fight between the two hotheads. "But this is not the time or place to discuss one's birth parents. Rather it is time for us to embrace our new family."

Dick definitely did not like this idea and, to be honest, Spike wasn't wild about it either. The idea of being related to some of these vampires did not fill with him joy--- he didn't even want to be in the same room with some of them. The old Spike would have just killed some of these vamps and been done with it. But then, if the old Spike had been here—he wouldn't have been here, would he?

Spike's musings came to an abrupt end when Dick spoke up again. "I don't particularly want to be related to you or him" he said, pointing to Nestor (who still seemed stuck on the fact that he was Dick Grayson), "but I think that the ship has pretty much sailed on that. I've unmasked, what else do you want from me?"

"You've now asked that question twice, and you've known the answer both times." Kotaski said calmly.

"Knowing who he is won't be enough to stop him. Others have learned his identity, attempted to destroy him--- and failed."

Spike was not wild about how much Dick was stalling, but now that they were in the middle of this mess he realized they were now at the snap-point. Nicholae's plans and the fate of Gotham City were now in the balance and right now everything depended on their being able to pull this off. It was now or never, so he might as well force the issue.

"You're diddling around on us, kid," he said harshly. "Tell us who the bloke is. I must admit, I'm more than a little curious myself."

To his credit Dick got the message. "All right." He turned to Kotaski. "I will tell you. And I will tell the Prince." He faced the others. "But I will not tell them," he said gesturing to the others in the room." Especially not him," he said pointing emphatically at Spike.

There was more than a little grumbling at this. "Why not?" asked Kotaski mildly.

"Whether you intend to kill him or turn him doesn't really matter to me--- although he could cause you a lot more trouble dead than alive," Dick looked Kotaski right in the face. "But he should meet his end at the hands of one who is truly his master, not at those of a cheap dime store hood." He looked back at the others with extreme disdain.

Now the vampires grumbled even louder. Some very unpleasant words were being used now. But again they were silenced when Kotaski glared at them.

He turned back to Dick. "Why do you care so much as to who kills him?" he said calmly.

"I don't," said Dick bluntly. "But I also know his limits and abilities a lot better than you do. I've seen him take out ten of you in one fight without breaking a sweat. Now you can either waste time and manpower by sacrificing how many soldiers you want to throw at him or you can do what you're gonna do anyway and kill him yourself."

There was a long hesitation as Kotaski considered this. "Very well." He said slowly, putting his arm on Nightwing's shoulder that seemed anything but friendly. "Come with me."

And he and Dick walked off into another room closed off by a steel door--- one of the few things that could prove a barrier to the extraordinary hearing of vampires.

Spike honestly had no idea what was going to happen next. Dick and Tim had had no problem revealing their identities to the others. But Batman had absolutely refused to give any inkling as to who was really behind the mask. For a while Spike had admired this but he had eventually thought that, considering everything Spike and Faith had revealed to him, Batman was being a prick. Now he suddenly realized the wisdom that the Caped Crusader had shown in keeping everything that he could hidden for as long as he could.

Then something else occurred to Spike--- something so obvious he wondered how he could have overlooked it. Though he was very intelligent, Spike was one of those vampires who had difficulty seeing every possible consequence of every action. So maybe it wasn't a huge surprise that he had missed something this obvious when it had come to Nightwing. Batman, however, was a lot smarter and would never have missed something like that--- especially when the safety of his city was at stake. Ergo, he would not have let Dick put himself in this situation even when he accepted the risks.

Yet that was exactly what he had done --- or had he?

Spike had only met with Batman three times since he had come to Gotham City, yet he'd gotten a good glimpse at the nature of the man. He believed that the Dark Knight (the only sobriquet that fit the man; Caped Crusader made him sound like a cartoon) was one of the smartest people he'd met in the last few years. The man was not book-smart; he clearly had the intellect of the great military men like Montgomery or Kitchener – he knew where, when and how to strike against the enemy (in this case, even when they were dead). Like a chess grandmaster, he could see three or four moves ahead on the board in everything and there was no way he couldn't have seen this coming. He had to have some kind of countermove planned but Spike couldn't figure out what it would be.

Just then Kotaski and Dick emerged from behind the steel door. Both of them gave nothing away on their faces. Everybody looked forward expectantly.

"His Excellency has had a strategy regarding the Batman whatever his identity might be. Mr. Grayson has been good enough to tell me and Master Nicholae who he really is, and while we were both surprised--- and somewhat amused--- to know who he really is, neither of us can see any reason to change the plan."

How did Nicholae hear this? Spike thought to himself but did not say. Right now he had to be Mr. Cool. The other vampires didn't seem thrilled by this but they all knew well enough to keep their complaints to themselves.

"There are two days until the end of the year." Kotaski continued smoothly. "I want the word to go out to everyone who works for us. Everything must remain at this level of activity until 12:05 A.M January 1st." Now a smile with a horrible good humor appeared on the Carpathian's face. "Then we shall ring in the New Year and reap what we have sown."

There was a general rumbling of approval. Spike figured now was the time. "Does that mean that I finally get to do a decent bit of violence?" he asked cheekily.

Kotaski smiled at Spike. When he spoke his tone was approving. "Indeed Spike. Now is your time. Show the city what we are capable of."

"When does the plan call for us to handle the Bat?" Thor spoke up bravely. Many vamps cringed, including Spike, but Kotaski surprised them.

"The Bat is scheduled to be last on the list. During the next few days we will be wearing him down. When we're finished with the rest of the city and Batman is at his nadir, we will eliminate him and Gotham will be ours."

A vampire Spike hadn't been introduced to spoke up. "When do we learn his name?"

Kotaski fixed the upstart with a probing gaze. "Like everything else in this war, you get what information we tell you when we tell you." The smile reappeared on Kotaski's face. "And now we will begin with tonight's work."