A/N: A shout out to Jennifer Baratta! J'onn has done his part but he'll be back. ;) Glad you liked it. Thanks!
Chapter 18
Regrouping at the Bat Cave, Kate collapsed into a seat next to the Bat Computer. Kara and Nyssa were standing next to the table behind the large computing device. The blonde gave Nyssa a look and the former League of Assassins leader nodded.
"All right. You need to get some sleep. You're no good to us half-asleep. You certainly aren't any good to Mary," Nyssa spoke up.
"She's right. Bed, woman," Luke told her. He'd been manning the Bat Computer and waiting for Brainy to contact him. Kate gave Kara a look.
"Don't look at me. I'd have strapped you to the bed before we went to the bank," the blonde told her.
"Don't tease me like that," still aware enough to make a snappy comeback, Kate smirked and managed to hoist herself off the chair. Kara blushed, unable to believe she fell into that one.
"Good thing Bruce had a cot down here," with that Kate moved off from the group and went down the stairs, to where her uniform had been cleaned earlier.
"All right, down to business then," Nyssa said.
"What did Sophie have on the murder of the professor?" Kara wanted to know.
"The professor died a quick death at the hands of a professional so it would appear our gang got what they needed and then made sure there were no witnesses," the raven-haired woman explained, shooting a copy of the file across the table to her friend.
"Stabbed? Shot? Strangled?" The blonde asked as she flipped through the manila folder trying to absorb as much as she could.
"Broken neck. The Crows figured that it was someone with a military past given the way it was done, but they didn't know what we know now," Nyssa confirmed.
"If Fatima knows how to make the Fear Toxin, why would she need a chemistry professor?" Kara was a tad confused.
"It's possible that one of the ingredients isn't readily available and she'd need to figure out a way to make it on her own," Luke spoke up before pulling up the ingredients of Batman's Fear Toxin antidote.
"That should give us our next lead! In order to cook something nasty up, she would have had to buy materials to do so. I highly doubt Fatima and Pike travelled with a chemistry set," the Kryptonian was excited at the prospect.
"The murder report did not indicate that they saw any changes to any of the labs at the university. The Crows even had them double check their inventory and nothing was missing. So, if I were going to need a professional chemistry setup or something that would handle making some sort of toxin, where would I get them?" Nyssa wanted to know.
"What did Sophie have in her caseload? Any robberies that would help us?" Luke asked.
"No. All petty stuff – so maybe someone doesn't know their equipment is missing. Honestly, I find that hard to believe," the former leader of the League of Assassins said. Luke nodded and replied,
"More like they didn't report it. Time to make the Bat Computer work."
"Even if we figure out what was stolen, we don't know where it would have been taken. There are no leads on where our chemicals from Mr. Liu's factory went," Kara frowned.
"Where was that creeper van stolen from?" Nyssa couldn't remember.
"A florist. They used it as a delivery van," the blonde said before giving Luke the florist's name and location.
"We know the lab wasn't a mobile one because the Crows would have found it in the back of the van when they found the vehicle. Luke, can you do a search of any abandoned buildings near the florist's location? Chances are our crooks didn't drive around the city looking for a van to steal. Registering a vehicle in their name would be tricky and so would driving around another stolen vehicle. That means that their hideout is more than likely near the florist," Nyssa pointed out before turning her attention to Kara.
"Ask and ye shall receive," Luke promised before typing away on the computer.
"Any word from ARGUS on whether Pike or Fatima have talked?" The raven-haired woman wanted to know.
"No. I'll call ARGUS direct," Kara winked and pulled out her cell phone before calling Lyla. Nyssa moved over toward Luke and stood over his shoulder. He was partially afraid of the woman despite knowing that she wouldn't do anything to him. Still, she led a band of assassins so…
"Ok so according to the city's records, there are only three places where our crooks could have purchased slash stolen their required chemistry equipment," he explained.
"Any idea on what their security would be like?" Nyssa wondered.
"One is the place that services Gotham University, the Crows and GCPD forensics units, and some of the other larger companies in the area, so they'd have pretty decent security, as their equipment is higher end and more specialized. One is the place that provides equipment for high schools and middle schools – nothing fancy but would certainly be enough to get the job done. Our final contestant is more for the hobbyist – so no Bunsen burners but they sell flasks, beakers, stirrers, and chemicals to help your plants or your aquarium," Luke laid it all out.
"Have Sophie meet us at the second place. I'm guessing mixing Fear Toxin wouldn't apply to our hobbyists," Nyssa said.
"You got it. Once I get the info for the abandoned buildings, I'll pass it along to Kara's phone," he promised. Nyssa nodded and thanked him before the Bat Computer made an odd noise.
"Incoming video call. Must be Brainy. You go. I'll keep you posted," Luke said. Nyssa grabbed Kara, who was still on the phone, and they headed for the SUV.
To Be Continued…