chapter 20
Selina Kyle slipper effortlessly through the skyroof. She'd spent more than her fair share of time sneaking around to know exactly where the trip wires were and she wasn't going to dare trying to go through the ventilation shafts again. She dropped gracefully down, landing in a crouch and rolling to keep herself from having all the impact on her ankles. When she stood up again, she took a large breath and switched her goggles to night vision, allowing her to see clearly even in the darkest parts of the museum. She wondered if anyone was here at this time of night. The museum itself was closed, but she knew that the Iceberg Lounge could very well be open and running. She scoffed to herself as she walked down the hallway. Selina was not in the mood to deal with Penguin tonight. But then again, was she ever?
Her heart pumped faster and faster the closer she got to the Jewel room. It was funny that she was so nervous tonight. Sure, stealing always gave her an adrenaline rush, a little kick in her system, but she was always at ease when on a job. Tonight, though? Things were different. This wasn't just a job. She had the fate of millions of lives in her paw. No, this wasn't just an ordinary heist. It was almost as if she could hear the time ticking down in her head, alerting her that the longer it took, the closer everyone she knew was to death. And it wasn't just that she couldn't let everyone die… It was also that she couldn't let Crane win. Not after everything the bastard did to her. If anyone deserved to die a horrifying death, it was him. She scowled to herself, but took a few deep breaths to steady her emotions. Now wasn't the time to be getting out of control.
With her night vision on, she couldn't see the beams of lasers shooting across the floor and had to settle for turning it off, sacrificing her sight for safety. Touching those lasers was the last thing she wanted to do tonight. Her gloved finger traced the scar through the tight material of her pants, feeling the raised bump where the lasers had sliced through her skin. "You've got this, Selina," She told herself quietly. She dropped to her belly and slowly crawled under the first two lasers before writhing her way up and throwing one leg over the third one, keeping her foot tucked securely beneath the fourth while she threw the other leg forward. She had to bend at the waist to keep herself from having her back sliced through. When she finally got back to the floor underneath the seventh laser, she knew she had this in the bag. With one graceful backbend, she was over the last red beam of light and the glass case was right in front of her.
Now, to get the jewels and get out.
Just as her claws touched the glass and started to slice through, the cell phone in the interior pocket of her jumpsuit started to ring and she hissed, grabbing at it and answering before even checking the name. "What?" She spat, her voice a harsh whisper.
"Selina," Barbara said. "Have you got the jewels?"
"Well, I'm working on it," She said bitterly, propping the phone between her shoulder and ear as she licked her palm and twisted, pulling out the circle of glass and setting it down on the ground.
"Good," Barbara's voice said, static from the disposable phone interrupting her. "Bruce and I will be there in five minutes. Be ready, alright?"
"See you in five," She said and hung up the phone, putting it back in her suit. She reached in slowly and gently, making sure her movements weren't too pushy or quick, not wanting to make any mistake. When her fingers closed around the cool surface of the largest diamond, she sighed and smirked. "Come to momma." She dropped it into the knapsack she carried and then reached in for the next gem.
What happened next was so sudden she didn't have time to process it.
She hadn't touched the interior glass or the lasers but suddenly the alarms were blaring. Had they upped security? Selina cursed loudly and grabbed the rest of the jewels, throwing them into her bag and then doing a quick series of backflips through the lasers. "Goddammit!" She hissed and sprinted, her long legs carrying her down the halls until finally she was at the front entrance. "Come on, Batgirl, don't let me down, now…" She prayed to see the Tumbler outside of the museum and the moment she got to the doors, she saw it's black solid form and relief spread through her veins. "Yes!" She was inside the car not two seconds before they took off, going zero to sixty in under half a minute. She exhaled loudly and rested her head against the frosty window.
"What happened?" Bruce demanded, looking at her in the rearview mirror.
"The alarms got set off, and I didn't do it."
"Then who did?"
"I don't think anyone. But it doesn't matter. I got the jewels. I wasn't caught. It's fine." She growled back at him and he dropped the subject, figuring it best not to infuriate her anymore. Everything was dependent on Selina tonight. "Be quiet, alright, I have to call Crane." She saw Bruce swallow hard and then sighed, grabbing the phone and dialing in the ten digit code he'd made her memorize. It only run twice before he answered.
"Selina," He greeted.
"I've got your precious stones," She said bitterly.
"Wonderful. I'll text you the address."
She nodded to herself and gave Batman a glance of recognition in the mirror. "Hurry." She flipped it shut and then waited impatiently for the text. When she finally got it, she read it off to the Bat and requested he drop her off half a mile away.
He didn't seem to like the idea. "But what if things go bad? I won't be able to get to you in time."
Selina's tongue swiped across her red lips. "I'll keep you on speaker phone. You'll be able to hear the whole thing." Bruce nodded, still not thrilled with her plan. "As soon as I get the vaccine, I'll meet you back at the same spot you dropped me off. From there, we'll go straight to Fox."
"Alright," Babs breathed. "You sure you can do this?"
Selina gave the younger woman a look. "Don't patronize me, Ginger." Barbara rose an eyebrow and was about to spit back a biting remark, but Bruce put his hand on her arm to calm her. Selina's eyes flickered to it and saw that it was a little too close to her hand for comfort, a little bit more than casual and grinded her teeth bitterly. They finally arrived at the drop off spot and Selina climbed out of the car with a final goodbye. "I'll see you guys soon."
"Make sure to call us and put it on speaker."
"I will," She said with a wave of her hand and then started walking. She shot a text out to Crane, warning him that she'd be there soon and to be ready for her. She turned her night vision on as she walked, exhaling with a harsh shudder in the cold. Was it from the cold? Or was it from the nerves? Maybe the anger at seeing Bruce touch Barbara? it could've been a mix of all three.
All she knew was that she wanted this night to be over.
It took a while to get to the address, and when she did she sighed in relief, dialing in Bruce's number, hitting speaker and hiding it back in her suit. Bruce didn't speak when he answered and she was glad. Finally, she knocked on the door and waited. When Crane opened it, he gave her a quick once over, eyes locked on the bag where he knew the jewels were and then yanked her inside, locking the door behind them. "Miss Kyle, good to see you."
"Wish I could say the same thing, Dr. Crane," She said spitefully, cocking out her hip and tilting her head to the side.
"Bag," He demanded, holding out a hand.
She narrowed her eyes. "Cure."
"Bag first," He said firmly.
She sat down on the rickety chair beside her and crossed one lean leg over the other, eyebrow raising as she looked up at him. "Listen, Crane. I have no reason whatsoever to trust you. I'm not giving you the bag first."
"That's fair," He said, stepping back a few feet. "Same time. Drop the bag and I'll set down the cure." She licked her lips again and then nodded.
"Deal." Crane nodded in return and pulled out a small vial from his pocket, a strange yellow-ish liquid inside that slid slowly, thick like honey. He set it down on the floor and waited for her to set down the bag before rolling it towards her. She grabbed at the vaccine hungrily at the same time he picked up the bag and looked through it's contents.
"Magnificent job, kitty," He said, those cold blue eyes raking over the jewels. Finally he looked back up and slid his sleeve up, looking at his watch. "And good timing, too. I wasn't sure if three days was enough, and here you are, less than twenty-fours hours later."
"I work fast when I'm motivated," She said. He laughed at that.
"I suppose you do. Remember, Kyle. You've got two days. Hurry up and get that in your system. And get out of town while you're at it."
She said nothing more and instead just nodded. They didn't exchange any false pleasantries and she left the building without another word. Walking quickly, she hurried her way to the Tumbler, grabbing her cell phone when she was a safe distance away. "Bruce," She said.
"Selina. You're alright?"
"Peachy keen," Selina said. "I got the vaccine. He was stupid enough to give me the vial instead of injecting me with it himself."
Batman exhaled loudly. "Good. We'll meet you halfway."
"No. Don't," She said. "Just in case Crane gets any ideas about following me."
Bruce seemed to hesitate. "Fine," He said with a sigh.
"Don't miss me too much," She said with a flirty yet sarcastic tone. She hung up without waiting for a response.
"You can copy this, right?" Bruce asked Lucius in the basement of Wayne enterprises, the place where he and Fox spent a majority of their time. After all, this is really where he'd became Batman. Applied Sciences was known as a dead end, but to Batman it was a fresh beginning.
"I think so. I'm just not sure how soon. Hopefully it'll be done before the time limit. I only need half the vial, I think. Go ahead and give yourselves a shot."
"Will it be enough?" Barbara asked, her brow dipping in concern. Bruce frowned in response to the question. What if it wasn't?
Lucius sighed. "I think so. This is the strongest form of vaccination I've ever seen. Now, I know what you told me about the virus multiplying with every host, and I think that this is the same way. That being said, you all won't need as much. Selina will have been one of the first few infected. She was one of the first ones around Scarecrow when he escaped Arkham. Then she immediately came to you. You're the beginnings. Civilians will be on the other end of the spectrum. Since it took longer for the toxin to reach them, the worse it will be. There's a first aid kit on the wall over there. Should be some needles inside." Selina watched Lucius examining the product on the computer screen while Bruce and Babs headed around the corner to find the first aid kit.
When they were alone, Bruce said in a low voice, "Are you okay?"
She shrugged. "Nervous."
"We'll be okay," He said, pulling her into him and kissing her tenderly on the mouth. She sighed against his mouth, relaxing against him, the tension flooding out of her. When he pulled back, she frowned at him.
"What about Dick?" She asked.
Bruce's own mouth turned down. "I don't know."
She leaned into Bruce again, resting her cheek on his armored chest. His fingers slipped through her hair and he sighed. "We need to get Alfred vaccinated, too." Bruce tensed slightly.
"I know. Come on. Let's find those needles." She slipped away and he reached for the kit on the wall, unlatching it and pulling it down, searching inside for the needles. They came back with three needles, a small portable bottle of alcohol and cotton wipes. He motioned for Barbara to sit down and slowly pulled off her glove. Their eyes flickered to each other's as they reminisced about what had happened not even twenty four hours ago when he'd put that very glove on her. She felt a familiar tingling in her loins despite the nervous terror she felt. He looked back down at her arm, pouring some alcohol on the cotton wipe and swabbing it over the soft flesh of the crease of her elbow. He took the vial from the desk and pushed the needle into the syringe before plunging it in through the top of the bottle and extracting just enough of the vaccine. He met her eyes again and said, "This'll hurt."
Quietly, she replied, "I know."
Slowly, he pushed the needle in, failing to find the vein on the first try and having to slide it out and back in before pushing down on the plunger. She was gritting her teeth against the feeling of it going into her bloodstream and Bruce watched her face with concern. He pulled the needle out and she rubbed at the small, irritated wound. After setting down the needle, he let his lips brush against the inside of her wrist and she shivered. Finally, he tossed that needle into the trash and repeated the whole process for Selina before inserting his own amount of the thick, syrupy liquid into the prominent vein on his neck, unable to get to his elbow because of the armor. He handed the vial back to Lucius who nodded at him. "I'll call you as soon as it's ready, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce nodded. "Get a hold of Gordon first. It needs to be sent to the hospitals as soon as it's manufactured and everyone needs to get vaccinated. We need to worry about getting Crane."
"Of course. Good luck," Fox said, shaking Bruce's hand.
"You too, Lucius."
The three of them left the building without anymore hesitation. "We need to get Crane as soon as we can and figure out who it is that he's working with… But we need to sleep first. Tomorrow morning first thing," Bruce said as they drove back towards Wayne Manor. "And then I have to find Dick."
Well, it looks like the Bat clan has saved the day... Or have they? I know, I know, so intense, so suspenseful. ;) Sorry about the lack of smut in this chapter, but hey, gotta keep the story moving and I don't think they can really save Gotham if they're too busy pawing at each other 24/7...
Mrs. Wayne: I think Crane might have something up his sleeve, though... Is it ever this simple with the Batman Rouges? Super over-joyed that you liked the chapter, personally that was one of my favorite chapters in the whole story so far. :) Praying that chapter 20 was still good, even though it wasn't as sexy!
WonderBabe: Same! Or a Batgirl? XD Or maybe even a Crane... *drools over everyone* Thank you so much for your review, I hope you liked this chapter as well! See you next time? :)
chess: Thank you so much! That review made me smile like the Joker. (Mm, the Joker...) I'm glad that you liked the anal scene, I was a tad worried not everyone would love it, I know some people can be very picky. In the end though, ya just gotta remember that you can't please everyone. That being said, very happy you liked it. :) And also, I refuse to even think about Batgirl being anyone but Babs (I just see her as the one and only), so even though that's probably true, I will continue to swim in my river of denial.
batsonbats: Yay! I'm so happy you liked it! I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I think that it's just as great as any other kind of sex, so I had to toss it in. I'm very happy you enjoyed it. :D And I agree about Bruce and Babs rocking. They're the best! :)
Thank you guys so much for your comments, and hopefully chapter twenty is exciting enough for you! ;) I don't think I even need to say it, but: the next couple chapters have some great smut coming! Be patient! Alrighty, well I've got to get off of here, but I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with daydreams about rough Bat sex. May your day be sweet and your coffee be strong!
Sincerely,
The Loving Fairy Smut Godmother... Chokes.