Getting warmer
November 9th, 2014.
"I'm on my way Alfred, I'll give you a call as soon as I reach the destination." Robin listened to the butlers reply before shutting off his comlink.
Alfred had called him early that morning. Batman hadn't returned for a few days, and he was getting worried. Almost on the exact same time Robin's computer had picked up the distress signal from Batman's utility belt. He'd quickly briefed Alfred before heading off.
Normally he would've be more cautious by going out in Gotham in daylight. But a distress call from Batman was very disturbing.
He looked at his computer as the R Cycle drove down towards the habour. Why would Bruce had gone there? He had been acting mysterious lately. Could he had picked up a solid lead on whatever it was he'd been investigating?
The signal was getting closer. His heart started racing. The signal wasn't moving, which meant Batman was hurt.
Robin jumped off the R Cycle, looking around for his mentor. He couldn't see anything. He frowned, looking at the computer screen again. It had to be here!
He looked around, spotting some old wooden transport boxes. He ran over to them, looking inside.
His heart almost stopped. It wasn't Batman.
It was Catwoman.
"Selina!" he whispered, reaching out for her still form.
She looked terrible. Soaked, shaking and unconscious. She looked like a drowned cat. Robin quickly checked her over, signing in relief. She was alive. When he reached in to pull her out he noticed that she was clutching Batman's utility belt to her like a lifesaver. Which it was, she couldn't have had survived this cold much longer. He looked around. Still no sign of Batman. But he had to get Selina to safety. He gathered gently her in his arms and stood up, running back to the R Cycle. She needed medical assistance quickly. Placing her in front of him, he speeded up, racing to the city hide out.
oOo
Everything was pain. He couldn't move, couldn't think. Why did everything hurt? Where was he?
With a force greater than all of Superman's strength he managed to open his eyes. Where..?
His eyes flew open as everything rushed back into his memory. He was in a cell, in a foreign land. His back.. Bane! Anger pulsed trough his body, and he tried to sit up,but the blinding pain shot through his entire body. He fell back, gasping in pain, forcing himself to relax as panic raced through his mind.
'My back.. it's broken.'
Never had he felt so powerless. Never. He couldn't move, couldn't think, he could hardly speak.
He remembered Bane's words as the prisoner reached out for the television.
"No... no, don't.." he whispered harshly, his voice strained and throat dry.
His begging was in vain.
The televison was turned on and the torture of Gotham's dark knight had begun.
oOo
"Selina, can you hear me?"
She vaguely registered that somebody was talking to her. But she was so tired, she just wanted to sleep. They could wait. She liked the water..
Wait, water?
She opened her eyes, scanning her surroundings as quickly as her frozen mind could. She was in a bathroom, by the looks of things. How did she get here? And was she wearing nothing but her underwear, lying in a tub with a blanket covering her? Somebody is in for a..!
She turned her head, only to find Robin staring at her with worry evident all over his face.
"You okay? Can you understand me" he asked, dragging the chair he'd been sitting in closer to her head.
She starred for a full ten seconds before she remembered.
"Robin?" her voice sounded weird, too high and too slow. She didn't like it.
He gave a smile of relief, before nodding. "Yeah, it's me. Selina, do you remember anything?"
"I.." she looked down herself again, frowning at the sight of her pale skin. "Why am I in a tub, covered with lukewarm water, wearing nothing but my underwear?"
She couldn't help but grin when a blush crept onto the Boy Wonders cheek. Come to think of it, isn't he almost the Man Wonder now..? Oh, I'm so going to tell..
"Bruce!" she sat straight up, water splashing everywhere. She remembered! She looked at Robin, the worry on his face even more apparent now after she'd just yelled out his missing mentor's name.
"You fished me out of the water?" she asked. He nodded. "Kinda. I picked up a distress signal from Batman's belt. Only instead of finding him I found you. Down at the harbour. You'd managed to drag yourself out of the water, but you were suffering from hypothermia. Your body temperature was below 32 degrees and you were unconscious so I quickly brought you here. That is, by the way, why you aren't wearing anything but that." he gestured to her underwear.
"I couldn't risk raising your temperature too quickly, so I filled the tub with lukewarm water so your body functions would return to normal." Robin looked at his arm wrist.
"You been out cold for an hour or so. I'm not a doctor, but I don't think you'll have any permanent damage. You can add a little more warm water if you feel like it. The fact that you awake now is a sign that your organs are returning to normal again without causing you a heartattack." he leaned forward, his face growing more serious.
"Why, Selina, were you swimming in Gotham River and why did you just yell 'Bruce'? What has happened?"
She gulped. She remembered everything now. The icing cold, the despair when she didn't think she'd ever reach the shore.. and the events that forced her to swim across an icy river in November.
"Batman.. Bruce sought me out a few days ago. He wanted me to help him investigate some rumours surrounding the underground. Rumours about an army. We.. we went down there, I had some contacts that led us in the right direction. Turns out the right direction was a trap."
She closed her eyes, shuddering at the memory.
"Bane was there.." she whispered, looking straight ahead. Robin's eyes narrowed, he didn't like the way this was going.
".. he was working for the League of Shadows. Bane rambled on about a plan, I didn't pay him much attention, I was more concerned by the number of mercenaries that kept on appearing. But Bruce.. he got angry. He attacked Bane. I've never seen him so out of control. Bane kept on taunting him. He said terrible things. About Gotham, about you, about the League.. about Bruce's parents."
She fell quiet, starting to shake again. This time, not from the cold. Robin grabbed her hand, his eyes begging her to continue. "Please Selina, what happened .."
She looked at him, her eyes big and her voice barely audible. "Bane broke him."
Robin blinked, feeling his heart rate accelerating and his stomach dropping. And then the fear entered his mind.
"What?" he whispered, voice full of disbelief.
"He broke his back!" Selina almost sounded like she would cry, which was so out of character that it almost scared him more than the things she'd just told him. "Bane defeated Batman!"
"What do you mean, did they kill him?!" Robin yelled, jumping up. This was bad, this was very bad. How could Bane defeat Batman? Batman had defeated him many times? Sure, he knew Bruce had been having some serious mental problems in the last past months. But could it actually had gotten so bad that Bane got the opportunity to get under the skin of the black crusader?
"I don't know! They captured me, held me down there.. I don't know for how long. At the first chance I got, I fled. I managed to get the belt and.." she looked around. "Where's my bag?"
Robin quickly reached her the black bag he'd found on her. He'd thought it to be empty. She opened it with shaky hands, showing him a secret room.
"I am a thief, remember. I need to hide stuff." she said with a hollow laugh. From the extra pocket in the bag she withdrew something and hold it up for him to see. It caused him to stumble backwards, hitting the wall and sliding down.
It was Batman's mask. Broken in two.
"I.." Robin began, but was cut off when the building suddenly started shaking. He activated his computer. It wasn't an earthquake. Then what..?
Selina tried to stand up, only to fall over. Robin hurried forward to help her from the slippery floor.
"What is happening?" she asked, as the floor continued on shaking beneath their feed.
Robin's face was a mix of controlled anger and fear as he helped her up and out of the bathroom.
"Let's find out." he answered between gritted teeth.
oOo
"Gotham, take control! Take control of your city! None shall interferer, do as you please. I challenge the Justice League, for there is nothing they can do."
"Let's see about that!" Flash was just about to take off, but was luckily stopped by Superman. "Wait! We don't know what.."
"Behold, the instrument of your liberation!" a strange object was brought onto the football field.
The Team had sat down to watch the game, with the Leaguers in the next room speaking with Red Tornado (or John Smith, they weren't really sure what name he preferred).
But then it had happened. Just as the game started and the players started running the entire stadium play field disappeared. Several bombs went off, armed terrorist was seen among the audience. And then Bane entered the stage.
The few members of the Justice League was ran into the room when they heard the Wally scream
"UNCLE BARRY!" Flash was sure someone had dropped dead, he didn't think he'd ever heard his nephew use his voice like that.
They rushed in only to find that none had died..in that room anyway.
The destruction displayed on the screen was almost unbelievable. The only thing left standing was the tribune.
And then the unknown object was brought in. A frail looking elderly man was brought to Bane.
"Identity yourself to the world!" Bane lowered the microphone, allowing the kneeling man to speak.
"Doctor Leonid Pavel, nuclear physicist." The man sounded out of breath, and his eyes flickered around the stadium as if he couldn't believe his eyes. The expression was shared by many.
"And what is this?" Bane pointed at the unknown object.
" It's a fully primed, nuclear bomb with a blast radius of six miles." the doctor answered, disgust in his voice. Superman's grab on Flash's shoulder loosened. He didn't like where this was going.
"And who is capable of disarming such a device?"
The russian doctor looked back at Bane, a tiny flicker of hope in his eyes. "Only me."
"Only you." Bane nodded, withdrawing the microphone. "Thank you good doctor."
In a quick motion Bane then grabbed around the man's neck, breaking it. The audience screamed when the elderly man fell to the ground, dead. M'gann was covering Garfield's eyes, and the rest of the room shared looks of horror. Superman clenched his fists. Bane would pay for this.
"Now, this bomb is armed! And this bomb is mobile! Now all of you think that doesn't matter, that the Justice League will save you, that your Batman will be here in a minute. Your hopes is not going to be honored." Bane raised his hand, showing something lying in his palm.
"This is a trigger. An unknown number of my men have one of these on them. Should anyone from the Justice League try and interfere the bomb will go off. I know you are watching League!" Bane turned around, throwing his arms up.
"But there is nothing you can do! No one is able to enter or leave the city without us knowing about it. And should somebody manage to get in.." he illustrated an explosion with his hands.
".. then 12 million people looses their lives." a pregnant silence filled the stadium.
"Do not test my power or patience. I've already broken the Batman. Do not underestimate me!"
At this M'ganns hands flew to her mouth and the team and league looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes. Batman, defeated? By Bane?!
"Step forward those who would serve, for an army will be raised! The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests and cast out into the cold world that we know and endure. Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive as they learn to serve true justice. This great city… It will endure. Gotham will survive!"
The broadcast was cut off, tuning back to the news and one baffled news reporter who shared similar expression with most of the entire world as of that minute.
Mount Justice was silent for a full five seconds before..
"What the HELL is going on!" screamed Wally and Artemis together.
Wonder woman, Green Arrow, Flash and Superman looked at each other, none of them able to understand what just had happened.
"We.. we will do something right?" asked Wonder Woman, anger in her voice. "I will not leave these people at the mercy of Bane and his psychotic gang of brainwashed mercenaries!"
"Diana, please! None of us wants that, but you heard the man. If even one of us is sighted, the bomb goes off! We can't take that risk!" Green Arrow shot back, his voice shaking with frustration and barely controlled anger.
"So we are just going to do nothing?" Conner asked, folding his arms, scowling.
"Guys!" Garfield, who'd run out of the room when the shouting started, stood in the door.
"Come see this!"
They all poured out into the main hall. The computer was activated.
'Incoming signal. Please confirm with identification.' it said when the Leaguers gathered in front of it. Flash quickly typed in his access code. A minute later Robin showed up on the screen.
"Robin to Mount Justice, are you receiving?"
"We are. Robin what is going on? Can't you see us?" Superman took control, stepping forward, concern in his eyes.
Robin looked.. different. Tired. Wet?
"I can't allow the video feed back in, chances are that Bane's men will pick up the signal. They've put up signal blockers, controllers, everything. It's only a matter of time before this signal gets blocked." Robin's voice was deep. He was angry. not in the same manner as when he'd stormed out some days ago. This was different. He was enraged.
"What happened? Where's Batman?"
"Several bombs has been detonated through Gotham, causing almost everything important to shut down. The entire police department, who were underground in their search for Bane and his men, has been trapped with not way of escaping any time soon. Food lines have been cut. Electricity and various signals like internet, satellite, radio and TV will get cut soon. Batman.." Robin's voice failed him and he seemed to crumble in front of their very eyes before he managed to recompose himself.
"Catwoman and Batman was investigating the underground. Bane trapped them. Catwoman escaped and I found her this morning, close to death near the harbour. She is still recovering but she managed once she woke up to inform me of what had happened in the tunnels. She.. she told me that Batman fought Bane.. and lost."
None of the present people in Mount Justice knew how to react to that kind of information. One thing was to hear it from Bane. But Robin..
"Robin, when you say 'defeated'.." started Wonder Woman, but was cut off.
"Bane broke his back." the Boy Wonder answered shortly, causing the gathered people to draw in terrified breaths.
"Catwoman saw it, heard it! She's not sure if he's even alive or not. But one thing is certain. He is no longer in Gotham" Robin straightened his back, suddenly looking older and not like a lost child.
"Stay out of Gotham. The risks of Bane setting of the bomb is too great. Look for Batman, that is the only thing you can do right now."
"And what will you do?!" yelled Wally, running in front of the screen, staring at it intently. He knew Robin couldn't see him, but damn it he couldn't just say stuff like that like he was asking them to go get some milk! This was a hostage situation with, oh, 12 million people! Not to mention Batman being gone, possibly dead, no food or any means of communication! What was WRONG with the kid, had he hurt his head in one of the explosions?!
"I will try an locate the triggermen." Robin stated as a-matter-of-factly. He was glad to hear Wally's voice. But, childish as it may seem and totally not important in face of what was going on right now, he was still angry with him. "And to get food and water to the police. Right now there's no one to uphold law and order in Gotham and things will get ugly. I have to make sure the law enforcement will survive. Bane is targeting the rich, which means I'll be a lot more safe if I hide in the shadows as Robin than if I strolled about as my secret ID." Robin narrowed his eyes, glaring at the people he couldn't see.
"Call Agent A, tell what I told you! He'll be able to help you locate Batman! Even if I.." the signal was lost.
Stuff is happening. Instead of just one triggerman, I decided that this story needed a LOT of triggermen. Let's face it, Dick needs a challenge. And unlike in The Dark Knight Rises, the police is not being provided for. So much responsibility for one little kid. And Gordon.
It's hard to write the 'group feeling' in such situations. There is a limit to how much I can use the phrase 'they shared a look'. It is hard to describe people being totally clueless and powerless!
Please review :) It encourages me to write faster!