"Oracle, the backup generator is online," I told Barbara over the comms. Like a loyal companion, the Batmobile zoomed up through the garage and slid to a stop in front of Jason and I.
"Good. Let's get you out of there," she replied.
"All's clear on the roof," Dick cut in, "Are you OK, Jaybird? You shouldn't've run off after Robin like that."
"Ever the Mother Goose, aren't you, Nightwing?" Red Hood admonished him. "I'm fine. Don't get your panties in a twist, or you'll lose focus and do something stupid."
Dick, having been effectively shut up, said nothing in return.
"Right," Oracle muttered awkwardly. "Tim, head to the car and I'll...What?! No way!" she cried suddenly.
"What is it, Barbara?!" I demanded, the fear that something had gone wrong seizing my gut.
"A vulnerability in the militia network," she explained, replacing my worry with great relief. "Idiots! I think I can hijack their drones."
"My IT guys better start running," Jason grumbled, chagrined by his people's oversight.
I couldn't help but smirk; this crack in the militia's defenses could the key to turning this fight around. "Great job, Oracle. Let's hit them where it hurts!" I bounded over to the Batmobile, leaping inside.
"What the hell do you want me to do?" Jason whined, throwing his hands in the air frustratedly.
"Why don't you go check up on your precious baby bike? I'm sure it's missing its daddy," I snarked with a grin. I sealed the cockpit and muted Red Hood's mic, blocking out his bitching. I engaged the car's combat mode, directing it up the inclined driveway in anticipation of the coming battle.
"Be nice, Tim," Barbara chided me, a smirk in her voice. "These guys out there have crossed the line by coming here. We can't let them off easy for it."
"Damn straight," I nodded resolutely, hands tightening around the Batmobile's steering wheel. "Get ready, Oracle."
"I'm ready," she replied, "I'll be out there fighting alongside you."
"Five," I began the countdown as if it were second nature.
"Four," she responded.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"Let's finish this!" Barbara cried as the metal door leading outside flew open. The Batmobile charged, head-on, to face our enemies. Dozens of drones turned on the car, weapons poised to obliterate their target. The unnerving scene made me question why our country's armed forces hadn't intervened on this conflict. It was looking more and more like a full-scale invasion.
"It's Batman!" Deathstroke shouted into the militia's now-unsecured communications channel. "Open fire!"
I grimaced, racing the Batmobile to the side of the GCPD building for cover. Several shots struck the car's armor, and I reciprocated with several well-aimed rounds of my own.
"Damn it!" I growled, gripping the controls tightly. "There's drones everywhere!"
"And they think you're Bruce," Nightwing commented thoughtfully from the roof. "They'll certainly be gunning for you now."
"The longer we can dupe them, the better," said Oracle, "They cannot find out where he really is."
"Right," I concurred, firing again and again at Deathstroke's forces. "How's the hacking coming, Babs?"
"Target selected," she confirmed, "Beginning hack now." One of the tanks on my HUD was highlighted as she spoke. It soon began firing on its new targets.
"What the hell?" Deathstroke exclaimed angrily. "Someone's breaching our network!"
"Remove them," Scarecrow commanded.
"I can't!" the militia commander controlling the drones cried. "As soon as I trace the source, it switches!"
"Barbara Gordon," Crane intoned in realization.
"I can't believe you let that bitch escape!" Slade growled frustratedly.
I scowled, firing a swarm of missiles at the drones buzzing incessantly above me. They had no right to talk about Barbara like that!
"Don't worry about me, Robin" she spoke, sensing my anger. "I'm safe. Stay focused." Another tank in the fray was highlighted in yellow. "I've overcharged the tank's energy cells. It'll trigger an EMP when shot."
"Got it," I replied, dashing across the street and firing at the hijacked vehicle. The blast immobilized several rattlers, making them fast and easy targets.
"Oh, yeah!" Dick whooped jovially. "Like shooting fish in a barrel!"
"How's the roof, Nightwing?" I asked, hoping to divert his attention back to the tense situation at hand.
"What? Oh!" he gasped. "All's clear up here. Where the hell are you, Jay?" he muttered as an afterthought.
"He's still inside the precinct," Barbara replied, "What's your status, Red Hood?"
Before anyone could reply, the Batmobile was rocked violently by cannon fire. I cried out hoarsely, startled by the attack. A pack of twin rattlers had emerged, surrounding the car and firing relentlessly.
"You cannot sustain their hope any longer, Batman," Scarecrow droned on. "They will die afraid and forsaken. Reflect on your failures as you salvage their corpses from the rubble."
Suddenly, a metallic blur roared out of the parking garage, weaving in between the tanks and dropping explosives that damaged and immobilized them. I used the distraction to speed the Batmobile to safety.
"Red Hood!" Oracle cried; she'd been in the process of hacking another drone. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Saving your boy toy's ass!" He shouted back on the comm line, driving his motorcycle around the remaining tanks. "You're welcome!"
"Wha...who was that?!" stammered the militia commander. "Wait a minute...that bike!"
Oh, crap.
"If it isn't the prodigal son," Scarecrow chuckled darkly. "Jason Todd."