A bit late. Computer troubles. Grrr.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own Bats. Just Eve and Charlotte in this chapter!
"I told you to stay out of the city."
I ignored Bruce's voice in my ear as I concentrated on driving another one of Bruce's cars, this one a Ferrari. I figured I'd try not to get it blown up this time.
"I know you're listening," he said, his voice low and threatening. "And I know you're ignoring me. I know who's behind this, and I'm going to stop him." I remained quiet, biting the inside of my lower lip. "Evelyn." His tone was still threatening, but also concerned. Not enough concern for me, though, and it made me feel like I was being patronized by the headmaster at my old academy for pushing some kid in the mud then lying about it to him. He caught me, and knew I was lying, and had said my name in the same way Bruce just had.
"Then why are you so concerned with me being in the city?" I snapped suddenly. Charlotte jumped at my outburst. She didn't know I had a certain masked vigilante playing the role of my mother in my ear. "You wouldn't even tell me who was behind all this anyway! I can take care of myself so stop worrying." I yanked the communicator from my ear and threw it out the window, and smiled with satisfaction as I swore I heard it hit the gutter and bounce down into the sewer, Bruce, I imagined, still shouting at me.
"I'm guessing," Charlotte began after a moment, "that I can safely consider that a lover's spat you just had?"
"What?!" I squeaked, accidentally gunning the gas and coming dangerously close to swerving off the road at the sudden acceleration. "No! What are you talking about?!" I couldn't exactly let Charlotte catch on. She knew Bruce and I had a thing. If she thought that Batman and I had a thing, then one of two things would happen: she'd think I was two-timing little slut, or that Bruce was Batman. If she thought either, I'd rather it be the first one.
"You were talking to Batman, I assume." She stared pointedly at me.
"To assume makes and ass out of you and me." I stared pointedly ahead.
She continued to stare at me, and I could swear that her gaze was penetrating all of my defenses and looking deep into my soul. I let out a disgruntled breath.
"Yeah. I was. Happy?"
"Lover's spat," she reiterated.
"You're a troll," I said as we entered Gotham.
"So I'm right." Her statement was in no way a question, and I knew as the blood rushed to my cheeks that my comment about her being a troll had solidified her affirmations that, yes, Virginia, Batman and I had a thing.
I really hoped she thought I was a slut.
"You suck."
"Isn't he mad at you?" Charlotte asked as she rushed along beside me down the streets. I'd parked the Ferrari well away from, well, anything, just to be safe. So we were sprinting down the sidewalk, toward Wayne Tower.
"He'll get over it," I replied. I hope. I added mentally. Bruce wasn't the Pope, and he certainly didn't just forgive people on a whim. He's not unlike a high school drama queen when it comes to giving the silent treatment I thought as Charlotte and I ran, swiping at and destroying any transmutation circles we came across.
"I hope we don't run into our little friend from earlier," Charlotte mused with a small huff.
"Don't' worry about it," I said. "I can handle him now." This was a statement that I prayed would hold true, were we to encounter our ninja friend again.
A feeling in my gut, however, told me that we wouldn't would have bigger things on our hands.
My thinking this arose from the fact that the building directly in front of Charlotte and me, not three blocks away, was engulfed in a blindingly bright yellow light that stopped the two of us in our tracks. That kind of lightning-like light exhibit could only be accomplished by experienced Vegas show technicians, or by an alchemist. A good alchemist.
"I thought your boyfriend say he had things under control!" Charlotte said, already scrambling to find her chalk.
"So did I," I muttered, reaching to my belt for my own chalk. I was starting to wish I hadn't thrown my communicator into the sewer. I really needed to talk to Bruce.
The building started to implode from the bottom, and a tremor worked its way up the sides, shattering windows and raining glass down through the dust that was forming from the crumbling foundation. Charlotte and I were already on our knees, drawing transmutation circles on the ground as fast as we could. Hers was more intricate than mine, making it more powerful, but they both had the same effect in mind: stop the building from being completely annihilated and causing a massive number of casualties.
As we touched our fingertips to the outer rims of our circles, purple and green light rose up from the chalked lines, then shot toward the building, crackling and popping like a bunch of fireworks as they danced and jumped around in an intimate and jerky performance. Our two transmutations collided with the yellow around the building, and a horrendously loud explosion- like a gun powder barrel being set on fire- filled the air all around us, and the purple, green and yellow lightning erupted into blinding white light, and I squinted my eyes as it whited out the screens on my mask. I had to look down for fear of losing my retinas, and when the light faded, I looked back at the building, a grin on my face.
The dust was dispersing quickly, and people who'd been screaming moments earlier were stopped, staring in awe at was stood before them.
Charlotte and I did the only sensible thing when something was falling. We grabbed it. In this case, with hands. Several hands. Several giant stone hands, made from the street and sidewalk below the building, had caught the edifice as it was collapsing, holding it up and nearly completely intact. Water from the pipes below the street sprayed from various places on the hands, like an odd modern art fountain, raining cold water down onto the stricken citizens, who were still trying to figure out just what had happened.
"One catastrophe averted," I said, feeling dizzy from the transmutation as I pushed myself back onto my feet. "Damn, I wish I had my communicator."
"You shouldn't have through it out the window," Charlotte said, her tone scolding, like I'd just tracked mud onto her clean linoleum.
"Yeah yeah," I replied. The sun was starting to set, and people around us were already rushing to see how they could help the people in the collapsed building. Other fine Gothamites were running away as fast as they could. "C'mon," I said to Charlotte, spinning on my heels. "Let's go find Batman." As I turned to the alley on our left, I was immediately faced with our ninja friend. At least, I figured it was him. His three other buddies, who were dressed just like him, made it hard to distinguish just which one was him. They all stood on either side of a tall grey-haired man with an equally grey beard. He was slight, and held a slim black cane in one hand, and his impeccable dress made him a bit out of place around the ninja crew.
"Who's the old guy?" Charlotte asked, taking a step closer to me and scrutinizing the man.
"No clue," I replied. "He…kind of looks familiar. Maybe. I guess. A little." I looked at Charlotte. "I have no idea who he is."
"It's you two who've been disrupting my plan, then," the old guy in question said. "A couple of little girls."
"Your plan?" The anger was immediately evident in my voice as I faced the man, and not just for the 'little girls' comment. "You're the one trying to destroy Gotham? You're the one who stole Greg's circles?" My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt like punching something, and this guy just skyrocketed to the top of my list.
"Gregory lent me his circles, actually," replied the man coolly. I clenched my fists.
"Greg would never let you have them if he knew—"
"Ah!" Charlotte grabbed my arm with her outburst, eyes wide. "I know who he is!"
"What?" I asked, looking at her, confused. She released my arm and folding her arms over one another across her chest, staring hard at the old man.
"I remember you," she said, her words clipped and terse. "You fooled Greg and me into thinking you were just another alchemist. Another Brother in our dying race." Her dark eyebrows creased and she scowled. "You're nothing but a vulture."
"I'm flattered you remember, Charlotte," the man said. I was slowly becoming thoroughly confused.
"Who the hell is this guy?" I asked quietly. Charlotte, not taking her eyes from the man, responded.
"His name is Ra's al Ghul."
Ra's isn't in enough stories, and I love him so. And he just fits so deliciously!
Thanks for reading!