Nightwing woke to the smell of smoke in his face. He coughed and struggled to sit up. Bound by rope, he shifted his arms around, seeing if there was any chance of getting loose. He gave up after a few moments. He realised his mask was still on. "Sorry about that, business you see. You must wonder why I haven't removed your mask? It's because I don't care who you are underneath the mask, it doesn't interest me. I am a businessman."
"You'll pay for this Cobblepot." Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin cackled and threw his cigar aside. He smiled evilly.
"Not sure 'ow you plan to do that seeing as you're tied up and completely at my mercy," Cobblepot retorted. The Penguin's thick, rough English accent had always irritated Nightwing and this time was no exception. Nightwing slumped on the ground. His face stung like hell. "There's a good boy." Cobblepot wiped the blood off his umbrella and placed it on the table just behind him.
"I want the Bat to show up. 'E thinks 'e can fool us by pretendin' to be dead. Whatta joke. This'll draw 'im out. The Big Bad Bat couldn't let 'is friend die. If 'e doesn't come it means 'e's dead and I can kill you anyway." The Penguin straightened his suit and laughed to himself. He waddled off and pointed at two thugs. "You and you, keep an eye on 'im. If 'e does anything dodgy, beat 'im up as you please." The two thugs cracked their knuckles and made their way over to Nightwing.
"Not so good now are ya now Nightwing," one of the thugs said to Nightwing. The thug's fist slammed into his chest. The air was knocked out of him. He fell to the ground, coughing. I hope you're coming soon, Bruce, he thought.
Matt could hear a deafening roar unlike any other. He focused his senses and realised he was standing in front of a waterfall. What a smart place to have the Batcave, he thought. He sighed as he thought about the task that stood in front of him. He had to somehow get through the thunderous body of water and onto the other side. Hard enough for a man with sight to do. For a blind man whose eyes had been blinded by nuclear material, it was a little bit different. He frowned as the cacophony slowly dissipated. In a few moments the only sound that remained was the strong breeze, whipping at Matt's face. He sensed someone coming towards him. He recognised the footfall.
"I assume that was you?"
"Yes, it was. I built a manual override into the waterfall so I could stop the flow if I ever needed to. I thought this was a good occasion to see how well it worked. The results are mixed." Bruce Wayne stood at the entrance to the cave. He gestured for Matt to follow him. Realising his mistake almost instantly, he grabbed Matt by the arm. Matt cleared his throat as they walked into the Batcave, the waterfall resuming its function once they were safely inside.
"Is two days long enough to find out who has your friend?"
Bruce was tired. He had worked tirelessly to find who had Nightwing. He had also worked tirelessly in two days to get his body as close to peak physical condition as what was possible in the time he had. He had Lucius Fox send him another prototype suit. This time, there would be a cowl.
"What made you change your mind?" Matt inquired. Bruce looked at him inquisitively.
"I never told you that I was suiting up as Batman again. How did you -?
"And I told you that I am no normal man. I could sense a difference in you, a significant one. I weighed up the obvious probabilities and realised you had suited up once more. Now right before I came here I received a message saying that you had a new suit for me?"
"It was developed by the Applied Sciences -"
"Division of Wayne Enterprises. Yeah I know. What can it do that my old one couldn't?"
"Stop small arms fire while still allowing unrestricted movement. Woven to your exact body shape. Capable of absorbing impacts from substantial falls or any other force you may be subjected to."
"And why do I need this?" Matt put his hands on his hips, waiting for an answer.
"Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin is an arms dealer. Black market arms dealer. And he has Nightwing."
"Wait a minute, I thought he was in Arkham?"
"He was frequently being transported between Arkham and Blackgate Penitentiary but one of the transports was hit by his goons and he got out. He wants to kill me, but he doesn't know that you're apart of the equation. He thinks I'll be going to save Nightwing myself. After all, it did seem to be my biggest weakness."
Matt let the silence envelop the Batcave as he contemplated what Bruce had said. He could just be trying to use me. Make sure I help him save Nightwing but perish heroically as a result, he thought. Matt tried to recall everything he knew about the Penguin. Mean guy. Not the worst, but still pretty bad. His thugs were trained well and willing to do anything to sate their boss' appetite for death, destruction and money. What choice do I possibly have? He knows who I am; either I die doing a good thing or I prove to him I am trustworthy….
"What's the plan?"
"I'll go in all guns blazing. Quite unlike Batman, I know, but it should do the trick. This new model of the Batmobile that Lucius Fox designed has very destructive capabilities. I'll draw out his goons in a chase, and Cobblepot will almost certainly stay behind and make sure I don't come back for Nightwing. You spring on him, untie him, and we go back to the Batcave. I'll be able to lose the goons easily once you've given me the all clear."
"That is a lot of responsibility to give me what if-," Bruce cut Matt off with a barrage of speech.
"Frankly, you are better trained than me at the moment. I have been out of the cowl for a long time, both physically and mentally. I have fought you hand to hand. I know what you are capable of. I have an archive on all vigilante activity to see if I have any potential allies or thorns in my side. I always saw Daredevil as an ally. I also know what Matt Murdock has done. He wasn't afraid to tackle any case, when he was a defence lawyer or a prosecutor or even now as the District Attorney. Do not let me down."
Matt shuffled his feet once more and let Bruce's words settle. He climbed into the Batmobile and looked at Bruce.
"You know what they used to say? When Batman first appeared a few months after I did as Daredevil. He struck fear into the enemy and saved the weak and unfortunate. So did Daredevil."
"What did they say?" asked Bruce.
"The Devil's in the Bat."