He looked down at the bodies scattered around him, his breathing heavy. Finally, Batman spotted what he was looking for. One of the broken men was still conscious. For a split second, their eyes met. The henchman began desperately scooting back with the limbs that still worked. In a flash, Batman was over him, holding the man's neck with an iron grip.
"The Joker. Where is he?" Batman growled. The thug choked out a few coughs.
"He's… he's g-gonna take you d-down!"
Batman punched the thug in the stomach. The man gave out a strained yelp of pain. "Last chance," Batman threatened.
Suddenly, Robin spoke up through the earpiece. "Batman, Jo's not responding. I think she's in trouble. She went to go check out Loading Bay B."
The thug pulled at Batman's hand. "Wait… I'll-I'll talk!" he wheezed.
Batman glared down at him. "Change of plans," he said before knocking the him out. Straightening up, he said to Robin, "Hold on. Wait for me to get there." He already knew exactly how Robin would respond.
"If Jo's in trouble, I'm not waiting," Robin insisted. "I'm already outside the loading bay. Don't worry; I'll keep out of sight."
Jason's headstrong attitude was admirable, but it was irritating more often than not. But there wasn't much Batman could do. He'd have to reach the loading bay before anything happened to the two of them.
Batman stepped over the unconscious bodies and made his way over to the door. After they had sprung the surprise attack, the henchmen had locked it. But it wasn't like that was going to stop him.
There had been no ventilation shafts leading into the loading bay. If he took any of the doors, he'd surely be spotted. Robin remained pressed against the wall, hidden in the shadows. He meticulously scanned the outside of the loading bay for an opening, any opening at all.
Finally, it paid off. A few thugs walked out of the bay, and the shutter door began closing behind them. Robin crept along the wall slowly, and then made a quick dash to the next wall. The thugs continued past him, completely unaware. The shutter door was halfway closed. Robin tiptoed closer. He gave the men one last glance before diving through the remaining gap. Without even taking in his surroundings, he quickly shot his grapple gun and pulled himself onto the rafters. Finally he had a chance to catch his breath and look down. Thankfully, no one had noticed him. Everyone was too busy focusing on something at the center of the bay.
Robin followed their gazes. His grip on the rafter tightened. Tied to the top of a shipping container was the Specter. Above her, a crane precariously dangled another shipping container.
"Look on the bright side!" he heard Joker's voice echo throughout the bay. "At least after this, you'll get to be a real ghost! Popping up in people's windows and mirrors, shaking their doorknobs, howling through their walls! … Or you'll probably just die. Either way is fine by me!"
Robin watched as the Specter tugged at her restraints. He wondered why she didn't just phase out of there. Then he realized; she was probably waiting for the right time.
He crept along the rafter until he was closer to her. "Jo," he whispered through the intercom. "I'm here." Below, the Specter didn't react.
"I know what you're thinking," the Joker continued. With a mocking tone, he whined, "My sweetheart in shining armor will save me! Batman will find me! Well, I'm counting on it."
"You read my mind," the Specter finally replied. "And you're right. I am waiting for Batman to get here. But he's not going to save me. I have something very special planned for him."
"What's she going on about, Mister J?" Harley asked, crossing her arms.
"It's just pre-death babbling," Joker answered. "They're always like this. It's really quite fun to listen to. You can hear their panicked brains just fizzle away."
"I've had a special analyst study you," the Specter said. "He's come up with a very sound conclusion."
"Really now? You should see what happened to last doctor who tried to get into my head."
Quietly, the Specter murmured into the intercom, "Batman, I hope you know what I've got in mind."
"I have an idea," Batman replied. "What's your status?"
"I'm about to be the filling of a container sandwich. It's whatever, though. Jason, you still up there?"
"Of course I am. How are you holding up?"
"My wrists are killing me. Listen, he's just waiting for Batman to show up. Jason, I think he already knows you're here; he probably wants you to see what's going on. As soon as Batman gets here, we go after Harley. She has the files."
"And then what? I've counted up to fifteen armed guys, and there aren't any vents or grates in here. Using the shipping containers for cover won't work with so many guns running around."
"I'll deal with that," the Specter. "But when all hell breaks loose, I want you to get out of here."
"And leave you in the thick of it? Not a chance."
"I'll be fine."
She turned her head to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the shipping container hanging above her. The armed men were idly patrolling the room. She gave the ropes another useless tug. They knew how to tie one hell of a knot.
Suddenly, a black figure dropped into the bay. Everyone turned to him, and the ones who were closest stumbled back. The henchmen raised their guns and pointed them at Batman. A few parted to reveal the Joker strolling forward, arms raised.
"Well, look who it is! What's wrong, Bats? Did you lose something?"
The Specter yanked at her bonds, trying to sit up. "Batman!" she called out.
"Quiet now, dear. Frankly, I'm tired of waiting." No sooner had the Joker said this, the crane let go. There was a loud boom that reverberated through the room. It was followed by a groan as the shipping container strained under the weight of the second one. Between them was the space where the Specter once had been. "There goes another one out of the way! Good riddance! Soon it'll just be you and me."
Above, the loud screech of tearing metal ripped the air. The rafter that Robin was perched on collapsed and fell through the air. Robin managed to leap off before it crashed down and rolled onto the ground. Before he could stand up, he felt the barrel of a gun ram into the back of his head.
"I'm gonna splatter your—." The thug cut off as the rifle shot out of his hands. Then his head whipped back as though something had struck him. Before he even hit the ground, there was a loud squeal as Harley's feet were knocked out from under her. The data stick flew up and away from her as though it had a mind of its own. The men flew into frenzy, but no bullets were fired; they weren't even sure where to aim.
She suddenly appeared. "Jason, get out of here! I'll cover you," the Specter ordered. Robin scrambled to his feet and grappled up, smashing through the sunroof. A few men tried to fire at him, but missed. Most of them shot at the stationary target. But the Specter stood there, seemingly unaffected.
She began to nonchalantly walk in a certain direction. "Still too solid for your liking?" she asked.
Suddenly, the Joker barked, "Stop shooting at her, you morons!" All gunfire ceased. One of them looked over and argued, "But Boss—." He was cut off as a bullet passed through his skull.
In the moment of distraction, Batman threw down a couple of smoke pellets. They exploded and covered the room in the thick, dense vapor. "Go. Run," Batman said to the Specter.
"What about you?" she replied.
"I've got a clown to take care of."
The Specter obeyed and ran back. She took a glance over her shoulder and saw Batman march into the smog. Looking forward, she headed straight for the shutter door and ran right through it.
She stopped when she found herself standing outside. The overcast sky and stillness greeted her. It seemed so peaceful out here… well, except for the crashes and thuds that could still be heard from behind the shutter door.
"Jason?"
"Right here." The Specter turned just as Robin leaped down from the roof He jerked his head. "Come on; we need to put some distance between us and this place."
"But what about Batman?"
"He has it under control. You still have the files?"
The Specter felt her belt. "Yes."
"Good. Batman wants us to get them out of here ASAP. Let's go." They ran to where Robin's motorcycle was hidden. As Robin hopped on, the Specter nestled behind him. The bike roared to life. A stream of dirt was kicked up into the air was the wheels dug into the ground. The motorcycle shot forward.
"This thing wasn't meant for two people," the Specter mumbled. "It's killing my ass."
"You better protect that booty, girl. It's precious to me." He made a sharp turn. The Specter's arms tightened around him. "So what on Earth happened back there? I was watching from the roof."
"It's something Verlix told me. About the Joker," the Specter answered. "When they were shooting at me, I walked in front of Batman. Verlix calculated that the Joker would never let one of his lackey kill Batman. That's something he's reserved for himself."
"Of course. That sick son of a bitch's fixated on Batman." Robin suddenly stopped the motorcycle, sticking out a leg to steady it. "The tunnel's not too far from here. Get those files to Verlix. I need to get back to the warehouse."
As the Specter climbed off, she said, "You better get back to me in one piece."
"You know it."
She heard the screech of the motorcycle peeling off as she dashed away. She rounded a corner and saw the gaping entrance of the tunnel. "Verl, I'm almost there," she said through the intercom.
"Have you got the files?"
"Yes."
"…. I see." He sounded off, but the Specter didn't hear that. Her heart was pounding, not from the run but from the excitement. Finally!
The secret door slid open. The Specter raced down a couple of steps, and then she vaulted over the railing and landed on the ground. She pulled the data stick from her belt and held it up. "Here it is. What now?" Verlix didn't answer. "Verl?"
"Have you ever wondered why no existing computer has been able to unravel the contents of that stick?" he asked.
"I had a theory."
"Let's hear it."
"Verl, not now! Let's open this up!"
"Just answer me, please."
"Uh, well… I always figured you were the one who encrypted it."
"That is no more true than it is false."
"What do you mean?"
"I've always known what those 'files' are. Yes, it's true: I am the reason why no one else can open them. But they're not encrypted. It's simply that no other computer can read them, experience them."
"Experience them?"
"That's right," Verlix affirmed. "They're not files, Jo. They're memories. My memories."
Jo looked down at the tiny device in her hands. The thing in her palm, it contained… memories?
"I don't know what kind of memories they are. There is a black hole in my timeline from when I first came online to now. They were deliberately removed from me, and I cannot imagine why. But there was a reason. And now I… I'm feeling what you may call fear. So let me ask you this: do you truly want to see what is in there?"
She took a moment to think. Verlix's weariness made her a little worried. But then she remembered that she had spent so long hunting these files down. Whatever was stolen from Verlix's past was important.
"Yes."
"Very well." Suddenly, a slot appeared on the computer. It matched the oddly shaped end on the data stick. The Specter plugged it in. It only took a few seconds for Verlix to read the memories and convert them to video. All monitors immediately lit up. Collectively, they showed a woman. She wore glasses and her dark gold hair was tied into a messy bun. Her face was somber.
She took a deep, shaky breath. "My name is Amanda Drei," the woman said, staring directly at the camera. Directly at Jocelyn. "And I hope God will forgive me for what I'm about to do."
Addendum: There is going to be some turbulence when it comes to updates. Classes have started (Nooo!). Plus, I am planning on picking up another story of mine that I dropped for a while. Sorry.
I feel like this chapter was all over the place. I had no idea what direction I wanted to head in when I wrote it. Plus, sleep is starting to become rare, so my brain isn't exactly operating at optimal capacity.
Dat cliffhanger doe?