Setting Up a Pitch

The end of the day was near. Already, the sun was sinking towards the horizon, giving off dulling, orange light. It bathed the city of Gotham in its rays.

That light entered Wayne Enterprises, making each room just as dull. Even the lobby appeared to be dying in the change. For Bruce, it was a sign to leave. Cassandra had already left, no doubt to patrol with her Batclan. She had been in a mood for most of the day, stewing about…something. She kept professional of course, but she kept most conversations short.

The billionaire had a few more things to finish up, which was why he hadn't left with her. Now, he was on his way out with plans to return to the penthouse and pick up Damian. He would be joining him for tonight's patrol.

It had been an impulsive offer, one he had come to realize he shouldn't have done. The League of Smiles was out there, their strings being pulled by the worst of madmen. If only it could have been someone else, some other puppeteer. But, he had given his word, and he was a man of his word.

As he neared the exit, his eyes couldn't help but glance to a woman standing right next to them. Wayne Tower had multiple glass doors after all, so one could have even called them a series. Right next to them was a woman in a rather tight dress, flaunting her curves for the whole world to see. A set of high-priced sunglasses was on her face, a wide-brim hat situated on her head. Her ruby red lips smiled as she seemed to spot him.

"Hello, Bruce," the familiar voice of Selina Kyle greeted him. Bruce came to a stop as he eyed her. There was a slit in her skirt that allowed a rather shapely leg to be exposed. This dress looked as if it belonged at a gala rather than his business headquarters. A pair of sunglasses shielded her eyes from the evening light, but they were pulled down to allow her eyes to peer over the lens. She pushed herself off of the wall she had been leaning against and sauntered over to him, her hips swinging from side to side as she approached. A finger pushed the sunglasses back into place. "I seem to have finally tracked you down."

Bruce gave her a smirk, the infamous playboy smile the tabloids used to write about him. "Hunting me still, I see."

Selina came to a stop in front of him, her hands raising up to grab onto the opening of his suit jacket. She adjusted it a little, though there was hardly any need for it. She was merely asserting her control of this encounter. "You look much better than the last time we spoke. Your little castle here agrees with you more than Blackgate's visitors center."

"So what can I do for you?"

"I seem to recall speaking to you about a business venture while you were otherwise occupied. I felt now was the time to revisit it."

Bruce turned his body as he raised an arm up, wrapping it around the blonde woman's back. "Then let's have a seat. Speaking business standing always ends up hurting my feet."

"Says the man not wearing heels." There was a teasing smile on Selina's face as she allowed him to direct them to an area that had multiple chairs and couches set up, forming little sitting areas. The first one that was unoccupied, they took a seat, each one sitting in a chair. Selina crossed one leg over the other as she made herself comfortable.

"So, if I recall right, you were hoping that I would invest in some project of yours," Bruce said as he shifted in his seat.

"And you said it would be difficult for you to do so considering your circumstances," Selina added, a reminder to their conversation. "Your circumstances have since changed."

"Indeed they have. So what is it you want me to put money towards?"

"Gotham's future," the blonde woman responded, a serious look on her face, one that could even be called predatory.

"How noble," Bruce remarked. "Which part of its future?"

"Where Gotham's citizens get their power; how they keep the lights."

Bruce resisted the urge to narrow his eyes. Where was this going?

"Outside of Gotham, I am ready to break ground on the latest and most futuristic power plant Gotham has ever seen," Selina continued. "By the time it is done, it'll be providing power for up to three million people, first month, eventually the entire city if we produce enough power."

"Never mind that Gotham already has a power surplus?" Bruce interjected.

"A power surplus that came at the expense of the very air we breathe—well, maybe not you in your lonely little mansion, but the people living in the slums, the low-income areas. They deserve cleaner, more efficient energy."

"So this is a green energy project."

"Something like that. I already have approval from the City Council to begin building. The land is being cleared as we speak. What I need from you is a cash infusion to get this train rolling."

If this had been Max Shreck in front of him instead of Selina, Bruce would have said he was witnessing déjà vu. While she was much more pleasant company, she was essentially talking about building a new power plant, only she was further along in the process than Max had ever been.

Was this coincidence?

The timing didn't feel like it.

"Pardon me if I say that this all feels familiar," Bruce said after a couple moments. "I've been approached by Max Shreck about a similar proposal before. You wouldn't happen to be part of that venture, would you?"

Even with the lens of the sunglasses she was wearing, you could see Selina's eyes harden into jade. "Hardly. I have no affiliation with Shreck, nor do I wish to have any. Shreck would only be interested in a power plant if it was to line his pockets. He'd sooner watch this city burn if it earned him a quick buck."

So, no connection to Shreck. Bruce would not have put it past Max to send an attractive woman to win his support. The ends would justify the means. However, the way Selina rebutted him indicated there was no lost love here.

"I'm assuming you have a detailed plan, or a proposal, rather," Bruce replied.

"As I've said, we're ready to go."

Bruce glanced up to the ceiling, slouching in his chair. Something about this didn't feel right, he could feel it in his gut. As a businessman, he should turn the deal down just off of that.

The detective in him, however, wanted to know what this was about.

"Lucius is still here, I think," he said after several moments. "I'll go speak to him about this and see if we can't arrange a meeting. Do you have a number I can reach you at?"

"I'm not looking to sell you a pitch," the blonde woman countered. "I was looking for a yes."

"And you must know that I need more than an idea. I need to see projections, I need to see timelines for construction, predicted costs, and so on. Wayne Enterprises didn't get to where it was by funding every single venture it was offered; due diligence is needed. I can at least promise you that I can set up a meeting sooner rather than later, I just need to check my and Lucius' schedules."

Selina stared at him. Then she rolled her eyes, even though they were hidden by the darkened lens of her sunglasses. "Fine, have it your way. I don't have a business card or anything—"

In a flash, Bruce reached into his suit and pulled out one of his business cards, seemingly like magic. He flipped it so that the back was towards the woman and held it out to her. With his other hand, he plucked a pen out of his coat pocket and held it out to her. "Just write it down there."

Selina took the card and pen, seemingly debating with herself before she scribbled a number down. She handed it back even as she uncrossed her legs and stood up. "You better not leave me hanging, Bruce," she warned.

"Oh, you can expect to hear from me quite soon." Bruce stood up as well. "How does tomorrow sound? Perhaps a lunch as well?"

"How could I refuse?" Then, without much more preamble, Selina walked off, the sound of her heels clicking and clacking on the floor. "I'll be seeing you."

Bruce allowed his smile to slowly fall off of his face. He would definitely be doing that, right after he sought some wise council.

The search for Raven was urgent, yes, but even teenagers needed some downtime to take care of certain needs. Rest, food, among others, could not be ignored indefinitely.

But they were ready for this. The T-car was in its incognito mood as Cyborg liked to call it when the early morning rush hour took place and the parking garage they used began filling up. The lower sections got the most attention, though a few took some spots on the upper most level where they were located. The T-car was kept far away from anything that looked like it would connect with another building and since most people liked to park as close as they could to an entrance or exit, they were mostly safe on that front

If privacy was truly needed, there were rooftops available. However, the T-car had cushioned seats so it had an argument in its favor to be used as a rest stop. Two Titans were given leave to camp out at the car, get a few hours of sleep, then switch with another two. Cyborg primarily needed a short time to recharge and decided to use power naps to really rest his human brain. Out of all of the Titans, he was the one who was most committed to the search.

The rest of them were organic, and food was the other issue. Fortunately, they were also prepared for that. Long before the Justice League built their Tower, Cyborg had devised a fake credit card of sorts. It was making a comeback now and this was how they were munching on fast food during a lunch break.

Red Robin had called them all back to the T-car. While food was a priority, touching base and summing up the results of their rescue mission was the other reason for it.

A projection of Gotham City shined out into the air, one section of the city completely darkened. "The south side has been entirely checked," the team leader summed up. "A good portion of the west too. We still have the east side, the Narrows, downtown, the port, all of North Gotham, and everywhere else in-between. That's still a lot of places to hide."

Pausing, he raised up the burger he held in one hand and took a large bite out of it. Manners from his mom had him keeping his mouth shut while he chewed. Speaking up, he was going to need to make a checkup call with them later in the day. He couldn't leave Jump City without their permission first and foremost, and there had to be a little white lie told that it was only to the East Coast and not Gotham. There was parental concern there, though none of it had to do with Harvey Dent. Unfortunately, Metropolis was out of the question so he said a location on the New Jersey shoreline that also wasn't Blüdhaven because even that city had a reputation that reached Gotham.

His folks could be worrywarts at times…but it wasn't too bad once you got some of the backstory on the other Titans. Really made you appreciate that kind of thing.

"Nothing above ground that I could find," Kid Flash reported, though he didn't keep his mouth closed when he chewed. He didn't refrain from talking either, so little bits of meat, bread, and vegetable spat out when he said certain syllables. Usually anything with a p had food spraying everywhere. Ings were another. A food wrapper was crumpled up, stuffed in a paper bag that was beginning to overfill with other empty wrappers while another burger was unwrapped and bitten into. "Gonna head into downtown this afternoon. See what I can find in the skyscrapers."

Even though downtown would have a good chunk of the city's population, Kid Flash was fast enough that no one would see him. That would mean constantly tapping into the Speed Force to remain practically invisible, which would mean that the speedster's appetite would be monstrous. That was why he was eating so much right now.

"We were unsuccessful in locating our friend through the windows of those structures," Starfire reported. In one hand, she held a very spicy chicken wing. You could see that dark-colored sauce dripping off of it. "You should keep your search to the portions that do not have windows."

"Aye aye!" Kid Flash agreed, saluting with one hand that still held a half-eaten burger in it. A strip of bacon was peeking out from between the grease-soaked bun.

"How many alleyways does a city need?" Beast Boy moaned. "I think my nose is starting to get numb." Gotham was one of the largest cities in the country and that meant a lot of nooks and crannies to explore.

"When we're done here, take a break for a few hours. Rest up." The masked teen then glanced at Wonder Girl. "You too as well."

Wonder Girl held her head back. "Do I look tired?"

Actually, stressed out would be what he would use, however, being blunt might not be the best approach. Instead, "To make sure Beast Boy doesn't blare the radio too loudly. We're trying to attract as little attention as possible."

"Hey, I don't play it that loud!" the green shapeshifter spoke up, glaring. Gesturing to his ears, "These things aren't for decoration, you know!"

This would be the part where Raven would have added her two cents and redirected Beast Boy's ire to herself. But she wasn't here to witness the teen vigilante throwing his own teammate under the bus.

Unfortunately, "He's throwing you under the bus to give me a reason not to be mad at him," Wonder Girl explained nonchalantly. She had picked up on what he was attempting.

Ignoring the green-eyed glare thrown his way, Red Robin quickly turned to Cyborg, "You pick up on anything yet? A place to check when the sun goes down?"

From his place in the driver seat to keep others from accidentally spilling anything in his spot, the cybernetic teen replied, "I didn't get a lot, but I do have at least one place we can check. It's dark now, but in the middle of the night, there was a sudden increase in electrical usage. It's underground, so you know, might be worth checking out."

That was promising. It wouldn't be the first time there were people who used the areas under the city for their wicked plans. Still, dark? As in no one was there right now? If he was keeping someone like Raven in one place, he wouldn't be shutting off the electricity. Unless there was some other way he didn't know about that was keeping her from freeing herself, why turn the power off?

However, there was a chance it could be turned on again, meaning they might be able to catch the person holding her while freeing their missing teammate. It was their best bet right now.

"Let me know when it turns on again. Better yet, let me know where it is. We'll try to see about narrowing down some access points first then check it out tonight. In the meantime, the rest of us will keep searching, I'll be checking in with my usual sources. Cyborg, you keep scanning for any irregularities. It goes without saying if another construct shows up, we need to be quick about taking it down."

Any further banter was muted. They all understood what was at stake. Sure, the sameness wouldn't last long and eventually there would be something humorous to distract themselves with while they set about completing this rescue mission.

Every minute that they didn't find Raven felt like a failure, and each one was piling on one another. Tonight they were going to find her one way or another.

The door to the office opened, revealing Lucius sitting behind his desk. "Bruce?" the older man questioned as he glanced up.

Bruce closed the door behind him, taking a seat at the desk. "You wouldn't believe who I ran into on my way out."

"Jesus' resurrection?"

"...no."

"Then I'm all ears, Bruce."

"Selina Kyle."

Lucius stared at him. "You're going to have to tell me more. I don't recall knowing anyone by that name."

"She's someone I've been bumping into at various charity galas lately."

"Okay. And?"

"She just pitched me on investing into a power plant proposal."

That got his business partner's attention. "Is she working with Shreck?"

It seemed the older man was thinking the same way he had. "Not from what I can gather. I brought that up to her and, well, if looks could kill."

"So a competing power plant? That seems rather odd." Lucius frowned. "What else did she tell you?"

"That it's practically shovel-ready, but she's looking into investors—and hoping I would be one of them."

"What did you say?"

"That she should arrange a pitch with us."

"A wise move. What do you think about it?"

Bruce snorted. "Something stinks. If it wasn't for it being Selina and her clear distaste for Max, I would have thought she was working for him. It has Max's fingerprints all over it, or so it would seem."

"Maybe it still is. What better way to make people think Max isn't involved by having a representative appear to hate his guts?"

That was possible. Though, Bruce still felt that wasn't likely. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, we should go through with the pitch meeting. We can learn some more details that way." Lucius paused for a moment. "And even if we do have reservations, we could offer a low-ball investment with potential for more. That gets our foot into the door if we want to…legally…investigate this."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Legally investigate?"

"You could certainly look into this as Batman, but that restricts you to nighttime and whatever evidence you can find. If we got involved, they would have to give you updates and the like. Then we could pour over every piece of information they give us."

That wasn't a half-bad idea, actually. He could even do surprise visits in broad daylight, and if he played the little game right between him and Selina, he could spin those visits to him pursuing her. There was some promise here.

"What days do you have open?" Bruce asked then. "The sooner we get this going, the better."

"First thing, Monday. I'll have Cassandra rearrange things then."

"That far off?"

"Bruce…it's Friday. Tomorrow is the weekend."

Well, then that was the way it was going to be. "Looks like I'll be calling Selina sooner rather than later." Fishing out the business card with her number on it, he then reached for the phone on Lucius' desk. He punched in the numbers and then held the receiver to his ear. A few rings went by before he heard an answer.

"Selina, it's Bruce," he greeted her. "So, I have some time on Monday to see you about that meeting. Make it 8 sharp. Oh, and it just occurred to me that tomorrow is Saturday, so I definitely have the day open. Care to get some lunch?"

"Of course it had to be a sewer. The one place we never had to go, and here we are. Raven better be down here, damn it."

Leading the group of superpowered teens was none other than the ever so fabulous…well, not quite as fabulous Cyborg because there was nothing to be fabulous about in a sewer system. An over the shoulder light combined with his robotic eye made sure that he was not about to run into anything any time soon. If they did, then he pitied the fool who thought they could deal with titanium.

However…he would have to give Wonder Girl some leeway. This wasn't one hundred percent water that they were wading through. Best not to think about what else…

To distract himself, he threw back over his shoulder a neat little factoid. "Jump City had a later start, so they could make a septic system. Lot of pipes back home, but we do have some things underground. Nothing as…well…"

"Go on. Finish that. I dare you."

Seemed like Wonder Girl wasn't in a learning mood.

"I am not pleased with the smell." Ah, Starfire. Now who could argue with you? The Tamaranean was towards the back, floating over the…water, one of her hands lit up with a Starbolt. Ready to kick ass in a moment's need, indeed.

"Does Tamaran…ooh, too soon?" Kid Flash seemed interested in asking something, but then his tendency to stick his own foot in his mouth predictably reared its head. At least he was catching on sooner because damn, don't bring up an extinct planet already.

Their local Tamaranean gave a sigh. "We…did have such systems on my home planet. With as much physical contact as my species engages in, sanitation is an important requirement. I do hope they are planning for it on New Tamaran."

Best to move on from there and to do so quickly. Cyborg did a quick reference to the map of Gotham's sewer system in his memory banks. Right, now comparing that to where the fluctuations in electrical usage was, they were getting closer. Much closer.

"Man, how much further?" BB complained. "I think my legs are starting to get waterlogged!"

"You're the only one not wearing any shoes," Wonder Girl helpfully pointed out.

"So?" the shapeshifter challenged.

"And you're walking through water that has more than just water in it," the armored blonde quipped back.

You could hear the seconds tick by before—

"Oh—I think I can feel something in my toes! It's so soft and mushy!"

It was a bit of a struggle to keep from laughing at his best bud's misfortune. Really it was. Hell, when they found Raven, this was definitely going to be a story he told her about. Something to get her spirits up because you knew she is not going to be happy with being someone's slave for anything longer than a second. She did have a sadistic streak within her when it came to Beast Boy winding up in, shall we say, less than ideal circumstances? That he seemed a glutton for the punishment and never seemed to learn or do so quickly meant entertainment for hours on end.

"Mind if I perch on someone's shoulder? I can't take this anymore!"

And the entertainment just died a horrible, awful death.

"You are not getting any of that crap on my shoulder, BB!" Cyborg called over his shoulder.

Wonder Girl was quick to back that up with, "Don't even think about it."

"No offense, BB, but I'm not trying to ruin the thread count of my suit. Even though it doesn't have any threads. And it's stretchy. And I don't want anything getting on it that's yucky. My boots don't count because, you know, it's already too late for that."

"You're looking for the term 'threads.' You don't want to mess up your threads," Cyborg said helpfully to the speedster.

"What Cyborg said! Yeah." Fastest teen in the world was very fast to agree.

"My apologies my friends, but the collective fumes from the sewage is destabilizing my balance and I would very much appreciate not needing to use the liquid you are wading through as a cushion. Please forgive me." Starfire might be a bit wordy but the sincerity in her voice could have fooled even him, and he was the one with a built-in voice processor.

That left one person.

"Red?" Beast Boy practically begged.

"Should have thought about that before you stepped in bare foot." Ooh, that was cold, Red. He'd ask for a high five to celebrate it, but the cyborg was too busy leading the way.

"I thought you guys were my friends!" Beast Boy protested.

"Sure we're your friends!" Kid Flash attempted to cheer the shapeshifter up. "We just don't want to get—"

"We need to keep it down," Red Robin cut in. Then, in a quieter voice, "Cyborg, how much further?"

"Making a right right up here," he reported.

This right, luckily, had them leaving the, ahem, water and getting onto some dry concrete. That didn't mean they weren't leaving some wet footprints behind, along with…yeah. BB, of course, had to shake his feet about which, gross, dude. Just gross.

Right. Anyway, they were getting close. Hold up, that was interesting. Just a second ago, there was a sudden spike in electrical usage and it was stable. Someone was turning on the lights, it seemed. Good, then they wouldn't be barging into an empty lair.

Stopping, and getting the sense that more than one body ran into him, Cyborg waiting a second, then turned his upper body around so that he could lean towards Red, and whispered loudly, "Just got all the signs that someone's home. Increase in electrical usage."

Red nodded his head. When he said nothing, the cybernetic teen straightened up and turned back around, starting the procession once more. His pace was slower, just in case. Don't ask him why but it felt as if he moved any faster, that would mean making noise, right. His titanium feet against the hard as rock floor would make loud clumping noises if you know what he meant.

It was a good thing he did so, because up ahead there were voices. Cyborg stopped the team once more and did his best to listen in. However, the acoustics in this place distorted the voices. Couldn't make out anything until the sounds stopped without warning. There were no screams that followed so…

"Sounded like girls," BB muttered. The shapeshifter rubbed at ear, giving away how he knew that.

So. That was a surprise. A woman had bought Raven? Or a man who used female lackeys? Glancing to Red Robin in askance, he got a shrug in return. Did that mean this might be someone new to the Gotham scene as well? Looking to make a name or something?

Well, that had him leading once more, keeping track of their whereabouts with his digital map until finally paydirt. Thanks to the lighting, it made the entrance blend in with the surroundings. Hell, the disguised door did blend in. The giveaway was that he managed to figure out where a panel was hidden, keypad and retina scanner kept out of sight by it.

"This is it. We got'em," he announced softly.

Just like that, any stress from the trip down here vanished. People were raring to go, bodies tensing and game faces in place. Without anything needing to be said, they moved out of Wonder Girl's way as she approached the disguised door. She studied the smooth surface, as if looking for any gaps to wedge her fingers into.

Suddenly punching a fist into a palm, the blonde hothead declared, "Alright, this is not going to be gentle. Stand back."

Cyborg found himself frowning, but then he got the idea when the armored girl pulled her arm back, fist clenched tightly, and arm muscles beginning to bulge.