Chapter 13

Gotham; September 7th, 02:17 EST

"I don't like this," Nightwing murmured as he stared out over the heart of the city, arms crossed against his chest in a manner that resembled his mentor.

"What?" Robin questioned, standing next to him as thunder rumbled softly in the background. "Because it's going to rain?"

"No, it's just been far too quiet tonight," he replied. "It feels like something is ramping up to happen."

"It's probably Penguin," Robin decided. He had to admit that he had an eerie feeling that he couldn't shake as well.

Nightwing glanced at him. "Are you sure you should be out here?" he asked him. "You're not even fully healed yet."

"I'm fine," he tried to tell him, leaving Dick unconvinced.

"So, if I check with Batman, he'll tell me he released you to go out on patrol?"

"Maybe…something like that."

Nightwing snorted in amusement. "That means no," he said more to himself than to Damian. "I'm sure you still have stitches."

"They'll hold."

Dick could only shake his head. "I hope nothing too big happens tonight," he commented. "The team is pretty banged up between you, Batgirl, and Red Robin. I'm the only one still in one piece besides Batman."

"That just means you're next."

"I think I'll pass," he replied. "Someone has to stay healthy to hold this team together."

"Does Batman really think he's going to be able to get anything out of Poison Ivy?" Robin asked.

"It's hard to say," he decided. "Normally, I'd say yes, but I'm worried that he's not himself right now. He's pretty distraught about Diana. I'm not sure he's at the top of his game."

"He's an expert at separating his two lives."

"Normally, I'd agree but I've never seen him like this before," Nightwing admitted. "He's really having a difficult time. I'm afraid that the longer this goes on the worse it's going to get. If she and the baby die…"

Dick's voice trailed off, unable to finish the horrible thought. Damian didn't want to admit that Dick was right. He was worried too, though he wouldn't vocalize it. He still had faith in his father and his ability to stay strong through every situation no matter how dire it may seem…even if Diana didn't make it.

He sincerely hoped she survived this. He couldn't stand the thought of his brother and sister losing their mother or his father losing his wife. While he and Diana weren't exactly the best of friends, he had to admit that he liked and admired her. She made his father happy, bringing together a fractured family and uniting them as one. She felt like the glue that held them all together.

It was an amazing feat that few could accomplish.

"I think you're right," Damian finally spoke.

"About what?"

"Something is not right tonight," he confirmed. "There's trouble brewing. You can almost smell it in the air."

Nightwing tapped his comm, needing to check in with Red Robin. "Hey, anything happening on your end?"

"No, but something is wrong," Red Robin confirmed. "It's eerily quiet."

"That's what we said," Dick agreed. "Are you okay to be out?"

"No, but I'm not hanging out in the med bay anymore," Tim told him. "Batgirl agrees."

"If you two find trouble, lay low," Nightwing instructed him. "Don't push it. Contact us or Huntress for backup. We can also contact Canary or Etrigan if needed."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, but thanks," Tim attempted to reassure him.

"Keep an eye—" Nightwing began only to suddenly stop. "Did you hear that?"

"We've got trouble," Red Robin said. "Gotta go!"

"The trouble that was brewing is finally here," Nightwing told Robin as he pulled out his Eskrima sticks.

Arkham Asylum; September 7th, 02:30 EST

The familiar cadence of Batman's boots sharply striking the floor echoed through the halls of Arkham Asylum, determination in each measured step. No one bothered to stop him to ask what he wanted or what he was doing there. It wasn't unusual for the Dark Knight to haunt the halls of Arkham, always on a mission to get what he needed. No one dared to cross his path if they could help it.

His gauntleted hands were balled tightly, his teeth clenched. Gotham's villains had united to take out his team, Diana was still in a coma, and there was no resolution in sight. He was beyond done with all of this. He was ready for a fight, ready to end the chaos that was trying to destroy his family.

Coming to a stop outside of Poison Ivy's cell, Batman found the woman lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. "I knew you'd be coming by sooner or later," she cockily stated without looking at him. "It was only a matter of time before you showed up to talk."

"Then, you know what I want," he icily stated.

She laughed derisively as she abruptly swung her legs over the edge of her bed, sitting up to finally look at him. "And you really think I'm going to tell you anything?"

"Yes, I do," he confidently replied.

"Why would that be?"

"Because I know you, Pamela," he responded with a slightly less aggressive tone, taking her by surprise. "Unlike the others, you actually have somewhat of a conscious deep down inside beneath that misguided obsession of yours."

Her red lips curled into a smile as she stood, sauntering over to him. "Flattery will only get you so far, Batman."

"I wasn't trying to flatter you," he claimed. "I'm just speaking the truth."

"Well, if you think that I'm going to fawn all over you and tell you everything you want to know then you are as crazy as the others," she spat out as she crossed her arms, leaning her left shoulder against the wall as she glared darkly at him.

Batman was unfazed by her initial bravado. He'd dealt with Poison Ivy enough over the years to know how to handle her and she knew it. That was why he was going to try a slightly different approach which would hopefully catch her off guard. He just had to keep his anger in check.

"I guess I won't waste your time then," he replied, abruptly turning on his heel to walk away.

Poison Ivy instantly straightened up, her arms falling to her side with curiosity. "Wait!" she called. "That's it? You're not going to interrogate me…try to get me to tell you what Penguin and the others are planning. Charm me into pitying your pathetic team?"

"Not worth my time," he decided as he took another step. "I know something is going to happen tonight. I'm not going to stay here, wasting my time playing games with you."

"How do you know something is happening tonight?"

"I've been around long enough to know when the wind in Gotham is changing," he stated. "It's in the air. My team can feel it and so can I."

Ivy stared warily at him, sizing him up as if trying to peel back the layers of his uniform to discover what he was up to. He was not playing their usual cat-and-mouse game. He seemed different somehow…weary in a way that she'd never seen in him before. Had they finally broken him after all these years? It made her more curious than ever to find out what had happened to him.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "You have no idea about what's happening," she observed with a derisive snort. "You're just trying to see what I know."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, but it doesn't really matter," he told her. "We're going to stop your friends."

She chuckled, but it lacked an ounce of humor behind it. "You have no clue what you're going up against. Gotham is going to burn along with your team."

"I'm surprised."

"About what?"

"You're not like them, Pamela," he bluntly stated. "You have a deep-seated dream that longs for a better world, not to destroy it like the others want to do. I'm a little surprised you decided to side with them. You care about nature, not destruction."

Batman could see Poison Ivy's eyes softening as he reminded her of her true ambitions and how she had somehow gotten off track along the way. While she did want to see Batman and his team go down in flames, the others had distracted her from her true goal to restore Mother Nature to her supreme place in the universe.

One way or another, she was going to see her dream come to fruition.

"I might know one thing…"

Gotham; September 7th, 03:30 EST

"Get down!" Red Robin yelled at Batgirl as another one of Penguin's bombs went off.

They could feel the ground quack beneath them, causing them both to fear the buildings would crumble down around them, but they managed to hold fast. Red Robin peeked up over the barricade they had hastily put together. Penguin had them surrounded with his henchmen holding grenade launchers.

"Red Robin come in!" Nightwing called.

"It's really not a good time," he yelled, standing up long enough to throw a few Batbombs.

"We're on our way," Nightwing told him. "Just hang on."

"They've got us pinned down!" Red Robin shouted with the sounds of grenades exploding in the background.

Tim looked at Batgirl, relieved she didn't seem to be panicked by their current situation. He could tell that she was anxious for some hand-to-hand combat, but that wasn't going to happen right now. He knew the team would come through for them. They just needed to hang on a little longer. That's when he got an idea that caused him to grab hold of Batgirl's arm.

"We're going to blow our way out of here," he told her.

She gave him a confused look, obviously uncertain how he was going to accomplish that without killing themselves. Not to mention the fact that Penguin was trying to blow them up as well. Weren't they adding insult to injury by setting off more bombs?

Batgirl grabbed Tim's arm, shaking her head. She pulled out her grappling gun, indicating they should just attempt to escape by heading for the roof.

Tim had considered it, but he feared it wouldn't work. "It's too dangerous," he said. "They could end up just shooting us out of the sky. Let's save it as a last resort."

Batgirl suddenly shoved Red Robin over, covering his body with her own as another grenade went off. She moaned as she rolled to the side, her previous injuries reminding her that she wasn't a hundred percent herself yet.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded as she attempted to catch her breath, her hand bracing her ribs. They were going to have to make their move fast.

An unexpected battle cry pierced the air, causing everyone to freeze. The henchmen cried out as they began to drop from a blitz attack, they hadn't seen coming. Penguin quickly looked around in a panic, wondering who was attacking them now.

"Time for a little payback!" Artemis cried as she vaulted over the bodies of several men to position herself closer to Penguin.

Nightwing and Robin landed on the scene as well, taking on the remaining men as Red Hood backed up his wife. He was anxious to get his hands on Penguin, hoping to end this personal assault on the Batclan. Cutting off the head might just break up the gang of Gotham's villains.

"It's over Penguin," Red Hood stated, weapons drawn and aimed directly at the villain.

"You think this is over just because you believe you have me cornered?" he angrily spouted. "This is far from over. You have no idea what's about to come!"

"Whatever is about to come, you won't be a part of it," Hood retorted.

"That's what you think," Penguin spouted with a derisive chuckle.

Pointing his umbrella at Red Hood and Artemis, Penguin released a thick gas that caused both of them to cough and choke. It was a big enough distraction that Penguin was able to escape, his henchmen not fairing as well as they littered the ground around them.

"Damn," Red Hood cursed as he attempted to catch his breath.

Thanagar; September 7th, 05:59 EST

"Are you certain this is where we'll find Romi?" John asked his wife, glancing around with an air of apprehension.

"No, but the last four locations didn't pan out," she replied. "We're not giving up until we get answers."

Shayera was feeling herself growing more agitated by the moment. They'd spent hours trying to track down Samara's friend Romi with no success. She was angry, tired, and missed her children. She just wanted to find out what happened to her sister so she could go home to her family. She had to find out the truth and make sure that Samara got justice.

"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," John thoughtfully said.

Shayera suddenly stopped, whirling on her heel to face her husband. "What do you think we should do?" she yelled. "Do you have any better ideas? Let's hear them if you do, but I'm running out of them."

"Whoa," John replied, holding his hands up in defense. "I was just wondering if we should split up so we could cover more of the city. I wasn't saying we should give up."

Shayera released a long breath, her shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry," she softly said, her chin falling.

John gently pulled her to him, embracing her. "It's all right, Shay," he reassured her, kissing her head. "I know this is has been hard for you."

"I just want to find the truth and go home to our children," she confessed, burying herself in his arms.

"We'll find the truth soon," he told her. "I have a good feeling about this Romi and Kantar is going to find Elowen. One of them must know something."

"You believe Kantar is on our side now?"

"Whether I like him or not, I think he truly does want to help us because of you."

"Because of me?"

"He respects you, Shay," he pointed out. "He cares about you as his former partner. He had your back years ago and he has your back now. Partners never lose those instincts or that need to protect their partner."

"You're right," she agreed, retreating from the warmth of his embrace. She steeled herself for the task ahead. "Let's check out these alleys here to the right."

"I'll take the one over there," he decided. "You take this one."

"Just don't get yourself into any trouble," she warned him.

He gave her a skeptical look as he turned away from her. If anyone found trouble, it was her, not him. He made his way to the far alley, noticing how dark it appeared. Of course, it's not like any alley was lit up like a Las Vegas night. That's why deviants preferred to hide there.

He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, wanting to hide his Lantern ring. No sense in advertising he was a Green Lantern when he was questioning someone. They'd been told Romi had white hair and a skull tattoo on her right forearm. She shouldn't be this hard to find. Then again, this was a big city.

He warily entered the foreboding alley, constantly searching every crevice and shadow for any signs of trouble. It was a bit unnerving to know that every world had its back allies and seedy sides of town. He had hoped there was at least one world out there where utopia existed.

John froze at the sound of a can banging against a brick wall, his eyes narrowing. "Who's there?" he asked.

The only response he received was some sort of animal scurrying past his boots, one that he hoped never to see again. It was creepy, to say the least. Continuing, he spotted a couple sitting towards the end of the alley with their backs leaning against the wall smoking something.

It was a man and a woman deep in conversation and enjoying their smokes. Noticing the tall stranger, they both stiffened as if they had been caught doing something illegal as opposed to just sitting in an alley smoking something they probably shouldn't be.

John slowed his approach, not wanting to startle them while at the same time trying to calm his excitement. The woman had white hair and no doubt a tattoo. "Hey, I'm not the police," he assured them.

They stared at him warily, clearly unsure whether to trust him or not. "What are you doing here?" the woman with the white hair demanded to know. "You're obviously not one of us."

"I'm not," he confirmed. "I'm just here to gather some information."

The man suddenly spat defiantly at John's boots. "Get out of here," he warned him. "You're liable to get yourself hurt around here."

"Look, I'm not here to cause you trouble, friend," John pressed, undeterred. "I just want to talk to Romi for a moment."

Romi instantly recoiled at the mention of her name by this stranger. "How do you know my name?"

"I've been looking for you," John informed her. "I just need a little information about your friend Samara."

Now, the girl with the white hair was freaked out as she bolted to her feet. "You tell me right now how you know me and Samara!"

John slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets to show that he had no weapons and meant them no harm. "Samara is the sister of my wife Shayera," he explained. "She died under suspicious circumstances. I'm just here trying to find out what happened to her. Erick told me to talk to you about her. I'm hoping you know something that could help."

With the mention of Shayera and Erick, Romi seemed to calm down slightly; however, her boyfriend only became more agitated. "He's a Green Lantern!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet as he pointed at John's ring.

"Dude, you need to relax," John told him. "I'm only here to find out the truth behind Samara's death."

"You can't tell me what to do!" the man spouted, growing angrier. "I'm going to show you a thing or two about how we handle—"

"All right," John murmured to him, pointing his ring in the man's direction. "You were warned."

A piece of green tape appeared across the man's mouth as a green bubble kept him contained. "Okay, can we please talk now?" he asked Romi.

"Yeah…sure…I guess," she cautiously responded, glancing at her boyfriend was trying desperately to rip the tape off his mouth with no success.

"You were good friends with Samara," he began. "I'm sure you have suspicions about her death…questions that you want answered too. That's all I'm here for."

Romi sighed heavily as her shoulders sank. "It was…awful," she softly replied, her cigarette dropping from her fingers as her hands covered her face. "I miss her so much. She was my best friend. There was no one nicer to me than Samara."

"You finally found her," Shayera said with growing excitement as she approached from behind the man trapped in the green bubble.

Romi looked over at Shayera, gasping softly. "You look so much like Samara."

"I've been told that," she agreed with a nod, glancing at the man. "Do I need to do something with this one?"

"No, I think he's calmed down enough now that I can let him go," John decided, releasing him from his restraints.

The man looked at Shayera and the mace in her hand. "Hey, happy to help," he claimed with a forced smile.

"Did you know Samara too?" Shay asked him.

"A little…yeah, I suppose, but mostly through Romi," he admitted. "I think I only met her like once or twice at most."

"Do you know anything about a bracelet and ring that we found in the bottom of a lake?" John questioned them.

Romi's eyes widened. "How do you know about them? No one was supposed to find them."

"That doesn't matter," Shayera told her. "They're yours…aren't they?"

Romi slowly nodded her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. "They're mine," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I never wanted to see them again."

"So, you gave them to Samara to get rid of them?" Shayera guessed. "Why would you want to do that?"

"My father gave them to me," Romi admitted. "I never wanted to see them again, so I gave them to Samara to get rid of them."

"Why would she throw them into the lake and then take a picture of where she disposed of them?" John asked.

"Proof," the boyfriend said.

"Proof of what?" Shayera questioned them.

"Her father is not someone you want to mess with," he told them. "He's very dangerous. That's why Romi won't have anything to do with him."

John frowned as he crossed his arms. "How so?"

Romi and her boyfriend both froze, suddenly appearing scared out of their minds. Shayera looked back over her shoulder to see the shadow of something moving at the far end of the alley. "Who is it?"

"N…n…no one," Romi readily said. "We must go. Sorry, we can't help you. I hope you find out what really happened to Samara. She was the best."

With that, the pair took off down the alley, disappearing around the corner before either John or Shayera could respond. "Hey!" John yelled as Shayera ran in the opposite direction in hopes of discovering the identity of the shadow.

Exiting the alley, Shayera found no one there, the street was empty. She cursed under her breath, kicking at a stone on the ground. "Nothing?" John asked her.

"No…whoever it was they're gone," she told him.

"Whoever it was struck major fear into those two," he commented. "They were pretty freaked out."

"We need to find out more about Romi's father," she decided. "I have a feeling he may hold the answer we need."

"Let's just hope we can find him without getting ourselves killed," John stated with a frown.

Wayne Manor; September 7th, 08:03 EST

Kaia sat on the couch with her arms crossed and a scowl fixed on her face. Nicholas sat beside her with a similar expression. Neither were willing to budge no matter how much Alfred tried to coax them. It was time to bring in Dad.

Bruce entered the entertainment room to find his children still sitting on the couch, their backpacks on the floor at their feet. "What's going on here?" he asked. "You two will be late for school if you don't get going."

"We're not going to school," Kaia stated with a glare. "We're not going to school until Mama comes home."

Bruce was a little taken aback by his daughter's adamant stance but more so by her brother's. "And that's why you two aren't going to school?"

"We want Mama," Kaia told him. "She's been gone forever, and we want her to come home right now."

Bruce sighed heavily as he moved to crouch on the floor before them. He knew they were growing anxious and lonesome for their mother. He could hardly blame them. Diana had been gone for five days. To a small child, it no doubt felt like an eternity. To him, it felt like forever too.

He knew this talk was coming at some point the longer that Diana stayed in this stasis-like state. He was going to have to think fast. "I know it's been really hard for both of you," he began. "Your mom is still on a very important mission. She and I are both hoping she comes home real soon, though."

"How soon?" Nicholas asked, his blue eyes filled with so much sadness it tugged at Bruce's heart.

He laid a gentle hand on Nicholas's knee. "I don't want to say tomorrow and then have it not be that way," he replied. "I really think it could be in the next few days."

"Really?" Kaia said with a skeptical look.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You two have been so good since your mom has been gone."

"Are you just saying that to get us to go to school?" Kaia asked.

"No," he replied. "I mean it. I'm really proud of you two. I know it's been hard. It's been hard for me too. I really miss her, and I know she misses us."

Nicholas quickly slid off the couch and wrapped his arms around his father's neck. "It'll be all right, Daddy," he told him. "Mama will be home soon we'll all be together again…even the new baby."

Bruce embraced his son, Kaia joining them. "Yeah, Daddy," she reassured him. "We can make it a few more days. We were just really sad this morning, but it'll be okay."

Bruce could hardly contain his emotions, his children overwhelming him. He kissed both of them on the head, releasing them. "Scoot," he said, swallowing hard. "You're going to be late for school."

"Come along," Alfred said. "When you come home this afternoon, I'll have a surprise waiting for you."

"What kind of surprise?" Nick asked.

"It won't be a surprise if he tells us," Kaia retorted as she picked up her backpack.

"It will be something we're going to make for your mother's return," Alfred revealed.

"That sounds like fun," Nick decided as they followed Alfred out of the room.

Bruce sank onto the couch, holding his head in his hands. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to do this. He needed Diana…their children needed her. They had gotten a few answers so far, but nothing that would lead them to bring Diana back to them.

He had no idea what they were going to do if this continued for weeks or even months. He had rapidly reached the end of his rope with all of this, hanging from a thin thread that he was unraveling. Something needed to happen soon, or he was going to lose his mind.

Diana's Mind; September 7th, 09:13 EST

"Do you think this is going to work?" Batman asked.

"I'm hoping it will reveal something," J'onn replied. "If it doesn't, we'll have to enlist the assistance of one of the magic-wielders to see if they can find something that is causing all this trouble."

"I'm telling you there is something wrong," she adamantly stated. "I'm not just dreaming all of this."

"We believe you, Diana," Bruce reassured her. "We'll get to the bottom of it one way or another."

"I hope so because I feel like I'm losing my mind," she confessed.

Bruce reached over to take her hand in his, squeezing it affectionately. "You're not losing your mind," he told her. "I won't let that happen."

"You're good, Bruce, but I don't think even you could stop it from happening," she softly murmured.

He kissed her temple, knowing that he wouldn't give up on her no matter what. "You know how tenacious I can be."

"Annoyingly so," she responded with a chuckle.

"All right, let's begin," J'onn said. He began attaching electrodes to Diana's temples and chest, hoping to glean as much information as possible. "I'm just going to check your heart just to make sure there are no medical conditions that could be affecting you. Then, we'll check your brain activity. This could take quite some time to run the whole battery of tests that I'd like to perform."

"I have monitor duty in fifteen minutes," Batman informed them. "Call me immediately if you find anything at all, J'onn. I'll check on you both later."

"Don't worry about me," she told him. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will," he attempted to reassure her.

She sighed as he left, hoping that she was right. She didn't feel fine. She felt out of sync…as if she was moving at a different speed from everyone else. Time would run normally only to have it suddenly speed up by months and years. That was definitely not right.

As J'onn began to run his tests, Diana wondered if she should talk to Wally about what she was experiencing. He had said once that everyone around him moved at a different, slower pace. Was that what she could be experiencing? Could it be she was gaining a new gift that she had not possessed before?

If it was a new ability, she didn't want it. At this rate, everyone she loved could be dead in another year. The thought alone made her shudder. If anything, she wanted time to slow down, not speed up.

"Are you all right, Diana?" J'onn asked her, noticing a change in her heart rate.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"If you'd like to, you can lay down," he offered. "This is going to take some time."

"No, I'm okay," she reassured him. "I just want to get this over with."

"I can't promise you anything," he reminded her. "I hope to discover the cause of your time jumps, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to find it."

"I know," she said. "I just appreciate your checking."

"Do you suppose there is someone who is out to hurt you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think that someone is after you…wants to destroy you?"

"There's always someone who wants to be rid of me."

"Could it be someone close to you that wants revenge for something?"

"Close to me how?"

"Someone who you trust…perhaps a family member or friend?"

Diana frowned as something began to stir in the back of her mind. There was something familiar about what J'onn had said, something that made her think that he may be right. Why did it seem like something that she had heard before?

Why did she suddenly have an overwhelming feeling of dark foreboding…and why did she feel the need to fight for her life?

A/N: Is Diana figuring it all out?

UP NEXT: Are Zatanna & Constantine growing closer to finding the answer? John & Shayera find out some startling information.