A Flash by Any Other Name
Jun. 8th, 2006 04:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieBruce has his hands full; so does the rest of the League.
Part Thirty-Four: Showdown at Wayne Manor
"Brucie old pal! Come out come out wherever you are!"
Bruce watched the Joker stalk through the demolished front door of the manor from the Batcomputer's monitor, as he was brandishing an uzi and continuing his taunts. They'd used a missile launcher from the armoured van they'd burst through the front gates with. He was going through towards the kitchen, and behind him, Deadshot and Tsukuri fanned out towards the clock.
So they knew.
"Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, I need you at Wayne Manor now." He growled over the coms. "Diana, take care of Joker. The cave security should keep them out for at least five minutes."
"We have another problem." Dick's hurried voice replied, "Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze just took over City Hall, Robin and I just arrived, may be more inside, and hostages."
"Batgirl, ETA?"
"Three minutes, boss."
Then the feeds went out and his comlink made a crackling noise in his ear.
"Damnit." There was no time to try and engage the redundancy systems; something good enough to kill his equipment would be good enough to present a problem. Bruce closed his eyes and focused. 'J'onn? J'onn, can you hear me?'
'Yes, Batman. I was about to contact you; Impulse has sent back a report that you may be attacked this evening...'
'Tell me something I don't already know.' He paused, then hurriedly added, 'Have they been made?'
'Not yet.' J'onn assured him. 'That's not all. An attack on the Metro Tower and the Watchtower are both set to commence within 10 hours. I'm scrambling teams now. Do you need assistance?'
'No, I think we have this for now. Can you set up a telepathic link for my team? My communications are down.'
'Yes. I believe I can shift my resources now that we know their intentions. One moment.'
Bruce felt the link expand, and became distantly aware of his protoge`s and Diana.
'I have established the link.' J'onn announced. 'I will be monitoring, but my attentions are divided at the moment.'
'Understood.'
'Woah...' Tim's voice echoed.
"Alfred, see what you can do here." Bruce ordered, "I'm going up."
'Nightwing, report.' He began moving up a side entrance to the manor that came out in the pantry of the kitchen.
'We're going in. I'll keep you posted.'
'Diana?' There was no response. 'Diana?'
Then there was just an insane laugher over the link that made him hurry his steps. Bruce pressed his ear to the door, ensuring it was quiet before he slipped out. He closed the entry behind him, then heard a deafening crack from the west wing.
"Diana!"
Bruce ran after the sound, and found Diana holding the Joker in a choke-hold against a wood beam that had been cracked in half and was now threatening to give out. She was laughing hysterically, her hair tousled and a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Oh, Batman, such a killjoy." She turned her head to one side and gave him a mocking grin. "Don't worry, I'm just going to have a little fun with the clown here."
Before he could move, she'd taken off, bursting through a window, and taking the Joker with her.
'J'onn, find Diana. She has the Joker, and appears to be under some kind of influence.'
'I'll do what I can.'
Bruce ran back towards the cave entrance, where Tsukuri was still working to open it up while Deadshot was watching her back, and instantly sprung into a roll, shooting the gun strapped to his wrist. Bruce ducked and tucked into his own roll, avoiding the shots and sending an electrified batarang into his hand.
Deadshot grabbed his arm and began screaming in fury and agony, as Tsukuri stood and readied her blade.
"You know you cannot beat me." Bruce said, standing at his full height menacingly and sending a bola around Deadshot with a deceptively casual move of his arm.
"Not alone, no." She smirked. "Luckily, I brought friends."
He sent out another bola, which she quickly cut through and jumped clear of, landing at his left as the front windows blew out with the blinding green of an energy blast.
"I believe that was our cue." It was Metallo, followed by Clayface, who undoubtedly had just been broken out of Stonegate's maximum security.
'I'm going to need that backup now.' He projected quickly, leaping off the wall to avoid another green blast.
'I can... wait...'
Bruce needed better ground. He sent a tear gas grenade behind him as he ran to where Batgirl had just driven up and leaped straight off her bike.
'Impulse is enroute to your position.' J'onn broke in, sounding heavily distracted. 'No other available personnel, the Metro Tower just sent out a distress call.'
'Fabulous.' He stood ready, and turned his face slightly to the figure beside him.
"It's Tsukuri, Metallo, and Clayface. Take out Tsukuri, I'll hold off the other two until help arrives."
Barbara nodded and slipped into the remains of the front door as their foes burst back through the front windows. Metallo was incredibly fast, making half the distance between them before Bruce could grapple up to the second floor eaves and throw a pair of blinding flash grenades and two Thanagarian-enhanced concussion grenades behind him.
He turned to face them again, finding Bart, who at some point had changed into his own uniform, running up the side of the wall and stopping beside him breathless and a little frantic. There wasn't time to consider what that meant.
"Water from the harbor, douse Clayface now."
"ButIdon'tknowhow!"
"Run fast in a circle, you'll figure it out, go."
Bart nodded and took off towards the cliffs, a column of seawater forming seconds after he vanished, that began moving towards the manor in an ominous red glow from the sunset behind him.
That left Metallo.
Bruce took off at a run along the edge of the roof, swinging up to the third floor dormers and whirling around. Metallo had recovered, jumping up after him, half of his synthetic human face blown away, leaving a metallic skull and a gleaming green eye grinning at him macabrely.
He sent three explosive batarangs into his chest, not waiting to see their impact as he ran parallel along the uneven rooftop. The force of the blasts sent Metallo backwards back toward the ground, but he wouldn't be down long.
The column of water came down over the yard with a 'Sploosh!', and as Bruce came back towards the edge, he could see a large puddle of brown mud seeping towards the cliff edge.
'Batman, we have company here, Count Vertigo and Heatwave are.... wait a minute, they're fighting the other two? Hang on.' Nightwing said into his mind.
Bruce sent another pair of concussion grenades toward where Metallo was picking himself off the ground, and as the blast cleared, he saw Impulse running toward him. Before he could even shout a warning, Bart was on top of him, trying to tug him apart; but his construction was too durable for that, and Metallo managed to grab him by the back of his uniform, holding him in the air and grabbing his neck.
Leaping off the roof, Bruce swung down, and watched Bart begin to vibrate out of the choking hold, the exposed metal on Metallo's hand going red-hot before he slipped out of his grasp and began sending punches at super-speed.
"Impulse! Get the kryptonite out of his chest!" Bruce landed and made ready for his next move; Bart was moving too fast for him to aim around him at Metallo's torso.
With a shouted warning, Bruce sent a bola towards Metallo's head, and Bart ducked clear as it hit the target, wrapping around his face with a snap of the round weights and sending him in a backward fall. Faster than his eye could see in anything but a blur, Bart had jumped on his chest in mid-air, and was vibrating his hands into Metallo's chest with his eyes narrowed into slits and a grimace on his face.
With half a strangled cry, Metallo's eyes grew dim as Bart jumped back, the hunk of kryptonite in his red-gloved hands. The metal man fell with a hard thud on the torn-up lawn, and Bart doubled over, panting.
"Woah." Bart whispered.
'Batgirl?'
'All taken care of, she's resting peacefully now.'
'Nightwing?'
'This is madness! Right now we're just trying to stay out of their way!'
'Do you need help?'
'No, I think they're doing a fine job for us. We're going to wait until they start wearing each other down a bit more, Robin's already got the hostages out.'
'J'onn?'
'The battle is currently leaning in our favour, I'll keep you updated. I'm still working on Diana's location.'
'Alfred?'
'Communications should be up again shortly, Master Bruce. I dare say I much prefer the old fashioned way to telepathy.'
'Good, keep working on it.'
He took the kryptonite out of Bart's hands and slipped it into a lead-lined pouch on his belt, then looked down at the boy. He was white as a sheet, looking up at him wide-eyed.
"What's happened?" Bruce asked briskly.
"I had to leave him behind." Bart replied balefully.
Bruce knelt down in front of him and gently grabbed his arm.
"Bart, tell me everything."
"Wallyhadmerunoutside... and... therewas a bigboomand..." Bruce stroked his hair reassuringly as he caught his breath. "He gotstuckandmademeleave! Badguysbehindusdoorsssshut!"
Bart was trembling, and Bruce hoisted him up in one arm, where he clung on as he stood and held him to his chest.
'J'onn, have you been able to make any contact with Flash at all?'
'No.'
'Impulse is here, the situation is contained but we need the authorities to come retrieve them. J'onn, do what you can to get a link to Flash, they were made and he had Bart leave ahead of him.'
'I'll do what I can.'
'I know you will.' Bruce cut off his projections before he let a grip of fear chill him to the bone.
Bart's body was almost uncomfortably hot, even through the kevlar, but he was beginning to relax. Bruce held him as much for his own reassurance as his.
With his free arm, Bruce pushed aside the oak front door, dangling from it's hinges precariously. He found Barbara securing Deadshot, Tsukuri already unconscious and bound in the middle of the floor.
"She sure knows how to throw a kick." Barbara commented lightly, a bruise already flowering across her jaw.
'Star Labs personnel enroute to secure Metallo and Clayface, as well as local police. They're tied up in a situation at City Hall, but were able to spare some cars. I've managed to find Diana's location. Her mind is very chaotic, but she's remaining in one location for the moment.'
'Alfred, do we have communications yet?'
'One moment, sir.' Bruce surveyed the wreckage of his home as his mind raced around a million concerns.
"Testing? Ah yes. There we go." Alfred's voice said through the coms.
"J'onn?"
"I'm reading you Batman."
"Transmit coordinates to Diana's position into the wing's GPS, I'm taking Impulse to her location." He looked at Bart, who nodded. It would be good to get his mind off what they couldn't yet help; he wasn't about to send the boy into another heated conflict, and Brannock possibly had some method of teleportation at his disposal to have moved on Metro Tower so quickly after knowing they'd been discovered; they might all be gone already. "Do you have teams enroute to the Arizona compound?"
"Superman, Captain Atom, and Green Lantern are on their way, I'm transporting them over now."
"Good. Batman out." He turned to Barbara. "Bruce Wayne wasn't home; the Justice League received intelligence on the attack and had him moved beforehand. Inform Star Labs personnel that there may be nano-tech in those two, and to contact the Watchtower with further assistance if they do. Once things are secure here, go back up Nightwing and Robin."
She nodded resolutely and Bruce opened up the cave entrance, that had weld marks around the edges.
"Alfred, conceal the cave entrance before the authorities arrive to those criminals ranting about secret doors. I'm going after Diana and Joker."
"I can do it quicker." Bart said. "I can hide it real fast."
Bruce set him down and nodded.
"Very well. There's drywall and extra wallpaper in third floor storage room, move that over the door and right the clock. Remove all evidence of welding or your work. Alfred will inspect it, then let you back inside the cave."
Bruce went to his computer and began receiving feed of the aftermath of the battle over the Metro Tower; there was significant damage in the entire area, but a flood of special forces and League members were rounding up defeated foes.
His com buzzed, and he hit it tersely.
"What?"
"Superman reports the compound deserted, they're still investigating." J'onn said.
"If they were going to hit the Watchtower, they would have already." Bruce remarked.
"Agreed. We are on high alert, nevertheless."
"Has Diana's position shifted yet?"
"No. From what I can gather, she has no intention of going anywhere. Joker is still alive."
"Understood."
He restocked his utility belt and hopped into the plane, turning on it's systems and firing up the engines. Seconds later, Bart ran up and hung on the passenger side, peeking over the open canopy with only his goggles and floppy hair visible alongside his fingers gripping the edge.
"I'm done. Can I still come?"
"Get in."
He hopped in the seat and Bruce retracted the canopy. Giving the jets a push, they shot out into the sky westward. Bart looked around at the consoles with amazement, chewing on the tip of his index finger.
"Do everything I say and nothing more. Understood?"
"Mmmhmm." Bart nodded fervently. "But... are we going to get Wally, too?"
"We..." Bruce swallowed hard, looking straight ahead. "We don't know where he is right now."
"Oh." Bart fingered the edge of the canopy, then looked back over at Bruce earnestly. "He's going to be ok, right? Because he promised."
"Wally... is very resourceful." He replied, not trusting himself to say anything more definite. False hope was something he never felt compelled to give. "We're here."
He lowered the plane into a descent, running silent and invisible in the growing dark of the last remnets of sunset.
J'onn's coordinates put Diana in what appeared to be a long-vacant church in the middle of an overgrown field. Bruce landed the plane on the grass and stepped out cautiously. True to his name, Impulse was already running inside; with a frown, Bruce mused that he should issue Bart his own com-link instead of just borrowing one now and then.
Bruce skirted the building and stepped through the front doors, hurled open and cracked from dry rot and excessive force. Inside was lit by a trash can full of burning wood in the middle of the floor, sending flickers of light over the weathered wood floor and the remains of murals wearing off the wall.
Bart ran back behind Bruce's cape, holding it in front of him like a barrier. A barrier against Diana, who had the Joker tangled in the lasso and strapped to a wood beam. She was twirling around in some kind of disjointed dance, and as she saw Batman, stopped and burst out in laughter that shifted into chaotic cackles.
"You're just in time! I have a joke, would you like to hear it, Batman? I know he would." She grinned and grabbed Joker's collar. "You haven't been laughing, but I know you want to."
It was a rare moment when Joker didn't look like he was amused. Now was one of those times; he looked outright terrified.
"She's crazy! A lunatic! Bats, you have to help me here!"
"Shh! Now, here's the joke; what's purple, white, and red all over?"
"Ahh... do I have to answer that?"
"Oh come on, don't be such a party-pooper."
"Diana." Bruce said firmly. "That's enough."
"Oh no no no, I'm just getting started. And he hadn't answered my question! He's going to ruin the punchline!"
"Lady, right now I just don't want to be the punchline."
Diana began roaring in laughter again, clutching her sides and half doubled-over in hysterics.
"Joker, what did you do to her?"
"Not a thing! Scout's honour!" He eyed Diana warily, then eyed Bruce warily. "Alright, maybe a little teensy thing. But not this! She's a madwoman!"
In the confines of the half of the cape not being pulled at by Bart, Bruce began unwinding a length of cable.
"He just doesn't get the joke! Isn't that funny?"
"Diana, I need you to focus."
"Focus? I can do that." She flew over and hovered in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and leaning her face down almost touching his own. "Focused enough for you?"
Bruce didn't respond, but nudged Bart with a gauntlet holding the looped cable.
"The other beam." He said.
"What?" She asked, blinking in confusion.
Bart whisked it out of his hand and looped the line all around Diana, pulling it tight and running with it over to the beam, where he looped it again. Caught off-guard, he was able to tug her close until he secured the line and ran back. Bruce leapt forward with a syringe of tranquilizers, but the beam wasn't as strong as he'd hoped.
She knocked him away as the wood gave out and she flew free; it didn't even slow her down, but was threatening to bring the roof down on them.
"Fine! If you won't be any fun, I'm going to find some on my own!"
With that, she hurdled up through the shingles and sent down a flurry of dust, wood chips, and stray stud beams. Bruce shut his eyes and prepared to shield himself from the debris, then found himself outside next to a still-bound Joker watching the roof cave in and the whole building collapse in on itself. Bart was doubled over, leaning on his knees and breathing hard.
"You're really heavy." He said accusatorially.
His com buzzed.
"Yes, J'onn?"
"Diana has removed her com-link, I'm no longer able to track her movements either with the systems or telepathic contact."
"Have they found anything in Arizona?"
"Computer equipment that appears to have been taken off-line. Steel has requested we transport it aboard for study. I'm deliberating the wiseness of that."
"Take precautions, but we need to learn everything we can, fast."
"Agreed."
"I'm taking the Joker to police custody, keep me apprised. Batman out."
Bruce ensured Joker didn't have any other surprises stashed away, then secured him into the back of the wing.
They didn't talk on the flight back to Gotham; just tuned out Joker's ranting. Bart stayed inside without the need for an order to do so as Joker was turned over to STAR Labs representatives, to be tested for the nano-tech. The distraction of work hadn't lasted very long.
Knowing that Wayne Manor would still be crawling with police, Bruce stashed the Batwing in a secondary garage under his Gotham penthouse, changed into casual clothes, and drove back in the Mercedes. Bart ran home to change, and met him on a turnout just over the Sprang Bridge, where he hopped in dressed in baggy jeans and a green t-shirt that looked far too big for his small frame.
Bruce tapped his communicator, and J'onn replied, sounding much less distracted.
"I could use a League member in Bristol." As a cover, he didn't say, but J'onn would understand that.
"GL and Superman have just completed securing the Arizona compound, Steel has taken over the site."
"Green Lantern."
"I'll transport him over, he'll meet you there. Watchtower out."
They didn't talk about Wally. Bruce tried not to think about it; there was no confirmation he'd been captured. It wasn't as reassuring a thought as he'd like it to be.
Bruce went through the necessary circus of authorities and had them on their way with assurances that he would be able to take care of everything privately. The appearance of a Justice League member ensuring his safety and a bankroll that didn't need to be clarified had them cleared out in an hour, once they'd taken all the scene photos and notes they needed.
They kept the press firmly outside the manor gates, demolished as they were, but operations would be... complicated... for at least another couple of days. He already had a private security force out front as soon as the police left, and GL left to go continue with the surveying of the Metro Tower damage.
Bruce stood in his front hall staring at the giant hole torn through the middle of the manor with Dick, who'd just arrived to brief him on the City Hall incident, but had yet to say anything.
Bart zipped around them; Dick might not notice any difference in the boy, but Bruce could see tension radiating off him.
"This is quite a mess." Dick finally commented neutrally.
"Hn."
"I don't suppose you were already planning to remodel."
"Not particularly."
"Any news about Wally?"
"No."
Dick sighed, then summed up his own exploits; Count Vertigo and Heatwave had vanished once they'd burned up Ivy's plants and left the two criminals trussed up in the lobby. No injuries to bystanders. Puzzling.
They turned as a security guard walked up the drive, escorting a lean teenager with messy black hair and a courier's uniform.
"Says he has a package for you, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce nodded and signed on the clipboard the messenger offered, taking the brown envelope. He had green eyes. Bruce noticed it and looked away, throwing him a $50 bill.
They waited until both had gone back outside, then went down into the cave through the pantry entrance. Bruce ran the envelope through a scan, ensuring there wasn't anything dangerous inside; couldn't be too careful.
He slipped it back out once it came back clean, opening it with a pocket-knife as Bart watched him curiously. He read the single sheet of paper, then crumpled it in his hand.
Part Thirty-Four: Showdown at Wayne Manor
"Brucie old pal! Come out come out wherever you are!"
Bruce watched the Joker stalk through the demolished front door of the manor from the Batcomputer's monitor, as he was brandishing an uzi and continuing his taunts. They'd used a missile launcher from the armoured van they'd burst through the front gates with. He was going through towards the kitchen, and behind him, Deadshot and Tsukuri fanned out towards the clock.
So they knew.
"Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, I need you at Wayne Manor now." He growled over the coms. "Diana, take care of Joker. The cave security should keep them out for at least five minutes."
"We have another problem." Dick's hurried voice replied, "Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze just took over City Hall, Robin and I just arrived, may be more inside, and hostages."
"Batgirl, ETA?"
"Three minutes, boss."
Then the feeds went out and his comlink made a crackling noise in his ear.
"Damnit." There was no time to try and engage the redundancy systems; something good enough to kill his equipment would be good enough to present a problem. Bruce closed his eyes and focused. 'J'onn? J'onn, can you hear me?'
'Yes, Batman. I was about to contact you; Impulse has sent back a report that you may be attacked this evening...'
'Tell me something I don't already know.' He paused, then hurriedly added, 'Have they been made?'
'Not yet.' J'onn assured him. 'That's not all. An attack on the Metro Tower and the Watchtower are both set to commence within 10 hours. I'm scrambling teams now. Do you need assistance?'
'No, I think we have this for now. Can you set up a telepathic link for my team? My communications are down.'
'Yes. I believe I can shift my resources now that we know their intentions. One moment.'
Bruce felt the link expand, and became distantly aware of his protoge`s and Diana.
'I have established the link.' J'onn announced. 'I will be monitoring, but my attentions are divided at the moment.'
'Understood.'
'Woah...' Tim's voice echoed.
"Alfred, see what you can do here." Bruce ordered, "I'm going up."
'Nightwing, report.' He began moving up a side entrance to the manor that came out in the pantry of the kitchen.
'We're going in. I'll keep you posted.'
'Diana?' There was no response. 'Diana?'
Then there was just an insane laugher over the link that made him hurry his steps. Bruce pressed his ear to the door, ensuring it was quiet before he slipped out. He closed the entry behind him, then heard a deafening crack from the west wing.
"Diana!"
Bruce ran after the sound, and found Diana holding the Joker in a choke-hold against a wood beam that had been cracked in half and was now threatening to give out. She was laughing hysterically, her hair tousled and a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Oh, Batman, such a killjoy." She turned her head to one side and gave him a mocking grin. "Don't worry, I'm just going to have a little fun with the clown here."
Before he could move, she'd taken off, bursting through a window, and taking the Joker with her.
'J'onn, find Diana. She has the Joker, and appears to be under some kind of influence.'
'I'll do what I can.'
Bruce ran back towards the cave entrance, where Tsukuri was still working to open it up while Deadshot was watching her back, and instantly sprung into a roll, shooting the gun strapped to his wrist. Bruce ducked and tucked into his own roll, avoiding the shots and sending an electrified batarang into his hand.
Deadshot grabbed his arm and began screaming in fury and agony, as Tsukuri stood and readied her blade.
"You know you cannot beat me." Bruce said, standing at his full height menacingly and sending a bola around Deadshot with a deceptively casual move of his arm.
"Not alone, no." She smirked. "Luckily, I brought friends."
He sent out another bola, which she quickly cut through and jumped clear of, landing at his left as the front windows blew out with the blinding green of an energy blast.
"I believe that was our cue." It was Metallo, followed by Clayface, who undoubtedly had just been broken out of Stonegate's maximum security.
'I'm going to need that backup now.' He projected quickly, leaping off the wall to avoid another green blast.
'I can... wait...'
Bruce needed better ground. He sent a tear gas grenade behind him as he ran to where Batgirl had just driven up and leaped straight off her bike.
'Impulse is enroute to your position.' J'onn broke in, sounding heavily distracted. 'No other available personnel, the Metro Tower just sent out a distress call.'
'Fabulous.' He stood ready, and turned his face slightly to the figure beside him.
"It's Tsukuri, Metallo, and Clayface. Take out Tsukuri, I'll hold off the other two until help arrives."
Barbara nodded and slipped into the remains of the front door as their foes burst back through the front windows. Metallo was incredibly fast, making half the distance between them before Bruce could grapple up to the second floor eaves and throw a pair of blinding flash grenades and two Thanagarian-enhanced concussion grenades behind him.
He turned to face them again, finding Bart, who at some point had changed into his own uniform, running up the side of the wall and stopping beside him breathless and a little frantic. There wasn't time to consider what that meant.
"Water from the harbor, douse Clayface now."
"ButIdon'tknowhow!"
"Run fast in a circle, you'll figure it out, go."
Bart nodded and took off towards the cliffs, a column of seawater forming seconds after he vanished, that began moving towards the manor in an ominous red glow from the sunset behind him.
That left Metallo.
Bruce took off at a run along the edge of the roof, swinging up to the third floor dormers and whirling around. Metallo had recovered, jumping up after him, half of his synthetic human face blown away, leaving a metallic skull and a gleaming green eye grinning at him macabrely.
He sent three explosive batarangs into his chest, not waiting to see their impact as he ran parallel along the uneven rooftop. The force of the blasts sent Metallo backwards back toward the ground, but he wouldn't be down long.
The column of water came down over the yard with a 'Sploosh!', and as Bruce came back towards the edge, he could see a large puddle of brown mud seeping towards the cliff edge.
'Batman, we have company here, Count Vertigo and Heatwave are.... wait a minute, they're fighting the other two? Hang on.' Nightwing said into his mind.
Bruce sent another pair of concussion grenades toward where Metallo was picking himself off the ground, and as the blast cleared, he saw Impulse running toward him. Before he could even shout a warning, Bart was on top of him, trying to tug him apart; but his construction was too durable for that, and Metallo managed to grab him by the back of his uniform, holding him in the air and grabbing his neck.
Leaping off the roof, Bruce swung down, and watched Bart begin to vibrate out of the choking hold, the exposed metal on Metallo's hand going red-hot before he slipped out of his grasp and began sending punches at super-speed.
"Impulse! Get the kryptonite out of his chest!" Bruce landed and made ready for his next move; Bart was moving too fast for him to aim around him at Metallo's torso.
With a shouted warning, Bruce sent a bola towards Metallo's head, and Bart ducked clear as it hit the target, wrapping around his face with a snap of the round weights and sending him in a backward fall. Faster than his eye could see in anything but a blur, Bart had jumped on his chest in mid-air, and was vibrating his hands into Metallo's chest with his eyes narrowed into slits and a grimace on his face.
With half a strangled cry, Metallo's eyes grew dim as Bart jumped back, the hunk of kryptonite in his red-gloved hands. The metal man fell with a hard thud on the torn-up lawn, and Bart doubled over, panting.
"Woah." Bart whispered.
'Batgirl?'
'All taken care of, she's resting peacefully now.'
'Nightwing?'
'This is madness! Right now we're just trying to stay out of their way!'
'Do you need help?'
'No, I think they're doing a fine job for us. We're going to wait until they start wearing each other down a bit more, Robin's already got the hostages out.'
'J'onn?'
'The battle is currently leaning in our favour, I'll keep you updated. I'm still working on Diana's location.'
'Alfred?'
'Communications should be up again shortly, Master Bruce. I dare say I much prefer the old fashioned way to telepathy.'
'Good, keep working on it.'
He took the kryptonite out of Bart's hands and slipped it into a lead-lined pouch on his belt, then looked down at the boy. He was white as a sheet, looking up at him wide-eyed.
"What's happened?" Bruce asked briskly.
"I had to leave him behind." Bart replied balefully.
Bruce knelt down in front of him and gently grabbed his arm.
"Bart, tell me everything."
"Wallyhadmerunoutside... and... therewas a bigboomand..." Bruce stroked his hair reassuringly as he caught his breath. "He gotstuckandmademeleave! Badguysbehindusdoorsssshut!"
Bart was trembling, and Bruce hoisted him up in one arm, where he clung on as he stood and held him to his chest.
'J'onn, have you been able to make any contact with Flash at all?'
'No.'
'Impulse is here, the situation is contained but we need the authorities to come retrieve them. J'onn, do what you can to get a link to Flash, they were made and he had Bart leave ahead of him.'
'I'll do what I can.'
'I know you will.' Bruce cut off his projections before he let a grip of fear chill him to the bone.
Bart's body was almost uncomfortably hot, even through the kevlar, but he was beginning to relax. Bruce held him as much for his own reassurance as his.
With his free arm, Bruce pushed aside the oak front door, dangling from it's hinges precariously. He found Barbara securing Deadshot, Tsukuri already unconscious and bound in the middle of the floor.
"She sure knows how to throw a kick." Barbara commented lightly, a bruise already flowering across her jaw.
'Star Labs personnel enroute to secure Metallo and Clayface, as well as local police. They're tied up in a situation at City Hall, but were able to spare some cars. I've managed to find Diana's location. Her mind is very chaotic, but she's remaining in one location for the moment.'
'Alfred, do we have communications yet?'
'One moment, sir.' Bruce surveyed the wreckage of his home as his mind raced around a million concerns.
"Testing? Ah yes. There we go." Alfred's voice said through the coms.
"J'onn?"
"I'm reading you Batman."
"Transmit coordinates to Diana's position into the wing's GPS, I'm taking Impulse to her location." He looked at Bart, who nodded. It would be good to get his mind off what they couldn't yet help; he wasn't about to send the boy into another heated conflict, and Brannock possibly had some method of teleportation at his disposal to have moved on Metro Tower so quickly after knowing they'd been discovered; they might all be gone already. "Do you have teams enroute to the Arizona compound?"
"Superman, Captain Atom, and Green Lantern are on their way, I'm transporting them over now."
"Good. Batman out." He turned to Barbara. "Bruce Wayne wasn't home; the Justice League received intelligence on the attack and had him moved beforehand. Inform Star Labs personnel that there may be nano-tech in those two, and to contact the Watchtower with further assistance if they do. Once things are secure here, go back up Nightwing and Robin."
She nodded resolutely and Bruce opened up the cave entrance, that had weld marks around the edges.
"Alfred, conceal the cave entrance before the authorities arrive to those criminals ranting about secret doors. I'm going after Diana and Joker."
"I can do it quicker." Bart said. "I can hide it real fast."
Bruce set him down and nodded.
"Very well. There's drywall and extra wallpaper in third floor storage room, move that over the door and right the clock. Remove all evidence of welding or your work. Alfred will inspect it, then let you back inside the cave."
Bruce went to his computer and began receiving feed of the aftermath of the battle over the Metro Tower; there was significant damage in the entire area, but a flood of special forces and League members were rounding up defeated foes.
His com buzzed, and he hit it tersely.
"What?"
"Superman reports the compound deserted, they're still investigating." J'onn said.
"If they were going to hit the Watchtower, they would have already." Bruce remarked.
"Agreed. We are on high alert, nevertheless."
"Has Diana's position shifted yet?"
"No. From what I can gather, she has no intention of going anywhere. Joker is still alive."
"Understood."
He restocked his utility belt and hopped into the plane, turning on it's systems and firing up the engines. Seconds later, Bart ran up and hung on the passenger side, peeking over the open canopy with only his goggles and floppy hair visible alongside his fingers gripping the edge.
"I'm done. Can I still come?"
"Get in."
He hopped in the seat and Bruce retracted the canopy. Giving the jets a push, they shot out into the sky westward. Bart looked around at the consoles with amazement, chewing on the tip of his index finger.
"Do everything I say and nothing more. Understood?"
"Mmmhmm." Bart nodded fervently. "But... are we going to get Wally, too?"
"We..." Bruce swallowed hard, looking straight ahead. "We don't know where he is right now."
"Oh." Bart fingered the edge of the canopy, then looked back over at Bruce earnestly. "He's going to be ok, right? Because he promised."
"Wally... is very resourceful." He replied, not trusting himself to say anything more definite. False hope was something he never felt compelled to give. "We're here."
He lowered the plane into a descent, running silent and invisible in the growing dark of the last remnets of sunset.
J'onn's coordinates put Diana in what appeared to be a long-vacant church in the middle of an overgrown field. Bruce landed the plane on the grass and stepped out cautiously. True to his name, Impulse was already running inside; with a frown, Bruce mused that he should issue Bart his own com-link instead of just borrowing one now and then.
Bruce skirted the building and stepped through the front doors, hurled open and cracked from dry rot and excessive force. Inside was lit by a trash can full of burning wood in the middle of the floor, sending flickers of light over the weathered wood floor and the remains of murals wearing off the wall.
Bart ran back behind Bruce's cape, holding it in front of him like a barrier. A barrier against Diana, who had the Joker tangled in the lasso and strapped to a wood beam. She was twirling around in some kind of disjointed dance, and as she saw Batman, stopped and burst out in laughter that shifted into chaotic cackles.
"You're just in time! I have a joke, would you like to hear it, Batman? I know he would." She grinned and grabbed Joker's collar. "You haven't been laughing, but I know you want to."
It was a rare moment when Joker didn't look like he was amused. Now was one of those times; he looked outright terrified.
"She's crazy! A lunatic! Bats, you have to help me here!"
"Shh! Now, here's the joke; what's purple, white, and red all over?"
"Ahh... do I have to answer that?"
"Oh come on, don't be such a party-pooper."
"Diana." Bruce said firmly. "That's enough."
"Oh no no no, I'm just getting started. And he hadn't answered my question! He's going to ruin the punchline!"
"Lady, right now I just don't want to be the punchline."
Diana began roaring in laughter again, clutching her sides and half doubled-over in hysterics.
"Joker, what did you do to her?"
"Not a thing! Scout's honour!" He eyed Diana warily, then eyed Bruce warily. "Alright, maybe a little teensy thing. But not this! She's a madwoman!"
In the confines of the half of the cape not being pulled at by Bart, Bruce began unwinding a length of cable.
"He just doesn't get the joke! Isn't that funny?"
"Diana, I need you to focus."
"Focus? I can do that." She flew over and hovered in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and leaning her face down almost touching his own. "Focused enough for you?"
Bruce didn't respond, but nudged Bart with a gauntlet holding the looped cable.
"The other beam." He said.
"What?" She asked, blinking in confusion.
Bart whisked it out of his hand and looped the line all around Diana, pulling it tight and running with it over to the beam, where he looped it again. Caught off-guard, he was able to tug her close until he secured the line and ran back. Bruce leapt forward with a syringe of tranquilizers, but the beam wasn't as strong as he'd hoped.
She knocked him away as the wood gave out and she flew free; it didn't even slow her down, but was threatening to bring the roof down on them.
"Fine! If you won't be any fun, I'm going to find some on my own!"
With that, she hurdled up through the shingles and sent down a flurry of dust, wood chips, and stray stud beams. Bruce shut his eyes and prepared to shield himself from the debris, then found himself outside next to a still-bound Joker watching the roof cave in and the whole building collapse in on itself. Bart was doubled over, leaning on his knees and breathing hard.
"You're really heavy." He said accusatorially.
His com buzzed.
"Yes, J'onn?"
"Diana has removed her com-link, I'm no longer able to track her movements either with the systems or telepathic contact."
"Have they found anything in Arizona?"
"Computer equipment that appears to have been taken off-line. Steel has requested we transport it aboard for study. I'm deliberating the wiseness of that."
"Take precautions, but we need to learn everything we can, fast."
"Agreed."
"I'm taking the Joker to police custody, keep me apprised. Batman out."
Bruce ensured Joker didn't have any other surprises stashed away, then secured him into the back of the wing.
They didn't talk on the flight back to Gotham; just tuned out Joker's ranting. Bart stayed inside without the need for an order to do so as Joker was turned over to STAR Labs representatives, to be tested for the nano-tech. The distraction of work hadn't lasted very long.
Knowing that Wayne Manor would still be crawling with police, Bruce stashed the Batwing in a secondary garage under his Gotham penthouse, changed into casual clothes, and drove back in the Mercedes. Bart ran home to change, and met him on a turnout just over the Sprang Bridge, where he hopped in dressed in baggy jeans and a green t-shirt that looked far too big for his small frame.
Bruce tapped his communicator, and J'onn replied, sounding much less distracted.
"I could use a League member in Bristol." As a cover, he didn't say, but J'onn would understand that.
"GL and Superman have just completed securing the Arizona compound, Steel has taken over the site."
"Green Lantern."
"I'll transport him over, he'll meet you there. Watchtower out."
They didn't talk about Wally. Bruce tried not to think about it; there was no confirmation he'd been captured. It wasn't as reassuring a thought as he'd like it to be.
Bruce went through the necessary circus of authorities and had them on their way with assurances that he would be able to take care of everything privately. The appearance of a Justice League member ensuring his safety and a bankroll that didn't need to be clarified had them cleared out in an hour, once they'd taken all the scene photos and notes they needed.
They kept the press firmly outside the manor gates, demolished as they were, but operations would be... complicated... for at least another couple of days. He already had a private security force out front as soon as the police left, and GL left to go continue with the surveying of the Metro Tower damage.
Bruce stood in his front hall staring at the giant hole torn through the middle of the manor with Dick, who'd just arrived to brief him on the City Hall incident, but had yet to say anything.
Bart zipped around them; Dick might not notice any difference in the boy, but Bruce could see tension radiating off him.
"This is quite a mess." Dick finally commented neutrally.
"Hn."
"I don't suppose you were already planning to remodel."
"Not particularly."
"Any news about Wally?"
"No."
Dick sighed, then summed up his own exploits; Count Vertigo and Heatwave had vanished once they'd burned up Ivy's plants and left the two criminals trussed up in the lobby. No injuries to bystanders. Puzzling.
They turned as a security guard walked up the drive, escorting a lean teenager with messy black hair and a courier's uniform.
"Says he has a package for you, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce nodded and signed on the clipboard the messenger offered, taking the brown envelope. He had green eyes. Bruce noticed it and looked away, throwing him a $50 bill.
They waited until both had gone back outside, then went down into the cave through the pantry entrance. Bruce ran the envelope through a scan, ensuring there wasn't anything dangerous inside; couldn't be too careful.
He slipped it back out once it came back clean, opening it with a pocket-knife as Bart watched him curiously. He read the single sheet of paper, then crumpled it in his hand.
Wayne:
I have something you want.
Midnight, Gotham Cathedral.
M.B.
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on 2006-06-08 08:52 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-08 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-08 09:46 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-08 10:07 pm (UTC)I will, I promise. :D
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on 2006-06-08 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-08 10:37 pm (UTC)I'm putting it together already, I promise. Resolution will come!
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on 2006-06-08 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-08 10:56 pm (UTC)Hope you update soon!
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on 2006-06-08 11:06 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-08 11:56 pm (UTC)I hope I have fingernails left by the time the next chapter is up! Thank you so much!
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on 2006-06-09 05:14 am (UTC)Deciding not to actually cut back and forth between the different events was a tricky choice, glad it worked. :D
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on 2006-06-09 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-09 04:37 am (UTC)Wow. That is the extenet of my vocabulary for your wonders still unfolding.
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on 2006-06-09 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-09 09:31 pm (UTC)You need to finish the next chapter, like, yesterday!
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on 2006-06-10 08:24 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-10 08:34 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-10 07:50 pm (UTC)Ah! I have to know what happens!
Nothing is ever easy for Bruce.
*pets him*
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on 2006-06-10 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-10 08:28 pm (UTC)Mmm...I really want some coffee too. I'm off to Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis.
I shall return...er, later.
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on 2006-06-12 06:59 pm (UTC)My preccccccccioussssssssssss twisssssssssstsssssssssss....
Must read more... Wally in danger, must read action. Bye!
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on 2006-06-16 03:20 pm (UTC)*snuggles Wally to her chest*
Btw, I am really enjoying your portrayal of Bart in this fic. He's my woobiekins.
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on 2006-06-26 08:51 am (UTC)Bart was trembling, and Bruce hoisted him up in one arm, where he clung on as he stood and held him to his chest.
BART IS TEH WOOBIE. Awwwww, Bart! Bart! I just wanna snuggle him and reassure him...
Nice crazy Diana too, and excellent scared-shitless Joker. Crazy Diana would be very, very frightening, even without all the Max Lord backstory.
I'm in awe of you writing such a complicated fight scene, with all the mini-battles and communications and...strategy! And you pull it off. I could never manage it.
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on 2006-06-26 04:47 pm (UTC)And thank you. I try. :D
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on 2008-07-02 06:28 am (UTC)no subject
on 2008-07-02 12:44 pm (UTC)No, no... that's fine. XD