Death Rains

[Coran]

(Note 1: Before reading this story please go reply to the story "Judge of Character" by Witness. He worked really hard on that story and deserves a reply. Thank you for your cooperation.)

(Note 2: For those who wonder, this story takes place a year or two after my trilogy which includes "Time Waits For No One", "Vengeance", and "Justice: Vengeance Style". I hope you enjoy this story as much as you said you enjoyed my past series.)

Chapter 1: Reunions

Bruce Wayne stood quietly, gazing up at the portrait of his dead parents. Many years… sometimes seeming like centuries had passed since their deaths, but that night would forever haunt him and forever drive him to fight for justice under the mantle of Batman.

"Are you Ok Bruce?" Selina Kyle asked as she slowly walked up to stand behind Bruce.

Bruce nodded as he turned to offer a strained smile to Selina, "Yeah… I was just remembering the past."

Concern shone in Selina's eyes as she looked at Bruce and finally she nodded slowly, "Alright. Are you about ready to leave? Alfred just pulled the car up."

Bruce nodded, "Go on out… I have to make a quick call."

Selina stood up on tiptoe and gently brushed her lips across Bruce's jaw while she whispered, "Don't be too long." Then she turned and slowly strolled out of the room.

Bruce stood quietly, watching Selina walk off, then sighed and moved over to the phone. Hesitantly he lifted the received and then dialed in the number that was permanently burned into his brain.

***************************************

Dick Grayson lay stretched out on his bed, slowly flipping through the pages of a Sport Illustrated magazine. He had a rather bored expression on his face and was really just passing a few more minutes before leaving the house.

Dick looked up with some surprise as his phone began to ring, and he reached over, answering with a brief, "Grayson."

"Hey Dick, its Bruce." Bruce replied, "Are you still planning on coming to the mansion while Selina and I are on our business trip?"

Dick chuckled quietly as he replied, "Wouldn't miss it for the world. I was planning on visiting sometime soon anyway, and Barbara and I really need to spend some time together."

"Just make sure that doesn't distract you." Bruce replied, though a slight trace of amusement could be heard.

"Right." Dick said with a quiet laugh. "Talk to you later Bruce."

"Oh, and Dick." Bruce said.

"Yeah?"

" Thanks." Bruce's voice said quietly.

Dick was silent for several moments… in shock because of the one word he had just heard over the phone line. "No problem." Dick finally answered in a slightly surprised voice. "See you later."

"Bye Dick."

***************************************

Dick Grayson pulled up on his motorcycle and sat astride it as he gazed at the Gordan house. A quick move of his foot, and the kickstand was down. Dick set his helmet on the handlebars and then strolled up to the door. Moments later, the sound of knocking was echoing through the whole house.

***************************************

Barbara sighed as she walked towards the door. It had just been a rather crappy day… no make that week. She didn't want to do anything, much less have to deal with some door-to-door salesman or something. For that past week her father had been getting threats against his life if he didn't do what some creepo wanted… she knew that was rather normal, but it still scared her. She had tried to find out something as Batgirl, with no luck. "Life can be a real pain sometimes." She muttered angrily.

The knocking sounded again, becoming more insistent. Barbara glared at the door that waited only a few yards away, and yelled, "Yeah, yeah! I'm coming!"

Barbara grabbed the handle, and yanked it open. "What do you want?!" she asked in an irritated voice, then her eyes widened in amazement, and her mouth dropped open in shock. "Dick…" she breathed out quietly as their eyes met.

"Hey Babs." Dick said with a gentle smile, though his eyes broadcast his concern, "You OK?"

Barbara stared at Dick, and then she did the one thing she never wanted to happen when Dick was around… she started crying.

Dick moved forward swiftly, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her gently as he slowly caressed her hair. Tears streamed down Barbara's face as she clutched Dick close.

***************************************

Tim Drake sat in the Bat Cave with an uninterested expression on his face. Normally he'd be out on patrol right now or something, but instead he had to stay and monitor things on the bat computer. If something happened he would head out, but for now, he was bored out of his skull.

"This stinks." Tim muttered to himself. "Why couldn't I have gone to Japan with Bruce and Selina? That sure would have been more interesting than staying here."

"Cranky, Tim?" Dick's voice suddenly echoed through the cave.

Tim spun in surprise, to see Dick standing there with his arm around Barbara. "Dick!" He yelled with a grin.

"How ya doin'?" Dick asked with a steady smile as he and Barbara slowly descended the last few steps.

Tim stood, a broad smile on his face. "Great thanks. When did you get back in town?"

"Just a couple of hours ago." Dick replied easily. "I had to go see Barbara first though. Bruce asked if I could help out here in Gotham while he was away, and since I wanted to visit sometime soon anyway, I said yes."

Tim smirked as he watched Dick and Barbara glance towards each other every few seconds but for one of the very few times in his life, he chose to not make a smart remark.

***************************************

"I knew threats would never work." The man growled as he leaned back in his chair. Five men stood respectfully in front of the desk, though each of them tried to look through the shadows that enveloped their employer. "It looks like we'll have to show Gordan that we mean business!"

***************************************

[Batgirl]

Coran you sure know how to work a storyline! Keep it up! I can't wait to see how this turns out!

[The Game]

Yay! :D Coran has started a new story! Whoo! :p

-The Game

[The Guitar Slayer]

All right...more tickets to be sold :D
Heh heh heh. Please add more soon, Coran

[Batgirl_2005]

woo hoo!! another story by coran! i'm sure it'll be fabulous!

[Sweetdreams]

I can't wait till the next part. Please post soon.

[BatKid]

Nice beginning chapter! I see things have changed since your last trilogy story, with the most surprising thing is that Bruce and Selina are closer. Not that I don't like it, it was a schock, but at the same time, it was cool. :) One question, are Bruce and Selina dating, since they now have a true relationship, and that they know each other's identities?

Once again, nice story, and please post soon.

[Coran]

Ok, time to answer to few questions I have created so far. In my story, Selina and Bruce do have a close relationship. At the end of my last story, which took place a couple of year before, Selina found out Bruce's secret identity. Since that time they're relationship and flowered and grown, and they are now close to insperable. I hope that answers your question.

[Coran]

Chapter 2: Vanished

Bruce Wayne stood on the balcony of his apartment, looking out over Tokyo's skyline. Even though the city of Tokyo was much more modern, and more attractive, Bruce found himself feeling that small knot in his stomach already… he was homesick for the familiar surrounding of Gotham.

"Great…" Bruce growled to himself. "The big macho playboy is homesick. Life is so ironic."

"That's for sure." Selina purred as she suddenly stepped up beside Bruce and looked into his face. "Ironic that you and I would end up together, even after all we've done to each other."

Bruce made a face as he muttered, "You weren't suppose to hear that!"

A throaty chuckle emitted from Selina… the kind of chuckle that always made a shiver run up and down Bruce's spine. "You and I don't have many more secrets Bruce."

Bruce sighed as he wrapped his arms around Selina and looked down at her, "How come you seem to win so many of our verbal battles?"

Selina grinned mischievously as she answered, "Because you're the strong silent type… and I'm not!"

***************************************
(Wayne Enterprises: Tokyo Branch Office)
"Night Morty." One of the security guards called wearily as he headed for the exit.

"Bye Rishu." Replied Morty with a tired smile. Morty looked at the clock on the wall, and watched the hands slowly move, indicating it was now 6:59 a.m. "At least I've only got one more hour."

Morty thought. Slowly he leaned back in his chair, and laced his hands together behind his head as he stared at the ceiling thinking about his family… his wife Betty and their two sons Tyler and Darin. "They've had it hard, but at least they're used to Japan now." Morty thought tiredly. Then he smiled as he thought, "They help me a lot… with them around, there's always something to go back home to."

Morty was allowed the luxury of thinking about his family for about thirty seconds. Suddenly a masked man stepped up to the glass door and aimed a sub-machinegun directly towards the guard. The gun was a silenced version of 9mm MP5. It was the quietest of its class and the one of the most feared weapons across the world. Before Morty could react three puffs of smoke came out of the barrel signaling the release of three bullets. The first bullet shattered the glass of the doorway and ricocheted away, embedding itself into the wall, but the next two slammed into the Morty's head, sending him to the floor. The poor man was dead before he even had a chance to realize exactly what had happened.

A piercing wail of an alarm siren echoed through the still morning, shattering the peacefulness of the city. Seven other masked men appeared behind the first, and with the practiced moves of commandos, they converged into the building. As the eight men moved through the building, metal doors dropped down, covering all the important areas, however, they had come ready for this situation. Seconds later, they men were standing beside a door marked "Experimental Laboratory". Swiftly one of the men placed a breaching charge, and moments later detonated it, sending deadly shrapnel flying into the room. The commando team rushed in, and ran all the way to the back of the room, where they swiftly copied some information from the computer onto a disk. Exactly ninety seconds after the commandos had entered, they rushed out the door. The last commando stopped only long enough to toss a grenade back into the room.

***************************************

The ringing of the phone, shattered Bruce Wayne's sleep, and he quickly sat up in bed, shaking the drowsiness from his head.

"Who would be calling at this time in the morning?" Selina murmured as she buried her head under a pillow.

Bruce smiled slightly as he glanced at the time… 7:30 a.m. and then reached over and picked up the phone. "Yes?"

"Mr. Wayne, there's been a problem at the branch office… could you please come down here?" Answered a male voice.

Bruce sat totally still for a moment before asking, "What kind of problem?"

"There was an attack… five people died: one security guard and four scientists. The police are here now, and need to speak with you sir." Answered the man.

"I'm on my way." Bruce replied swiftly.

***************************************

Bruce Wayne stood gazing over the carnage that had once been his office building with a rather shocked gaze. As Batman he was used to see this kind of thing, but as Bruce Wayne, he was mainly shielded from it. Even though Batman and Bruce were one and the same, it was like he had a protective shell around each that separated his two personalities. Bruce shook his head sadly as he watched the EMTs roll out the last of the dead bodies.

"It's horrible." Murmured Selina as she stood behind him looking over the area.

Slowly Bruce walked up, instinctively thinking like Batman for several moments. "These guys were pros." He murmured so that only Selina could hear. "Special Forces and Military personnel are trained to either use double or triple taps… two or three shots fired into a target. That's how the guard was taken down. Then they set up a breaching charge that blasted in the door, and sent shrapnel crashing into everything near the door. Because all the scientists were nearby, there was no more resistance, and the killers took what they wanted."

"What did they take?" Selina asked softly as the looked over the area.

"Security footage shows them putting some information on a desk. I'll have to look up the details of the project to know exactly what they were doing." Bruce replied softly.

"Why do I get the feeling this is only the beginning." Selina murmured softly.

***************************************
(Gotham Police Department: 9:00 a.m.)
Commissioner Gordan walked up to his office, sipping at his coffee quietly. Moments later he was at his desk, looking over the latest reports from that day.

***************************************
(GPD Front Desk)
"A delivery for the Commissioner huh." Said the officer on duty as he signed for the small, brown box. "I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thanks bub." Answered the delivery boy with a grin. "See ya later."

"Bye kid." Answered the desk officer.

The delivery boy then turned and raced out of the building. "Kids…" Muttered the desk officer. "When are they going to learn to slow down?"

The officer picked up the box, and then turned to head towards the stairs. As he took his first step, the package suddenly erupted in a huge explosion. Deadly shrapnel flew across the room and wounded officers left and right while killing several.

***************************************

"What the hell?!" Yelled Commissioner Gordan as he felt the building begin to shake, and heard the tell tale sound of an explosion.

***************************************

Barbara Gordan sat on the couch in her home, looking at the television, though she wasn't really paying attention. Instead her thoughts dwelt on a certain young man whom had just returned to Gotham and with whom she had spent most of the previous night.

"Can a girl get an happier?" Barbara murmured to herself as she stared at the television without really seeing it.

"And now, a special report. A bomb has just gone off in the Gotham Police Department. Officials are not yet commenting on the nature of this explosion, or the number of injuries, but early estimates place the death toll between twenty and fifty, with the number of officers wounded going off the charts." Said the news announcer.

Barbara sat up in shock and stared at the TV, unsure about what to do or say. Suddenly, her autopilot kicked in, and she stood, heading for the door. She grabbed her purse, and stepped outside, slamming the door closed behind her. As she turned away from the door to move towards her car, a quiet whir suddenly was heard, and a dart embedded itself into her neck. Before Barbara could react, she was on the ground unconscious.

"This should get the Commissioners attention." Murmured the man as he walked up and lifted Barbara onto his shoulder.

***************************************

A gentle breeze rustled the grass around the Gordan house as the sun shone down on the peaceful setting. Amidst the sea of green lawn lay a white purse and a pair of white pumps… the only evidence as to what had happened.

***************************************

[witness]

Aw, thanks for the plug for my story! Ok, this is coming along great so far. I'm a little sad that I already know some of your plot, but I hope to be surprised real soon! Anyways, keep up the good work. Hey, I skimmed through the story and I found something else to say! I am very intrigued about what's going on in Tokyo. It seems that trouble always follows Bruce/Batman wherever he goes! I'm really interested about what will happen with that.

[Batgirl]

I see those punks on Dick's hitlist. They have no clue what they just did... I can't wait to see what happens!

[Coran]

Chapter 3: Flip For It
(GPD Roof)
Nightwing dropped to the roof silently, his eyes sifting through the shadows swiftly to find the dark form of the commissioner.

"You rang?" Nightwing murmured as he slipped up behind Gordan.

The commissioner turned swiftly, his gaze locking onto that of Nightwing. Nightwing's eyes widened slightly when he read the pain that was buried in Gordan's own eyes.

"What happened?" Nightwing asked swiftly.

"Where's Batman?" Gordan asked, the frustration obvious in his voice.

"He had some urgent business to attend to… Justice League stuff." Nightwing lied easily. "Now, what happened?"

"They took Barbara." Commissioner Gordan answered, his voice dripping with hate. "Someone decided to kidnap my little girl!"

Nightwing stood silently fighting back his own deep emotions as he looked at the irate man… finally he was totally in control again. "Have you had any contact yet?" Nightwing asked softly.

Commissioner Gordan shook his head, his eyes hard, as he answered, "None. Its as if whoever did this decided it was a mistake, and they don't want to claim responsibility."

Nightwing nodded slowly his analytical mind swiftly working over the problem. "What time was she taken?"

"Around the same time as the bomb went off." Gordan answered with a grimace.

Nightwing nodded and muttered, "It's likely that was mainly a diversion for you then… at least if we're dealing with the same people.

Nightwing stood quietly for several more moments and then turned and stalked away from the Commissioner.

"Hey!" Shouted Gordan. "Where are you going?"

Nightwing turned, his eyes icy, with a deadly smile on his face. "I'm going to find your daughter."

Seconds later, Gordan was alone on the rooftop.

***************************************
(Tokyo)
Batman and Catwoman stood gazing over the city of Tokyo. Normally Batman didn't operate outside of his own country, but this was a drastic situation that called for drastic measures.

"Where do we look now?" Catwoman purred out in a tired voice.

Batman gazed coldly at the unfamiliar terrain and murmured, "I'm not sure yet… I think it's time to get the word on the street first though."

Catwoman smiled, flashing a glimpse of pearly white teeth. "Wonderful." She murmured.

***************************************

Jake Patterson slowly strolled down the streets of Tokyo. An American gaining a rather high position in the Japanese mob was unusual to say the least, but Jake had done it, and was now second in command for the Yacuza.

"Jake Patterson?" A deep voice asked from the shadows of a nearby alley.

"Who wants to know?" Jake asked with a smirk as he turned towards the voice.

Suddenly a powerful hand, covered by a black glove reached out and yanked him into the alley, throwing him several yards away from the streets.

"Alright whoever you are!" Jake growled as he stood and quickly brandished a 5.7mm Belgian Pistol, "You are going to pay for that one!"

Before Jake could react, the end of a whip flew out, and cracked again his hand, causing him to drop his pistol with a cry of pain. Suddenly a figure dressed like a bat was standing in front of him, and a fist was slammed into his nose.

Jake dropped to the ground, holding his nose to try and staunch the flow of blood that was flowing down his chest.

Batman smiled coldly down at Jake, "Wrong answer. Who attacked the Wayne building earlier?"

Jake looked, his eyes blazing with hate. "Go f*** yourself!" He snarled.

Suddenly Jake's head was yanked back, forcing him to stare into the eyes of Catwoman, while claws slowly caressed the skin over his neck, "Even a worse answer." She murmured in a deadly voice.

Jake's eyes widened in fear as he felt small droplets of blood bead up on the surface of his skin, where Catwoman's claws had punctured ever so slightly. It was at that moment he finally realized that he was totally out of his league.

***************************************

"Who would want to pay the Yacuza to get those disks for them?" Batman mused quietly as he gazed over Tokyo.

Catwoman stood behind him, slowly wiping the blood from off of her claws, "Someone just as crazy as them."

Batman stood silent as he gazed out over the city of Tokyo pensively… trying to determine his next move.

Catwoman slunk over and pressed her form against Batman while murmuring, "How about we call it a night and see what kind of excitement we can make on our own?"

Batman smiled slightly, thinking about it for a moment. The sky was beginning to lighten, signaling daybreak, so he couldn't do anything else until that evening or night anyways. Batman then turned and wrapped his arm tight around Catwoman's waist. In a swift move he lept off the building and swung off into the night, holding Catwoman at his side.

***************************************

(Bat Cave)
Dick gritted his teeth in frustration as he continued to listen to the phone ring… he had been waiting hours to get in contact with Bruce, but it was like he had just dropped off the face of the earth.

"Fine!" Dick growled as he slammed down the phone, "I'll do this my way!"

Tim watched Dick silently as the older youth began to pace around the room. "What are you going to do?" Tim's quite voice broke the stillness of the cave.

"I'm going to get her back… what else would I do?!" Dick yelled. He stood glaring at Tim for several moments, and then his eyes softened slightly, "Sorry Tim… I'm not angry at you."

Tim gave a half-smile as he nodded slightly, "I know."

Dick reached up, and pulled back on his mask, transforming himself into Nightwing once again. "Time for some action!"

***************************************
(Wayne Enterprises: Tokyo Branch Office)
Bruce Wayne sat at a desk, slowly browsing over the papers in front of him.

"Find anything?" Selina asked softly as she moved up to stand beside his chair.

Bruce's eyes narrowed as he finished reading one paragraph, though his face had a very thoughtful expression on it, "Yes… and it's not good. Apparently this group of scientists was working on a solution for acid rain. They wanted a formula that would cause the chemicals that form acid rain to simply turn to plain water when they came in contact with water. In their work, they actually discovered a chemical formula that, upon contact with water or even water vapor, would change the water to pure acid instead."

Bruce turned, his eyes showing anger, but also a tinge of fear, "Someone could rain down terror across the world using that."

Selina's eyes showed shock as she stood, gazing at Bruce in silence.

***************************************

"You did what?!" Shouted the shadowy form of the boss.

"I snatched Gordan's daughter. You said we had to show Gordan we meant business, and I thought this would be a good way to do it."

"So let us get this straight." Growled the boss. "You," the boss continued extending his right hand to point to one of the men, "sent a bomb to the GPD. And you," the boss said as he indicated the other man," kidnapped Gordan's daughter. Both as a way to show Gordan we mean business."

The two men nodded swiftly, sensing that their lives depended on their swift answers.

"You two are a complete imbeciles!" The man growled as he stepped from the shadows, revealing the grisly visage of Two-Face. "Now we have to decide what to do with both of you."

The two men gulped as they watched Two-Face continually flipping his coin up in the air.

"Good side, I kill you!" Two-Face growled as he pointed to the man who had kidnapped Gordan's daughter. "Bad side, I kill you." He snarled as he pointed to the other man.

A tremor of fear ran down the henchmen's back as they watched the light reflect off the coin as he whirled through the air before landing in Two-Face's hand.

***************************************

"Now what should we do about the lovely female Gordan." Two-Face growled as he stepped over the dead body of his one time employee who had been stupid enough to kidnap Barbara Gordan. The other employee slowly walked behind Two-Face, glad to alive for the moment.

Two-Face slowly stepped out the door and gazed down at the unconscious form of Barbara Gordan.

"I could just let her go… she's unconscious and would never know what happened. Though it would probably be best to just hide her away somewhere until my plan is complete." Thought Two-Face.

"Kill her and dump the body. Nobody will ever know, and Gordan will go to pieces without her! Then our plan will easily succeed!" Said another voice in his head.

Two-Face suddenly tossed the coin in the air, watching it lazily somersault through the air before he grabbed it in his tight fist. A moment passed as Two-Face looked at Barbara, and then he growled to the man beside him, "Good side, she lives, though she remains detained."

"And bad sides?" Asked the man softly.

Two-Face turned his gaze to the man and snarled, "What do you think Michael?!"

***************************************

[Panther]

Great characterization of Two-Face. I liked how it wasn't even his plan. It reminded me of the story of Tomas of Becket. Do you know the story? The king supposidly grumbled "Will no one rid me of this troublesome preiest?" and so four of his knights promptly rode out and killed Tomas. NEway, I'm just babbling histoy stuff, as usual. This is good stuff - can't wait for the next post!

later,

[Batgirl]

Awwww... poor Babs! Please don't keep us hanging!

[witness]

yeah, don't leave us in suspense! I want to know what happens next! Come on Coran...post the next chapter!!!

[Coran]

(Note: I appologize to all my readers for the tardiness which has plagued this latest post. For the past several days I have been having difficulties with my ISP, and thus have been incapable of posting. My appologize once again. Enjoy! Adieu!)


Chapter 4: Operation "Rescue Babs"

Barbara groggily sat up, as she finally woke up from the knockout poison. As her temples began to pound in rhythm with each heartbeat, Barbara found herself wishing she were still unconscious. Several minutes passed, before the headache died enough that Barbara could take a look around the room. Slowly she scanned the room, that she knew was probably supposed to be her home for the next few days.

"Well not if I can help it." Barbara murmured.

The walls were made of black volcanic stone and a very thin line of gray mortar held the stone together. One barred window looked to the outside world, revealing a sandy beach right on the ocean. Waves rolled gently up, crashing on the beach, but no people could be seen. The door was a solid oak with a small window that had metal bars lacing through it. The only furniture in the room was the bed that Barbara currently sat on. The bed was bolted to the floor, thus rendering it impossible to use for any kind of weapon. As Barbara looked down at the floor, her gaze locked on some brown stains on the floor. She slowly bent down to examine them closer, and suddenly realized it was dried blood. Swiftly she sat back, and leaned against the wall.

"Screaming won't work." Barbara thought to herself as she turned her gaze to the scene outside. "If there were people around, I wouldn't have been put in a room that had a window with no glass and dried blood on the floor."

Barbara slumped back down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. A wistful smile painted itself over her features as she thought about her father… and Dick.

"I'll get out of this, if it's the last thing I do!" Barbara vowed to herself silently.

***************************************

Gotham was cloaked in darkness, and a light drizzle fell from the black clouds. Nightwing ignored the elements as he silently looked over the city. Slowly his head turned, as he scanned the city until finally, his piercing gaze locked on his target… Frankie Flynn. Nightwing smiled coldly as he lept off the tower, and glided down the street, quietly following the figure of Frankie.

***************************************

Frankie Flynn turned up the collar of his raincoat, and cursed his stupidity and not having brought an umbrella. With an impatient move, Frankie turned, and ducked through an alley, takeing a short cut he knew. Suddenly he was knocked up against the wall by an unseen hand.

"I need some information!" Nightwing's voice growled out from the surrounding darkness.

Frankie reached under his coat, and quickly drew a silenced 0.45 Caliber M23 pistol. He lifted it, and swung the deadly pistol in a wide arc as he tried to find his target. "I'm not talking to you bird brain!"

"Why do you even bother with that anymore?" Nightwing's impatient voice rang out. "Holster it and do it the easy way, or I can beat the information out of you!"

Frankie stood unsure for a moment and then holstered his gun with a slight grunt. "Whatever. So what do you want to know?"

Nightwing suddenly stepped out of the shadows, materializing directly behind Frankie. "Who kidnapped Barbara Gordan?" He growled in Frankie's ear.

Frankie jumped, and spun quickly, his eyes wide. "Don't do that!" Frankie said angrily. "What are you tryin' to do? Give a guy a heart-attack or somethin'?"

Nightwing smiled coldly, and lifted up one hard fist, "My question?"

Frankie sighed and raised two hands in a placating gesture, "Ok… ok. I don't know exactly who did the Gordan job, but I do know that Michael Wood was in on it."

Nightwing stared at Frankie hard as he murmured, "And where can I find this Michael Wood?"

Frankie snorted derisively as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his raincoat, "In the morgue. Somebody capped him."

Nightwing suddenly moved forward, slamming Frankie up against the other wall while holding him by his lapels, "You aren't being very helpful Frankie!"

"Ok! Ok! Talk to George Grissham… Wood's best friend! It's a good bet if one of them was in on the job, the other was too!" Frankie pleaded quickly.

Nightwing tossed Frankie to the ground, his eyes cold as he waited for the last part of the information.

"He works at the Iceberg Lounge!" Frankie said hurriedly.

"Thanks Frankie!" Nightwing said with a deadly smile. "Maybe we can do this again sometime."

Frankie looked down with a sigh, then stood up and looked around… making sure he was alone. "I think it's time for me to visit some friends in Metropolis." He murmured softly as he slunk away.

***************************************

Aaron Sykes and Jeffery Mariuchi sat in their monitor stations, quietly watching Barbara on the hidden video camera that was in her cell.

Jeffery yawned a stretched, a smug smile plastered on his face as he leaned back in his chair, "Now this is the life… all we gotta do is make sure that babe doesn't get out until the boss wants her out. Plus we get all the food and booze we want. Can it get any better?"

Aaron smirked as he watched Barbara, a smile of pure rage on his face, "Oh yeah… it can get a lot better… like when I get to kill Gordan's daughter!"

Jeffery quickly sat up, and slapped his hand across the back of Aaron's head, "Don't even think about it!" Jeffery growled. "You know what the boss said. Nobody touches the girl! You do, and you end up just like Michael!"

Aaron shrugged and leaned back, his eyes looking very shrewd, "Whatever you say buddy. You're in charge."

"And don't you forget it!" Jeffery growled as he stood up, and then walked over to the bathroom.

Aaron smiled as he returned his gaze to the monitor, watching Barbara without her knowledge, "That's right… you're the boss for now. Course, when I take over, that girl is all mine!"

***************************************

Nightwing crouched on the top of the Iceberg Lounge, waiting. Slowly he peered in through a skylight, and saw the Penguin sitting at his desk, looking over columns of numbers.

An evil smile appeared on Nightwing's face as he lept in the air, and then crashed down through the skylight, landing right in the middle of the Penguin's desk. "Hello Cobblepot… fancy meeting you hear!"

"You!" The Penguin said angrily as he pushed his chair back from the desk and pointed a finger at Nightwing, "Why do you always have to show up here and tear up everything! Do that again, and I'll have a warrant sworn out for your arrest!"

Nightwing smiled coldly as the looked at the irate man, "Relax… I'm not here for you. I need to talk to George Grissham. I understand he works here."

Penguin glared at Nightwing, as he thought for several moments, and then nodded, "Yeah… he's a pearl diver."

"A what?" Nightwing asked with raised eyebrow.

Penguin sighed in exasperation before impatiently explaining, "He's a dishwasher you imbecile. Grissham should be getting off his shift now, so if you will go outside you can see him there."

"How about you call him into the office?" Nightwing murmured with a smirk.

"You are a born troublemaker!" Penguin growled as he turned and waddled over to the door. "Hey, Duke… send George in here."

***************************************

George Grissham looked up in surprise as Duke, the bouncer, walked over. "The boss wants to see you in his office… now."

"I wonder why he'd want to see me?" George murmured as he dried off his arms and took of his apron. Then he grinned as he continued; "Maybe he hired me out for a job."

George walked through the dining room, carefully skirting the edges so that he wouldn't disturb anyone's dinner. "The boss hates it when we do that." He thought with a slight smirk. Moments later George was knocking at the office door.

"Come in!" Penguin's voice rang out.

George stepped in slowly, his sharp eyes taking in the flabby form of the Penguin. The Penguin looked up from the desk where he was sitting and motioned to a chair across from the desk, "Have a seat. And close the door."

George flipped the door closed behind his back, and strolled over to the chair, failing to notice the menacing figure of Nightwing who had standing right behind the door.

"Well, hello Grissham!" Nightwing growled as he stepped forward to block the door. "I've been waiting for you."

George spun swiftly, his eyes wide for a moment, and then they narrowed swiftly, "What do you want?"

Nightwing smiled coldly as he slowly stalked towards George, "I want information about Barbara Grayson's kidnapping."

George's eyes widened in surprise and he stood there for a moment, then turned and sprinted for a nearby window. Before Nightwing could react, George dove straight through the glass, crashing to the ground. With a quick motion, George lifted himself back up on his feet, and took off running again.

As Nightwing walked over to the window, and watched with something akin to amusement, several spotlights suddenly clicked on, highlighting George's movements.

"Stay where you are! This is the police!" An angry voice yelled.

George stopped, and squinted as he tried to look past the bright lights. Police cars were situation in a crescent shape, with officers behind each and every one of them, pointing a 9mm P-228 Pistol, a standard issue law enforcement weapon, at him. Slowly he raised his hands, while his head dropped in a defeated gesture.

Nightwing turned and look at the Penguin with a cold smile, "Thanks for the help Cobblepot. I'll see you again sometime."

"Don't you ever come back here!" The Penguin yelled angrily, before he realized that he was already alone in the room.

***************************************
(1:50 a.m. Goth Corp Main Office)
A delivery van slowly moved down the street, and then pulled into the delivery entrance for the Goth Corp building. The driver pulled the van up to the locked gate, and then stepped out. A cold smile covered his face as he walked back, and smacked the side of the van twice. Suddenly the back doors of the van burst open, and six masked men stepped out. All of the men carried silenced version of the 0.45 cal UMP sub-machinegun, perhaps the most powerful sub-machinegun in the world. With a quick move they ran up to the gate. Five of the men went into a crouch, covering the area as the sixth pulled out a pair of heavy-duty wire cutters. Within a few seconds a large enough hole was cut for the six men to slip into the gated area.

***************************************

All was quite in the Goth Corp building, and the guards walked around slowly. Because of what had happened at the Wayne Enterprises building in Tokyo, every guard wore a Kevlar vest and carries a 9mm TMP sub-machinegun, an extremely compact sub-machinegun that could be easily hidden and easily controlled when being fired.

***************************************

With cold precision, the team of six moved through the empty hallway towards the door that would open into the main entranceway. When they reached the door, the point man slowly peaked out, while holding out a hand towards the other members of the team. Four fingers flashed up, indicating there were four guards in this area. Quickly he crouched, and then reached into his belt, pulling out a Flashbang grenade. With a slow move he opened the door a crack, and then tosses the Flashbang out. Swiftly the team of six turned away from the door to shield their eyes, while simultaneously tucking their heads down against their right shoulders, while covering their left ears with their left hands.

***************************************

A slight rattling surprised one of the guards and he turned to see a cylindrical object of some kind rolling towards him. Suddenly the object erupted in an extremely loud explosion, and bright flash of light, stunning all of the guards.

***************************************

At the sound of the explosion, the six commandos turned and burst through the door. Six weapons drew beads on the four guards. Twelve quieted shots could be heard, and then the thud of four bodies.

The team leader turned, and gave two quick hand signals. Then the team split up into two groups of three, and headed down two hallways.

***************************************

"Patrol Units, we have a silent alarm tripped at the Goth Corp building. Check it out." Said the police dispatcher.

"Yes sir, we're on our way."

***************************************

Team 1 slowly moved down the hallway, until they came to a locked door. With practice moves, one member stepped forward and filled the crack at the door handle with C-4. Swiftly the team stepped away, and just moments later, the C-4 detonated, popping the door open. The three commandos charge in, but found no one in the room. The team leader turned to the other two, and signaled with a quick slashing motion across his throat. Then the three men turned and began raking all the nearby computers with sub-machinegun fire.

***************************************

Team 2 stopped at the end of the hall, and the team leader peered around slowly… three guards stood at the end of the hall. Swiftly the team leader ducked back behind the wall, and then pulled out a fragmentation grenade. With a quick motion, he stepped out, and threw the "pineapple" down towards the guards, ducking back behind the wall as soon as he had released the deadly fruit. A loud explosion sounded, and then the team charged down the hallway, shooting the one surviving guard with a deadly ease. The team leader swiftly stepped up to the computer, and began typing furiously. Exactly 1 minute after having entered the room, the leader had the information he wanted on a floppy disk, and then he stepped away. A quick shot into the computer insured that the information would never be found again, and then the team headed for the extraction point.

***************************************

The patrol unit arrived at the building and slowly walked up to the door of the Goth Corp building. One of the officers reached out and grabbed the door… surprisingly it was unlocked.

"That doesn't look good." Murmured the other officer.

The two stepped in, and their eyes widened at the carnage before them.

"Send EMTs to the Goth Corp building!" One of the officers called over his radio quickly, "And better call the Commissioner… this is a bad one."

***************************************

[Kali]

Oh, yay. What an intriguing development! And Bruce and Selina as a couple. :)

[Panther]

I agree with Kali - Bruce and Selina make the cutest couple!

But, eeeee, that attack was gruesome.

Nightwing is so gonna try and kill anyone who gets in his way of rescuing Babs. Don't leave us in suspense for too long!

later,

[Coran]

Chapter 5: Leads

Nightwing stood behind the one-way glass with his arms crossed, gazing into the interrogation room with his piercing eyes.

"So how is it that the past couple times Barbara has been in danger, Batman's been out of town and you've gone after her?" Harvey Bullock asked in a suspicious voice. "Does Bats not like the Commish's daughter for some reason?"

"Dumb luck." Growled Nightwing without looking at him, "So has George told you anything yet?"

Rene Montoya walked up to stand beside Nightwing, "No… he knows who killed Michael, but he's to scared to say. We've already nailed him for the GPD bombing."

"How'd you pull that one off?" Nightwing asked quietly.

"Fingerprint on one of the bomb components. The crime scene investigators did an extremely good job." Rene said with a smile.

Nightwing nodded slowly, "Did he admit to Michael's taking Miss Gordan?"

Harvey Bullock grunted, "Yeah… and then he told us that his mysterious boss told him to find a good place to keep her. Told us he sent her to Florida."

Nightwing turned to Bullock, his eyes extremely alert, "Florida? Why there?"

Harvey shrugged slightly as he chewed on his toothpick, "How should I know… he's a criminal. Criminal's don't think like you and me."

"Where in Florida?" Nightwing asked with a growl as he turned his eyes back to the prisoner.

"Some rinky-dink town on the coast. Shytown or some nonsense like that. Local police have already combed the area. It's clean." Rene answered softly.

"I think the Commish might have to admit that his girl's dead." Harvey muttered quietly as he stared through the glass.

Nightwing turned swiftly and grabbed Harvey by his coat lapels, lifting him up and slamming his back up against the wall. "If you tell him that," Nightwing growled in a deadly voice, "then I will show you the true meaning of the word pain! There are many things that are much worse than death!"

Suddenly Nightwing turned, tossing Harvey lightly to the ground before he stalked out of the room.

"What'd I say?" Harvey grumbled as he slowly stood up.

***************************************
(Wayne Enterprises: Tokyo Branch Office)
Bruce Wayne sat in his office, quietly browsing through the pages that gave the latest updates on company projects. The world news was turned on, but for the most part he ignored it… until he heard the news report about Gotham City.

"And in other news, GothCorp, in Gotham City has come under major attack. Not the kind of attack you find in court, but instead an attack by armed men. GothCorp had been just weeks away from unveiling plans for a new cruise missile design. The new missile is capable of carrying nuclear, chemical, or normal warheads and the special design allows for almost twice the range of normal missiles. Because all the computers were destroyed, officials cannot be sure if their greatest fear, the chance that the attackers stole the plans, has been realized."

Bruce lifted his arm and clicked it off as he murmured, "Missiles that fly twice as far and a chemical that causes water, or even water vapor to turn to acid."

Swiftly he turned to his computer and pulled up his own specially designed missile defense simulator. In just a few moments he had put in the information about the new missiles, and then he hit the button that would chart the coverage range. "Oh my God." Bruce murmured as he watched the yellow sphere began to spread out over the digital globe.

***************************************
(Tokyo Hotel)
"Ok… so let me get this straight." Selina said with the shock apparent in her eyes, "These new missiles are capable of being launched to anywhere in the world from any place in the world?"

Bruce nodded as he sat on the bed staring at the floor, obviously deep in thought, "Yes."

"But that means that anyone could practically hold the whole world hostage! Especially if they also have the formula for the 'acid' rain." Selina murmured.

Bruce looked up, his eyes cold. "Yes." He said simply.

***************************************
(Gotham)
Dick Grayson strolled into his loft, his eyes thoughtful. He stood there for several minutes as he stared into the mirror.

"I can't do all my investigating as Nightwing," he murmured softly, "and Dick Grayson is too well known."

A wry smile covered his face as he reached down and picked up a 35mm SLR camera off of the dresser. "I guess I'll go as… John Mason, a photographer."

Slowly Dick moved his hand up to his ponytail and muttered, "This will have to go."

With a resolute gaze he reached over and grabbed a nearby pair of scissors and then went to work.

***************************************

Dick slowly ran a hand through his short cropped hair, and then turned and began packing. As soon as his knapsack was full, he pulled on his Nightwing costume, and then pulled on normal street clothes over that.

Dick walked towards the door, and then stopped at the phone, looking down at it. Slowly he picked it up, and dialed in the number for the mansion.

"Wayne Manor." Alfred's voice answered.

"Hey Alfred." Dick said softly.

"Master Dick?" Alfred asked, worry apparent in his voice, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. You and Tim are going to be on your own for a little while. I'm going to Florida… after Barbara. Tim can handle the city's needs." Dick said hurriedly.

"But… Master Dick…" Alfred said.

"Don't say it." Dick interrupted quietly. "I have to do this. I'll see you when I get back."

Before Alfred could say anything else, Dick hung up quickly. Then he ran down to the street, and moments later he was roaring towards the airport on his motorcycle.

***************************************
(Outskirts of Shytown, Florida)
Aaron Sykes sat quietly in the monitor room, an evil smile on his face. Jeffery Mariuchi was asleep in the next room, and Aaron got to simply watch Barbara and think about the future. Right now she was lying on top of the covers, napping. Aaron's eyes were ice cold as he smirked and murmured, "Soon… soon."

***************************************

'John Mason' slowly drove his rented, black Camaro into Shytown. His eyes flicked back and forth, examining the whole town from behind his mirror-like Oakley sunglasses. With a practiced motion he parked the car in front of the one hotel in the town, and then slowly climbed out of the car. Black high-top sneakers, blue jeans, and a black, short-sleeve shirt covered 'John'. Over that he wore a black leather jacket.

'John' grabbed his knapsack and then locked the car before heading into the hotel. "Room for one please." He murmured to the desk attendant.

"$39.95 each night with $5 deposit for the towels." The attendant said without looking up from the magazine she was reading.

'John' smiled slightly as he pulled out six twenties and one five, then tossed them onto the desk. "That should cover me for three nights… right?"

The attendant looked up, and did a double take when she saw the cash. "Yes sir!" She said as she sat up smartly and quickly grabbed the money, "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"How about the key?" 'John' asked with a smile.

***************************************

Dick Grayson sat in the hotel room, staring at his reflection. "Have I done the right thing?" He asked himself softly as he stood and began pacing the room.

"Maybe it would have been better to stay and take care of Gotham, but I can't just leave Babs on her own." He murmured.

Dick sighed as he collapsed back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I just don't know."

***************************************

Dick Grayson slowly strolled through the small town of "Shytown". With a population of only 500, everyone seemed to know everyone else, and thus he found himself the oddball in the crowd. Slowly he walked on until he found the town bar.

"'Granny's Ginhouse' huh." He murmured as he slowly walked up the door and walked in. As the door closed behind him, Dick stood still for several moments, allowing his eyes to adjust from the bright afternoon sun, to the much darker 'Granny's Ginhouse'.

As he looked around, he suddenly realized that everyone was staring at him. "Nothing like making a grand entrance." Dick wryly murmured to himself as he walked up to the bar and plopped down in a seat.

"What'll it be?" The burly man asked as he walked over to where Dick sat.

"Give me the house beer." Dick said easily as he slowly glanced around the room.

"So what's a city slicker like you doing in a town like this?" The barkeeper asked as he set the bottle down in front of Dick.

Dick grabbed it and took a quick sip, before returning his gaze to the man before him. "Taking pictures. There aren't many places like this anymore. Beaches with no one gathering on them is a rare thing." He said with a grin.

"Oh… another photographer." The barkeeper said as he stood there, slowly drying glasses.

"What… you have a lot of them?" Dick asked in surprise.

The barkeeper laughed quietly, "We get them from time to time. Everyone thinks this is just such a picturesque spot or some such crap."

Dick smiled slightly as he took another sip of the beer, "I guess you've got me nailed then. Hey, are there any nice building out on the beach that might be good for photographing?"

The barkeeper thought for a second and then shrugged, "Not really. The only building close to the beach is that abandoned mini-prison. It was used during the civil war, but it's still in amazing condition. It's a historical landmark now."

Dick leaned back in his chair, hiding a smile by taking another sip of the beer. "Really…" He murmured softly.

The barkeeper nodded, a grin covered his features as he continued, "Yep. Some of the more superstitious people around here say that you can hear the ghosts of dead prisoners howling at night."

***************************************

[BatKid]

Another nice chapter to another great story. :)

I just noticed something, it seems in your story Babs is the damsel in distress, and Nightwing is always the one to save her. Then at the end, this gives an even more reason for Babs to be with Grayson. I'm not saying at all that it's bad, just a food for thought. :p

About Tim handling the city by himself, is this the same 14-year old Tim from TNBA? Or is this Tim the teen from the comics, with a little more experience? Just wondering since I wanna see a night out with Robin patrolling the city all by himself, with a few gangsters for him to fight. *hinthint* ;)

Nice chapter, and hoping to read more soon!

[Batgirl]

Coran this is great!!!!! Please keep it up! I'm dying to see how this goes! :bosko:

[Sweetdreams]

I totally agree with Batgirl. PLEASE post more soon, I am dying from suspense.

[Panther]

Nightwing cut his hair!!?!?!?!?!? *(&^&^%#!!!??!

Just had to get that out.

NEway - so cool to see Nightie doing detective work. I hope he finds Babs soon!

Don't leave us in suspense!

[Coran]

Chapter 6: The Discovery

Bruce Wayne sat in his Tokyo office, deep in thought over what was happening.

"Have you decided anything yet?" Selina asked as she walked over and sat down in a chair across the desk from him.

Bruce shook his head slowly as he folded his hands and stared at the floor. "Who would have the resources to do this?" He murmured quietly.

"Lex Luthor?" Selina asked with a slight smile. "He has even more money than you do."

Bruce shook his head quickly, "None of the evidence points that way." Then Bruce leaned back in the chair with a wry smile and muttered, "Of course… none of the evidence points in any direction yet."

***************************************

Tim Drake sat in the Batcave running a very special program. Tim had designed this program mainly by himself, though Barbara and Bruce had both helped on it somewhat without knowing what they were working on. Tim typed swiftly as he input the information for the attack in Tokyo and the attack in Gotham.

"What are you doing Master Tim?" Alfred asked as he walked up to watch Tim's actions.

"I'm trying out a new program." Tim said without looking away from the screen. "I designed this program that will go through all the elements of different crimes and search for the common denominators, no matter how small."

"Assuming there are any." Alfred said quietly as he watched.

Tim nodded as he hit the enter button, and then leaned back, waiting for the program to spit out the data.

Several hours passed as the two sat waiting silently, then suddenly the information was revealed on the screen.

"Oh my…" Breathed out Alfred.

***************************************

"Mr. Wayne?" Bruce's secretary said over the intercom.

"Yes?" Bruce said quickly, his eyes locked on those of Selina as they pondered the problem before them.

"There's a call on Line 1 from a 'Tim Drake'. He says it's urgent."

"Thank you." Bruce said swiftly before closing out the intercom channel.

"Tim?" He asked quietly as he lifted up the phone receiver.

"Hey Bruce… I just found something." Tim said excitedly

"Oh?" Bruce said with an upraised eyebrow.

"Guess what the common denominator between the attack on GothCorp and the attack on Wayne Enterprises is."

"Tim…" Bruce murmured dangerously.

Bruce gritted his teeth with impatience, though he fought down a brief flicker of amusement as he heard Tim barely whisper, "Just takes all the fun out of it…"

"Ok." Tim sighed as he raised his voice back to the normal level. "The common denominator is they were both committed at 2:00 a.m. Gotham time."

"Two-Face!" Bruce growled. "As soon as the jet's refueled, Selina and I will be on our way back to Gotham."

"Right chief!" Tim replied cheerfully before hanging up.

***************************************

Robin struck a heroic pose as he stood on top of the Gotham Clock Tower with one leg up on the edge. "I could get used to this." He murmured with a grin as he slowly looked around the area.

"Don't get too used to it sir," Alfred's voice sounded over his earpiece. "Batman will be back tomorrow."

Robin sighed as he looked back down at the street, "Can't you just let a guy enjoy his moment?"

"Not when it takes your attention away from the job." Alfred said sternly.

"Sometimes you're as bad as Batman!" Robin muttered under his breath.

"Actually, it should be that Batman is sometimes as bad as me… I did raise him after all."

Robin rolled his eyes instinctively before pulling out his binoculars and beginning to scan the nearby streets.

"Well now… what do we have here?" Robin murmured with raised eyebrow as he spied a large moving van pulling very slowly down the street towards Wayne Tower.

"Alfred… Wayne Enterprises has never accepted deliveries after eleven p.m. Right?"

"Of course young sir. Why?" Alfred answered swiftly.

"Possible big time problem here… I'm gonna check it out." Robin answered with a slight grin. Swiftly he put away his binoculars and pulled out his grappling gun. Moments later he was swinging through the sky, towards the Wayne building.

"Very well." Alfred said quietly. "Do be careful Master Robin."

"Aren't I always?" Robin asked innocently as he dropped to a nearby roof and stared at the van below.

"Concentrate on the job at hand sir!" Alfred answered sharply.

Robin rolled his eyes again and then concentrated on the van again. Suddenly the back door burst open and four men wearing ski masks and carrying M-4s lept out.

"Oh sh**…" Robin's voice trailed off quietly.

***************************************

"Master Robin!" Alfred's shocked voice suddenly brought Robin back to reality. "I must say I'm surprised at your language!"

"Save it!" Robin muttered as he fired off his grappling hook again, "I've just entered the big time!"

***************************************

"This is too easy!" Mitch muttered with a smirk as he and his three friends charged the front door of the Wayne building with machineguns blazing.

"Just like I told you boys!" He yelled to the others. "Nobody will ever try to stop us."

Just as the words left his mouth a batarang came slicing through the air in a powerful arc. In less than a second, all four masked were disarmed.

"Let's see… wrong!" A cold voice echoed through the now still night air.

Mitch's blood ran cold as he slowly began to turn around… the stillness of the night air was only broken by the tinkling of glass as shards fell from their frames to the floor below. "Look, Batman, it isn't what you thin…" his voice trailed off as he spied Robin standing on top of their van, staring at them.

"It's only the bat twerp!" Mitch said angrily as he turned to move back towards his gun. "Take care of him!"

Robin smirked slightly as Mitch's three cronies charged him, "Wrong choice." Robin waited several second, allowed the three men to get closer, then he lept off the van, firing his grappling gun at the exact same moment. The three men stopped in surprise as they watched Robin swing over them, towards Mitch. Suddenly the fact of what was happening seemed to register in one of the men's brains. "Watch out Mitch!"

Mitch stopped running towards his gun and turned back towards the other men. The exact instant he completed his turn, Robin's feet plowed directly into his face. Mitch fell to the ground unconscious, while Robin dropped off the grappling line, landing lightly on his feet.

With a cocky smile on his face he turned back to face the other three. "Who's next?"

***************************************

"To cocky sir!" Alfred's voice murmured in Robin's ear.

"Whatever." Robin muttered.

***************************************

The three men stood… unsure of themselves for several moments when suddenly the Wayne Enterprise's security team finally got back on their feet. Eight well-trained guards ran outside, training M-16s on the culprits before them.

***************************************

"Thanks guys!" Robin said cheerfully as he pointed his arm upwards. "I'll leave the rest to you." The sound of the grappling gun firing echoed over the barren street, and then Robin shot upward, disappearing into the night.

***************************************

Dick slowly moved over the sandy beaches as the sun began to set. "Somewhere nearby… away from people, but close enough to get supplies." He murmured as he scanned the darkening tide line.

Suddenly his gaze locked on the abandoned prison building about half a mile away. "Now there's a likely looking spot." He said to himself.

***************************************

[BatKid]

Another nice chapter Coran! Loved the interaction between Tim and Alfred, and I also liked Tim being real cocky during the fight. You gave Tim a down to earth personality, and it really works with him, since he's a teenager and all. Hope to read more of the story soon! :)

[witness]

Wow. Absolutely amazing. The interaction between Tim and Alfred was great! I'm really interested as to see where you'll take it from here! So, Two-Face is behind this AND Barbara's kidnapping! He's gonna have a lot to answer for when the Bat-clan finally gets a hold of him.


I really never liked the mullet Nightwing sported, so it's no major loss for me that you made him cut his hair. Good job on that Coran!

Can't wait to read your next chapter!

[Coran]

Chapter 7: One Down

Barbara sat on her bed, staring at the tin dish that was beside her. Though lightweight, it could prove to be the exact weapon she needed.

"Time to play the waiting game." Barbara thought with a grimace.

***************************************

Jeffery strolled up the door, and carefully pulled on his ski mask before unlocking Barbara's cell and opening the door.

"If you want to get fed again, I need the plate." He growled as he stared at the non-threatening female.

Barbara slowly stood and walked forward holding out the dish, "Here."

Jeffery moved forward, totally unsuspecting. Suddenly Barbara pulled back her arm, and slammed the tin plate into the side of Jeffery's head. Jeffery stood there, stunned, and then Barbara lashed out with a swift kick right to Jeffery's groin.

Jeffery dropped to the ground with a groan of pain, before another swift kick made contact with his chin and temporarily ended his pain.

***************************************

Barbara smiled down at the unconscious man and murmured, "Time to head for home."

***************************************

Aaron sat in the control room, and smiled as Barbara stepped out of the cell. "That's right girlie… time to pay for your daddy's sins!"

***************************************

Barbara slowly slipped down the dark hallway. The glassless windows allowed in the outside noises of the beach, causing Barbara to move with the confidence of someone who would never be detected. As she slipped pas yet another doorway, the door suddenly opened and a heavy object slammed into the back of her head. Barbara dropped to the floor, stunned, and before she could react, a strong hand gripped her leg and dragged her inside. As soon as she was inside, the door slammed shut.

Aaron smiled down at Barbara as he murmured, "Oh yeah… I'm going to enjoy this."

Barbara groggily shook her head, trying to get rid of the stars as she felt herself be heaved onto a nearby bed. Seconds later she felt leather straps tying her wrists together, as well as her ankles.

Barbara struggled… or tried to struggle, but her body failed her, and she soon found herself securely bound.

Aaron smiled coldly down at Barbara, "Hi there girlie… you don't know me, but I know you really well. You're father is the man who sent me to jail for a really long time. Because of him, I lost my life as I knew it… now I'm going to make him lose his very life's blood… you."

Barbara looked up at Aaron in horror as he walked over to a nearby table and lifted up a sharp bowie knife, "I'll make sure to take lots of pictures so he realizes just how much you had to suffer.

Barbara struggled against her bonds futilely as she watched Aaron approach. "Noooooo!" She screamed.

***************************************

Dick looked up in shock as he heard the sound of Barbara's scream. "Babs…" He murmured as he took off for the compound at a dead run as he swiftly tossed aside his camera and jacket swiftly to reveal his Nightwing costume.

***************************************

Barbara continued to struggle against the bonds as Aaron walked forward and grabbed her throat, shoving her back to the ground. "Now where to strike first…" Aaron growled as he looked down at her. Suddenly he took the knife and slide into her right bicept, far enough to start the blood flowing.

The screams of pain echoed forth from Barbara's throat.

***************************************

Dick securely placed on his mask, completing his transformation into Nightwing. Seconds later he lowered his shoulder and barreled through the door that formed the entryway.

Nightwing stood, looking around the bare hallways. "Which way?" He murmured with some confusion as he tried to place exactly where Barbara's scream had been coming from. Then he heard the echo of Barbara's second scream pass through the air.

Instinctively Nightwing backtracked the scream with his mind, and then took off at a dead run. His eyes were cold, and his fists were clenched tightly. Deep inside he braced himself for whatever he may find. What would be so bad that it would cause Barbara to continue to scream?

***************************************

Aaron smiled coldy as he watched Barbara writhe from pain. "A couple well placed bruises would be an added bonus!" He said with a crazy grin. Swiftly he pulled back his arm and slammed his fist across Barbara's face.

***************************************

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the corridor as Nightwing ran up to the closed and locked door. Thought he didn't know exactly how, he knew Barbara was behind the door. Quick he took two steps back, and then in a quick motion moved forward and slammed his right foot into the door, right beside the handle. The door flew inside, just in time to reveal Aaron slapping Barbara across the face again.

Rage and hatred built in Nightwing's chest, faster than they had ever before. Without even a cry of rage, he moved forward as swift and silent as a wolf towards his prey.

***************************************

Barbara and Aaron turned to look seconds after the door flew open, just in time to see Nightwing hurtling towards them.

"Dick…" Murmured Barbara so quietly that noone could hear.

"What the h***?" Aaron growled as he swiftly tried to stand.

***************************************

Nightwing lept through the air, his arms outstretched towards Aaron's throat. As Nightwing's powerful hands wrapped around and began to restrict Aaron's airflow, Nightwing growled out, "Can't take on anything more than a restrained woman, can ya!"

Aaron fell back to the floor with Nightwing on top of him. "You… son… of… a… b****!" He gasped out as his hands flailed around to try and make some kind of decent contact with Nightwing. Then one of his flailing hands made contact with a brick that was lying on the floor. Before Nightwing could react, Aaron slammed the brick right into his head.

"Nightwing!" Barbara yelled as she sat up, twisting her wrists frantically to try and free her hands.

Aaron stood and swiftly moved past Nightwing's stunned form towards Barbara. Before she could react, Aaron slammed a powerful fist into her stomach and growled, "Stay still!"

***************************************

Nightwing shook his head, and slowly stood. As Aaron's fist made contact with Barbara, he felt a surge of adrenaline flow through him and suddenly stood upright, as though nothing had happened. Even thought he could still feel the blood flowing from the scalp wounds down the back of his neck, he ignored it… pain no longer mattered.

Aaron turned, a smirk on his face, and then gaped in surprise as Nightwing stalked towards him. "Care to dance punk?" Nightwing growled as he swiftly slammed a fist into Aaron's paunch.

Aaron folded over swiftly as the air rushed from his lungs. Nightwing held his head tight between two hands, and brought his leg up in one powerful move, slamming his knee right into Aaron's face.

Aaron fell back with a cry of pain, and lay sprawled on the floor as he tried to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. "You broke my nose!" He yelled in pain as he stared up at Nightwing.

"You're breaking my heart!" Nightwing growled as he reached down and lifted Aaron back up before sending a powerful right hook into Aaron's jaw.

Aaron fell back again, and groggily sat up as he murmured, "But how could you find us?"

***************************************

Barbara sat up, her teeth gritted against the pain that emanated from her stomach and face. Calling upon her training from Bruce, she was able to escape from the wrist restraints, and seconds later her feet were free also. Barbara held on to the leather cords tightly as she watched the combatants, waiting for her shot at Aaron.

***************************************

Nightwing's eyes glittered with hate as he reached down and lifted Aaron one more time. "I can smell your kind a mile away!" He snarled as he drew back his right fist.

As the powerful jab made contact with Aaron's face, Aaron fell back one last time. Though not unconscious, he was decidedly groggy as he sat up again. Suddenly, two strong leather straps were thrown of his head, and pulled tight against his throat.

"This is for attacking me!" Barbara whispered into his ear as she continued to pull the straps tighter and tighter by forcing her knee into the middle of Aaron's back and using that as a point of leverage so she could put even more force into her pull.

Aaron weakly pulled against the straps and thrashed around, as he searched for some way to get freedom. Darkness began to cloud his brain, and in just a few moments, he slumped backwards, unconscious.

Barbara held the straps for a few seconds longer, and then released them as she slowly stood up.

A small smile of approval brushed itself over Nightwing features as he looked at the woman before him. She had a deep strength within that only those who knew her best could claim to see. "You OK?" Nightwing asked softly as he looked at her soft features.

Barbara nodded as she moved forward suddenly and wrapped her arms around Nightwing. Nightwing held her close as he murmured, "It's OK Barbara… before you know it you'll be back with your Dad."

***************************************

Several minutes passed, before the two combatants finally turned to leave the room. Behind them as they turned, Aaron shook his head, and weakly sat up. His vision was blurry, but he reached over and grabbed the .22 pistol that lay nearby. Slowly he raised it and pointed it at Barbara's back. "Die b****!" He screamed hoarsely as his finger tightened on the trigger.

***************************************

Nightwing spun faster than Barbara could move, and his mind immediately clicked on the situation. Without a thought he dove towards Aaron, just as the gun fired with loud crack!

***************************************

[Sweetdreams]

How DARE you leave us hanging like that?!! ***pouting***That was mean! Well, anyway, that was GREAT (except the suspense part you left us with, that was MEAN). I can't wait for the next part. Please post soon.

[Panther]

Must I remind you how we deal with fanfic writers who place Nightwing in dire jeopardy? Tsk, tsk. (Oh Guitar Slayer - time to start selling tickets again...hehehe)

Seriously - very tight post, an awful cliffhanger - but that'll have everyone coming back for more every time. The fight scene had some great detail in it. My only criticism was I don't think the constant 'scene changes' - the stars ****** - were really nessacary. Just my two cents.

Keep on posting!!

[Coran]

Chapter 8: A World To Go

Nightwing gritted his teeth against the pain as he slowly stood… one arm wrapped tightly around his stomach as he gazed down at the unconscious man below him. He had been lucky… the gun had fired while he was just far enough away that his Kevlar had been able to keep the bullet from piercing, though he would have a nasty bruise the next day. If it had been just a little closer… if it had been a gun of a higher caliber…

Nightwing shook his head as he turned to Barbara with a pained smile. The two slowly left the compound and headed back for Dick's hotel after retrieving his street clothes.

"Time to head back to Gotham." Dick murmured softly as he wrapped on arm around Barbara and gently squeezed her waist.

"I love you Mr. Grayson," Barbara said as she gazed up at him, her eyes soft and somewhat vulnerable looking, "and don't let anyone tell you different!"

***************************************

"So the girl escaped and Mr. Grissham was taken." Two-Face growled as he stared out the window and continually flipped his coin.

"Uh… yes sir." Stuttered a nearby henchman. "But uh… the good news is we have all the stuff we were supposed to get."

"So we do." Two-Face murmured as he turned towards the henchman, grabbing his coin out of the air with a deft move. He glanced at it momentarily and then looked up at the henchman. "Have Mr. Grissham taken care of… we don't want any loose ends."

"Yes… yes sir." The henchman said as he turned and stumbled out the door.

"Imbecile!" Two-Face growled as he walked over to a nearby phone and picked it up, dialing quickly. "2:00 tonight." He said without pre-amble and then hung up.

***************************************

Bruce Wayne slowly walked into the mansion with Selina Kyle right behind him.

"Welcome home Master Bruce." Alfred said warmly as he walked up. "Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks Alfred." Bruce Wayne said with a brief smile before he turned and headed to the cave. "We have work to do."

"I thought as much." Alfred said as he watched Bruce and Selina walk off.

***************************************

"Where's Dick?" Bruce asked as soon as his eyes locked on Tim Drake's form.

"Wha…" Tim said as he quickly looked up from the computer screen. "Geeze… when are you gonna start warning people about that?!"

"Where is he?" Bruce asked quietly, his eyes hard as he stood there with his arms across his chest.

"Rescue mission." Tim stated as he returned his gaze to the computer. "Someone took Barbara, so Nightwing had to take care of it."

"Wonderful!" Bruce growled. "And who's been watching the city since then?"

Tim spun around in the chair, an impish grin plastered over his features, "Yours truly of course!"

"Be still my heart." Muttered Bruce as he walked up to the computer and began reviewing all information he had on Two-Face.

"Hey, it was no big deal. Other than a run in with some thugs who were trying to impersonate the commando raids, it was pretty boring." Tim said with a grin as he watched Bruce scroll through the information.

***************************************

"Commissioner Gordan here." The depressed man said in a quiet voice.

"Hello Comissioner. It's Nightwing." Nightwing said softly, "I'm waiting for you in the usual spot, and there's a pleasant surprise here for you."

"You don't mean… Barbara…" Gordan breathed out softly.

"See you soon." Nightwing said before hanging up.

***************************************

"Barbara!" The commissioner yelled as he ran out onto the roof.

"Dad…" Barbara murmured as she rushed out of the shadows, into her father's arms.

Nightwing stood quietly, watching for a moment before he turned and lifted his arm. A buzz sounded as his grappling line fired off, and seconds later he was soaring through the air once again.

"Thank you…" Gordan whispered through tears as he watched the shadowy form of Nightwing disappear into the darkness. "Thank you so much!"

***************************************

Dick Grayson quietly walked into the bat cave, a small smile on his face.

"I see you were successful." Bruce said as he looked over at Dick with his normally expressionless face.

Dick nodded, the smile swiftly retreating, "Yeah… I found her and brought her back."

Bruce suddenly turned his head back to the screen, though a small smile was seen before he could hide it. "Good work." He murmured gruffly as he watched the screen.

"It's what I do." Dick said quietly as he walked up to stand behind Bruce. "So what are we looking at?"

"Two-Face is the man who stole the missiles and fuel formula." Bruce said without preamble. "We have to get him tonight."

Dick smile coldly, his eyes glittering brightly, "Let's do it."

"Not without me you won't!" Tim cried as he charged down the stairs into the Batcave.

"Or me." Selina purred as she strolled down after Tim with an amused look in her eyes.

Bruce hid yet another small smile but quickly wiped it away before turning to his three partners. "Nightwing and Robin will go through the back door. Catwoman and I will come in through the skylight. Two-Face always ends up in the places he feels safe. This warehouse is the best choice."

***************************************

Two-Face stood leaning against the wall as he looked out the window to the barren streets below.

"Visitor for you boss." One of the henchmen said as he stuck his head in the room. "It's the dame."

"Send her in." Two-Face growled as he began to continually flip his coin in the air.

"Right." The henchman said as he disappeared.

Moments later an attractive woman with short black hair walked into the room. "You have the equipment?"

"Do you have the money for us?" Two-Face growled as he turned to look at the woman. "No money, no disks."

The woman tossed two briefcases on the desk with an easy move. "Just as we agreed. Thirty million."

Two-Face caught his coin and stuck it in his pocket with one smooth motion, then popped open the briefcase. "Good." He grunted, before looking up with an evil glint in his one yellow eye. "Now should I just kill you and take the money, or stick with the deal."

The woman stood stiffly, her eyes hard. "Don't even think about it." She growled under her breath.

Two-Face pulled his coin back out and flipped it easily, then after glancing at it he pulled two CDs out of his desk and handed them to the woman. "The disks… as agreed."

The woman took the two disks and then gave a curt nod before she stalked out of the room.

Two-Face turned his eyes back down to the money, and an evil grin covered his face as he triumphantly growled, "It appears chance is finally shining in our favor!"

***************************************

[Panther]

Yeah!!! He's ok! He's ok! :p I just had to get that out.

Looks like a good old fashioned get together, I'm just surprized Babs hasn't demand to join as well.

later,

[Coran]

Original Posted By Panther:


I'm just surprized Babs hasn't demand to join as well.

In response to that comment Panther, I actually have a very good reason why Babs wasn't around at this time. Because she was just reunited with her father, they are still having their togetherness time. Plus, for a short while longer he will be keeping such close tabs on her, she will be unable to be Batgirl, though you will deffinately see her again before my story ends.

[BatKid]

Nice chapter Coran! I was also wondering Dick would survive right in the line of gunfire. But, you reminded me of the kevlar thing, so that was a good reason he wasn't shot. I think I know who the girl that handed the money to Two-Face is, but maybe the character has nothing to do with then end. So, I'll just keep quiet for now and see if my prediction is correct. Keep posting Coran, I can't wait to see the next chapter! :)

[Coran]

Chapter 9: The Raid

Nightwing and Robin crouched in the alley behind the warehouse waiting. Nightwing's eyes flicked back and forth over the area swiftly, and he tensed at every single sound.

"Chill man." Robin murmured softly.

Nightwing shook his head, still amazed at Robin's apparent innocence, even after all the crime fighting he had done.

"Nightwing." Batman's voice sounded over the communicator.

"Yeah?" Nightwing murmured as he reached up and pushed against his earpiece, activating the throat mike, but also allowing him to hear better.

"Two minutes, and you two bust in the doors. Go in fast… we want surprise to be on our side. Exactly twenty seconds before you go in, Catwoman and I will drop in to start the party."

"Right." Nightwing murmured. "Nightwing out."

"So? When do we go in?" Robin asked impatiently as he crouched with his eyes fixed upon the door just ahead of them.

"Two minutes." Nightwing said as he glanced at time display built into his mask. "Make that ninety seconds."

***************************************

Batman and Catwoman crouched, gazing down at the scene below. Four or five henchman wandered through the area with bored looks on their faces, but each and every one carried a gun… all .38 caliber pistols it appeared.

Batman's eyes suddenly locked on the fuse box that was up against the wall. "The lights are going to go out as soon as we drop in." He murmured to Catwoman as he pulled out one of his exploding batarangs.

Catwoman gave a smile that showed all of her white teeth, "Wonderful!" She purred as she pulled out her whip.

Several more moments passed, and then Batman nodded. "Now!" He whispered fiercely.

In a perfectly synchronized motion, Batman and Catwoman lept into the air, crashing down through the skylight. Small shards of glass rained down on the men below, as the two heroes fell to the floor. Mid-fall, Batman's arm shot out, burying the sharp edge of the batarang into the fuse box. Within two seconds, it exploded, sending the room into darkness.

"What the h***?!" Screamed one of the henchman as he yanked out his pistol.

"Didn't you're mother teach you not to curse?" Catwoman murmured as she suddenly appeared in front of him and slammed a fist into the man's Adams-apple.

***************************************

"Let's get in there!" Robin said excitedly as the sound of breaking glass trickled out to the alleyway.

"Not yet." Nightwing murmured as he reached out and put a restraining hand on Robin's arm.

***************************************

"Who's the girlie?!" Yelled another henchman as he turned and began to fire lead across the room, uncaring that his partners could be in his line of fire.

"You're worst nightmare!" Batman growled as he stepped up behind the man and wrapped one powerful arm around the man throat. Quickly he twisted the man's head with his other hand, and then let the limb body topple to the floor.

"It's the bat!" Yelled another henchman as he glimpsed Batman before the shadows enveloped the sinister figure.

***************************************
(Moments Earlier)
Two-Face looked up in shock as the lights suddenly went out. Swiftly he slammed the two briefcases shut, and after grabbing them both with his left hand, he pulled out a 0.50 caliber Desert Eagle pistol with his right hand. Slowly he crept towards the door, listening carefully, and then he heard a voice echo upwards.

"It's the bat!"

Two-Face snarled angrily as he quickly turned and ran to the window, leaping out onto the fire escape quickly. "This money will allow me my revenge!" He thought as he quickly began to climb down the fire escape.

***************************************

"Look!" Robin said in a sudden whisper as he pointed up to the fire escape. "It's Two-Face!"

Nightwing smiled coldly as he quietly answered, "See… that's why you wait as long as you're supposed too."

***************************************

Batman dropped to the ground as he thrust out his leg and performed a perfect leg sweep, sending two of the henchman to the ground. Swiftly he moved forward, lashing out with two jabs that left the two men unconscious.

Suddenly he sensed something and spun around just in time to face the last man… pointing a gun at him. Before either of the men could move, a whip lashed out of the darkness, stinging the man's hand so that he dropped the pistol.

Batman lept forward, and slammed a powerful punch into the man's gut, before finishing the job with a haymaker.

"Nice." Catwoman purred as she moved up against Batman's back.

Batman nodded, as he growled, "Now let's get Two-Face!"

***************************************

Two-Face lept the last six feet down to the ground, and then turned to run away from the building. Suddenly bolas came flying through the air, and tightly pinned his legs together.

Two-Face fell to the ground with a grunt, and the two briefcases and gun both skittered out of his hands.

"Going somewhere Puke-Face?" Robin asked as he stepped out of the shadows with a big grin on his face.

"We'll kill you for that!" Two-Face growled as he tried to get up. Suddenly a powerful hand shoved him back to the ground and a dangerous voice whispered in his ear, "Don't even think about it!"

Two-Face twisted his head and glimpsed the cold smile on Nightwing's face. "You really don't want to mess with me today!" Nightwing growled as he returned the stare.

***************************************

"Where are the disks?" Batman growled as he glared down at Two-Face.

"We won't answer without council present!" Two-Face muttered as he stared at the ground from his current sitting position.

"You are council!" Batman shouted as he grabbed Two-Face by the lapels and heaved him up against the alley wall. "Now tell me!" He finished in a deadly voice.

"Somebody bought 'em!" Two-Face snarled as he stared at Batman. "And don't bother asking who… I didn't care enough to find out. I got my money, and that's all that mattered!"

"Well you won't get to spend that money where you're going." Detective Harvey Bullock's voice suddenly rang out as he walked up with Detective Rene Montoya.

"About time you got here." Nightwing muttered from where he leaned up against the wall.

Bullock shot a glare in Nightwing direction, before turning back to Batman, "We'll take it from here Batsy."

Batman stared at Bullock silently for a moment before he dropped Two-Face. Then he turned and disappeared into the shadows with the other three right behind him.

***************************************

[BatKid]

Another nice chapter Coran! One of my favorite scenes was when Robin was waiting anxiously to drop in into the fight, but Nightwing just told him to wait, and then they caught Two-Face. That was a nice plan made by Bats, and it proves that it's better if you wait before you attack. My other favorite scene was the battle itself between the gunmen and Batman/Catwoman. Everything was nicely done. Hope to see more soon! :)

[witness]

I agree with what Batkid said. I also liked the council lines. That was amusing. I'm still wondering what's going on though. Who was the woman? Does she work for anyone or is she solo? What's gonna happen next?

[Coran]

Chapter 10: Well Well… Look What The Kid Drug Up!

Bruce Wayne sat in the Batcave, staring at the ceiling moodily.

"Can I get you anything Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he walked up.

"No." Bruce said shortly as he continued to stare into space.

"Is something bothering you sir?" Alfred pressed.

"The missiles are still out there, and I don't know where!" Bruce growled quietly. "All I know is whoever has it has a lot of money. Hopefully the police interrogation will get me more."

"You've just named a lot of gangsters." Alfred said.

Bruce nodded as he continued glaring upwards.

"Might I suggest something sir?" Alfred asked.

Bruce nodded again, as he turned his piercing gaze to the man who had raised him.

"Why don't you try and relax?" Alfred said. He paused for a moment before continuing with a slight smile, "Mistress Kyle has told me to give you her invitation to join you for a… how did she put it… 'a night of pleasure like you've never before experienced', I believe."

Bruce looked at Alfred for a few moments, successfully hiding the laughter at Alfred's statement. "Maybe for once in my life I should listen to you." He said softly.

Alfred nodded with a satisfied look on his face, "Maybe you should sir… maybe you should."

***************************************

Tim Drake crept down the stairs silently and soon was on the computer. Within moments he had hacked his way into the GPD computer system and was looking over the information for Two-Face's interrogation.

Swiftly he went to the recording of Two-Face's interrogation and hit the play button.

***************************************
(A Few Hours Earlier: GPD Interrogation Room)
"So let me get this straight." Bullock growled as he stared at Two-Face. "Some person hired you and then paid you thirty million to steal both the formula for the fuel, but also the specifications for how to build the missiles. Correct?"

Two-Face glared at Bullock, and looked at his coin before flipping it in the air. After he looked at it he nodded as he looked back up, "Correct."

Bullock sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "That coin is gonna get annoyin'." He muttered. "Ok," Bullock said as he raised his voice. "So you don't know who hired you either."

Two-Face slowly nodded, as he glared down at the table.

"So what did the guy look like?"

Two-Face smiled coldly as he looked up at Bullock, "It was a girl you idiot!"

***************************************
(Present Time)
Tim Drake hit the pause button, an incredulous look on his face, "A woman hired him?" After a moment of considering that fact, he hit the play button again.

***************************************
(GPD Recording: Interogation 3105: Two-Face)
Bullock raised an eyebrow as he looked at Two-Face, "So what did she look like then?"

Two-Face leaned back staring at Bullock for several moments before he fished into his pocket for his coin once again.

"Not again!" Bullock muttered in frustration.

Two-Face smiled evily as he flipped the coin in the air, but then when he looked at it, his face fell. Several moments passed before Two-Face finally spoke. "She was thin with a nice figure. Brown hair and brown eyes I think. But even though she was scrawny she put off a dangerous vibe."

"A dangerous vibe?" Bullock asked with a smirk. "You… scared by a lady?"

Two-Face looked up his eyes cold, and then stared at the floor again.

***************************************
(Batcave)
Tim Drake hit the stop button, a satisfied smile on his face. "That should be plenty of information. Now let's see… first off whoever did this can afford to just give away thirty million bucks. Second, the person is either a dangerous woman with brown hair, or the person has this woman working for him."

Tim grinned and began typing furiously as he entered information into the computer.

***************************************

Barbara lay on her bed, staring up at her ceiling. It was early in the morning but for some reason she just hadn't been able to sleep for most of the night. Quietly she sighed as she slowly sat up, gazing at the wall silently. Her knee-length blue nightgown draped down gently over her curvaceous form as she slowly stood and began to walk over to her closer. Suddenly there was a knock over at her window. Barbara turned, a questioning look on her face as she cautiously walked over.

Slowly she reached out and pulled open the window. A smiling Dick Grayson crouched on the tree limb beside her window as he looked in.

"Hi Babs." He said softly. "Mind if I come in?"

"What are you doing out on that tree limb?" Barbara asked with a slight giggle. She hated the butterflies that had suddenly appeared in her stomach, but at the same time she loved them.

Dick grinned as he smoothly climbed into her room through the open window, "I didn't want to wake up your Dad, but I wanted to make sure that you're doing alright."

Barbara smiled as she looked turned her gaze to the floor and murmured softly, "Thanks for coming."

Dick chuckled softly, "Any friend would come to check on you."

Barbara shook her head as she looked back up at Dick, her eyes expressing a vulnerability that Dick had never seen before, "That's not what I mean… thanks for coming to get me."

Dick nodded as he gazed into her eyes quietly, "I've promised you before Babs… I'll always be there for you."

Barbara nodded as she looked at him for several moments, then she moved forward and kissed him hard. Several minutes passed as the two wrapped their arms around each other and held the other close. Finally, Dick pulled back and murmured breathlessly, "What was that for?"

"A thank you." Barbara whispered as she looked down.

Dick slowly stepped back, and silence reigned for several moments before he quietly cleared his throat. "I better go… we don't want you're Dad finding me in here at this time of night."

Barbara smiled slightly as she looked up, "Bye Dick."

Dick grinned as he walked over to the window and sat down on the sill, "Bye Babs." Then he leaned back, somersaulting to the ground easily. Moments later the thrum of a motorcycle engine racing away could be heard.

***************************************

"I FOUND IT!"

The scream echoed through Wayne Manor, and Bruce shot up into a sitting position. He hadn't heard exactly what had been screamed, all he knew was that his "son" was screaming. Swiftly he raced out the door, in just his sweat pants. Just as he reached the entrance to the cave where the scream had come from, Tim charged out.

"BRUCE!" He yelled excitedly as he launched himself at his 'father', "I FOUND IT!"

Bruce fell back in surprise with Tim on top of him, and then sat up as the excited young man lept off. "Found what?" He asked in a shocked tone.

"I found who hired Two-Face!" Tim grinned as he looked at Bruce.

"Who?" Bruce asked as his eyes narrowed.

"Uh… it was Lex Luthor." Tim said as he suddenly realized the power of his information. "He's the only extremely rich guy who happens to employ a brown haired female that could scare even Two-Face."

***************************************

Alfred came rushing into the room, just as Bruce stood up with a cold smile on his face. "Alfred." He murmured softly.

"Yes sir?" Alfred asked.

"Call Dick… we have an errand to run in Metropolis. Oh… and make sure that both jets are fueled up."

"Of course sir." Alfred said before he hurried off to the phone.

***************************************

"Metropolis?" Dick asked incredulously over the phone.

"Yes sir… Master Bruce was very clear about that."

"Alright Alfred." Dick said. "I'll be at the airfield whenever Bruce wants me to be there."

"Um… that would be in exactly one hours Master Dick."

Dick sighed, but found himself nodding, even though no one was nearby to see it. "Alright. I'll be there."

***************************************

[The Guitar Slayer]

Cool. Nice twist. I guess Blue Boy's making a cameo, eh?

[BatKid]

Originally posted by Coran
[B]"Might I suggest something sir?" Alfred asked.

Bruce nodded again, as he turned his piercing gaze to the man who had raised him.

"Why don't you try and relax?" Alfred said. He paused for a moment before continuing with a slight smile, "Mistress Kyle has told me to give you her invitation to join you for a… how did she put it… 'a night of pleasure like you've never before experienced', I believe."

Bruce looked at Alfred for a few moments, successfully hiding the laughter at Alfred's statement. "Maybe for once in my life I should listen to you." He said softly.

Alfred nodded with a satisfied look on his face, "Maybe you should sir… maybe you should."

This conversation cracked me up for minutes! That line was very funny, and I guess Bruce finally had something to be happy about that night! ;)

Mercy being the girl was exactly who I thought she was, and Lex Luthor added to the story is another good thing you did. I'm hoping for a Big Blue cameo in the next few chapters! :)

[Panther]

Mercy! Of course! (slaps forhead) Well done Tim!

Is Supes getting a cameo? That would be so cool!

later,

[Coran]

Chapter 11: Metropolis

"Kent here." Clark said as he picked up his desk phone at the Daily Planet.

"Mr. Kent." Alfred's voice answered. "Master Wayne and Master Grayson will be arriving at the Metropolis airport in exactly three hours."

Clark leaned back in his chair and lifted one hand to nudge his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. "Thanks for the information."

"Of course Mr. Kent." Alfred responded. "Have a nice day."

"What was that about, Smallville?" Lois asked as she sauntered up to lean against Clark's desk.

Clark looked over with a slight smile and responded, "Oh… just a message to let me know that a couple of friends are coming back into town."

Lois grinned, as she looked at him, "Old friends from your home town?"

Clark hid a smile as he glanced down at a paper on his desk, "Old friend is a good way of putting it… though not from Smallville."

***************************************

"So he knows we're coming?" Bruce said over his mobile phone.

"Yes sir. I have just informed him of your imminent arrival time." Alfred answered easily.

"Does he know why we're coming?"

"No sir… I thought you would want to inform him personally."

"Well done Alfred. Keep Tim and Selina out of trouble."

"Of course sir. Have a nice time."

"I always do." Bruce said quietly before hanging up.

"So what's up with Supes?" Dick asked as he glanced over from the co-pilots seat.

"He's supposed to meet us at the airport." Bruce answered as he sat back down in the pilot's chair and buckled in.

***************************************

Multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne slowly descended the steps that led down from his private jets cockpit. Behind him walked his protégé, Dick Grayson.

"Nice to see you again Bruce." Clark Kent said as he walked up to the two men.

"Likewise I'm sure." Bruce said quietly as he shook Clark's hand firmly, "But we don't have much time. Follow me."

Clark raised an eyebrow, and then followed Bruce back up the steps into the plain. Dick remained at the bottom of the steps, lounging against them like your typically lazy young person, though his sharp eyes darted back and forth, taking everything in.

***************************************

"Lex Luthor is behind all of this?" Clark asked in a deadly voice as he looked over the various bits of information that Bruce had collected.

"That's the way it looks." Bruce said quietly. "Of course, he's kept himself far enough away that none of this proof could hold up in court, but I know he's behind it."

Clark nodded slowly and then turned his gaze back to Bruce, "So when do we go in."

Bruce smiled coldly, "Tonight. I don't want to stay away from Gotham any more than I absolutely have to."

***************************************

Batman and Superman stood on a nearby skyscraper, staring at the LexCorp building silently. Batman slowly raised his infared binoculars and continued gazing through.

"Three people in Luthor's office… I wonder who they are." He murmured softly.

"Well why don't we just go in and find out?" Superman murmured quietly as he glared at the other building with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Because charging right into a situation without looking it over first is a bad idea." Batman muttered.

"Batman." Nightwing voice suddenly came over the earpiece.

"Yeah?" Batman asked as he continued stareing at the building.

"I made it onto the roof without being detected, and found the security panel. You're view screen should be able to see everything now."

"Good job. Now get off the roof."

"Right."

Batman slowly lowered his "glasses", "Let's see what we can see."

Superman turned to watch as Batman put away his infared binoculars, and pulled out an extremely small video receiver, that looked somewhat like a mini DVD player. Quickly he flipped it on and keyed up the information.

"Can you go through every camera in the place with that thing?" Superman asked with raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Batman said quietly as he quickly flipped to the camera in Luthor's office. "Well now… what have we here…"

The scene before them showed Luthor and Mercy standing at the desk, staring at an individual who's back was to the camera. Luthor and Mercy both looked rather ticked off about something or other.

"Any idea who that is?" Batman asked softly.

Superman looked at it carefully and shook his head, "Not until he turns around."

Batman nodded at the two stood waiting as the three continued to talk. Batman's eyes narrowed as he carefully read Luthor's lips. "He just said, 'No I won't give them to you.' And now he's saying, 'No! You'll never get the formulas.'"

Batman looked up with a deadly gaze and murmured softly, "That should be all the evidence we need."

Superman glared across at the building barely restraining his anger, "Let's go wrap them up for the police."

***************************************

Lex Luthor looked up in shock as his window suddenly flew inward and Batman and Superman both dropped lightly to the ground. "Ah… what can I do for you two gentlemen?" Luthor asked with a slightly upraised eyebrow.

"You can go with us without a struggle." Superman said quietly.

"And might I ask what this is about?" Luthor said with a grin as he leaned back in his chair.

"It's about your paying Two-Face to steal the specs for a new type of missile from GothCorp and a special formula from Wayne Enterprises." Batman said coldly as he stared at Luthor from under his cowl.

Luthor smiled grimly, "I believe your referring to the formulas I just turned over to the police. Ask the Chief of Police in either Metropolis or Gotham… both of them now hold the information. I simply offered Two-Face more money than his original offer so that I could have them instead. I did not know where he was hiding until an hour before Mercy picked them up so we were unable to lead the police there."

***************************************

Batman and Superman stare at Lex Luthor for several moments, both in shock.

"He's telling the truth." Superman murmured softly to Batman. "His heartbeat didn't change."

Batman's eyes narrow as he stared at Luthor, "Do you know who original buyer was?"

Mercy suddenly walked in through the door in the office, moving quickly to stand at Luthor's right shoulder.

"I don't really care who the original buyer was." Luthor said in a bored voice. "I kept the information from getting out… that's all I had to do."

"How nice for you!" Batman growled as he turned and slipped out the window with Superman close behind.

"How did they find you so quickly sir?" Mercy asked quietly as she stared after the pair.

"They're the best at what they do." Luthor said as he quietly looking at his computer.

Mercy nodded and turned to continue her previous assignment, when Lex's voice suddenly froze her in place.

"Oh, and Mercy… make sure they can never barge into my office like that again. Are we clear?"

"Of course sir."

***************************************

[witness]

Especially the part of Lex actually admitting that "They're the best at what they do". I also liked it when he said to Mercy to make sure that never happens again.

But you gave us a red herring clue!!! We still do not know who wanted those missiles and the formulas!!! I guess we'll have to wait until the next chapter, huh?

[Panther]

I agree with Witness - red herrings abound! Where will this story go next? What a frustrating encounter for Supes and Batman!

later,

[Coran]

Chapter 12: New Revelations

"I'll see you at your mansion later." Clark said as he watched Bruce move towards his plane.

"This isn't your battle Clark." Bruce snapped out as he began to ascend the stairs that led up to his jet. "Keep your city safe and I'll do the same with mine."

Clark stood silently watching until the jet disappeared into the horizon. "Good luck." He murmured softly before turning to walk away from the airport.

***************************************

"So now what?" Tim asked in a bored voice as he leaned back in his chair and stared listlessly at the cave ceiling.

"I don't know." Bruce growled as he stared at the computer screen before him.

"We're back to square one." Selina murmured softly as she stood at Bruce's back.

Dick Grayson watched the three with upraised eyebrow and then shook his head angrily, "No we're not back to square one! We still have an option!"

Bruce looked over at Dick for a moment and then suddenly it clicked in his mind, "Two-Face!" he murmured with a cold smile.

Dick nodded slowly in agreement with a look of satisfaction on his face.

***************************************

Two-Face sat in his cell at Arkham, staring upwards with cold unblinking eyes.

"Comfortable Harvey?" Batman's voice suddenly ran through the cell.

"Whatdya what?" Two-Face growled as he sat up and stared at the menacing figure that stood on the other side of the bars.

"Who was your original buyer?"

Two-Face snorted and laid back down, though he began to twist the coin around in his fingers, "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

Batman's eyes narrowed as he stared at Two-Face, "Oh yes you do… before the woman offered you more money, who was originally trying to buy the formulas from you?"

Two-Face sat back up, obviously annoyed, "There's no way I'd tell you Bat!"

Batman smiled coldly, "You're forgetting something Harvey… your coin."

Two-Face stared back silently then looked back down at his coin. His face broadcast the emotional battle that was going on inside as several minutes passed. Suddenly he flipped the coin into the air and grabbed it with a practiced maneuver.

"Crane was the original buyer." Two-Face muttered as he stared at the coin in his hand.

"Jonathan Crane?"

"What other Crane would I know?" Two-Face shouted as he lay back down on his cot and turned away from Batman.

***************************************

"What would Crane want with those missiles and the formula to make water turn to acid?" Barbara asked as she leaned up against the wall and watched Batman work on the computer.

"All of Scarecrow's fear toxins have a slightly acidic base. With only a small change to this formula he could make pure water turn into his fear toxins… or non-fear toxins. He could spread fear across the world in more ways than one." Batman answered in a cold voice as he stared at the screen.

Barbara nodded, and disappeared to the changing area, returning moments later in the guise of Batgirl. "So where is he now?" She asked quietly as she tugged on her gloves.

"Yeah, when do we head out?" Robin asked with a grin as he appeared from the shadows.

"Where's Nightwing?" Batman asked as he turned to face the two of them.

Batgirl shrugged, "Don't know. He came and said goodbye to me at the house, so he probably went back to his city."

Batman nodded slightly as he turned back to the computer… not letting any emotions show. "The three of us will take care of it then." He murmured quietly.

"The four of us." Catwoman said with a sultry smile as she sauntered in to stand next to Batman.

Batman nodded slightly and then turned to Batgirl and Robin. "You two are together. Start you're sweep of the city on the south side of town. Check out all his past hideaways. If you see him, call me and the four of us will get him."

Batgirl nodded as she turned to head for her motorcycle.

"Take the car." Batman said as he looked back at the computer.

Batgirl looked over with an upraised eyebrow, and then she grinned slightly as she and Robin ran over and jumped into the Batmobile. Moments later the vehicle roared into the night.

"Get in the plane Selina." Batman said quietly. "I'll be there in a minute."

Catwoman nodded, and then strolled off.

Batman stood unmoving for a moment, then turned and walked over to his worktable. Quickly he pulled out all the anti-toxins he had for Scarecrow's fear toxins and put them into his utility belt. Then he headed for the Batplane.

***************************************

"Heat signatures are negative at this spot… moving on to next location." Batman's voice rang over the radio.

"We're almost through his known hideouts and we don't know where he is yet." Batgirl answered in a slightly downhearted tone. "We have one more spot on our list."

"Call in as soon as you've checked it out." Batman answered.

"You got it chief… the thought of capturing Scarecrow single handedly would never have entered our minds." Robin piped up in a good-natured voice.

"Don't even think about it Robin… or perhaps you'd like to find out what it's like to be grounded for two years!" Batman answered.

Robin winced and quickly flipped off the microphone on his end. "I don't think he liked me joke." He said with a sheepish smile as he looked over at Batgirl.

"No kidding." Batgirl muttered in reply.

***************************************

"Well what do we have here." Batman murmured as he looked over his monitor. Slowly a cold smile spread over his features as he keyed on the radio. "Batgirl and Robin… it looks like we've located Scarecrow. We have a heat signature that matches all the past readings I've gotten off of Jonathan Crane. I'm transmiting our exact location now."

"Acknowledged Batman." Batgirl's voice replied. "We're on our way."

"Don't start the party without us!" Robin chimed in quickly.

***************************************

Jonathan Crane stood in the menacing form of Scarecrow, staring down at the computer screen in front of him.

"Exactly where Harvey told me it would be." He said with a cold smile as the web page suddenly popped up. Moments later the decoding logarithm presented him the formula for his acid rain.

Several minutes passed as Scarecrow ran the formula through yet one last program. When it finally exited he began to laugh evily. "Finally the world will tremble before the awesome might of the Scarecrow! The whole world will learn what true fear is."

Scarecrow stood and walked over to his high tech chemistry equipment. Within a few minutes, the formula had been put to use and was actually made into the chemical he needed.

"And now for the test!" Scarecrow murmured gleefully as he poured the formula into a bucket of water. Then he watched it silently as before his eyes, the water changed from it's normal clearness to the murky blackness that signified the formula had worked.

"Eureka!"

***************************************

Batman stood quietly on a nearby building watching the building that housed the Scarecrow. Catwoman stood nearby, and the Batplane was just behind them, on top of the same building. Suddenly a muffled shout quietly echoed through the still night air.

Batman felt the hair on the back of his neck rise up when he was finally able to make out the words… Eureka.

"Time to go in!" He growled quickly as he lept off the building and fired out his grappling hook at the same moment. Catwoman's reactions had already been primed, so she followed mere milliseconds behind him.

With perfect precision they crashed through the second-story windows, and then somersaulted towards the floor of the large warehouse. Once again the crack of a whip and the launching of a grappling hook were heard, allowing the two heroes to land gently on the ground.

"You!" Scarecrow yelled as he spun, bucket held in his hands. "Must you always get in my way?!"

Batman gave a deadly smile as he and Catwoman slowly moved forward.

Scarecrow suddenly began to laugh, "But I knew you would be here… you always show up no matter where I am!" Suddenly without a moment notice he tossed the bucket of 'water' towards the two heroes. "A surprise for the both of you!"

Catwoman ducked behind Batman as Batman quickly lifted his cape. The water dumped over his cape, soaking the garment as well as his body suit. Then Batman slowly stood, the smile still on his face, "I'm not afraid of water Crane."

Scarecrow laughed coldly, "No… but that wasn't just water… instead of simply using changing water into my fear potion, that wonderful formula also affects it so that the acidic part of the formula attacks a victims nerve endings. That plus the slight breakdown of the molecules which allows it to actually be absorbed through someone's skin makes it highly affective."

Batman stood in shock, as the realization of what had happened suddenly shone through his eyes. Before either Batman or Catwoman could react, they suddenly collapsed to the ground with cries of agony. It was as though their very skin was burning with an invisible fire.

Scarecrow's maniacal laugh echoed through the warehouse. "It hurts doesn't it Batman… it hurt's a lot… that pain, combined with you're new fear… a fear of pain will make this a most painful death for you."

The cackling laugher of Scarecrow combined with the painful screams of his two victims.

***************************************

[Panther]

So it was Scarecrow? Interesting...

And who will come to Batman and Catwoman's rescue??? I can't believe Batman just gave Supes the brushoff. That was cold.

later,

[Coran]

Chapter 13: Pain and Fear Are Great Motivators

Batgirl and Robin lept out of the Batmobile, and immediately heard the howls of pain from inside the building. Without a second thought the duo charged into the building.

Scarecrow looked up in shock as the two heroes came running in, and a growl of frustration could be heard. "Must I always be interrupted?!" He screamed in rage as he turned to run deeper into the warehouse.

"Get him Robin!" Batgirl yelled as she ran towards Batman and Catwoman. "I'll help these two."

Robin lept after Scarecrow, his eyes narrowed in concentration. With a swift movement, a batarang came shooting forth from his hand, and then crashed into the back of Scarecrow's neck.

Scarecrow fell with a shout of pain and Robin raced forward, catching the returning batarang mid stride. "Didn't expect that one, eh scaredy cat?!" He said with a smirk as he stopped near Scarecrow.

Scarecrow stood up and swiftly lunged towards Robin with a shout of rage.

"Nice try to no cigar!" Robin shouted as he lept aside and slammed his elbow down on Scarecrow's spine.

Scarecrow fell to the ground again… several moments passed before he finally levered himself back up to his feet.

"You're not afraid!" He growled softly, "But you will be… you will be terrified!"

Quickly he reached into his coat and pulled out a spray bottle. Before Robin could react Scarecrow lifted the bottle and aimed it directly at his face. "Now feel real fear!"

***************************************

Batgirl dropped to her knees next to Batman, and quickly began rifling through the compartments on his utility belt.

"You have to have the antidote… you had to bring it." She murmured hurriedly as she worked.

Batman gritted his teeth as he focused himself totally on speaking. "At cave… use chemicals to make it… it… isn't made yet!"

Batgirl looked up, a resolute expression on her face as she stared at Batman. She glanced over at the now unconscious Catwoman and nodded, "I'll get you both back to the cave."

***************************************

Batgirl lept up and ran in the direction Robin had taken as Robin's yell rent the still night air. Just partway into the pathways of crates, she found him, curled up in a ball, his eyes tightly clenched.

"It's not real… it's not real… it's not real…" Robin sobbed quietly.

Batgirl was shocked for a moment, then quickly leaned down and lifted up Robin.

"You're gonna have to lose some weight!" She complained softly as she swiftly carried him back to the Batmobile.

***************************************

Alfred slowly walked down the stairs as the Batmobile suddenly roared into the cave. As the top opened he began to speak, "Did your night go wel… Sir?"

Robin and Catwoman lay slumped inside, unconscious. "Oh…"

***************************************

Batgirl piloted the Batplane back towards cave, arriving just a few minutes after the Batmobile.

"Hold on Bruce." She murmured softly as she swiftly landed and lept out of the plane. "Alfred, help me here please!"

Alfred hurried up to see his unconscious master. "Oh no!" He murmured before he helped Batgirl lift Batman out of the plane.

Moments later Bruce was stretched out on a table near where Tim and Selina both lay.

"I have already run an analysis on Master Tim's and Mistress Selina's blood and the antidotes are being synthesized right now." Alfred said to Barbara.

"Good. Bruce has the same problem as Selina."

Alfred nodded, "They should be fine… from all I saw, nothing has done any permanent damage."

Batgirl nodded as she slowly pushed her mask off. Then she went over and collapsed into a nearby chair as she put her heads into her hands. Several moments passed before she sat up with a resolute expression on her face. "It's all up to me now!" She murmured in a determined voice.

Alfred watched quietly and then hurried upstairs to the phone.

***************************************

Dick Grayson's helmet phone began to ring quietly against his ear as he roared down the road.

"Yeah?" He said swiftly as he hit the button to answer the call.

"You are needed back in Gotham, Master Dick." Alfred's voice answered. "Master Bruce, Mistress Selina, and Master Tim have all been injured, so Mistress Gordan will now be working alone."

Dick hit the brakes as he used a power skid to complete a one-hundred and eighty degree turn. "I'm on my way back Alfred."

With a quick move he disconnected the call, and then he viscously twisted the accelerator, catapulting his motorcycle forward.

"Don't do anything stupid Barbara!" He muttered as he raced down the street.

***************************************

[Batgirl]

Poor Tim! I hope Scarecrow gets the hay beat out of him!

[witness]

So, it was the Scarecrow! Very cool. I can see him plaguing the earth with his fear missiles. I'm interested to see where you'll take this story next! Will Batgirl do something stupid? What will the Scarecrow do next? Will Batgirl and Nightwing be able to save the world once more? Ah, so many questions...

[Coran]

[B]Chapter 14: The End Has Come[B]

Batgirl silently stared at a map of Gotham City.

"If I had a formula that would turn water into fear toxin with but the tiniest drop, where would I go?" She suddenly asked herself aloud. Immediately her eyes locked on the Gotham reservoir.

"No… too obvious." She murmured. "Crane's too smart for that. Where else would he go?"

Suddenly her eyes locked on yet one more choice. "Finger River… it feeds the reservoir as well as splitting Gotham basically in half!"

Quickly she stood and headed for the Bat-plane as a very concerned Alfred watched from behind. "Do be careful Mistress Gordan!" He called after her.

"Don't wait up Alfred." She said with a slight smile as she lightly jumped into the cockpit of the plane. "It looks like I'm going to have a late night tonight."

***************************************

Dick's motorcycle roared into the Bat-cave, skidding to a stop in front of Alfred.

"Where is she?" Dick asked quickly as he yanked off his helmet and tossed his pack to the side.

"She has gone after Crane." Alfred said in a very composed voice. "She said that I shouldn't wait up for her."

Dick gritted his teeth in frustration as he ripped off his jacket to reveal his costume. With a quick movement he pulled on his mask, and then hit a button on his bike that caused parts of it to morph into a new shape.

"Keep me appraised of her position over the radio Alfred."

"Of course sir… you should know, she took the plane."

Dick gave a growl of anger and then raced back into the night.

***************************************

Batgirl flew high above Gotham as she quietly watched her sensors. Having already input the exact information on what Jonathan Crane's bio signs would be, she knew it would be just a matter of time for when she could find him.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?!" Dick's angry voice called over the radio. "Are you nuts going after Scarecrow alone?"

Batgirl winced slightly and flipped back on her communicator, "Nice to hear you again too." She said in a sarcastic voice. "What was I supposed to do? Wait for you to come save the day again?"

Batgirl heard a growl of frustration before Dick answered, "No, but you could have at least called me in for help! Instead Alfred had to call me!"

Batgirl sighed, but then noticed her sensors picking up something. "Gotta go. It's time for me to grab Crane!" She said with a slightly smirk right before disconnecting the call.

Swiftly Batgirl put the plane on auto-pilot and grabbed hold of her glider. "Get ready Crane! I'm coming!" She murmured as she hit the glider eject button.

***************************************

Scarecrow stood quietly staring at the water with an evil grin on his face. "Soon, fear will reign… and then the master of fear will be over all!"

An evil laugh echoed through the air as Scarecrow reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial. "Victory!" He growled as he reached to undo the stopper.

"Not this time!" Batgirl yelled as she let go of the glider and plummeted down into Scarecrow.

Scarecrow fell to the ground with an, "Oomph!" as he lost the grip on his vial. "No, you little twerp!" He screamed in rage as he lept back to his feet. "You have meddled in my business for the last time!"

Batgirl laughed softly as she stood off to the side watching Scarecrow. "Not this time. It's time for you to go back to Arkham."

Scarecrow growled and dove for his lost vial. "Never!" He screamed in rage as his hand closed over the vial.

Suddenly a booted foot ground down on his wrist, causing him to lose hold of the precious vial. A quick hand reached down and snatched the vial up before tossing it over to Batgirl. "Looks like you got here just in time." Nightwing said with a slight smile as he glanced over at Batgirl. "Nice job."

Batgirl shrugged as she tucked the vial into her utility belt and walked over to stand looking down at Scarecrow, "It wasn't exactly hard. He wasn't expecting anyone else to fight back."

Suddenly Crane shoved Nightwing off balance and lept up again. "You won't stop me this time!" He screamed as he charged Batgirl.

Batgirl waited until the last minuted, and then suddenly crouched so that Crane was basically tripping over her. With a quick upward movement she tossed Crane into the air, sending him somersaulting away. As he landed, Crane's head slammed into a rock with a sickening thud.

"I think he's done." Nightwing observed as he walked up behind Batgirl.

***************************************
(A few days later, back in the batcave)

"Walk me out Babs?" Dick asked with a slight smile as he stood to leave the Batcave and head back to his own home.

"Of course." She said with a smile as she stood to walk out with him.

Bruce looked up from the computer, watching the happy couple go. "Barbara." He called after them.

"Yeah?" She turned to look at him.

Bruce appeared to search for the words for a moment before gruffly saying, "Nice job the other night."

Barbara smiled in slight satisfaction, "It's what I do."

***************************************

THE END


Note: Once again, the end has come to one of my stories. I hope that all of you have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I appologize for the very brief ending fight, but Scarecrow has never exactly been someone I pictures as a strong fighter... except for his use of fear toxins of course. Anyways, all thoughts and comments would be appreciated!

[Panther]

Hmmm, a bit sudden, but nice to see Batgirl save the day without needing to be rescued by Nightwing or Batman.

I /really/ absolulty loved the last line of Bab's: it's what I do.

Rock on Batgirl!