Chapter Twenty-One: Done With Waiting

Chapter Twenty-One: Done With Waiting

Slade looked outside at the dreary weather. It was cold and the skies were overcast, a sure sign that November was coming to a close. After this, he guessed that the sun wouldn't come out much without some clouds. No one was outside - they preferred their warm homes and the comfort that the streets didn't offer. He smiled. He liked these kind of days.

The phone rang and Slade went over to answer it, "Hello."

"Yo, where's my money?" Ravager yelled over the phone line.

"Your money?" Slade asked as if it was a question.

"Yeah, my money!"

"Half of it will be delivered to My Alibi tonight," Slade told him.

"Half?!" Ravager raged.

"Exactly," Slade told him, "That was a pathetic display."

"But he's dead!" Ravager argued.

Slade sighed - he was dealing with such a moron, "Yes, Wayne is dead, but I think I specifically told you to leave the boy alone in your instructions."

"What?" Ravager asked, "What's so important about that brat?"

"His limited access to his new fortune. You should know that it's all about the money," Slade lied easily and smoothly, "You're lucky that Superman and that Cat exist at the moment."

"That's cheap," Ravager told him.

"I was willing to pay for a job followed under my terms," Slade told him, "I will pay for half and if you fight for the other half, you will loose."

With that, Slade hung up the phone. Ravager was dealt with and Luthor would get what he wanted too. In all honesty, Luthor was too easy to read. Lex was lucky that Slade had waited for Earle to demote Fox at this point, though. His patience for even dealing with this man was wearing thin. Luckily, after this, he didn't have to worry about pleasing Mr. Luthor. Slade looked outside again. He heard a clash of thunder sound in the distance.

A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. Tonight would be perfect. Walking out of his office, Slade went down the hall to his arsenal. Within moments, he was out of his civilian clothes and into his armed suit, a mask placed firmly on his head. What an interesting night this would be. Picking out certain pieces of equipment, Slade loaded his belt and prepared for the evening ahead.

It almost amazed him, the fact that he was even at this stage. Everything had been so easy. Managing Jump from Gotham had been easier than he had thought possible while dealing with the locals was simple when he gave them... motivation to cooperate. But the best of it had to be that he had killed, or rather could take the credit for killing, Batman, without even lifting a finger. The biggest plus? Robin had sent his team away. He hadn't planned on that, but it certainly made his job easier.

Slade went to the roof of the building. He needed to get out, do something until the evening came. If there had to be one downside to all of this, it was that he had hardly done anything. He wanted a good fight. And tonight he would get one.

He was sure of it.

-T-

The smoke in the room was really heavy. It made him grateful that his mask had a filter. He sat in a shady section of the bar, watching men play pool and listening to hushed conversations. The best part of this job was that nearly every bit of this was on Robin and the Boy Wonder hadn't bothered him since, save to give him cash for food for the week discretely.

The door creaked open and Red X darted his eyes over to the newcomer. A man, hunched over in a trench coat made his way to the bar. He wouldn't have been any interest to X, save for the light red color that he could barely see past the coat. Red X smiled under the mask. Well, this could be something worth while. As the man waited for his drink, X came over to the bar as well.

"Haven't seen you around here," He commented to the man.

"I don't come here often," The man told him.

Red X raised a brow and kept a mental list of details. Brown hair, brown eyes, muscular - looked like he was trying to grow some sort of goatee.

"Why tonight then?" Red X asked, leaning back as though it was nothing.

The man glanced at Red X wondering how old this guy was. If it wasn't for the mask, he doubted that the guy would have even gotten in here.

"Business," The man finally said.

"What, you a hit man?" Red X laughed, "Getting your money."

The man grunted, as though irritated, while X continued, "Well, a man's gotta eat, I suppose. Me? I'm more prone to the thief end of the spectrum, but I guess it's preference. So who was your latest target?"

The man looked from side to side before looking at X, "If I wasn't already gypped, I might care. Got that playboy, Wayne."

Red X's eyes widened as he tried to keep his cool while the man, who he now knew was The Ravager, continued, "Got hired by some higher up who was trying to outdo someone else."

"Wait, wait, wait," Red X said, loving this type of story, "You mean to tell me you were getting paid off to do that and that two people wanted that guy dead?"

"From the sounds of what I heard," Ravager told him, "My guess is that it had to do with the company or possibly Wayne's money."

Red X chuckled, "Man, that's rich."

Someone set up a pool table in the room while Ravager nodded. The conversation went cold for a moment, something Red X didn't want, but couldn't exactly help. He had to say something - it just wouldn't be good if he got up and left. Ravager would follow him.

"So had any trouble with the Bat or the Titans?" Red X asked him, "With something like that, you must be good to cover your tracks."

"Haven't had a run in with either of them," Ravager stated, "I think it's been more of a luck factor than anything else."

"But you killed that other guy recently, right, the guy at the Enterprises?" Red X prodded, "And others probably, don't tell me that was all luck. I'd have to steal whatever luck you have if it was."

"I didn't kill nobody but Wayne," Ravager said.

"You mean, those others, they were someone else?" Red X asked, surprised.

"It'd have to be," Ravager explained, but he was becoming all the more irritated by Red X by the moment, "Who are you, anyways?"

"I blew into town from the west," Red X said, "Figured it would be easier to make a living here."

"Mr. Defarge?" the bartender asked the man, "Your delivery has arrived."

"Thanks," Ravager held out a hand for the package while the bartender slipped a hundred into his pocket.

"You might be right 'bout theft, kid," Ravager started, but when he turned, X was gone.

On the roof, Red X looked around when he saw a figure running off in the opposite direction. Setting off after it, Red X found it increasingly hard to keep up with it. It was quick and fast, but then again, so was he. He decided to use the cloaking technology and continue tailing them. But the person kept running and after a good half hour, Red X finally stopped after loosing it. His legs hurt and his heart was beating fast in his rib cage to the point where it hurt. Who was this guy? Turning around, X arrived back at My Alibi an hour later, taking his time and regaining his stance. As the bartender went out with the trash, he found himself pinned against the wall by the skull masked vigilante.

"Who gave you that package?" Red X questioned.

"I... I don't rat out anybody," The bartender said.

Red X's eyes narrowed, but he laughed, "Do I look like a good guy, man?"

"The Bat's one," the bartender choked, "Anyone could be one."

"I want work," X said, "Who were they?"

The bartender eyed Red X questioningly, but he finally answered, "Don't know. They kept to the shadows."

"Was it a man or a woman?" Red X asked.

"Man," the bartender answered.

Red X watched the bartender wriggle to get free, but it wasn't until Red X turned and let him go did the bartender race back into My Alibi to lock the door. If he had thought that the man would have been any more useful, then maybe he would have kept him out there longer, but he didn't. X felt the breeze blow his tattered cape past his sides while slowly, a smile came to his face. The Boy Wonder would certainly be interested in this. That was for sure. Red X looked around the deserted street. That's when the one problem hit him.

There was no way for him to contact Robin to tell him. X shrugged as he climbed a fire escape. With a price, he'd tell the Boy Wonder the next time he saw him. The price because without this element of direct communication, Red X would have to remember all of this. And he hated doing chores, unless they were fun of course. What really baffled him was the mysterious delivery man and the fact that there were two killers. He had never been up for killing people. Theft, sure, it didn't hurt anyone unless they got in the way. But killing people... Red X shook his head, smirking, because it kept him from shuddering.

It suddenly made sense how Robin had once passed of being the Red X. He saw it all now, didn't he? Red X ran forward towards midtown. No one trusted or relied too heavily on anyone else here. That's the way Gotham was. X had to admit, he liked that, to a certain degree. It was how he lived. It was the rogues in that category that bothered him. The ones, like these killers, who also set out to upset the natural order of things. He liked order. Order was easy to follow. It was easy to understand.

It was anything but Gotham.

-T-

The screen flashed 'Game Over'. Neither Cyborg nor Beast Boy got up for a victory dance or a round of sobbing. Both just sat in front of the controllers and the TV screen, looking dully at the screen. After getting home a couple days ago, thanks to the Boy Wonder's orders, the four remaining Titans had had the time of their lives, cleaning up the Tower as Red X had hardly bothered to clean up after himself. He did, however, find the ability to eat them out of house and home. No one knew how he could eat so much but still be so scrawny.

So, with two days worth of cleaning, eventually the Tower began to resemble home. But it's occupants were far from their normal selves. It was as though Gotham's stench still ran through their clothes and armor. They were all somewhat glad to be home, but their reactions were mingled with the bittersweet taste of failureat Gotham. Raven, though happy to be out of Gotham, wouldn't leave her room save for meals and for emergencies while Starfire just didn't talk to anyone in general. She walked like everyone around her were ghosts and when she fought, she was unnaturally quiet.

As for the boys, well, they were boys. They didn't say anything and just acted like utter downers. Even Beast Boy had quit the jokes while Cyborg abandoned his upgrading process for the T-Ship. At the moment, they had actually gotten up the strength to play a video game. Not very well though... They continued to stare at the screen's glow, until Beast Boy broke the silence.

"Well, that was pointless," He said.

Cyborg rolled his eye, "What was your first clue?"

"No, I mean, this is all pointless," Beast Boy said.

"Hm?"

Beast Boy stood up and walked over to the windows, "I mean, come on, why are we back here?"

Cyborg shrugged, "'Cause Robin told us to leave Gotham."

"But we're not doing ANYTHING here!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "Nothing's really happening. Brother Blood's in jail. The HIVE are joining him. Slade hasn't shown his face in, what, a year? Come on!"

"Naw, I get it, B, I get it," Cyborg said, "But what were we going to do? Tell the guy 'no'?"

"Well, I would have if he wasn't such a wreck," Beast Boy stated firmly, "What?"

Cyborg's brow was raised in question, "Nothing, you just said what we're all thinking, that's all... But, why didn't you anyway?"

Beast Boy shrugged, "I don't know. Guess I knew he couldn't take that... But, after seeing Raven go nearly nuts in Arkham, it just worries you, you know?"

Cyborg was about to fall over at Beast Boy's serious tone, yet somehow he managed to nod as Beast Boy walked over to the kitchen. The younger Titan looked into the empty fridge with a small frown on his face, like he was actually thinking logically and seriously.

"Look, B," Cyborg said, "As long as Robin's with Ms. Kane, I'm sure he will be okay. You know?"

Beast Boy raised a brow, but nodded, "I just don't see how that's going to keep Robin on his feet, Cy."

"Well, he won't be able to go out much and get into too much trouble," Cyborg joked offhandedly. He hated it when he had to be the one joking about these sorts of matters.

Beast Boy shrugged and opened a soda, "I guess... I just, I feel rotten about it."

"We all do," Raven walked into the room, her hood off and her eyes cast low, "As a team, we followed orders. As friends, we failed to be there for him."

The two looked at the empath for a moment as she walked towards the front.

"So what are we supposed to do about that?" Cyborg asked her.

Raven thought for a moment before answering, "What we can... I don't know. With Gotham, we're not much help. Our best option is to keep up with communication."

The other two nodded when Beast Boy noticed, "Hey, where's Starfire?"

"She's in her room," Raven answered.

"Oh..." Beast Boy responded, "Raven... are you okay?"

Raven turned to look him in the eye, "I... I just have a feeling that all of this... all of this, with Batman's... demise: we need to be ready."

"For what?" Cyborg asked again.

"I don't know!" She yelled back at them both, "We just do, okay?"

The others watched her for a moment before the mistress of magic sighed and looked out at the horizon. There wasn't much to say. They just didn't know what was happening. They didn't know what was going to happen. No one knew and that's why, underneath it all, they were uneasy about the entire situation. And as the sky darkened over Jump City, Gotham's became all the more shrouded in clouds. Most needed to sleep, no, wanted to sleep. That's what most of Gotham's cops had decided to do.

Gordon got up from his desk despite the many papers scattered across it. He needed to take a walk. And he would have, except that the lighted office at the end of the hallway caught his eye. Drifting down to the door, he knocked on it, only for it to open on its own. What was more surprising, though, was the box on Detective Yin's desk.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"Oh," Yin said, turning around, "I, sorry, Commissioner, I was just, I thought I'd bring some stuff home with me. It's getting kind of cramped and all."

Commissioner Gordon walked over to the box and looked inside. He pulled out a picture and smiled at it.

"Are you just taking Ethan's stuff out of here, Yin?" He asked.

Yin's eyes cast themselves downwards at the question, but finally she answered, "Maybe. I just can't stand having that stuff in here. I mean, when he was Clayface, sure, I could handle it. He was alive. Or, we thought he was alive. But now he's not."

Gordon nodded, "Believe me Yin, I know what it's like to lose someone on the work force. I've known a lot of people here who lose in that department... You just have to remember that they want you to keep fighting."

"What are we fighting, Commissioner?" She asked, almost out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Commissioner... we don't know what we're fighting! All we know is there's some guy named Ravager involved and we haven't gotten much farther than that," Yin explained, "It's nerve wracking! We can't find someone this way! What has the Bat found? Anything? Nothing? I mean, half the time, I just want to leave. I can't stand it here after Ethan and Jason..."

At the mention of Batman, Gordon looked downward, "Yin, I don't know what he's found. I haven't seen him."

She raised a brow as Gordon explained, "Robin said he was somewhere in Asia tracking a possible lead."

"You've seen the kid?" She asked.

"Yeah, I've seen him around from time to time," Gordon told her. "He's working on his own leads."

Yin smiled, "Ethan used to really like that kid. He told me that there was something bright that he liked, something that he felt was good being by Batman's side."

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, the kid's always been that way..."

Yin detected the note of doubt in her superior's voice almost instantly, "But what?"

"Kid's been alarmingly... I don't know, really down to the point lately. I don't know, it just worries me, Yin," Gordon said, "We've just got to stand by them, that's the one thing I've learned over the years working with him."

Yin nodded slowly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure Ethan would be cheering you on, Yin."

Yin smiled softly as the Commissioner left the room. Getting to the roof, Gordon turned off the hot Bat-signal. No one tonight. Again. It was worth a shot. It always was in his mind. That's when he noticed a note on the switch reading: 'Can't stay and talk, but should have more information soon.' The wind blew loudly across the rooftops, sending the Commissioner's coat up in a flare. He sighed. It was becoming too quiet up here for his likes. Gordon shook his head and headed in below, hoping that the weather would get better by the time he reached his car. It didn't.

Gotham's weather had a way of doing that. All over the busy streets, people and buildings began to feel the air turn chilly and moist. Robin was running to get home. He hadn't found any leads and tonight, he didn't want to risk the chance that Adeline might find him out of bed after being woken up by thunder. If there was a big emergency... well, he'd get to that if he had to cross that bridge.

He slid off the R-Cycle only a block away this time and all out ran over every fence through three backyards to Ms. Kane's house before jumping up to the roof with a bo-staff. He opened the door just as a small trickle of rain landed on the roof. Quickly, he sat down and began to pull off his suit and replace it with a shirt and shorts. After shoving his stuff into the Toy Box, Dick jumped into bed and tried to calm down. His two communicators were on vibrate and were under his pillow should he need to wake up.

The rain began to pour outside as Dick tried to get to sleep. Eventually, the pattering sound of the rain made his eyes droopy and Dick managed to get to sleep. Perfect, that was all he needed. Slade watched from the tree in the backyard and smiled. He looked over to Adeline's window. Thunder sounded and soon, he saw her waking up. Inside, Adeline yawned with exhaustion, but stretched and rubbed her eyes. Getting up, she walked into the hallway and peeked into Dick's room to find him sound asleep. A small smile crossed her lips as she closed the door behind her and went downstairs.

Slade took his chance. Landing quietly on the roof that lead to Dick's window, Slade carefully lifted the glass window and eased his way into the room. Taking out a thin can, Slade placed it underneath the other bed in the room, in the back corner so it was hidden by the toys that were never picked up and out from under there all those years ago. Pulling a thin wire out, Slade watched as the visible gas began to leak out and into the room. For the first time, Slade turned to see Dick within feet of him for months. The boy slept soundly and in many ways, calmly. He had grown and he hadn't had a hair cut in a while. Slade was tempted to stay longer to see how his... former apprentice, had changed over the course of time, but he knew there would be time for that later.

Leaving the room as he came, Slade closed the window gently and let the knock out gas do it's thing. Well, he couldn't risk Dick coming downstairs and getting in the middle of things. Adeline looked upstairs for a moment. She held a cup of steaming hot chocolate in her hands to warm her up a bit, but she neglected it as she focused upstairs. Landing down below, Slade took the chance to climb into the bathroom window this time - it was closest to Adeline's office. Adeline placed her mug on the counter and went for the stairs. She was probably just hearing things, but she thought she had heard something from Dick's...

Adeline turned to look down the hallway. There was a creak. She had heard it, in the wood floor underneath the carpet. Adeline slowly made her way towards the corner, her office. Upon reaching it, she quickly turned the corner, but... no one. Adeline shook her head. Was she hearing things? She was being paranoid. Overly paranoid. That's what this was, that's what this...

SLAM!

Adeline turned. She was definitely not being paranoid. That was something. Adeline held her breath. Someone was in the house besides her and Dick. She knew it. She knew it. If she could lure them into her office, maybe... Adeline gripped the wall and slowly, came out from around the corner again. What she saw took her breath away. In the kitchen, above the two stairs that lead to the living room where she stood, a man, shrouded in shadow leaned against the counter. But she didn't need to see his face to know who it was. Her mouth dropped as she shook her head. The man looked to the side and back at her.

"Is it really that much of a surprise, Addie?" He asked.

At the sound of her old nickname, Adeline regained her ability to talk. "Don't you call me that."

Slade shook his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't see how that was an insult."

Adeline's eyes narrowed at him, "Get out."

"I'm sorry for this too, but I can't leave yet, Adeline," Slade told her.

"Of course you can, get out," She whispered, "Before..."

"Before what?" Slade asked her, stepping down the two steps of stairs.

"Slade..." She started.

"Yes, Adeline?"

Adeline stared at him in the eye for a moment, before he turned and walked into her living room.

"It's a nice place you've got here," He commented.

"What are you doing here, Slade?" She asked again. "What do you want?"

"Why are you always so quick to want me to leave?" He asked back.

She kept her lips together as her hands swelled into fists that she restrained at her sides. Slade noticed this and resisted the urge to chuckle at her old habits.

"Is it really not obvious, Adeline?" He asked, "I've been here for a long time."

Adeline shook her head. She didn't understand, but then, her previous suspicions came back to her mind and her eyes widened.

"No... what... You've been..." She started, taking a step back.

"Since around September," Slade told her.

"Then... why haven't you come here before?" Adeline asked, she was starting to not like this at all, "You've... you've been behind the killings, haven't you? Austin, Ethan, Bard, Beagle... What are you doing, Slade?"

Slade chuckled a bit, "If anyone would look at these people, they'd get it."

"Well they haven't, so what on earth were you trying to do, Slade?" Adeline said, walking up to him.

"Adeline, you're smarter than that," Slade said.

"Don't make me take that other eye out," Adeline hissed.

She knew he was smiling underneath his mask as he walked past her, "How's the kid doing?"

"I wouldn't know how the kids are doing," Adeline said, "I haven't seen them for years because of you, you lowlife."

"I said, kid, Adeline, kid," Slade repeated.

Adeline looked upstairs towards Dick's room and then at Slade, "You... you killed Bruce too?"

"Not exactly, though I can take some credit for that," Slade told her, "Even Lex Luthor can. I have to admit, for everything that man's done, I'll have to thank him for this one."

"So if you killed Bruce, why are you still here?" She asked, angrily, passing him and heading towards her office while he followed.

"I've just been waiting, that's all. For all of the..." He paused as he looked at the frame of the two boys, "Legal investigations and paper work to get done."

Adeline found the drawer she was looking for and slowly opened it up, "Maybe you stayed too long, Slade."

Grabbing the gun in the drawer, Adeline turned around and faced Slade with it, "Dick! Dick! Get Up!"

When she didn't hear anything, she looked at Slade, who not only wasn't worried about the gun, but also wasn't phased by her yelling.

"Adeline, you're the only one whispering here," Slade said to her.

"Oh my... what did you do to him, Slade?" She demanded.

"Harmless knock out gas. He'll be up in the morning," Slade told her.

But she'd had enough, pulling the trigger, Adeline braced herself for the loud gun shot, but it never came. She looked at her gun and then at Slade, who slowly, from his back pocket pulled out two silver bullets that were once in her gun.

"You never change your hiding place for them, Addie," He said.

"Do Not Call Me That!" She screamed at him.

Dropping the gun, she aimed a fist at him, but he caught her arm easily. She struggled to get free as Slade watched her attempts fail.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Adeline asked again, becoming furious at him.

She attempted to hit him again, but it only ended with both of her wrists in his hand, "Why..."

Then her eyes widened in a new question, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Slade finally looked at her with a bit of regret in his eye, "I'm sorry, Adeline, but you're not going to be telling anyone this."

Adeline's eyes opened wide. She didn't hesitate for a moment. Hitting his head with her own, Adeline freed herself and ran towards the stairs.

"Dick! Dick!"

She didn't get very far before she felt Slade grabbing her arms and covering her mouth.

"Don't do this, Adeline," Slade said.

Adeline shoved him backwards, causing him and her to fall onto the floor. Elbowing him, she got herself free and landed a good punch to Slade's face. But her victory didn't last long as Slade found one of her arms again. But Adeline wasn't about to go down that easily. Twisting around, she managed to throw a kick at him, which he dodged, but it allowed her to run towards the staircase.

Slade smirked. She got to the handrail when he shoved her into the kitchen at the end of the island. Adeline steeled herself, looking for an opening. She had to get Dick out of there; she couldn't just leave him alone. At the very least, she had to call the police. She looked up to see the multiple pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. Grabbing a few, she let a few sail towards Slade, but he dodged them easily and when she finally stopped, Adeline had lost sight of him.

She grabbed a pair of knifes from their wooden holders, and carefully took a few steps towards the steps again. Adeline broke out into a run when she saw a leg stretch out and nearly trip her. Jumping up, Adeline landed and threw a knife with precision at Slade, who grabbed the blade before jumping up after her. Grabbing her free arm, Slade yanked Adeline away from the door and stairway, but Adeline didn't care if she got blood on the tiled floor.

The second knife lunged at Slade's chest. However, opening up his retractable bo-staff, Slade managed to knock that one out of Adeline's hand as well. Kicking him in the gut, Adeline raced out of his reach and ran to her cell phone on the table nearby the doorway. Picking up, she began to dial 911. Before it could ring though, Slade got a hold on her again, this time from behind, and forced her to drop it. Adeline wriggled it Slade's grip as he attempted to keep a firm grip on her arms.

Finally someone picked up, "Hello?"

Adeline would have yelled, but at this point, Slade had gotten both of her wrists into his one hand.

"Hello?" That's all Adeline heard before Slade landed his bo-staff on the phone and shattered it.

She was on her own. Still standing, Adeline leaned backwards into Slade's grasp, causing them both to back up and fall into the kitchen once again. She thought that that would have been enough to get Slade to let go, if only for a moment. But she was wrong. He held onto her hands with an iron grip as she struggled to get away from him.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Addie," He told her, trying to calm her down.

"Don't Call Me That!" She yelled again.

Slade sighed and pulled out a pair of cuffs. Within seconds, Slade had hand cuffed the still struggling Adeline, who attempted to hit him, hurt him in any way with every chance she got.

"Adeline," He said.

He hoped that she could understand this had nothing to do with her. But whether she did or not didn't seem to matter as she glared at him with a deep sense of hatred in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'll explain later," Slade said.

Pulling out a cloth laced with chloroform, he firmly placed it over Adeline's mouth and nose. As Adeline struggled to free herself, she slowly felt the drowsy effects overwhelming her body. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling and then to Slade. Eventually, all she could see was his eye. His lone eye watching her before she passed out. Slade removed the cloth with a sigh. It was extremely unfortunate that it had to be this way, but it didn't much matter. Quickly cleaning up the area to look as it had before the fight, Slade turned on the fan to air out Dick's room of the knock out gas.

Finally, he walked back over to Adeline who still lay unconscious on the floor. Slade looked at her for, his... memories taking over for a moment. What a complicated past they had. He looked back up at where Dick's room - the boys' room was - and then back at Adeline. It was a shame she had to be involved in some ways. In others, he wasn't too bothered by it. The cops would be here soon; he couldn't wait any longer. Kneeling down, Slade carefully gathered up Adeline's limp body up in his arms and carried her out of the Kane household, leaving only one person to wake up when the sirens came.

Dick rolled around in his bed when his eyes eventually opened into thin slits. The rain had stopped. The Boy Wonder was still sore and tired from the night before and he would have slept in, except for the flashing red and blue lights that were coming through his window. That's when he heard the knocking coming from the door downstairs. Slowly getting up, Dick opened his front door and walked downstairs. He held a hand up in front of his eyes as he went to the front door. Opening it up, he found Detective Yin standing in front of him in the damp cold.

"Dick?" She asked.

She didn't wait for him to finish nodding before continuing, her voice serious and to the point, "We received a phone call this evening from Ms. Kane's cell phone. Could we speak with her?"

Dick nodded again, confused, sure, but nodded, "Ms. Kane!"

He waited a moment before calling again, "Ms. Kane!"

At that, Dick's heart began to race as he heard Yin ask him, "May we come in, Dick?"

He nodded and stepped aside as a few cops followed her. Dick sank against a wall. Where... Where was she? He looked outside. Her car was still here. Dick felt himself clench his fists. What, what was going on? Where was Ms. Kane? She... This wasn't normal. Outside, Commissioner Gordon pulled up and stepped out of his car. He didn't need to step inside to know that this was going to be a mess. It was all going to be a big mess.