Dating The Dark Knight

Chapter 34

THIRD PERSON VIEW. [3:30AM....]

Bruce, Nightwing, Se'ir and Kathy had arrived near the scene, waiting in a nearby alley, with a stealth van prepared. Each of them arrived loaded with fifty heavily charged mind disruptors in accomodating utility belts Bruce ordered for each of the them. The streets were almost silent and not a single civilian was present. Only police men were patrolling, staying in the shadows and protecting them to the best of their abilities.

Their plan was clear. They would all begin to drill into the marked areas simultaneously. Not too deep, just a few inches to gain their attention. The earth elemental was to act to their repair the damage or open a whole for an attack, either way, Bruce was prepared. He would throw a small explosive or two when the smallest of openings presented itself, and once the creatures, Xenos or even the team surfaced to fight, their minds would be scrambled beyond their comprehension. He and Se'ir had also programmed a few of the disruptors to turn Xenos' creatures against him and to scramble his focus; all they had to do was overide them with images of him so they flashed in the victims mind. With Xenps unfocused, it would be impossible for him to have a grip on their blood and end their mission. Then the mother off all disruptors would be thrown or placed on his head, immediately immobilizing him. Enter Kathy for a brief information sweep, then he would be knocked unconcious for up to 24 hours. Bruce even had a special serum for him; it would temporarily disable his abilities and numb every part of his body in the process.

It all seemed flawless, but it would be far from it. They would have to give it their all, even if it meant straying a bit from the original plan. As long as the elementals were out of the tunnels with minimal damage, he was fine with it. Bruce signaled for the guys to put up safety barriers around the designated area and once it was setup, he signaled for them to grab their drills. Their drills didn't make half as much noise as the regular ones did, and with sound-proof barriers, they were guaranteed not to wake even the lightest of sleepers....

UNDERGROUND. [3:49AM...]

If Eric said he didn't feel the sudden vibrations ringing through the tunnels, he would be lying. The others were still with Xenos, trying to figure out what may have caused Aphrodite to enter a catatonic stupor. It gave him time to slip out of the medical room to examine the damage. He didn't even have to open a hole to know who it was. It was Batman and his team, it had to be. His signals hadn't gone unnoticed. He felt excitment surge through him and was determined to make Batman's job even easier by opening a hole a few feet from where he could feel the last person drilling. He didn't have to dig through, just focus on the earth around and gently lift pieces of the surface of the road around them. He did it to get their attention but he had other plans to bring to the main tunnels. Since they had already made the structure weak with their drilling, he didn't need his full power to manipulate the earth, so for the first time, the armbands didn't hinder him. He took a deep breath and began....

SURFACE. [3:55AM...]

They continued to drill till something caught Kathy's eyes...

"Stop. Look!" She called out and pointed. They focused their attention on the floating pieces of earth outside their barrier. Just as Bruce stood tall to take a closer look, the ground beneath his feet began to shake.

"Did we dig too deep?" Nightwing asked as he tried to stay on his feet.

"No. He's just given us another route." Bruce replied and grabbed Kathy to shield her. She was pressed against his side, her head tucked in for impact and Bruce's cape around her. This was it. The ground finally gave out and they fell right through....

UNDERGROUND. [4:08AM...]

Their landing sent  loud vibrations through the tunnels; and right when the vibration shook the main parts of the tunnels, Xenos' head snapped up. He tore his gaze from Aphrodite for the first time in hours, and ran out to see what had happened. None of them had gotten rest, especially Xenos, who was too focused on his key player's condition. He ignored his fatigue and pushed on.....