THIRD PERSON VIEW
Bruce stood, his eyes trained on the unconcious figure infront of him. The woman he'd struggled to protect, the one that had invaded his thoughts, the one he cared so much for....unmoving...mysteriously forced into a coma. No one spoke for a while, Bruce's team especially. They knew more than anyone else there, the strong feelings he harbored for her. Bruce's first instinct was to caress her face and lace his fingers through hers, but he had to remember he was still in vigilante-mode. He would have to secure his feelings now for her sake and for the good of their operation.
"Nightwing, get the van here now." Bruce ordered immediately after snapping out of shock. Richard nodded briefly and sprinted out of the room to carry out Bruce's order. "When he gets back, I need Analise, Kathy and Ares to take Aphrodite to safety and sit tight. The rest of us will join you all. Stay as quiet as possible and follow Nightwing's orders. The last thing we need is to make any uneccessary noises."
"Understood." Kathy replied and motioned for Analise and Ares to help her move Aphrodite's bed towards their crash point. They moved quickly, stepping over medical equipment, crushing a few more bottles, but getting her out of the room successfully. Eric turned to face Bruce and Se'ir, his expression full of appreciation and a bit of curiousity.
"What are we to do?" He asked.
"You built these tunnels, guide us through. Lead us to the important rooms. A thorough search will be conducted before we can leave." Se'ir said and Eric nodded then motioned for them to follow him. He had a god amount of things to show them, starting with the weapons room...where he'd helped Xenos hide the levitating disc. He did most of the engineering for the device so it made sense that he'd be the one to destroy it. And that thought alone brought a satisfying smile to his face.
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3 MINUTES LATER....
They had arrived in the training room and Bruce and Se'ir were examining the room. They silently admitted it was impressive. Bruce started up the scanners on his gauntlets, to analyze the room for any explosive devices, or any destructive devices laying underneath the smooth flooring. His scan results were negative for the most part till he moved his arm to the left and it picked something up...behind the walls. He's best guess was that the mysterious object was the levitating disc. Se'ir and Bruce looked to each other, then to Eric.
"If you're looking for the discs we used...that day, it's right here." Eric said with a gentle sigh and walked towards the opposite them. One he reached the location, he ran his fingers across the smooth plastering till his index finger grazed a tiny bump, which he pressed quickly then stepped back. They could hear gears turn behind the plastering and ever so slightly, the wall slide out of position to reveal the prize. Bingo. The wide, transparent disc was supported by small hooks, each specifically created to carry its weight.
"Where did he get the tech to build this?" Se'ir whispered.
"Tech stolen from various companies." Bruce replied in an even tone and took a step forward to analyze the disc. One his gloved palms came in contact with the smooth surface of the disc, a small touch pad was revealed, demanding a passcode. He could choose to hack it and in the process, waste more time, or allow Eric to step in. Eric knew it was his turn to act when Batman and Se'ir turned to face him. He gently accepted to put in the passcode on the touch pad, which ended up being finger prints. The hooks made a clicking noise, which signaled that the disc was ready to be removed. Eric looked to Batman for further instruction.
"Disable it when we're out of here. We have to keep moving." He instructed and Eric nodded. Before they left, Bruce and Se'ir tossed small explosives on the weapons in the room. They were powerful enough to destroy the weapons but not enough to cause any foundation collapse.Eric, still carrying the disc, led them towards Xenos' room.
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MEANWHILE.....
Ares just removed the drip from his sister's hand and placed a bandage over the puncture wound. It would suffice for now. Analise pushed tossed the drip aside as she and Ares helped lift Aphrodite to Kathy and Nightwing's waiting arms above. They were careful as they lifted her. The back of the van was ready and they laid her down quietly then returned to help the other two out of the tunnels.As she secured a belt around Aphrodite, her communicator beeped. It was her second in command calling. She excused herself while Nightwing was attending to Analise and Ares, and stayed on the opposite side of the truck.
"Yes?" She answered.
"Commissioner Francis, patrol is going as planned with no disruption in our designated areas." A male voice reported.
"Good. What have you heard from him?"
"He will arrive in Gotham City tomorrow, assuming nothing else requires his attention."
"Perfect. We will have a meeting tomorrow, at Gotham's conference hall, to discuss our plan of action. Do all you can to make sure everyone is well rested. We have more challenges ahead, this fight has merely begun." She told him.
"Yes, Commissioner. All will be prepared."
"Good. Sit tight, comrade and make sure the others check in regularly."
"Will do, Ms.Francis. Goodbye."He said and they hung up. She let out a sigh and rubbed her arm, which was hurt from their fight.
"How's it going, Commish?" Nightwing asked quietly, using his nickname for her, as he came around the van.
"I'm hoping it goes as planned. There's still a threat looming." She replied and ran her fingers through her messy, dusty hair.
"Isn't there always?" Nightwing replied as he handed her a bottle of cold water, which she accepted with a grateful smile.
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BACK UNDERGROUND.....
"Well, this is his room." Eric stated as they stopped infront of the door. The door was locked, but it was a different story after Bruce launched a powerful kick at it with his reinforced boots. The door was forced off its hinges as it crashed against the floor, and Bruce and Eric walked in.
"Batman, your friendly neighborhood locksmith." Se'ir chuckled to himself as he walked in after them. The first thing that simultaneously caught their attention, was the big painting on the wall. The same painting that shocked Aphrodite beyond words. The painting of Aphrodite and Xenos, lips locked, which chaos playing out behind them.
"Whoa." Was all Se'ir said in a flat tone. Bruce scowled at the painting, making a mental note to destroy it before they left. They began to explore his room, hoping to find any clues. On Bruce's side, he examined the papers on Xenos' desk. There were scrunched up attack plans, workout schedules, shipping confirmations, blueprints for somekind of war machine and a calender. Three dates marked, one in a heart and the other two circled. It was Aphrodite's birthday and the other two dates were most likely days for an attack. Bruce neatly folded the small calender and tucked it into his utility belt.
"Hey, look at this!" Se'ir called from the other side of the room. Eric turned from the notebook he was going through and Bruce looked up from the sticky notes he found on the floor. They walked briskly to Sean's location and soon found themselves standing infront of a narrow closet next to the actual closet. It was sealed with a large lock. It was all too obvious Xenos was trying to make sure something remained hidden.
"Go ahead." Bruce told Se'ir, who nodded and reached into his belt for a small explosive. Seconds later, pieces of the lock had been scattered around the room, and the closet opened with a creak. The three men peered inside and found a medium-sized chest, once again secured with a combination lock. Eric's eyes widened at the sight of the chest. It had been a while since he'd been this close to it. It briefly took him back to the early days, when he and Xenos were still setting up the tunnels. He was there when Xenos had bought the chest...when he'd stabbed himself and injected his blood into the orb...then forced Eric into submitting his.
Bruce watched as Eric's face paled at the sight of the chest. There was a story behind it and he would uncover it once they escaped the tunnels. Se'ir and Eric moved to allow Bruce retrieve the chest, not even bothering to open it yet. They had to leave soon.
"Any other locations that require a thorough search?" Bruce asked and Eric looked up quickly, thought for a few seconds and shook his head with certainty. Bruce was hesitant for a few seconds but decided to allow himself believe Eric. For now. "Is there a containment room in these tunnels?" He asked suddenly. Eric nodded and gave Bruce brief directions.
Soon, the three of them were leaving Xenos' room, not before Bruce tossed a small explosive at the portrait, it landed on Xenos' face..soon enough, the explosive took action and ultimately destroyed the painting beyond recognition. No one caught the quick satisfied smile that tugged at his lips as they walked away from Xenos' room.
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5 MINUTES LATER...
Bruce and the pair had now arrived at their crash point. Xenos' unconcious body was still in the same spot, but Bruce was not going to leave him there. He was too dangerous to bring along, or lock up with traditional methods. Bruce picked up him up then turned to the two.
"You two get to the van. Se'ir, secure our perimeter and tell Nightwing to wait for my signal. Eric, you will seal our entrancebefore we leave." Bruce ordered. They nodded and began to climb through the hole. Bruce sprinted to the containment room with Xenos tossed over his shoulder. He arrived at the room, the door was ajar, thanks to Aphrodite's condition and Xenos' state of panic. It was perfect. He walked into the small, white room...looked around, and found a pair of shackles attached to the wall. Just perfect. Bruce moved towards it, then unceremoniously dropped Xenos' body on the floor. He quickly secured the shackles to his wrists and made sure they were tight and strong enough.
But ofcourse, that wasn't all Bruce did. He reached for his utility belt and retrieved another vial of the concentrated sedative he'd prepared. In seconds, the liquid was already in Xenos' blood stream. It would buy them all more time. Still, what if he was able to beat it? Bruce also had two tiny tracking devices he had to place in Xenos' ears with the use of a tool that looked like a pair of complex tweezers. The tiny devices attached themselves to his ear canals. That way, they wouldn't be noticed, and they wouldn't cause discomfort because they weren't too deep into his ears.And with that, Bruce briskly exited the room, turning off the lights and locking the door.They had to leave now.
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4 MINUTES LATER....
The Batmobile had been summoned to their area and Bruce had already climbed out. Eric awaited Bruce's signal, and when the time was right, he walked out quickly and joined Bruce. After Bruce gave a brief nod, Eric closed his eyes and focused on the fragments of earth scattered around their crash point.Though the band hindered his full capacity, he was still able to mend the earth around him, not as smoothly as he was capable of, but it was still decent nonetheless. That took about 10 minutes, and every minute was worth it. They couldn't have the G.C.P.D, Kathy's squad or any other form of security attempting to get involved with such a matter. Eric swayed a little after his work, but Bruce placed a strong arm on his shoulder to steady him as he led him back to the van. When in there, Kathy handed him some water and painkillers while Bruce got into the batmobile.
He signaled for Nightwing to drive the stealth van immediately but Bruce didn't follow right away. He stopped to survey the area, to make sure they didn't leave any clues that would draw any attention. Once the area was clear of any traces of action, he entered the batmobile and drove. He caught up with the van and served as it's escort, he also reminded Nightwing to maintain steady space as they drove to the safe house.
With the silence in the Batmobile, Bruce's mind was racing with their success, upcoming plans...and most of all, Aphrodite's well-being. Finally, he thought, she was back under his protection, and this time he would ensure she remained there.
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-TheDarkKnight123