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Wicked Ones: Dorothy
"Think about it, guys. The Court's been around since the last century." I inquire.
"It makes sense they have secure locations, safe houses all across the city." Jim nods.
"And that's where they're hiding the virus bomb?Makes sense." Harvey agrees.
"We dug deeper into Kathryn's holdings. She owns a tenement building near Miller Harbor. But, there's a discrepancy between the square footage listed in the city records and the blueprints. Over two thousand square feet." Oliver informs as we lay down a map on the desk.
"You're saying they got a secret room there. Okay, but by your guys's logic, there could be dozens of secret rooms throughout the city. And the virus bomb could be in any one of them. You're in the club now. This Kathryn broad trusts you. Why not just wait for her to call?"
"Because if I can do it quietly, she'll never know. And if the bomb is there, I can end this." Jim says.
"Okay, where in this building is the secret room?" Harvey wonders.
"Lucius says the basement." I reply.
"Oh, Lucius says the basement. I guess we should check out the basement."
"What is your issue with him?"
"He's smarter than me. Sound familiar, kid?"
"Yeah, it does." I wickedly grin. "Let's go." I start to walk.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"How come no one ever hides something in a place I actually would like to search?" Harvey questions as we walk through the basement. "You know, like a brewery or a strip joint."
"Or a casino." Jim says.
"Exactly. All I'm asking for is a little, uh, consideration."
"This is more like it." I stop.
"What's this?" Jim asks.
"Little crease in the wall." Oliver walks over to the wall with me. "I think it's a door."
"Let me hit the lights." Harvey opens the box and presses some buttons.
"Just need to find the way in." Jim mutters before the door opens.
"I meant to do that."
"Uh-huh." I chuckle before we head inside.
"Geez." Jim comments. "I don't see a bomb anywhere."
"Yeah. Why would it ever be easy?" Harvey remarks.
"Unless it's a bomb wishing a bomb." I inquire.
"What?"
"Bomb-ception."
"Did that spider give you full on nerd powers or something?"
"No, just this." I shoot a web and stick to the ceiling.
"Holy shit, kid." Harvey jumps.
"And this." I start climbing the walls. "And my personal favorite." I swing upside like a spider.
"Kid, you could totally sneak up on a bastard like that. Just right when they think you're in front of them, and then bam, you're right behind their tail."
"Very true statement." I easily land on my feet.
"What's that?" Oliver shines his light on a crystal owl.
"Looks like an owl." I walk towards it.
"Made out of..." Jim taps it with the end of his flashlight.
"Crystal." Oliver inquires.
"Whoa." Harvey whispers before I shine my flashlight to the wall, revealing a map of Gotham.
"It's Gotham. It must be us. That lower corner, right there." I shine my light on the lower corner.
"Yeah. What do you guys think the white markers are?" Jim asks.
"Secret locations of The Court?" Oliver guesses.
"Makes sense." Harvey agrees.
"If so, that could be where the bomb is." Jim says and I turn before the sound of glass shattering is made.
"Get down!" I shoot a web at the bomb that is thrown at us and I sling shot it back.
"Holy mother of saints!" Harvey yells and I get down before it goes off. "Kid!"
"Brianna!" Oliver and Jim shout.
"I'm okay." I assure.
"You know, I'm ready liking that spider sense, it comes in handy, you know?" Oliver nods.
"I see you haven't lost a step, Brianna." Barnes walks over to me. "Remember I promised you'd be punished for your crimes?" He raises his arm blade at my throat and I crane my neck in the slightest.
"No!" Jim hollers.
"Well, I've come here to keep that promise."
"Only the guilty are punished. And I am not guilty." I rasp out.
"You murdered Theo Galavan in cold blood. You are guilty!" Barnes tells me.
"Fine. If that's your verdict." I shoot a web before swinging out of the basement.
"Brianna!" The guys yell.
"You want me, Barnes. Come and get me!" I put on my mask and pull my hood over my head before swinging out of the GCPD.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Jim!" I rush into the station. "Harvey! Oliver! Jim!"
"Brianna! Thank God." Oliver picks me up and we tightly hug.
"Kid." Harvey sighs in relief.
"Barnes stopped following me." I inquire.
"We know. He took Jim."
"What?" I shout. "Where?"
"Captain. Got a kid who saw Barnes and Ghost Spider flee the scene." Campos walks over with a boy.
"Right, kid, talk." I urge.
"Saw some guy in leather. Had an ax attached to his arm. Drove off in some delivery truck." The boy tells me.
"What kind?"
"For chopping stuff."
"What kind of truck?"
"Oh. Right. Genovese Meats."
"Put a BOLO out on that truck. Barnes has my stepfather. He's taking him somewhere." I fix my holster. "Nobody goes home until my stepfather is found!" I announce. "No one." I clench my jaw before I exit the station.
"Brianna!" Oliver calls out. "Brianna." He follows me.
"I know it's not my fault, Oliver. We have to find him!" I put on my mask and then pull my hood over my head.
"We will."
"Then hang on tight." I grab Oliver before shooting a web and we swing across Gotham.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Don't move!" Harvey shouts as we open the doors with our guns raised.
I drop my gun before taking off. I shoot two webs onto the floor and I pull myself up. I take a big leap and fly in mid air. I tackle Barnes onto the floor. I now stand up and I shoot electrical webs, making him grunt as his body shakes.
"No!" Jim bellows and I jump as Barnes swings his arm blade.
I do a backflip, dodging Barnes's arm blade once again. He now runs towards the window and the others stare shooting at him. Barnes now jumps out of the window and I go to follow him.
"Hey." He grabs my hand before shaking his head.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Alvarez, any word on Barnes?" I enter the station with Oliver and Harvey.
"Nothing yet." Alvarez replies.
"Ugh! There's a nut job running around in a leather jumpsuit with an ax for an arm! Now, I know this is Gotham, but c'mon, people. Do something!" Harvey snaps.
"Jim." Oliver says and I hug Jim.
"I'm okay." Jim hugs me back. "Thank to you." He kisses my head and I squeeze him. "I'm heading over to Kathryn's townhouse. Maybe I can get there before she realizes I escaped." He pulls away before cupping my face. "In case I run into Barnes."
"This is Brady." I now answer my phone. "What?
Yes. Yes. Thank you." I hang up. "That was O'Toole.
Strike Force beat you to it. They're bringing Kathryn in now."
"Finally some friggin' good news, right?" Harvey grins.
"Brianna!" Lois shouts and I turn my head to see her run up the stairs with Alfred.
"Brianna! Gordon! Where the bloody hell have two you been? I've been trying to call you all day." Alfred says.
"Lois? Alfred?" Jim questions.
"What's happened?" I ask.
"It's Bruce. He's been abducted." Lois tells me.
"What?"
"Oh, why? Why can't anything be easy?" Harvey groans before walking away.
"Don't know how, but he's definitely gone." Alfred inquires as we all enter my office. "And you're not gonna believe this, but the people responsible are this shadowy organization that run the whole of Gotham.
The..."
"The Court of Owls." Jim says before closing the door.
"We've been investigating The Court and a woman named Kathryn Monroe for months now." Oliver informs.
"Until this morning, I was working undercover inside the organization."
"Did they ever mention Bruce?" Lois wonders.
"Never." Jim tells her.
"Why would they wanna kidnap him?" Oliver questions.
"Well, I might have had a bit of a run-in early on in the year." Alfred replies.
"How long has he been gone?" I sigh.
"I don't know. Could be several days, several weeks."
"Weeks?"
"How can that kid be missing for weeks? That's your one friggin' job." Harvey inquires.
"Don't you think I know that? They've replaced him, alright? With a...with an exact clone created in Indian Hill."
"Well, hold on a second. Wait, backup. I thought I heard you say, clone."
"That's cause I did."
"I gotta sit down." Harvey sits down.
"That's what I did. It didn't help." Lois tells him.
"Alright. Let's think this through. Alfred, is there anything you and Bruce could've done that would have drawn attention from The Court?" I exhale.
"Oh, well, we did break in to one of their houses, to try and find something to give us leverage against The Court." Alfred tells me. "But all we found was this ridiculous crystal owl thingamajig which I managed to break."
"Crystal owl? Is there any way it could be reassembled?" Jim asks.
"Why?"
"We found another owl this morning. When you shine a light through it, a map of Gotham appears.We think this map indicates the secret hideouts of The Court."
"So BW could be in one of those hideouts, right?" Lois suggests.
"So where's your bloody owl?" Alfred looks around.
"Uh, well, due to circumstances totally beyond our control, the owl went kaboom." Harvey tells him.
"But we could reassemble the owl that you stole, maybe we could find Bruce and the bomb." I nod.
"Do you still have the pieces?" Oliver questions.
"You're having a laugh, ain't ya? After all the bloody trouble I went through to get it, of course I do. Right.
I'll be back in a minute." Alfred leaves.
"It's not safe here, Lois. You need to go." I urge.
"Not until we get Bruce back." Lois tells me.
"We'll get him back, we will. But you can't be there, Lois. It's not safe."
"Why? What's going on, Brianna? Is it Jerome?" She clenches her jaw. "Okay, listen up. You leave that murderous bastard to me, alright?"
"Lois-"
"I'll put him in the ground permanently."
"It's not Jerome, Lois!" I snap. "The Court of Owls are using the Alice Tetch virus as their weapon. They're gonna release the virus all over the city. They wanna see Gotham fall."
"I must've missed something on the news because what the hell is the Alice Tetch virus?"
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"Alright, if you see anything, let me know." I tell the officers.
"You got it, Captain." One of them nod and I turn to see Kathryn enter.
"Detective Gordon." Kathryn greets as me and Jim walk over to her. "James's daughter—Captain Brianna Brady." She looks at me. "I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised."
"No, you shouldn't." Jim replies.
"You're lucky I don't gut you right now." I get in Kathryn's face.
"Same flair as your father, I see."
"Put her in the box."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"We've seen the map. We know The Court has secret locations across the city. Where are you hiding the bomb?" Jim asks as we sit across from her.
"What bomb?" Kathryn questions and I clench my jaw.
"What does Bruce Wayne have to do with all of this?" I get up and sit on the table. "Why did you kidnap him?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Wrong answer." I slam her head on the table and she cries out in pain.
"You care about Bruce Wayne very much, don't you?" Kathryn heaves.
"You're not all-powerful, you know? The Court, they can't keep you safe." Jim inquires. "Besides what are the members gonna think when they see their leader behind bars?"
"You think I'm the leader? All this time, and you really don't know anything. Do you?" She chuckles and I slam her head on the table again, making her grunt.
"If you have touched even one hair on Bruce Thomas Wayne's head, I will chew you up and spit you out. You may think you're the queen, but what guess what? I'm the king." I harshly whisper before I roughly let her to, nodding at Jim before I leave. "Alfred!" I head out before getting to my office. "Harvey? Lois?" I enter my office. "Where's Alfred?"
"He's still out getting the owl. Did Kathryn tell you where Bruce is?" Lois asks.
"She will."
"Right." Alfred now enters. "Here you go." He hands me the box and I set it down before opening it.
"Wait, this is the owl?" Harvey questions as we look at the broken pieces of the owl.
"What the hell happened to it?" I wonder.
"Jerome Valeska smashed it to bits when he broke into the manor, didn't he?" Alfred tells me.
"Of course he did. Motherfucker." Lois mutters.
"Can you put it back together again?" Oliver asks.
"I can't even do a jigsaw puzzle. I just smash the pieces in with my fist till they fit." Harvey says.
"But wait a second. We have a guy here who makes molds of murder victims' faces out of clay. I'll give him a call." I grab the phone.
"Alright." Alfred replies. "Where's Gordon?"
"He's interrogating Kathryn Monroe."
"What, the woman from The Court of Owls?"
"Yeah." Harvey nods.
"Right." Alfred starts to walk.
"Harvey!" I shout.
"I mean, no. No, not the woman from The Court of Owls. Oh, God, no! Not her." Harvey groans and we all head out of the office.
"Wait, for me, Al!" Lois yells.
"Right. Tell me where Bruce Wayne is or I guarantee you'll regret it." Alfred warns as we all enter the interrogation room.
"Alfred." I stand in front of him with Jim and Oliver.
"We've got this." Jim nods.
"Good cop, bad cop? That routine's a bit tired. Isn't it?" Kathryn inquires.
"Yeah, but I'm not a cop. Am I?" Lois turns and stand Kathryn's hand, making her scream. "I'm just your average news reporter."
"Lois. Lois. Lois, that's enough." I tell her.
"Is she out of her freakin' mind?" Harvey snaps.
"It's her play. Don't stop her!" Alfred says.
"Now, you tell me where Bruce Wayne is, you evil old trout, or I will gut you!" Lois bellows. "Or maybe I should try the other hand."
"Lois!" Oliver shouts and the hair on the back of my neck sticks up.
"What the hell's going on?" I turn my head before a loud thud is made.
"Kid, stay here." Harvey tells me before leaving.
"Tell me where Bruce Wayne is!" Lois orders and I move her aside before grabbing Kathryn.
"Where is Bruce Wayne!" I slam her against the wall, making it dent and she cries out. "You tell me where my brother is, or I swear to God, I will give you a war you won't believe!" I holler.
"Kid, easy!" Harvey tells me. "Hey, hey, you two.
Stop it right now! We got a bigger problem. Barnes is out there. He tore up the precinct, used some kind of knockout gas. I gotta get you, you, and her out of here right now. Let's go."
"Bruce Wayne dies, you die." I sneer to Kathryn. "Take her." I shove her to Alfred.
"Let's go!" Alfred points a gun at Kathryn'a head and we all leave the interrogation room.
"Where is he?" Jim asks as I look around.
"I don't know." Harvey replies and I pull everyone down before Barnes speaks.
"You! You corrupted this house! All of you, with your weakness, your compromise! This place was a church to me." Barnes's voice echoes through the whole station.
"Alright. That's enough of this. Harvey, you, Lois, Oliver and Alfred take Kathryn out through the garage." I inquire.
"We're not leaving you two alone with him, Brianna." Lois grips my arm.
"Lois, I'll be fine."
"He has an arm blade, Brianna. And he's infected with the virus. He could kill you and Jim."
"Not likely."
"What?" Lois furrows her eyebrows.
"Lois, just trust me. You trust me, don't you?" I heave.
"Always, Agent Brady."
"Then go. You, Oliver, Alfred, do it. She's the key to finding Bruce." I nod at them.
"Captain!" Kathryn shouts. "Captain! Help me!"
"Shut up!" Alfred sneers.
"Barnes, this is your last chance! Give yourself up!" I order.
"You dare threaten me?" Barnes inquires. "You destroyed the thing I care most about. And for that, Brianna Brady, your sentence is death."
"I don't think he's giving up, kid." Harvey tells me the hair on the back of my neck sticks up.
I now look up and see Barnes hops down from above. He goes for Lois and my eyes widen. I extend my arm and I shoot a web. It hits her waist and Lois looks down. She looks back up with wide eyes before I pull her away, making sure Barnes doesn't hit her.
Her back hits the wall and she falls to the floor before gasping. I now shoot two webs at Barnes as he stills falls straight down. My webs hit his chest and I sling shot him across the room. He flies all the way back and breaks through the wall.
"Yeah, no kidding." I heave.
"Brianna Brady!" Barnes hollers before he steps back into the station. "Or should I say Ghost?" He tilts his head and I clench my jaw.
I now shoot two webs on the floor and pull myself up. I take a leap and fly in mid air. I now flail my legs in the air before delivering a spin kick to his face. His head whips back before I bend back, dodging his arm blade. I lock eyes with Lois who's still on the floor in shock.
She then sends me a grin with tears in her eyes, making me slightly grin back. I now pick my up and I shoot electrical webs at him.
He grunts as his body shakes. I now stand back and shoot multiple webs at the ceiling, making the other ends connect to his body. Alfred starts shooting, but the bullets seem to have no affect since Barnes's suit is stronger than I thought. Barnes breaks through my webs before lunging at me. I jump up, now sticking to the ceiling. Barnes growls in anger before fighting off Harvey, Oliver, Jim and Alfred.
"Captain!" Kathryn stands up. "Captain, stop this nonsense and take me out of here now!"
"Nonsense? Nonsense?" Barnes decapitates Kathryn as I hop down on the desk. "This is justice."
"No!" Alfred gets up, but I shoot a web, pulling him back before Barnes could hit him.
"Barnes." Jim gets up and I shoot a web at Jim, also pulling him back before Barnes could hit him.
Barnes turns his head and we lock eyes. I get up and front flip in mid air before landing in a crouched position with one hand on the floor. Barnes yells before swinging at me multiple times. I do backflips and handsprings, dodging his hits. I then grunt as he manages to slide my right arm.
I now land on my feet and shoot two webs at a desk with both of my hands. My muscles flex as I pick the desk up and throw it at him. He yells before flying across the room. He lands on the floor before getting back up after a few seconds. He charges at me and blocks my web before slicing my chest, making my shirt and hoodie rip.
"No!" Jim screams and I fall to the floor, now looking down to see that he didn't cut my skin, just my clothing.
"It's fitting, Brianna, that you should meet your end here." Barnes looks down at me and I look at the medallion from Lana, now tearing up. "The word will go out. No one will escape from the executioner's blade. Not even The Ghost herself!" He brings his a blade down before it's shot off and I turn my head.
"Think again." Lois lowers the shotgun.
"No!" Barnes falls to his knees. "No! You will face judgment. You will be judged!"
"I already have been!" I get up. "When I had my heart attack, you were in my head. You asked me how I pled to the death of those I cared about. And I pled not guilty. Because I am not!" I bellow. "And you know what, Barnes? This place is a church. Mine. And I find you guilty!" I punch him across the face, now knocking him out.
I heavily pant before looking down at my chest. I make a fist around my medallion and I close my eyes in relief. I let out a chuckle, silently thanking Lana. I now turn and I lock eyes with Lois again. I slowly walk over and help her up.
"Thanks for the save. Are you alright?" I rasp out.
"You're welcome. And yeah. Thanks for the save." Lois exhales. "Are you alright?"
"You're welcome. And yeah." I look down before Lois places her hand on my chest, then sighing in relief with tears in her eyes. "Lois, I would never...I would never hurt you."
"I know that."
"Are you—Are you afraid of me?" I choke out.
"I could never be afraid of you, Brianna Brady." Lois happy cries before hugging me. "If The Ghost could be anyone, I'm glad it's you." She sniffles. "Your secret is safe with me. Always." She whispers.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Mom?" I say as mom enters the station.
"Hi, honey." Mom walks past us.
"What are you doing here?" Jim asks.
"I just came to get some things. You saw me, you thought I'd heard about Barnes and I came to help?"
"Is that such a crazy idea?"
"It's just bad timing. And if I had heard, I wouldn't have come. I'm done with this place."
"So you keep saying."
"Barnes loved the GCPD, but today he tried to destroy it."
"It was the virus."
"Or maybe he finally discovered the truth. There is no justice here. Look at you, you still haven't paid for the pain that you've caused." Mom inquires. "But I guess that's the difference between the two of us. I'm willing to pay for what I've done."
"What are you talking about, mom, what you've done?" I question.
"Nothing. Doesn't matter." She leaves.
"Hey, guys, my guy working on the owl says he's gonna need another hour." Harvey heads over to us. "What did your mom want?"
"I have no idea." I tell him. "But, Harvey, if we do find the location of the sites, we've gotta be ready to move."
"Kathryn's killing is only gonna energize The Court. Force their leader to act." Jim nods.
"Wait, wait, wait. There's someone above her?" Oliver heads over with Lois.
"Who?" Lois wonders.
"I don't know." I rasp out before making my way towards my office.
"Brianna." She turns me around. "You saved me and the rest of us from Titan. You...you fought a three hundred pound..."
"I'm always there, Lois. I always will be. Even when you think I'm not. Never forget that." I tell her and she just hugs me.
"Damn right I won't."
"I couldn't tell you because-"
"I know, Brianna. Trust me, I understand. You didn't want me to get hurt." Lois now pulls away. "And when you're ready to tell the world your secret, I'll be right next to you."
"I was kinda hoping you'd be the one to write my story."
"I'd be honored." She smiles with tears in her eyes.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"See." Harvey claps his hands as we look at the map. "I told you it would work."
"This is it, Alfred. We can find Bruce and end this." I inquire. "Alvarez, call Strike Force. I want every cop on the roster in uniform and ready to roll in half an hour.
What are you waiting for?"
"I was coming to tell you, I just got word from Arkham.
Barnes escaped his transport. Took out three guards.
He's in the wind." Alvarez tells me.
"What?" Lois gapes.
"We just busted that dude five minutes ago." Oliver says.
"There's more." Alvarez adds and we all follow him into the M.E. room.
"What's this doing in here? It's supposed to be in Lucius's office." Jim speaks up as we look at the empty mini fridge.
"He must have moved it. He said he needed to run some tests." Harvey tells him.
"The virus sample we got from Hugo Strange. It's gone." I look around.
"Maybe Lucius took it. You're the only two with the combination, right?" Lois tells me.
"Yeah." I nod. "No. My mom has it, too." I choke on my breath before sharing a look with Jim. "No!" I take off.
Hold on, mom. Just hold on.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
🪐🌙✨🚀🌌☄️
and there it is. i was debating whether or not to have brianna inject herself but after everything's she's been through and especially her breakthrough after her heart attack, she's only moving forward now. she knows she's far from guilty, but maya isn't. and lois finally knows🫶
BLUD PULLED A NEGAN
they would DEVOUR the hunger games
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