Gotham Nights - Don't Say a Word

"My, my, Gem....did you just actually speak enthusiastically about my project? I think that's the happiest I've seen you!" It was pretty great seeing this shy girl even slightly break out of her shell, and for it be to on his regard was heart warming. The red-head smiled a little wider too.

"But, yeah, I'm dedicated when I want to be, and there's no cause I'm more dedicated to than this documentary." Again, the determination in Davey's voice was on a level of impressiveness not commonly found in the average high school student. This wasn't just some school project. It was a lifetime of hard work built-up, and he was watching the final moments grow closer and closer.

"Attention, class." The teacher had made her way into the room while the conversation had gone on, silently placing her briefcase down and surveying her room before cutting in abruptly and shocking the students, as teachers do. "Today, we will be discussing the subtle nuances of.....Mr. McGinnis! Mr. McGinnis!"

In the center of the room, one of their classmates slumped over onto his desk, obviously out in a fit of sleep.

"Terry!"

Suddenly, the black-haired student shot up, his eyes blinking rapidly in an attempt to wake himself from the deep sleep he was in just moments ago.

"I'm, I'm up, I'm up! Sorry, it's just been......a long week."

Davey shook his head and laughed lightly.

"Terry's such a slacker."

Gem ducked her head and blushed a bit at Davey's comment. "S-Sorry, t-t-too m-much?" She stuttered out. The girl truly was happy for him - she wished that she could chase a dream so passionately - but she wasn't quite sure what level of enthusiasm she should portray. Apparently she had done too much, however. Human interaction was as confusing as it was scary. "I m-meant it th-though." She admitted.

Her head lifted towards the voice of the teacher in surprise. She hadn't even heard the woman come in. Odd, she wasn't normally so unobservant. Maybe this was why other students never paid any attention?

She winced at the voice and mention of Terry McGinnis. That boy scared her. He was always just so angry all the time, and being herself she couldn't help but feel it in all its intensity. Terry seemed to have mellowed out some recently, thankfully, but she was still frightened of him and wanted as little to do with him as possible, please and thank you.

"Oh no, far from it!" Davey waved his hands out in front of him frantically, hoping to cast off any concerns Gem had with her socializing skills. She was just no making progress, and if one of his off comments undermined any of that, he would feel awful. "It's actually nice to see you coming out of your shell. Might have to document your social growth next!" Davey could only laugh a little more as he took out his notebook, preparing himself for class.

=A full-class later=

Their classmates had begun to shuffle out of the door, others still lagging behind and placing their books bag into their bags, and holding a conversation here or there that they had been holding in while the class was in session. The teacher had not forgotten to stop one Terry McGinnis and give him what seemed like the tenth conversation on how important it was to sleep at home and not in class. Before he made his way out of the door, Terry had stopped short, turning back to take a look at the class, specifically one Irish girl. He raised an eyebrow, wondering where he had seen her face before. As if a switch was turn on, it all clicked.

She was with the guy with the guns. Of course she would have his class.

As McGinnis left, Davey left his seat.

"Well, take care, Gem. Plenty of planning I need to get a jump on, the big show is about to begin!" He took a comical bow to the girl, and made his leave. As if on cue, a certain communicator began to rumble in Gem's pocket. When her eyes would meet the screen, only these words would greet her.

"The Wayne-Powers Chemical Treatment Plant. We're attending the speech. Come prepared, and dress to impress! We're rubbing elbows with the upper-crust! - C"

Gem nodded to Davey as he left, oblivious to the stares and musings of Terry McGinnis, AKA Batman. Just as she was about to get up and leave the room she noticed the communicator and glanced at it. Once she realized exactly what it was and what it said her blood turned to ice in her veins. So soon? They had just finished a job last night! She wasn't even used to the fact that she was a criminal yet! Though the orders did involve Powers, so it did make sense that they'd go and take care of it as soon as possible.

Gem bit her lip. What would they be doing this time? Cheshire made no mention of it in the message aside from that she needed to be there. They wouldn't just be attending, would they? And what about the speech anyway? Was it public? Private? Was Cheshire serious about getting dressed up or were they just being Cheshire? She understood that being vague was safer for them, but if she couldn't understand it then it was far too vague!

She sighed and shoved the communicator deep into her pocket, wishing that she could forget all about it. But she wouldn't, and she would be there. Hopefully with all of her questions answered.

And so the days had passed, and the nights along with them, and with each pass of the clock the silence on the communicator remained the same, yet the knowledge that somehow Cheshire had known Gem's status and her preparation, or rather lack thereof, in regards to the speech. She had passed thoughts on just attending the event, that it would just be another mission to gather information.

Cheshire knew otherwise. He brought more weapons.

The crowd had just begun to form in the early hours of the afternoon, the sun setting down over the neon skyline of Gotham. In the perfect lighting, the newest addition to the Wayne-Powers family seemed just that much larger in the backdrop of the party. It was an odd sight, a large, luxurious event taking place just short of the facade of a nuclear waste treatment facility, but that was just part of the lives these people lived.

Suits and thousand dollar dresses scattered throughout the event, the dignitaries of Gotham city all conversing on their latest exploits and pretending to enjoy the company of some of their most hated rivals in business. In all honesty, they had no care for Wayne-Powers or their new plant, but to be present (as well as documented by the various news cameras set up by essentially every news station in Gotham and the adjacent cities) at this feel good, nature-friendly event was nothing but good publicity for their businesses.

The facility had been active for a few days now, generating the nuclear waste into even more, clean energy. The concept of the facility in action would set up great photo-ops. Still, the "official" opening ceremony had been set to be one of the must-attend events of the week, and the faces that stood on the stage, preparing final checks before the speech could begin drove that home. Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon, a trusted official and a friend to the Wayne-Powers organization (or so she was told she would be addressed as, for ratings, of course). Next to her, an empty seat labeled "reserved" that had been set aside for former CEO turned minor shareholder Bruce Wayne. Powers had arranged for the seat, but Bruce would never come. He never had before. Powers just wanted to show his abandonment a little more.

And finally, the man himself stood center stage. The silver-haired and silver-tongued CEO of Wayne-Powers, Derek Powers. Despite his recent few weeks, the same sly smirk remained on his face as there always was. He adjusted his black suit-jacket, going through a few last lines of his speech in order to assure that at least one thing would go right. He had just made it out from behind bars on the grounds of a lack of evidence tying him to the recent Gotham bank robbery. Someone saying your name isn't exactly proof, and even with his prints at the scene, he had at least twenty other people speaking on his behalf. The police had let him go on an order from Commissioner Gordon, and she had kept her eye on him, even now, and he knew it.

All eyes were on this moment. The rich would be here. The employees would be here.

Hush would be here.

Underneath the brim of a black hood, all kept clear by the cloaking device built into his suit, a certain feline-assassin kept watch on the crowd. Soon, the girl would arrive, and hopefully, the target hadn't already made their way into the event.

Gem adjusted the collar of her button up with a grimace. This entire situation made her uncomfortable, as did the suit. Thank goodness for the fact that her da owned one from his teenage years for some reason or another. Odd man. Either way, it had worked out in her favor when she found it, and hopefully he wouldn't be too upset by her borrowing it for the night.

She wandered around the edges of the gathering, avoiding contact with others as much as possible and trying to figure out where Cheshire might be. Thankfully after introducing herself as the son (there were perks to being flat as a board) of a low ranking employee she knew who was enrolled at the dojo but would not be attending due to sickness, she was basically ignored by the party-goers as a whole.

Gem tensed as a lady brushed against her arm as she passed. She hated crowds. So much. The chances of meeting someone's eyes or brushing skin skyrocketed in places like this. But she couldn't risk that happening. Not here. Not now. Honestly, if she didn't know better she would have wondered why Cheshire had told her to come along at all. She was probably more of a liability here than an asset. Especially considering she couldn't even recognize anyone at the party. She couldn't look at faces, hands were often gloved, and individual voices were hard to hear over the mass of others. But Cheshire knew none of that, most likely. That, or this was worth the risk. Whatever it was.

Where was that cat, anyway?

The cat was always there, and he was always watching.

"Suit look on a girl, not a bad choice."

The warped voice of Cheshire spoke out into Gem's ear. The most crucial aspect of this mission would be communication, and the need to hear the instructions the masked man would give her would save Gem's life........hopefully. Enter the ear-piece Cheshire had built into the communicator, allowing easy access, while at the same time providing the stealth needed for recon. For the remainder of the night, Gem would have Cheshire's voice in her head.

How lucky she was.

"Listen to me very closely. The guy you saw that night, the one with the bandages, he's in that crowd right now."

Knowing just how nervous of a person she was, Cheshire soon followed up this revelation with rapid instruction. There would be no calming her, but a heightening of her senses.

"Stay calm. I'm watching you right now, you're covered. Don't ask where, just know I'm here. This man, Hush, he's in that crowd.....and he can be anyone. Any, single, one of them. The moment he gets a clear shot at Powers, he's going to take it. What we need is to intercept. Find out where he's hiding, who he is, and take him out. Simple enough?"

Gem's breathing hitched at the sudden voice in her ear. She glanced around, wondering where the voice was coming from, but soon came to realize that it was coming from an ear piece that looked similar to Cheshire's communicator. How did it get in her ear? Gem pushed that question away, figuring it was one of those things involving the thief that she was probably better off not knowing.

It was harder to push away her fast-rising panic. The bandaged man was there? At the party? That why they were there? To stop him? How would they stop him? Cheshire said to intercept him and take him out, but what did that mean? Surely they didn't mean to kill him, did they? For her to kill him? They knew she wouldn't. Couldn't. They had to know that. She couldn't do this!

Her breath was too fast again, too shallow. She bit her lip and attempted to send a wave of calmness over herself, but there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts this time. Her mind was stuck in a loop. Gem's vision was fading as she clutched the sleeves of her jacket in an attempt to anchor herself to the conscious world.

Her jacket...

Gem looked down at her jacket, part of the suit that belonged to her da when he was her age. It fit her surprisingly well, though it was a tad on the long side. In her panic she had almost forgotten why she was doing any of this in the first place. For him. Solely for him. Cheshire had promised, promised to protect her, and by proxy the ones close to her. The one close to her. Her da. And while she couldn't trust the thief, what choice did she have? For her loved one Gem would do almost anything.

Almost.

And even if she couldn't do this, she had to try.

Gem closed her eyes, concentrated, and searched the crowd for killing intent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the official grand opening of the Waynes-Powers Thomas Wayne memorial waste treatment facility!"

Timing could not have been worse. Within moments, what stood as a general lull of emotions shot up into a frenzy. Boredom shifted into excitement, rival business men narrowing their eyes in discontent with the arrival of the man of the hour. Confusion past by others at the announcement of the name, and in the wonder of how Bruce Wayne would allow his Father's name to be put on such a.....strange choice of facility. Needless to say, the game had changed.

And yet, beyond this, was the feint hint of blood lust. The will to take another's life.

The Hush in the crowd.

But it seemed to come from everywhere, and yet was soft enough at the moment to not be exactly pin pointed by Gem's power. Still, it was there, just needed to be prompted a little more. It raised in level just slightly, and yet still seemed to swarm her from all sides, as the next words were spoken.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the CEO of Wayne-Powers, Mr. Derek Powers!"

A round of applause struck up around Gem as the narrow-eyed Powers took his spot at the podium.

"Welcome friends, associates, and the good people of Gotham to what will be a defining moment in the history of the Wayne-Powers name. As you know, in this recent day and age, the need for the mechanical, as well as chemical products we've dedicated our lives to providing you and your families with has risen, and as a result, the leftovers of the job, the waste, has risen as well. We could have easily just sent said waste to the garbage dump and been done with it, but at Wayne-Powers we have one goal always in mind: to serve the people of Gotham."

Cheshire had set hawk-like eyes upon the crowd, running every scanner he possibly could. Heat signatures, facial recognizance, comparing the voice recordings from his interaction with Hush that night, but on every positive result, it was always the same: Derek Powers. He had managed to sync even his voice up perfectly with the man he aimed to frame. This guy was good. Real good.

"So we put our heads together, and we came up with an idea nobody else has done before. We at Wayne-Powers bring you, the people of Gotham, the future! This facility behind us will take the waste that once hurt our planet, and convert it into clean, reusable energy that will actually help the Earth! So my friends, welcome to the Thomas Wayne Memorial Facility!"

Gem's whole body tensed and sickness churned in her stomach from the sudden rush of emotions from the crowd. This was worse than high school some days, or the streets of Gotham. The emotions were all so condensed into such a relatively small space, and to say that it made Gem feel uncomfortable was the understatement of the year.

But she didn't lose her focus, and concentrated all the harder. There was killing intent somewhere. She knew it. She felt it. Yet she couldn't pinpoint exactly where it came from. It seemed to be in the air itself, like a mist over the upper class crowd. The other emotions from everyone else were diluting it.

Still, she did not waver in her search for the bandaged man, and slowly but surely the target became more distinct.

"I believe we have a tour lined up for the press, as well as a few of our share holders to come and see the inner-workings of our new plant already in action, but first, the ribbon cutting ceremony!"

Another round of applause whipped up as Powers motioned to the audience, and then to the side of the stage where the most recent Miss Gotham suddenly appeared from, dawning a wonderfully sparkly dress of red, the stereotypical large scissors in her hands. With all the fake happiness in the air, the emotional haze was strong, but Gem's instincts were correct. The feeling of killing intent did grow more precise, and yet it still fell as the blanket would over the crowd.

Cheshire narrowed his gaze, tracking Miss Gotham's hands as share handed Powers the scissors, and watching her closely as she accompanied Powers on his way to the large red ribbon crossing the entrance of the treatment plant. You couldn't trust anyone in this situation, let alone anyone close to the potential victim. He turned back to the crowd. His instincts were beginning to scream to him. The heat of battle was arriving.

Something was about to happen.

He reached down to his feet, gripping the handle of a certain weapon.

Closer. She was getting closer. But she still wasn't there yet, and she needed to be soon. There was a life on the line, she needed to find out who and where the bandaged man was before he did anything that couldn't be undone. Gem took a deep breath and searched for the source of the killing intent with every ounce of her concentration.

The target finally came into focus.

The target did come into focus........

It didn't feel like it was everywhere.....

It was everywhere.

As Powers had stopped to take another photo for the front page of a few electronic publications, a sudden wave came over the crowd. The dignitaries, the rich and famous of Gotham city began to twitch, morph. Pulses of electricity began to coat their bodies, and their smug, smiling faces were suddenly replaced....

by bandages.

It seemed like every other man or woman in attendance had faded away from existence, and in their places, the hidden face and brown leather coat of Hush now stood. A small army of the faceless villain now stood, glaring ahead at Derek Powers like a dog to a piece of meat.

Cheshire could only say one thing.

"Son of a b-"

Pistols whipped out from each of the assailants, the innocent party goers ducking down with their hands on their heads, hoping to avoid an ill fate. The triggers pulled, and a hail of gunfire descended onto the stage. The sought out Derek Powers, but hit only open air as both Powers and Miss Gotham were tackled to the ground by Commissioner Gordon, ducked down behind some cover.

"Time to go to work."

The cloaked Cheshire revealed himself, jumping off of his ledge and into the fray, stomping the head of one "hush" into the ground and knocking them unconscious in the process. The chaos that he loved was all around, and he had a target to find.

Oh, and the girl too, he guessed.

Still, off on the horizon, the jets and wings of the Bat grew closer.

Gem froze.

No.

Her eyes went wide and sightless.

No.

Her whole body began to tremble violently.

Please no.

She took a step back.

No no no.

Bile rose in her throat.

Not again.

Tears flooded her eyes.

He's dead.

She couldn't breathe.

Dead.

Her legs wouldn't work anymore.

Deaddeaddeadgunbulletdeadnonononotagainnopleasenodon'tbedeadI'msorrysosorrypleasenotdeadpleasenodon'tleaveme IneedyouIloveyouI'msorryit'smyfaultmyfaultMYFAULT!

Gem dropped to her knees, covered her ears and screamed.

Like fog rolling onto the lake in early morning, so did the emotions of the grounded Gem roll over the landscape of the fire fight. The gunfire still rained down upon the stage, a majority of it aimed at the cover which Powers, Gordon, and Miss Gotham hid behind, but still enough flying over the remaining stage to cause destruction for destruction's sake. It came to them in subtle waves: a twitch of the eye, a quiver in their lip, but ultimately the faceless masses around the girl all succumbed to the one thought that had torn through their brain from nowhere:

It's all my fault..........

Tears streamed down into increasingly soaked bandages, the sensations of loss throttling their senses mercilessly. They pulled triggers now with shaky hands, often ceasing between shots fired to catch their breath, and just try to figure out what was happening. Unfortunately, with eyes turning to the ground, they tend to see the things there.

Things like a girl suffering.

One "Hush" had caught sight of Gem, his face visibly turned into a sobbing frown under his wrappings. He felt the overwhelming sorrow, but that same killing intent drove him closer. He felt such pain, and she seemed to fell the exact same pain. Whether it was out of insanity or out of compassion, he would make her pain stop with a bullet. He slumped forward, taking trembling aim with his pistol.......

CLANG!

The pain in his own body grew worse as his gun went flying, his hand gripping to the wrist with a growl. He searched the ground for what had hit him, finding a black and red object in the shape of a......bat......

WHAM!

Before two and two could be put together, a black-laced fist layed into his jaw, and put him out cold. The sound of rockets firing down and ceasing heralded the arrival of a shadowy figure, a solid mass of black with two horns jutting up on it's head. As more of the Hush clone militia turned to face this new arrival, the on fact that had spelled doom for the criminal in Gotham over the decades became apparent: The Batman had arrived.

A moment of silence passed between the Bat and the attackers, looking at the dark knight that stood between them and the girl, the same knight that would stop this final phase in the plan. He had to be stopped. Batman passed a glance between them all, the voice in his head coming from deep within a cave under Wayne Manor explained the situation.

"Terry, the top priority is evacuation. Gordon can handle herself for a moment, the bystanders need assistance."

"I know, I'm taking care of one now....."

The Bat turned back onto the girl, first taking the moment to scan her face. He knew he would see her again, the girl from class. There was something about her, something that brought her to places like these when the cards were on the table. A reason he would then experience in the form of gripping sadness. A gun did fire, the thoughts of fault being set on his shoulders crashing down just the same, but the face he saw was not the same as who she did. It was of a man who had made him everything he was today. A man he was proud to call Dad.

"Terry! Terry, what's wrong?"

"I just.....I......"

He reached out, but not for a weapon. He reached out for the girl. The Bat placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey.....listen to me.....I don't know how this is happening, I don't know what you're doing here.......but you have to pull through this. I can't help you until you do.....Crystal, please."

The Hushes fought against the weight of the emotion themselves, but every now and then managed in a step forward.

----------------------------

Meanwhile, the fray still continued near the location of Powers and Gordon. The Hushes crept in, the firing not letting up. Their kill closed in.

"Evening, gents."

Turning around was a big mistake. An opened palm crashed into the nose of one Hush, the devilish painted grin of Cheshire appearing through watery eyes. Another took the chance to take aim with his gun, only to have his forearm struck with Cheshire's elbow, a shot being fired out into the air. Cheshire flicked his wrist, the hidden knife falling down into his grasp. With a swipe, the blade bit into the mid-section of the attacker. Cheshire took hold of the gun-wielding arm, twisting it by the wrist and down, using his free arm to drive his elbow into the head, resulting in his second knock out. Cheshire turned with a flowing motion, throwing the small knife at another approaching Hush, the blade digging into it's shoulder, forcing them to drop the gun in the process. His instincts always on, Cheshire detected one more attacker coming from behind. He ducked down, avoiding another shot fired where his head once was, delivering a kick to the side of the knee, crippling their advancement. Cheshire took the Hush's head with both hands and drove his own into the forehead with a stiff headbutt, taking the unconscious hush and tossing him into the one stuck with the knife.

A scene of chaos around him, Cheshire walked over and pulled his secondary knife out, wiping off the blood onto his pants. His ears perked under the hood at the sound of foot steps, Commissioner Gordon, Derek Powers, and Miss Gotham retreating into the facility. This normally would not have perked Cheshire's interest, but what followed put his blood into a frenzy. A Hush broke from the group, running into the building right behind them.

Tunnel-vision was the downfall of all plans.

Guess he wasn't as good as he thought.

Cheshire returned the small knife to the holster and took off into the building in pursuit, paying no attention to the Bat, nor the girl.

She didn't hear the words of the Batman. How could she? Her ears were covered by her shaking hands and the only noises that got through to her were the gunshots and the sound of her own screams. Gem was lost in her own horrific world, completely oblivious to everything but her looping thoughts. Even the hand placed on her shoulder could not anchor her to reality.

Gem's screaming eventually did stop, but purely from lack of air and not any sort of calming down. She gasped, desperate to take in oxygen but unable to actually do so, her breathing once again too fast and shallow to do any real good. Her vision was going black around the edges and she felt herself start to get lightheaded. Absently, as if the thought was not her own, she realized that she was hyperventilating and about to pass out. The knowledge didn't do her any good.

But then, as they always did, the panic attack began to end.

Bit by bit her mind became her own once more. The endless loop of painful thoughts and memories slowed until the point Gem could stop them altogether. The quaking in her body did not stop entirely, but reduced enough to only have a tremor every few seconds instead of the ceaseless shaking. Her breathing stabilized, her vision began to return to her. She was fine. All was good. Everything was going to be okay.

Then she looked up to find Batman staring at her.

Instantly Gem was on her feet and backing away, terrified once again for completely different reasons, though shock was the dominant emotion. Why was the Bat there? Stupid question, but why was he there with her? Surely the Hushes were more important than dealing with her? Why would he be bothering with her at all? Unless he knew that she was working with Cheshire somehow? If that were the case then why hadn't he attacked her or knocked her out already?

She was so confused.

Gem stared at the vigilante wide-eyed, unsure of what to do.

With a deep breath, the bat had cleared his mind, taking back his emotions as his own. The suspicion Terry had was confirmed, this girl had some form of mental domination on those around her, and as she regained her composure, so had he. He stood, seeing the concern in her eyes, though the stoic stare of the Batman was never a comforting sight.

"I'm here to help you, but right now the most important thing is to take care of the others here. There's no time to explain this, you don't need to defend anything, just stay calm and protect what needs to be protected."

There was a long pause between them, the white eyes of the bat looking into the nervous eyes of Gem. There was the overwhelming intimidation that came with it, but there was also a sense of friendship, or guardianship toward the girl. The bat was, first and foremost, a hero.

"Terry, duck!"

The voice of Bruce Wayne was all the warning he needed. Batman ducked down, dodging a wild swing from behind. He was free of Gem's influence, yes, but at the same time so were the rest of the Hushes left in the atrium, including the one that aimed to pistol whip the bat into the back of the head. Within the crouch, Terry rolled through, hooking the leg of the attacker and locking them into a leg hold. With a twist, a snap broke out followed by a scream of pain form the Hush. Batman leaped, stomping the back of his head and rendering him unconscious. Without missing a beat, he twirled around, thrusting out his hands. Ejected from his wrist were two more batarangs, striking the heads of two more Hushes and taking them down. It was just a scratch on the overall amount of the Hush army, but it was a start.

Gem gradually calmed down with the emotions she felt from Batman, as well as his words. He obviously wasn't there to hurt her. That was plain to see. At least, he wouldn't yet. But the girl pushed the possibility of harm far away from her mind because she had certainly fulfilled her panic quota for that month.

Her green eyes went even wider as she saw the Batman in action up close. He was good. Really good. No wonder he was so famous throughout the city and not dead in an alleyway by now.

A sudden spike of killing intent caught her attention, and drew her sights to one specific Hush who had his gun set on Batman, finger on the trigger and ready to fire.

Protect what needs to be protected, huh...

Gem rushed over and kicked the gun up into the air as she had tried with Cheshire many nights ago. Unlike the last time, however, this one worked, the shot missing by far, gun and bullet alike flying up into the Gotham skies. The sound made Gem freeze and her mind go blank, breath hitching and eyes going sightless again. But, luckily or unluckily, the Hush retaliated with a kick to the gut that kept her from going any farther down that road.

She focused on the fight and grabbed the man's foot before it dropped to the ground and twisted it a full 180 degrees and then some. The bandaged man screamed, and Gem winced at the sound and the crack of bones breaking, but she let the man fall and stomped on his knee for good measure. He wouldn't be standing anytime soon.

There was a sudden shout behind her and Gem spun around to face another Hush, swinging a chair down at her. A chair of all things. Apparently that scream had drawn attention and made her a target now. Great. Gem sidestepped the blow and performed a crescent kick to his back, sending the Hush tumbling over the very thing he had tried to hurt her with. Before he got up again Gem slammed a heel stomp against the back of his skull, making his head hit the hard ground and knocking him unconscious with a grunt of pain.

Out of the corner of her eye Gem saw another Hush rush at her and spun to face him, but suddenly found herself trapped in the grip of a different Hush who had come at her from behind. She grimaced, the 'hug' being unpleasant and none too gentle, and performed a bear hug hold break to break herself free, which resulted in an elbow to the gut for her captor. The man doubled over, and Gem spun around, grabbed his shoulders, and knee smashed him in the face. He fell over with a loud cry, blood gushing from his broken nose, while Gem did a back kick that hit the Hush that distracted her where the sun didn't shine. He went down with a strangled whine and made no move to get up.

Gem took a second to catch her breath and glance around. What next?

The Bat had picked up on the gunman who approached him from behind, but the fast acting of Gem had caught even him off-guard. In the good way, of course. Now he knew there was one less person he had to worry about protecting, as well as an interval to cut the time between this fight and chasing after the endangered CEO and his pursuer.

Arching his arm, Terry caught the punch of a Hush, tossing momentum in the opposite direction and slamming the inside of his other elbow into the side of the Hush's head. Still keeping the grip, Batman struck with an elbow to the back of the neck as well for good measure. He pivoted, tossing another Batarang to an oncoming enemy. It struck, sticking to his chest. The sound of something powering up rang out, before jolts of electricity began to course through the Hush's body, dropping him out of conscious.

Terry then put his fists up in the style of the average street boxer, taking himself back a little to his old days. A Hush thrust out his gun, firing just a second too late as Terry swerved down, connecting a left hook to the ribs, doubling the Hush over. A right uppercut popped the bandaged man back up, allowing three more rapid fire punches to connect to the chest. Terry finished by reaching and clutching the Hush's face with his hand. He reached down, pressing a button on his belt buckle, activating a generator and sending shocks through his body. He picked up the unconscious Hush and through him effortlessly into two more, taking them out.

Gem knocked the last two Hushes she had fought unconscious as a precaution before she caught sight of another Hush making his way to her. The man tried to slug the girl in the face, but she was able to deflect the blow with a head block and grabbed his wrist to bring him towards her. As he got closer Gem uppercut his face before she wrapped her leg around his own, causing the bandaged man to fall as he reeled backwards. The impact of his head hitting the floor knocked him out all by itself.

There was suddenly a hand on her forearm, pulling her towards yet another Hush who also tried to punch her in the face. How original. This time Gem ducked as she wrenched her arm free, then elbowed him right in the stomach, and she was close enough to hear all the air leave his lungs. The Hush collapsed, and the girl kicked the side of his head to knock him out cold.

A sharp pain exploded in her side, and Gem found herself on the ground, staring up at yet another Hush. Didn't they ever end? He pointed his gun down at her, but Gem lashed out her foot to hit him in the knee, which made him drop the gun and sent him down with an agonized shout. Gem hissed in pain as she twisted to kick him in the side of the head, which knocked out the Hush with another yell.

Gem winced and pressed a hand to her side as she stood. That would bruise. Great. She didn't give it much thought, though, and glanced around to see if there were any more Hushes needed to be quieted.

The wrists of the batsuit opened up, revealing two blaster-like protrusions. Batman aimed at four remaining Hushes charging him, as the low-tier grunts always tended to do. He waited until he saw the whites of their eyes, then fired, discs flying from the launches two at a time. The first two connected with the throats of the first two enemies, the third connecting with the eye, and the fourth to the jaw, knocking the Hush onto the back of his head.

Terry launched forward, smashing the heads of the two Hushes grasping at their throats together, then leaping over them and thrusting his boot into the face of the Hush clutching his eye. The group fell to the ground, the Batman taking a moment to survey the area. It appeared as a wasteland, like a house of mirrors come to life and the beaten into a bloody pulp. It appeared that the remaining citizens were in fact just that, citizens, and they were safe.

However, the job was not done. There was a criminal to arrest, and two of the most powerful names in Gotham on the run from the same.

"Hey."

He called out to Gem as she finished off the remaining Hushes.

"That other guy, the assassin. He ran in after them. I'm going in. Can you fight?"

"I can." She told the Bat, though internally she was somewhat panicking. With the gunshot and all the other chaos outside, she had completely forgotten about not only the real Hush and Powers, but Cheshire as well. Not the best thing to forget when one was at risk of being killed and the other two were at risk of killing. And that one of those potential killers was for all intents and purposes her boss.

Nothing was ever easy.

"I can fight." Gem repeated, but she wasn't sure exactly who she would be fighting when she went inside.

"Alright, say close behind me."

Batman looked off into the distance, seeing the lights of police cruisers flying in. The innocents would be safe, after all. He motioned to Gem, then turned, taking off toward and then into the facility. The lobby of the building appeared just as most places of business do, a guise of marble and sleek white furnishings. The emblem of Wayne-Powers was placed into the floor in some sort of display of power. It was expensive. Powers never cared if things were expensive.

Batman stopped short, looking around the lobby for any trace of where the people he pursued had run too. His eyes flashed for a moment, his visual scanners kicking into heat detection, looking for any signs. Most of the floor remained bare, though a few sets of foot prints ran off into a set of double-doors, obviously leading into a much larger room.

They had made the first mistake most victims do in horror movies. They ran into the factory.

Before the Bat ran into the actual facility behind them, he stopped. There was another trail, a set of steps that didn't run in right behind, but rather strayed away and ended.....underneath a ventilation shaft. That masked man was was ahead of them.

This was big trouble.

Gem followed Batman's gaze (as well as one could looking at a man in a mask) to the open vent. She resisted the urge to sigh, despite her panic. Did she have to go into a vent AGAIN? Seriously? She'd had enough of those things to last a lifetime as it was, yet there it was, existing there, taunting her with its smug vent face that said that this was only the beginning and she would have to suffer through many more adVENTures.

...Either her da's lame jokes were rubbing off on her or Cheshire was transferring their insanity somehow. Both maybe. Or maybe she was just losing it. She'd often wondered if she might.

Once again trying not to sigh, Gem looked at the vigilante beside her and tilted her head towards the open vent curiously. Was he going in? She was supposed to stay behind him, after all.

The Bat turned away from the grate. Vents were not his style. Who crawled through those things, anyway? He turned to the double-doors, making his way to them. As he drew closer, the grizzled old man in his ear grunted and groaned, pointing out the biggest rookie mistake his replacement had made.

"You do realize you're bringing a young girl into a fight with you. You're putting a civilian in danger."

"She's not just a civilian. You didn't fell what she's able to do."

"How do you even know she did it? She could have just been a victim."

"You know it doesn't add up, her being in all of these places at the times of strange happenings."

"Even if she does have that kind of influence, she's still a civilian. You're being reckless."

"Civilians don't disarm a gang of thugs unarmed."

The Bat burst through the door into the true facility.