Gotham Nights - Don't Say a Word

Gem couldn't help but let out a light sigh of relief. No adVENTures for her today. Good. She really must have been going crazy, though, to think such weird thoughts like that. Stress sure did weird things to her. Stress and a lack of sleep, both of which she had in spades.

Oblivious to his conversation with his predecessor, she followed Batman into the facility.

Bile rose in Gem's throat at the sight of Cheshire stabbing one of the Hushes with every intent to kill. Were it not for the quick actions of Batman the henchman surely would have died, from the fall if not from the wounds. If he wasn't taken to a hospital soon then he might end up dying despite the obvious effort of the vigilante to keep him alive. It was terrifying to think about, let alone see.

Horror somehow shifted to indignation. She had told Cheshire that if he tried to kill anyone while she was around she would try to stop him, and gosh darnit, she meant it! With her acrobatic skills Gem made her way over to the one who got her into this mess in the first place. "Cheshire!" She hissed at them, eyes blazing. "What was that for?" In retrospect it would be a dumb question, seeing as Cheshire was a criminal and all, and that they had been more than willing to kill someone who was unconscious and clearly no threat, let alone someone who potentially was, but in that moment Gem could see no reason that they would have to have used lethal force. They were perfectly capable of knocking the Hush unconscious and then moving on just as easily, if not easier. So why?

But the cat's gaze was focused on something else, and Gem found her eyes following of their own accord, focusing in on one lone Hush. "Is that the real one?" She asked, unthinking.

The air between the four occupants of the room was as dense as a heavy rolling fog, no one moving a muscle as to not trigger a reaction from another. The remaining Hush fakes, taking the stare down as their cue to get the hell out of there, did just that. The motionless eyes of Cheshire's mask loomed out from under his black hood, the painted on manic grin not fooling anyone: his glare was stern. It met with the stoic, unwavering eyes of Hush that looked out from behind the bandages. The Bat past glances between the two and then the girl, ready to take action should any one of them decide to do the same, but there was no action taken. There were only warped words that came from Cheshire's voice changer.

"Not running away this time? If you were looking to play copy cat, you're doing a terrible job at it".

Hush didn't react, the muscles of his face not even so much as twitching at the insults that came from the man charged with killing him. In fact, he rested his hands into the pockets of his brown leather trench coat, relaxing. It was a bold statement to make in the presence of both the Bat and the cat that had brought on the catastrophe that fell onto his royal flush subordinates. He spoke, but in familiar tones to all of the people present. His voice belonged Derek Powers.

"Sometimes the best adaptations require.......modifications for the modern audience".

"Cut the crap...."

Cheshire spoke in an abrupt, hate-filled response. There fun he had with the fights was fading from him, his job drawing closer and closer to being completed.

"I know you're not Derek Powers. I've seen all I have to see, Savage!"

That response did bring a smirk to the bandaged man's face. He chuckled, then turned back to the feline head hunter. However, Hush's voice still stayed in the form of Powers', down to the finest detail.

"Jarred Savage......there's a name I haven't heard in some time. Excellent connection, a brilliant deduction to the source of the crime, really. Unfortunately, you're incorrect. I'm not Jarred Savage".

Cheshire broke his stance, stomping once forward, his roared words a bit hard to hear in the jumbling of his voice changer.

"Enough games, Savage! I've been paid good money to make sure you don't get to Powers, so you're not getting to Powers!"

"Not getting to Powers?!?"

Hush reared his head back, laughing loudly as if someone had just told him an amazing joke. He removed his hands from his jacket, reaching to the back of his head. He gripped one bandage, pulling it free and began unraveling them, more and more of his head coming free with each rotation. Grey hair jumped out from the free space, piercing eyes now becoming clear.....

"I AM POWERS!"

The bandages dropped, and indeed, as clear as day, the face of Derek Powers glared across to the cat, though far more manic than usual. He laughed again.

"Did you not see the cameras outside?! Those are connected world-wide, Wayne-Powers spared no expense! The whole world just saw my men gun down everyone on-stage, and they saw us chase the commissioner and Powers inside! Just take an hour or so, and I'll emerge, the gracious Derek Powers, safe from harm thanks to the noble sacrifices of Commissioner Gordon, and of course, the Batman......"

The now Powers-faced Hush looked down onto the Bat, his smirk as strong as ever.

"And of course we can't forget those who fell do to the ruthless actions of the criminal Hush and his cohorts! Miss Gotham.......the girl......."

He motioned over to Gem, finding humor in his threat. He then quickly swiped open his trench coat, revealing a double gun-holster! He swipe one free, thrusting out the gun in the direction of Batman!

"I'LL BE SURE TO BUILD YOU A MONUMENT OUTSIDE OF MY NEW OFFICE!"

Cheshire saw the moment as the perfect chance to strike. He drew his blade close, charging and kicking off of the scaffold with enough force to send it into a sway. He shot across the space like a bullet, swiping down with his knife before a shot rang out. A swipe that was.....caught?!

"What the......"

WHAM! Cheshire's sentence was stopped in the middle by a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, sending him down the same fall he had put the stab victim into, this time smashing into the ground. Thanks to his gear and his enhancements, it felt just like your average bodyslam, though the kick hit far harder. He stumbled up to his feet, groaning. Cheshire shook his head, shaking out the cobwebs.

"He's enhanced!"

His warning didn't come soon enough, as the Bat rocketed up at Hush, but was met by a tackle, taking him down to the ground as well. Hush rolled through, leaping to his feet and taking a battle stance.

"That's not like the original. He's been modified, Terry! Keep on your toes!"

The Bat jumped to his feet, putting his fists up, just as Cheshire twitched his hand, his secondary knife dropping down into his grip. He crouched down, taking the knife up, as the three of them squared off with each other.

Gem was starting to freak out again. This was insane! Hush was insane! He wanted to kill Derek Powers to take his place? Who did that? And then she, Miss Gotham, Comissioner Gordon, Batman, and presumably Cheshire were all supposed to be collateral damage of some kind in this mad and elaborate scheme? What sort of sick twisted world did she live in that a person would even think to do that?!

Gotham, apparently.

By some small miracle Gem was able to redirect her thoughts before they consumed her. She glanced at the fight between the Bat, the cat, and Savage-Powers. There wasn't much that she could think to do there. She'd heard Cheshire yell out that Hush was enhanced, and both they and Batman were trained to fight in these sorts of situations. Skilled though she knew she was, Gem was trained first and foremost to defend, not to fight. She would only get in their way. The girl would just have to trust them to defeat Hush for now, and trust Batman to keep the other two from committing murder. Still, she sent a wave of lethargy and confusion to Hush in hopes that it would disorient him.

But there was something else she could do. The real Powers, Miss Gotham, and Commisioner Gordon were all on the other side of the building, out in the open like sitting ducks. Gem knew that she could at least go and see if the three of them were alright, and try to move them to a place with more cover. Probably not outside just yet, though. There was no telling how many Hush henchman were still awake and ready to shot.

Gem raced across the scaffolds, hoping Batman and Cheshire would keep Hush occupied.

The wave hit Hush powerfully, enough to throw him off just for a second. A second longer than Cheshire needed. The cat lunged, thrusting forward with his knife, only to have his arm capturing by Batman and taken over with a Judo toss, slamming him into the ground. Hush caught himself and threw a punch, the Bat ducking down to dodge and throwing a kick of his own, which Hush swatted away effortlessly. Cheshire flipped over Hush, cracking the bat in the chest with a dropkick before pivoting and slashing at Hush, who dodged with a side-step and struck out with another punch, which Cheshire dodged with a somersault. Cheshire thrust forward with a stab, Hush bending backwards almost unnaturally to dodge and send the attack to the Bat, who deflected the stab with his elbow and planted another to the side of Cheshire's head, sending him rolling!

Hush sent a kick in Batman's direction, smashing him in the shoulder and turning him around. Using the momentum, Batman turned a full 360, throwing a punch into the face of Hush, sending him back! Hush clenched at his face, holding it for a moment. He stood up straight, glaring at the Bat. His nose was more than broken.........it hung from his face on a piece of false-skin, his real nose, one much smaller than Powers', now revealed. Hush moved the false nose back into place, pressing it until the material repaired itself like play dough. He adjusted the nose, now set as it was before.

"Huh....so that happened."

As Terry's quirk ended, Hush charged again! The Bat reached to his belt, pulling from it two batarangs and tossing them at his attackers. Hush grunted, swiping his arm and smacking the batarangs out of the way.

"That.....also happened."

The Bat caught another wild punch, turning the arm of Hush backward to lock it into submission. He twisted the wrist, Hush yelping once in the pain, which was impressive considering a normal human arm would've shattered by this point. Hush forced himself back to his feet, finding the strength to twist, moving under his own arm and setting it back into place before thrusting a punch to the point where the Bat's neck and chest met. Terry stumbled back, catching his breath. That punch was vicious, even in a suit that amplified his own strength by a factor of ten.

"Terry!"

He caught his breath just in time. Hush aimed to smash him with a hammer fist, leaping through the air. The bat moved his arms into place, the spikes on them extending out into a grid and catching the strike! He pushed Hush back, taking a swipe with the dull-edge of the blades on each arm, which Hush dodged. The two stopped at a stand-off, glaring into the eyes of the other. Their breaths were heavy, and their goals focused. If Batman were to take Hush down now, this whole thing would end, but as he had found out it would be easier said than done. Both of them took a stance, preparing to go for round two, before...

*click*

Both the Bat and Hush turned to the sound of rounds moving into chambers, eyes wide at the realization. They had forgotten about Cheshire.

"EAT LEAD MOTHER F****ERS!"

The cat had emerged, both guns in hand, firing over and over again in the directions of both Hush and Batman. A round hit the bat in the arm, his suit protecting him from more than the impact of the shot, still enough to send a shock of pain into his body. Hush lucked out, a bullet grazing his head but not enough to cause any significant damage. They ran, the Batman activating his own cloaking device and hiding behind a large machine, Hush ducking down below a large group of crates. Cheshire continued to fire, his crazed mind not kicking out of the state until a few more seconds. He took a few breaths, giving a quick laugh to himself.

"Now THIS......THIS is more than what I was expecting!"

Cheshire moved forward to the crates where Hush hid, his firearms at the ready.

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The small dots that were growing larger by the second as Gem raced closer to them, the scaffolding that ranged the entire ceiling of the facility serving as a perfect route to get to them. It seemed like a straight shot, and for someone not used to the heat of battle and the chaos of crime-fighting, it was quite the genius move. While still not fully-featured, the details of Derek Powers, Commissioner Gordon, and Miss Gotham were beginning to clear out.

Then, the sound of powerful pistons rocked the air.

A massive shadow launched at the walkway Gem ran on like it had taken flight, a gorilla-like arm smashing into the scaffold and twisting it apart like a bat to the party pinata! The entire scaffold shook around her, snapping off at the opposite end as well, before the whole thing came down, falling the ten-foot distance to the ground below! As it made contact, so did the massive shadow, the pistons firing back up as it....began to stand....and turn toward the fallen girl.

It was coming for her.

"FML." Gem muttered before she fell to the ground screaming.

The floor met her mercilessly, and her screaming stopped when she hit it in favor of a gasp. That really hurt. With a hiss Gem stood slowly and stretched a bit. Nothing seemed strained or broken, thankfully, but she didn't doubt that her back was going to be black and blue the next day. And for several days following. It was sort of like the night she met Cheshire, when she had fallen from the vents after they had brought them down in an attempt to destroy that freaking robot.

But just what exactly was it that had caused her to fall this time?

"Come on out, Hush Puppy.......I ain't gunna bite ya......I'm only gunna shoot you in the eye!"

Cheshire grew closer to the position, guns at the ready. He could barely contain his excitement, the grin on his mask matching the grin he wore underneath it. He came across Hush, who looked up with a grimace at the sight of the barrels looking him down.

"There you a-"

Before he could finisher, instinct turned the cat around. The bat had been watching, cloaked by his device just as Cheshire had done in the past, and leaped at the right time, firing a few discs from the launchers in his wrists. Cheshire fired at them, the bullets and discs destroying each other in mid-air. As the bat landed, he activated his belt buckle, electricity pulsing through his hands! He reached out to grab Cheshire by the head, but was swatted away by a pistol whip. Cheshire swung with another gun, the bat dodging but coming into the line of fire of another gun. He smacked it out of the way as another round was fired off into the ceiling, landing three punches into Cheshire's ribs. The cat stumbled back, half-coughing, half-chuckling at the speed he was struck. The guy could throw a punch.

Hush had been watching, before jumping forward, and swiping with a spinning kick aimed at Cheshire. The cat ducked, the kick hitting the bat in the chest right where Cheshire had done just moments ago. He then turned, successfully kneeing Cheshire in the head and rocking him. Hush turned, running a hand through the silver hair on his head, his hand going over the torn piece of false skin where the bullet had connected. It wasn't torn enough to reveal the man on the inside, but enough to show how fake the appearance was. His body began to convulse just as bolts of electricity shot from his back. He turned, a batarang designed to shock connecting with him when he wasn't looking. As he was disposed, the bat charged, using his electrified glove to grab Hush's head and slam it into the ground!

Convinced that the disguised enemy had been incapacitated, the Bat lunged at Cheshire as he returned to his feet! Cheshire moved to his belt, dropping a gun in the process and pulling from it a small pellet. He slammed it into the ground, the pellet exploding into a massive smoke-screen, covering himself and the area. The Bat landed, put off-guard for a moment.

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It was that freaking robot.

The massive figure emerged with heavy steps into the light, revealing the imposing Ace, though far less pristine as the last time she had encountered it. The white covering that had kept it's body appearing human had been torn to shreds thanks to the explosive device set off by Cheshire, though it's enduring form had survived. The wiring of the robot had been left dangerously exposed, but still connected enough to keep the robot moving. Even the machinery was not without damage, as with every few steps, Ace would twitch, shake, and whir with errors and interruptions. Still, though defective, the gargantuan Ace loomed down upon Gem, smashing one large fist into a now crater in the ground, displaying it's intention to do the same to her.

Gem took a split second to gape at the freaking robot before she backpedaled out of range. What was Ace doing there? And what had happened to it? It certainly hadn't looked so beat up when she'd seen it last in that abandoned building. And why was she on its list of people to exterminate? She hadn't done a single thing to it! She'd never even really interacted with it! Why was it after HER when Cheshire, the one who had decimated its arm, was standing right over there?

The girl didn't know, but decided to blame Murphy regardless.

When she hit a railing and could go back no farther Gem took a moment to observe Ace. Whatever had hurt it had really done a number on it. The machine barely looked functional, wires exposed and sparking bright in the dark building. It didn't even look like it could walk properly, but the robot was clearly still a threat. One hit with that functioning arm and she was done for, as would the three she had been heading for be as well. She couldn't risk bringing Ace over to them. She'd have to take it down.

The only question was how. The wires were clearly a weak spot, but her gloves were in no way rubber. She would get electrocuted if she touched those. At the same time, what other choice did she have? It was a freaking robot. She couldn't exactly manipulate its nonexistent emotions. It was also made of metal. She'd broken wooden boards before, sure, but she wasn't nearly strong enough to break metal.

"I don't suppose you'd stop if I asked you to, would you?" Gem asked before she ran around the side of it with the arm that she sincerely hoped was still not working. As she passed by she grabbed some vital-looking wires and yanked with all her might. Like she predicted it hurt, the electricity making her freeze and blanking her mind, but thankfully the cloth of her gloves blocked the worst of it and she was able to pull them out and once again get out of range.

The only question now was if it had done any real good.

The room gained a red glow through the eyes of the bat, his heat-detection vision allowing him to peer through the smoke, tracing any life through the heat of bodies. Oddly enough, he found none. Even the gun that had been dropped was not there. The cloaking of the cat was just as strong as his was, and he moved quickly. The bat readied another batarang, his second to last one, and listened for danger. Danger he saw in the form of an orange glow flying at him. It was Hush, who smashed a punch into the waiting arm of Batman.

"The punching is not help- OH!"

It was a distraction. Just as the cat had, Hush too carried two guns, the second now in his free-hand and aimed at the face of the bat. Hush fired, the bullet connecting and bouncing off of the forehead of the bat and hitting the ground with a ring. The suit had saved Terry from death, though not from the long talk he'd get from Bruce when he returned, nor the womping headache the impact brought on! He gripped the point of impact, then shook his head to clear his vision. Hush charged, firearm ready and his target dazed.

"HAHA!"

Cheshire launched down into the smoke, his own vision clear by his scanners in the helmet he wore. He dropped his heel with an axe kick, knocking Hush into the ground. Before he could react, Cheshire moved his wrist, a small device emerging from a device on it. The device blasted forward another cloud, this one denser and slightly green in color. Hush coughed, but then went limp, the knock out gas doing the job. As it did, the smokescreen began to clear around them. Cheshire rolled his neck.

"You can throw a punch, you fake!"

He reached to his side, pulling one of his guns free again. He cocked the gun back, putting a new bullet in the chamber, then took aim at the head of the unconscious Hush.

"You'll be a pleasure to kill."

CLANG!

Before he could pull the trigger, that same batarang that had been pulled before smacked the gun free from his hand and across the room. Cheshire sighed, shaking his head, before pulling the other. His knives were gone, his other gun away. He felt clumsy.

"Always gotta play the damn hero, eh Bats?"

Batman had gathered himself. He too was nearly unarmed, but he carried with him that fighting spirit that had brought many a hero to victory. He glared down Cheshire, his job not yet done.

"I'm not going to let you kill him!"

If one could see his eyes, they would see Cheshire was rolling them.

"Oh come on, Bats! He's garbage! He tried to kill you, me, Powers, everyone out there! He DESERVES to die!"

"Nobody deserves to die like that!"

The fury in Batman's voice caught even the unbalanced cat off-guard.

"Nobody deserves to die like that, and you'd think spending some time with that girl would've maybe shown you that just a little."

Cheshire thought about it. that girl? Who.....oh, yes, THAT girl! He chuckled, that chuckle turning into a roaring laugh before dwindling down once more, his blank stare falling on the bat.

"Gem served her purpose, but damn it all to hell was she annoying! Always telling me she'd stop me if I tried to kill someone, hahahahahaha, AS IF SHE COULD! You high-horse ridin' snobs are all the same, preachin' peace and the power of the justice system. The same system that let the damn Joker run free for years, and how many people did he kill?! A thousand?! Two?!"

Cheshire laughed again, but Terry could feel the uneasy shifting of a man in a cave at the mention of a certain clown prince of crime and his murderous rampages. It was a low blow, as if Cheshire knew who was listening. He brought his gun up, the painted manic grin matching the tone in his voice!

"There's no such thing as a hero anymore, Batboy! Now it's just survival of the maddest, and you're in the way of my money!"

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The wires sparked and resulted in a creak as Ace tried to move his left leg, it snapping immediately back down to the ground and cracking the concrete. It looked at it, as if it was confused, before trying to turn. It was much slower, but the undying need to fulfill the orders given to it exceeded any sort of limitations that had been brought on by the tugging of a few wires. Ace shuddered once in a malfunction, some smoke spouting out from it's back, before it lashed out with the working arm, smashing in some machinery and sending pieces of scrap down on Gem's location.

As she was distracted, Ace took the chance to hobble over, throwing a massive fist in a punch, aiming to waste the girl with one shot!

Gem brought up her arms to block the debris best she could, but there wasn't much she could do against scrap metal besides hope there weren't any sharp edges. Lucky for her there weren't, but it still hurt and surprised her enough to make her yelp.

When the avalanche of metal ended Gem looked up to find Ace pulling his arm back to throw a punch. Her eyes went wide before she backflipped out of the way, just barely dodging the massive fist. It was close enough that she felt the air move. She landed on a railing behind her before, in a surge of bravery or recklessness, she jumped and ran up Ace's arm, flipped over its back after stomping on its head for good measure, and started pulling out as many wires as she could before she couldn't risk staying that close any longer and jumped away.

Gem was panting hard by this point, hoping with all of her heart that this would be over soon. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last.

Gunshots rang out over and over as Cheshire pulled the trigger of his gun, the bat weaving through shots as he ran closer and closer to him. Cheshire wasn't used to missing, and this bat was ticking him off to no end! The click of an empty gun annoyed him even further. Cheshire threw the gun, the Bat dodging out of the way, just as Cheshire sent a chop raining down on him! The bat blocked it, crashing a kick into the side of Cheshire's head! Cheshire stumbled, but regained composure and thrust a palm into the bat's chest, then another into his side, and three punches into the mid-section before one last one to the face!

"There's the proof! You don't want to kill me! We're out-matched just on drive alone!"

Cheshire followed the bat, who held his head.

"Unless you wanna see my guts on the ground, you're never going to be a-BAH!"

The cat talked too much, and Terry used that to his advantage. While Cheshire had dropped into a false-sense of security, Batman had been preparing a punch, and sent it into the jaw of Cheshire with heavy force! Cheshire stumbled, giving Batman time enough to grab his last batarang and throw it, followed by the launching of the last two discs in his wrist. Cheshire swung, reaching to his side and pulling from it three silver, crescent throwing blades, and tossed them in the same direction as the on-coming projectiles, the attacks canceling out in the air!

Both cat and bat eyed each other, the options left gone. Cheshire looked to the two grenades at his side, but knew using them in here wouldn't end well for anyone, let alone himself. More importantly, though, was when he looked to the location where Hush was.....or rather, was at one point. There was only empty floor, the disguised criminal nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, damn it all! See what you did you pointy-eared idiot?!"

Cheshire shook his head, deciding to grab one of the grenades anyway.

"Listen, I'd love to sit here and slap fight with you, but you've cost me enough money for one day. We'll dance again reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal soon, Batsy, but right now.....I have a target to catch!"

He pulled the pin and tossed it, but what came from the grenade was not fire but aloud bang and a blinding light! A flashbang! Terry gripped at his eyes just as Cheshire cloaked again, leaping into the shadows and heading toward the platform the three intended victims were. ?Hush would be there, retreat was something the cat didn't see in those eyes. Terry couldn't catch his footing, the room spinning around him and a ring filling his ears.

"Terry! Terry! You have to move! Now!"

The orders from Wayne were less a distraction and more of a sobering device, bringing McGinnis back to his sense. His wings spread, his rockets fired. He launched into the air, flying to the platform himself. It was a race against time, the winner determining the outcome of the day.

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Ace shook like a building caught in an earthquake, steam and smoke rising up from all corners of it's form as it feverishly attempted to grasp at the locations the wires were being pulled from but every action had less and less results. The arm ceased to move, and eventually so did the other leg, sending the mechanical beast down to the ground, cracking more of the concrete as it's sheer weight slammed into it. The robot twitched a few more times, a small fire sparking up on it's back, before it went dead, this time for good.

The road now remained clear, a straight shot t the observing deck Gem so needed to reach.

Gem took only enough time to take a deep breath before she was off, dashing towards the three she had been trying to get to originally. The girl figured that even if Ace was somehow working after that it wouldn't be any real threat. She was oblivious to the actions of the Bat, cat, and Hush, even the grenade, slightly tunnel-visioned and careless with her exhaustion. Gem decided that she was definitely going to take a day off from school after all of this was done. Her da would certainly be happy with that.

With her adrenaline-fueled sprint it didn't take her very long to reach Powers, Gordon, and Miss Gotham. "Hey, you guys okay?" She asked the group when she reached them.

Commissioner Gordon looked upon Gem with a stern frown, her face just as cold as she would have been any other day of the week. Derek Powers, who right before he had heard her voice held a bit of a nervous frown, coughed and returned to his unimpressed, superior than everyone grin. Miss Gotham, as one would expect, was losing her mind.

"Like, oh my god! We're totally dead! That bandaged guy is going to kill us, and I'm dressed like this!"

The Commissioner rolled her eyes, then returned the stern glare to Gem.

"Are you an idiot, young lady?! You should've never come in here. I'm the officer here, I could've handled it!"

She sighed.

"Guess now I have to take care of you too."

Just as she spoke, the rockets of the bat came into view, Batman setting down right next to Gem. He nodded to her, secretly glad to see her in one piece. He had no idea about Ace or anything outside of the dangerous situation right now.

"Commissioner, we need to move you all right now. Hush is st-"

"That's not Hush", the Commissioner snapped. "Hush is dead."

"Right, well whoever it is snuck away as I was dealing with another dangerous individual, and I believe they're both on their way here right now. We need to go before they get here or else there will be chaos."

"Well then, why are we wasting our time talking?!"

Derek Powers interrupted them all, taking his place, or so he thought, at the helm.

"We evacuate immediately!"

Gem decided that she really needed to work on dressing like a boy in case weird things like this happened again. Apparently she hadn't really done a good job. Thinking of it, the man who had asked who she was when she entered the party had sounded rather old. Maybe his vision was going?

She nodded back at Batman in greeting before sending a wave of calm to Miss Gotham. The girl's panic was fraying her nerves. As was her voice. So shrill...

"Let's not go the way I came. There's a big robot over there and while I'm pretty sure it's shut down for good, better not to take chances." Gem turned and gestured for Commissioner Gordon to go first. She and Batman were the ones who probably should have been leading them after all, not Powers. "After you, ma'am."

"Robot?" Batman raised an eyebrow and looked down to the girl, shocked at the nonchalant way she described the situation. He hadn't seen anything on his flight over, but perhaps that was for the better. This girl was something else.

Commissioner Gordon grunted once, then nodded. She understood the situation, and knew she had to cut Powers off before he hurt himself.

"Mr. Powers, if you'll just get behind me......."

Gordon looked up, her eyes widening as she quickly went for her gun, aiming down the sights at something just over Batman's shoulder. The bat turned, viewing something that stopped him as well. There Derek Powers stood..........both of them. The original now white as a ghost, his hands up as he glared into the barrel of a gun. Hush stood before him, battered, and breathing heavily. He took a step forward, push Powers back more and more until they reached the edge of the platform.

"I've been waiting for this moment......for years, Powers! You just toy with the lives of people, crushing families in the process! What about my family, Powers?!"

"Drop the gun, now!"

Batman reached to his utility belt, but he came to the sudden realization he was unarmed. That cat had cost him everything, and if he didn't act fast, Gordon was going to put a bullet in Hush!

"What're you going to do, kill me?!" Hush called back. "You're a little late......POWERS KILLED ME A FEW YEARS AGO!" A harsh silence fell on the room, Miss Gotham fainting. "New plan.....I hold all the cards, now......." without warning, Hush grabbed Powers by the collar and lifted him, holding him out and over the river of toxic waste!

"Either way, I'm dropping this bastard into the wretched filth and death he deserves to be with! How I leave is up to you!"

Hush turned, facing the group and holding his gun at them. His eyes were wild, his voice now changed again. It was much younger, though years of hatred welled up in every word. The tear on his false face grew larger, and out of the crack.....came a tuft of red hair.

"NOBODY IS STOPPING MY MASTERPIECE!"

Gem's eyes went wide, head snapping in the direction of Powers and Hush. Her breathe caught in her throat, and the whole world seemed to still.

She knew that voice. Oh, did she know that voice. But she couldn't, could she? She was wrong. She HAD to be wrong. But she was never wrong. Voices were too distinct for her to mix them up. Never in her life had she gotten a voice wrong. But she had to be. She just had to be. Just once. Just once in her life, just ONCE, let her be mistaken about this voice and she would never ask for anything ever again. Nothing. Nothing at all. So please, please, please let her be mistaken. Let her be wrong. Let it not be...

"...D-D...Davey?" Gem breathed.

Hush frowned, gripping the face with his free fingers and tearing it down, revealing none other than Davey Henderson, disappointment over his face as he aimed the gun back at the group.

"G-Gem.....I never thought you'd see me.....like this."

He shook off whatever letdown he had in himself, yelling out.

"You weren't there! You don't get it! This man took everything from me! He took control of the company and he just....just...."

"Fired your Father......"

Batman interrupted. It shocked him just as much as Gem to see their classmate standing there, such murderous intent behind the average looking boy who was always so upbeat. Guess he was one of the best actors around.

"You're......Savage's kid."

"Don't you dare speak of my Father!"

Davey turned the aim to the bat.

"He was all we had! He was the one who kept the family together, and the Powers took his whole life's work from him! Just like that! Dad was never the same......Mom left......he did this!"

Davey held Powers even further out!

"Whoa, whoa, Davey! Davey, stop! You don't need to do this!"

"No, I want to!"

Davey turned to Powers, looking him in the eye.

"My name is David Savage. I want you to remember the name of the guy who sent you to he-"

The first rule of Gotham is to never turn your back on the bat. Batman jetted up behind Davey, placing a sleeper hold on him and pulling him back, dropping all three men to the safety of the platform below. Powers shot to his feet, braced against the barrier, as the Bat began to choke the consciousness from his classmate. Davey began to drift off......but not before raising his gun and firing! He passed out as the bullet caught Powers in the shoulder, the momentum enough to turn and take him over the edge into a free-fall!

"NO!" shouted both the bat and commissioner in unison. He shot to the ledge, but as he did, Terry was faced with the sight of Derek Powers reaching out, then smashing into and seeking below enough radioactive material to melt most solid materials. Batman stopped, then clenched his eyes shut, the pain of the moment hitting him hard. He had failed. Gordon looked on, dropping her head too in shame. Still, she had a job to do. She put her grief aside, and turned to the unconscious "Hush", handcuffing his arms behind him with reinforced cuffs, strong enough to hold anything in Gotham.

In the shadows, a certain cat watched it all go down, taking in a breath as Powers hit the waste.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That....sucks. Way to go, hero."

He took his leave, his job also a failure. He wouldn't forget this night. He owed that bat. He owed him a bullet of his own.

Terry wouldn't open his eyes, clenching his fists in anger.

"Damn it........"

Davey's classmate was gone to the world, completely lost to her own thoughts. Even the sound of the bullet firing and Powers being dropped into the toxic waste did not phase her. Because it had happened again. This was happening to her once again and it was all her fault. All her fault. Everything was repeating, history reliving, over and over and over and she should have known. She should have known better but she didn't. No, she had let herself believe. She had let herself believe it wouldn't happen again, that everything would be okay if it were just for a little while. Believe in the beautiful fantasy. Believe in the impossible. No, she'd been stupid and wanting and HOPEFUL, and she paid the price in full. She'd paid the price in full once again. She was such an idiot. She was such a fool. She was such a...such a...

Gem dropped to her knees, cradled her head in her hands, and cried.

The sadness rushed over Terry again, this time not his own. He pictured in his head that one man, on the ground, just as he did before, and then shook free, turning to Gem. He went to her, crouching down, and picked her up. There were no words, but each knew what the other one felt. There had been loss here today, and not loss that needed to be discussed or that could be shrugged off lightly.

"Hey, where do you think you're taking her?"

Commissioner Gordon demanded an answer from the Bat, not breaking her hard shell even in the wake of what had happened.

"She's a witness of everything that went down here, she needs to be questioned."

"She's been through enough, Barbara!"

"Who gave you permission to call me that, kid?!"

There was a long stand-off, both sides not budging an inch in the staredown. Eventually, Gordon dropped her guard, hearing the sound of officers entering into the inner-facility.

"Listen.....just get out of here. Quickly."

Batman nodded, sending a signal to the batmobile that soared through the now night air just outside, waiting for them. He activated his rocket boots, but not before Gordon said one more thing.

"Oh, and kid.........tell the old man he owes me."

Terry nodded, the mutual members of the Bat-family sharing an agreement, before he took off, exiting the building quickly and laying Gem into the passenger seat of the batmobile. He would go on the bring her home under the cover of cloaking and night, not sharing a word between the two over the entire exchange, and then took off for Wayne manor. This had been the hardest day since the day he first put on the suit, and he knew it was only going to get harder when Bruce began the lecture. Zooming into the night, the bat collected his thoughts.

They had caught the criminal....but was that enough? Maybe the assassin............was right?

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

(A Week Later)

It was dark, damp, and just as compressing on the inside as one would expect a submarine to be. A green glow spread out and then back in across the room, the light illuminating the faces of a few individuals dressed in lab coats, working just as hard as they did the entire week. Numbers rolled through computer screens, machines clicked and beeped as they crunched those same numbers, looking for results for.....something. The head lab technician, a brunette with her hair back in a ponytail, held a long strand of paper with the latest results of their tests. She sighed, dropping her head.

"What news do you have, Doctor?"

A pause fell between the time the low, almost raspy voice spoke to her, and her answer. She looked up, her reflection coming back to her off of the clear surface separating her from the other.

"Do you remember being exposed to the nerve gas?"

"The Bat......It disintegrated pieces of my face, I believe I would remember something like that. Your point?"

"W-Well..........the radiation has eliminated all traces of the virus, Mr. Powers."

Indeed, in some twisted, cruel or lucky turn in life, there on an operating table lay Derek Powers, his body perfectly intact. Not even his hair seemed to be out of place. Powers raised an eyebrow, turning to his scientist.

"I don't like the tone you said that in.....what's the catch?"

"Well............"

She turned to another one of her associates.

"Thompson, turn off the radiation."

The man known as Thompson stared at her for a moment, then sighed, and deactivated the machine that was set over powers, the lights in the room going out.......but the green glow grew stronger. Derek Powers stood.........

"The.........metamorphic effects of the virus were beyond what we could have predicted."

"Hehehehehehe...."

The scientists all fell silent as Powers began to chuckle, but what stood there was not the man that did seconds ago. With the constant outside radiation gone, his skin lost all color, clearly now showing only a glowing, radioactive green that shone around bones no pitch black. Powers walked to the mirror in the room observing himself.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The scientists looked between them, concerned for any kind of stability left in their employer.

"We, uhhhhh.....we've made progress on a synthetic skin based on the fragments left on your collar from your........ummmm.....attacker........"

Powers ceased laughing, the radioactive skeletal playing the image of his fall over and over in his head.

"It resisted the radiation just as well as you did, and has done an impressive job of insulating against it. We can make you appear as you did before, but for now we need you to stay here. The lead and the level of water will keep you covered. We'll set this right, Mr. Powers."

"Very well...."

His voice sounded that much more ghastly, a sort of echo to it as he spoke, but Powers had responded.

"Oh, and Doctor......don't call me that again."

The scientist raised her own eyebrow this time.

"Your.....name, sir?"

"It's not my name, not anymore."

Powers took one closer look into the mirror.

"Behold, I shall be a blight upon the land, and everything I touch shall wither and die!"

He chuckled once more.

"Derek Powers is dead. He died in that facility. From now on, call me....."

He turned, the pitch black skull of Powers glaring without eyes from behind his radioactive exoskeleton, a sense of maniacal ecstasy to his voice as he revoked his old name, and continued on the road he was always destined for. They called him a monster before, claimed he had ruined lives. He would show them what had happened before was only the beginning.

"Blight."

==End==