51 A BAT IN AN ARMOR
Bruce initiated his suit's scanning systems again, trying to trace any residual traces of the sniper's presence or any clues that could indicate Deadshot's movements. However, the fog rendered the sensors ineffective.
"Fuck it! Can't waste time here," He flew into the sky.
"Jarvis, can we use a signal jammer to stop the detonation," He asked the AI. He wanted to prevent the explosion at any cost and trying to attack the one with the detonator might result in a game over for everyone. A slight mistake and BOOM! Gotham down in smoke. He must be wary now that Black Mask and his gang are down. He couldn't take any risk.
"The detonator will not be affected by the signal jammers because its signals are not digital and it works on remote access. Without the key codes, I won't be able to figure out which channel to use." The AI replied.
"Tsk. Since the bombs are remote-controlled, the one with the detonator must not be that far and there is a strong possibility that he will activate all the bombs to do maximum damage while escaping from here. We will have to act fast. I doubt he or whoever that remote is with right now would wait, now that Black Mask is down for the count," Bruce frowned. If this person activated all the explosives, then even Batman would not be able to save Gotham, and everyone would die. He cannot let this happen.
He stopped in midair and examined the map, displayed in 3d models through his visor. Twenty bombs in twenty different locations - a maddening and near-impossible task for one person.
"Jarvis, dial Dad's number. We need to work together on this one," Bruce said, zooming into one of the locations of the explosives. He flew toward the residential district, with the intent of trying to diffuse at least some of the bombs.
As the call connected, he heard the mayor's voice coming through the comms.
"Bruce, Where are you? You're not picking up my calls," Thomas inquired, worry evident in his voice. "The city is in flames! Someone attacked multiple locations in the gang's hideout. Just stay where you are. It's safer than outside."
'What safe place? Anyway...'
"Calm down, don't panic, and listen very carefully. Open your computer," Bruce spoke hurriedly while speeding through the city's air, a dark specter flying overhead.
'His voice... Just like that night...' Thomas hurriedly complied with his son's order. The comms connected to the holo-screen and Thomas was shown a holographic 3D projection of the map on which the locations of the bombs have been marked by Jarvis, all red dots representing their targets.
"Are these the targets...?" He inquired with a raised voice, slightly panicked.
"Yeah, bombs, remotely controlled. I have sent the name of the one with the detonator. He is a traffic police from GCPD. First thing first, don't panic and dispatch bomb squads in those locations, second, you must somehow capture this guy... Someone assassinated Black Mask and we have no idea when they will blow up the city."
"He is dead?! That means... I am on it. You better stay there, Bruce," Thomas spoke worriedly while assigning GCPD agents and SWAT teams in action.
'Did someone track my location? Which place is he talking about?'
"Don't worry about me. You just find that detonator," He quickly hung up. He didn't have enough time to sit and chatter.
Within a few minutes, Bruce arrived at the first location. This bomb was attached to a boiler room located inside a slum school building. The building was empty. He quickly got out of his armor and put it under Jarvis's control.
"Jarvis, move to the next location and diffuse the bomb. I will take care of this one," Bruce instructed. He trusted his technology way more than any man working on this mission. After making sure Jarvis complied with his instructions, he entered the building and dashed toward the basement floor, where he could find the boiler room.
After getting inside the room, he wasted no time and started working on dismantling the bomb. His hands worked quickly. Although he had no idea how much time he had until the explosion, he moved hastily.
"Red, blue, green, yellow... yellow should do. What kind of amateur made this bomb? Really shitty," Bruce muttered while disarming it. "If he wanted a big explosion, why didn't he just plant C4 or Semtex?"
With a click and hiss, the timer stopped, and the bomb shut down, making him let out a sigh of relief. His palms were slightly shaking, which he immediately realized and clenched his fist. Alright, time to move to the next one. He checked the map on his visor to locate the second one.
'Shopping mall? A few clicks away. Good.' He dashed out of the building and used his bat claws to grab onto the roof of the tallest building around him. He couldn't be seen here, or he would definitely draw unwanted attention. Without hesitation, he fired it toward a high-rise building a few meters away, pulling himself to it.
The street was empty due to the consecutive explosions. The GCPD has issued a message on the radio that people must stay at their homes because there were a few terrorist attacks. He zipped on the rooftop and continued to use his batclaw to progress toward the other end of the roof as a quicker means of transportation.
Not long after, the next bomb's location appeared before him, located on the roof of the mall.
<Beep > "Sir, I have diffused the bomb." Jarvis's voice came from the comm.
"Okay. Diffuse as many as you can, but don't let others see the armor." He reminded the AI. He couldn't take chances at this moment.
As he touched down on the rooftop, he noticed six big barrels with explosives planted beside them. His visor picked up three humans with weapons. 'Fuckers!' Without giving them any time to attack, he threw a tear gas canister toward the thugs. They were too busy drinking that they didn't notice until the canister rolled toward them.
"What the he-"
'Thud, thud!' 'Sizzzz!!!'
Tear gas dispersed in the air.
"Cough..." "Cough..." The thugs covering their eyes tried to fire their guns at him but had no way of doing anything with the cloud of gas surrounding them. They couldn't open their eyes because if they did, they would be exposed to the toxic gas.
Before they even got a chance to retaliate, Bruce dashed in. He punched the first guy on his nose, slamming him down on the floor, followed by another punch on the same spot. His face caved in, and the bones crushed, knocking the guy out cold.
The second guy tried to run toward the door.
Bruce aimed his batclaw at the thug's belt and with a 'click' pulled him backward, followed by a hard kick, right on his ribcage. His body flew in the air, crashing on the roof fence. Blood spewed out from his mouth. He lay there unconscious, probably dead.
The third one came charging toward Batman with his knife. However, he was a slow bastard compared to him, and in the blink of an eye, his right elbow bent backward at an awkward angle as it was broken, and the knife went straight through his neck. Blood spewed like a punctured water pipe. The thug grabbed his throat, and fell on the floor, unable to scream and gurgling on his own blood. Bruce didn't show any mercy to these filth.
After disarming the bomb on the rooftop and making sure the place was clear, he checked the map. The red dots are disappearing at a faster rate. The bomb squad and Jarvis had already diffused 6/20 bombs.
As the night passed, all the bombs were diffused. None of the explosions happened. The mole in the GCPD had escaped, but they somehow recovered the remote control from him. Well, not that it matters anymore, since all the bombs are disarmed.
He wiped the sweat dripping on his forehead, 'It's almost dawn.' Bruce left for the Manor afterward. 'Mom is going to kill me...'
He dialed Fox's number, "Hey, Mr. Fox..."
"Mr. Wayne? Yeah, I thought something might be wrong, considering the chaos in the city. Guess you took care of the threat?" Fox asked from the other side of the phone.
"You could say that. The thing is, I need another favor,"
"An alibi, I guess?" Lucius knew he would require something to keep his cover intact. "Don't worry. I have already informed your parents that you are working on a special project with me and that you are completely safe in my private research center."
"Ah! No wonder he was telling me to stay where I am. Thank you!"
"My pleasure, Mr. Wayne," Lucius replied in his calm tone.
After disconnecting the call, a thought stuck in Bruce's mind, 'Things went way too smooth. Need to keep an eye out, just in case...'
[Meanwhile] [Location- Classified]
A woman dressed in matte black, like one of those ninjas is standing next to the windows, overlooking an image of Gotham, depicted on a holographic screen floating next to it. Near her feet was lying the GCPD mole. His body was littered with slash wounds, and he was no longer breathing. The floor was drenched in his blood and flesh.
"A bat in armor... This trip is going to be interesting..." She smiled as she removed her mask. Her brown long hair floated in the air and her equally brown iris stared toward the view of Gotham, smiling at the thought.
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AN: Starting next week, the release schedule will change a bit. I will release daily except for Friday and Saturday. Expect 4-5 chapters. Reason: Working on a new Spiderman project. I will be writing 4 chs per week. So, expect to see a public release alongside Multiverse Book-2 in the New Year.
