Chapter 103: Jebediah
Bruce prowled down the hallway. The whole place was built like a rabbit warren with doorways that led to rooms that led to more winding hallways. He'd encountered guards precisely once and dealt with them. He'd also seen signs of Diana's passage in destroyed doorways and unconscious guards.
Bruce had taken the time to tie up the men. He found it rather telling that they were all men, mostly musclebound. He hadn't been particularly gentle with the ties.
He rounded a curve and stopped. In front of an irised doorway, a tiny figure was jumping up and down. Tiny, outraged squeaks kept emitting from it as it slid down the smooth wall. Its jumps just missed the small access panel set high on the wall beside the doorway. The little being turned its head towards him and squeaked imperiously.
He couldn't keep a small smile from appearing. Bruce wiped it from his lips as he strode forward. The little being seemed to be made of electricity and sparked nervously as he approached. He stopped in front of it, towering over it.
The little being looked up at him with dark black eyes. Then it turned and looked at the access panel and then back at Bruce. It squeaked, pointing with insistent little jabs at the iris.
"You want in there?" Bruce asked, rewarded by a series of nods.
He studied the access panel. It was a strange circle, unlike most of the ones he'd seen so far. Alien symbols decorated the buttons set around a circular display. Bruce pulled out a few tools and tried them, rewarded with a blinking red error symbol. At least that's what he surmised.
The little being squeaked again, tugging at the bottom of his cape. Bruce leaned down, a bit surprised when the being jumped, landing precariously on his shoulder. He could see the shifting bands of electricity that made its exterior from the corner of his eye, but he could tell that it was an almost illusory thing. The being had a weight and substance to it. Bruce fought the urge to straighten up and send it tumbling back to the floor.
He started as it jumped again, landing against the access panel. It squeaked triumphantly, sinking an arm into the display effortlessly. Bruce's eyes widened at the sight.
There were a series of almost discordant notes, and the door irised open. The being yanked its arm out of the display and dropped to the floor. It darted to the doorway and stopped. It turned and gestured imperiously at Bruce.
"Coming," Bruce said, following it through the doorway.
It looked like a mad scientist's lab. Every flat surface was covered with either jars with various body parts floating in them or electronics from displays to input panels. In the center, a boy was strapped to a chair, a metal collar strapped to his throat. His arms had just enough room to reach the datapad positioned in front of his face. He had a sulky expression of resigned anger on his face that was quickly replaced by shocked terror as the little being jumped on his lap.
"Trolli? How are you here?" He said, his voice hoarse.
The little being squeaked proudly, arms akimbo. Then it turned towards Bruce and beckoned imperiously, still squeaking.
"You came with the others?" The boy shook his head. "It's too soon for a rescue. Do they even have enough intel?"
"Intel or not, people are here," Bruce said as he approached. "You haven't heard the fighting.
The kid arched one eyebrow. He glanced around the lab before shaking his head at Bruce.
"Can you hear anything outside this room?" He asked, Trolli now sitting on his shoulder, squeaking worriedly. "I don't know," he muttered to the little being.
Bruce paused and concentrated. It was true. There was no sound to be heard from outside the room. He glanced back at the closed iris.
"They made it this way so I couldn't be distracted," the boy said bitterly. He looked up at Bruce. "My name's Jebediah. What's yours?"
"Batman," Bruce said shortly, eliciting a smile from the kid.
"Worth a shot," Jebediah said with a sharp smile. Trolli squeaked at him from his shoulder. "Yes, yes, I know, Trolli. Where's Rena?"
Trolli shook its head at Jebediah. Bruce turned his attention away from them, examining the various jars on a nearby table. He paused at the simple numerical labels. He swiftly scanned the jars before stopping on one with a pair of cloudy eyeballs, their irises covered by a light film that couldn't conceal their brilliant jewel-like green color. A memory surfaced of one of the dossiers of a little girl with a charming smile whose number matched the jar.
"Her name was Brittany. Her container liked fancy names," Jebediah said, watching him. "She could make you do anything if you looked in her eyes." The bitter smile was back. "When she started to truly manifest, she was sent for Disassembly. The guards tranq'd her from the doorway and dragged her away."
Jebediah looked away. Trolli patted his cheek with its little hand.
"They had to club Aarti and Kaylen unconscious to get her. I don't know how they knew to be there," Jebediah continued in a quiet voice. "Rena told me about it when she came to visit the day after."
"Who's Rena," Bruce asked, fighting the disquiet. He couldn't tell if it was from the nearly dry recitation by the boy or the fact that he mentioned being dissected as if it were a way of life.
"Half the reason I agreed to the escape plan," the boy said, looking towards him. Bruce could see the light burning in his eyes, one he was familiar with. He saw the same light whenever he talked of ridding Gotham of its massive crime problem. "Trolli was the other."
Trolli squeaked and plunged its little hand into the collar on Jebediah's neck. There was a click, and the collar cracked open. When it fell to the ground, beads of blood were seen on the prongs on the inside.
"If you could untie me, I can help you find whoever you were looking for. I'm sure it wasn't me," Jebediah said with a hoarse little chuckle. "We just need to open those pods." He nodded towards a corner. Standing there were three sealed pods with two open ones. They were made from a solid metal, keeping people from seeing what was inside. "There was a reason I was strapped while my controller went to see about whatever." Jebediah coughed, a trace of blood appearing on his lips. "I couldn't really be bothered to wonder what it was," he explained, wiping his mouth on his shoulder.
Bruce went to the chair. He swept his eyes over the bleeding holes in the kid's neck. Then he pulled out a knife and worked on the base of the thin cuffs. The metal sprang free after a moment's tinkering, causing him to frown.
"No one's coming in here but the controller. There wasn't a need to make it too sturdy. It's not like I could pull free," Jebediah explained, massaging his wrists. He turned his attention to the pods.
"So," he asked brightly, "what do you know about magic?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Tashady
Tashady I'm hip deep in Lex-bots right about now... having a bit of a blast, truth be told, but I still had this rattling in my brain (along with the final fight...now I just have to get there!). The final fight keeps morphing, but I think I have a handle on it! ^_^ Now if only Queen would give me a hint...
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