บท 194: Problem? #194
As she sat on the bedside next to Barbara, Selina couldn't help but sigh as she glanced at the soundly asleep redhead. She was finally starting to calm down, but only after suffering through multiple panic attacks.
Barbara would suddenly start convulsing, shivering, sobbing, or all that simultaneously at random intervals, to which Jason and Selina would do everything they could to console and assure her everything was okay.
Luckily, news of Nightwing freeing her father managed to calm her down somewhat. She still went through the occasional panic attack, but it wasn't as frequent or intense as when she first woke up from the coma.
"Go ahead and get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on Barbara," Selina said, sighing as she turned to an exhausted Jason and calmly gestured to the couch at the side of the room.
"I'm fine. You rest up first..." Jason replied, his head at Selina's words as he put on a resolute expression, which didn't seem to impress the latter as she tried to argue.
However, she didn't get the chance as her phone started ringing. Selina sighed as she reached into her purse and retrieved the device to see who was calling.
The brunette's expression instantly turned grave as she saw the caller's ID and immediately picked up the call, putting the phone to her ears in a hurry.
"Gray? Do you need something...?" She asked as she turned to Jason, who had a curious expression, gesturing for him to be patient. "What?!" She exclaimed loudly out of reflex, causing the sleeping Barbara to turn in her bed with a frown.
"Are you sure...?" Selina asked, her expression hardening as she lowered her tone. "I just heard from Nightwing... he said they were preparing to bring him in..." She added, giving Jason a meaningful look, to which he immediately got off his chair and hurried toward his backpack.
"No... you're right... thank you..." Selina said, her expression turning worse the longer she listened. "No, I'm not going to ask... I know better..." she went on, shaking her head as she let out a bitter chuckle.
"Alright... I'll see you later, then..." The brunette said as she ended the call and turned to Jason, who was already in gear and ready to act, having picked up on the hints.
"The Joker might be on his way here..." Selina said, a frown on her face as she lowered her phone. "Barbara is just starting to get better. She can't know," She added as she stood up, giving Jason a firm look.
"I'm going to call for backup, but we'll be on our own for a while..." The brunette went on as she turned back to her phone. "Be ready," She concluded before retrieving another phone from her purse.
...
As he kneeled on the ground, panting for breath in the middle of the street next to Batwoman, who was in a similar condition, Nightwing winced as he heard the emergency communication device in his utility belt start ringing.
As much as he wanted to answer the call, the man in a purple suit with a smoking gun in hand was the more pressing issue as he stood over them, seemingly at a loss who to shoot first.
"Ip dip doo..." The man said as he put his gun to Nightwing's head. "The gun's loaded and ready to shoot..." he added, his grin widening as he moved the gun's barrel to Batwoman's face.
"Who's gonna go first...?" The man chanted with a chuckle as he turned the gun back to Nightwing. "I guess that would be you...!" he added as he moved the barrel again, putting it on Batwoman's forehead.
However, before he could pull the trigger, he was interrupted by the roar of an engine, accompanied by an almost blinding light coming from the side, which forced him to look away.
And before the man in the purple suit could react or even process the situation, a speeding car came crashing to his side, slamming him into the display window of a shop on the side of the road.
The car came to a screeching stop in front of Batwoman and Nightwing as The Question climbed out of the driver's seat, giving them a brief glance before reaching for the man's gun.
"What are you trying to do...?" Nightwing said, his eyes widening as he looked at Sage's actions. "You can't possibly be...?" he went on as he saw him pick up the gun and turn to the demolished store window.
"What you and Batman should have done a long time ago," The Question said as he turned away from the Nightwing and inspected the gun in his hand, turning it to the side.
He scoffed as Nightwing tried to get up and failed because of his injuries before turning to Batwoman, who was strangely silent. She gave him an odd look before turning away.
Sage didn't seem to care much for her gesture. Still, he nodded at her before slowly approaching the shattered display window with deliberately slow steps.
"Still conscious, eh...?" The Question said, his tone amused as he looked down on the man who struggled to get up over the broken glass, bleeding all over the ground.
"Well, playing dead wouldn't have helped you anyway," The Question said with a chuckle as he leveled his gun at the man but hesitated for a second and didn't shoot.
"You know what? I wanna look into your eyes, see what kind of monster you really are..." Sage said as he kneeled next to the man, his ears deaf to Nightwing's screams, who desperately shouted at him to stop.
He kneeled next to the man, keeping the gun at his head as he reached for his hat and removed it. He froze at the unfamiliar face of a middle-aged, staring him in the face with a wide grin.
The man started laughing loudly in a clearly different voice. He slapped his chest, and his body exploded before the Question could even react, sending flesh and blood flying, along with the sound of a party popper.
Looking at this scene, Sage couldn't help but grunt in annoyance as he wiped the blood off his face and turned to Nightwing. "Look's like your daddy's boyfriend gets to live another day..." he said, shaking his frustration as he watched him flop on the ground with a grimace.
"What a waste of time..." The Questioned muttered as he turned to leave, deliberately stepping over Nightwing as he walked away, and the latter didn't even have the energy to watch him depart.
"Interesting choice of friends..." Nightwing said, struggling to turn his head in Batwoman, giving her a thousand-yard stare that would only pale when you compare it to the famous bat glare.
"Drop it, will you...?" Batwoman said with a sigh, shaking her as she crawled into a wall and sat straight, leaning on it. "He's right, and you know it," she went on, shrugging her shoulders as she reached into her utility belt.
"No, I don't," Nightwing replied, stubbornly shaking his head as he maintained the same expression. "That's what they do... we have to be better than them..." he went, his face easing somewhat as he noticed the numerous wounds all over Batwoman's body.
"That's what he taught me..." he concluded with a sigh as he watched Batwoman disinfect and bandage the more critical wounds on her thigh and neck.
"Either way... come here and let me patch you up..." Batwoman said, letting Nightwing's lecture go through one ear and out the other as she gestured for him to come closer.
"And for the love of god, pick up the call, or whatever that is, the peeping is killing me..." She added with a grimace as she watched Nightwing crawl toward her, her gaze alternating between his face and the flashing communication device on his utility belt.
Nightwing nodded as he reached her, grimacing as he struggled to sit straight next to Batwoman. He sighed as he did and retrieved the communication device from his belt.
He maintained a calm expression as Batwoman began disinfecting the wounds on his back, and he picked up the call, putting the device close to his ear.
"WHAT?!"
...
Gray's Hideout
"That will never grow old..." I muttered with a light chuckle as I watched Nightwing's shocked expression through the street's traffic surveillance camera.
Selina's face was pretty much the same when I told her The Joker might be coming her way, and I honestly couldn't blame her since I'd probably react the same way if someone told me a homicidal clown was coming my way.
I couldn't blame Nightwing either since he was the one to foolishly reveal that Barbara Gordon was still alive to the said murderous clown, so it's undeniably his fault.
Either way, it wasn't my problem.
...
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