Happy Valentine's Day Gotham Part 2

LOCATION: Wayne Manor

I reach Wayne Manor as quick as it is possible I don't even bother fitting my helmet back on i'm too worried and my head is overflowing with questions "why? how? what? when?" I try and push my questions to the back of my head 

I take out a key which Bruce had given me a while ago in case of emergency, I quickly twist the key into the lock until I hear the brass latch of the old doors unclasp, I push the doors so hard I nearly fall to the ground but I almost immediately regain my composure.  

"Bruce! Alfred! Tim!" I yell to a seemingly empty manor to no avail as silence was my only response, I take a couple of steps into the grand hall "Bruce! Alfred! Tim!" I yell again to the eerily quiet house my own echo reflects my concerned voice back at me.

I take a few more steps into the manor until I'm directly in the centre of the grand entry way I inspect every dark corner for any sign of life, I quickly spot a smartly dressed leg poking out of a large arm chair in front of a large Victorian fire place

"Alfred!" I yell as I grab the unconscious mans shoulders and give him a gentle shake but he was most definitely out for the count, I place to fingers on the British mans neck and thankfully I detect a pulse however it was very faint

Next to Alfred sat a full china cup of tea I place my index finger in the liquid and it was stone cold, I always knew Alfred enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey at midnight before bed I take note of that since you never know what might be important

I grab a near by blanket and place it over him as he too was extremely cold, I leave him safely sitting in the chair so I can search for my other friends 

As I begin to climb the stairway I can hear a high pitched beeping noise much like my old nemesis the dreaded "Alarm clock" the horrendous noise was coming from Tim Drake's bedroom 

I softly knock on the door "Tim?" although I don't expect a response and I don't get one just the constant beeping  

As I open the door I see young Tim in his bed in his Pyjamas looking very peaceful like he was just in asleep, in fact he is most likely the happiest individual in this house given that this will be the longest sleep in he's ever had

"What am I going to do with you?" I say to him as I reach over Tim to turn off his alarm clock and given that he seems to be ok I leave him in peace so I can find Bruce,

I search his bedroom, the bathroom even the home gym but I can't find him therefor there is only one other place you could find Bruce Wayne, 

I turn the handles on the old Grandfather clock in the study to the correct time revealing the secret entrance to the bat cave, as I make my way down the narrow stair case I notice a figure lying at the bottom 

Bruce.

"Bruce!" I yell again pointlessly he was out cold at the bottom of the staircase,

I check that he hasn't hurt himself if he fell down the stairs which thankfully he hasn't,

 I pick him up as if he were a ragdoll and take him over to the medical table.

<sigh Bruce would know what to do>

It was unnerving to see my best friend so vulnerable and I felt so helpless,

<No Romanoff you're everything but helpless>

 Ok think, there has got to be some kind of solution and the answer had to be scientific perhaps a poison or toxin although off of the top of my head I couldn't think of anything that would exclusively target men and not women 

I check his heartrate and blood pressure but they are both normal and using the medical equipment I can carry out a thorough examination his brain activity was normal meaning he was either thinking or dreaming, I wonder if he could hear me 

"I got your card bet you think you're real funny huh I'm sure you meant it in a special friend type of way not a romantic type of way why would a good man like you be doing falling in love with a woman like me" I begin to laugh at my own words then I suddenly regret saying anything at all

"This conversation never happened" I pat him on the shoulder, I sure hope the urban myth about sleeper being able to subconsciously hear their surroundings was false. 

I'm so distracted with Bruce that I don't notice that Barbra had entered the Bat cave

"Have you found anything useful?" she asks as I put down the light that I was using and look at her she looks panicked then I remember

"How's your father?" I ask

"He looks basically the same as all of the other men in Gotham fast asleep I left him in his bed I feel a bit bad for leaving him but I need to find a way to help him from here, what have you discovered so far?"

I had automatically started running some tests, but I hadn't come up with much in the way of an answer "He is behaving as if he were merely asleep however I have yet to check if there is anything in his system." I tell her I take a syringe and take a blood sample from the top of his arm I'm careful as not to hurt him, then I place the sample under a microscope.

I have used my time on earth wisely and done a lot of research on every type of science,

I mean what else am I supposed to do take up sewing?

But I like to read a lot it was a useful hobby. I notice straight away something that isn't meant to be there, I motion for Barbra to have a look

"He's been poisoned?" she asks I nod my head some how a vicious toxin had made way into his blood.

Something in his system was creating its own sleeping drug keeping him in a deep coma like sleep 

"I need more samples" I tell Barbra who's looking a little guilty

"Um I have Dick in my car upstairs" Barbra coyly says

I look at her quizzically how on earth did she manage that?

"Ounce I realized that this had affected every man in the city I activated the tracker in his boot I found him in an ally way in Downtown I couldn't leave him just laying there" she tells me

"You keep trackers on everyone?" I joke,

Wait Dick went on his patrol at 12:30 he usually gets to down town around 12:45 and I figured that Alfred's tea had been made around 12:00 at least that gave me a quarter of an hour window of when this happened.

I Pick up 'Sleeping Beauty' from Barbra's car and carry him over my shoulder to the Bat cave very ungracefully I might add as when Barbra sees me she begins sniggering

"What?" I ask her smugly

"Nothing just stay in that position whilst I take a picture"

I put poor Dick down on the medical table opposite to Bruce and take another sample of blood, I notice that his blood carries the exact same toxins I run the toxin through the Bat computer the computer had an index of every type of poison known to man but it will take around an hour to determine if it was something that the computer recognized I turn around expecting to see Barbra but she is across the room looking at something  sitting on the large table

"What's wrong?" I ask her, she has a bunch of roses in her arms

"They're from Dick they have my name on them" She says sadly

I know she thought that Dick had forgot about her I try and find the right words but before I can say anything something starts popping up on my mobile phone

"What the hell" I exclaim it was the Bat signal and underneath it says

"GCPD 10 minutes Black Widow"

I look at Barbra feeling a bit confused 

"You go Natasha I will stay with them" I gear up minus my stingers so instead I grab a couple of Batman's grappling devices and ride out on my bike to the GCPD.

More Dick and Babs I feel like there is a lot unsaid between these two stay put for some amazing characters to make an appearance soon thank you for reading Chapter 18 and leave a comment below xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xx 

Songs for Chapter 18

-"Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)" by Beyonce

-"Don't Wake me up" by Chris Brown

-"Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse

-"If I ain't got you" by Alicia Keys

-"Umbrella" by Rihanna

Click on the external link below for the playlist available on Spotify