On a thunderstorming night, Batman and Nightwing were overlooking what seemed to be an illegal exchange. 

“Big shipment. Armed guards. Late night. What are the chances this little transaction is legal?” “It does check all the boxes,” Nightwing commented dryly. But there was a nagging feeling in her stomach. Everything was laid out for them in plain sight…it was a little too perfect. 

“Just make sure you two know what you're up against before you jump in.” “Don’t worry, B, we got it covered.” Slipping into the warehouse undetected, the duo watched the exchange go down. They intervened right before the transaction could be completed. Batman subdued the seller by tying him up with a bola.

Batman and Nightwing flew down, dodging laser fire and taking down the rest of the thugs. Nightwing landed right by the fallen seller as he sneered at her, “You idiots, you’re ruining everything!” 

That nagging feeling returned, and she questioned the criminal, “What do you mean?” Nightwing didn’t get to hear the answer as she had to move from being hit by laser fire. At one point, she and Batman had to take cover behind a few crates of explosives, giving the criminals time to reach their getaway car.

Batman pushed the crates towards the speeding car. The gang fired at the crates, and they exploded. Distracted by the huge explosive, the hero did not jump away in time and collided with the front of the car. Batman was sent flying into the seller's shipping container.

It unlocked, and an army of police officers shuffled out from it and fired at the escaping criminals, but they got away. Nightwing closed her eyes, sighing. Now she understood the man’s words. They had just interrupted an undercover police operation.

The last to exit the container was Commissioner Barbara Gordon, and she was not happy. “They blew the whole sting Commissioner,” the undercover cop told his superior. “I’m sorry. We didn’t know,” Batman apologized. Barbara’s eyes narrowed, “Sorry doesn’t begin to cut it,” she said before walking away. 

~8~

Bruce was already prepared for a late night visit once he received the news from Eliana. Barbara took a sip of her tea, “Not bad.” “I learned from the best. If only I could figure out how he made those little tea cakes,” Bruce replied, smiling as he thought of his old friend. “Crumpets,” Barbara corrected. “Right, crumpets.”

Bruce set down his cup, “All right, we made the requisite small talk.” It was time to get to the real reason behind their encounter. “Did they tell you what happened?” Bruce averted his eyes, “I heard some mistakes were made.”

Barbara scoffed, “Mistakes? It took us 12 months to set up the sting! Men put their lives on the line for it.” “They are still learning,” Bruce excused. Barbara stood up and began to pace. “Eliana I can forgive, but the boy I can’t. He’s a hothead. I’ve been doing some checking on him.”

“I know about his record,” Bruce interrupted. Barbara turned to him, crossing her arms, “3 months at juvie. Another mistake, I suppose. He seems to make a lot of them.” She got up into Bruce’s face, “Just make sure this one was his last.”

Before she left, Barbara had one last parting sentiment. “Eliana’s close with the boy, and I know they're involved. Youthful love and idolization can cloud judgment, believe me, I know, so just make sure he doesn’t drag her down with him.”

~8~

The next night, a benefit dinner was being held for the reelection of District Attorney Sam Young. Barbara was among the many who spoke in Sam’s favor. 

“In the last four years, under my husband's leadership, the DA’s office has put nine organized crime chiefs behind bars, initiated a no-tolerance policy on unregistered guns, and reduced the plea bargain ratio of violent offenders, keeping them off the streets and in prison, where they belong.”

Barbara paused, patiently allowing the audience to applaud before continuing. “But he needs your help if he's going to continue to serve the needs of this city.”

“Serve the needs of the special-interest, fat cats, you mean!”

Everyone looked up to the chandelier to see Mad Stan. He swung down in front of Barbara and pinned her against the wall. Anyone who tried to help her was punched away. “The whole political system is corrupt!” Mad Stan exclaimed, pushing a detonator which set off explosions at every exit. 

“Money. That’s what it’s all about, man. Well, I’m gonna stop it. Take out all the big money in one last big blast!” Behind her back, Barbara pushed her emergency pager. Mad Stan noticed and lifted her arm. “Go ahead, Commissioner, make your call. I’ve wired the whole ballroom. No one gets out!”

Mad Stan went to push another detonator when a batarang hit it, which sent out an electric current. Mad Stan gritted his teeth as he was electrocuted. Eventually, Stan ripped the batarang out and tossed it away.

Batman and Nightwing made themselves known and blasted towards the terrorist. “You fried it!” Mad Stan shouted furiously before the heroes flew into him. They crashed into a wall, and the duo struggled to subdue the man. Mad Stan activated the back of his vest and sent Batman and Nightwing crashing into a table. 

“My vest protects me. Just like your suits!” Stan threw three more bombs, and the heroes were once again launched into the air, colliding into the stage. “Maybe better,” Mad Stan laughed maniacally.

“Thanks for giving us a tip!” Nightwing quipped, jumping onto Stan and ripping his vest off. Stand activated his vest, which forced Nightwing to throw it away from the panicking crowd.

“You’re all infected with the disease of bureaucracy, but I know the cure, man. All of you must be destroyed. All of you!” Mad Stan screamed, wiping out his dual pistols. “Not if we have anything to say about it!” Batman rebutted. He shot out two batarangs that destroyed the guns.

The brutal fight led all the way to the upstairs parking garage. Barbara followed with her gun drawn. She entered the parking garage in time to see the heroes knocked Stan away from the bomb he planted into the ground. Nightwing quickly disarmed the weapon as Mad Stan addressed her partner. 

“Go ahead. Take me in. You know I’ll get out. And when I do, I’ll finish this job once and for all!”

“You’re right, and I can’t let that happen,” Batman said darkly. Barbara froze and watched in shock as Batman ripped the disarmed bomb out of the ground and started beating Mad Stan with it. 

She pointed her gun at the vigilante. “Drop it! Drop it!” When Batman didn’t comply, she sent a warning shot at his feet, making him drop the bomb.

A pair of officers arriving at the scene caused enough distraction for Batman and Nightwing to flee. Barbara ran to the ledge of the building, grimly watching the heroes fly away. She turned and walked back over to the unconscious Mad Stan. Well, she prayed the terrorist was merely knocked out. “Is he….”

“Dead,” an officer reported. Barbara shut her eyes, there was no disputing the evidence, and her hands were tied. Terry Mcginnis would be charged with the murder of Mad Stan and Eliana Grayson would be charged as an accomplice to the crime because knowing the girl, she'll protect her boyfriend with all her might.

Barbara had no choice but to put out an arrest for the teens, even if she had a personal connection to one.

~8~

Terry sighed in relief when the elevator reached his apartment floor. Hos run in with Stan left him feeling beyond worn out. All he wanted was to crash onto his bed and embrace the sweet relief of slumber. But as he stepped off the elevator, he heard his mother’s voice around the corner. 

“I told you, he’s not here!”

Terry pressed himself agnid the wall and cautiously craned his neck around the corner. He froze seeing officers in front of his home.

“Do you mind if we search for him?” “As a matter of fact, I do. Is he in some kind of trouble?” Mary asked. “Look, all I know is the Commissioner wants him brought in for questioning. If you see him, let us know,” an officer informed.

Terry quickly ran back to the elevator. He wasn’t sure why the Commissioner was out for him, but he was definitely not about to turn himself in. His best chance was to find a safe place to lay low and then get in contact with Eliana and Bruce to figure out what was going on.

As soon as he made it back on the ground level, Terry dashed away from his building. His heart was racing, and his mind swarmed with thoughts. He was so distracted that he didn’t notice a hand reaching out until it plucked him into a dark alley. 

Terry panicked and was about to become defensive until he heard a familiar voice. “Terry, it’s me,” Eliana assured hastily. “Eliana, thank God, there were police waiting for me at home,” Terry rushed out.

Eliana nodded grimly, “Same at the manor. I got out as quickly as I could.”

Terry’s eyes widened at his girlfriend’s news. “Ellie, what’s going on?”

Eliana shrugged cluelessly, “I don’t know, but listen, we can’t stay here.”

“Yeah, I was thinking of hiding out at Max’s,” Terry said, but Eliana shook her head in disagreement, “And drag her into whatever this is? It’s too dangerous.”

“What about the Batcave?”

Eliana shot down the idea as soon as it left her boyfriend’s mouth.  While she doubted Barbara would expose the Batcave and subsequently Bruce’s identity as Batman, she knew the woman would be searching the location personally. They couldn’t take the risk.

Eliana thought pensively for a moment. She knew just the place. Running to her motorcycle, she tossed Terry a spare helmet. Terry caught it with ease. “Where are we going?” He asked, getting on the bike and wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“Blüdhaven.”

~8~

With no sign of the teens, Barbara went to confront the only person who’d be aware of their whereabouts. Barbara walked down the Batcaves steps, making Ace perk up and growl. Bruce gave the dog a pet to calm him down.

“Where are they, Bruce? Where are Eliana and Mcginnis?” Barbara interrogated. “Not here.” Truthfully, Bruce had no clue where the teens were. But he trusted Eliana would find a safe place to hide out and make contact with him.

“When they come, you have to turn them over.” “If you take them, you’ll expose their secret. And mine. And yours,” Bruce said, hoping the light use of blackmail would make Barbara back down.

“What other choice do I have? Do we have? Believe me, I’m acutely aware of the ramifications. I have a husband running for re-election. How long do you think that’ll last when this hits the Web?”  

Barbara started making her way back up the cave's steps. “No one can protect us this time, Bruce. He went too far, and just as I feared, he brought Eliana down with him.”

Bruce tried one last tactic.

"And what about Eliana? I thought you cared about her. Are you really going to arrest Dick's daughter?

Barbara paused but didn't turn to face him. "That's why I'm doing this. But she's made her choice, Bruce, and now I must make mine."

~8~

To say Terry was confused would be an understatement. Eliana had taken them to what seemed to be an ordinary house. “It’s a safe house, only Bruce and I know about it. We should be safe here,” Eliana assured, typing in the passcode to open the front door. 

Eliana pulled out a burner phone from a secret compartment drawer in the living room while Terry studied the home. He walked over to a wall with framed photos of a family of three. But what startled him was that he recognized the people in the photos, especially the little girl. The realization of where they were was like a punch to Terry’s stomach.

They were at Grayson's old home. Also known as the place his girlfriend watched her parents get murdered right in front of her eyes as a child.

Eliana came up beside Terry and stared at the photos in melancholy. “After my parents passed, Bruce was kind enough to buy our house, so it’d always stay in the family. We came up with the idea that it should be used as a safe house in case the cave got compromised.”

Terry grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze, “Are you okay, being here? I know it can’t be easy,” he asked softly. He barely could bring himself to step foot into his dad’s house to clean it out after his murder.

Eliana gave him a small smile and reached up to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll be fine, now let’s call Bruce.”

Thankfully, the old man picked up right away, no doubt expecting them to call. “Terry, Eliana?” “Bruce, you gotta help us. The cops are after us, and we have no idea why,” Terry responded.

“Did you think you could get away with killing Mad Stan?” 

Terry and Eliana looked at each other in absolute shock, both exclaiming, “Killing!?” Eliana recovered first, “What do you mean?”

“Barbara was an eyewitness. She saw everything.” Terry flung his hands up, “All I did was hit him with my elbow. He was knocked out, not dead!”

“She wouldn’t lie.”

“And Terry would?” Eliana rebutted harshly.

“Where are you two?”

“Blüdhaven,” Eliana answered quietly. Judging from Bruce’s silence, he knew exactly what she meant. “Stay there,” he stated before hanging up. Eliana sat on the couch, watching her boyfriend pace around the room anxiously. 

“I couldn’t have killed him with the hit, right? It wasn’t a hard hit unless…maybe it was.” Eventually, Eliana grew tired of Terry’s fretting and got up to comfort him. She pulled him into a warm hug. “You didn’t kill him, babe, despite whatever Barbara saw. I was there as well, Stan was alive. You know Bruce, he’ll find something. Everything will be okay.” 

Terry sighed and nuzzled into her neck. A vibrating sound was heard, and the couple looked over at the phone. They answered it. “So?” Terry asked.

“I checked the hotel security tapes. There was some kind of electronic interference, and I couldn’t see anything.”

Eliana shut her eyes. Not the news they were hoping for. “Bruce you gotta believe me,” Terry pleaded. “I do. It’s too coincidental. There’s something else going on here.”

Eliana spoke up, “So what do we do?”

“I’m trying to enhance the video. It’s going to take a while. In the meantime, I think we should pay Mad Stan a visit.”

Perhaps examining Stan’s corpse would give them an explanation as to how he died. They suited up, but just before they left, Eliana had one last phone call to make.

~8~

Looking out her office window, Barbara didn’t jump when the phone rang. She answered.

“Commissioner Gordon.”

Having assumed it would be one of her officers updating her on search, she was completely surprised to hear Eliana’s voice.

“Quite the manhunt you have going on.”

“Eliana! Your partner has blood on his hands, and you protecting him isn’t doing you any favors."

“He didn’t do it.”

Barbara sighed, “I can’t disregard what I saw. Listen, I know you care for the boy, but for your own sake I’m asking you to turn him in. Do the right thing, Eliana.”

There was a moment of silence.

“My father always told me to follow my heart, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Eliana-” Barbara tried to answer but was cut off when the line went dead. “Stubborn, just like her father,” she mused. She hoped Eliana knew what she was doing. 

~8~

Crawling through the vents, Batman and Nightwing were able to break into the morgue successfully. “We’re in,” Nightwing reported. “Good. Now find room B-15.” The heroes made their way through the halls to section B-15. The door to the room was locked, so Batman placed an automatic lock picker device, which unlocked it.

A shiver ran down Batman’s spine as he looked around. Knowing they were surrounded by a dozen corpses made the room feel creepy to be in. “So, where does Mad Stan, um, reside?” “Police files say row double-J, number six.”

Once they located Stan’s chamber, the screen on it stated that the autopsy for Stan was pending. “They haven’t done an autopsy yet,” Batman informed. “Good. We can do our own,” Bruce commented. “Hey, I had trouble with the frog in bio lab.” Batman really did not want to interact with a deceased body. “Don’t worry, an electronic scan should tell us what we need to know,” Nightwing assured.

But when they pulled open the chamber Stan’s body was gone. “It’s gone. Somebody must’ve taken the body first.” “Or maybe it was never there to begin with.”

A rattling sound echoed in the room. “Hold on, B,” Nightwing said as she and Batman walked away from Stan’s chamber. Each armed with a batarang, the duo searched the room for the cause of the sound. They saw a skeleton prop dangling from its stand and chalked it up to the AC, blowing it around.

What they didn’t see was the alarm switch lifting up on its own. The emergency alert sounded, and the morgue flashed in red. “We must've tripped something!” Batman shouted. The heroes ran out of the room and escaped back through the ventilation onto the roof. 

Suddenly a aircrafts light’s landed right on them. “Stay where you are!” They tried running in a different direction, but another spotlight hit them. They were surrounded by aircraft. “Stay right there!”

Officers climbed onto the roof and were closing in around the heroes. The Commissioner's voice was heard from one of the copter’s. “You’re surrounded. There’s no escape. You might as well surrender!”

“Sorry, not in our vocabulary!” Batman shouted back. He and Nightwing threw down a smoke pellet to cover themselves, but one aircraft opened its large fan and cleared the smoke away. 

“Oh we’re fragged,” Nightwing mumbled.

They decided to make a run for it despite the odds, making it to the edge of the building. Just as they were about to jump, Batman cried out when he was shot by a laser. He began to free fall with Nightwing right above him. He landed onto an aircraft and a net shot out, trapping him.

When the aircraft landed, Barbara was waiting. Her eyes narrowed when one of her officers reported Batman was gone. “Give me a UV sweep, now!” She commanded. She knew the heroes couldn’t be far away. Their suits were highly advanced, much more upgraded compared to hers, and she had been studying the new features that came with them.

As expected, the UV sweep revealed Batman and Nightwing attempting to hijack an aircraft. “There they are! Stop them!” Barbara watched the vigilantes successfully fly away and spoke into her radio. “Satcom recon, I need a trace on car 29-Abel, right now.”

“What now?” Batman questioned as he piloted away from the police. “Dump the vehicle as fast as you can. They’ll have a tracer on it. You should be flying above Old Town right now. There’s an underground tunnel behind the old Majestic theater. Find it and link up with me when you get there.”

Abandoning the aircraft, Batman and Nightwing flew down to the old theater, landing right inside an open hatch. They just made it outside when Barbara and a bunch of officers appeared around the corner.

Nightwing would’ve facepalmed if the situation were less severe. Of course, Barbara knew the tunnel. She used them back when she was a hero herself!

Barbara smirked, “What took you so long?” The heroes looked behind them only to see police officers appear. Once again, they were surrounded. Batman shot out a batarang, which ricocheted off a garage door, hitting the weapons out of Barbara and the officer's hands.

While they were disarmed and distracted, the heroes ran back into the theater.

~8~

In the Batcave, Ace perked up and walked over to the computer as it flashed. 

DATA RECLAMATION COMPLETED

“Good, now we’ll see what really happened,” Bruce commented. “Play sequence.” The footage confirmed Terry's version of the event. Bruce rubbed his chin pensively, “Why would Barbara see something different? Play again.”

Suddenly, an anomaly caught the old man’s eye. “Freeze frame.” There was something behind Terry and Eliana in the footage. “Enlarged.” There was a shadowy figure lurking in the background. “Enhance.”

Making it onto the roof once again, Batman and Nightwing ran to the ledge where a spotlight shined on them. On the ground in front of the building were police aircraft and dozens of armed officers. They didn’t hesitate to start firing, and one of the shots hit the ledge, sending the heroes to fall down onto the theater's marquee. 

Firing with the rest of her squad, Barbara paused when a call came through her earpiece. “Yes?” “It’s me,” Bruce said. Barbara frowned, “You’re not authorized to use this frequency. Get off it now!” “Barbara, you have to listen to me-” Barbara cut him off sharply, “Wrong. Those days are long gone, Bruce.”

Nightwing threw a batarang, which smashed the spotlight. Their defense was very limited given how they were stuck taking cover from the multitude of rapid shots coming at them. “Terry, Eliana.” “A little busy right now, B,” Nightwing huffed. “Put your visors through a frequency scan,” Bruce instructed.

“Why?” Batman asked. “Because I know who’s behind all this. And I'm betting he’s there right now, hiding behind an illusion.” Following Bruce’s orders, the duo activated their visors and scanned the crowd of police. 

Standing right next to an unknowing Barbara was Spellbinder, who was holding a crystal ball whose purpose was no doubt to uphold the illusion that he was not there. “Spellbinder,” Batman muttered. Nightwing scoffed, “Of course.” 

The duo walked out into the police’s view with their hands up in surrender. Barbara instructed her officers to hold their fire. “This better not be a trick,” she shouted.

“Sorry,” Nightwing responded evenly, pulling out a batarang. Barbara gasped in shock as the batarang seemed to be directed towards her. She ducked, and a bright light flashed where the batarang hit.

Spellbinder was revealed holding his broken crystal ball. Barbara’s eyes widened at seeing the villain. Spellbinder raised the broken ball above his head and was about to hit the Commissioner with it but was stopped by Batman and Nightwing. The heroes smashed the villain into a pile of garbage cans and held him there.

“Didn’t know you had a shadow, did you, Commissioner?” Nightwing said tersely, glaring at Spellbinder. Barbara was floored, “Spellbinder?” Keeping the villain secured the duo walked over to the stunned Commissioner.

“He was there at the garage with us. He used his powers to create an illusion,” Batman informed. Barbara pieced things together. “That’s why I saw you kill Mad Stan.”

As Spellbinder was traded into the hold of officers, the heroes moved closer to Barbara. “But I didn’t. I wouldn’t,” Batman preached strongly. “You were so ready to believe the worst. It was easy,” Spellbinder taunted.

“Lock him up,” Barbara ordered. She turned to Batman, “Sorry, kid, I guess I blew it,” she apologized. Batman tipped his head, smiling, “I’ve been there,” he said before blasting away. Barbara was left with Nightwing, who only gave her a blank look. 

Barbara wanted to look away from the young girl she knew was behind the mask. She already felt like a fool. Taking a deep breath, Barbara spoke up. “I’m sorry, I should’ve listened to you and Batman, but I let my personal feelings get in the way instead of giving you both a chance to explain things.”

“If Batman can forgive you, then so can I. But let’s make one thing clear, Commissioner. We want to trust you, but if you can’t put aside personal opinions, especially ones harbored against my partner, then you will not have that trust. There’s no one who cares about this city and the people in it more than Batman, and it’s time you start giving him the respect he deserves.  Understood?”

Barbara nodded solemnly, “You have my word, things will be different.” “I hope so,” Nightwing said, then blasted up into the sky. 

Barbara watched the hero leave with the knowledge that she had amends to make.

~8~

“So the Commissioner calls her personally and says she just wanted to award me with a student service medal. So now, I’m in like a schway city with my mom. She’s even taking me out to celebrate!” Terry excitedly told Bruce over the phone. “That’s nice.” 

“You know, this could have been a bad scene. If you hadn’t believed in me…” Of course, Bruce wasn’t one for sentimentals, “Old news. By the way, have you heard about your so-called victim?”

Eliana had told him. Apparently, Mad Stan was found alive in one of Spellbinder’s illicit fantasy pods. Terry could imagine the villain fantasizing about blowing up the White House or City Hall.

He talked with Bruce a couple more minutes before hanging up. Eliana walked into the room, fixing her earrings.

“Ready to go, babe?” She asked, coming up to his side and placing a kiss on his cheek. Terry smiled and gestured to his tie. “Almost, I was gonna call my mom to help me with my tie. I can never get it to look properly.”

Eliana turned him to face her and started tying his tie. “Well, one of the many things about living with Bruce Wayne is that you become a master at ties due to all the events he has to show up to. There, that should do it.”

Terry looked into the mirror, admiring his girlfriend's handiwork. “Woah, you are a master, thanks.” Eliana smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind, looking at their reflection in the mirror.

“I want you to enjoy yourself tonight. You deserve the world, Terry Mcginnis, and I am so proud of you.” 

Terry turned himself around to face her. “There’s one thing I know I don’t deserve.” “What’s that?” Terry leaned in closer, “You,” he said before smashing his lips onto hers.