Justice League And The Hounds Of Hell

Chapter 29: The Beast that's Tamed

I sat on the edge of Wayne Tower above the city, listening to the symphony of sirens and engines, breathing in the smell of smog, and watching the glittering lights rise from the ground and turn the night sky orange. From this height, I could make out the black abyss that made up the sea surrounding this beautiful mess of an island that I called home. 

The radio in my cowl beeped. "Batgirl?" 

"Robin?" I grinned. 

I could hear the smile in his voice as well. "Just want to report that the last of Ronny's animals have been shipped out. I double verified that they'll all be heading to good sanctuaries and wildlife centers." 

"Thank you. I have my debrief with Commissioner Gordon soon. I'll rendezvous with you and the Titans later." 

"Copy that."

With the grappler gun tight in one hand, I dropped from my perch above the city. The hook grabbed the ledge of the building and kept me from falling to the floor. I swung a few degrees south, then unclasped the hook and aimed for another building. My stomach lurched as I freefell for a moment, then the hook grabbed again and I traveled forward. I landed on top of the GCPD precinct a few minutes later. James Gordon was already waiting for me. Instead of sneaking up behind him, like Batman tended to do, I let him see me coming and landed just in front of him. 

"I thought this might interest you." I handed him a file. "The man responsible for the circus last week is the same man that obliterated this department's canine unit." 

Gordon adjusted his glasses and skimmed through the papers. "You found the dogs we lost." 

I had given him the information for four out of the five pups that were still alive.  

"I can't speak on the state of their health. I uncovered 3 of them under the care of one of Ronny Boxer's associates. It appears they were being used as guard dogs. I had them relocated to a shelter. The last one appears to be living as a pet, I included the address. You can go see them for yourself and decide what to do with them." 

He shrugged. "The last one is Ace. I went to the shelter to claim him weeks ago, but he was too vicious to work with. If the Wayne family adopted him, good on them. I won't take that away from them, the animal has been through enough." 

I was relieved to hear that, but I didn't let it show. 

He sighed. "I'll go check on these three: Echo, Sage, and Dot. Hopefully they're in better condition. God knows this department could use them. Thank you for this." 

When he looked up I was gone. I was meeting with the Teen Titans in the Old Gotham Batcave, beneath the street across from Wayne Tower. They were lounging at a table, sipping on soda and snacking on crackers when I arrived. I pulled out a chair for myself and straddled it. I declined a soda that Menos offered, the sugar content was too much for me, and rested my elbows against the back of the chair. 

The Titans had been left in charge of following up Ronny's associates and dismantling his web of businesses and connections. Word about the port being blown up had traveled fast, so most of his connects had deserted when they followed up. Any animals that were uncovered were turned over to Robin, who worked to relocate them to proper places. Meanwhile, Batman recovered the patented vial, and turned it in to STAR labs so they could refine the recipe and make it less dangerous. 

"How's he doing?" I asked Conner. 

The corner of his lip twitched in a half smile. "Very well. Kara and I decided to name him Krypto." 

I had left the whereabouts of the white dog a mystery to the GCPD. They'd write him off as dead with the rest of the dogs they'd lost two years ago. Conner had bonded with the dog quite well, and took him to Smallville, where he adjusted to farm life amazingly. In fact, Krypto proved to be much sweeter and obedient in temperament than Ace ever was. He probably would have made a fine addition to the GCPD, but somehow, I felt he'd serve much better at the side of Conner, Kara, and even Clark. 

Robin leaned against the table. I took a moment to admire his forearms. "I forgot to mention, there are two hyenas still unaccounted for."

Cyborg frowned. "They'll have to turn up at some point, right? Hyenas and cities don't mix." 

"Tal vez el caiman los como." Menos nodded with certainty. 

Mas agreed with an excited grin. "Era enorme!" He spread his arms wide. 

"It's possible." I agreed, "but there aren't any reports of them being near the water, and they ran from the harbor long before the alligator ever got into the sea." 

"No reports of them in the city while the other animals were stampeding through either." Robin rubbed his chin. 

"We'll keep look out. Cyborg is right, they'll have to turn up eventually." I wanted to be done with this case. It had turned out to be much bigger and much messier than I ever imagined. The follow-up was tedious work. I not only had to clean up my mess, but it also felt as though I were cleaning after Ronny, too. Picking up all the broken pieces and crumbs he'd left along his criminal journey. 

I looked around. Mas y Menos were chugging their third can of soda and competed over who could burp the loudest. Cyborg watched them with a grin, the red light in his eye glinted and scanned them. Miss Martian leaned against Superboy, while he crossed his arms over his chest and pretended not to care. His feet were pointed towards her, a tell-all sign that she was where his all his interest lied in that room. Tim propped his elbow against the table and rest his chin against his fist. 

I'm so lucky I'm not alone. 

We concluded our meeting when it was confirmed that Ronny's associates had been flushed out, and most of the animals had been rescued. Jezebel closed her non-profit and left the country for a mission with the Peace Corps. Miss Martian had followed up on Olivia, who was now living in a women's shelter in Metropolis and taking classes at the city college. 

I yawned quite loud as they returned to the Titan Tower, which prompted Tim to nudge me with his shoulder. "Want to go find a petty theft to stop? Maybe locate a missing cat or something?" 

I really wanted to sleep, but he seemed to be full of energy, and I wanted more to be wherever he was. "Let's go to Somerset? There's always something shady going on there." 

We hopped into the Redbird and weaved through the streets. As expected, Somerset had no shortage of bullets and criminals. At 3 AM we called it a night. I was back in my family estate closer to 4AM. Ace was waiting for me at the door. He glanced behind me for Batman and there seemed to be a flash of disappointment in his eyes when he didn't spot him. I patted him on the head anyway and invited him up to bed. 

Ace pretended not to hear me and laid by the grandfather clock, listening for the rumble of the batmobile. 

Suit yourself, I thought.

Bruce returned to the manor not long after I did. I heard his steps coming down the hall. I had my eyes closed but I wasn't asleep yet, just relaxing and feeling an odd sense of peace. The door opened a bit. I wonder if it's a common practice of his to check in on me when he gets back? I'm usually deep asleep when he comes home. 

"Stay." He whispered. 

Ace hopped onto the foot of my bed and made himself comfortable. 

"Good boy." Bruce whispered. Then the door was very softly closed. 

I dream about my mother that night. She was smiling.