Detective | ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴍᴀɴ

𝒔 𝒆 𝒗 𝒆 𝒏 𝒕 𝒆 𝒆 𝒏

Night had finally fallen, allowing Bruce to come out of the shadows. It had been an excruciating five hours for the two people left inside the church. Once Martha caught a whiff of what was going on, she couldn't believe her ears. Her daughter, her last baby, was trapped inside a church, next to a bomb threat, with no protection, on account that Mr. Darkness would show up and save her.

She was going to raise hell.

"Where the hell is she?" Martha's voice boomed as she stepped out of the still in motion car.

"Martha!" Jonathan shouted from the driver's side.

Jim spun around upon hearing Martha's tone; He and the chief shared a knowing look. They didn't call her Martha the hellhound Kent for no reason. Given the circumstances, she was feisty, strong-willed, and could let her passive aggression shine through. Those three things were not needed at the moment. "Where the hell is my baby, Jim." She growled.

"She's still inside the church."

"Well, then I'm going in there with her." She tried to march forward until Jonathan grabbed her by her shoulders, Jim doing the same. "Get your damn hands off me!"

"Martha, we send anyone inside; Colson gets blown up, taking Jess with him." Jim raised the card Jess gave him before she kicked them all out. "The ball is in Riddler's court right now."

A deep glare formed over Martha's eyes; it was from the very pits of hell where Jim could see Satan on his crossbones throne where he looked scared himself. "If this goes south, you better hope I don't lose my baby." She warned angrily. "This whole city better be ready for the second coming of Christ cause god help you all if I do."

Jess kicked off her high heels inside the church with a slight grunt. The blister that formed hours earlier had finally popped, sending blood dripping onto the floor. Colson watched her, as did the robot they sent in an hour after the chaos started. The heavy footsteps thumped against the church's floor when she heard it. It sent shivers up Jess's spine at seeing him emerge from the shadows.

The first-person Bruce made eye contact with was Jess's tired eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked gruffly.

"Ask me that when we get out of here." She grumbled.

Bruce turned his attention to Colson. "You didn't take the tape off his mouth?"

"I did, he started screaming, and the bomb on his neck started beeping, so I put it back on." She stood up from her spot. Bruce reached towards the envelope first, ripping it off in one quick swoop, followed by the tape on his mouth.

The ringing of the phone continued amid Colson's loud gasp of air. "Please!" He spoke. "He made me do it. I'm so sorry." He cried. "He told me if I didn't do exactly what he said, he was gonna kill me."

Jess stood beside Bruce as she placed a hand over Colson's free hand to help calm him down. "I know you're scared, but I need you to calm down."

"It looks like a combination lock." Bruce jumped in, not helping the situation at all.