System Reboot || DC

Chapter Nineteen

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Up In Flames

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The BatMobile was stagnant with tension. Bruce, aka BatMan, had his foot on the accelerator and was picking up speed with each second. Beside him, Jason took deep, slow breaths, steadying his mind as he held back the tears threatening to fall.

In the back seat, Tim's jaw was locked tightly as his knee bounced anxiously. Beside him, Damian twisted a kunai between his fingers. Absentmindedly, the younger let his finger slide against the sharp blade. Blood quickly swelled to the surface and dripped onto the car floor.

Tim noticed and reached out, trying to remove the weapon from his brother's grip. Damian held it tighter, using the pain as an anchor. Without it, he'd probably lose his sense of reason and destroy everything in sight.

He called her names, acted cold and brash, and talked down to her. Damian felt guilty for all the small and insignificant things he did to her. Though they never hurt Jocelyn—in fact, they humored her—he still felt shame for his childish arrogance.

Damian eventually relinquished control when they parked in the back alley of the neighboring apartment building. Dick simultaneously pulled up beside them on his motorbike. All five men blended into the crowded streets. In the haste of getting there quickly, they opted to wear dark, baggy, unidentifiable clothing with face masks.

On-lookers and residents of the apartment building stared up in a daze. It wasn't the first time they had seen a burning building. Even though it's a nicer part of the city, where crime is more of a fortnightly occurrence, it is still Gotham.

And anything can happen in Gotham.

It was like the heavens were reaching down to swallow the building. A grey cloud of ash and smoke clouded the top five floors. From within the smog came dancing figures of blazing fire. The loud crackle was more of a cackle of laughter, mocking the group of men below.

It had been less than twenty minutes and yet so much was already in a smoky blaze.

They marched forward, all five heading to the backside of the building, hoping to climb up in discretion. Tim moved away in stumbling haste after spotting someone from among the crowd. He recognized the height and build, the clothes, and the mannerisms. He also recognized the person dragging them away.

Damian noticed his hesitance and grabbed his shoulder. Instead of yelling at him or shaking him back to reality, he grabbed his arm and looked Tim in the eye. He saw the direction, followed the line of scorn, and spotted the fleeing targets.

"Don't just stand there, fucking chase the bastards," Damian hissed and stormed forward. Soon, the team was split into two. The youngest two left in a foot chase while the others quickly scaled the building and disappeared into the smoke.

The smoke was thick, and the masks they wore did little to act as a barrier. Jason was quick to use a watering can to smash the glass door. They cleared away the glass and crept inside, low to the ground where the smoke was thinner. It was hot, really hot, but luckily the flames were more towards the front of the apartment.

From a few feet away, they could hear coughing. A sign of life. It took a while to find them as visibility was shit and it hurt to keep their eyes open for long. A low rasp called out for help, and all they had to do was follow the blood.