I knew Batman

Chapter 7 - Fire

I tried to sleep for a few hours. I didn't have much time to look at Fries's files because my next shift started in the evening and I also wanted to visit my brother in the hospital. I started to feel the sleep deprivation. I was in desperate need of a good night's sleep. But that could wait. Night's shift comes first.

My brother was in good shape when I visited him in his hospital room. He was after his surgery and all went well. He was in a good mood. He couldn't stop talking about Batman.

"He was amazing, right? I mean the way he could fight! I wish I could be half as good as him... You know, you became quite popular too at the police station, the guys are calling you the "Fearless Lady".

I had to laugh. The "Fearless Lady". What a joke.

"I was hardly fearless, more like scared to death." We both were laughing. I was relieved to see him in such a good mood. I was genuinely afraid for our lives yesterday. And we had been through some rough paths in recent years when our parents died. Thus joyful moments were not so ordinary in our lives nowadays.

"Sis, you know, you looked like in there, like you knew Batman."

"C'mon, how could I know him?" I answered but had to look away. I thought: I wasn't lying after all, I don't know his name. My thoughts wandered. But does a name matter? I know that he wants to save Gotham and that is enough.

"If you say so, sis." It seemed that he believed me.

I was hoping for a quiet night, after all the excitement yesterday. But I was mistaken. I was so very mistaken...

When I was heading back to the emergency department, my secured phone rang in my pocket.

"You have to evacuate the hospital." I heard Batman's voice. "NOW!"

"What?" I was shocked.

"You don't have much time! Fries escaped custody and is heading to your department to get his wife. He has explosives. Gordon is on his way with the police." He hung up.

I looked around. Everyone was running their daily tasks not knowing that a life-threatening crazy criminal is on his way...

I run back to my brother and convinced him to grab his clutches and leave the building right away. I probably looked so scared that he was listening to me instantly.

I run to the department and hit the emergency button at the nurses' desk. The alarm started to ring. I shouted, "Emergency protocol, evacuation." Everyone, patients, doctors, and nurses looked at me like I was crazy. Seemingly there was no reason to evacuate.

"It is a drill, right?" Someone was asking.

" NO!" People were hesitating to follow protocol but luckily Gordon rushed through the door with his police badge and some other officer.

"Everyone, out, now!" He shouted. "A dangerous criminal is in the building."

And then the chaos started.

An explosion shook the building and the main power went out. Emergency generators turned on but most of the lights were out. Smoke came from the back of the corridor. People started to scream, to panic. Luckily, some people could keep their cool and started to evacuate people, pushing patients with gurneys outside. Gordon organised paramedics from other hospitals to come and take our patients. They were waiting outside. When I made sure that the evacuation of my patients went smoothly, I run to the back of the corridor. I knew that Fries' wife is in one of the rooms there.

The corridor was full of smoke. I had to cover my face. People were running around evacuating patients. I entered the room where the tank of Fries' wife was held. There was a huge hole blown in the wall, you could see the street through it. Fries was in the hole with his ice-blaster pointing at Batman who stood right beside the tank.