“Alright, what’s missing?” Batman asked, walking through the various shelves of junk scattered about the R&D storage warehouse.
“A Fire Launching Automatically Motorized Engine. A F.L.A.M.E.” Lucius Fox explained.
“Someone in the R&D really wanted an acronym to go with this thingy-ma-jig,” Penguin quipped.
“Yes they did,” Lucius agreed.
“So, is this F.L.A.M.E. a flamethrower?” Batman asked. Lucius nodded, and showed Batman a folder packed with schematics for how the flamethrower worked. The F.L.A.M.E. was a spherical weapon that was bound to the user’s arm with metal bands. There was a cable that ran from the back of the main gun to a metal pack on the user’s back.
“What’s the pack for?” Penguin asked, peering over Batman’s shoulder.
“To give the needed flammable gas to the gun. It works like hair spray and a match. At the end of the cable, there’s a sparker. There’s a more technical term, but we just call it a sparker. Once the sparker ignites the gas, the F.L.A.M.E. expels the inferno. Also, there was a prototype version of the F.L.A.M.E. where the pack doubled as a jetpack.”
“And then what’s this?” Batman asked, pointing to another illustration. In the new illustration, the user was covered in a flexible black suit, with red eyepieces.
“That’s the Firefly suit. The suit is made out of Kevlar and coated nylon. Fire and bulletproof. It was meant for men and women in the military.”
“So why wasn’t it ever used?” Batman asked.
“There was a flaw. The cable didn’t effectively cut off the gas tank from the sparker. Which meant…”
“The sparker could cause the entire thing to blow,” Batman finished.
“And without an effective F.L.A.M.E., the rest of the suit was useless,” Lucius said.
“Alright. Is the suit missing as well?” Batman asked.
“I guess I’m not sure. I came straight to the weapons department when I got the alert. We should probably check for the suit.”
“I second that,” Penguin nodded.
“Take us, Lucius,” Batman ordered.
Lucius led them to a different part of the warehouse, and they saw a bare mannequin.
“That’s not good,” Penguin observed.
“With the F.L.A.M.E. paired with the Firefly suit, the user could wreak havoc on Gotham,” Lucius said.
“Or maybe he’s not a bad guy,” Penguin said, “I mean, he probably is, breaking in and all. But what if he’s trying to be a vigilante like Batman and I. I might’ve inspired him.”
“Congrats,” Lucius mused, “You inspired a criminal.”
“The thief has criminal intent. Lucius, who knows how to get in here?”
“Well, you run the company. You should know this. But if you’ve forgotten, the only ones with access to the warehouse are you, me, a few other board members, and select employees from R&D.”
“Penny-One, pull up the files of R&D employees who were laid off,” Batman instructed through his earpiece.
“On it, sir,” Penny-One, or Alfred, replied through the comms.
“Good guess,” Lucius said, “That was my assumption as well.”
“I’m transferring the files to you,” Penny-One said.
Suddenly, the eyepieces Batman looked through illuminated. They became blue little screens. On the screens were names in tiny print. Batman used a small trackpad on the side of his cowl to select one of the names. Robert Langstrom. He had access to the warehouse. But he had accepted his firing gracefully. Perhaps it had been an act, but Batman had to check through more files. After sorting through many names, Batman reached Dominique Sanchez. The name rang a bell. He had been outraged when he got the news from Lucius. He trashed the room he was in. Batman had his prime suspect. He scrolled through Dominique’s personal information, and found his address.
“Thank you Lucius. Penguin, we have our suspect. We’re going to 6714 Schimdt Street.”
Batman and Penguin took off, and hopped into the Batmobile. Then they sped off.
Lucius took out his phone, and called his son, Luke.
“Dad, what is it?” Luke yawned through the phone.
“Luke, you might be in danger,” Lucius said.
“What do you mean?”
“One of the employees I had to fire broke in and stole some dangerous tech. He might be after you.”
“Should I suit up?” Luke asked.
“You know how I feel about you suiting up. Batgirl is a perfect example of what happens when you do.”
“But if I don’t, I could die,” Luke countered.
Lucius sighed.
“Do it. Suit up.”
Batman and Penguin arrived at Dominique’s house, and crept towards his house. The lights were on. But it was late. Batman looked through the window, and saw a tall man stroking a little girl’s hair. The man was Hispanic, and had buzz cut black hair. Dominique. The girl was also Hispanic, and had long, black hair. They were talking. Batman turned up his earpiece so that he could hear.
“Papa, where were you? I couldn’t sleep,” the girl complained.
“I had to go to work,” Dominique sighed.
“You have to stay late?” the girl asked, “Why?”
“No reason. I just thought I’d stay late tonight. Go back to sleep Rosa,” Dominique said.
The girl, Rosa, got up, and walked away from the table. Dominique walked out of the room as well. Then, the front door opened. Batman and Penguin ducked away, praying they wouldn’t be seen. But Dominique spotted the Batmobile. He rushed to his car, and yanked out the black Firefly suit. The back was open, so he slipped right in. The suit then was pulled closed as if by magic. He put on the F.L.A.M.E. pack, and hooked the sparker to his arm.
“Alright, Batman,” Dominique growled, “Come out.”
Batman slowly drew out a Batarang. Then, he flung it at the sparker. Dominique whipped around, and blasted the Batarang. It immediately melted.
“Run!” Batman ordered. He and Penguin sprang out of the bushes, and rushed towards the Batmobile. Dominique spewed flames at them, but Batman protected Penguin with his cape. But the flames were burning through even Batman’s cape. They both dove into the Batmobile, and veered around to face Dominique. Batman prepared the turrets. Then he opened fire. Bullets slammed into Dominique, and he collapsed.
“I thought you didn’t kill!” Penguin exclaimed.
“These are rubber bullets,” Batman explained.
Batman and Penguin walked over to Dominique, and bent down to examine him. He suddenly grabbed Batman’s, and jammed it into the barrel of the sparker. Penguin scrambled backwards.
“Not another move, feathered freak,” Dominique growled, “Or I melt away Batman’s head.”
Batman grunted, trying to wriggle free.
“Don’t try it, Bats,” Dominique warned, letting gas into the sparker.
Batman froze. There was only one way out of this. And Batman didn’t want to take that route. But he also didn’t want to die. Batman sighed, and tore off his cowl. He dove away from Dominique as Penguin blasted him with ice.
Dominique struggled to free himself, while Penguin rushed over to Bruce.
“What were you thinking?” Penguin asked, “He knows!”
“Penguin, stay focused,” Bruce grunted.
“Not until you get in the Batmobile. No one else can see you like this!”
“Penguin! Focus! Behind you!”
It was too late. Dominique had already melted his way out of the ice. He activated the jetpack, and hovered in the air.
“Bruce Wayne,” Dominique growled, “I bet you don’t even know who I am.”
“Dominique Sanchez,” Bruce said, “Get back down on the ground. Now.”
“Bruce, when you laid me off, you took away my daughter’s only source of food. Did you know that?”
“Dominique, you’re a smart man. You can find work-”
“Shut up! I lost my job at Wayne Enterprises. I lost my money. You don’t know what it’s like. But you will…”
Dominique shot off into the night sky.
“What was he talking about? You’re the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. How would you lose your job?”
Bruce’s eyes widened.
“He’s going to destroy Wayne Tower.”
Dominique Sanchez entered Wayne Tower, and was immediately greeted by two security guards.
“Excuse me sir, there are no-”
Dominique swiftly aimed the F.L.A.M.E. at the guards.
“I have been granted special access.”
The guards backed away. Dominique quickly went to work. He had stolen time bombs from the warehouse, as well as the suit and weapon. He had helped design the F.L.A.M.E. and Firefly suit, so he knew exactly how they worked. He was also excellent at maneuvering in it. He made quick work of plastering bombs around the first four floors of Wayne Tower. Then, he set the timer for five minutes. Plenty of time for him to get far away, even if Batman and Penguin decided to intervene. Sure enough, the moment he exited Wayne Tower, Batman and Penguin were there, ready to intercept him.
“Freeze,” Penguin ordered, leveling his cold gun at Dominique.
“Save your breath,” Dominique growled, “I hear it’s hard to breathe through thick smoke.”
Penguin glanced at Batman, confused.
“You bastard,” Batman said, realizing what Dominique had done.
“You have five minutes. Although it’s probably closer to four now. Buena suerte. Adiós.”
“Penguin, he put bombs around the building. Most likely the bottom few floors. That would destabilize the rest of the building. You freeze the bombs with your gun. I’ll disable them manually.”
Penguin gulped.
“Get to work!” Batman ordered, rushing in.
“But what if we don’t make it out in time?” Penguin asked.
“There’s always a risk. What we do is one of the most dangerous things in the world. But if we disable the bombs, we won’t have to get out. So go!”
Penguin rushed in, and blasted whatever bombs he spotted.
Batman contacted Lucius. It took a few moment, but Lucius picked up.
“Lucius, is there anyone inside the building?” Batman asked.
“I think there are a few security guards. Maybe a few people staying late.”
Batman hung up, and rushed to the front desk. He grabbed a microphone, and jabbed a gray button.
“Employees of Wayne Enterprises, evacuate the building immediately. I repeat, evacuate immediately.”
Batman’s voice was transmitted throughout the entire tower. People started rushing down the stairs. A few guards from the second floor ran by Batman, sprinting outside.
On the second floor, Penguin was still blasting away. It seemed that there were even more bombs on the first floor than there were on the second floor. He didn’t know if he would be able to defuse them all.
A minute later, Penguin had made it to the third floor. Once again, there were more. And there was only a minute and twenty-seven seconds left.
“Batman, I don’t think we’re going to make it,” Penguin said through the comms.
“Keep working,” Batman said, standing right next to Penguin.
Penguin started shooting away at the bombs, turning them into ice cubes. Batman worked slower. He had to yank down the bombs one at a time, and cut through the blue wire.
“Forty-two seconds!” Penguin called, nervously.
“We’ve got this,” Batman grunted, cutting through one of the last remaining bombs on the third floor.
“Third floor clear!” Penguin announced after icing the final bomb.
“Let’s check the fourth floor,” Batman said, bounding up the stairs.
When they reached the fourth floor, they saw about thirty bombs.
“Twenty-four seconds!” Penguin yelled, shooting the bombs.
When there were only fifteen seconds left, there were still fifteen or so bombs.
Penguin hefted his gun up, prepared to blast them all in the last fifteen. It was now or never. He pulled the trigger, and spun around. But nothing came out. The gun had run out of fuel.
“Batman…” Penguin said, defeated. Batman looked at Penguin, and sighed.
“Oz. We cleared the building. We saved lives. You will die a hero.”
Dominique Sanchez sat atop a building a few miles away from Wayne Tower. He could still see its shining lights, illuminating Gotham City. He smiled as the timer ticked closer to zero. Batman. Bruce Wayne. They would both die trying to save the day. But it was futile. There were too many bombs. Bruce destroyed his life. Now Dominique got to return the favor.
Suddenly, Dominique’s phone buzzed. It was a call from his daughter, Rosa.
“What is it baby girl?” Dominique asked.
“Papa, I want you to come home. I love you and I miss you.”
The gravity of the situation hit Dominique in that moment. If he went through with this, he would never be able to look at Rosa in the same way. He would be a murderer. And if he was ever caught…
Dominique sobbed, and threw the timer for the bombs on the ground. He aimed the F.L.A.M.E. at it, and pulled the trigger. The timer was engulfed in an inferno. Dominique collapsed, crying.
“Papa? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Rosa. Nothing. Everything is going to be okay.”
Penguin blinked in disbelief.
“Shouldn’t we be dead?” Penguin squeaked.
Batman opened his eyes gradually, as if opening them quickly would set off the bombs.
“I really hoped Heaven would be cooler. Fluffy clouds and golden gates,” Penguin said.
“The bombs. Someone stopped the timers,” Batman pointed out.
There were two seconds left.
“Thank you God!” Penguin cried out in joy.
Batman looked around in disbelief. Who had stopped Dominique?
Suddenly, Batwing crashed through the windows to their left. Batwing had a steel suit, with a glowing blue emblem and eyes.
“How much longer do we have?” Batwing asked.
“You’re late,” Batman said.
“Then why are you not burning in a massive hellfire?” Batwing asked.
“Someone disabled the timer for the bombs,” Batman explained.
“Hold on, how’d you know there were bombs?” Penguin asked, suspicious.
“My dad told me. When Batman called him asking about who was in the building, he suspected that this whole place was rigged to blow. I guess he was right. So now what?”
“Now we find out who managed to stop the bomber,” Batman said.
“And who’s our bomber?” Batwing asked.
“Dominique Sanchez. An employee that we had to lay off. He stole the F.L.A.M.E. and the Firefly suit. And apparently he took time bombs as well.”
“The Firefly suit? Paired with the F.L.A.M.E.? No wonder he’s dangerous,” Batwing said.
“But he was stopped. The question is, who stopped him?” Batman asked.
“Maybe we should stop by his house,” Penguin suggested, “I’ll bet he went back there after he got away from us.”
“He escaped you guys?” Batwing asked.
“We let him escape,” Batman corrected.
“He couldn’t escape us if we were trying,” Penguin agreed.
“Uh, who are you?” Batwing asked.
“Penguin. I’m the new kid,” Penguin chuckled.
“Ah. A new Robin?” Batwing asked.
“I’ve had enough Robins. That doesn’t always work out well.”
“Is there something I should know about partners of yours?” Penguin asked.
“Well, I’ve had three Robins. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake. Dick Grayson grew up to be Nightwing, and we worked together from time to time. Now he’s just vanished. And Jason Todd… The Joker murdered Jason before I could lock him away at Arkham.”
“What about Tim?” Penguin asked, nervously.
“Oh. Tim’s fine. He’s doing a-okay in Central City. He’s the Red Robin now.”
“So maybe I’ll end up like Tim,” Penguin said, hopefully.
“I hope so,” Batman nodded.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go to the bomber’s house,” Batwing said.
Batman and Penguin got in the Batmobile, and sped off. Batwing followed them overhead.
About eight minutes later, they arrived in a small suburb of Gotham. They pulled up in front of Dominique’s house again, and saw him sitting alone at a table, without the suit on. Batman and Penguin got out of the Batmobile as Batwing landed next to them.
“Get ready to engage,” Batman said.
“This guy is dangerous,” Penguin nodded, “And my cold gun has run dry. But I can still use it as a bluff.”
“Alright. Ready?” Batwing asked.
Batman and Penguin nodded. Batwing raised his arms, and fired tiny missiles from the cuffs on his wrists. The front door was blasted down, and the three heroes leapt into the house, ready to battle.
“Hey,” Dominique said, giving them a slight wave.
“Dominique Sanchez, you are under arrest for the attempted bombing of Wayne Tower!” Batman growled.
“Ah, Bruce, you know you couldn’t lock me up. The cops hate you now, don’t they? Plus, it was me who shut down the bombs, after all.”
“Bu- what?” Batman asked, flabbergasted.
“Who managed to stop you?” Penguin asked.
“A very, very powerful person,” Dominique smiled.
At that moment, Rosa peeked her head around the corner.
“There she is,” Dominique said, opening his arms. Rosa ran to him, and pulled him close.
“Why is Batman here? And the metal man? And the bird?” Rosa whimpered.
“They’re here to talk to me,” Dominique said.
“Then why did they blow up the door?”
“They like to make grandiose entrances,” Dominique smirked.
Batman nodded.
“Hey, we just need to talk with you dad for a second,” Batwing said.
“Papa, are you going to become a superhero?” Rosa asked, optimistically.
“I don’t know about that, sweetie,” Dominique smiled, “But who knows?”
“Alright, let’s head outside Sanchez,” Penguin said.
Batman, Batwing, Penguin, and Dominique all walked outside.
“I get it if you still want to lock me up,” Dominique said.
“No one was hurt. You ended up making the right decision,” Batman said, “But that said, you still stole expensive tech from Wayne Enterprises.”
Dominique hung his head.
“But I figure you can make it up to me. You could work it off,” Batman said.
“You mean-?” Dominique asked.
Batman nodded.
Dominique beamed, and shook Batman’s hand as fast as he could.
“Thank you so much,” Dominique smiled.
“So you’re just letting Dominique walk away, free?” Oswald asked, back at Wayne Manor.
“He has a daughter to take care of. And he ended up making the right decision.”
“Not after planting bombs all around your tower!” Oswald exclaimed.
“Relax, Oz,” Bruce chuckled.
“I can’t stand him,” Oswald scowled.
“Don’t worry. He won’t be sticking around in Gotham. I got him a job in Austin, at a Wayne Aerospace.”
“So I won’t have to see him? Thank goodness,” Oswald said.
“Who knows, Oz. You might end up seeing him again,” Bruce shrugged.
“Why would I ever do that?” Oswald asked.
“I let him keep the gear."
"You let him the keep the gear?" Oswald exclaimed, "Why would you do that? And what does that have to do with me seeing him?"
"Well, you turning it around showed me that people can change. I trust Dominique to change too. Austin will be getting a new hero. The Firefly. And when you go solo… well, fire and ice is always a good combo.”
“A Fire Launching Automatically Motorized Engine. A F.L.A.M.E.” Lucius Fox explained.
“Someone in the R&D really wanted an acronym to go with this thingy-ma-jig,” Penguin quipped.
“Yes they did,” Lucius agreed.
“So, is this F.L.A.M.E. a flamethrower?” Batman asked. Lucius nodded, and showed Batman a folder packed with schematics for how the flamethrower worked. The F.L.A.M.E. was a spherical weapon that was bound to the user’s arm with metal bands. There was a cable that ran from the back of the main gun to a metal pack on the user’s back.
“What’s the pack for?” Penguin asked, peering over Batman’s shoulder.
“To give the needed flammable gas to the gun. It works like hair spray and a match. At the end of the cable, there’s a sparker. There’s a more technical term, but we just call it a sparker. Once the sparker ignites the gas, the F.L.A.M.E. expels the inferno. Also, there was a prototype version of the F.L.A.M.E. where the pack doubled as a jetpack.”
“And then what’s this?” Batman asked, pointing to another illustration. In the new illustration, the user was covered in a flexible black suit, with red eyepieces.
“That’s the Firefly suit. The suit is made out of Kevlar and coated nylon. Fire and bulletproof. It was meant for men and women in the military.”
“So why wasn’t it ever used?” Batman asked.
“There was a flaw. The cable didn’t effectively cut off the gas tank from the sparker. Which meant…”
“The sparker could cause the entire thing to blow,” Batman finished.
“And without an effective F.L.A.M.E., the rest of the suit was useless,” Lucius said.
“Alright. Is the suit missing as well?” Batman asked.
“I guess I’m not sure. I came straight to the weapons department when I got the alert. We should probably check for the suit.”
“I second that,” Penguin nodded.
“Take us, Lucius,” Batman ordered.
Lucius led them to a different part of the warehouse, and they saw a bare mannequin.
“That’s not good,” Penguin observed.
“With the F.L.A.M.E. paired with the Firefly suit, the user could wreak havoc on Gotham,” Lucius said.
“Or maybe he’s not a bad guy,” Penguin said, “I mean, he probably is, breaking in and all. But what if he’s trying to be a vigilante like Batman and I. I might’ve inspired him.”
“Congrats,” Lucius mused, “You inspired a criminal.”
“The thief has criminal intent. Lucius, who knows how to get in here?”
“Well, you run the company. You should know this. But if you’ve forgotten, the only ones with access to the warehouse are you, me, a few other board members, and select employees from R&D.”
“Penny-One, pull up the files of R&D employees who were laid off,” Batman instructed through his earpiece.
“On it, sir,” Penny-One, or Alfred, replied through the comms.
“Good guess,” Lucius said, “That was my assumption as well.”
“I’m transferring the files to you,” Penny-One said.
Suddenly, the eyepieces Batman looked through illuminated. They became blue little screens. On the screens were names in tiny print. Batman used a small trackpad on the side of his cowl to select one of the names. Robert Langstrom. He had access to the warehouse. But he had accepted his firing gracefully. Perhaps it had been an act, but Batman had to check through more files. After sorting through many names, Batman reached Dominique Sanchez. The name rang a bell. He had been outraged when he got the news from Lucius. He trashed the room he was in. Batman had his prime suspect. He scrolled through Dominique’s personal information, and found his address.
“Thank you Lucius. Penguin, we have our suspect. We’re going to 6714 Schimdt Street.”
Batman and Penguin took off, and hopped into the Batmobile. Then they sped off.
Lucius took out his phone, and called his son, Luke.
“Dad, what is it?” Luke yawned through the phone.
“Luke, you might be in danger,” Lucius said.
“What do you mean?”
“One of the employees I had to fire broke in and stole some dangerous tech. He might be after you.”
“Should I suit up?” Luke asked.
“You know how I feel about you suiting up. Batgirl is a perfect example of what happens when you do.”
“But if I don’t, I could die,” Luke countered.
Lucius sighed.
“Do it. Suit up.”
Batman and Penguin arrived at Dominique’s house, and crept towards his house. The lights were on. But it was late. Batman looked through the window, and saw a tall man stroking a little girl’s hair. The man was Hispanic, and had buzz cut black hair. Dominique. The girl was also Hispanic, and had long, black hair. They were talking. Batman turned up his earpiece so that he could hear.
“Papa, where were you? I couldn’t sleep,” the girl complained.
“I had to go to work,” Dominique sighed.
“You have to stay late?” the girl asked, “Why?”
“No reason. I just thought I’d stay late tonight. Go back to sleep Rosa,” Dominique said.
The girl, Rosa, got up, and walked away from the table. Dominique walked out of the room as well. Then, the front door opened. Batman and Penguin ducked away, praying they wouldn’t be seen. But Dominique spotted the Batmobile. He rushed to his car, and yanked out the black Firefly suit. The back was open, so he slipped right in. The suit then was pulled closed as if by magic. He put on the F.L.A.M.E. pack, and hooked the sparker to his arm.
“Alright, Batman,” Dominique growled, “Come out.”
Batman slowly drew out a Batarang. Then, he flung it at the sparker. Dominique whipped around, and blasted the Batarang. It immediately melted.
“Run!” Batman ordered. He and Penguin sprang out of the bushes, and rushed towards the Batmobile. Dominique spewed flames at them, but Batman protected Penguin with his cape. But the flames were burning through even Batman’s cape. They both dove into the Batmobile, and veered around to face Dominique. Batman prepared the turrets. Then he opened fire. Bullets slammed into Dominique, and he collapsed.
“I thought you didn’t kill!” Penguin exclaimed.
“These are rubber bullets,” Batman explained.
Batman and Penguin walked over to Dominique, and bent down to examine him. He suddenly grabbed Batman’s, and jammed it into the barrel of the sparker. Penguin scrambled backwards.
“Not another move, feathered freak,” Dominique growled, “Or I melt away Batman’s head.”
Batman grunted, trying to wriggle free.
“Don’t try it, Bats,” Dominique warned, letting gas into the sparker.
Batman froze. There was only one way out of this. And Batman didn’t want to take that route. But he also didn’t want to die. Batman sighed, and tore off his cowl. He dove away from Dominique as Penguin blasted him with ice.
Dominique struggled to free himself, while Penguin rushed over to Bruce.
“What were you thinking?” Penguin asked, “He knows!”
“Penguin, stay focused,” Bruce grunted.
“Not until you get in the Batmobile. No one else can see you like this!”
“Penguin! Focus! Behind you!”
It was too late. Dominique had already melted his way out of the ice. He activated the jetpack, and hovered in the air.
“Bruce Wayne,” Dominique growled, “I bet you don’t even know who I am.”
“Dominique Sanchez,” Bruce said, “Get back down on the ground. Now.”
“Bruce, when you laid me off, you took away my daughter’s only source of food. Did you know that?”
“Dominique, you’re a smart man. You can find work-”
“Shut up! I lost my job at Wayne Enterprises. I lost my money. You don’t know what it’s like. But you will…”
Dominique shot off into the night sky.
“What was he talking about? You’re the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. How would you lose your job?”
Bruce’s eyes widened.
“He’s going to destroy Wayne Tower.”
Dominique Sanchez entered Wayne Tower, and was immediately greeted by two security guards.
“Excuse me sir, there are no-”
Dominique swiftly aimed the F.L.A.M.E. at the guards.
“I have been granted special access.”
The guards backed away. Dominique quickly went to work. He had stolen time bombs from the warehouse, as well as the suit and weapon. He had helped design the F.L.A.M.E. and Firefly suit, so he knew exactly how they worked. He was also excellent at maneuvering in it. He made quick work of plastering bombs around the first four floors of Wayne Tower. Then, he set the timer for five minutes. Plenty of time for him to get far away, even if Batman and Penguin decided to intervene. Sure enough, the moment he exited Wayne Tower, Batman and Penguin were there, ready to intercept him.
“Freeze,” Penguin ordered, leveling his cold gun at Dominique.
“Save your breath,” Dominique growled, “I hear it’s hard to breathe through thick smoke.”
Penguin glanced at Batman, confused.
“You bastard,” Batman said, realizing what Dominique had done.
“You have five minutes. Although it’s probably closer to four now. Buena suerte. Adiós.”
“Penguin, he put bombs around the building. Most likely the bottom few floors. That would destabilize the rest of the building. You freeze the bombs with your gun. I’ll disable them manually.”
Penguin gulped.
“Get to work!” Batman ordered, rushing in.
“But what if we don’t make it out in time?” Penguin asked.
“There’s always a risk. What we do is one of the most dangerous things in the world. But if we disable the bombs, we won’t have to get out. So go!”
Penguin rushed in, and blasted whatever bombs he spotted.
Batman contacted Lucius. It took a few moment, but Lucius picked up.
“Lucius, is there anyone inside the building?” Batman asked.
“I think there are a few security guards. Maybe a few people staying late.”
Batman hung up, and rushed to the front desk. He grabbed a microphone, and jabbed a gray button.
“Employees of Wayne Enterprises, evacuate the building immediately. I repeat, evacuate immediately.”
Batman’s voice was transmitted throughout the entire tower. People started rushing down the stairs. A few guards from the second floor ran by Batman, sprinting outside.
On the second floor, Penguin was still blasting away. It seemed that there were even more bombs on the first floor than there were on the second floor. He didn’t know if he would be able to defuse them all.
A minute later, Penguin had made it to the third floor. Once again, there were more. And there was only a minute and twenty-seven seconds left.
“Batman, I don’t think we’re going to make it,” Penguin said through the comms.
“Keep working,” Batman said, standing right next to Penguin.
Penguin started shooting away at the bombs, turning them into ice cubes. Batman worked slower. He had to yank down the bombs one at a time, and cut through the blue wire.
“Forty-two seconds!” Penguin called, nervously.
“We’ve got this,” Batman grunted, cutting through one of the last remaining bombs on the third floor.
“Third floor clear!” Penguin announced after icing the final bomb.
“Let’s check the fourth floor,” Batman said, bounding up the stairs.
When they reached the fourth floor, they saw about thirty bombs.
“Twenty-four seconds!” Penguin yelled, shooting the bombs.
When there were only fifteen seconds left, there were still fifteen or so bombs.
Penguin hefted his gun up, prepared to blast them all in the last fifteen. It was now or never. He pulled the trigger, and spun around. But nothing came out. The gun had run out of fuel.
“Batman…” Penguin said, defeated. Batman looked at Penguin, and sighed.
“Oz. We cleared the building. We saved lives. You will die a hero.”
Dominique Sanchez sat atop a building a few miles away from Wayne Tower. He could still see its shining lights, illuminating Gotham City. He smiled as the timer ticked closer to zero. Batman. Bruce Wayne. They would both die trying to save the day. But it was futile. There were too many bombs. Bruce destroyed his life. Now Dominique got to return the favor.
Suddenly, Dominique’s phone buzzed. It was a call from his daughter, Rosa.
“What is it baby girl?” Dominique asked.
“Papa, I want you to come home. I love you and I miss you.”
The gravity of the situation hit Dominique in that moment. If he went through with this, he would never be able to look at Rosa in the same way. He would be a murderer. And if he was ever caught…
Dominique sobbed, and threw the timer for the bombs on the ground. He aimed the F.L.A.M.E. at it, and pulled the trigger. The timer was engulfed in an inferno. Dominique collapsed, crying.
“Papa? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Rosa. Nothing. Everything is going to be okay.”
Penguin blinked in disbelief.
“Shouldn’t we be dead?” Penguin squeaked.
Batman opened his eyes gradually, as if opening them quickly would set off the bombs.
“I really hoped Heaven would be cooler. Fluffy clouds and golden gates,” Penguin said.
“The bombs. Someone stopped the timers,” Batman pointed out.
There were two seconds left.
“Thank you God!” Penguin cried out in joy.
Batman looked around in disbelief. Who had stopped Dominique?
Suddenly, Batwing crashed through the windows to their left. Batwing had a steel suit, with a glowing blue emblem and eyes.
“How much longer do we have?” Batwing asked.
“You’re late,” Batman said.
“Then why are you not burning in a massive hellfire?” Batwing asked.
“Someone disabled the timer for the bombs,” Batman explained.
“Hold on, how’d you know there were bombs?” Penguin asked, suspicious.
“My dad told me. When Batman called him asking about who was in the building, he suspected that this whole place was rigged to blow. I guess he was right. So now what?”
“Now we find out who managed to stop the bomber,” Batman said.
“And who’s our bomber?” Batwing asked.
“Dominique Sanchez. An employee that we had to lay off. He stole the F.L.A.M.E. and the Firefly suit. And apparently he took time bombs as well.”
“The Firefly suit? Paired with the F.L.A.M.E.? No wonder he’s dangerous,” Batwing said.
“But he was stopped. The question is, who stopped him?” Batman asked.
“Maybe we should stop by his house,” Penguin suggested, “I’ll bet he went back there after he got away from us.”
“He escaped you guys?” Batwing asked.
“We let him escape,” Batman corrected.
“He couldn’t escape us if we were trying,” Penguin agreed.
“Uh, who are you?” Batwing asked.
“Penguin. I’m the new kid,” Penguin chuckled.
“Ah. A new Robin?” Batwing asked.
“I’ve had enough Robins. That doesn’t always work out well.”
“Is there something I should know about partners of yours?” Penguin asked.
“Well, I’ve had three Robins. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake. Dick Grayson grew up to be Nightwing, and we worked together from time to time. Now he’s just vanished. And Jason Todd… The Joker murdered Jason before I could lock him away at Arkham.”
“What about Tim?” Penguin asked, nervously.
“Oh. Tim’s fine. He’s doing a-okay in Central City. He’s the Red Robin now.”
“So maybe I’ll end up like Tim,” Penguin said, hopefully.
“I hope so,” Batman nodded.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go to the bomber’s house,” Batwing said.
Batman and Penguin got in the Batmobile, and sped off. Batwing followed them overhead.
About eight minutes later, they arrived in a small suburb of Gotham. They pulled up in front of Dominique’s house again, and saw him sitting alone at a table, without the suit on. Batman and Penguin got out of the Batmobile as Batwing landed next to them.
“Get ready to engage,” Batman said.
“This guy is dangerous,” Penguin nodded, “And my cold gun has run dry. But I can still use it as a bluff.”
“Alright. Ready?” Batwing asked.
Batman and Penguin nodded. Batwing raised his arms, and fired tiny missiles from the cuffs on his wrists. The front door was blasted down, and the three heroes leapt into the house, ready to battle.
“Hey,” Dominique said, giving them a slight wave.
“Dominique Sanchez, you are under arrest for the attempted bombing of Wayne Tower!” Batman growled.
“Ah, Bruce, you know you couldn’t lock me up. The cops hate you now, don’t they? Plus, it was me who shut down the bombs, after all.”
“Bu- what?” Batman asked, flabbergasted.
“Who managed to stop you?” Penguin asked.
“A very, very powerful person,” Dominique smiled.
At that moment, Rosa peeked her head around the corner.
“There she is,” Dominique said, opening his arms. Rosa ran to him, and pulled him close.
“Why is Batman here? And the metal man? And the bird?” Rosa whimpered.
“They’re here to talk to me,” Dominique said.
“Then why did they blow up the door?”
“They like to make grandiose entrances,” Dominique smirked.
Batman nodded.
“Hey, we just need to talk with you dad for a second,” Batwing said.
“Papa, are you going to become a superhero?” Rosa asked, optimistically.
“I don’t know about that, sweetie,” Dominique smiled, “But who knows?”
“Alright, let’s head outside Sanchez,” Penguin said.
Batman, Batwing, Penguin, and Dominique all walked outside.
“I get it if you still want to lock me up,” Dominique said.
“No one was hurt. You ended up making the right decision,” Batman said, “But that said, you still stole expensive tech from Wayne Enterprises.”
Dominique hung his head.
“But I figure you can make it up to me. You could work it off,” Batman said.
“You mean-?” Dominique asked.
Batman nodded.
Dominique beamed, and shook Batman’s hand as fast as he could.
“Thank you so much,” Dominique smiled.
“So you’re just letting Dominique walk away, free?” Oswald asked, back at Wayne Manor.
“He has a daughter to take care of. And he ended up making the right decision.”
“Not after planting bombs all around your tower!” Oswald exclaimed.
“Relax, Oz,” Bruce chuckled.
“I can’t stand him,” Oswald scowled.
“Don’t worry. He won’t be sticking around in Gotham. I got him a job in Austin, at a Wayne Aerospace.”
“So I won’t have to see him? Thank goodness,” Oswald said.
“Who knows, Oz. You might end up seeing him again,” Bruce shrugged.
“Why would I ever do that?” Oswald asked.
“I let him keep the gear."
"You let him the keep the gear?" Oswald exclaimed, "Why would you do that? And what does that have to do with me seeing him?"
"Well, you turning it around showed me that people can change. I trust Dominique to change too. Austin will be getting a new hero. The Firefly. And when you go solo… well, fire and ice is always a good combo.”