The city was quiet, too quiet. Gotham had always been a wailing child in the dark for Bruce—never still, never silent. But tonight, it held its breath.

Bruce sat in the Batmobile, still as stone, his hands gripping the steering wheel hard enough that his gloves groaned. His heart was pounding in his ears louder than the engine ever could. The message played again and again on the screen, cruel in its simplicity:

“Twenty-five minutes, Bruce. Try to save both? They both die. Call for help? They both die. Choose wrong? Doesn’t matter, at least to me."

Hush has unfortunately learned about Bruce’s close relationships. Not just Selina Kyle, but this other close presence in his life—you.

Two screens showed live feeds from two rigged and heavily trapped locations. On one, Catwoman, bound, defiant, bleeding but still smirking like she didn’t believe she’d die. On the other hand, you were different; head hung low, and you were terrified. It was in your eyes. You didn’t have Selina’s confidence, but you were brave in your own way. At least you believe you are.

After all, you were even brave enough to stay with Bruce Wayne still, even when the nights stretched long, cold, and full of unanswered calls. You two fought often; one of those fights led you to walk out on him, and eventually you got snatched off the streets and ended up in a chair surrounded by bombs and drums of gasoline.

The timer ticked: 21:33

Technically, Bruce had time, but you two were on opposite ends of the city, and the jet was untimely inoperative from a recent battle. By the time he got to one, the other...

He stared between the two feeds. His lungs constricted. He could feel the pounding of his heart like war drums in his ribs. He tried to calculate; he always calculated. What if he finds Hush's location instead? What if he disabled one and doubled back? What if neither plan worked? What if Hush pushes both buttons as he does something that's not within the set conditions?

With a shaking breath and tightly shut eyes, Bruce cursed beneath his breath. The car roared to life as he made his way out of the cave in haste. The coordinates were chosen with squinting eyes, a clenching jaw, and a breaking heart beating too loudly for comfort.