Chapter Fourteen:



Revenge grabs the gun and pulls the president over his head, throwing him onto the balcony. The soldiers below snap up their guns and fire. I don't know how we escape. Their marks are dead on. I take a bullet to the arm and clutch at it, but Revenge pulls me out before anyone can get their bearings.

We run down a maze of halls, me leaving a trail anyone could follow, my red blood dripping to the floor.

Five soldiers appear in front of us, snap up their guns, and fire. Revenge grabs my hand and throws me to the ground. I slide under them and place explosives as if we planned it. They detonate and the guys are thrown int the walls.

"This way!" Revenge yells.

I follow, ducking into a closet. My yellow/black cape swishes behind me and exposes where we are.

"Tam! Ogan'!" a voice yells.

The Russians bring their guns to bear on the wooden door and fire. Revenge leaps in front of me, taking the shock and damage of the bullets. But fifteen AK-47s firing into his chest manages to knock him out.

The Russians bust open the door and knock me down with a rifle to the head. One points his gun at me.

"Ostan'sya vnizu malen'kaya devochka!" he yells.

I struggle to think, the blow to my head has me in a daze.

"C'mon Barbara! Think! You're in Russia! Batman taught you this much."

After a bit of thinking, I manage to translate it into 'Stay down little girl'.

The next time they say something, it is easier to translate.

"Voz'mite ikh s losifom!"

Translation: Take them to Joseph.



Revenge and I are dragged back down the maze of hallways until we reach the large hangar we were in before. The soldiers take us up to the balcony and tie ropes around our arms and legs. They strip us of our utility belts and Revenge of his cape. I see why when they dump it out to reveal innumerable weapons and gadgets. Next come our gloves, boots, and in my case, the zipper that attaches my cape and cowl to my suit which doubles as a weapon. The mask slips to one side.

We're hoisted in the air. That's when Revenge begins to wake up. He groans and shakes his head and suddenly he's fighting beside me, trying to get free as we're hoisted into the air.

We're held there for hours. I don't know exactly, all I know is I'm setting Ace* on them when I get down. I think I doze off because when I wake up, we're being hoisted down in front of the Russian President.

"Well, well." he says in a much thicker accent than on television. "American heroes. Red Revenge and his sidekick Batgirl."

"You don't watch TV much, do you?" I ask. "I'm the PARTNER of the BATMAN. Never met this creep until today. Or yesterday. Whatever time it is."

"I think highly of you too." Revenge says.

"Small matter. I think what you should be worried about is how painful it will be to be frozen alive."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"We're going to put you and your boyfriend--"

I snort in disgust.

"You and your boyfriend's body in water with a temperature of negative two hundred thirty one. Your heads will remain outside. Your bodies will slowly freeze, with you experiencing every moment of it." the Russian President finishes.

"Is this about Rio De Janeiro?" I ask.

"No, I need you two out of the way, so I can finish my grand scheme."

"See?" I ask, turning to Revenge. "You need to treat me with as much respect."

"Remind me to string you from the ceiling for a few hours when we get back. Strange..." Revenge sniffs at the air.

"What?" the Russian President asked.

"I believe he was referring to your bad breath." I replied. "Ever heard of a toothbrush?"

Joseph growled and smacked me across the face.

"Lay a hand on her again..."

Joseph looked up to see Nightwing and Wondergirl standing/floating above them.

"And you won't walk out of here."