Fic: Gotham City Remix (1/7)
Fic: Gotham City Remix (1/7)
Summary: Gorden Walker has taken Sam Hostage. To save him, Dean and Chloe go into the heart of darkness: Gotham City.
Author: pen37
Beta: Clarksmuse
Fandoms: Smallville/Supernatural/DCU
Characters: Chloe, Sam, Dean
Pairing:Chloe/Dean
Rating: G
This is a part of the Special Projects series. You can find the rest of the series here.
Written for the Crossovers100 challenge. Prompt #61 winter. The table is here.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
Chloe could tell that they were approaching Gotham because of the smog. The skyline wore heavy industrial gray clouds like a winter coat against the chill drifting in off of the harbor. If Metropolis was the shining city of the future, bedecked in gleaming steel and glass, Gotham was its slightly decrepit, sinister older cousin, clothed in ancient granite and rusty iron.
As they neared the city, she felt it's cold, foreboding spirit settle into her bones. She'd purposely picked Gotham as their destination for a reason. Here, above all other cities, the police department was known for its corruption. Here one could enter the prison system and vanish like a ghost. Here, no one would blink an eye if you did so.
They needed that kind of ability. Less than two days ago, Gordon Walker, a hunter with a vendetta against Sam and Dean, took the younger Winchester brother hostage. His ransom demand: that Dean surrender to Police custody, and from there to the FBI. Chloe was betting her reputation as Watchtower on her ability to find Sam before the FBI could cut through the famous Gotham red tape and find Dean.
She glanced over to the passenger seat, where Dean snored faintly, and debated waking him. In the end, she decided not to. They'd be in Gotham in under an hour; she could wake him then. He'd been driving nonstop for the past two days. Under normal circumstances, Dean didn't let her drive the Impala, even if they were now in a relationship. But his worry for Sam was pushing Dean harder than usual. Just a few hours ago, he'd pulled over and confessed that he was seeing purple rabbits dance across the hood.
Though Chloe had been up just as long, her healing abilities made it possible for her to go longer periods without sleep. In fact -- she'd made it a point to stay awake, talking to Dean so he didn't fall asleep. Her constant chatter had been what kept him awake this long.
She pulled her cell phone out of her purse - and called ahead to let Oracle know that she was on her way. She'd still have to go through three security checkpoints to get them into League headquarters - but at least they would know to expect her - and her plus one.
Dean's breathing picked up as her speed slowed when she hit the Gotham traffic. He sat up and pulled his shades off. In the filtered light of the smog-covered city, he blinked at the skyline.
“This Gotham?” he asked gruffly.
Chloe bit back a sarcastic reply as the driver in front of her cut her off in traffic. “Yep.”
As a general rule, the traffic around her was giving way before the Impala's size, sleek black frame, and aggressive rumble. They were obviously used to another large black car with an aggressive engine.
“Ain't much to look at, is it?”
“It gets worse the longer you're here,” Chloe said. “I spent six months here connecting the dots between the Gotham crime bosses and the Metropolis kingpins. Even with Batman's help, it was either leave or end up at the bottom of Gotham Harbor.”
“Nice,” Dean snarked as he stretched. “I'm supposed to turn myself over to the cops in this crooked little town?”
“That's exactly why you're supposed to turn yourself over to the cops.” Chloe said. “Justice in this town isn’t just bent, it's pretzeled. But Commissioner Gordon is one of the white hats. And he's not above looking the other way if it means making things right.
“So if the legal system . . . loses you for a few extra days. And your Agent Hendrickson is kept waiting a little bit longer than he should . . . no one would think anything of it.”
A smug little smirk crossed Dean's face. For a moment, he lost the expression of perpetual worry that he'd been wearing since the moment he found out that Sam was in trouble. As if he had all the faith in the world that Chloe could rescue them all. Chloe just hoped that faith wasn't misplaced. “I got me a smart one,” he said as he slid over next to Chloe and put his arm around her.
“Driving here,” she said.
“And doing a damn fine job,” he whispered in her ear. “Pull over somewhere so I can take over.”
“We're all of two blocks away from Justice League headquarters. You want to drive now?”
“I always want to drive,” Dean chuckled.
Chloe rolled her eyes as she steered the Impala toward the nearest open spot along the sidewalk. “You're already driving me nuts.”
“Baby, I'm just getting started,” he whispered huskily to her.
“Down, boy,” she gave him a shove.
“What?” He grinned at her.
“No territory-marking.”
“Not in the Impala anyway.” He shook his head. By the time she parked the car and they switched places, he seemed to remember the reason why they were there. As he became all business, his posture went rigid and his demeanor seemed as tense as a coiled spring. “So I don't actually have to go to jail to do this - do I?”
“We'll have to talk to The Bat about that,” Chloe frowned. “Commissioner Gordon might be willing to stall the FBI - but he's still a stand-up guy. So he might not be willing to outright lie. Still - if Batman would vouch that you're in his custody . . . that would leave you free to help me find Sam.”
“So what's he like?”
“Who, Batman?” Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah. I've heard stories.” Dean shrugged.
“What have you heard?”
Dean shrugged. “Built like a wendigo. Eight foot tall, invisible. Eats babies for breakfast.”
“I'm pretty sure that last part is made up,” Chloe said mildly. “I'll have to ask him.”
“What's with all the theatrics, anyway?” Dean asked as he steered the Impala back onto the road.
“Take a look around you,” Chloe said with a wave of her hand. “Gotham was creepy even before there was a Batman. Criminals are nervous types anyway. Around here, they know that if they're going to get involved in crime, then sooner or later, they're going to cross paths with an eight foot tall wendigo that eats babies for breakfast.”
“So it kind of works to scare the wussiest of them straight.”
“And it makes the hardest of them harder,” Chloe said with a frown. “Lex aside, we don't get wackos like The Joker or Clayface in Metropolis.”
“You do get Doomsday.”
“Let's not talk about Doomsday,” Chloe shook her head. “I was at ground zero when Doomsday killed Superman.”
“Were you doing your hero thing?”
“No, I was doing my reporter thing.” Chloe shook her head. “Doomsday is still kind of a sore point with the League. Since I'm taking you into the Gotham Headquarters, you might not want to throw that name around.”
“Gotcha. There's a lot of politics involved with being a hero, isn't there?” Dean observed.
“And this thing with Gordon Walker isn't politics?”
“This thing with Gordon Walker is because we tied him to a chair and left him to sit in his own waste for three days. He took that kinda' personally.”
“Politics takes a lot of forms, Dean. Even personal ones.”
“I'll remember that,” Dean said.
“Turn here,” Chloe directed him to a massive building with a parking garage. They stopped long enough for her to type in an access code, submit to a retina scan, and a palm print identification. When she'd submitted to each test, the garage door opened, and Dean pulled through.
“All that just to go in.”
“All that for the first checkpoint,” Chloe said. “They stepped up security - especially for me, since I'm the one with an evil clone running around out there.”
“You're still one of a kind.”
“You never do stop with the cheesy lines, do you?”
“You like the cheesy lines.” Dean said as he found a parking spot for the Impala. As he got out, he looked around at the mostly empty garage.
“Yeah, I do.” Chloe cocked her head as she gave him a funny look. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for the Batmobile.” Dean grinned at her.
“It's invisible, just like Wonder Woman's magic jet,” Chloe snarked.
“Wonder Woman has an invisible jet?” Dean asked with a cheesy grin on his face.
Chloe rolled her eyes, grabbed his arm, and steered him toward the elevator, and the second checkpoint that she knew would be there. Once in the elevator, she submitted to a voice-recognition scan, another retina scan, and presented a passkey.
“One more of these to go,” she said with a sigh.
“Paranoid much?” Dean shook his head.
“Justifiable,” Chloe said.
The elevator pulled to a stop, and slid open to reveal a door with yet another checkpoint. This one was staffed by a nurse in a booth behind bulletproof glass. Chloe placed her hand through an opening in the glass, and let the nurse take a blood sample for DNA verification. Chloe then typed in another pass code.
“What's up here? Fort Knox?”
“Remember how devious Lex was?”
“Still,” Dean let out a low whistle.
When the nurse had finished doing her thing, she buzzed them in.
Chloe led him down a confusing maze of corridors, until they found a conference room with a circular table. Batman was already sitting there.
Dean stopped short. “He's just a dude in a bat suit.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side.
“Hey!” Dean said.
“Behave yourself,” she said. The she turned to Batman, and said, “Sorry about that. Ever since he found out that I'm with the League, it's been one long 'Santa isn't real' moment after another.”
Batman inclined his head humorlessly and gestured to the empty chairs.
“I had the telephone signals that you told me about analyzed,” Batman said in a low voice. “The call came from a Travelodge outside Tunica, Mississippi.”
“That fits,” Chloe said as she sat in the chair on the right. “Sam was in West Memphis when he disappeared. And with all the casinos, the hotel staff probably doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.”
Instead of setting down, Dean paced. Back and forth he went, like a caged lion. While they talked, he picked up a ballpoint pen and clicked it open and shut repeatedly. They both broke off to look at him. He realized that all the attention in the room was on him, and he looked at them questioningly.
“I spoke with Commissioner Gordon,” Batman said as he turned back to Chloe. “He has already sent notice to the FBI that Mr. Winchester has turned himself in to custody.”
“So hopefully, Gordon Walker is bringing Sam here,” Chloe said.
“My people studied surveillance photos from nearby gas stations, and was able to pinpoint the car he was using. Based on that, I accessed the credit card slips from when he purchased gas,” Batman continued. “He's been traveling in more-or-less a straight line toward Gotham.”
“Did you actually see Sam in the car?” Dean placed both hands on the conference table, and leaned forward.
“No, but I didn't find evidence of foul play. My guess would be that Walker has him secured in the trunk.”
“Please tell me that I don't actually have to spend time behind bars.”
“That depends,” Batman said slowly.
Chloe felt genuinely sorry for Dean. Over the years, she'd become pretty good at reading Batman's moods in his voice. She'd had to - that damn cape and cowl made it too hard to read him by any other method.
“Come on,” Dean's voice took on a desperate tone. “That's my brother. I can't sit by and . . . he's my brother.”
“Can we trust you to behave yourself, Mr. Winchester? You're not going to slip away and do something stupid the second our backs are turned?”
“Through three checkpoints and Nurse Betty?” Dean asked. “What do you take me for?”
“Someone smart, dangerous and expertly trained - to quote Agent Hendrickson's report.”
“He said that?” Dean's eyes widened.
“Tower,” He turned to Chloe. She bit back a sarcastic comment. She hated when people shortened her code name. Having some six foot eight giant call her Tower always made her feel shorter. She raised her eyebrows and fixed Batman with an annoyed look.
“Can you keep Mr. Winchester occupied and out of trouble?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, as Dean chuckled at the inadvertent innuendo. “I'm sure I can find some gadget that he can take apart,” she said.
“I'll leave you to it then. Please let me know when Sam Winchester contacts you.”
“You're sure he will?” Chloe asked.
“You know he will,” Batman said. “Everything in his profile suggests that he is as resourceful as his brother. And a lot more patient. I would wager that he has an escape plan formulated, and that he's simply biding his time.”
Chloe and Dean looked at each other, and shrugged. Dean nodded a confirmation. “That's Sam, alright.”
“Until then - the chessboard is in place, and the pieces are set. Now we simply have to let the game play out.” With a final nod, he left the room.
“Well, he's a cheerful ray of sunshine,” Dean snarked.
“He's right though,” Chloe said.
“Man, I hate waiting,” he said with a sigh.
Summary: Gorden Walker has taken Sam Hostage. To save him, Dean and Chloe go into the heart of darkness: Gotham City.
Author: pen37
Beta: Clarksmuse
Fandoms: Smallville/Supernatural/DCU
Characters: Chloe, Sam, Dean
Pairing:Chloe/Dean
Rating: G
This is a part of the Special Projects series. You can find the rest of the series here.
Written for the Crossovers100 challenge. Prompt #61 winter. The table is here.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
Chloe could tell that they were approaching Gotham because of the smog. The skyline wore heavy industrial gray clouds like a winter coat against the chill drifting in off of the harbor. If Metropolis was the shining city of the future, bedecked in gleaming steel and glass, Gotham was its slightly decrepit, sinister older cousin, clothed in ancient granite and rusty iron.
As they neared the city, she felt it's cold, foreboding spirit settle into her bones. She'd purposely picked Gotham as their destination for a reason. Here, above all other cities, the police department was known for its corruption. Here one could enter the prison system and vanish like a ghost. Here, no one would blink an eye if you did so.
They needed that kind of ability. Less than two days ago, Gordon Walker, a hunter with a vendetta against Sam and Dean, took the younger Winchester brother hostage. His ransom demand: that Dean surrender to Police custody, and from there to the FBI. Chloe was betting her reputation as Watchtower on her ability to find Sam before the FBI could cut through the famous Gotham red tape and find Dean.
She glanced over to the passenger seat, where Dean snored faintly, and debated waking him. In the end, she decided not to. They'd be in Gotham in under an hour; she could wake him then. He'd been driving nonstop for the past two days. Under normal circumstances, Dean didn't let her drive the Impala, even if they were now in a relationship. But his worry for Sam was pushing Dean harder than usual. Just a few hours ago, he'd pulled over and confessed that he was seeing purple rabbits dance across the hood.
Though Chloe had been up just as long, her healing abilities made it possible for her to go longer periods without sleep. In fact -- she'd made it a point to stay awake, talking to Dean so he didn't fall asleep. Her constant chatter had been what kept him awake this long.
She pulled her cell phone out of her purse - and called ahead to let Oracle know that she was on her way. She'd still have to go through three security checkpoints to get them into League headquarters - but at least they would know to expect her - and her plus one.
Dean's breathing picked up as her speed slowed when she hit the Gotham traffic. He sat up and pulled his shades off. In the filtered light of the smog-covered city, he blinked at the skyline.
“This Gotham?” he asked gruffly.
Chloe bit back a sarcastic reply as the driver in front of her cut her off in traffic. “Yep.”
As a general rule, the traffic around her was giving way before the Impala's size, sleek black frame, and aggressive rumble. They were obviously used to another large black car with an aggressive engine.
“Ain't much to look at, is it?”
“It gets worse the longer you're here,” Chloe said. “I spent six months here connecting the dots between the Gotham crime bosses and the Metropolis kingpins. Even with Batman's help, it was either leave or end up at the bottom of Gotham Harbor.”
“Nice,” Dean snarked as he stretched. “I'm supposed to turn myself over to the cops in this crooked little town?”
“That's exactly why you're supposed to turn yourself over to the cops.” Chloe said. “Justice in this town isn’t just bent, it's pretzeled. But Commissioner Gordon is one of the white hats. And he's not above looking the other way if it means making things right.
“So if the legal system . . . loses you for a few extra days. And your Agent Hendrickson is kept waiting a little bit longer than he should . . . no one would think anything of it.”
A smug little smirk crossed Dean's face. For a moment, he lost the expression of perpetual worry that he'd been wearing since the moment he found out that Sam was in trouble. As if he had all the faith in the world that Chloe could rescue them all. Chloe just hoped that faith wasn't misplaced. “I got me a smart one,” he said as he slid over next to Chloe and put his arm around her.
“Driving here,” she said.
“And doing a damn fine job,” he whispered in her ear. “Pull over somewhere so I can take over.”
“We're all of two blocks away from Justice League headquarters. You want to drive now?”
“I always want to drive,” Dean chuckled.
Chloe rolled her eyes as she steered the Impala toward the nearest open spot along the sidewalk. “You're already driving me nuts.”
“Baby, I'm just getting started,” he whispered huskily to her.
“Down, boy,” she gave him a shove.
“What?” He grinned at her.
“No territory-marking.”
“Not in the Impala anyway.” He shook his head. By the time she parked the car and they switched places, he seemed to remember the reason why they were there. As he became all business, his posture went rigid and his demeanor seemed as tense as a coiled spring. “So I don't actually have to go to jail to do this - do I?”
“We'll have to talk to The Bat about that,” Chloe frowned. “Commissioner Gordon might be willing to stall the FBI - but he's still a stand-up guy. So he might not be willing to outright lie. Still - if Batman would vouch that you're in his custody . . . that would leave you free to help me find Sam.”
“So what's he like?”
“Who, Batman?” Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah. I've heard stories.” Dean shrugged.
“What have you heard?”
Dean shrugged. “Built like a wendigo. Eight foot tall, invisible. Eats babies for breakfast.”
“I'm pretty sure that last part is made up,” Chloe said mildly. “I'll have to ask him.”
“What's with all the theatrics, anyway?” Dean asked as he steered the Impala back onto the road.
“Take a look around you,” Chloe said with a wave of her hand. “Gotham was creepy even before there was a Batman. Criminals are nervous types anyway. Around here, they know that if they're going to get involved in crime, then sooner or later, they're going to cross paths with an eight foot tall wendigo that eats babies for breakfast.”
“So it kind of works to scare the wussiest of them straight.”
“And it makes the hardest of them harder,” Chloe said with a frown. “Lex aside, we don't get wackos like The Joker or Clayface in Metropolis.”
“You do get Doomsday.”
“Let's not talk about Doomsday,” Chloe shook her head. “I was at ground zero when Doomsday killed Superman.”
“Were you doing your hero thing?”
“No, I was doing my reporter thing.” Chloe shook her head. “Doomsday is still kind of a sore point with the League. Since I'm taking you into the Gotham Headquarters, you might not want to throw that name around.”
“Gotcha. There's a lot of politics involved with being a hero, isn't there?” Dean observed.
“And this thing with Gordon Walker isn't politics?”
“This thing with Gordon Walker is because we tied him to a chair and left him to sit in his own waste for three days. He took that kinda' personally.”
“Politics takes a lot of forms, Dean. Even personal ones.”
“I'll remember that,” Dean said.
“Turn here,” Chloe directed him to a massive building with a parking garage. They stopped long enough for her to type in an access code, submit to a retina scan, and a palm print identification. When she'd submitted to each test, the garage door opened, and Dean pulled through.
“All that just to go in.”
“All that for the first checkpoint,” Chloe said. “They stepped up security - especially for me, since I'm the one with an evil clone running around out there.”
“You're still one of a kind.”
“You never do stop with the cheesy lines, do you?”
“You like the cheesy lines.” Dean said as he found a parking spot for the Impala. As he got out, he looked around at the mostly empty garage.
“Yeah, I do.” Chloe cocked her head as she gave him a funny look. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for the Batmobile.” Dean grinned at her.
“It's invisible, just like Wonder Woman's magic jet,” Chloe snarked.
“Wonder Woman has an invisible jet?” Dean asked with a cheesy grin on his face.
Chloe rolled her eyes, grabbed his arm, and steered him toward the elevator, and the second checkpoint that she knew would be there. Once in the elevator, she submitted to a voice-recognition scan, another retina scan, and presented a passkey.
“One more of these to go,” she said with a sigh.
“Paranoid much?” Dean shook his head.
“Justifiable,” Chloe said.
The elevator pulled to a stop, and slid open to reveal a door with yet another checkpoint. This one was staffed by a nurse in a booth behind bulletproof glass. Chloe placed her hand through an opening in the glass, and let the nurse take a blood sample for DNA verification. Chloe then typed in another pass code.
“What's up here? Fort Knox?”
“Remember how devious Lex was?”
“Still,” Dean let out a low whistle.
When the nurse had finished doing her thing, she buzzed them in.
Chloe led him down a confusing maze of corridors, until they found a conference room with a circular table. Batman was already sitting there.
Dean stopped short. “He's just a dude in a bat suit.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side.
“Hey!” Dean said.
“Behave yourself,” she said. The she turned to Batman, and said, “Sorry about that. Ever since he found out that I'm with the League, it's been one long 'Santa isn't real' moment after another.”
Batman inclined his head humorlessly and gestured to the empty chairs.
“I had the telephone signals that you told me about analyzed,” Batman said in a low voice. “The call came from a Travelodge outside Tunica, Mississippi.”
“That fits,” Chloe said as she sat in the chair on the right. “Sam was in West Memphis when he disappeared. And with all the casinos, the hotel staff probably doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.”
Instead of setting down, Dean paced. Back and forth he went, like a caged lion. While they talked, he picked up a ballpoint pen and clicked it open and shut repeatedly. They both broke off to look at him. He realized that all the attention in the room was on him, and he looked at them questioningly.
“I spoke with Commissioner Gordon,” Batman said as he turned back to Chloe. “He has already sent notice to the FBI that Mr. Winchester has turned himself in to custody.”
“So hopefully, Gordon Walker is bringing Sam here,” Chloe said.
“My people studied surveillance photos from nearby gas stations, and was able to pinpoint the car he was using. Based on that, I accessed the credit card slips from when he purchased gas,” Batman continued. “He's been traveling in more-or-less a straight line toward Gotham.”
“Did you actually see Sam in the car?” Dean placed both hands on the conference table, and leaned forward.
“No, but I didn't find evidence of foul play. My guess would be that Walker has him secured in the trunk.”
“Please tell me that I don't actually have to spend time behind bars.”
“That depends,” Batman said slowly.
Chloe felt genuinely sorry for Dean. Over the years, she'd become pretty good at reading Batman's moods in his voice. She'd had to - that damn cape and cowl made it too hard to read him by any other method.
“Come on,” Dean's voice took on a desperate tone. “That's my brother. I can't sit by and . . . he's my brother.”
“Can we trust you to behave yourself, Mr. Winchester? You're not going to slip away and do something stupid the second our backs are turned?”
“Through three checkpoints and Nurse Betty?” Dean asked. “What do you take me for?”
“Someone smart, dangerous and expertly trained - to quote Agent Hendrickson's report.”
“He said that?” Dean's eyes widened.
“Tower,” He turned to Chloe. She bit back a sarcastic comment. She hated when people shortened her code name. Having some six foot eight giant call her Tower always made her feel shorter. She raised her eyebrows and fixed Batman with an annoyed look.
“Can you keep Mr. Winchester occupied and out of trouble?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, as Dean chuckled at the inadvertent innuendo. “I'm sure I can find some gadget that he can take apart,” she said.
“I'll leave you to it then. Please let me know when Sam Winchester contacts you.”
“You're sure he will?” Chloe asked.
“You know he will,” Batman said. “Everything in his profile suggests that he is as resourceful as his brother. And a lot more patient. I would wager that he has an escape plan formulated, and that he's simply biding his time.”
Chloe and Dean looked at each other, and shrugged. Dean nodded a confirmation. “That's Sam, alright.”
“Until then - the chessboard is in place, and the pieces are set. Now we simply have to let the game play out.” With a final nod, he left the room.
“Well, he's a cheerful ray of sunshine,” Dean snarked.
“He's right though,” Chloe said.
“Man, I hate waiting,” he said with a sigh.