AN: Dang I'm feeling pretty good right now! I've got new writing habits started and Excelsior is really coming together. Let's see, what do I work on next? Hmm… how about Hammer of the Bat? I always had a lot of fun making this story. Man, when was the last time I updated…

…

Oh…

Oh no…

Oh man, I gotta do something about this right now!

Chapter 6 – Working Together

Nora had to admit that she was becoming distressingly accustomed to seeing dead bodies over the course of this night.

Working together, Nora and Batman had quickly taken down the inmates in the control room. The bad guys had made it easy for them by wasting all of their bullets either at whatever solid hunk of metal Nora was taking cover behind or whatever dark shadow they mistakenly thought Batman was hiding in. Nora and her new fri-… acquaintance had made it through the entire fight without a scratch, but the same could not be said for the inmates. After restraining the unconscious inmates with bat-cuffs and twisted metal pipes, the two of them had followed Officer Boles' trail to the front door of the asylum.

And so there they stood, staring at the dead body of Officer Boles, who had clearly outlived his usefulness to the clown they were chasing.

Even if she was becoming used to this so far tonight, Nora could barely bring herself to look at the traitorous guard. There was no sign of any injuries to his person, but his lips were pulled into a toothy grin far wider than a human should be capable of making. The terrifying sight was not helped by the fact that Officer Boles clearly wasn't breathing.

"What… what happened to him?" Nora asked as she averted her eyes, no longer able to look at the sight before her.

"Laughing Gas," said Batman stoically. "The Joker's custom chemical weapon. I don't know how he got it into the asylum, but he'll undoubtably have more of it."

"Okay," said Nora, feeling a shiver travel up her spine. "Where does this leave us? How are we gonna follow Jim?"

"We need to try and pick up the trail again," Batman said, turning away from her. "Look around for clues."

Nora nodded at his back and started looking around the scene. She kept her out for anything out of place but tried not to stare too long at the dead bodies that joined Officer Boles in the entrance hall. They were in the middle of the hallway and the floors were bare of anything that seemed like it could have been left by the kidnapped Commissioner or any insane clown people.

Just as Nora was about to ask Batman what they should do, a chime rang out from the PA system.

"Hello, Arkham," said the Joker. Nora's fingers curled into fists upon hearing his voice. "Harley has informed me that Bat-brain's car is still parked outside the front door of Intensive Treatment. We certainly can't have him leaving our party when it's barely even started, so she's left a few of her guys to smash it up. If any other thugs and lowlifes want to play pinata with that ridiculous sports car of his, make your way there. I'm sure someone will be willing to lend you a hitting stick."

The PA system clicked off and Nora spun around to face Batman.

"Where's your car?" she demanded.

"Just past this door," he answered, pointing at the front entrance, a large and imposing slab of reinforced wood. Nora immediately sped over to it and tried the handle.

"Locked," she said.

"Looks like we'll have to find a way arou-" Batman started to say, but Nora was already extending her hammer.

"The queen says OPEN!" she shouted, crashing Magnhild into the wooden door. The wood buckled and the multiple locks holding the doors in place broke with metallic snaps, allowing the huge doors to slam open. Illumination from the moon and the electric spotlights shone into the entrance hallway.

Nora looked the advanced-looking black vehicle parked on the driveway as well as the half-dozen thugs froze in their attempts of smashing it. After a moment of silence, she grinned at the stunned inmates.

"Who's first, boys?" she asked, twirling her hammer from hand to hand.

"Get her!" one of the braver inmates shouted, spurring the lot of them to abandon the car and rush her.

Nora planted her hammer into the ground and vaulted to meet them, kicking the lead inmate right in the face. As soon as her feet touched the ground she was moving again, her peripherals showing her that Batman was beside her. Nora ducked under clumsy punches and blocked metal pipes on the shaft of Magnhild, attacking all the while. She had smacked a thug to the ground with the back end of her hammer's shaft when she found Batman glaring at her as he backhanded an inmate trying to sneak up behind him.

"What's up?" asked Nora, upper-cutting a man who she had just kicked in the stomach.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Batman.

"I'm punching guys in the face until you tell me to stop," Nora answered, doing just that.

"I meant what do you think you were doing with the door?" Batman said before he grabbed an inmate by the shirt and threw him into another one.

"You said your car was through the door. The door was locked, so I opened it." A kick to a henchman's leg caused a cracking sound and the man fell crying to the ground.

Now there was only a singular inmate left standing. Clown makeup had been tattooed on his face and that made his expression of utter terror look quite bizarre. His eyes darted back and forth between Batman and Nora, as if he didn't know which one to be more scared of. In the end, he didn't have time to decide because Batman snapped his hand out toward him and there was a loud thunk as a batarang bounced off his forehead and sent him to the ground.

"Nora," said Batman, continuing the conversation, "we're trying restore order to the asylum, not destroy it. If we encounter an obstacle, the best option is not always going to be to smash right through it. Understand?"

Nora was about to protest but her eyes drifted to Batman's broken arm.

This happened the last time I didn't listen to him.

The words never left her mouth and she gave a small nod.

"Okay," said Batman. "If something needs to be knocked down, you'll be the first to know."

Nora smiled a bit.

"Sounds like a deal, Batman."

He nodded and turned to search the area.

"Okay, we know that Harley came through this area with Gordon. Let's look around for clues and try and find a trail.

"Yes sir!" Nora said, giving the Dark Knight a salute. As she began her search for clues, she was finally able to focus on the vehicle she and Batman had saved. Her jaw dropped as she stared at it. "This is your car?!" Nora exclaimed. "Yang would love this thing! Where did you get it? How fast does it go? Can it fly? Can I try it out?"

"Focus, Nora," Batman said, pushing over the unconscious body of an inmate to look closely at the ground beneath him. "And no, you can't. Ever."

"Aww…" whined Nora, but she returned to her search.

When she couldn't find anything around the car, she started looking in other places of the driveway, like near the two guardhouses. As she came close to one, a glimmer in the bushes drew her attention. She stuck her hand between the branches and groped around for what she had seen before her hand wrapped around something that was definitely not a branch. Pulling it out, she stared at her find in utter confusion.

"Hey Batman!" she called, holding up the thing she had found. "What's this?" It was a strange green question mark on a metal base, almost like some sort of trophy. It glowed faintly in the dark, likely from the weird paint it was coated in. As soon as Batman saw it, he glared in annoyance at the trophy. At least Nora thought it seemed like annoyance. It was hard to tell with his mask.

"Leave it alone, Nora," he said before turning away.

"But what it is?" she repeated.

"It's a distraction. We have bigger things to worry about."

Nora gave one more curious look at the trophy before she shrugged.

"Okay," she said, tossing the trophy over her shoulder. It flew into the distance before clattering across some rocks. "Do you see anything that might be helpful?"

"Actually, yes," said Batman. Nora grinned and zoomed over to stand next to him. Batman was looking down at a wooden tobacco pipe with glowing eyes that Nora found to be kind of freaky. "I have a trail," Batman said. "Gordon left bits of tobacco to lead us to him. I've calibrated my cowl to pick up traces of tobacco on the ground."

"Makes sense," Nora said with a nod.

"Oracle," Batman said into his earpiece.

"Hi, Oracle," Nora said in a louder than normal voice, trying to make sure she was heard. Batman gave her a sideways look, making her grumble about being left out.

"…Yes, that was her," Batman continued. "We just found a wooden pipe with Wild Country tobacco… Exactly. It's a trail he left for us. We'll get him back soon. I promise." As Batman clicked off his earpiece, Nora gave him a curious look. "What is it, Nora?"

"Does Oracle know Jim?" Nora asked. "By what you've said to her, it sounds like she's worried about him."

Batman silently scowled at her before walking down the cobblestone path.

"Come on. We need to follow this trail."

"Yeah, that's what I should have expected…" muttered Nora before following Batman.

The trail that only he could see led them to a big metal door leading to another section of the island. The door was jammed, however, and wouldn't open for them.

"Harley's probably trying to slow us down. We'll need to find another route," said Batman.

Nora looked at the walls around the door and saw a stretch of stone wall that had a great number of cracks running down it. She scampered over and gave it a knock. It sounded thin and dust fell from the wall just by her knocking on it. She turned back to Batman and saw he was looking from the wall to her. Nora smiled and waggled her eyebrows. Batman let out a long breath through his nose.

"Fine," he said.

Nora was lifting Magnhild over her head in the blink of an eye.

Nora blinked in confusion at what she was seeing. She glanced at Batman to confirm that, yes, he was also seeing this, and then looked back.

Seriously?

A pair of Blackgate inmates were hammering away the front of a building marked Visitation, nailing up planks of wood around the entrance. The two of them seemed so invested in their work that neither of them seemed to have noticed the approach of Batman and Nora.

"Frank, your nails look like ass," said the one with the mohawk.

"Man, fuck off!" said the shirtless one. "You're the one who's actually got a hammer, Trent! I'm stuck with this damn brick!" The man was, indeed, hammering nails through the boards with the help of a brick. "How 'bout we trade for a while? Y'know, so my nails don't look like ass?"

"No way, man. I won the arm wrestle, I get the hammer."

"Then how about two out of three?"

Nora cleared her throat, making the two inmates stiffen.

"Hey Frank," she said with a smile. The two men slowly turned around. "If you really need a hammer, you can use mine." She whipped Magnhild out from behind her back and brought the head down onto the ground, letting the earth tremble for just a moment. The two men paled and started to sweat. That was when Frank panicked and just chucked his brick right at Nora's head. She gave an evil grin as she caught the brick in midair before squeezing it so hard it exploded into fragments.

Frank and Trent both swallowed and turned white as a sheet.

Nora would have been more than happy to let this exchange continue, but Batman had evidently had enough. His hand snapped forward form his utility belt, letting two batarangs fly through the air before thunking the two inmates in the head. They were out cold immediately.

"The Joker doesn't have very good minions," observed Nora as the two of them moved across the courtyard toward the medical facility.

"That's always been a weakness of his," said Batman.

They reached the front door of the medical facility and went inside. The lobby had clearly been tossed around by the initial riot, but the room's occupant had tidied up enough to have a seat. Harley Quinn was reclining in an office chair with her feet kicked up on a folding table, doing her lipstick with the help of a compact mirror. Against the back wall of the lobby Nora saw Jim. He was tied to a wheelchair but looked relatively fine. There was also an active energy gate keeping Nora and Batman from moving further into the building. Harley looked up as the door opened and grinned when she saw the state Batman was in.

"Awww," she said. "Did the big bad Bat go an' clip his wing?" Batman narrowed his eyes at her as the fingers of his injured arm curled partway into a fist. "You're not getting through the gate, Bats, so how 'bout you and yer new sidekick just buzz off? Yer both interuptin' my Me-Time."

"You'll have lots of 'you-time' when you're back in a cell, Quinn," snarled Jim.

"Shut up!" yelled Harley as she grabbed a coffee mug from the table and flung it at Jim. He grunted as it clipped the side of his head.

"You crazy bitch!" he grunted.

"Let him go, Harley," said Batman. "This is your last warning."

"Oooooo, so scary…" said Harley, wiggling her fingers. "Tell ya what? I promise to give Jimmy back to you as soon as Mistah J is done with him. He might be in a few pieces, but you have my word."

Nora glared at the crazy clown lady and stomped toward the electric gate. Harley just giggled at the angry expression Nora had.

"Go ahead and try your luck, pint-size. I think we could all use a laugh."

Nora looked over the barrier that was separating her and Batman from smacking the clown makeup right off Harley's stupid face. With a look of curiosity, Nora lifted her hand and experimentally reached toward the gate. It zapped her finger when it got too close, making Nora hiss in pain and stick it in her mouth. As the feeling came back to her finger, she also felt the electricity seep into her muscles. It wasn't much, but it was still something.

Nora turned her back on Harley and gave Batman a grin. His eyes moved from her to the electric gate before he gave her a small nod.

"Get in and shut down the gate," he said quietly.

Nora spun back to the gate and cracked her knuckles.

"Zap yourself all you want, kid," said Harley, starting to look bored, "but you and B-Man are not getting in this way. You'll have to go around."

"Actually," said Nora, "I think we'll just go through."

Then she placed both of her hands in the path of the electric gate. Electricity coursed through her fingers into her body, but she had felt worse pain before. This was nothing. She pushed against it, but there was a weak sort of resistance against her. Annoyed, Nora pushed harder.

If it was solid, she would break it.

Harley's eyes widened and she fell out of her chair, sprawling on the floor.

"Tha's… tha's not fair…" she said, pointing a shaky finger at Nora. "Tha's not fair!"

Nora could feel the resistance of the gate starting to give. Sensing victory, she dug her fingers into the barrier and pulled in opposite directions. Through the crackling electricity, she could see a small gap of empty space appear. She pulled harder, widening the gap little by little.

"What in the hell…?" muttered Jim, staring at Nora with shock.

Nora gritted her teeth and strained her arms, using the electricity she was absorbing to fuel her muscles. Slowly, she ripped the gap in the middle of the gate even wider. Beeps of alarm came from a wall console in the next room.

Harley scrambled to her feet and practically flew across the room. She grabbed Jim's wheelchair and fled the lobby.

"Get in here, you idiots!" she yelled. "They're breakin' through!"

Nora widened the gap she was tearing through the gate, feeling victory almost within her grasp. The hole she had made was now the size of a manhole cover and the feedback from the gate was only making her stronger. Finally, with a yell of exertion, she heaved herself forward through the tear she had made. She rolled to a stop as the electric gate gave a loud whine of protest before reasserting its blockage of the entrance. Batman remained standing on the other side, looking at Nora with an unreadable expression. His eyes glowed for a moment before his gaze snapped to the door leading into the medical wing.

"Nora," he said, "be caref-"

The Dark Knight was cut off as a band of inmates charged into the lobby, all of them wielding assault rifles. Nora's gaze flicked to them before she glared, lightning flashing in her irises. When she rushed them, her charge was so strong that her feet tore a hole in the linoleum flooring.

The first inmate barely had time to raise his gun before Nora was in front of him. She grabbed the barrel with her left hand and moved it out of the way before grabbing the inmate by his shirt. She tossed him up and his upper half disappeared into the ceiling tiles such that he was only free from the waist down. While the other inmates were stunned, she spun to face the wall console controlling the electric gate. She changed her stance as her mind flashed to the afternoon Pyrrha had spent attempting to teach her how to properly throw a javelin.

The assault rifle was not nearly as aerodynamic as Miló, but it got the job done.

"Thanks, Pyrrha," Nora said to herself as the rifle pierced through the console and the wall behind it. The electric gate deactivated and suddenly the odds were stacked even more unfairly against the Blackgate inmates.

Movement in her peripherals warned her that an inmate was trying to smack her with the butt of his rifle. She easily stopped the weapon in mid-motion, flashed him a smile, and then slammed her palm into his chest. It did a good job of dispersing the force of her Semblance-enforced strength, but it sent the inmate flying backward and bowling some of his friends over. Still, he'd live.

"Deep breath!" she heard Batman shout. Without questioning it, Nora sucked in a lungful of air. Behind her, Batman threw an object the size of ping-pong ball into the midst of the inmates. With a loud BAMF, the ball exploded into a cloud of smoke. Nora could hear the inmates coughing and hacking, but she saw them only as dark outlines through the obscuring smoke.

"You take care of them," Nora heard Batman say. "I'm going after Gordon."

"Mmmph?!' Nora said, not daring to open her mouth. Regardless, the cloaked shape of Batman vaulted over another dark shape before the sound of receding footsteps informed her Batman was rushing into the next room.

After giving a small shrug, Nora turned her focus toward eliminating her opponents as gently as she could. Shoves sent bad guys rolling across the floor or careening into walls. She rather liked working with Batman and didn't want to make him mad at her by accidently breaking someone in a more permanent fashion. Her lungs were beginning to burn but she stayed focused on her fight. However, focusing became a little hard once the fire alarms started going off.

By the time the smoke cloud has dispersed, Nora had finished smacking around the last of the inmates and they all laid unconscious around her.

"Not bad," she said to herself before she ran into the main medical room to catch up with Batman.

The room was immense and covered with white tile everyone Nora looked. Thin walls and fogged glass dividers separated the medical room into smaller stations with restraining chairs and racks of medical equipment. Nora stood on the top floor of three levels in the room and she saw movement happing on the second floor. A number of doctors were strapped onto strange chairs that had cages locked around their heads. Batman was in the process of releasing a security guard who was also restrained. Nora took a running start and jumped over the railing of her platform, hitting the ground rolling a short distance away from Batman. A few of the doctors cried out in surprise while Batman barely glanced in her direction.

"Where's Jim?" Nora asked, looking around for any sign of the Commissioner.

"Harley was too fast," said Batman. "She was heading down the elevator by the time I got here."

"Wait… you lost them?" demanded Nora. Batman turned his head slightly to give her a scowl.

"Don't argue with me, just help get these doctors free," he said. "The sooner we get them out, the sooner we can go after Gordon."

Nora frowned at his back but did as she was instructed. As she helped a scared looking doctor out of her restraints, Nora turned the previous events over in her mind.

I could have gotten to Jim in time. I'm stronger than Batman, and I'm probably faster too. Why didn't he tell me to go after Harley?

Nora just tried to focus on taking care of these scared doctors and not on whatever Harley might be doing to Jim somewhere in this madhouse.

She and Batman needed to find him, and soon.

AN: I hope you guys liked the chapter. I'm sorry it took this long and I am so thankful to you guys for sticking with me through this. One of the reasons I waited so long on this is that I heard we might get some Nora backstory in Volume 7. As you remember, this did not happen. After that, I was so obsessed with getting Excelsior off the ground that I barely gave this story a second thought. For that, I deeply apologize to all of you. I've gotten into the habit of writing every day, so I pray that I'll start getting chapters out in a much more timely manner.

As always, countless thanks to my lovely beta annbe11 for helping me turn ramblings into coherent stories. If anyone here is interested in an Aladdin fanfic from the perspective of Jasmine's tiger friend, I highly encourage you to go check out her new story Rajah's Curse.

Again, thank you all for sticking with me on this. I hope you are all staying safe out there.