An Extra Pair of Hands (Superman)
On the other hand, if he didn't disarm it before the time ran out, then the poison would cloud the atmosphere over Gotham. If that were to happen, all the souls of Gotham herself would be forfeit.
If he disarmed the bomb, he could drop from this height, cast out a grappling hook for himself and one for her below him, and hope that it caught. His aim was good. His strength would hold the both of them until he could get her to safety. But the descent....
10 seconds.
He did the calculations, rough as they were, from the height he stood to the place where she stood bound and helpless - and found that his grappling hook wouldn't reach her before she disappeared into the poison.
7 seconds.
He didn't have time to rig anything to let him dive first, and then disarm the bomb. An explosion wouldn't guarantee that the entire thing wouldn't just go off, either. The mechanism was deep within the wires, where he couldn't reach it from below.
4 seconds.
She was screaming. The bomb was bolted down to the platform. He couldn't take the entire thing with him, either. She was screaming.
2 seconds.
Was there any other way? His eyes traveled like lightning through the wiring, across the trigger, finding nothing.
"I'm sorry," he said to her, knowing she wouldn't hear him.
1 second.
He toggled the switch that halted the countdown. He heard the platform below give way, and he heard the way her screaming changed -- frantically now through that coarse gag, with anger enough to damn him. Behind the mask, Bruce Wayne kept his eyes wide open and stared down at her. He would not turn away, regardless of how much he wished he could.