GOTHAM'S HOPE
Chapter 3
Gotham Warehouse 10:18pm
Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and Barbara Kean recently made it to the warehouse in the south west section of Gotham. Tabitha had not shown up yet, but Barbara wasn't worried, because she knew that Tabitha would always show up when Barbara least expects it. The three of them were ready to face both Ra's Al Ghul and Jeremiah Valeska for the final battle, because each of them knew that everything that happens now will determine the fate of the city. The sisters of the league were also prepared as well to fight whatever minions Ra's has guarding the facility. They all cautiously entered the warehouse to make sure there weren't any traps or goons to surprise them as they make their way through the building. Captain Gordon was keeping a close eye on his surroundings as he stayed with the group, because he knew something didn't feel right.
"Keep your eyes open, who knows what those two psychopaths might have in store for us." captain Gordon said as he held his gun in both hands.
"Do you think they know we're here mate?" Alfred asked curiously while holding on to his gun as well.
"If they did we would already be dead by now Mr. Pennyworth." Barbara said while carrying her revolver.
As they made their way through the warehouse, the group found a staircase that led them up to the second floor of the building. When they reached the second floor captain Gordon quickly spotted Ra's Al Ghul and Jeremiah standing by a big glass window looking at the city.
"GCPD, put your hands where I can see them." captain Gordon said as he raised his gun in both hands.
Alfred, Barbara, and the sisters of the league also raised their weapons as well to make sure the two villains do not try any funny business.
"I must say captain Gordon, you truly are a bold one." Ra's Al Ghul said as he and Jeremiah both slowly turned around to face captain Gordon.
"Where are the other bombs, tell us now." captain Gordon said in a serious tone.
"Honestly Jimbo, you're wasting your time, because one way or another those bombs will go off even if we tell you where they are." Jeremiah said while smiling with an evil grin.
"Will you just shut up already and tell us where those damn bombs are and how do we disarm them?" Barbara said as she pointed her revolver at the two villains.
"It's a shame that you chose to help captain Gordon rather than just watch the city burn and leave Gotham with me Barbara." Ra's said
"Sorry Ra's, but I prefer helping Jim than being with you and smiley boy over there." Barbara said as she started losing her patience
"How do we disarm the bombs, surely you two mates must have built some kind of button that can shut them off and if you do then hand it over now?" Alfred asked while holding his gun at the bad guys.
"There is no button, the bombs will go off automatically once they've reached the critical level to detonate and they can't be stopped." Jeremiah said
"You're lying, I don't believe you." captain Gordon said
"How's Bruce doing by the way?" Jeremiah asked as he smiled fiendishly.
Jim knew what Jeremiah was trying to do when he asked that question, because he's trying to mess with his mind in order to make him angry. However, Jim was able to remain calm and not let his emotions get the better of him, because his main priority was to save Gotham from being blown up.
"Shut up and hand over the button to turn off the bombs." captain Gordon said.
"Did the doctors say he might not make it from the bullet wound I left in his stomach?" Jeremiah said
"Don't you dare say another word about master Bruce you evil monster." Alfred said in a serious tone.
"What's the matter Mr. Pennyworth, are you scared of the thought that poor Bruce might never be able to walk again." Jeremiah said
"This Isn't about Bruce, now for the last time give us the button that can disarm the bombs?" captain Gordon asked.
"Like he said captain Gordon, there is no button and there's no way to disarm them. Gotham's time has come and none of you can stop it." Ra's said
"That is total bulls%#t and you know it Ra's." Barbara said
"I think it's time we ended this conversation." Ra's said as he snapped his fingers on his right hand, which summoned a bunch of his ninja guards in the warehouse.
Jim, Alfred, Barbara, and the sisters of the league were all surrounded by the amount of ninjas that Ra's Al Ghul had at his disposal. There was no way out except to just fight until the very end, because the group knew deep down that they cannot give up, because Gotham needs them now more than ever. As Barbara pointed her revolver at the ninjas ready to open fire, something caught her attention. She saw a familiar figure who was twenty feet away trying to carefully hide behind a huge crate in the far left corner of the building. Barbara smiled when she realized who it was and didn't want to spoil the surprise to anyone.
"Any last words Barbara before we kill you and the rest of your teammates." Ra's asked
"Just one….NOW!" Barbara yelled out.
In that same moment Tabitha had jumped out behind the crate and started firing a lot of bullets from a machine gun she was carrying. Each of the shots fired manage to hit most of the ninjas killing them instantly while also causing both Ra's and Jeremiah to separate in order to dodge the bullets being fired in there direction of the warehouse. Without any hesitation Jim, Alfred, Barbara, and the sisters of the league used this advantage to start fighting off the remaining ninjas. Tabitha joined the fight as well after she ran out of bullets from her machine gun and decided to use her whip to fight against the ninjas.
"We can't let them get away, if they do Gotham is done for." captain Gordon said next to Alfred who was helping him fight two ninja assassins.
"I'm doing the best I can here mate, but I don't know if you notice that we're in the middle of trying to not die by these two ninja guys." Alfred said as he dodged the assassin swinging his sword at him.
"Relax boys, Ra's is mine." Barbara said as she saw Ra's trying to hide by some crates in the right section corner of the warehouse.
Barbara headed in that direction and shot down a ninja that tried to charge attack her. She quickly re-loaded her revolver as she prepared to take on her former master.
"Ra's, come out and fight me like a man." Barbara said while pointing her revolver over by where he was hiding.
Barbara stayed alert the whole time waiting for Ra's Al Ghul to come out of hiding as she slowly walked towards by the crates in order to catch him off guard. When she finally got close enough Barbara quickly moved over to the other side of the crates to shoot Ra's with her revolver, but to her surprise he was gone. Just before she could react Ra's tackled Barbara from behind and tried to subdue her, but thanks to her months of training from him she manage to push him off before he could take her down.
"After everything I taught you, the one thing you still have trouble learning is to always watch your surrounding." Ra's said
"I am an unpredictable woman Ra's, you should know that by now." Barbara said as she raised her revolver and tried to shoot Ra's.
As she pulled the trigger no bullets came out of the weapon. When Barbara noticed this she looked at Ra's and he smiled in reaction to her situation.
"Actually, I do my dear." Ra's said while holding up his right hand and opening it revealing the bullets he secretly took out when he tackled Barbara previously.
"Fine will this old fashion way." Barbara said as she threw revolver to the side and prepared herself to fight Ra's in a one on one martial art fight.
"Lets do this." Ra's said while preparing himself for the fight that he and Barbara were about to engage in at this very moment.
When captain Gordon and Alfred defeated the two ninjas that they were facing they tried to look for Jeremiah while the sisters of the league take fight of the last Ra's Al Ghul's ninja assassins. As they searched cautiously Alfred could've sworn he heard something behind him and that's when he turned around and saw Jeremiah try to stab captain Gordon with a switchblade he was holding in his left hand.
"Gordon look out." Alfred said next to captain Gordon who manage to quickly turn around and react fast enough to Jeremiah trying to attack him.
Captain Gordon saw the switchblade and used his reflexes to disarm his opponent while at the same time try to punch him in the face with his right hand and then pin him down to the ground in order to subdue him.
"You're under arrest Jeremiah." captain Gordon said as he started placing handcuffs on Jeremiah's hands.
"You think you've won Jim, but not yet, because I'd be more concerned about your lady friend if I were you." Jeremiah said as he laughed.
Captain Gordon looked over to where Barbara was and saw how she was losing the fight against Ra's.
"Alfred keep an eye on Jeremiah I'm going to help Barbara." captain Gordon said
"No problem mate." Alfred said while pointing his gun at Jeremiah who was now handcuffed from where he was sitting. Alfred made sure that Jeremiah didn't pull any tricks up his sleeve as he kept watch to make sure he doesn't escape.
Barbara didn't know how much longer she could take on Ra's, because even though she knew how to fight he clearly had the advantage. Barbara tried to throw a quick punch at him, but Ra's blocked it and knocked her down on the floor.
"You've fought honorably Barbara, but now it's time to end this." Ra's said as he was about finish her off with a final blow when suddenly he got shot in the right shoulder knocking him down on to the ground instantly.
"I don't think so." captain Gordon said
Captain Gordon helped Barbara up off the floor and she was quite shocked at how Jim quickly came to her rescue.
"Barbara are you alright." captain Gordon asked
"I will be alright thank you." Barbara said
"You're welcome." captain Gordon said
The two them then turn their attention back to Ra's Al Ghul who quickly got back up off the ground.
"You think your bullets will stop me, I cannot die. Only my true heir of the demon's head can kill me." Ra's said as he started to slowly walk towards both captain Gordon and Barbara.
"Alright Ra's we get it none of us can kill you with the Kurdish Dagger except Bruce Wayne." Barbara said
Barbara still remembered how the last time she fought Ra's was when she was unable to kill her former master with the Kurdish Dagger. It nearly cost Tabitha's life when Ra's threatened to kill her if Barbara did not give back the power of the demon's head he gave her before he died. Barbara finally, came to her senses and decided to just give back the power to Ra's, because as much as she wanted to keep the power of the demon's head, she did not want to lose Tabitha since Barbara still cares about her a lot. After Ra's Al Ghul re-gained the power of the demon's head from Barbara he also took the Kurdish Dagger with him, because he realized that until he is able to complete his duty of the prophecy by bringing destruction to Gotham so that way Ra's can convince Bruce Wayne to fulfill his destiny to become the hero he's meant to be. Once he manages to do that Ra's can finally, be put to rest forever and truly stay dead this time.
"Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees now Ra's." captain Gordon said while raising his gun at Ra's.
"The prophecy is being fulfilled, Gotham will be destroyed, it will be reborn through my vision, and none of you can stop it." Ra's explained as he got closer with every step.
"This is your last warning Ra's, stand down or I will open fire on you." captain Gordon said
"Gotham's dark hero will rise to save it." Ra's said as he was now just about five feet away from where both Jim and Barbara were standing
Captain Gordon did not hesitate when he fired his gun at Ra's Al Ghul, unfortunately the man dodged the bullet quickly and disarmed Gordon before he could shoot a second time. When captain Gordon tried to attack Ra's, he was surprised at how fast the man, which shows how skillful he is in combat. Ra's quickly uppercuts Jim in the face with his right hand, nearly knocking him to the floor. Barbara tried to help Jim when she attempted to charge attack Ra's, but the man manage to overpower her and then pushed Barbara to the side. Captain Gordon tried to be extra cautious as he prepared himself for another round with Ra's, but Gordon had to be quick and he can't give up yet, because he has to find out from Ra's and Jeremiah on how to disarm the bombs in time before they go off.
"The two of you are only delaying the inevitable, you can't defeat me." Ra's said
Just before they got back to fighting, Ra's was attacked by something that wrapped around his neck. When captain Gordon saw this he noticed that the thing around Ra's Al Ghul's neck is a leather whip. As he look over to the other side to see who was using the leather whip, Gordon was surprised to see that it was Tabitha.
"Thought you could use a little help." Tabitha said
"Thank you." captain Gordon said
Ra's was unable to free himself from Tabitha's whip that was wrapped around his neck, which made it easier for captain Gordon to interrogate him on how to stop the bombs from blowing up in Gotham.
"No more games Ra's, tell us how to stop the bombs." captain Gordon asked
"You're too late." Ra's said as he smiled evilly
In that same moment when the fight finally, ended with the sisters of the league defeating all of Ra's Al Ghul's ninjas a loud explosion went off, which caught captain Gordon's attention as he looked in the direction over by the big window showing what's happening outside in the city. All of Jeremiah's bombs detonated, but instead of destroying the buildings, each of the bridges that lead to the city were blown up, because that is where they wanted the bombs to be set in order for their plan to work. With no way out of the city this means that the citizens of Gotham were now cut off from the outside world and they were on their own to face whatever destruction came their way since now everybody will be fighting for control of city.
"Oh my god." captain Gordon said as he couldn't believe what he just saw.
"No...this can't be happening." Barbara said while witnessing the chaos that was happening outside through the big window.
"Were cut off from the outside world." Tabitha said
The three of them were shocked by this, because now they were on their own now and Gotham city has become no man's land. Alfred also saw everything that happened to while keeping an eye on Jeremiah at the same time and he was just as surprised as the others to when all of the bridges blew up.
"Beautiful Isn't it." Ra's said while watching his work unfold.
"I couldn't agree more Ra's, chaos has now come to Gotham." Jeremiah said as he looked at Ra's in the other direction to where he was with a smile on his face.
Captain Gordon and the rest of the group didn't know what to do at this point since they were unable to disarm the bombs from blowing up even though they manage to capture both Jeremiah and Ra's in the process. The only thing Jim could think of right now was to keep his promise to Barbara by making sure the two villains don't escape again and keep them locked up somewhere more secure this time.
"Let's get these two out of here." captain Gordon said to his allies
"Are you kidding me, Ra's and Jeremiah just blew up the bridges that lead to the city. We're stuck here now and you still want to arrest these psychopaths rather than just kill them now while we have them." Tabitha said in a serious tone while keeping an eye on Ra's, who was still wrapped with the whip around his neck.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I promised Barbara that I would keep these two locked up somewhere more secure if we capture them and I'm not going to break that promise." captain Gordon explained
Tabitha turned her attention to Barbara, because she thought this whole thing was now just getting ridiculous.
"Barbara seriously, let's just kill these two now and we won't have to worry about them anymore. Ra's Al Ghul nearly killed me last time when he forced you to give back the demon's head to him." Tabitha said
"No Tabitha these two maniacs deserve to be put in jail, killing them won't make a difference, because Ra's will just come back resurrected and he'll probably even do the same thing to Jeremiah if he gets the chance. Believe me I am just as mad at them as you are after what they just did with destroying the bridges, but it's not going to fix anything, because soon we're all going to be fighting for survival in order to stay alive while everybody else will be fighting over control of Gotham. Let Jim take them into custody and handle it alright." Barbara explained
After a few seconds of silence between the two of them Tabitha finally, came to her senses and made a decision.
"Fine, I'll let captain Gordon arrest these guys." Tabitha said
"Thank you." Barbara said
As the group headed downstairs towards the exit with the two captured bad guys, Ra's Al Ghul decided to speak again while he was being escorted by Tabitha.
"Keep moving Ra's." Tabitha said as she noticed that Ra's suddenly stopped walking for some reason even though he was still tied up with her leather whip.
"I don't think so, because this is where I leave." Ra's said
In that moment Ra's head butted Tabitha in the face pushing her back a little, which gave the opportunity to quickly break free from the whip around his neck. The rest of the group saw this to so Jim and Barbara tried to stop Ra's before he can get away.
"Freeze, don't move." captain Gordon said while raising his gun at him.
"You are not going anywhere Ra's." Barbara said as she pointed her revolver at him as well.
"Sorry, but my mission is done here. Now I can finally, rest forever and my true heir of the demon's head will finish what I started." Ra's explained
Without any hesitation Ra's Al Ghul quickly pulled out a smoke bomb out of his right pocket and disappeared instantly.
"NO!" captain Gordon yelled
"Damn it." Barbara said
The whole group couldn't believe it even after everything they just went through, Ra's still manage to escape just like that after he got captured a few minutes ago. At least Jeremiah Valeska didn't get away, because he was still handcuffed and Alfred made sure he never left his sight while he had his gun aimed at him. As much as Jim wanted to go after Ra's he has to make sure that Jeremiah is locked up somewhere with more security, because he knew that Arkham Asylum and Blackgate state penitentiary were out of the question since those facilities are easily escapable.
"Now what do we do, Ra's just escaped and Gotham will be tearing itself apart soon since all of the bridges are destroyed, leaving us cut off from the outside world." Alfred said
"I don't know, but we still have Jeremiah in custody so we need to get him back to the GCPD before it is too late." captain Gordon said
There was a little bit of hesitation and silence during that same moment, because at this point nobody in the group didn't know what to do, because nothing was going their way. The quietness was finally, broken when Barbara decided to speak up.
"Alright look I get it that some of you are mad right now, because everything's going down the drain. But honestly Jim's right, it's bad enough that Ra's escaped, but if we don't put Jeremiah away soon it's only a matter of time before he gets loose again so we got to bring him back to the GCPD now." Barbara explained
This manages to convince everyone in the group to help make sure that Jeremiah is brought back to the GCPD to be locked up until captain Gordon can find another place to put him in.
"Thank you." Captain Gordon said
"You're welcome." Barbara said
They all then started walking back to the GCPD building while escorting the captured Jeremiah who was still handcuffed.
The Gotham Hospital (a few minutes before the bombs went off)
Bruce never left the hospital once when he decided to stay with Selina and during that time they mostly just talked and keep each other company. Bruce and Selina mostly talked about all of the good times the two of them had together ever since they first met as kids. At one point Bruce decided to change the subject, because there was something personal he wanted to get off his chest.
"Selina." Bruce said
"Yeah Bruce." Selina said
"I want you to know that I am really sorry." Bruce said
"For what?" Selina said with a confused look on her face.
"For everything, I haven't always been a good friend to you and I've felt really guilty every time I did something foolish that ended up putting your life in danger." Bruce said
"Bruce I understand, but you really do not have to apologize to me." Selina said
"But I want to Selina and I really mean it this time from the bottom of my heart. The worst thing I ever I did to you was when I said you don't really care about me or anybody else and ever since then I regretted it, because it made me feel like jerk that nearly pushed away the only true friend I ever had in my life. It was wrong of me to say that to you Selina, I never meant to hurt you or take you for granted and I am very sorry for all of it." Bruce explained
This actually shocked Selina a little bit, because even though Bruce has apologized to her on many occasions this one was truly different. Selina still remembers that day when she heard about Alfred getting badly hurt and how Bruce didn't really explain what happened, because he just told her to go home. The memory of it seemed like only yesterday, because it all happened during the events of the Alice Tetch virus spreading through Gotham until it finally, ended when a cure was developed to save the citizens that were infected by it. Things were never same from that point on, but eventually Bruce and Selina were able to become friends again and move on afterwards. Selina still thought that it was unnecessary for Bruce to say sorry, but after listening to what he had to say she started to understand where he was going with this. Bruce really felt bad for all of the mistakes he has made with Selina in the past and seeing him admit it in a mature way really shows how serious his apology is this time.
"Bruce that really means a lot to me, I appreciate you saying that and I want you to know that I do forgive you." Selina said
"Thank you." Bruce said
"You're welcome and if makes you feel better I haven't been a great friend either." Selina said
"Selina don't say that you are a good friend to me." Bruce said
"No I am not, I mean I made some mistakes that ended up hurting your feelings as well and I to felt guilty about it sometimes. The worst thing I ever did was when I found out you were kidnapped by the Court of Owls and I didn't do anything about it." Selina said
"It's not your fault Selina, I was the one who wanted to find out more about the Court of Owls, because I thought I could stop them, but it was stupid of me to think that and I nearly got you and Alfred killed in the process." Bruce said
"Bruce you don't understand, I didn't realize you were missing until that clone of you came by to tell me that he's been impersonating you as part of the Court of Owls plan to destroy Gotham. When I asked him where you were he nearly killed me by pushing me out of a window. I was lucky to be alive if it wasn't for Ivy who revived me from my coma, but after that I got so angry and all I wanted to do was to kill that clone of you. Before I could take him down Alfred stopped me and when I told him that the clone was impersonating you he tried to interrogate him to know where you were. Unfortunately, the clone knocked out Alfred and me before he could tell us anything and then he just disappeared. When Alfred and I finally, woke up he told me that we should look for you, but I chose not to, because I was still frustrated about the thing with my mom leaving me again so I just did nothing. This was the most selfish thing I have ever done to you Bruce and I don't think I can ever forgive myself, but I want you to know that I am really sorry for my dumb mistake." Selina explained
There was a moment of silence between the two of them for a few seconds, but at one point Bruce finally, decided to speak up again.
"Selina listen to me, I am not mad at you alright. We both made mistakes and we can't undo them, but what we can do is learn to let it go by accepting it as it is and just move on, because that's what really matters. Do not beat yourself up, I really appreciate you telling me all of this and I want you to know that I forgive you to." Bruce said as he placed his right hand on Selina's left hand.
"Thank you." Selina said as she held on to Bruce's hand.
"You're welcome." Bruce said
In that same moment the two of kissed for a few seconds and then stopped afterwards.
"I love you Selina." Bruce said
"I love you to Bruce." Selina said
The two of them heard a loud noise that got their attention. Selina told Bruce to stay in bed while she walked over by the window to see what was going on outside. She saw piles of smoke coming from different explosions around the city, but Selina noticed that none of the buildings were destroyed. It didn't take her long to realize that Jeremiah's bombs detonated, because she knows that captain Gordon and Alfred were trying to stop that from happening. Selina look closer at where the piles of smoke was coming from and it seems to be originating from where the Gotham bridges are, which all lead in and out of the city since Selina has been to areas before, because she's familiar with knowing certain sections of the city. Selina then realized that the bombs blew up all of the bridges and now the citizens of Gotham are cut off from the outside world.
"Selina what is going on out there." Bruce asked.
"Bruce….I think Gotham's in big trouble." Selina said as she turned around to face Bruce.
Without any warning their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice that came out of nowhere.
"Hello Bruce, I hope you do not mind me visiting." Ra's said
Bruce and Selina were immediately surprised to see Ra's Al Ghul standing in front them.
Hello everyone I hope you enjoyed this new chapter for my story and I got to say I had a lot of fun with writing this one. I tried my best with writing down the fight scenes from the warehouse while also making sure that it follows some similar details from the season 4 finale. I understand some of you might be curious as to why Barbara has a sense of morality all of a sudden in this chapter with letting Ra's and Jeremiah live. Well if you remember back in the middle of season 2 when Barbara woke up from her coma she felt guilty for the crimes she committed and wanted to make up for it by helping Jim when he was doing his own investigation. When Jim rejected her it made Barbara go back to being a bad guy again so it makes sense when you think about it. I think the best way to explain her sudden change of heart to wanting to help Jim now is, because Jim told her how Bruce risked his life to save Selina. If you remember back in Season 2 Barbara wanted to make Jim pay for leaving her after he fell in love with Lee. However when Jim tried to save Barbara from falling out of the church window she realized that Jim Isn't as selfish as she thought he was. So in a way when Barbara heard about Bruce saving Selina from Jeremiah it reminded her about how Jim tried to save her as well. But remember this is just an alternate version of the story I made up for the show so I just want you to know that, because I am not trying to make this canon in any way. I really loved writing the conversation between Bruce and Selina, because even though their relationship has grown over time I felt like the one thing that was missing was that there never a real moment where the two them try to admit the mistakes that they've made throughout the course of the show. I made sure that this conversation was detailed while referencing how it led up to this moment between both Bruce and Selina, because I feel like this is what helps bring back the spark of love in their relationship, which is also very important to help show how the two of them have grown more mature in the story. I am excited to write the final chapter of the story and like I said before if you have any suggestions on what I should add to this fanfiction then let me know in the comments. The last chapter will be updated soon so anyways thank you for reading this and have a good day.