I think this is my finest chapter. Enjoy. And if it's not too much trouble, a review would be nice. I'd like to see what you think of this...
The Dark Knight Falls
Batman sped out on his Batpod, gliding through the streets of Gotham. Bruce went over the events as he shot through parking lots and streets. Maybe the nightmare is finally over he thought. The Joker has been caught. Dent's Prosecution has gone through. It will all be over. NO more Batman...no more endless nights that blend in with the Day. I can be with Rachel. I can be with Diana.
Batman nearly crashed the batpod into a wall at that thought. He swerved the pod into an alley and parked. He shot his grapple gun and rose on top of a roof. He shot the gun higher and higher, elevating himself to one of the highest points of the city. He stood on an inverted stalactite and looked over the city. "Diana" he said aloud. It sounded nice to him, that name always rolled off his tongue easily. He removed his gloves and rubbed his hands together. He breathed in the cool night air. In the distance he could hear cars honking, people hollering, baby's crying...his city was alive. Perhaps the Joker was his last test... a test to show Gotham that no matter what they faced...even something as evil and sinister as the Joker...they would prevail. Bruce smiled at this, the first time in a long time. Rachel was going to wait for him, she said so right before Harvey's press conference. She said "yes" when he asked her whether she meant her promise.
And I didn't have to turn myself inBruce mused. Rachel's only problem was that if Bruce turned himself in...They couldn't be together.
He took off a gauntlet and touched the area where Diana placed her arm. "She was just happy I saved Steve" Bruce reasoned to the Gotham air, "She would have done the same in a reverse situation"
Still. He wondered what life would be life if he could go back and change it. It was wishful thinking, but it was one of the favorite places Bruce loved to visit...the other place being the Opera House, in his dreams, Bruce never got scared. He didn't want to leave.
Bruce thought about Dent's imminent reaction to Rachel and him. He wouldn't take it easily that's for sure...but don't I deserve some happiness? Bruce clenched his fists in anger; don't I deserve somebody to go home to!? After everything I've done...don't I deserve the most primal and basic need of a human being...Don't I deserve it?
Bruce played this in his head over and over. Diana was with Steve...she looked happy. She deserved that...right? I mean she's superhuman blessed with all the love and affection of the entire world, and I'm a kid who lost his parents and I protect this city without so much as a damn thank you!
Bruce was breathing heavily, his arm was causing him discomfort, and his fingers turned bloody. The gash in his arm needed to be stitched. He was tired. He looked up with weary eyes and heard the wild music emitting from dance clubs. He saw a couple enter an opera. Everyone was happy.
Bruce raised his hands to his cowl and slipped it off. His hair billowed slightly in the wind. He faced the cowl and gazed into its soulless eyes. He thought about what Diana said.
"The Man Behind the Mask" he said quietly. Maybe she was right...maybe Bruce Wayne did exist. Maybe he just needed to found.
But who would find Bruce Wayne? He thought. Diana or Rachel?
Rachel knew Bruce before everything...before Batman.
Yet...Batman never deterred Diana...she cared for Batman even when Rachel didn't.
He started into the cowl's eyes. So who am I? Batman? Or Bruce Wayne?
"Depends on how you look at it Son" said a calm voice next to him.
Bruce whipped his head around in dread. A million questions going through his head...how did somebody find me? Why did they follow me 14 stories up? HOW did they follow me up?
Yet an even bigger question sprung to mind when Bruce laid eyes on the voice...it was his father, Thomas Wayne.
Thomas smiled at his son, "Surprised to see me?"
Bruce immediately started focusing his breathing and removing a vial from his belt.
Thomas shook his head, "it's not Crane's gas that's doing this to you Son"
Bruce hesitated and looked at his dad, "Then how are you here?"
Thomas shrugged, "You're the detective..."
Bruce stared at Thomas with wary eyes, "You're not real?"
Thomas laughed, a real warm belly laugh, Bruce flinched at the sound of it...he hadn't heard that laugh in years.
"Son" Thomas chuckled "What does your brain tell you?"
Bruce narrowed his eyes and looked back into the city, "That you're a hallucination brought on by the combination of blood loss and sleep deprivation"
Thomas snapped his fingers, "Spoken like the son of a doctor"
Bruce's gaze didn't waver, "Why are you here?"
Thomas raised his eyebrows, "You asked"
Bruce in turn raised his eyebrows, "Asked what?"
Thomas smiled, "'Who are you' ring any bells?"
Bruce turned back to his Dad, "And my Father the hallucination would know that?"
"You did get your sarcasm from your mother" Thomas mused, "But no...I don't know who you are...nor your Mom, Alfred, Rachel, Diana" Thomas pointed at Bruce"...no one but you".
"Then why are you here?" Bruce asked
Thomas piqued his head, "I wanted to see my Son"
Bruce looked at the city again, his voice huskier, "You're dead Dad...I watched you die decades ago"
Thomas bowed his head in acknowledgement, "Yes you did...but it doesn't mean I don't love you...that you're mother doesn't love you"
"You're not real" Bruce stated quietly.
Thomas shrugged; "Maybe...maybe not" Thomas moved closer to Bruce and pointed to Bruce's chest, "But this heart...our love for you...that is real"
Bruce looked back at his Dad and remembered the stethoscope that he would play with as a kid. His dad would tell him that the deep thud...thud in someone's chest was a heart. And although they couldn't see it...the heart was a very real thing.
Bruce's eyes began to lose their defiance, "Dad?" he said quietly
Thomas looked back at his son, and touched Bruce's face "I'm here Bruce"
Bruce felt his dad's hands on his face and gulped a shaky breath. He felt his dad's warmth spread through his face. He looked back into his Dad's eyes.
"Dad..." Bruce began shakily, his breathing ragged, "I can't...I can't do this anymore...I don't know what to do and I'm alone." Bruce hung his head, "I don't know what I am"
Thomas reached down and grasped Bruce's hand in his, "Bruce" he said quietly, "Look at me"
Bruce looked back in his eyes, looking as vulnerable and scared as he did when he fell down that well.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you...we couldn't be there for you" Thomas whispered, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."
"No Dad I'm sor-"
"No Bruce" Thomas calmly stated, "No...it was never you fault. Never will be" Thomas raised a hand and stroked Bruce's face, "But you're not alone...never have been."
Thomas looked at his son with pride ringing throughout his voice, "Everything that you've been through Bruce...a lesser man would have given up years ago."Thomas smiled, "Even me"
Bruce let out a breath of laughter. Thomas laughed as well, "It's true...Bruce, I won't say that the life that's been thrust upon you has been easy...and it's not what I wanted for you." Thomas gripped his sons hand tightly, "But whatever you do...what you've done...I can't say there has every been a father more proud of his son"
Bruce nodded at this, his throat tight. Thomas let go of his son's hands and gazed into Bruce's eyes gently, "Bad things are going to happen Bruce...terrible things. And you're going to be the only one who can make the difference."
Bruce's voice was shaky, "I want the hurting to stop...they keep coming, there is so many of them, and there's only one of ME"
Thomas put a hand on Bruce's shoulder, "I know...I would walk hundreds of miles and spend every dime so that you wouldn't have this life...but I can't." Thomas rose, "But I can tell you this son...this isn't the end for you. There is so much ahead for you"
Bruce looked up to his Dad, feeling decades younger and thousand times smaller.
Thomas nodded, "Love. Life. Despair. Hope...Death...and we'll be there...every step of the way"
Bruce nodded; he looked at his Dad smile. "You never answered my question."
Thomas grinned; he nodded to the mask in Bruce's hands, "That mask of yours...why a bat?"
Bruce looked back at the mask, examining the Mask's ridges and features, feeling the smooth graphite surface. "Bat's frighten me."
He heard his dad call back faintly, "Why?"
Bruce breathed in slowly and stood up, looking up to the Black Gotham Sky. He closed his eyes and shifted through the memories; the sadistic murder scenes, the screams of terror, the Deaths...the Well. He remembered falling for what seemed an eternity, then his arm crushing on impact. Bruce screamed in agony, pain bursting through his mind. The Pain was unbearable, but the eerie silence that surrounded him demanded his attention. He looked around, he was in a well surround by grey stone. Bruce's whimpers and labored breathing filled the room, but in between breathes, he could make out a faint whisper, a ringing whistle. Bruce looked at the source of the noise...an empty black void that the little light from the well's entrance couldn't pierce. The eerie whisper rose higher and higher, its pitch increasingly tightening the muscles on Bruce's back. Bruce leaned away instinctively, then the whisper exploded into a deafening screech as a large black monster erupted from the black void . The monster split itself, a million tiny black masses. fluttering and flapping. Bats. They descended upon Bruce.
Bruce screamed as he threw his head back in sheer terror, smashing his head on the stone's behind him. Bruce's haunted screams echoed throughout the well as his head exploded with pain and he slipped into blackness.
Bruce opened his eyes, his entire body was tight an rigid from the nauseating memory. He relaxed his tensed shoulders and turned back to his Dad...but Thomas Wayne was gone.
Bruce understood. He was thrown into the Darkness as a child, and it paralyzed him with fear. It haunted him for years, through his childhood, his parent's deaths, his world travels.
Bruce calmly stared back into the mask's soulless eyes, the mask was his atonement with that Fear, using it to terrify those who preyed on the weak. The Fear was a part of him, it had been ever since that day he fell.
Bruce Wayne, Batman, Fear. They all represented the same idea.
He slipped his cowl on, turning away from the spot where Thomas Wayne had stood.
Maybe his dad didn't really appear to him...maybe it was just his mind reacting to his self-doubt the only way it could, with an inner reassurance brought on by a childhood figure.
Or maybe it really was Thomas Wayne...either way, Bruce knew there was work to be done.
His radio was beeping, he flicked it on.
"Batman" breathed Diana, "Something's happened."
Batman looked back to the empty spot that his father had sat at, Terrible things are going to happen.
"What's happened?" he demanded
"It's Dent...he never made it home"
Batman clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
He walked to the edge of the building. "Affirmative." He turned his radio off and jumped into the Gotham air.
GCPD
"He's coming" Diana said to the room.
"Good, that clown refuses to speak to anyone else" Gordon remarked.
"Lieute-Commisioner Gordon" Superman corrected, "Do you have any information on the Joker?"
"That is none of your busin-" Detective Ramirez began.
Gordon held up a hand, "It's fine Ramirez, they're in the O.K."
Ramirez sighed and held up her hands in defeat. Gordon signaled the League into the interrogation room. They stepped behind the one-way mirror and stared at the Joker fiddling and twitching in his seat.
Gordon turned to Superman, "No Superman, we have absolutely nothing on him. No name. No matches on prints, dental. His clothing is custom. Nothing in his pockets except knives and lint...no other identification. It's like he just appeared out of thin air."
The League stared at the Joker, who sat idly by himself in a chair, handcuffed to a desk.
"Do you want us to stand by?" Superman asked.
Gordon sipped some coffee and looked at him curiously, "You expecting him to try and break out?"
Diana glared at Gordon, "He's proven more than just a petty thug so far. He almost got Batman to turn himself in"
Superman held up a placating hand, he stepped between the two. "Look Commissioner, if you don't want us around, we'll go" He glanced at the Joker, "But you've got some fairly dangerous criminals in your possession now...I think a breakout attempt isn't something you should disregard."
Gordon nodded to himself and smiled when he saw the door to the interrogation room slightly move. He looked to Superman, "I don't think the Joker will escape...but if he does." Gordon glanced at the League, "Having you around will surely diminish his chances." Gordon put his coffee down and grabbed his keys. He signaled to a black button on the wall. "Push that button when I want the door unlocked."
Gordon walked to the interrogations room's door.
Diana called out, "Wait...what about Batman?"
Gordon smiled as the door opened, "Just watch"
Diana turned to Superman who shrugged. Flash looked at the Joker uneasily, "Man that guy is just..." Flash shuddered out of a lost for words.
John agreed, "He just manages to get under your skin...even when he doesn't talk or do anything."
"Shhh" Shayera exclaimed, "They're talking"
"Evveeening Commissioner..." The Joker drawled in the Dark room.
Commissioner Gordon sat down in front of him. "Harvey Dent never made it home"
"Of course not"
"What have you done with him?"
The Joker looked shocked, "ME?" he asked indignantly, "I was right here!?" He held up his handcuffs as evidence. "See? Who did you leave him with huh, YOUR people? Assuming of course they are still your people...and not the Mob's"
The Joker licked his lips, "Does it depress you Commissioner? To know just how alone you really are...how at any moment, everything you're planning is being fed straight to Maroni and the Chechen...does it make you feel responsible for Harvey Dent's current..." The Joker rolled his eyes back, "situation?"
Gordon was unfazed, "What have you done with him?"
The Joker pursed his lips, "What time is it?"
"What difference does that make?"
The Joker widened his eyes, "Well Commish, depending on the time he can be in one spot...or several...hmmm?"
Gordon removed his keys, "If we're going to play games..." Gordon reached over and un-cuffed the Joker, "I'm going to need a cup of coffee"
The Joker laughed, "Aaahhh. The Good-Cop/Bad-Cop routine?"
Gordon stood by the door and nodded to the one way mirror. Superman nodded and John activated the lock. A loud buzz rang and Gordon opened the door. He turned to the Joker. "Not exactly."
Gordon walked back to the League behind the mirror.
"So now what?" Flash asked
Gordon walked over to the light switch, he looked at Flash, "Now we see what we can find out"
Gordon flicked on the switch, and turned his attention to the window.
The lights came on, and it revealed the dark figure standing behind the Joker. It was Batman. His upper left torso and arm was stained with blood. He grabbed the back of the Joker's head and slammed it into the table.
Diana turned, "How did he-?"
Superman shrugged, his eyes focused on the scene in front of them, "Didn't even sense him"
She turned back to the room.
The Joker looked at Batman, fascinated. "Argh." He groaned as he held his head. "Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy. He can't feel the next-"
Batman slammed a vicious fist onto the Joker's fingers. The Joker stared at the punch and didn't even show the slightest amount of pain. The Joker raised his eyebrows at Batman, "See?"
"You wanted me...here I am" Batman growled.
"I wanted to see what you'd do" The Joker smugly stated, "And You didn't disappoint...you let a lot of people die. Then you let Dent take your place...even to a guy like me that's cold"
"Where's Dent?" Batman demanded.
The Joker laughed ridiculously. "Those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to the way things were" the Joker shook his head. "But there's no going back...you've changed things...Forever"
"Then why do you want to kill me?"
The Joker let out a blood-curling laugh, "HAHAHAH! I-I-I-" The Joker was almost sobbing with laughter, "I don't want to kill you" he laughed incredulously and stared at the gash in Batman's arm, " Although I can see why you might think that Hahahah! You should really learn how to drive I tell ya."
The Joker rubbed his stained make-up vigorously, "What would I do WITHOUT you? Go back to ripping of Mob dealers? Hahhahahaha. No nononononono." The Joker regained himself and pointed to Batman, almost begging, "No you...you complete ME"
Batman stared at the Joker, "You're garbage. Who kills for money"
The Joker viciously shook his head, "Don't talk like one of THEM you're NOT!" The Joker lowered his voice to a hollow whisper. "Even if you'd like to be.
The Joker pointed to the one-way mirror, "To THEM...you're just a freak...like me" The Joker pointed to Batman. "They need you right now...but when they don't...they'll cast you out."
The Joker leaned in and smiled, "I proved it to you. All you've done for this city...and they were ready to throw you to the lions" The Joker licked his lips. "Right? The CITY demanded that you turn yourself in...it's like you were nothing to them"
The Joker nodded to the mirror again, "And if you think that you could find shelter with your superhuman friends...we both know that they're not your friends"
The Joker grinned, "We're both FREAKS...we don't have anybody in this world. I am the only person who actually knows you" The Joker rolled his eyes back, "REALLY...I mean, do you think I was BORN this way?" The Joker faced the screen and looked at the League and officers undoubtedly behind the mirror "Do you think I was MADE THIS WAY?"
The Joker chuckled, "No-no-no...I was...normal...like you must have been" The Joker pointed at Batman, "You weren't born like this either...something happened...something that made you lose your mind. I mean...I SURE DID. HAHHAHAHAHAHHA!"
Diana turned to Superman. "Do you believe this? Batman surely doesn't think that-"
Superman turned heavy eyes to her. "I don't know Diana"
She looked back to the room. Electrified by the Joker's words.
The Joker pursued his lips, "I'm the only one here who truly knows you...those people over there...they're nothing to you...and you know. Deep down inside...you know it. They don't understand you...but I do."
Batman didn't say a word; he stood staring down the Joker. Quiet. Almost eerily calm.
"We're OUTCASTS Batman...we're human. That's why we're freaaaaakkkks. " The Joker licked his lips and twitched his eyes, "Those supers in there...the League...they're not human. They don't need to act human .But WE" The Joker pointed to himself and Batman, "WE...we are human...but we don't act like it. We're not supposed to do these things." The Joker leaned in close again to Batman, "but we do it anyway"
Diana clenched her fists, "Batman CAN'T believe what this madman is saying!"
Flash nodded, "Yeah...I mean yeah Batman is scary and all...but he's still one of us."
Diana turned to Gordon, "I have to go in there. If Batman for a second thinks that I don't think of him as-"
Superman placed a hand on her shoulders, "Diana, you can't give up on him that easily"
J'onn stared at the scene, "Agreed. It's ok...Batman isn't one to be broken easily"
Diana listened to this and exhaled angrily through her nose. Calm down Diana. Don't give up so easily on him.
The Joker leaned back and smiled smugly, "I'll show you Bats. I really will. I've got the news reporters waiting to get a little bit of where Dent is go-"
Batman's calm demeanor erupted and he jumped forward, grapping the Joker by the scruff of his neck and pinning him to a wall.
"WHERE'S DENT?" he demanded.
The Joker laughed, "Oh you have all these rules and you think they'll save you"
Superman knew that this kind of treatment was against the law, he turned to Gordon. "Do you want us to go in?"
Gordon knew all eyes were on him, he shook his head. "He's in control"
Diana turned back to the scene and whispered, "I'd hate to see out of control"
Batman was holding the Joker up viciously by the neck. The League was able to see Batman's face perfectly from this angle. He was raw with rage. "I have ONE rule."
The Joker chortle, "Oh well that's the rule you'll have to break to know the truth"
"WHICH IS?"
"That the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. And tonight you're going to break your ONE rule"
Batman leaned in dangerously to the Joker, and snarled, "I'm Considering it"
Diana turned to Superman, alarmed at what she was hearing. Superman gulped, "He's in control" Diana wasn't wholly convinced. She didn't want to see Batman murder somebody right in front of them.
The Joker's smug smile widened "Well you're going to have to decide quickly if you want to save one of them"
Diana stood there dumbfounded. She turned to Gordon, "Them?" Gordon merely looked at her, as confused as she was. She turned back and heard the same uncertainty in Batman's voice.
"...Them?"
The Joker stretched his neck that was in Batman's vice grip, "You know for a while there...I thought you really were Dent." The Joker laughed, "The Way you threw yourself after HER at the party. HAHAHA!"
Diana saw Batman's face turned raw with red rage. He flipped the Joker and slammed his body on the table so hard that he dented a table leg.
"That's it" Gordon said behind her, he pushed the button and moved for the door. She looked at Batman who immediately grabbed a chair and moved to the door. He wedged the chair into the Door's handle, preventing it from opening. Batman shot a glare at the mirror, straight where the League was standing. He growled, "Don't move"
Diana flinched; she stood there paralyzed by Batman's anger. She turned to Superman who was breathing heavily, his eyes huge.
Flash spoke up, "We can't just let him kill the guy"
John leaned his face to the glass, "Who is 'her'?"
Diana breathe in deeply, she knew exactly who it was. "Rachel Dawes" she said quietly.
She shook as a loud shatter when through room; she looked up horrified by the image she saw. Batman was holding the Joker's head in one hand, violently smashing it into the mirror repeatedly. Batman smashed it so hard that he created a hole between the two rooms. He dropped the Joker and kicked him.
"WHERE ARE THEY!?" he thunderously roared.
The Joker's bloodied face oozed in delight. "Does Harvey know about you and his bride-to-be?"
Batman delivered a brutal punch to the Joker's face, "WHERE ARE THEY?!"
The Joker rebounded from the punch with deliriously giggles, "Having an affair with the easy Gotham attorney!?"
Batman grabbed the Joker, lifted him up, and smashed his back into the ground. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"
At the sight of Batman picking the Joker up, Flash jumped into action. He thrust a hand into the hole that Batman created and began to tear it larger. He looked at the League pleadingly, "He is going to KILL him"
But everyone else stood there shocked, they thought they saw all the sides to Batman. But this was different. He was brutal. Sadistic. He was beating the Joker inhumanely. Diana stood there, her hands tight in fear. With each blow Batman delivered, her breath tightened. She never saw this side of him. He wasn't human.
The Joker laughed with a new nuance to his voice, as if he loved the punishment Batman was delivering. "OHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA HA!" The Joker's bloody face oozed into his mouth, he laughed while blood stained his teeth. "You have NOTHING. NOTHING to threaten me with. NOTHING to do, with all your STRENGTH.
Batman picked up the Joker and was about to smash his head into the window when the Joker grinned,"Don't WORRY! I'm going to tell you where they are. And that's the POINT. You'll have to choose. He's at 250 52nd street." The Joker licked his lips, remembering "And she's at avenue X. At Cicero"
Batman threw the Joker to the ground. The Joker called out, "Your friends won't do you much good. It will all be you still!"
Batman ignored this; he turned around and threw a small explosive at the one way mirror. It exploded and created a path for him to dive through. He emerged on the other side while Commissioner Gordon came to his side. The League rushed to him and followed Gordon.
"Which one are you going after?" Gordon asked as he ran to keep up with Batman.
Batman never hesitated, "RACHEL"
Gordon stopped running and stared at Batman. The League stopped behind him and noticed his hesitation. Gordon then nodded and quickly resumed running to the patrol cars. "We'll get Dent"
Diana rushed by Gordon who was commandeering officers. "Ramirez you're with me. Heisenberg, Charles, Zachary. Get into a patrol car each and its 250 52n't street."
Gordon turned to the League, "Which of you can get there the fastest?"
On Cue, Flash rushed forward and nodded solemnly, "I can sir'
"Do you know your way around the city?"
"I do. I can rise into the air and give him directions." John stated.
Gordon nodded, "Lantern you're with Flash, navigate him to the right direction."
Diana stepped forward, "I can fly very fast. I can hover above and follow Batman to his location"
Gordon grimaced, "I don't think he'll su-"
Diana narrowed her eyes and jumped into the air, "I'm not asking for his permission" and flew off.
Superman breathed deeply and turned to J'onn, "Keep track of them J'onn, Batman isn't exactly in a peaceful state of mind, and Flash doesn't know the city. They might be put at risk"
J'onn nodded, and took off without hesitation. His hands to his head.
Superman turned to Shayera "I need you to stay here while I go afte-"
Gordon shook his head, "No Superman. You're the strongest and toughest. I want you here making sure that maniac doesn't break loose"
Superman turned to Gordon, defiant and ready to argue. Shayera touched his arm, "Superman. He's right. You're much stronger than I am. The Joker won't stand any chance against you"
Superman exhaled and nodded, he turned to Gordon. "I'll stay, hurry and go."
Gordon nodded grimly and took off in his patrol. Superman nodded towards Gordon's car. "Make sure he doesn't kill himself. Gotham doesn't need another dead Commissioner."
Shayera primed her lips and nodded. She flapped her wings and took off into the air. Superman watched her fly away. He breathed deeply and turned back to the interrogation room. This will be interesting.
Diana was gliding across the rooftops, struggling to keep sight of Batman's incredible maneuverability. It wasn't just that he knew his city. He knew every crack, crevice, corner, and alley. He decimated anything in his path. She watched with a mixture of horror and wonder as he destroyed cars, bridges, barriers...anything in his way was obliterated. She activated her radio beacon. "Batman..." she breathed.
Almost immediately Batman responded, rugged "What's happened!?"
Diana shook her head, she looked down from the sky, and "Nothing...It's just that I can get you to the location faster than you can on your...vehicle. Look I know you don't accept help but I real-"
"Affirmative, fly directly above me" Batman interjected.
Diana stopped in the middle of the air. He agreed with her. Without as much as a dark remark or statement. Diana shook her head and flew down to Batman. She hovered above his figure as he raced with the Batpod beneath him. He looked up at her and she nodded. Batman pushed a button on the Pod and a huge flame erupted out of the exhaust. Batman extended his cape and jumped out of the pod. The heat from the flame caught his cape and lifted him into the sky. He glided down as the Batpod self-detonated. He looked at Diana who was gawking at him, impressed.
Batman slowly descended in his glide, "Diana...as efficient as my suit is...I cannot fly"
Diana blinked and shook herself out of the trance. She reached down and picked Batman up by the shoulders. "Where to?" she asked.
If Batman was discomforted with being carried by Diana, he didn't show it. He nodded to his right, "That direction. GO!"
Diana nodded and sped off. She couldn't help but feel awkward at the situation. She was carrying Gotham's Dark Knight...and he didn't mind at all. Actually, he looked... in pain. Something was wrong. Batman was acting irrationally. Desperately, even. Why else would he so readily accept her aid? As humiliating as it was for his ego. Just who is Rachel Dawes to Batman? she thought. She was so convinced he would have taken off after Dent, he was his successor, his ticket to life after Batman...why Rachel?
Batman's voice snapped her out of her train of thought, "Almost there"
Diana looked down; they were closing in on a degrading building. She looked at Batman; he was in fiddling with his belt. He removed two metallic items and snapped them together, they formed a gun of some sort. Batman with a gun?
Batman compressed the gun and fired three projectiles at the building ahead. He dissembled the gun and looked up to Diana. "Let me go on three"
Diana stared at him, "what on earth are you talkin-"
"One" Batman fixed his cowl and pressed a button on his belt. Two large explosions came from the building. "Two"
Diana stared at him in shock, "what are you doing?"
Batman expanded his cape and activated the electric current. "THREE!"
Diana released her grip on him and nosedived to follow his descent. Batman narrowed his cape and shot toward the building at an incredible speed. Diana stared at the building as they rapidly closed the distance. "Batman..." she shouted out "You're going to crash into that wall"
Batman shook his head, "You scout the top of the bottom floors. I'll get the Top. Work our way to the middle. We'll waste time if you have to drop me off."
Diana sputtered, "The WALL you mor-"
On cue, Batman activated the last projectile. A huge explosion erupted and Batman expanded his cape to capture the hot air once again. Batman used the sudden lift along with his momentum to shoot directly up into the air and onto the rooftop.
Diana veered off from hitting the wall at the last second; she was enamored by Batman's flawless execution. She hit the ground and rolled in. She looked around the bottom floor and didn't have a clue where to begin, the place was a mausoleum. Everywhere she turned there was more scaffolding and unfinished materials. Diana closed her eyes and listened for any movement. She heard the faint sound somebody's voice...a woman's voice begging and pleading...Rachel.
Diana looked up to the ceiling and sighed, it was for the greater good. She grabbed the nearest pole, and smashed a crater-size hole into the ceiling above her. She flew up and listened again. The voice was getting louder. Diana raised her fists and flew into the ceiling above her, listening for Rachel's voice, repeating the process. Through the sounds of crushed concrete and steel, she could here another voice...it was Harvey's. But why would he be here? She flew faster, the voice getting stronger and stronger. She began to make sense of the dialogue take place.
Harvey's voice was muffled, "They're coming for you Rachel!"
Rachel sobbed, "I know but I don't want them to"
Diana began to hear them without her superhearing. She was extremely close. She smashed through another ceiling when she heard two new voices; they were ...Wally and John?
She heard them as if through radio...or a muffle. She heard Harvey yelling, "No! NOT ME! WHY YOU COMING FOR ME!?"
"WALLY NO!" John screamed.
Diana froze. Harvey stopped screaming. She expected an explosion or a scream of pain. But she got nothing.
John's voice came out shaky, "You almost activated the trip-wire"
Wally breathed out a ragged breath, "Oh man. I didn't even see that."
"You wouldn't have. Only a trained soldier would have the eye for it. Trip wire is so thin it's damn near invisible. Look..." John drawled on. "Follow the wire...it's connected to the explosives on Dent's back...Man the Joker is clever. There's trip along the doors...good thing we came in from the windows. "
"Good thing YOU came in through the window...I can't fly. Mr. Dent your saf-" Flash remarked.
A beeping noise erupted out of nowhere, steadily getting faster. John screamed, "Wally we need to get him out NOW!"
"Wally the explosions are on a timer! They're going to go OFF! GET OUT!" John roared.
She heard doors kicked and metal grate against each other. It was a loud and desperate escape.
"RACHEL! NO RACHEL!" Harvey screamed.
Diana heard the dialogue coming from the ceilings above. She was extremely close. Her pace quickened out of fear. If the time for Harvey was going to go off, Rachel's must be on a similar timer.
Rachel breathed out, "Harvey it's ok! Listen to me! I do have an answer for you...and my answer is YES...
Diana shot through the last ceiling and landed with the rubble. She saw Rachel bound to a chair and explosives dressed all around her. She was crying.
"...I want to marry you" Rachel sobbed.
Diana flew up and hovered above Rachel. There was a radio of some kind, allowing for the communication she heard between Dent, Wally and John. She looked to the entrances to the room, she had to scrunch her eyes but she could see the trip-wire set up by the Joker. It was dangerously close to the hole she entered through. Diana let out a shaky breath. She came close to activating it herself. She looked around the room; there were no windows in this room. No other entrance besides the doors.
Rachel saw Diana and began exhaled gratefully, "Oh thank god you're here Diana"
Diana looked over Rachel; she was draped in explosives and wires. She didn't know here to begin.
"Rachel" Diana began steadily, "I'm going to get you out of her-"
The beeping noise erupted again, slow and steady. Diana's eyes went huge. Rachel saw that panic and began to hyperventilate "It's ok Diana. Go! You'll di-"
A loud screeching thud erupted behind them. Diana turned and saw Batman, shaking and trembling. He saw Rachel and Diana, and rushed forward. He stumbled as he ran to them.
Diana felt a shot of dread shoot through her. He ran straight to them without even noticing the stumble... Batman looked over Rachel, "Rachel..." he said hoarsely. He looked around in panic as the beeping suddenly reached a new nuance and began to beep incredibly quicker. Dread filled Diana as she saw the reason behind it, the trip-wire. She finally understood the Joker's taunt..."your friends won't do you much good...it will all be you still"
The Joker knew we could fly; we wouldn't need doors to walk on...but Batman...
Diana whirled around and saw Rachel come to the same conclusion, she heard the conversation between John and Wally...she knew about the trip-wire. But Batman didn't. Batman began to wildly dissemble the explosives, it was a futile effort...there wasn't enough time. Rachel looked up at Batman, her voice gentle. "Please...run!"
Batman looked up at her as the beeping noise reached its highest pitch. The explosives on Rachel began to glow. Diana spun around and grabbed Batman by the arm. She flew at the wall, bracing for the impact. Batman was savagely trying to break her grip, he was screaming, "RACHEEELLLL!"
Diana just shot through the wall as the explosions went off. She might have imagined it. It might have been the combination of the roaring explosion, Batman's screams, and the heightened adrenaline from the situation...but right before they shot out. She thought she could hear Rachel whisper, "goodbye Bruce". Diana couldn't think of it further. Blackness enveloped her as she smacked her head into the ground.
1 hour later...
Diana stared at the scene in front of her. The entire news teams from the city responded to the scene with agonizing speed. Diana was drenched in water and dirt. She helped drown out the flames with the GCFD. She looked down from the rooftop she was perched on. She didn't want to be questioned...and she couldn't stand to be down there. She saw Gordon arrive. Flash, John, Shayera and J'onn, all solemn on the scene. Wally and John looked like they were roasted alive, their suits charred. Diana tossed a pebble down and beckoned them up.
Wally looked at the smoking building, "Did you get her out?"
Diana shook her head, "No...No we didn't" She looked up at Wally and John, "You guys make it out ok?"
Wally hung his head, John shook his as well. "We got out...but Dent was hurt pretty bad..."
Wally rubbed the side of his face, "it burnt off...his left side of his face...burnt off by the explosion"
J'onn nodded, "He was gravely injured...but he'll live"
Shayera looked at the smoky building in front of them, "What happened?"
Diana shook her head, "It was the trip-wire...I didn't tell Batman soon enough...he opened the door and..." Diana couldn't finish the rest.
John hung his head, "I'm sorry, I should have radioed in or-"
J'onn shook his head again, "no...No it wouldn't have done much good John."
The group looked at him, J'onn stared at the scene. "I just finished talking with the Fire Marshall...The explosion from this building was much more damaging than the one Dent was in...And the explosives here were meant to go off...they weren't meant to be disabled. There were too many of them, Batman would never have enough time."
"Like that will console him" Shayera muttered.
J'onn nodded, "Yes...but still...the guilt is not on anyone here...it was set-up in this manner for a reason."
"Where is he?" Flash asked quietly
Diana nodded to the building, "He's in there"
Flash nodded gravely.
Diana sighed and walked away, she held up a hand when John tried to accompany her...she needed to be alone.
She went over the thoughts in her head.
The Joker knew Batman would react this way...but how? He seemed to be in on it. He must have known Rachel is...was somebody important to Batman, but that's because he thought Batman was Dent. But Dent isn't Batman...yet, Batman was still throwing himself to the wind to save Rachel. Why would he do-
Diana's mind went back to the conversation between Bruce and Rachel kissing at the conference. She thought of Rachel and Alfred's conversation.
Why is Bruce letting Harvey do this? He came down to the press conference. And he just stood by.
She remembered the conversation between Bruce and Rachel at the party...
It's happening Rachel, That part of my life is almost over, and you said we'd be together.
Diana remembered what he said to her at the Watchtower.
I made a promise to someone...that on the day that Gotham would no longer need Batman.
She thought of everything that she knew of Batman. She remembered J'onn's analysis of Batman. His wealth, his training, his mental status...Bruce Wayne was rich; he disappeared for 10 years...he lost his parents when he was 12.
Diana's eyed widened...she couldn't believe...she didn't want to Believe. Batman was Bruce Wayne? She shook her head, it was ridiculous, it wasn't POSSIBLE.
But she couldn't shake it out of her head. It all fit. The money, the training, the reason behind it all...Bruce Wayne called her princess...only Batman and Superman did that. Bruce disappeared right before the Joker arrived at the party. Bruce and Rachel...Diana froze as she realized why Bruce's jaw was so familiar...she had been STARING at it up in the Watchtower for as long as she could remember.
She whirled around to the League to ask them something, but she stopped at the look on their faces. They all were staring down at the building's entrance with sober looks.
Diana looked down herself. Every news reporter, cameraman, police officer, fire-fighter...everyone was quiet and staring at the entrance.
Batman was slowly walking out of the smoke and rubble. He was torn up. His cape was ripped. His suit was bloody from the gash on his arm. His armor was shattered and stained with ash. His cowl was chipped and broken.
Batman stumbled out. He was pathetically wobbling from wall to wall. He gasped for air as he leaning his body on a railing. He groaned in pain and his legs were trembling.
He was carrying something in his arms, an Arms Carry. A body. The body was lying on its back; Batman had his right arm under the knees, and his left arm supporting the back...the arms hanging uselessly to its side. The head was cradled into Batman's chest.
The police shined a light on Batman, the news reporters began to roll live from the scene.
The entire city turned on the news to see the Death of a Gotham District Attorney. Everyone saw Batman emerge from the smoke, Rachel's' charred body in his hands. He emerged slowly, staggering. He didn't face the crowd heroically or belligerently. His head was hung. He looked down at Rachel's body; he looked down at the floor...ashamed.
Death... he repeated in his head numbingly. His Father said, Death.
He walked down the set of stairs, weak and tired. He looked up to the horde of people quietly staring at him. Batman tried to walk forward but fell to one knee. He couldn't take it anymore.
Batman knelt on the ground. Rachel's body in his hands. He was breathing heavily, his hands shaking. He stood up and walked forward again, but he collapsed to a knee the second time. He let out a roar of pain as the gash in his arm ripped open again, spilling blood over the ground.
Batman raised his head, his eyes dark and black. His mouth gasping for air. He looked up and saw the cameras, the officers...everyone was looking at Batman and the body in his hands. Quiet.
Batman gritted his teeth, and with a grunt of pain he stood again. The sound of his boots against the rubble echoed loudly through the night. His breath and his grunts of pain were audible to the world.
He staggered upright and walked forward to a medic. He passed the body over and breathed in a steady breath. Batman's arm fell to his side. He was running out of blood, and energy.
He looked back out to the cameras and he stepped forward. Batman's energy failed him. His resolve failed him.
He swayed unsteadily, his cape dragging across the floor. Batman dropped to both knees. He bent over to support himself with his hands. It was an alien image. The Batman on his knees. He breathed in a ragged breath, looking down at the floor. He spat out blood. He looked around...his Dad wasn't here...he lied. He promised to be there every step of the way, he promised.
He looked up to the spotlight on him. It was blaring. He got up one last time. His body wavering precariously. He stepped forward once again...but his leg gave way. He fell to his knees again, the world slowing down. The world weighing down. Rachel's death weighing down. His body leaned to the side slowly, his arms failing to support him. His torso hit the floor...then his head. His body lay on the rubble askew, mangled, torn, and beaten. He remembered Diana rushing to him, screaming reassurance...then...nothing...He blacked out.
In front of Gordon, the Police, the News, The League...the entire City.
The Dark Knight Had Fallen.
