Chapter 20

Freakshow

Someone asked me what's difference between what Jeri wanted to do, and what Jerome asked Bruce to do. The difference is simply that Jeri wanted Bruce to choose and directly kill one of the potential targets, by his own hands. Jerome wants him to choose who will be killed, but isn't forcing him to actually murder them himself. It will be explained furthermore.

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Arkham was being surrounded. Unknowingly to Jerome, the cops and the soldiers were getting in position, arresting the inmates and cultists they would find outside; they also saved most of the civilians who managed to escape. They were getting ready to get in. Jim and Hilliger were side by side, along with Alfred and Bullock.

"Lee, have they moved?"

"No, I don't think they suspect anything. Ed was right, they probably counted on that woman to alert them."

They probably also thought Cameron, the mole, would give the alarm if anything happened. But Cameron had been directly locked in a military prison, therefore, Jerome probably never learned that he had been arrested. His two sentinels were down, unknowingly to him, and his bomb was defused. It was now or never.

"Be quick, though, they're doing something in the Main Hall, with Jeremiah and Selina, I don't know what it is, but I'm scared they won't last long."

Lee and Ed gave them every indication they needed to get in as discretely as possible. They had to open fire sooner than expected, to rescue the people getting pursued. Thankfully for them, in the chaos Arkham had become, moves and gunshots wouldn't alert anyone anymore.

In the Main Hall tension was rising. The spectators were eagerly waiting for Bruce to choose, Bruce looked at the two of them; there was no way he could make that choice! He didn't want either of them to die!

Jerome smirked at Bruce' face. That would be the first step. He had been tempted to give the knife to Bruce, but as he told Jeri, he didn't want to force him to kill, no. However, he wanted to force him to make a choice. That wasn't the same as killing by your own hands, not to Jerome, killing someone, stabbing them or shooting them for the very first time, that was unique. Choosing who would die or not, that wasn't thrilling and mind-changing like the first kill.

All he wanted for now, was to show Bruce, once and for all, that all his efforts had been vain and that in the end, one instant could ruin all his life. That was one essential step to take Bruce on the right road toward the first kill and then realization.

"How do I even know you'll keep your word? That one will survive? You could be perfectly be playing one of your mean games."

"Bruce, even if this is a game, it doesn't mean it's not important. Didn't I allowed the people you saved to escape? The kids? And the girl in the Mall?"

That was true…And it was true he would also kill both if he didn't…

"Cut the crap out, Jerome!" Jeremiah's voice surprised them all. He was scared, quivering, but still talking: "Bruce will choose me, we all know that. That stupid little game is useless! Let's get it over with."

Jerome titled his head, a bit confused: "Have I overestimated you, Jeremiah? I thought you would have wrapped Bruce around your finger already, so much he wouldn't hesitate."

"That just shows how little you think! I didn't wrap him around my finger and it's actually much more probable that he will ask you to kill me; that's the most logical choice. Even if he choose me to live, you'll murder me right behind, we all know how much you hate me. You're not letting me go out alive! However, you don't care about that girl, and in any case, she is swift enough to escape. Bruce knows that, that's why he will logically choose me, but then, what will you do? You'll see me dead on the floor, and you'll realize you just lost your favorite scapegoat. But now, that's all you: acting recklessly, without thinking and then regretting it! You never changed…"

Jerome punched him hard, making him stumble. "And you didn't change, still opening your damn mouth too much! You never understood you shouldn't mess with me!"

Coughing, Jeremiah smirked slightly: "You always blamed me for everything that went wrong in your life, but tell me, once I'm dead, who will you take as a scapegoat?! Bruce will just hate you more, and you'll only have yourself to blame!"

Jerome was about to hit him again when Bruce put himself between them. "It was a fake choice wasn't it? You just thought I would choose Selina, didn't you? And then you would have killed Jeremiah, just to break me a bit more. It was just all for the show, to add drama."

Still furious against his brother, Jerome couldn't help but focus on Bruce again. He didn't seem angry, but thoughtful. He smirked: "You do know me…And you probably know there is no way I'm letting them live. But which one would you have picked up, Bruce?"

"Neither."

Jerome frowned and was about to remind him this wasn't an option when Selina suddenly spoke up: "You know, the cops are probably coming by now. There is no way they weren't alerted, and you're going to need hostages, as much as possible. You also angered Penguin, one of the biggest Crime Boss of Gotham. It's his mother you took to the Bell Tower…"

"Are you trying to scare us, kid? Do you seriously believe we would do everything we did if we feared to die?! Death is a condition for us to enjoy life." He turned to his brother. "As you pointed out, you're the most logical choice, aren't you? But first, tell Bruce what really happened that night. You know, when you accused me of setting your bed on fire?"

Jeremiah didn't want to talk about that, but right now…Keeping Jerome talking was the best thing he could do. If he gave his twin what he wanted, he would be happy, and that was better than an angry Jerome.

"Yes…I did lie when I said I set your bed on fire."

Bruce's face changed at this: Jerome had told him the truth! I never lied to you, Bruce. That was Jerome's word and those were true. Jeremiah closed his eyes and went on: "I was scared, and we both know you wanted to! I just acted first, that's all!"

Suddenly, Jerome slammed his fist against his face once more and this time, Jeremiah fell on the ground. The cultists around cheered and Jerome went to stab Jeremiah but Bruce pushed him away and punched him hard. Jerome punched him as well, and the two started to fight. Feeling her captor's hold lessening, Selina yanked her arms away, and pushed her captor as violent as she could. She grabbed her switchblade immediately and stabbed someone in the shoulder.

"Back off!" she yelled.

She kicked another in the teeth as they tried to get Jeremiah and she helped the teen to get on his feet. He drew out his blade as well. Jerome threw Bruce against a table, making him crash against it and loose balance. He went at his brother when several cultists shrieked and one word echoed through the Hall:

"GCPD!"

Everything moved, everyone went everywhere and the chaos just intensified. Jerome's eyes widened: what?! He was supposed to be warned! He did the first thing he thought of: he rushed to Bruce, forcefully yanked him on his feet and put the knife under his throat: "We're getting out!" Bruce grasped his arm but didn't resist.

Every inmates and cultists either tried to fight or run away, but the military and cops weren't as easy to take down as staff and doctors. The few civilians still alive were used as hostages as well. Selina and Jeremiah were trying to reach Bruce, the redhead clinging to the girl.

"Selina, get Jeremiah out! I can't come with you!"

As she saw Jerome dragging Bruce away, she gaped and had a realization: he didn't know!

"We defused the bomb! You can escape!"

Those words made Bruce's eyes widen and Jerome's grasp tighten. Immediately, the boy tried to struggle against his hold, but Jerome was strong and Bruce was reaching his limit. There was no way his captor would let him escape. The cops got him by surprise, yes, but he still had a way to escape! The few cultists around did everything to ease his way out, attacking the soldiers and cops, and Jerome used his hostage as much as possible to shield himself. Using the general chaos, he managed to make it to the closest elevator. Among the chaos, Jim and Bullock both saw that. They went to pursue the psycho who still had a knife under Bruce's neck.

Selina yelled Bruce's name, when she was pushed away by someone. Some of the cultists around hadn't escaped or been arrested yet. They threw themselves at Jeremiah, and Selina kicked one of them in face and elbowed another while Jeremiah was pushing away another. She was fighting over another attacked when her side was violently hit and she slammed against a table. A big man brutally pinned her down against it. He had a knife. She tried to kick him, but to no avail. He raised the knife. She saw herself dead in a flash.

A shot echoed and the man's body jolted. Blood splashed out of his skull and before he could fell, someone violently shoved him away. Alfred helped Selina on her feet, and she couldn't help but grip his sleeve more tightly than she wished. He briefly pressed her back, she had almost been killed, and though she was tough, she was still a kid.

"You're alright?" Asked he.

"Yeah." Even her voice was quivering.

She saw Hilliger helping Jeremiah as well. Cops and soldiers were arresting the last criminals and inmates. But where was Jerome? "He took Bruce away! They went that way."

She went to stand and show him but one soldier stopped her. She was a civilian, and she had to be safely evacuated. Alfred went right behind Bullock and Jim when one inmate jumped on him and tried to seize his gun. The two men struggled against each other, Alfred was trained, but the other was big and younger.

Jerome pushed the button for the lowest floor. Bruce bit Jerome's arm, making him wince, but to no avail and didn't manage to free himself from his hold in time. He only had the time to see Jim and Harvey before the doors closed on them. Gordon roared in frustration and he and Harvey ran through the stairs instead. They would find him!

"Lee! Watch for the elevator, tell me at which floor Jerome will exit!"

"Okay, I'm watching that out."

Jerome smirked. He knew a way out, from the underground parts, there was an access to the sewers. He would go that way. That was undoubtedly the best way out. Then…He would find a place, an isolated one where he would lock up Bruce and keep him away. But dammit, couldn't he stop struggling!

Bruce was boiling with rage. It was ending today! He seized Jerome's wrist and maintained the knife as far as possible from his neck. Jerome tried to push against his hold but the boy sent his skull back right in Jerome's nose. The redhead yelped and his grip lessened. Bruce struggled even harder, desperate, he struggled in spite of the pain and the exhaustion. Still, Jerome wouldn't let go. Bruce's foot hit the doors and he violently pushed on his leg, sending Jerome against the metallic wall. A yelp invaded his ear and he bit Jerome again. Yet, even though he tasted the blood, it didn't make the redhead go.

He sent his skull back again, harder. This time, the redhead's hold lessened and Bruce struggled away from him, but in the small space, there wasn't any escape. Jerome laughed darkly:

"Look at him! The unbreakable little hero! Come on!"

Bruce growled at him and attacked again. His whole body was in pain but it didn't matter right now. That was the last time! He wouldn't take anymore! He remembered the rain drops and felt the same energy which invaded him on the roof. He lunged at Jerome again and kicked him in the stomach. He tried to punch him, but Jerome dodged and punched him as well. The boy landed against the doors and Jerome saw they had reached their floor. He threw himself at Bruce and pushed him hard as the door opened. The boy was already loosing balance and when Jerome threw himself at him, he fell.

Air left his lungs as his back crashed on the floor while Jerome's body crashed over his. The pain in his head made him yelp and his vision spun and blurred for a short moment. The redhead pinned his wrists down and gave him a fiery glare.

"You're not escaping! Bomb or not, you're not going anywhere!"

Bruce tried to trash away to struggle, but Jerome held him down. He leaned closer to the boy, their faces merely an inch apart. "You're. Not. Going. Anywhere. Do you underst…"

He was abruptly cut off and he felt unable to move as Bruce's head suddenly jerked up. Their lips meet brutally. Bruce was…Bruce was kissing him! He was unable to think as he felt Bruce's lips against his own. A vertigo invaded him as Bruce took his upper lip between his own. It almost made him quiver and then…

Pain.

Vicious, sharp pain was like a whip lash. Bruce teeth sunk in his lips. In a flash, he saw the boy's lips covered with Derek's blood. He jerked away, pushing on his arms and releasing Bruce's wrists in the process. A punch in Jerome's face followed and Bruce jerked up, hitting him in the throat. Jerome gagged and lost balance when Bruce punched again violently and pushed him on the side. He instinctively pushed Bruce away from him and the boy started to get up. Jerome got on his feet, laughing like crazy, his bloodied lips making him look even scarier.

"Kissing and biting?! You're one hell of a mess, darling!"

They lunged at each other and Bruce dodged Jerome's next blow. The maniac blocked his next blow and hit him hard in the belly. Bruce huffed and bent over only to be violently thrown against the wall. He violently kicked Jerome in the stomach as he rushed at him. The redhead was pushed away and Bruce threw himself at him, punching him and throwing him against the wall with all his strength. Jerome's head hit the wall hard and he yelped in pain. He punched Bruce's side and head-butted him hard. Bruce's head snapped back and Jerome pushed him away. The redhead seized his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Stop resisting!"

The boy sent his skull back again but Jerome's head recoiled in time. Instead, Bruce elbowed his side hard and tried to push Jerome against the wall once more. He trashed, and kicked and elbowed him again and again. Jerome's hold lessened when he received another blow by Bruce's skull and the boy released himself. Jerome grabbed his arm immediately when a form suddenly jumped on the redhead, hitting him hard.

Bruce hardly had time to understand what was happening when someone grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from Jerome. Immediately, he wriggled free and lost balance. A vertigo had invaded him, his vision blurred and his feet were suddenly unable to stay on the ground. Big hands caught him gently by the shoulders again before he could hit the ground and made him sit down smoothly against the wall.

"Hey! It's alright, it's us."

Bruce was surprised to see Bullock kneeling at his side. Harvey released him as Bruce relaxed a bit. He then saw Jim Gordon handcuffing a hardly conscious Jerome. Police officers and soldiers came in as well, guns pointed, but Jerome was hardly conscious anyway. Bullock took a look at the kid and couldn't help but felt sickened a bit. He had been through hell, it was obvious. He had cuts and bruises, he was pale and his body was trembling.

"We finally got him! You're okay? Are you wounded?"

The boy didn't answer, looking only at Jerome. Harvey remembered how the boy had risked his life in order to save him, letting Jerome and his psychos throwing knives at him…Guilt washed through him again. Thank God, he was alive. He hesitated to touch him, he feared to just hurt him furthermore, though he was usually known to be brutish, right now he was more careful than he had been in a long time. Jim let the soldiers handle the crazy teen, went to Bruce and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. It took Bruce out of his trance-like state.

"It's okay, it's over. We'll get you out of here, okay? Can you walk?"

The boy just nodded. The two men helped him to get up; Harvey showed an unusual gentleness, but when the cop's hand went on his arm, Bruce winced in pain. "Bruce, is something wrong? It's broken?" Jim asked with worry.

"No…"

He lifted the sleeve enough for them to see the staples: "Fucking psychos," Bullock growled. "Come on, you're a tough one, are you? I definitely know something about it!"

Bruce's legs were trembling, maybe it was the aftermath, maybe the adrenaline leaving his veins, but his legs were trembling and his vision was spinning. Both cops reacted and made him sit down again.

"Okay, forget that, we'll call the medical team, you can't walk."

He couldn't help but look at Jerome who was being dragged away. It was over…Yet he couldn't help but feel sad. A flash came in his mind: the two of them playing with water and going into the mirror house. Back then, they were playing like innocent, normal kids. Now, Jerome was hardly conscious, cops were taking him away…He felt some tears prickling his eyes. Why?! His friend really died, there was nothing left of the boy he once met.

"Bruce, are you okay? Stay conscious, alright?" Jim's voice was soft and he was also worried.

Those words almost startled him. Did he really think he was about to faint? He looked at Gordon and realized how tired he was. No wonder he thought he was going to vanish. Then it came to his mind: Where were Jeremiah and Selina?! And Dr Thompkins?

"My friends…"

"We found Miss Kyle and Jeremiah, they're safe," Gordon declared as they got out. "He defused the bomb, you know? There are no threats anymore…"

"Bruce!"

Alfred's voice felt almost unreal. Bruce saw his guardian standing there, a few feet away from them. He was hugging the boy in no time, and Bruce just buried his face in the man's chest while gripping his shoulders tightly. Relief washed over both of them.

"I was so worried about you," Alfred said gently, gripping the boy so tightly that anyone trying to take Bruce away would have to do it over his dead body. Although it hurt, Bruce allowed him to hug him tight. He was in pain anyway, it didn't matter much. "You don't imagine how much!"

Bruce didn't answer anything. The words were all mixed up in his throat, so much he felt it tighten. The emotions were so overwhelming that his brain felt like he couldn't handle it anymore. He did the only thing he could: he started to sob in Alfred's chest, the tears he had fought against finally coming out. His guardian stroked his head reassuringly.

"It's alright, it's alright, you're safe, now. It's all over, we're going home."

Weirdly, hearing that for his guardian made him realize it as true: he was really going home. This was really over. And…He won.

He won.

Finally! Finally Bruce is free! I must say this held some emotion for me, I really loved writing this fic and knowing this is the end is kinda weird. I didn't even think it would be that long! There is another chapter, plus an epilogue coming.

As usual, don't hesitate to leave reviews, it's always great to know what you think.