I would like to apologize. I have been away from the story for far too long. It feels like months, although I honestly haven't kept too much track of how long it's been since my last entry. I've had difficulties with my computer & recently got a new one. I'm still working on the story, but, I assure you it is not over. We are getting closer to the end, though. Thank you for staying with me this far. Enjoy.

Chpt. XXXIX: The Show

Dick peeked out of the doorway that led to the alleyway. Nobody noticed Dick. Dick turned behind him to see Jason holding his rifle in preparation for any trouble. Dick nodded towards the crowd with his head. "Try to avoid being detected by the crowd. Search the surrounding buildings for the gas. I'm gonna head for the rooftops & see if I see anything from above."

Jason nodded & followed Dick out of the alley. Jason ran down the alley into another building, searching the premises. Dick sighed. He hoped that nothing bad would happen to Jason.

Dick glanced up, examining his route to reach the top of the building. Dick glanced to his side & saw a dumpster. He leaped up onto the top of the dumpster & climbed up onto a nearby fire escape. He began climbing up the railings, & made his traveling easier by leaping across various gaps within the fire escapes. Eventually, one gap was to high to reach. Dick glanced up. The ledge was only a few feet away. Dick steadied himself, & leaped upwards, grabbing onto the edge of the rooftop with his fingers. Dick hoisted himself up over the edge & stood up. Piece of cake.

Dick made his way across the rooftop, standing over the Mayor & his protective detail. The Mayor had just finished explaining the ongoing work to finish up the recent construction projects around town. Mayor Quincy Sharp cleared his throat. "I, uh...would also like to talk about something else for a moment," Mayor Sharp started. "I understand that most of you are probably thinking one thing to yourself right now, & that is that this city is no longer safe. After some of the events that took place in this city over the course of the last few months, that is not an unfair statement to make. After the damage in the Old Gotham district, then the attack on the Olympus Hotel, the coffee shop in the Upper East Side district, & of course, the Gotham City Academy."

Dick felt his chest grow heavy. He was present in each of those attacks. He felt more responsible for the damage than anyone else. Dick should have done more to save those lives. He should have done more to save this city from Nolan Drake. Now was possibly his last chance to finally do something.

"Then, one night, there was another attack on another private property," Mayor Sharp explained. "The Iceberg Lounge, one of this city's most elite nightlife spots, was attacked. The owner, Mr. Oswald Cobblepot, experienced firsthand what the rest of the city has experienced: loss, tragedy, & fear. A man of a good heart, who has given everything to this city, & has done so much for the city government in fundings, has taken a low hit from Gotham City's most notorious. It is tragic, indeed, but just as he is doing now, the rest of us must be strong." Mayor Sharp glanced to his side, then back into the audience. "Please give a warm welcome for Mr. Oswald Cobblepot," he announced, raising his hands together to clap.

The rest of Gotham joined the Mayor in welcoming Cobblepot, watching as he walked onto the stage. He limped across the stage in an odd manner, almost resembling a penguin. Dick watched as Cobblepot approached the microphone. "Thank you, Mayor Sharp," Cobblepot said. He turned to the audience. "Crime is currently at an all time high here in Gotham. Police have reported more muggings, robberies, & murders than ever before. But this isn't news, now, is it? Gotham City has always been this cruel. The only difference between crime 30 years ago & today's crime is the creativity. People are blowing places up in the city, almost as though they are taking notes from the Taliban. Some criminals even take on their own personas, dressing up in costumes, but plotting even more diabolical plans than the man before him. Someone must do something about this, ladies & gentlemen." Cobblepot glanced towards Mayor Sharp, who smiled back at him. "Because some people aren't."

In one swift motion, Cobblepot removed a pistol from inside of his coat & shot the Mayor in the face. The whole moment felt frozen, but loud cries echoed throughout the streets. Dick rose up, seeing the Mayor's body crumble down onto the ground. "I'm moving in!" Dick cried.

"No!" Batman called. "Not yet!"

Dick stepped to the edge of the roof, but didn't move any further. He waited for his cue to make his move. "What's the plan?" Dick asked.

Batman was silent for a few moments. "Cobblepot is only the opening act," he explained.

Dick glanced down & saw Nolan Drake, suddenly changed into a tuxedo, walking across the stage towards Cobblepot from the opposite end. "Who will clean up this city, Mr. Cobblepot?" Drake called out in an obnoxious manner. Drake glanced down at the Mayor's dead body, & rolled his eyes in disgust. Nolan pushed the dead body off of the stage with his foot, rolling it over the edge & under the feet of civilians.

Cobblepot turned to the audience. "Everyone, calm yourselves, otherwise I'll be forced to call upon my shooters up on the rooftops!"

The audience grew to a short murmur. Nolan Drake's face shifted from an annoyed face to a truly angry face. He snatched the pistol from Cobblepot's hand & fired off into the sky several times. "Everyone pay attention!"

Suddenly, the city grew silent.

Dick stared at the scene before him. It was genuinely frightening to see Nolan take that much control over innocent people like that. There was a raw power that he emitted from himself that said he was the man to be reckoned with. It scared Dick. It was one thing to have this effect on young boys in the Gotham City underground. It was another to have this effect on everyone else.

Nolan Drake sighed to himself. "What savages, you are," he said softly. Drake glanced to Cobblepot. "Aren't they?" He stepped up towards the microphone & cleared his throat. "I apologize, fellow Gothamites. I didn't mean to frighten you all. My name is Nolan Drake, & I myself am a fellow concerned citizen of Gotham City, just like the rest of you."

Dick stared down into the audience from the rooftop. There was a subtle murmur arising in the crowd again. People were confused.

"I have seen the horrors that you all have seen for years," Nolan began. "I've seen them here, in these very streets, just like the rest of you. We have suffered too much pain. Sure, Mr. Cobblepot here has had his share of loss in his property, but what about those of you all who lost so much more? Some have lost homes. Some of you have lost families, some of you have lost loved ones. Some of you have lost your innocence, & yourselves along with that. Some of us have lost our souls.

"I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I, myself, am so fucking tired of all of it, right? The crime, the corruption, the uprisings of destruction that our city sees day after day, night after night. Enough is enough. Enough bloodshed. Mayor Sharp is right. Someone needs to do something about the damage done to Gotham, & someone needs to do it soon. Someone needs to fix our city. Our home has become this hellish prison, but, if you are all willing to join me, we can make this hell into a home once again."

With that, dozens of sudden chants came from all around the city block, from the buildings to within the crowd. Drake's followers chanted, "Hell is home!"

Enough people joined in to make the entire city block roar with the montra. Chills ran down Dick's spine. He was truly afraid now. Dick raised his hand to his earpiece. "Can I make my move now?"

"Not yet," Batman said. "Keep a lookout for the gas, Robin. I'm going to search the premises for Gordon. Be careful."

Dick nodded. "You too," then focused back down in the crowd. The chanting kept its pace, staying at the same volume without slowing down. Dick turned to the stage, where Cobblepot seemed to be talking to Nolan. The two of them seemed to be having some sort of a disagreement. Dick crawled towards the left of the building to get a clearer sight of the discussion.

As Dick peered closely at the two, but couldn't hear them over the loud roars of Drake's followers. Dick glanced at the crowd, where civilians began to look nervous. However, as Dick traced his eyes around the block, there was several mercenaries posted along the streets & in buildings overlooking the block as well. The situation had changed drastically.

"Batman, there are shooters all across the block! I repeat, they have marksmen all around the city block. These men can shoot at any second!" Dick cried.

After a few brief moments, Bruce came in on the coms. "Don't worry about them. I've got it."

Dick was about to ask for clarification when suddenly another gunshot rang down below. Dick turned his head quickly & saw Oswald Cobblepot's body fall to the ground, with Nolan standing over the crime lord's dead body. Dick watched Nolan's arm tense up, then slowly drop down to his side. Nolan's body seemed to be twitching, although Dick was unsure from the distance. Suddenly, Drake let out a loud scream of frustration. Nolan grabbed the microphone & brought it up close towards himself. "Why are people so difficult, huh?"

Dick moved closer towards the edge of the rooftop when he noticed someone within the crowd moving towards the stage. People parted their way for the person, & finally, they emerged from the crowd towards the front of the stage. A young boy stood below Nolan Drake in front of the audience. "Nolan," the boy said softly.

Dick strained his eyes to see who the child was. Suddenly, it hit him. The boy at Gotham City Academy. The boy that Nolan picked up from school that day. It was him.

Nolan looked down at the boy. His face broke in utter shame. "Tim...Timmy," Nolan stuttered. "Hey, buddy."

"Nolan, why are you doing this?" Tim asked.

Nolan stepped close to answer, when suddenly a voice called out from within the crowd. "Tim!" cried a man. After more people stepped aside, Nolan stepped back from the edge of the stage, away from the man who emerged. It was an older man in a wheelchair. He wheeled up to Tim & placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nolan," the man said through a shaky voice.

Nolan's face twitched. He struggled to give a grin, but it came out as more of disgust. "Jack," Nolan spat back.

Jack shook his head. His eyes were watering up. "Nolan, I never thought I'd see you again."

Nolan's hands grew tight, & clenched into fists. He looked away from Jack, avoiding eye contact. Jack spoke again. "What have you done, son?" he asked.

Nolan slowly gestured towards everyone in front of him. "I'm making everyone listen, Jack. For once, they're going to listen."

"Nolan, your mother & I always listened. You know-"

"No! You didn't!" Nolan cried. "You guys were too busy on your fancy business trips to even realize I was alive, & look where it got us! Mom died, & you lost your legs, & I..." Nolan's voice suddenly trailed off. His voice grew shaky. "I lost myself, man," he said weakly.

Jack nodded. "I know, son. And I'm so sorry."

Nolan shook his head, scoffing. "No, man, you DON'T fucking know. You don't know what it was like for me, when it happened, & they took me, & they ruined all of us!"

"Nolan, listen!" Jack pleaded.

"Get this son of a bitch out of here!" Nolan called out to no one in particular.

Suddenly, four mercenaries from each side of Jack came towards him & hoisted the man up from the wheelchair. All eight struggled from his flailing of his arms, but eventually got him inside one of the nearby buildings. Tim chased after them, crying out to his father. Tim suddenly turned towards the stage & raced onto it, tackling Nolan. Nolan stumbled, but kept his stance on the ground. Nolan hoisted Tim up by his arms & growled something at the boy. By the cries of the audience, Dick couldn't hear what was being said. One man raced on stage to save Tim, but was quickly shot by a sniper across the block.

Dick cursed to himself & traced the laser eyesight towards the gun, & the shooter behind it. He was masked & standing by a window in a building across from where Dick stood. Dick reached for his blades & in one swift motion, tossed one across the entire city block. It managed to nip the shooter on the head, knocking him unconscious.

Dick then stepped onto the edge & quickly drew out his grapple gun. He aimed & shot the grappling hook across towards & let the hook reel Dick outward. As Dick flew above the stage, he felt the breeze brush against his skin like a cool blast of wind. He then released the grappling hook, falling down towards the stage. He rolled across, breaking his fall, & stood upright on his feet, then turned towards Nolan.

Nolan turned towards Dick & set Tim down. As the two stared off at each other, the audience gasped in awe. "Dammit, you again?" Nolan grunted.

"Kid, run!" Dick called out to Tim. The boy sprinted off stage, into the crowd, & just as he got out of sight, Nolan pointed his pistol at Dick & shot straight into his chest.

Dick fell back onto the ground, gasping for air. He felt as though he was losing the ability to breathe. His chest felt as though it had collapsed on him. He struggled to sit upright, & dropped back down onto the floor.

"Robin, breathe," Batman spoke in Dick's ear. "Take deep breathes. Focus on the breathing. Let the air slowly enter, then slowly exhale. Slow, deep breathes. Let yourself become whole again."

Dick struggled to grasp Bruce's directions. He could only hear the faint cries of the audience, drowned out by several gunshots & the hollerings of a madman. Dick was sure this was the end. He may very well die here, along with everyone else tonight.

Dick wished he could see Barbara one last time. He wanted to do so much with her once everything was over. But now, he might not ever get the chance. Maybe...he could see Cheyenne finally.

Cheyenne...who is gone because of John Constantine. No...because of Nolan Drake. Suddenly Dick was reminded why he brought himself the courage to do this in the first place. He was going to kill Nolan Drake for Cheyenne. All for Cheyenne.

Dick gasped a sudden large breath of air. He could suddenly breathe again. He sat up & saw Nolan standing with a young scientist. The scientist had a white lab coat on with the Cadmus symbol on his breast pocket. The scientist had glasses & shaggy brown hair. He looked frightened.

"Ladies & Gentlemen," Nolan began in a loud, almost screaming voice. "This is Dr. Jonathon Crane. Dr. Crane has been kind enough to provide me in an exclusive Cadmus product that they have been engineering at their secret facilities for what they call 'international warfare!' How exciting is that?" Nolan turned to Dr. Crane. "Isn't that right, Jonathon?"

Jonathon nodded in shuddered movements. Drake sighed. "Alright, buddy, now, explain to the kind people what it is you've given me."

"Um...well," Jonathon stuttered. "It, uh, it's a neurotoxin that we initially designed for mass attacks against hostile forces in foreign countries. It would keep us from deploying soldiers into the field, while also, uh, fighting the good fight."

Drake let out a hysterical laugh. "Hear that guys? 'Fighting the good fight!' That's funny, fighting terrorists with this weapon on foreign soil when the attacks are happening HERE, in OUR country. It's almost as though it's an ongoing retaliation game, with no actual conclusion or solution for what goes on here at home!" Nolan turned to Jonathon & patted his back, harder than he should've. "Go on, slugger!"

"Uh, okay, well...the neurotoxin was engineered by a lot of people, but the concept of it was formulated by myself. It essentially is a nerve agent that alters one's nervous system one it enters the human body. It affects the neurons in the brain to stimulate the amygdala, or the emotion & decision making part of the brain. It introduces stressors to the person's psyche, creating a false sense of danger."

Nolan turned to Jonathon. "In English, Doc?"

Jonathon cleared his throat. "It's a fear gas. It makes you experience your worst fear."

Nolan grinned. "How fitting," he said softly. He turned to Jonathon, lifted his gun up, aimed at the doctor, then shot the man in the head. The blood sprayed from the opposite end of his skull, & Jonathon Crane crumpled towards the ground, spilling blood across the stage. Dick gasped softly.

"For too long, this city has been buried again & again in filth. We bathe in our family's blood. We are no good to each other this way. We may as well not even exist! But we can be fixed! I can fix us! But in order for you to allow me to save this city, you have to look in the mirror & see what I see. See the monsters that we REALLY are!"

Suddenly, a green gas hissed out from underneath the stage & out of the buildings surrounding the city block. The nerve agent was being released from every angle. How could this have been stopped?

"Robin, Gordon is here," Batman spoke on the earpiece. "He's going to deactivate the gas on the West side of the street. Take out the ones on the East."

"No!" Dick called. "I'm going for Drake!" Before Bruce could respond, Dick stood up & charged at Nolan like a bull. Nolan turned around &, before he could get a proper aim with his gun, Dick knocked Nolan off of the side of the stage.

Dick stood on the edge of the stage, glancing at the audience. Drake's mercenaries & the citizens of Gotham were all frantically screaming. Their cries were crazed & desperate. They looked so helpless, it frightened Dick. Suddenly, he let out a cough. Dick felt a slight nauseation. The gas was entering his system.

Dick held his cape over his nose & scanned the area. Everyone was affected by the gas. He had to keep his composure & withstand the effects. Everything depended on him doing so.

Suddenly, a group of armed men wearing gas masks bursted from one of the abandoned buildings to the side. They each ran towards the citizens, attacking them one by one. They fought back, delusional from the effects of the fear gas. One attacked Jason, but, Jason managed to fight the man off. After a few moments, one approached Dick & struck him with his fist.

Dick dropped his cape & side stepped, avoiding the blow. Dick removed his staff from his back & swung it at the goon's head, knocking him down. Dick swung the staff down against the man's stomach once more for good measure, then reached down & removed the gas mask from the man. Just as he was about to put on the mask, Nolan charged Dick & ran, then tossed him to the side. Dick hit his back against the edge of the stage. He saw the gas mask he dropped, & watched as Nolan picked it up & put it on himself. Dick couldn't see it, but he knew Nolan was grinning under that mask.

Nolan charged at Dick once more, but Dick's reflexes were quicker. He pressed his hands against the edge of the stage & flipped backwards, onto the stage. Nolan hit himself against the stage, but quickly climbed up onto it & slowly approached Dick.

"You just don't quit, do you, kid?" Nolan grunted from underneath the gas mask.

Dick let out a heavy cough & held his staff firmly. He waited for Nolan to make the first move.

Just as Nolan was about to take the first step, a Batarang shot from above down into Nolan's shoulder. Nolan gasped in pain & clung to his arm. Dick turned quickly to see the Batman, floating downward from the rooftops into the crowd to take on the masked thugs. Dick felt a faint smirk grow across his face.

Dick took advantage of the opportunity. He charged at Nolan, who struggled to remove the blade from his shoulder. Dick kicked Nolan in his chest, sending him flying across the stage & then leaped onto him. Dick grabbed the Batarang in his arm & twisted it. "Is this what you want?" Dick called out. "Let me help you, Nolan!"

Dick dug the blade deeper into Nolan's flesh. Nolan's cries rang in Dick's ears as blood oozed from the flesh. Suddenly, Nolan struck Dick's head with his own, headbutting Dick off of him. The blow left Dick with a sharp pain in his head. Nolan yanked the blade out of his arm & rose up, swinging the blade at Dick. Dick dodged each swing Nolan did, but he was too fast. Dick couldn't get a chance to counter it. Nolan managed to get one good strike in, slashing Dick's chest. The wound was deep enough for blood to drip from his suit. Dick hissed at the pain.

Nolan was about to strike once more, when a red arrow shot across the stage, into the podium near the two. Both glanced at the arrow, then over to the side. A few yards away was a man standing over a car, clothed in a red armor with a red hood over his head. He wore a red mask over his eyes, similar to Dick's. He removed his hood, & Dick recognized the archer.

"Sent you some help, Robin," Harper Row's voice chimed in suddenly in his earpiece.

Dick grinned. "Thanks, Bluebird," he said to himself.

Suddenly, two large light beams, purple & green, emerged from the sky. The sped down into the city block & hovered over the buildings. Dick noticed two floating people within the rays of light. He saw Rachel & Kori. They began to shoot energy beams into the buildings, destroying the gas canisters.

Down below, behind Roy, Dick could see Victor fighting the gas masked men, fighting with ease as his robotic strength easily outnumbered the men. Then, with a swift motion, a green bird swooped down past Victor, then transformed into Logan, flying through the air with his leg outstretched, kicking down a masked thug. Dick watched as the two worked together to fight off the men circling Roy, as Roy shot arrows into enemies from afar.

Dick felt his smile grow even larger when he saw Connor, running back & forth, defending injured citizens from the goons & thugs. He picked up several grown adults at once over his shoulder, then walked them across the street towards Jim Gordon & his team of officers, who were all attempting to make their way into the block without being attacked. Next to Jim was Barbara, wrapped in a blanket. She must've been checked out by a medic. But...she was safe.

Dick heard Nolan groan as he removed his gas mask. "Robots & green people? I must be losing it to this gas," he joked.

Dick stared at Nolan, who had a crazed grin on his face. He lunged at Dick once more before a loud, booming voice caught everyone's attention. "Hey, Drake!"

Nolan turned around & looked up above at the rooftop of City Hall, directly above the stage. Dick turned & noticed that he caught the entire city's attention. Dick glanced up & struggled to see the man, but recognized the voice. It was Rodrick.

"You're trying to save us?" Rodrick called out. "We're passed being saved. You turned us into monsters, Nolan. You made your own hell, & made US suffer with you. And now, I can't even face my own family anymore." Dick felt his heart being tugged at. He thought of Rodrick's little sister. Dick noticed Rodrick bringing up a small egged shaped object to his mouth & ripping something off with his teeth. It was a grenade. "I can't face them," Rodrick started, "But I can do some good." Rodrick extended his arm. "Hell is home, right?"

With that, Rodrick stepped off of the roof of City Hall, with a live grenade in his hand. Suddenly, there was a large explosion, & everything went dark once more.

Dick woke up underneath metal plates & concrete blocks. His body was in agonizing pain. Dick struggled to stand up, but forced his body to comply. His ears rang for a brief moment, but when his hearing came back, the sounds became loud cries & gunshots. Dick turned & stared at the scene in front of him. The city was still rampant with chaos. Dick turned to the broken stage to see that only the stage had been damaged. Dick couldn't find Rodrick's body. He died, sacrificing himself for as a martyr...or, at least, that's how Dick felt he wanted to be remembered. Dick knew the truth; Rodrick was ashamed of what he had done & of who he had become, letting his family remember him as a good person who cared about family, & not as the man who had let them become hostages.

Dick limped closer to the broken down scene & noticed the gas canisters underneath the stage were broken as well, but...Dick couldn't find Nolan.

Dick's heart skipped a sudden beat in panicked fear. Where the hell was he? He didn't survive the blast...did he? Well, Dick survived…& it wasn't his first time having been blown up by Rodrick.

Neither was it Nolan's first time.

Dick scanned the area frantically when he caught sight of a man limping down an alleyway. It was him.

Dick limped passed the chaotic & destructive scene, & followed Nolan Drake into the shadows.