Barbara had never been a fool. She had been impulsive before, sure. Yet, as she marched her way up the stairs of City Hall, there was nothing else in her mind except rage. A white-hot rage that burned within her with the strength of a thousand fires… a thousand innocent souls who had already paid the price for this barbaric conflict.
Every step she took, every breath she felt, Bane appeared to mirror.
He'd seen her.
He had his eyes locked directly on her, knowing she was his true prey out here in this wilderness even if he was willing to take down whoever else he could in his wake.
He hardly even blinked as he reached for one of the police officers in front of him, snapping his neck like a twig. A mere inconvenience. Another body lying on the floor, kicked aside like it was nothing more than a stray piece of garbage.
There was no fear, which was what surprised Barbara most. Then again, everything had been building to this moment. Endless death. Endless night, filled with bone-numbing coldness and despair. Every moment of this waking nightmare she had been preparing for this, this moment right here.
I'm sorry, she whispered silently as she stared at the most recent to fall in this crusade. Another sacrifice.
It was the endless reserve of pain, anger and terror she unleashed as she let loose a deafening roar.
Let him hear me.
She was like some wild animal, driven by bloodlust as she closed the distance between them once more and stared in the vacant eyes of her enemy. There was no way out of here except forward and dear God, she was taking him with her no matter what it cost.
No humorous remark was made. No snide comment or taunting jibe. Instead, their bodies did the talking as Bane's dwarfing frame lunged for her, his fist aiming directly for her head in the first blow.
Clearly taking Bruce's cowl before had not been enough. Now he wanted hers to add to his collection of trophies.
Barbara hissed under her breath, dropping down and neatly returning a blow of her own. Even through her rage, she heard the words echoing through her mind.
Speed.
Agility.
Stealth.
They were her allies against such a muscular and bulky opponent as Bane. It was about being smart, calculating and precise that would allow her to undo the lumbering giant who had reigned over Gotham long enough.
She ducked. She weaved. She easily avoided the worst of his blows, unlike she had back in that cell of hers. Instead, she supplied surgical ones of her own, striking hard and fast, revelling in the cries and grunts she elicited in response. However, he was like her. He was one to embrace pain stoically, no stranger to suffering. It would take more to cripple him and prevent his otherwise near victory.
As if trying to prove the point, he parried, lashing out with a tornado of kicks and blows that made Barbara's head spin. She couldn't avoid them all even if her stamina was doing a commendable job of doing so. She merely thanked Bruce for the upgraded armour and the shock absorption supplied by the material. Without it, she hated to consider how much damage she would have had.
A cry filled the air as her head whipped to the side, a pool of blood and spit flying from her lips as the shock rippled through her jaw.
It wasn't broken. Even if it had been Barbara wouldn't have noticed as she retaliated, spinning and launching off the nearest pillar. Her legs were too nimble for him as she climbed off his chest, propelling up and coiling around his neck in a vice.
He clawed at her, blinded by her cape as she squeezed her thighs tight. Her hands were lightening as she struck, mauling his mask and the various pipes connected to it.
Bane's blood-curdling scream was that of a truly wounded animal. It was all the satisfaction she got as he staggered backwards, slamming her into the pillar with the force of an earthquake. Not even she could hold on, gasping as he caught her thigh between his hands and flinging her off like an irritating mosquito. Thankfully he didn't get the chance to squash it as she rolled to the side, bracing against the impact and regaining her footing in the dusty snow.
"Give it up, Bane! It's too late and you know it… We can take this city from you."
As long as Dad and the others get to the bomb we can she added mentally, masking her inner panic behind a shield of pure determination and resignation. A shield Bane seemed intent on breaching.
One blow. Two. Then another followed succinctly by a kick that caught her all too quickly. His agony was evident in his fury as his gas supply began to fail.
Barbara cried out loudly as his foot sent her flying backwards, crashing into the wall with brute force. Her suit took a majority of the shock, but her whole body and her head hurt as she crumpled to the floor. She bit back a whimper as she tried to stand again, refusing to stay down. Her legs wobbled worryingly beneath her as she stood, putting her weight back on them, causing her to stumble slightly to one side.
Barbara straightened and wiped the blood away from her eyes with a gloved hand. It seemed she'd hit her head with a greater force than she'd believed. Despite this, the fight was still within her eyes, burning with a furious passion.
Bane laughed slightly, shaking his head as he watched the broken girl stand back up. He was surprised by the girl's fight. She was stronger than she seemed. He almost admired her. She would have made a good soldier in another life.
"My Miss Gordon, you really do have a fight within you. I must commend you on it - shame I'm about to kill you," he sneered, his hands shaking as he tried and failed to reconnect the tubes on his mask. "That's why you could never win… you lack what it takes to do what is necessary."
Barbara growled, tensing her aching muscles. "We'll see about that Bane," she snapped, standing a little straighter. "This is my city. My home. I'm not letting you win... Not today. Not ever."
Bane laughed again. "You're too late Miss Gordon. I've already won. It's all over for your precious city. In a matter of minutes, it will be nothing more than a pile of smoking rubble."
"Then we're going down with it. You and me, cause there's no way I'm going anywhere."
Bane didn't reply, instead, he took a step forward, smiling wickedly as he lunged for her once more.
Barbara watched as the soldier's fist came in a sweeping arc towards her face. Having expected such a move she ducked, sliding past and kicking him from behind, sending him staggering forward a few paces. However, as he turned, his fist rose. Yet, it never made it toward her. Instead, it froze mid-air, encased in the iron grip of another.
She glanced at the man it belonged to.
Bruce.
"About damn time!" she bellowed, wanting desperately to roll her eyes despite their circumstances. Had he taken the long route over here or something?
However, she was saved the task of asking as she leapt out of the way, letting Bruce take the next powerful shot at their opponent. If anyone thought two against one was unfair then they clearly didn't know who Bane truly was, the ruthless monster hidden beneath that mask.
They could hardly keep him at bay as they parried and retaliated his attacks with impressive speed and skill. Bruce even managed to send the man staggering backwards, smashing his way through the front doors of city hall and into the foyer beyond.
Barbara could only blink before Bruce was on top of the Warlord, pummelling him ruthlessly into the marble flooring beneath them with a savagery she knew he had been brewing since his return to Gotham. Again. Again. And again.
It was only fair to allow him his turn to extract vengeance for his own suffering. Still, Barbara was only a step behind as she hurried after them and into the foyer. What she hadn't expected was to see none other than Miranda Tate and a small cadre of men joining this chaotic tableau of violence.
She appeared unharmed from the quick survey Barbara completed, but none of them would truly be safe until this was ended. It was why she wasted no more time and returned her focus to the more pressing issue at hand.
The men were armed and wasted no time in surging forward to assist their leader. Barbara copied, preparing to re-enforce Bruce. There were too many for him to handle alone with Bane as well as shielding Miranda in the mix, but they were saved such a task.
"Stay back!" Bane growled, "he is mine. They both are."
Like magic, the men all froze obediently in place, letting the fight continue in front of them. Barbara took that as her cue to join in herself. His orders didn't apply to her after all.
Gathering himself, Bane threw off his assailant and rose to his feet.
Closing in, he began to hammer at Bruce's cowl, again and again. He pounded his lethal fists against the resistant armour, trying to crack it like some eggshell. Given time, he might have succeeded had Bruce not reached up and swiped his bladed forearms at Bane's mask. Just as Barbara had earlier, he caused the giant to howl in agony as his gas supply was cut off further, letting white-hot agony tear through him.
Barbara took that as her opportunity to strike, lashing a series of blows and kicks at the man, causing him to stagger further back as his pain began to blind him. He could hardly raise a hand to defend himself against the pair of them as his senses were overrun with pain instead.
Weak, Barbara spat mentally. She had crawled her way out of hell in the depths of the worst agony before. He had inflicted suffering onto thousands and yet he couldn't bear any himself. He really was just a creature in a mask.
Bruce was the one to seize the moment, hurling the warlord to the floor and gripping him by the throat. His free hand began to frantically scavenge through his pockets. Barbara didn't need to ask to know what he was looking for. "Give me the trigger! You'd never give it to an ordinary citizen!"
Bane stared up at them both through pain-filled eyes. It was enough to momentarily stun Barbara before her emotions were once more swallowed up in a tsunami of satisfaction. His wild convulsions seemed to subside as he surrendered himself to the pain.
"I broke you," he whispered hoarsely. "Both of you… but you came back. How?"
"You think you're the only one strong enough to learn to escape?"
"I didn't," Bane wheezed. "I never escaped, Ras Al Ghul rescued me. That is why I must fulfil his plan. That is why I must avenge his murder."
That was when Barbara felt the chill in her soul. That was when Barbara looked up and noticed the changing look in Miranda's eyes - not one of jubilation and relief, but that of judgement and emptiness.
"The child of Ras Al Ghul made the climb-"
"But he is not the child of Ras Al Ghul."
Barbara saw the glint of the knife too late. She went to move forward but froze as the guns of the mercenaries rose toward her in unison. She could hardly even call out a warning before it happened - she was too late.
"I am," Miranda declared wickedly as she plunged the knife in, slotting it into Bruce's armour. "And though I am not 'ordinary', I am a citizen…"
She then revealed the trigger inside her tunic.
Barbara blinked as the ghosts began to fill the room, every word of Miranda's - or Talia's, should she say - story, echoing from the past.
The worst part of it all was that despite her uncontrollable rage at the woman, she almost pitied her and Bane in an odd way… the pain they had endured and suffering was terrible, even if it didn't excuse their actions. Not by a tenth.
"He saw only a monster who could never be tamed. Whose very existence was a reminder of the hell he'd left his wife to die in. He excommunicated Bane from the League of Shadows. His only crime was that he loved me. I could not truly forgive my father…" Talia snarled, agony clear as she turned her icy glare directly onto Bruce. "Until you murdered him."
Bruce stole the words from Barbara's lips as she tried not to laugh is disbelief. "He was trying to kill millions of innocent people -"
"'Innocent' is a strong word to throw around Gotham, Bruce. I honour my father by finishing his work. Vengeance against the man who killed him is simply a reward for my patience."
Miranda's eyes were only on Bruce and Bane. She never even gave the girl a second glance as she twisted the knife in Bruce's gut. Even the mercenaries ignored Barbara as she prowled slowly forward. Her eyes were locked firmly on her prize as it sat there, mockingly close in Talia's closed fist.
"You see," Talia continued mockingly, "it's the slow knife… the knife that takes its time, the knife that waits years without forgetting, then slips quietly between bones… that's the knife that cuts deepest."
It was then the world slowed into painstaking detail. Barbara had no time to process the consuming horror as she watched Talia raise the trigger. Her thumb was dangerously close to the button as she went to hit it and end them all there and then.
"No!" Barbara choked.
She was too late. Talia grinned wickedly and hit it, condemning them all into fire and chaos… or so she thought.
There was silence for a moment. It was enough time for Talia to blink and hit the button again in panic, only to be met with the same lack of results.
Thank God, Dad Barbara whispered silently, a prayer that their plan had worked and brought them some time. At least he'd kept his end of the mission on track. Now, it was their turn.
"Your knife might have been too slow after all," Barbara jibed. She was unable to help herself and considering the pure fury in Talia's eyes, it was worth it. She looked positively lethal as one of her mercenary guards stepped forward.
"The truck's under attack."
Talia barely flinched, mind racing. Instead, she turned her glare to the pair of them, before landing squarely on Barbara's shoulders as she hissed the name, "Gordon."
"Sorry," Barbara smirked. So that was what Bruce had given her father at the riverside. It had worked after all. "The Gordons have a habit of saving this city. Apparently they didn't get the memo."
"You gave him a way to block my signal. No matter." It clearly did matter, even if she did remarkably well at hiding it. Instead, she glanced at her watch as if merely checking the time like any other day. "He's bought Gotham eleven minutes - Prepare a convoy! We must secure the bomb until it detonates."
Her men didn't need telling twice. They instantly followed her lead as she rose to her feet and leered down at the two men by her feet. Bane was the only one to rise though, reaching past her for one of the many weapons belonging to their re-enforcements.
Once more, Barbara felt trapped as she watched the barrel swing directly towards Bruce's head.
"Not yet," Talia cooed. Her tone was as tender as a lover's as she reached out and snaked her hand along his arm, stalling him.
Bane seemed enchanted. Just one more shock on this day of revelations and reckoning… Talia was the one woman in the world he apparently listened to, humbled himself to. She'd tamed him completely. It appeared to be a trend in this city of women bending the world to their whims.
"I want him to feel the heat." Her soft gaze turned icy and devoid of any tenderness as it landed on Bruce. "Feel the fire of twelve million souls you failed."
"Seems a little premature to be celebrating, Talia," Barbara hissed. Her stomach rolled as Talia remained focused on instead repairing Bane's mangled mask. A fleeting kindness given the circumstances.
"Hardly. We are almost finished with this quest… Goodbye, my friend."
All Bane managed was a slow nod. That was all she needed though, along with his teary gaze as Talia swivelled on her heels and moved out with the Mercenaries. There was no more to be said between them.
How dare she? How dare they get so tender a goodbye when they had robbed so many of that chance? What Barbara would have given to kiss John one more time… At least she'd had a chance to say their goodbyes, no matter how painful and how inadequate they now felt having stared death in the face once more. Yet here she was… willing to risk it all for the chance to save this city. Talia was doing the same, but she was going to fail. Barbara would ensure it even if it was the very last thing she did.
Her blood continued to boil as she watched the woman leave, surrounded by her loyal lapdogs. Yet again, Barbara Gordon was forced to watch someone else walk away from her, leaving her gaping in broken desperation. Her chest felt no less tight than it had that fateful day years ago when her mother had taken her life with her in a beaten duffel bag.
There was no armour. There was no war or valiant brave hero… instead, a scared, tired and wounded child stared wide-eyed at the chaos her life had become.
It was only after the last gun disappeared out of sight that she felt released to move again, her limbs awakening from their stupor.
No. No, she wasn't those things. Not by a long shot. The symbol on her chest proved as much, just as it had that day she had seen Stephanie pull her own version out from her sweater. It meant something. She meant something and by God, this time she could actually do something other than let the world pass her by. No one was forcing her to watch helplessly in the doorway anymore… there was a whole world waiting out there counting on her.
Her, and the bleeding man beside her.
Bruce looked just as agonised as she at Miranda's sudden betrayal and timely exit. She could see by his quivering arms, trying to prop himself up, that the fire inside of her roared within his chest too.
His nod was enough of a reply. They had work to do… and that meant handling the current elephant in the room. Bane.
"Well, well," he croaked, hissing as he cocked the gun menacingly. He turned. Bruce stood no chance as he was kicked directly in the chest, sending him flying into the overturned table behind him.
However, his attention was now solely on checking the rounds in the barrels. Bane had committed the worst of offences, either through arrogance or disregard. Either way, it was his error that cost him as he left his back turned toward Barbara in open invitation.
"You'll have to imagine the fire."
A click.
The gun closed again.
"We both know I need to kill you now."
"Do we?" Before he could pull the trigger, Barbara pounced. "You seem to have forgotten you had company."
A cry filled the air as she lunged, throwing herself at Bane and wrenching his grip to the side. His sudden shot went wide, hitting the wall in a harmless shower of plaster.
"You bitch."
That sounded about right. It felt about right too as Barbara grinned, ducking out of the way as he swung the gun back toward her instead. Yet again his shots missed as she relied on her assets. Speed and stealth guided her as she ducked and weaved, leaping behind one of the pillars and safely out of range.
She'd brought Bruce enough time though. The remaining blood trail where he'd been moments ago assured her of that fact well enough. She could just about see a faint black blur crawling its way around the room.
Barbara didn't need his assistance though. That much was obvious. Even he hadn't expected her to have so much speed, so much rage locked inside to fuel her precise and sharp movements. Without his drugs to support him, Bane was as mortal as any man. Talia's vain efforts to fix his mask had done little to ease his pain.
"You asshole. You murdered hundreds of people!" Barbara hissed. Her voice echoed off the walls ominously as she threw herself back out. Her fist once more connected with the man's face. A howl was her only response. "You tried to break them… break this city and everyone who lives in it… but you've failed."
Bane couldn't help but drop the gun as he tried to shield his face. It made her attack all the easier as he left himself exposed.
"You are nothing… you will always be nothing… an imposter. A failure!"
Her words were punctuated with blows and jibes. Months she had spent building a reserve of strength, of fury, waiting for this moment right here to unleash it. Now that she had started there was no way to stop the hellfire she rained down upon him.
Bane could do nothing but howl and take it, spitting blood onto the dusty floor. It was a haunting sound. One that sounded like it belonged on the lips of a wounded animal. Then again, that's what he was as he snarled and tried to lash out in retaliation.
Barbara ducked and weaved once more.
One blow was enough though. The sheer force of Bane's fist colliding with her chest stole the air from her lungs as did the impact as she sailed backwards and slammed straight into the wall behind.
Her body crumpled onto the floor as she swallowed a wounded whine. Even her suit couldn't prevent all damage, a fact her screaming ribs made her acutely aware of.
"Fuck," she groaned. Still, there was no time to think or breathe.
Instead, she rose.
She rose from the ground just as she always had, pushing herself off the rubble coated floor. Every time she had ever fallen, she had got back up. No one had the right to make her stay down unless she granted it to them.
When she had fallen in the playground as a child she had risen. When she had been knocked aside by Bane's initial explosions, she had risen to a new world and the order of chaos that been born within it. When he had held her in that cell. When he had sent her out onto that ice. When he had tried and tried again to break her, Bane had failed at every turn. Barbara wasn't about to let him start now.
Her snarl was almost feral as she charged, building speed with every step. She was merely a blur. A titan. His angel of doom.
She slammed him into the desk with a malicious grin.
"You-" he snarled, rounding on her ready to kill.
He never got the chance.
The whole room shook as an almighty crash filled the air. Barbara barely had time to turn before she threw herself out of the path of glass and rubble that immediately flew through the air. Bruce mirrored her, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. He was just in time to haul her closer to him as if to shield her from whatever had smashed its way through the remaining walls of the room.
He didn't need to.
A bright burst of light blinded them both, but before they could even panic at the supposedly new threat they heard Bane's cry. A cry that was swiftly followed by the almighty thud of his now lifeless corpse toppled to the ground.
Barbara couldn't believe it. Even as her eyes opened to the hazy room and witnessed the sight for herself she thought she was dreaming. She had to be. Was it real? Was Bane dead?
All the air vanished from her lungs. In fact, so did her control as wave after wave of relief and euphoria cascaded over her in a bewildering onslaught of emotion. It was as if her whole world had slowed to that single frame right there - the one she had been imagining for weeks now as a private, morbid fantasy.
But this wasn't a fantasy. This was as real as the blood dripping down her forehead onto the ashy floor below. Barbara blinked at the sight, lost until the sound of an all too familiar voice woke her from her stupor long enough to glance upward.
"Selina?"
Indeed. There she was in all her smug glory, positioned on the bat-bike Barbara had last seen hurtling toward the horizon. So much for her daring getaway… "The whole no-guns thing? I don't feel as strongly about it as you do.
Barbara had never been more relieved yet terrified in her whole life. Had she hit her head harder than she'd realised? No. The sudden relief and pride on Bruce's face as proof enough for her that this was no hallucination.
"You came back?" She wasn't the only one to be surprised. In fact, she swore she'd never seen Bruce look so confused in all her life. How comforting. For once, the stoic billionaire seemed at a loss for words. Instead, he opted for hauling himself up and staggering closer towards their guardian angel.
It was now Selina's turn to look concerned as she noticed the blood seeping between his fingers. "Of course I did. I knew you wouldn't succeed in this crazy suicide mission without me - apparently, I was right."
"Is that the real reason?"
"What do you want? Some grovelling epiphany about me being a changed woman? Keep dreaming, Batboy."
Barbara couldn't help but smirk as she watched the exchange, clambering back onto her feet. Apparently it took more than a war zone and a warlord's corpse to put these two off their flirting. God. And Diane thought Barbara and John had been nauseating.
"Changed or not," she sighed, "we owe you one."
Selina's smile was genuine. "Anytime, Babs."
Barbara believed her. She'd been right all along to trust the woman, to recognise something else beneath those deep layers she kept around herself. Who could have guessed when they'd made their first uneasy alliance all those months ago that they'd have ended up here? Gotham really was full of surprises and it wasn't done yet - the roars of the battle waging outside was enough of a reminder of that particular detail.
"Where's Diane?"
"Birdy is outside handling some of the thugs out there with remarkable ease, I must say."
That sounded like the Diane Barbara knew and loved. Speaking of which, despite clearly bleeding out from the gaping wound on his side, Bruce had reclaimed his determined expression. The agony was still clear behind his eyes, but the silhouette of his cowl was enough to mask it as he steeled himself and seemed to stand a little taller.
How did he do that? How did he turn off whatever emotion was bothering him? Barbara could only guess.
"Barbara, you need to head over toward the reactor," Bruce commanded. "You'll need to help Lucius set up and we'll meet you there. We need to drive them towards you."
"Who? The convoy?"
"What convoy?" Selina blinked, trying to keep up.
Bruce didn't linger before answering. He was already halfway to the door by the time words even left his lips. "The convoy surrounding the bomb - the bomb Gordon has managed to block from detonating for now, but we're running out of time. We have to get to it and reconnect it to the reactor before the core deteriorates completely."
Selina shared a look with Barbara. "I guess that means we have our orders."
"You obeying orders now? Man, you really have changed."
"Don't get used to it," Selina scoffed. Still, despite her protest, she did exactly as Bruce had asked, heading hastily toward her bike again. With the grace of a ballerina, she straddled the seat and leant into the handlebars. A swift roar of the engine was Barbara's cue to get moving and catch up with the rapidly disappearing Batman. "See you in a second."
Barbara could only nod in reply.
With that, Selina was gone.
Barbara didn't waste time watching the bike break through the swarming crowds outside. Instead, she kept moving. That was all she could do at this point. Stopping meant thinking. Thinking meant feeling and that would lead nowhere good right now. Otherwise, she would have turned and savoured one last look at the fallen tyrant who had spent the past months tormenting her. Sprawled out on the floor he didn't look like one. Rather, he seemed all too mortal… all too fragile and human.
There simply wasn't time to savour this victory until they won the next.
Barbara took off in a sprint, hurling out into the sunlight. Her eyes were quick to adjust as they swept around the carnage. Around the agony.
So many people. So many bodies on the ground. Screaming. Bleeding. Dying…
She shook her head, snapping herself back into focus as she finally located the beacon she was searching for just ahead. It was odd she'd missed it considering the way it rose above the crowd, launching a charge from the steps opposite them.
"Di!"
Her voice was lost in the chaos, but somehow she heard her. Her eyes found her friend as her grin erupted in relief.
"Red!" she cried. An approaching assailant stole her attention for a barely a second as she let out an ear-piercing screech that sent him and several others flying into the concrete wall behind them. "What are you doing?"
"I'm heading to the reactor!'
"Good. Go without me." Diane didn't even blink as she issued the command. "I've got this. They need all the help they can get here. Save Gotham and I'll make sure we have people left to appreciate it."
She clearly did have the situation under control but that didn't make Barbara feel any easier about abandoning the woman who had had her back since this all started. They were partners. Then again, they'd shared one mutual goal this whole time and considering how close they now were it would be beyond selfish to squander the opportunity they had bleed, sweated and almost died for.
Barbara blinked back her tears as she nodded. "Roger that, partner… see you on the other side."
"On the other side!"
She wasted no more time as she ran for her life and leapt onto the nearest vehicle she could find. Thankfully, it just so happened to be Diane's batbike sitting tucked behind her vantage point on the steps.
A single rev of the engine was all it took to restore a slight smile onto Barbara's face.
"Now let's see what this baby can do."
Barbara couldn't help but grin. The wind rushing through her hair as she all but flew down the street whipped her cape and red locks out like some proud flag.
She'd never felt euphoria like this before. God. She'd never gone this fast before, let alone on a machine as powerful as this. And her dad had almost had a heart attack when she'd ridden home on a basic bike. She'd have paid to see his face now…
All she had to do was breathe and it seemed to respond to her, swerving and steering with remarkable ease despite its size.
Lucius had done it again. The bats really did like their toys and once this was over Barbara was keen to keep this one for herself.
"I'm coming up on the junction!" she bellowed, listening to the static in her ear from the comms unit installed in her cowl. Thankfully, Lucius had made sure it connected to the other comms units in all Wayne Enterprise made cowls and bat-gear.
"The convoy is just ahead!"
Bruce was the first to respond.
Barbara couldn't see up onto the roads above but she knew Bruce and Selina were up there. The echoes of cannon fire and tires screeching told her that much, as did the sight of the Batpod hovering overhead before swerving east.
"I could use a little cover here!" Selina suddenly snapped as yet more gunfire could be heard. Bruce was obviously a believer in actions rather than words as the Batpod blasted what looked like a massive crater in the road ahead of the convoy. Concrete and debris rained down as Barbara glanced over.
It took all her restraint not to swerve back and help them, but she had her role to play. She had to get to Lucius and the reactor to clear the way for the others. It wasn't that far ahead from here, but she had to keep moving if she wanted to make it in time to prime the reactor for the core to be reunited.
As ever, Gotham though seemed to have other plans in store for them all. Gunfire over the commlink was the only warning Barbara had as she also heard the screech of engines a mere minute later.
Selina growled. "Where is this bitch going?"
Had Talia worked out their plan?
"Guys? What's happening over there?"
"She's turned the wrong way!"
"Shit." Barbara echoed the sentiment as she bit her lip. "Don't lose her! I'm almost there!"
Yet, moments later and after several more distant echoes of gunfire and an almighty crash, Barbara heard the words that almost knocked her flat.
"We have the vehicle and the bomb."
A breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding escaped her lips at Selina's declaration.
"Thank god," she sighed, staring down at the navigation screen before her, "I'm almost at the reactor site."
"No," Bruce suddenly snapped. "It's too late… They've destroyed the sight and the reactor. Get back here asap."
Barbara stopped the engine.
She almost crashed as her bike protested at the sudden halt, screeching the tires along the tarmac and tilting as she swerved it to face back down the route she'd just come. "What do you mean? Bruce?"
No answer.
"Fucking hell," she choked, wasting no time and simply following her gut. She had to get back up onto the bridge as fast as she could. At least she had the resources to do so, even if she had no clue what to do when she got there. Without the reactor to stabilise the core then they had no way to stop the bomb… no way to stop the explosion that would kill everyone on this island and ensure Bane and Talia succeeded after all.
No. No, she had to stop thinking like that. Just get to the bridge. You'll figure something out. Come on Babs, don't give up now.
Easier said than done.
Barbara could barely stop the sudden tremor in her hands as she clung to the handlebars for dear life. She sped up until the world around her was merely a blur, the engine revving angrily.
What had felt like a lifetime was probably closer to a minute as Barbara finally appeared at the edge of the road. It was hard to miss it really, the overturned tumblers and gaping crater above. Yet, there was no sign of Talia or her men.
Barbara didn't care what had happened to them, only that they weren't there to stop whatever plan the group ahead were forming. They were all there; Bruce, Selina, her father -
"Da-" she started, only to clamp her lips shut. Her arrival was, instead, marked by the sound of her footsteps as she bolted towards them. Still, they hardly looked up.
Their attention was rightly focused on the now recovered core lying in the truck before them. Bruce was wasting no time in reaching down, plunging his hands toward the core and easing it up. What was also clear was the cable he had waiting beside him, ready to be attached - or so Barbara guessed.
Was that their plan? Getting it out of the city?
"What are you doing?"
Bruce was the only one to answer her. "Thinking of plan B."
"Which is?"
Bruce didn't answer. Instead, he clipped the cable to the core and jumped from the back of the van. His destination was clear as marched back toward the Batpod, Selina in tow.
Barbara would have followed had the voice not stopped her.
The one voice she had been waiting to hear since the battle had started.
"Wait." Her father croaked.
It was as if lightning shot through her.
He was so close. In one piece. Alive.
A slow breath escaped her lips as she turned to face him. This was the first time she had ever faced him not as herself, not as his daughter. Instead, she felt her heart racing beneath her armour as she tried to keep her voice low. "Commissioner?"
If he knew it was her, or if he was surprised to finally see her up close, then he didn't show it. Instead, there was a silent curiosity there… one Barbara had seen often enough in the past. He had to know whatever it was that was bugging him, even if they only had mere minutes left to live. He wouldn't be able to die without asking whatever was burning inside him. "I never asked… well, I suppose I never got the chance, but… why?"
Why? That was the question Barbara had been asking herself since day one.
"Why do this?… Pick up his mantle?"
She swallowed. "Why wouldn't I? Gotham needed us, and we answered, Commissioner. It's as simple as that."
"I'd hardly call it simple when most people would have just stuck their head in the sand - especially someone as young as you. You shouldn't be here."
"Where should I be?"
"Home… with your parents. With people who love you." His voice sounded pained. It almost made Barbara stop in her tracks, but the hand on her arm did that well enough. If only she could tell him she was doing just that. "Who are you?"
Barbara froze as the words choked in her throat. What did she say? The truth? She couldn't. That wasn't an option anymore. Lie? That was the obvious choice but she knew her father had had enough of lies for a lifetime. He knew when people were lying. It would just be futile to attempt to fight him.
But even then she knew… she knew that if she ever wanted to keep their relationship she had to lie. She had to lie for all the years he had looked after her, and for all the years they had left together… for the sacrifices, they had made for one another.
He couldn't lose her, just as she knew she couldn't bear to lose him. Not now. Not after everything, and definitely not like this. "We're who you needed us to be."
Perhaps her expression made that clear. That was all Barbara could think as she turned, realising that she had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Bruce start to clamber into the Batpod.
"What are you doing?" Gordon bellowed, looking just as bewildered as Selina, and Barbara by the sudden turn of events. Clearly he'd shaken himself from whatever emotional angst had been hovering around him.
"I can get it out over the bay."
Selina blinked. Her desperation was clear in the way her voice wavered unsteadily, "set it to fly out over the water and then eject?"
Bruce shook his head. "No autopilot."
Silence hung between them.
The answer was obvious.
"We could have gone anywhere, been anything," Selina lamented, her voice uncharacteristically pained. "But you came back here."
"So did you."
He had a point. A strong enough point to coax a mere slip of a smile from Selina.
"I guess we're both suckers."
There was the truth of it all. They were both suckers, just like the other two people around them were. They had all been suckers for love - the love of each other and of their city. A love that had led them all right to this very moment. To this very choice.
There was no more need for words, so Selina took a leaf out of Bruce's book and let her actions do the talking for once.
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with every fibre of her being. It was a brief kiss, over almost as soon as it had begun, but it was enough. Enough for them both to finally confess what had been going on inside… even if it was too late.
Once again Barbara wished she had John stood beside her to help, or even just to hold if these were indeed their final minutes.
"Br - Batman, no," Barbara pleaded, as he climbed into the pod. "You can't do this… not again. You don't have to make this sacrifice."
"I think you'll find I can. We both know I have to… whatever it takes, remember?"
She did.
Barbara heard her heartbreak as her own promise haunted her. "Wh… whatever it takes."
"This is what it takes. This is what I can do to end the fight you've been carrying on for me. For Gotham and every soul, you've strived to protect. We can't let it fall apart now."
It was true, but Barbara didn't have the strength to admit it. This was one more goodbye she couldn't prevent, no matter how hard she tried. It was as if she was back there, stood watching as Batman melted into the night, leaving them with the mangled corpse of Harvey Dent and a legend to create.
She couldn't stop him. No one could. Not even Gordon.
"So, what? This is the part where you vanish, only this time you don't come back?" He reached out suddenly, placing a hand on Bruce's arm as if to try and stop him by force. "I never cared who you were-"
"And you were right."
"But shouldn't the people know the hero who saved them?"
Even though there were mere minutes left, Bruce stopped long enough to glance over at the Commissioner. There was more in his eyes, hiding all the things Barbara knew he wished he could say… but there wasn't time. There was never time.
"A hero can be anyone. That was always the point," he sighed gruffly, lowering himself into the seat and beginning to flick switches on the board in front of him. It was then he stopped completely, making sure his gaze remained firmly on the desperate looking man before him. "Anyone. A man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended."
With that, the canopy closed and sealed him into his fate. The engine rumbled into life.
Barbara could see the light glimmering in the back of her father's eyes as some memory echoed inside him. Some part he clearly had forgotten until now.
The pain in his expression as the truth finally hit him was enough to break her heart. As was the way he looked up toward the cockpit in adoration.
"Bruce Wayne?"
At least that was one less lie Barbara had to tell from now on. He knew the truth. Finally. He knew the man behind the mask that had saved them both from Dent all those years ago. The man who had started this quest to save the city they both loved more than anything… the city to whom they had all sworn their lives to serve.
That was why he was doing this… one final act to save them all.
The Bat began to rise.
Gordon, Barbara and Selina all stepped back as they watched the cable running behind the floating vehicle. Eventually, the core began to follow, being dragged along the road and up into the waiting sky.
He put as much distance between him and the city as possible. The vehicle got smaller with every passing mile, disappearing until it was merely a speck on the horizon.
A mere blip of darkness.
Barbara watched the explosion ripple across the skyline.
It seemed to stretch on for miles, as far as the eye could see… a never-ending golden haze of light and heat that was as if it had come from heaven itself. For a moment she almost believed it was, a true sign of their deliverance…
Then it was over.
She didn't remember making her way from the bridge. She didn't remember when she changed out of her armour, or how she had managed to get herself back to the Safe-house. It had all been a bit of a blur. Driving around; Dumping her suit and evidence; Making her way towards the apartment…
The first thing she really became conscious of was the feeling of John's arms around her waist as he lifted her upwards, and kissed her with fierce desperation.
It was as if she had fallen into a still from some movie. She didn't care if the whole street saw. It was hard to care about anything right then other than savouring the soft touch of her partner. Every inch of her skin burned as she felt his hands roaming wildly, desperate to feel and confirm her existence for himself.
"Babs," he groaned, pulling back long enough for his soft eyes to linger on hers. As soon as their gazes met, her face crumpled. A small, broken noise cracked from within.
John was instantaneous as his grip dropped to catch her before her knees could give out and drop her into the snow.
Barbara covered her face with her hands while the past forty-eight hours crashed into her. It was as if now that she was safely encased within his embrace she could feel her guard dropping, her walls caving in an earth-shattering landslide. Whether or not John knew, he held her fiercely, cradling her and making small soothing noises until her sobs began to slow. Slow long enough for him to risk peeling back the hands from her face and tenderly wipe away the tears that glistened there.
"My love," he whispered in utter reverence. "Gotham's hero."
How was she supposed to respond to that other than with another searing kiss of her own? Her lips did the talking as she cupped his icy cheeks and held him there till she felt the world return to her.
Soft giggles followed as they finally made eye contact once more. Silence had lingered long enough. There was too much euphoria between them to ignore, intermingled with the pain and grief. The whole moment felt too absurd to comprehend so they didn't. Instead, they laughed, harder and harder until the tears that fell from their eyes were that of relief and joy.
"We did it," Barbara choked eventually. "We actually did it."
"We did… You did. You saved us all, Babs."
"No. I didn't do it alone."
"Well, you had some help," John beamed his smile at war with the tears that slid stealthily from his eyes. "God, I need a drink."
"I want to sleep forever."
She probably would have, had he let her. As it was she began to slide down the wall behind her and sat on the floor. Her eyes closed instantly as she leant back, pressing her skull into the brick of the wall.
Blood and sweat still coated her. She tried to remember the usual fit of her soul inside her frail body, and the world around her - or what was left of it. What to do with her limbs in the stillness.
How did she usually stand when she wasn't running? How did she stop moving?
She was too tired to know how to feel. It was only early evening by the chipped watch on her wrist's reckoning, but it felt like the longest day of her life. The war would linger with her long after this day ended, some invisible scar that would perhaps fade, but never wholly vanish.
John seemed to understand though perfectly, as he slowly moved closer so that his body was a mere few centimetres from hers. His arm reached out, placing itself on her arm and he rubbed it gently. He didn't say anything, letting them stay there in silence.
"So many people," Barbara choked, finally finding the words she needed to say whilst it was just the two of them like this, frozen in limbo between what had been and what was yet to come. As Batgirl she had been strong, swallowing all emotions behind her mask. Yet, as Barbara Gordon it was different. She was exposed… "What was the cost for all of this?"
"They gladly paid the price, just as Bruce did," John whispered firmly, holding her close again to his chest.
How was he doing it? How did he remain so composed, so sure and steadfast that all was once again right in the world? No part of this was right, even if they had been victorious. The tang of victory was nothing more than a bitter ashy taste in her mouth.
Still… she didn't have to make sense of it all now. No. Rather, she instead had the rest of her life to try and make sense of this, to understand and comprehend every little detail of this momentous day. The city itself had as many scars as its occupants. No one would forget this in a hurry… They would remember this forever.
He stayed like this for several minutes, smiling as he brushed the hair from her forehead. Barbara felt little tremors in her skin as his fingers caressed her. It was a comforting gesture. "We should get moving soon. Your father will want to see you, Diane, too."
Barbara didn't answer. She took a deep breath and looked at him with pain-filled eyes. She didn't know what to say. Instead, she nestled closer to him, letting him embrace her. His warmth radiated from beneath his shirt, his chest rising slowly and falling again in a steady, soothing rhythm.
She could have stayed there in that single moment forever.
"One minute more?" she pleaded. Neither of them had the heart to deny the other, especially not when the carnage that awaited them was so vast neither could begin to comprehend it. Instead, they sat there for a moment or two more, basking in their peace whilst they still could.
Alas, the sinking sun across the bay told them both that their time was up.
"Come on," John sighed, easing them both to their feet. "We should get home before it gets dark… we've both had more than enough action for a lifetime."
He spoke sense and Barbara knew it. Hence, with one last fleeting glance across the water, Barbara allowed him to loop his arm around her waist. As she had stared off into that sunset she knew that was exactly what they'd got. A lifetime - if they wanted it. The idea of all that time, and spending it with the man beside her, was sheer heaven.
She couldn't wait.