A/N: 2022.07.07
Sorry for the delay. It's been a long few weeks.
Chapter 17
Gotham General Hospital. One Hour Later.
Diana sat in the waiting room, trying to remain calm. She had Bruce taken to the hospital within minutes after finding him collapsed on the floor. She looked up to see Dr. Martinez walking toward her.
Diana jumped to her feet, "How is he, Doctor?"
"All things considering, he's okay. Not good. But okay. It was mostly stress, combined with his condition from the GBM, that caused him to have an episode."
"Oh, God…"
"Ms. Prince… have you called Terry? Or Helena?"
"Yes. They're… dealing with another family matter right now."
Martinez looked around, making sure they were alone, then focused on Diana, whispering, "All of this… bad guy business?"
Diana's eyes widened.
"Mr. Wayne saved me when I was a kid. I've known since then."
Diana smiled a bit. "He really does have more people he can trust than he realized."
"With a secret as big as his," Martinez said, "I don't blame him at all."
"Helena and Terry will be here as soon as they can."
"That's good. I called Dr. Asselah, but, since it's so late and she's got her boys…"
"She'll probably be here the moment she can," Diana surmised. "I'll be staying."
"Of course," Martinez agreed. "Until Sally gets here… I guess I'll have to do."
"You've been an absolute blessing throughout all this, Doctor. You're far more than 'have to do'."
"Thank you."
"Can you… keep it confidential that he's here?" Diana asked.
"Absolutely," Martinez replied.
"Thank you, Doctor. Not just for tonight… but for everything."
"I'm trying my best."
Diana considered that phrase. "Aren't we all?"
The Machine Shop. The Following Morning.
After getting the report of the fight last night between Rene and Fiend, and its surprisingly tragic conclusion, the team sat around in a quiet reflection of the man formerly known as Tumulus.
Terry rubbed his face, "He died… giving us information."
Basem nodded.
"Oh, God…"
Michelle swallowed. "I… never thought I'd feel bad… for him."
"You ain't alone," Terry admitted.
"Have you been home yet, Basem?" Hayate asked.
Basem shook his head. "Had to… take care of the… the crime scene."
"Of course."
"Did you tell Sal?" Michelle asked.
Basem nodded.
"How'd she take it?"
Basem sniffed. "She cried." He chuckled, bitterly. "All he did to us… what he would've done to her… and she's just heartbroken over this. Can you believe it?"
"With Sally?" Michelle chuckled a bit. "That heart of shining gold she has? Damn, right, I can."
Basem let out another bittered chuckle. He recalled Rene's face and final words. "He… said he was sorry."
"Oh, man…" Michelle scratched her head.
"Damn…" Terry whispered.
Hayate let out a long exhaled. "With his last act, Rene redeemed himself."
"He gave us more info than we had," Terry said, appreciatively. "And protected Max, Helena, and Mike. Even took down Ket for us, giving us one thing less to worry about. I'll never forget that. Or forget what he died telling us. We won't let his death be for nothing." He took a deep breath and exhaled, refocusing on the bigger issue at hand. "So. Bane is after Gotham, itself, for something. And he's married. That's scary. But what's most important to me is he's keeping his info close to the vest."
"But why?" Michelle asked. "I just don't get it. He's got an army behind him. He actually did break in the Manor. Good call on that, by the way."
"Thanks."
"But… he's not sending all these guys after us. Not blitzing us when he could. What's he after? I mean… it's gotta be more than just Gotham. Doesn't it?"
"Whatever it is, now, I know for a fact he's keeping us busy," Terry concluded. "It has to do with whatever Rene said. Some weapon and taking over Gotham. Whenever Bane's ready, he'll hit us hard. He'll keep us running until then. Nothing else makes sense."
Basem looked at everyone and almost absentmindedly declared, "I forgave him."
The team looked at Basem, confusedly.
"Rene."
They all looked at each other, concernedly, then back at Basem.
"I mean…" Basem continued, "he died protecting Max and Helena. He saved Mike. He gave us this information. He… in his last moments said, he was sorry. I know he said it before, but… he knew he was dying. He died taking Fiend down. And he accepted the blame. For everything. Marie, Stephen, all of it. He… was genuinely sorry. I-I forgave him… I sincerely did. I forgave him for what he did. I'm… actually sad he died. I'm… I miss him. Is that… wrong?"
Michelle stared at Basem then declared, "Hell, no."
Basem almost smiled.
"If it were me… I-I probably still wouldn't have forgiven him. I'd say… 'screw your sorry, you still killed people! People I loved! Enjoy hell, you piece of shit!' But… that's 'cause I got a lot of stuff to fix." Michelle pointed at her head, "In here. You did the right thing, B. You saw some kind of good left in him… before he died. Maybe there was some good left. Who knows?"
"It was the right thing to do, B," Terry reassured.
"Maybe someday we all can forgive him," Hayate shrugged. "I'm still working on it."
"Me, too," Michelle admitted.
"That's fair," Basem replied.
"I'm closer than I thought I was," Terry confessed.
"How's the Commish?" Michelle asked.
"She's fine. Just recovering now, thank God. Valerie said she's more pissed than anything."
Michelle scoffed. "Jeez. She's as tough as Bruce!"
"No kidding!"
"Speaking of which…" Hayate said, as they had all purposefully been avoiding the subject.
"He's still alive," Terry exhaled with a shaky voice. "Thank God. Diana said he… the GBM and the stress just made him… collapse." He thought about that. "Stress actually got to Bruce. There's something I thought I'd never say."
"This isn't getting any easier," Michelle noted.
"Nope."
Basem looked at the group and exhaled. "Let's… get back on track. Sorry for getting us off it."
"It's cool," Terry reassured.
"So… we know a bit more than we did. They have some kind of weapon. What for? What the hell does Bane want? Like… what about Gotham, exactly?"
Terry started to think. "I don't know. But, now more than ever, we really gotta move Bruce. If Bane finds out Bruce is in the hospital…"
"Oh, God," Michelle whispered. "You're right."
"Does anyone know he's there?" Hayate asked.
"Outside of our normal crew, Dr. Martinez, and a couple of nurses, no," Terry answered. "Hopefully, we can keep that streak going."
"It is imperative we do."
"No kidding," Terry agreed. "We just need to him out of Gotham. With Diana, he'll be safe, and we won't have to worry about Bane getting them."
Basem nodded. "I'm sending Stevie and Auggie with them. I wish Sally and Max would leave, too."
"You know they won't."
"I know. They're more stubborn than we are."
Michelle took note of the faces of her three friends. She stood up. "Hey."
They all looked at her.
"You guys didn't kill Tu… you didn't get Rene killed."
Terry jerked his head back in surprise. Basem and Hayate looked down, sadly.
"I know you three," Michelle continued. "What Rene did? It's bugging the crap out all of you. Because you guys wanted to save him. It's why you don't kill. You believe some people can be saved. It's a new way to think of things for me but I get it. But you guys… you're the best set of men I've ever met. So, honestly? You did save him. He made a choice. For once, it was the right one. For him, anyway. Don't let Rene deciding to put his life to good use… your fault. Even if it means his life ended… he went out doing something right. I mean… hell! He died better than he lived. All of you… gave him that chance to… die better. Coming from a bitch who was on the wrong side of things most of her damn life… trust me: that's enough."
As the others considered Michelle's words, Terry smiled, appreciatively. "Look at you. Turning into the real MVP."
"Not yet. I still wanna fry Bane's face off."
"Yup! There it is!"
"All the same," Hayate smiled, "thank you, my lovely."
Michelle smiled back.
"I guess you're not so bad, Shell," Basem grinned. "Most of the time."
"You know you love me," Michelle retorted. "One day, you'll admit it and not threaten to dump ice on me!"
"The chances of me doing that are low. But never zero."
Michelle burst out laughing. Even Terry and Hayate managed a chuckle.
Having just received the report of Fiend and Rene's failure and Rene's death, Bane stood, contemplatively, with his back to his cohorts. "It would seem I underestimated Fiend and Tumulus," Bane speculated. "In various areas."
"Fiend's in police custody," Killer Frost noted.
"Want us to take care of him?" Switchblade asked.
Bane shook his head. "No."
"'No'?!" Ikram shouted, furiously. "'NO'?! He'll talk! Batman will find us out! He'll know everything!"
Bane turned around, facing them all, "If anyone talked, I'm positive it was the dearly departed Mr. Leblanc. Hm. I wonder if he found his sister on the other side."
"You did say Tumulus was borderline," Bulletstorm noted.
Ikram looked at Bulletstorm, suspiciously. "What?"
"So, ol' Tulmy went back over to the light side," Switchblade sat back. "Using Fiend as a 'get outta hell free' card."
"Did you know that's a real thing?" Killer Frost asked.
"I heard rumors."
"I'm sure Rene stoked Fiend's irrationality," Bane deduced. "Hm. I wonder if it was worth it, Mr. Leblanc. Did you find the redemption you clearly sought?"
Ikram shifted his suspicious gaze to Bane.
"Are you certain you want no action taken against Fiend, Beloved?" Athanasia asked.
"Quite," Bane answered. "Let him be. He's of no consequence and no longer viable to our plans. We have other concerns." He looked at Athanasia, "What is the status on the weapon?"
"It's almost complete," Athanasia answered.
"Finally!" Ikram groaned.
"So, what's next, boss?" Switchblade asked.
"We continue keeping Batman and his ilk busy," Bane replied. "The weapon will be ready soon and we can make our declarations clear. Until then, we continue to draw them out. Any objections?"
"Works for me," Switchblade shrugged, as the other Elites agreed.
Bulletstorm growled, lowly. "I'm little upset that the damn police commissioner shot me."
Bane chuckled. "Give Barbara Gordon some credit. Her father was a very reputable man. Strong-willed and honorable. She is every bit her father's daughter."
"He must've been a damn good shot, too."
"Indeed."
"What about Batman?" Ikram asked, impatiently.
"We'll abandon the site where Fiend and Tumulus were kept," Bane answered. "We were close to no longer needing it anyway. Proceed with the weapon's completion. That is all."
A couple of hours later, Helena sat at the dining room table in her house, staring at a cup of tea. She ran her hands over her face. She knew she had to be at the hospital. But she needed a moment to herself. She had to breathe for a few minutes. She needed to be sad, without Bruce and Diana seeing it and worrying about her. Bruce collapsing made his impending passing all the more real. Ironically, the reality of Bruce's condition had been pushed to the back of Helena's mind because of Bane. It was impossible to determine which was worse or more frightening.
She heard the doorbell ring. Silently groaning, she got up and headed for the door, figuring it was probably Terry or Max.
Helena opened the door and she couldn't hide her surprise when she found Lincoln standing at the doorstep.
"Lincoln…" Helena breathed out.
Lincoln stared at her, nervously. "I know I didn't call when I was on the way. I'm sorry. I should've called! I just… wanted to…"
Helena hugged him as hard as she could. Lincoln hugged her back.
"I'm so glad you're here," Helena whispered.
"Me, too," Lincoln replied. "Can I do anything to help? Do you need anything?"
"Just… let me stay like this. Just for a minute."
"Sure."
Basem and Sally's House.
Kailyn paced back and forth in the garage, attempting to call Alfred again. Again, no answer. She groaned and dropped her arm, fighting every urge to throw her phone.
"Still not answering?" Basem asked as he entered the garage.
"He's being such a jackass!" Kailyn growled. "He's not on the yacht! Mr. Grayson hasn't talked to him! And I can't find his dumbass anywhere!" She roared. "Now I see why you guys stay so mad at us! From the outside? This bullshit is super irritating!"
Basem laughed.
Sally walked into the garage, "Babe, the boys are watching a movie in the playroom."
"Okay."
Sally studied Basem for a moment. She let out a resigned exhale, "Honey, you know I wanna stay but…"
"Go to the hospital, chérie," Basem implored. "Bruce needs you more than I do."
"That's not remotely true," Sally countered. "I just…"
"He does need you more. Trust me. I just wanna spend time with the boys."
Sally walked up to Basem and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Basem replied.
Kailyn smiled. "You found a good one, Basem."
"Oh, I don't let him forget it," Sally joked.
"I need to find Al. Try to, anyway." Kailyn looked at Sally. "Are you gonna be okay, alone?"
"Yeah. Hospital's got pretty good security, especially with the Commissioner still there, and Helena and Max will be by later."
"Cool." Kailyn looked at Basem. "Will you be okay alone?"
"With those two crazy sons of mine?" Basem asked, with a smile on his face. "I'm never alone."
Sally gazed at Basem, lovingly. "You got that right."
Kailyn smiled. "Hey… once this is over… think we could… try being friends? For real this time?"
Sally grinned in return and walked up to Kailyn. "That's so cute. You think we didn't start already." She hugged her.
Kailyn gasped. She looked at Basem.
"She's a hugger," Basem laughed.
"That's awesome!" Kailyn hugged Sally back. They released the hug. "I'm gonna track down Al. Then, after I rip his ass apart, we'll be in contact."
"Got it. Be safe."
"You too. Both of you. Call me if you need anything. I'll come running."
"And you say we're not friends," Sally grinned.