"Thanks, Alfred." Rebecca said as the old butler dropped her off inconspicuously at the street corner by her house.
"It was a pleasure, Miss Dawes." Alfred answered politely, starting to make his way back to the Wayne Manor, when Rebecca said, "Wait."
Alfred paused, looking out the passenger window where Rebecca was peering in at him anxiously as she asked, "Will Bruce be all right?"
Yes. No. Alfred wasn't sure, and he didn't know how to answer her question. He knew why she was asking, after all – Rebecca was quite sharp and intuitive, traits that made her a good detective, and Alfred knew she'd picked up on his tension.
"I don't know, Miss Dawes." Alfred answered at last, looking back at Rachel with old, blue eyes. "He has created… quite a monster."
Rebecca nodded, but she added softly, "I don't think it hurts to remind him of that sometimes – but I also think he needs to be told that we're proud of him for what he's doing."
She gave him a meaningful look before she stepped back, waving at Alfred as he gave her a surprised look. Rebecca hurried down the dark streets towards her home, while Alfred watched her go thoughtfully.
He knew she was right. He didn't regret scolding Bruce because the younger man needed to be reminded of exactly what he'd signed up for when he chose to don the Batman's mask. But, he was also proud of Bruce for what he was doing in saving the people of Gotham, in acting instead of just standing by and watching.
Alfred sighed as he started the car back down the streets. When he got home, and after all Bruce's guests left for the night, he would tell Bruce that as well. After all, despite already thirty years having passed since the young master's birth, Alfred knew his charge was just a young boy at heart, who needed to be reprimanded for doing wrong and also reassured when he was doing right.
Rebecca meanwhile dashed to her home, knocking loudly on the door to get her sister's attention.
"Rachel? Rachel!" She called, and the door quickly swung open as Rachel stared at her younger sister in shock and utter relief.
"Becky!"
Rachel hugged Rebecca, holding her tightly as she blabbered, "I was so worried, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did he do anything? How's your head? What-"
"Rach." Rebecca interrupted, cutting off her sister urgently. "I'm glad to see you too, but I have to get to Sergeant Gordon."
"Working already?" Rachel asked, making a slight face even as she grabbed Rebecca's handbag and the car keys. "You are definitely back to yourself, Becky."
"Thanks." Rebecca answered as she took her bag and the keys gratefully. "Also, Rachel, do me a favour and try not to go outside, at least tonight."
"Why?" Rachel asked, frowning, and Rebecca admitted, "Batman warned there might be something – something big. It could be nothing, but I don't want to risk you getting poisoned as well."
"What about you?" Rachel asked, concerned, but Rebecca smiled as she answered, "I got inoculated, so I'll be fine."
"Promise?" Rachel countered, her eyes narrowed, and Rebecca laughed.
"I promise to be careful." She replied, and Rachel shrugged.
"Good enough." She muttered, staying to watch her younger sister with concerned eyes as the redhead ran with a wave towards their car.
Rebecca nodded at her sister as she started the car and took off, heading for the Narrows as she pulled out her phone.
"Gordon?" She asked when the man picked up.
"Becky?!" He asked, his voice instantly becoming alert. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." Rebecca confirmed. "I just got back, but I have something I have to give you. Where are you?"
"I'm at Arkham." Gordon answered. "Crane gave us nothing."
"Where's Crane?" Rebecca asked as she made her way to Arkham.
"At the station." Gordon answered with a sigh. "I'm trying to see if I can't find anything here; maybe notes or clues as to what the hell he could do with dumping a hallucinogen, that needs to be inhaled to work, into water."
"Yeah, I heard about it; and it is odd." Rebecca agreed. "It just doesn't make any sense, though I'm hoping our new friend will figure something out."
"How was he, anyway?" Gordon asked curiously. "I'll admit, I was a little hesitant in handing you over to his mercy."
"He cured me, didn't he?" Rebecca answered, not giving anything about Bruce away. If he didn't want Gordon to know, she certainly wasn't going to spill it. It was safer anyway, and she doubted Gordon really cared to know who was behind the mask as long as the man could be trusted to do the right thing.
"Anyway, I'll tell you about it in person. I'm almost there, so-"
Rebecca was cut off as Gordon said suddenly, "Shit!"
"What is it?" Rebecca asked sharply, and Gordon answered, "Someone just blew a hole in the wall here!"
"WHAT?!" Rebecca demanded, and then she saw them.
"They're all out on the streets, sir!" Rebecca reported sharply as she saw people in pink jumpsuits running out into the Narrows.
"Dawes, I need you to stop them!" Gordon ordered, shifting into Sergeant mode but she answered grimly, "Negative, sir, I need to get this antidote to you immediately. If Scarecrow and whoever's controlling this whole thing has let Arkham's inmates out, I have a feeling you're going to want these."
"Then get down here quickly, Dawes." Gordon barked. "I'll send word for all the bridges to be raised, we cannot afford to have these men get off the island."
"Affirmative, sir." Rebecca answered, and Gordon hung up.
Rebecca stepped on the gas, speeding her way through the Narrows, heedless of people and cars. Given it was police business, she wouldn't get in trouble for speeding and not many people were stupid enough to try and get in the way of a madly speeding car. She did accidentally hit one of the escaped Arkham inmates in the arm as she sped by after the man tried to lift it to stop her car – probably trying to mug or rape her when she stopped, which is what a normal citizen might have done.
As it was, she couldn't say she was quite sorry when she zoomed on, hearing the man screaming in a rage after her as he cradled his broken arm.
Meanwhile, across town
Alfred returned, horrified, to find the Wayne Manor completely on fire.
He'd seen the guest cars driving away – as it had forced him to take a discrete path back to the Manor – and he now realized why they had all been leaving so early. Bruce must have sent them away when he became aware of whatever danger had caused the fire, but Alfred hadn't heard a word from the young master.
And that could only mean one thing.
Parking the car in the darkness near one of the side doors to the mansion, Alfred headed quickly towards the burning Manor. He grabbed a golf club from the set that had been in the back of the car as he did, holding it up before him at the ready as he snuck up on the man guarding the entrance to make sure no-one – probably Bruce – escaped.
Using all his former training as a Special Air Services officer, Alfred managed to sneak up behind the man before he clobbered the man hard over the head. The man crumpled instantly, knocked instantly unconscious, and Alfred glanced down.
"I hope you're not a member of the fire brigade." He muttered as he stepped over the body and quickly through the flames into the burning Manor.
He headed instantly for the ballroom, figuring that would be a good place to start looking for Bruce - only to find Bruce in the entry hall right outside the ballroom doors, a collapsed beam lying across the man's chest.
"Master Wayne!" Alfred cried in relief and concern as Bruce didn't move. "Master Wayne!"
Bruce finally stirred, coming back to consciousness at Alfred's calls while the butler tried to lift the heavy log off the younger man. As Bruce came to and realized the predicament, he too grunted as he tried to heave the beam off his chest though he barely managed to make it move in his dazed state.
"What is the point of all those pushups if you can't even lift a bloody log?" Alfred finally demanded, torn between irritation and fear for Bruce's life.
At that, Bruce finally snapped back to full consciousness, and with a scowl in Alfred's direction, the young man finally shoved the log completely off his body.
Alfred quickly helped Bruce up, letting the younger man lean on him as Bruce recovered from the blow the log had caused when it had fallen on him, and from inhaling all the smoke as the Manor continued to burn and crumble around them. Together, they hurried through the flames, avoiding falling debris as Alfred led the way to the piano room.
Quickly playing the keys to open the secret doorway, Alfred basically shoved Bruce through as the bookcase slide open to reveal the lift that led down to the Batcave.
As they escaped the burning house, barely avoiding being singed themselves as the piano room finally collapsed and burnt down, both Bruce and Alfred looked up in mute horror and despair, knowing the house Bruce's family had built eight generations ago was gone.
When the lift finally reached the Batcave with a clang, Bruce gasped out as he stared up at the fire still licking the wooden house above, "What have I done, Alfred? Everything my family… my father built…"
He was going into shock, the depression of realizing Ra's al Ghul's true identity and knowing he had saved the man getting to him. Having to watch the man burn his family's home was just icing on the very twisted and destructive cake.
Alfred didn't reply at first as he quickly checked Bruce, coming upon a deep wound in the younger man's side.
As he examined the bloodied area, Alfred said to Bruce quietly but firmly, "The Wayne legacy is more than bricks and mortar, sir."
"I wanted to save Gotham." Bruce whispered as he continued to stare up at where his home was being burnt down to the ground. "I failed."
At that, Alfred looked up and he asked with a small smile, "Why do we fall, sir?"
Bruce looked at Alfred in shock, and Alfred reminded him kindly, "So that we can learn-"
"-To pick ourselves up." Bruce finished with Alfred, a small grateful smile appearing on his face as well.
Alfred nodded, and Bruce murmured with repressed tears, looking like the little boy Alfred had raised, "You still haven't given up on me?"
Alfred smiled as he answered firmly, "Never."
He turned back to the wound on Bruce's side as he added, "And Miss Dawes hasn't either, sir."
Bruce chuckled at that as he let his head fall back slightly, getting his breath and his determination back.
"It's not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us." Bruce murmured, and Alfred nodded as he agreed, "Yes, indeed sir."
"Becky said that to me when she was twelve." Bruce revealed, and Alfred chuckled as he moved to get some medication and bandages, "Well, sir, she is a very wise young woman."
"Too good for someone like me?" Bruce joked, and Alfred tossed back, "Possibly, sir, but I would never suggest such a thing myself."
Bruce snorted, before his eyes steeled with determination. He would do what was right. And now that he knew exactly what he was up against, knew Ra's plan, Bruce resolved not to fail again.
He would do what needed to be done to be someone who could protect Gotham; someone whom Rebecca could stand confidently beside; and someone whom his parents would be proud of.
Rebecca reached Gordon just as he was about to rush out after the escaped Arkham inmates, the Sergeant leading his men into action despite the reservation of some like Flass.
"Sir!" Rebecca called, and he turned to meet her.
"Dawes!" He said in relief, and Rebecca quickly moved him to a somewhat quieter spot as Gordon waved his men ahead to start catching the Arkham prisoners.
"Here." Rebecca said urgently, pulling out the two vials and the injection Bruce had given her. "Our friend sent this – one for you, just in case, and the other for mass production. I figured it would be easier for you to get the approval to get that mass produced than a low-ranking officer like me."
"Yeah, well, we won't be able to get it mass produced for a while." Gordon sighed as he gestured around at the chaos the Arkham prisoners and the police officers were starting to create. "They're also going to raise the bridges soon, which means none of us can get off the island."
"Well, at least you'll be safe." Rebecca answered grimly as she glanced about.
"Unless they can somehow get that toxin into the air, we'll all be fine." Gordon shrugged, but Rebecca said seriously, "I'm worried they have a plan – our friend mentioned someone else pulling the strings. The Arkham escape seems incredibly coincidental."
"Well, let's hope our friend figures it out and helps us soon." Gordon grimaced before looking over as more police cars came wailing down the streets. "All right, backups coming."
"Backup?" Rebecca repeated, confused, and Gordon explained flatly, "Flass called every squad on the force to come in to help with the cleanup."
"Detective Flass did?" Rebecca asked, frowning. That didn't sound right at all.
"Not my call, but too late now anyway." Gordon replied grimly, though he clearly agreed with her. "Either way, we've got to do what we can with what we've got."
"Yes, sir." Rebecca answered, and Gordon pointed as he said, "You take right, and take this squad over here."
He nodded at the latest police arrivals while he added, "I'm going to head after Flass. I don't like the idea of leaving him alone."
"Agreed, sir." Rebecca answered.
"Go." Gordon ordered, and Rebecca hurried off as Gordon yelled to the squad to follow her.
They moved swiftly, following orders as they ran with Rebecca down the streets where they tried to cuff the escaped prisoners without anyone getting hurt. Some of the officers moved to create perimeters around the scenes as Rebecca led the others into taking down prisoner after prisoner, but the situation was quickly becoming out of control.
With the Arkham prisoners fighting tooth and nail against being caught, the police officers were starting to get more and more violent, enraging the Narrows residents.
As Rebecca firmly disarmed one of the prisoners and twisted his arm back so she could cuff him, two other officers coming in to help her, another officer tackled a nearby prisoner bodily, throwing the man to the ground as he fought to cuff and detain the man.
"Harassment! I see harassment!" One of the Narrows residents yelled from the perimeter the other cops were enforcing by pushing the crowd physically back.
"Please sir, keep your distance." Rebecca warned as she handed the prisoner over to one of the officers.
"You're assaulting them!" The man shouted, but Rebecca stayed firm as she said in her authoritative voice, "Sir, we are doing our best to keep everyone – including the inmates – safe. Now please, keep a safe distance."
"You're a police officer, you don't care!" The man snapped back, and Rebecca said sharply, "Please stay back, sir, or I will have to forcibly remove you from the scene before anyone can get hurt-"
A gunshot sounded, causing everyone around them to scream and flinch back, including the man. Rebecca whirled around to see one of the prisoners had grabbed a police gun in his effort to get free and had fired it at the officer holding him. It missed, thankfully, and Rebecca leapt to restrain the man while another officer wrestled the gun away from the inmate.
"Get him locked and secured!" Rebecca shouted as she drew the prisoner's arms forcefully back, holding the man in place as one of the other officers brought a straight jacket.
When the man was safely secured and taken to be held in a police car, Rebecca turned. She spotted the man who'd been shouting at her now watching them silently, and she turned away again.
"You men, search the next street." Rebecca ordered. "You lot, come with me down this side."
They split, going down separate streets as they moved to round up as many of the inmates as they could. Rebecca paused as she spotted a child, a blonde little boy of about eight years old, being pushed back by a SWAT officer near a relatively deserted street corner.
"You lot go ahead, I'll be after you in a minute." She told the officers as she hurried to help the child, while the rest of the SWAT team ignored the boy as they huddled around their van.
"What's the problem, sweetie?" She asked as she took the boy into her arms, while glancing around quickly to take in the situation. What was the SWAT team even doing here?
Her eyes narrowed when the officer nearest her turned to look at her with a menacing glare, clearly telling her to back off, while the boy whimpered, "I can't find my mom."
Rebecca just nodded, while she eyed the SWAT team nearby as she slowly moved the boy behind her. The officer near her had turned to face her now, his hand going for his gun and Rebecca's jaw clenched in fearful anticipation.