Bruce struggled violently to pull free from the mob closing in around him, when suddenly a gun fired.
The group flinched, most of them dropping Bruce to turn in fear towards whatever had fired the gun, before they screamed as they ran while a motorbike came speeding towards them. Bruce blinked as familiar red hair flew up when the bike screeched to a halt, right next to his grapple gun.
"Come on!" Rebecca called sharply as she dropped her now-empty gun while reaching down to grab Bruce's gun.
Bruce didn't need to be told twice, and he wrenched himself free from the last of the crowd before throwing himself onto the bike behind Rebecca. The second he was on, she was taking off again, zooming on her 'borrowed' bike passed the crowd of people as the poisoned residents started to converge again.
"Follow that train!" Bruce yelled at her above the engines while he reached around her to grab the grapple gun from her hand.
He wondered for a split-second how she'd known he needed it, before concluding that she must have guessed when she saw him reaching for it amongst the mob of insane people.
Bruce quickly aimed his grapple gun high onto the bottom of the train as it sped above their heads and he told Rebecca, "I'm going to go up – get off the streets!"
"You're welcome!" Rebecca shouted back, and Bruce had to smile slightly at her sass as he fired his gun.
"Thank you." He whispered into her ear before he reeled himself off her bike and up below the moving train.
Rebecca glanced up briefly to watch him as he swung precariously from the train, before she turned a corner, intending to drive into an alley dark enough where she could escape off the streets without anyone seeing her…
Rebecca screeched to a halt as the Batmobile came speeding down the road ahead of her. She gaped at the tank, her head whipping from where she'd definitely seen Bruce disappear off on the train and then to the tank careening down the road.
"Wha-?" She wondered, before she abruptly realized who had to be behind the wheel of the Batmobile; there was only one person left who was sane on this island and it was too coincidental that it was also a person Batman trusted.
Taking her chances, Rebecca turned and sped after the Batmobile.
Bruce meanwhile grit his teeth as he tried to pull himself up higher towards the train while down below, all the manholes in the city of Gotham started to blow up as the gas in the waters below was released.
People were starting to scream here as well as Bruce hung on for dear life, before his eyes widened as he saw an approaching skywalk above one of the city's larger streets. He swung himself up but there was also so far he could go, and Bruce grunted in pain as his lower body hit the metal skywalk roof.
He ended up skidding along the roof, causing sparks to fly and the roof to actually come off as his armour-clad body slid along it.
Bruce struggled as he tried to manipulate the grapple gun's trigger to connect with his utility belt again – the only way he would be able to pull himself fully up – but his task was made more difficult as the train's momentum kept swinging him slightly while he tried to dodge any structures built high enough to hit him.
The first walkway was only one of a few, and Bruce found himself also swinging dangerously close to the edge of a signboard at one point. His strength was also slowly starting to wane, and Bruce knew he would have to act fast before he was too tired – and before the train reached Wayne Tower.
Rebecca followed Gordon as her superior drove helter-skelter down the Gotham City streets, clearly making a beeline for Wayne Tower.
She frowned as she wondered what his plan could possibly be once he got there - and a part of her also wondered if he even knew how to drive the Batmobile. The car's rather unsteady course did make her think otherwise.
Though, she supposed as she swerved to dodge another manhole coming crashing down nearby, she probably looked like a mad driver too. Between the panicking people, the manholes raining down around the streets, and the thick fog that was building as more and more of the gas was released here in the city as well, it was all Rebecca could do to keep from causing an accident.
Tailing the Batmobile helped somewhat as people scrambled away from the approaching tank whenever they accidentally got caught in the way, but the closer they got to Wayne Tower the more anxious she was getting. Seeing Bruce so far from the almost impenetrable tank made her all the more worried that he was going to get hurt – a feeling that intensified with each glimpse she got of the speeding train in the distance.
Bruce fought with his grapple, clenching his teeth as he willed it to work.
Finally, the trigger clicked, and Bruce slammed his hand on the utility belt button, swiftly reeling himself in. He made a quick mental note to fix the problem with the grapple, before thrusting the thought out of his mind as he focused fully on the situation just as he swung himself over the side of the train.
Using the speed of the grapple reeling him in, Bruce managed to break right through the train's glass window as he crashed through with his momentum.
Ra's spun around from where he was in the driver's compartment, and the man's face twisted into a scowl as Bruce leapt up onto the roof of the train before landing on the machine sitting in the middle of the train compartment.
Bruce stared right back with narrowed eyes as Ra's muttered angrily, "You will never learn."
Bruce leapt forwards as Ra's drew his sword, and Bruce quickly landed on his feet right before the machine. He dodged as Ra's swiped at him, maintaining his composure and focus as he avoided swing after swing as Ra's tried to cut him.
He ducked, moving behind Ra's, and Ra's instantly spun back around, thrusting his sword. Bruce blocked the blade with his metal scallops, grabbing the blade with his other hand in an effort to pull the blade out of Ra's grip.
"Familiar!" Ra's spat as he jerked the blade back and away. "Don't you have anything new?"
He swung down at Bruce, who blocked the blade again with his metal gauntlets as he raised both arms before him, the scallops pointing towards Ra's as they caught the blade between them.
"How about this?" Bruce snarled as he swept his arms open, the motion causing Ra's blade to shatter as the scallops wrenched the sword in two different directions.
As Ra's stood, slightly surprised, Bruce swung himself up slightly on the train's handgrips and kicked Ra's right in the chest. The man stumbled back a little under the force of the blow, while Bruce turned towards the driver's compartment, picking up Ra's broken blade swiftly as he did.
He worked quickly, staring out to check where they were as he did, before he grunted as Ra's smashed his weight down on Bruce's head. The cowl protected Bruce, though he winced in pain, and he struggled against Ra's as his free hand swung about before smashing the broken blade into the train's controls.
With both hands free, Bruce grabbed Ra's and twisted free, turning so he was facing the older man once more. He kicked Ra's again, sending the man back and into the microwave emitter, and Bruce lunged at the winded male before Ra's could recover.
His momentum took them both over the machine, where they rolled as they struggled to come out on top in their battle, all while the train moved ever closer towards Wayne Tower.
Gordon gasped as he swerved around another corner, and an automated voice informed him, "You have arrived at Wayne Tower."
Gordon peered out to see he was indeed right outside the landmark tower, but now he found himself at a loss. How could he take out the railway line before the train hit the tower? He remembered seeing on the news that the Batmobile had torpedoes of some kind and weapons, but he didn't know how to activate any of that.
"Er… oh, come on, come on…" Gordon muttered as he looked around desperately at all the buttons on the control panels around the driver's seat. "Which one-?"
He jumped, startled, as someone suddenly knocked loudly on the Batmobile's lid.
"Gordon?" The very familiar voice called. "Jim, open up!"
Gordon looked up in shock, to see Rebecca Dawes standing right outside the Batmobile, her red hair wild from riding a motorbike without a helmet.
Bruce grunted as Ra's swung him into one of the windows, smashing the glass with Bruce's head as Bruce struggled to break free of Ra's iron grasp. Ra's wasn't going to let him go any time soon, however, and the older man twisted them around so that he held Bruce's arm tighter while Bruce lost his grip on Ra's.
Bruce retaliated with a backward jab of his elbow, hitting Ra's hard in the face and forcing the man to loosen his grip. Bruce quickly utilized the moment as he spun around and pulled his arm free, before punching Ra's in the face again.
He added a second punch for good measure before Ra's could recover, sending the older man crashing back into one of the seats. Bruce was on him swiftly, pulling Ra's up with one hand while he repeatedly punched the man's face. Ra's was forced back, and Bruce continued relentlessly in his attack now that he had the upper hand, forcing Ra's further and further back down the train, away from the machine and the driver's compartment.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Gordon asked anxiously as Rebecca shut the lid back over their heads while she settled herself in the driver's seat.
She paused to look over at her superior and boss.
"Are you kidding?" Rebecca asked. "I saw him drive this thing once, and I was almost dying at the time."
"I thought you-!" Gordon began in alarm, while Rebecca looked forward and pressed a button on the panel before her.
"Weapons system activated." The automated voice announced immediately, while Rebecca's seat tilted before it leant her forwards and down below where the driving wheel had been, as she had seen it do for Batman before.
"What?" Gordon gasped, his jaw dropping, and Rebecca informed him, "I only saw it once, but I'm good."
Gordon barked a laugh at that, more startled than anything, while Rebecca took the driving wheel as it shifted into two handles before her.
"Okay, now this part I didn't see." She muttered. "But I can guess."
She flipped the tips of the handles open, grinning when the triggers clicked and the Batmobile announced, "Armed."
Rebecca aimed the car so that she was looking directly at the railway support beam right in front of Wayne Tower. Clenching her jaw slightly as her eyes squinted just a little in concentration, Rebecca tilted the left handle forward.
Instantly, a blast was released from the left side of the Batmobile, and Rebecca smirked.
'Oh yeah, I got it.' She thought to herself while Gordon gaped in the passenger seat.
Rebecca quickly aimed again, firing the right side this time as she blasted the whole beam out, causing the railway track above to tilt slightly.
"Keep going, Becky, you're doing it!" Gordon cheered, and Rebecca let a small smile slip before she fired again at the other support beam.
The railway tracks instantly began to creak ominously, and Rebecca grit her teeth as she fired again at the last support beam in the centre.
Bruce grunted as Ra's kicked him, and the older man quickly used Bruce's slight stumble to turn the tables.
He shoved down on Bruce, trapping the younger man underneath his weight and he pressed down on Bruce's neck. Bruce grunted and choked slightly, tugging on Ra's arms as Ra's hissed, "Don't be afraid, Bruce."
Bruce struggled against Ra's grip as the train sped all the closer towards Wayne Tower, and Ra's growled, "You're just an ordinary man in a cape."
Ra's pressed down tighter on Bruce as he continued triumphantly, "That's why you couldn't fight injustice, that's why you can't stop this train."
"Who said anything about stopping it?" Bruce got out, and Ra's head shot up instantly in shock.
He stared at where the broken blade was stabbed into the controls, meaning that nothing could stop the train's motion now, and Ra's mouth fell open slightly as he tried to understand what Bruce was doing.
His question was answered as the tracks in front of Wayne Tower, just ahead of them, suddenly collapsed, falling away and dragging the rest of the tracks down with it as the support beams below gave way. Ra's froze, stunned, and Bruce quickly used the opening he had been given.
"You never learned to mind your surroundings." Bruce growled as he flipped them over while his free hand snatched at one of the bat-shaped shurikens hanging on his utility belt.
Bruce turned them over, slamming Ra's down and pressing down on Ra's neck while he lifted the batarang in his other hand, the sharp end pointed like a blade down towards Ra's.
"Uh oh." Rebecca muttered as she shot out the beams successfully.
The good news was that the tracks had given out exactly as Gordon had told her Batman had told him to do. The bad news was, the beams were falling… towards the Batmobile.
"Becky!" Gordon yelled from the passenger seat, where he who was also staring up at the falling beams in alarm.
"Yeah, yeah, on it!" She yelled as she quickly went into reverse, backing the Batmobile out of the way just in time.
She and Gordon breathed in relief as the beams collapsed nearby, none falling on them or anybody else. After all, everyone had scampered quickly when they saw the tank starting to shoot powerful blasts onto the railway supports.
So it was only Gordon and Rebecca left to sit, panting with leftover adrenaline, as they stared up towards the giant hole in the train tracks Rebecca had just blown.
Bruce and Ra's stared at each other as Bruce held the older man down with the batarang's sharpened edge pointed at Ra's neck.
"Have you finally learned to do what is necessary?" Ra's asked, sounding almost hopeful in the twisted way that the leader of the League of Shadows was.
Bruce stared back down at Ra's, disgusted.
"I won't kill you." He informed his former mentor gruffly.
Ra's looked almost disappointed as Bruce threw his batarang, smashing open one of the nearest windows. The batarang swung out the back, slicing through the link that connected their compartment with the one behind it.
The tear quickly became larger before the entire thing ripped open, causing the two compartments to become disconnected and creating a large opening at the back as the two compartments drifted apart.
Bruce looked back at Ra's as he added bluntly, "But I don't have to save you."
Ra's widened his eyes as Bruce lifted his cape, stiffening it and instantly the wind caught the cape and pulled him back and out of the train. Bruce easily manipulated himself so he was flying high above the train, watching as it sped uncontrollably down the last of the tracks before it went crashing right into the ground, where it went smashed under the Wayne Tower basement.
Bruce continued to watch as – moments later – there was a huge explosion inside the underground parking area, when the microwave emitter blew up due to damage. There would have been no way Ra's escaped that.
It was for the best. A man like Ra's al Ghul could not be contained, not even close to forever. And he was too dangerous to be let loose – too clever, too skilled. Bruce wasn't exactly happy with the outcome, but he'd already thought Ra's al Ghul was dead once; he would be able to continue living knowing it for certain now.
Because the lives he saved were too important and precious to risk otherwise.
Outside the damage, Rebecca and Gordon finally emerged from the Batmobile, staring with wide eyes at the train wreckage both inside and outside the underground parking.
There was nothing to be done about the part inside, given the force of the explosion they had witnessed. Really, Rebecca was just thankful that whoever had built Wayne Tower had done a superb job with the foundations – while the parking bay was blown away, the rest of the building had mercifully remained intact and standing tall.
The second half of the train, which had for some reason been cut off from the front compartments, had crashed above the ground, simply landing in a heap in the middle of the hole in the support beams. Because of the self-evacuated area, no-one had been hurt in that either.
It was a miracle and a mercy, but that didn't mean Gordon and Rebecca were any less thankful for it.
And Rebecca's smile widened as she stared up high above, where they could see Batman swooping off away safely into the distance. Gordon waved a little after the masked vigilante as well, still somewhat stunned but not enough that he couldn't be a little amused and more than a little hopeful.
It seemed there was going to be big changes in Gotham now – and for once, Gordon had the feeling he was going to be happy about them.