Thank you so much for your reviews, they mean a lot

Here's another chapter.

Alfred handed me a pile of bandages and disinfected cloth and went to get my suit for me while I went around the corner to change.

I awkwardly managed to get the top of my now ruined dress untied and slid it off past the base of my bra, kicking it angrily to the floor.

I tore off my bra and pressed the cloth over the wound, wincing as it stung. Then I wrapped the bandages around me tightly as Alfred rapped on the wall nearby.

'I've got the suit, doctor.'

'Thanks, Alfred, bring it in.'

He rounded the corner with the suit neatly piled up and placed on the table, nodding to me and then leaving to prepare the gear.

I slid my shorts off and pulled the under layer of the suit on, making it tighter than usual in the band around my torso.

Then I piled the suit on, rearranged my hair into a very flat bun and put the cowl on, picking my clothes off the floor and rolling them into a ball.

The suit was hard to get on; all one piece at the torso and stiff in the legs when you put your feet through. I decided the next thing on my list was to up the design. More protection and more convenient.

It was also too big and roomy to give me the best manoeuvrability in combat. My fight against Ra's al Ghul earlier had proven I was better out of the suit, not a good scenario.

'Evelyn?' Bruce called.

'Yeah,' I replied and headed out for the tumbler, Alfred passing me my belt and gear.

Alfred wished us luck and we got in, Batman driving.

The tumbler jumped over the lake and we sped for the city.

Batman glanced at me before he spoke in case I was resting. 'The microwave transmitter will be on the trains, blowing the pipes as it heads through Gotham.'

I looked at the tumbler's screens in alarm. 'Arkham's been blown open, the narrows are filled with murderers, rapists… head for the narrows, we'll find Gordon there.'

'As a failsafe we're going to have to blow the rails.'

'I'll program it in.'

Batman grunted and changed direction to the ring roads around Gotham, aiming directly for the narrows now.

In minutes it came into sight and we sped past two lone police cars and looked ahead at the gas rising from the narrows.

'Go,' I said, almost shrugging in shock and the tumbler flew over the water and landed in the middle of the haze.

It landed and Batman immediately saw Gordon, so slammed on the brakes and we stopped beside him.

He looked very relieved to see us. I ushered him closer to the tumbler.

'The Narrows is tearing itself to pieces,' he said, pointing behind him.

'This is just the beginning,' Batman stated. 'If they hit the whole city with toxin, there's nothing to stop Gotham tearing itself apart from mass panic.'

Gordon never faltered. 'How are they gonna do that?'

'Train,' I replied, looking up at the chaos above, 'the monorail sits above the water mains all the way to the central hub, beneath Wayne Tower. If they can get their machine into Wayne's station, the chain reaction will start.'

'It'll vaporize the entire city's water supply,' Batman explained.

'Covering Gotham in this poison!' Jim huffed.

'We plan to stop him from loading that train.'

'There's no guarantee we can, though,' I started, looking directly into Gordon's eyes. 'You may have to help us.'

Gordon just gave a tilt of his head and replied instantly. 'What do you need?'

'Can you drive stick?' asked Batman, holding up his control to the tumbler.

I waved Gordon further to the tumbler. 'If we can't stop the transmitter in the train, then we have to stop the train. Drive ahead into the city and blow the monorail before it can hit Wayne Enterprises.'

'It's programmed for you already, get in and drive.' Batman helped Gordon into the tumbler while my whole body whipped around at a nearby sound.

I glanced back, having to twist my whole body due to the suit, to make sure Gordon was getting in.

The lights of the tumbler lit up and we ran further into the narrows.

'The station is a few blocks south, we'll get there easiest over the rooftops in this mess,' I said as we ran, ducking under a man in a yellow prison suit. Realising who he was, I planted a punch to his head and threw him into a wall.

Batman shot a cable up to the roof and grabbed me. We flew to the rooftops and ran side by side over the roofs.

'Rachel will be somewhere near here; she had to get that serum to Gordon.'

'There!' Batman exclaimed and we looked down to see a huge crowd of people edging toward Rachel and a young boy tucked under her arm.

I jumped down straight away, grabbed them and shot back up to the roof. It was the same boy with the arguing parents. I blinked at him and stood back, fading further into the haze before any of my features stood out.

'I told you they'd come,' he whispered to Rachel, who was soothing him, running hands over his hair and holding him gently.

She turned to us, and Batman eyed her carefully.

I looked at the boy for a moment longer and then turned to survey the surroundings.

Batman gave Rachel a tiny nod and turned, climbing onto the edge of the building. Sensing his movement, I mirrored him and as we stood up, Rachel called out.

'Wait!'

We looked at her.

'You could die,' she said, looking right into our eyes. 'At least tell me your names.'

I had no real care for either outcome of this, and so opted not to tell her my name in keeping with the general code. It was more of a decision for Bruce.

He stared at Rachel for quite some time, longer than I thought he would.

Then he twisted to look at me.

I blinked, looking at him before I realised what was on his mind. If he revealed his name, it wouldn't be long before Rachel could guess Thunder's identity correctly.

I dipped my head at him and after a long moment he finally turned back to Rachel. 'It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.'

Rachel frowned, seemingly lost in a dream for a fraction of a moment. 'Bruce?'

Seeing she'd got the message, we faced the narrows again and jumped, not before Rachel's eyes met mine and she frowned.

We found the train and split, Batman running straight in while I moved to the back in case of Ra's al Ghul's men waiting for us.

I was right, and spent valuable time taking care of a few men in the rear carriages. I looked up out of the window in time to see Batman hanging off the train by his grappling hook and hurried to finish the job.

I kicked the last one down and ran forward through the train, bursting through the next doors to the front carriage to see the microwave transmitter and Ra's al Ghul standing there.

He looked completely shocked to see me alive.

'I was the one who created the cure,' I hissed at him, 'you think your drug would work on me like it does everyone else? You think I'd ever kill Bruce?'

'You never saw what I tried to teach you,' he sighed, glaring at me.

Before I could launch for him Batman came crashing through the window, catching the hand railing on the back of the seats and pulling himself to crouch on the transmitter.

We stood there, watching al Ghul.

'You will never learn,' he sighed hatefully, and unsheathed his sword.

Batman jumped back to leave the combat to me and began to study the transmitter while I vaulted over it, past him and blocked al Ghul's swing with the bracers of my suit.

He tried to swing again, and I leapt forward, eyes not leaving his and made it under his arm, aiming for a blow to the back of his elbow but he dodged it easily.

Thanks to my suit, I didn't feel the punch he landed to my gut and fought furiously to wrench the sword from his hand.

I kicked out to his shin and slammed my hands down over his wrist, sending the sword clattering to the ground.

I kicked it back toward Batman before he could pick it up and kneed him in the head.

He stumbled back and I turned to the side, planting a powerful kick right to his chest and sending him flying to the controls of the train.

I started after him, noting the controls had been destroyed.

He escaped my vision for a moment, and I felt a searing pain in my back as the sword pierced through my suit, but he couldn't get it deeper than a scratch, grunting in a yell of shock and crumpling to the floor, winded from the pressure of my suit.

Immediately Batman was on him, drawing him back away from me to the open part of the train. Still winded, I tried to recover my breath and failed, muscles heaving uselessly.

I could hear the fight in the background and heard al Ghul speak menacingly. 'Don't be afraid. You are just ordinary people in a cape. That's why you couldn't fight injustice, Bruce, even with Evelyn at your side, that's why you can't stop this train. Neither of you.'

I heaved and the rush of anger I'd felt as I looked to see Ra's al Ghul subduing Batman, strangling him as he talked sent my legs moving before my lungs had.

'Who said anything about stopping it?' Batman gagged as I screamed overhead, cape billowing as I leapt into the air.

I charged and flew over Batman, kicking al Ghul off him, who slid backwards over the shiny train floor and I used the moment to push Batman back with my foot.

Ra's al Ghul leapt for us and I snarled in response, blocking his furious swipes and pushing back.

'You never learned to mind your surroundings!' Batman said triumphantly, standing behind me as al Ghul looked to the train controls, the window ahead heading for a blown out track and both of us between.

I succeeded in getting above him, jumping on the train seats and pushing off the walls, twisting through the air and driving my feet into his chest. He landed on his back and I stood over him, putting all my weight down onto his arm. Batman pulled a shuriken from his belt and aimed it at al Ghul.

'Will the two of you really do what is necessary?' he asked, diving out of the way of my left leg.

'Yes,' I replied, 'but it's not what you believe it to be.'

'We won't kill you,' said Batman, throwing the shurikens around the train to detach the carriage, 'but we don't have to save you.'

As the air pulled around us, the train splitting, we opened our capes and left the train, getting sucked out into the night air, watching as it crashed to the ground.

We landed on the rails before the drop and watched Gordon emerge from the tumbler.

I put a hand on Batman's shoulder, panting as I finally got the chance to secure my lungs.

We stood there, capes billowing out from the air, watching the wreckage, somewhere with the transmitter and Ra's al Ghul.

'You okay?' he asked.

I tried my best to nod. 'Exhausted, but…' I held my hand out in front of me. Steady. 'It's not in my system anymore.'

We stood there until our breathing returned to normal and jumped down to the tumbler.

'Well done,' I said to Gordon.

'Need a lift somewhere?' Batman asked.

'Back to the narrows, if you're not too busy,' the officer replied, a little shaken but still in control of himself, in a masterful level it reminded me a little of Alfred.

'Jump in,' I said and put Gordon in the passenger seat, reconfiguring it again.

Batman got into the middle seat and I drove.

The engines hummed as we steered around rubble and people and exploded man-holes.

'The man behind this…' Gordon began, 'is he done?'

'He's dead in that wreckage,' I replied, steering smoothly around a stopped car.

Batman spoke, studying the settling chaos outside. 'We need to put the antidote into mass production and cure those affected by the drug.'

'I might need your help in rounding up some of the more notorious criminals,' Jim said, 'although the narrows have been sealed, all bridges up, there's many places they could be hiding.'

I drew in a deep breath and jumped over the water, sending us back into the narrows.

We spent two hours cleaning up the narrows, wrenching the top-class criminals back into the asylum.

The sky was lightening by the time we made it back to the cave.

I crawled, literally, out of the tumbler and fell onto the ground, breathing heavily. Bruce appeared above me with his cowl off.

He put a hand on my shoulder. 'Evelyn?'

I slowly turned my head to look up at him, staring blankly, unable to do anything else.

He got the message and bent down, pulling me up carefully.

We made our way up further into the cave and I took my weight off Bruce to go around the corner and get the suit off. Alfred had left my dress in the crumpled, ruined pile, but had gone to my car and found my gym bag, leaving it beside the heap.

Heaven bless Alfred Pennyworth.

I shed the suit and dug around for a change of clothes; shorts and shirt. It was probably the longest time I'd ever taken to get changed in my life, fighting to stay awake, but I got there eventually.

When I rounded the corner, blinking my eyes in the hopes of clearing my quickly blurring vision and carrying my suit in a pile of Kevlar, fabric and gear in my arms Bruce was sitting down, waiting for me.

Realising I didn't have the strength to put my suit away I dropped it on a table near Bruce and felt my balance sway from the lack of extra weight.

I looked at Bruce, who was watching me like a hawk and leaning his weight away from his chair to get up any minute.

In a silent communication, because that was all I could manage, I kept looking at him until my eyes rolled, I swayed and suddenly felt very light, Bruce already moving, right before I plummeted toward the ground, the dark cave blending with the darkness of unconsciousness.

With a completely flat, dead weight now in his very sore arms, Bruce turned carefully around and carried himself and me to the lift, kicking the mechanism and rising toward the manor. It rattled into sight of the piano and he stepped off.

'Alfred!'

'Yes, Master Wayne?'

The butler rounded into the room a few moments later, pausing a moment to assess the unusual sight before looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

Considering what might have been earlier in the evening, even having an unconscious Evelyn Pendragon was a win.

'I'll prepare a spare room,' he nodded and started through the house.

Bruce drew in a breath, rearranged my weight slightly and followed Alfred.

Very, very carefully he steadily walked up the stairs, Alfred taking the opportunity to hurry ahead for linen.

Bruce turned through his house, feeling a tidal wave of gratitude crashing over him. He was able to walk through the corridors of Wayne Manor because of me, and, after being the most mutely terrified he'd ever been earlier in the evening at the sight of me thrashing around, blindly, wildly fighting him off, he was very glad to still have me alive.

'In here!'

Bruce turned into the room Alfred's calm and steady voice called from and very carefully laid me on the bed, stepping back to let Alfred take care of arranging the blankets.

He moved further back out of the butler's way as Alfred concerned himself with leaving water on the bedside table, some food, a toothbrush, three books, a heat pack and even a tiny bouquet of blue flowers.

Bruce laughed quietly, leaning on the doorframe and folding his arms. 'I don't think I've ever seen you worry over someone this much.'

Alfred let out a small breath. 'Well… we owe her a lot, sir.'

Bruce nodded, watching the bed. 'Yes, we do.'

They dwelled for a moment in silence.

'Your parents would have liked her,' Alfred said proudly, reminiscing.

Bruce smiled. 'Hm! I'm sure they would have.' He looked at Alfred, who was still standing by the bed, watching me. 'She'll be fine, Alfred,' he said firmly, reassuring his concerned butler.

Alfred nodded and began to leave the room. 'Your bed is made, sir. I think you both deserve a very good sleep after today.'

Bruce looked out the window at the lighter sky. 'We're onto the next one already.' He stood up straight and together they walked into the corridor. 'But after a long rest.'

I was the first one to wake, at about nine later that morning, the sunlight interfering with my sleep. I yawned and stretched, studying my surroundings, double taking at the bedside table. I smiled gently. Alfred. Of course. God bless that butler.

I rolled out of bed and kept a blanket over me, arranging it to sit as a cape around me and brushed my teeth, drank all the water and ate all the food. I grabbed the books and began to move through the manor.

I settled on a small loungeroom, opened the curtains wide to let in the beautiful morning light and began to read, curling up under the blanket.

About an hour later, Alfred rose. He set about taking care of the manor, first checking on Bruce and then quietly opening the door to the occupied guest room. Immediately he saw I wasn't there and frowned, going to check the cameras in the garage. My car was still there.

He put the kettle on and started to make breakfast.

Having not eaten since his birthday party, the smell of food wafting lightly through the house made Bruce wake up. He guessed Alfred was awake and went to see if I had.

A little concerned five minutes later to not find me sleeping, he went into the kitchen.

'Morning, Alfred.' He yawned as he sat at the counter, half his weight on his arms on the benchtop.

'Good morning, Master Wayne. I noticed Dr Pendragon was up and so began to prepare a little breakfast.'

Bruce rubbed his eyes, determining I was in the house somewhere. 'Why on Earth is she awake?' he mumbled sleepily in disbelief.

Alfred merely shrugged a little. 'I wish I knew the answer, sir.'

Bruce watched him sleepily for a while until Alfred had made me a mug of tea. He slid off the stool. 'You keep an eye on the breakfast,' he said to Alfred reassuringly, 'I'll go find her.'

Alfred didn't argue and simply hastened to make Bruce a smoothie.

With both drinks in his hands, Bruce set off.

It was several minutes before he found me, nearly missing me entirely when he glanced into the room, if it wasn't for the fact the curtains were so wide open.

'You in here?'

'Yeah,' I called, turning a page.

Bruce rounded the sofa and passed me the mug. 'From Alfred.'

I groaned appreciatively. 'What did I do to deserve being cared for by Alfred?'

Bruce considered answering that question, looking around the room as he stood next to the couch, but left it, deeming it far too early for meaningful conversation.

'Did you sleep alright?' I asked him, taking a large gulp as I sat up better.

'Mm. Although I might go back to sleep again soon. With Gotham rebuilding itself today, there won't be any business going on and I doubt any of the wealthy people are going to be going anywhere to gossip, anyway.'

'Another day off!' I said loudly, cheerfully, raising my mug slightly deliriously in a toast.

Bruce, sharing my strange level of exhaustion, did the same and drank his smoothie. I settled my back further into the couch and pulled the blanket back over me, wrapping my hands around the mug.

'Thank you for getting me the antidote,' I said, 'I imagine it wasn't easy.'

'Most of my bruises are probably from that,' he said wryly.

I looked at him for a moment and then laughed, wincing. He sat down on the other end of the couch.

'I should be thanking you for getting me the antidote,' he said, 'I don't think you need to thank me if you made it.'

I drew in a breath, happily at ease with my tea present. 'But if what I remember is anything to go by, you would have had better luck trying to sedate an angry lion.'

'It did feel like that,' Bruce nodded, then added thoughtfully, 'although you couldn't really see much.'

I snorted. 'That much is certainly true.'

We finished our drinks and leant our heads back, feeling the sunlight on our faces and falling asleep again, falling into the comfort of the couch.

Alfred had packed all the food onto a large tray and carried it upstairs shortly after. He stopped when he found us, finding the two people who made the awe-inspiring and terrifying Batman and Thunder come to life looking adorable in his mind, fast asleep in the sunlight, the best fighter and strongest woman he'd ever seen wrapped under a blanket.

He looked down at the food, deciding he didn't want it to sit too long and stepped forward again, laying the tray down on the coffee table, clearing his throat a little and making the normal amount of noise as Bruce and I blinked our eyes open against the light.

'Breakfast,' Alfred announced.

It didn't take anything further for us to dive in, finishing the entire tray in minutes.

'I'll make some more,' Alfred said when he came to check on us.

I laughed and reached for the book I'd been reading, finding it on the floor. I picked it up with a groan and let myself fall to the armrest, lying down and curling my legs to my half of the couch.

'You know, you do look more relaxed in a house that you like,' Bruce remarked, not used to seeing me so comfortable.

'Send me a memo about that, I'll get to it eventually,' I replied, about a third of my attention leaving the book.

Bruce chuckled and looked down in thought.

We worked our way steadily through three waves of food before Alfred was satisfied that we'd eaten enough. He fixed me another cup of tea, with biscuits, and then turned his energy to organising the batcave.

Bruce and I spent most of the day in the small loungeroom, me reading the books Alfred had left and Bruce going through various papers, tossing them everywhere.

'I'm starting to think you're aiming for me,' I said, pulling yet another document away from my book.

'Paper is quite hard to aim when you're not paying attention,' he replied.

I sat up a little and began putting creases into the document. 'Not if you turn it into a plane, it isn't. What is all this, anyway?'

'Buying shares of Wayne Enterprises,' he began, 'orders for equipment for Batman and Thunder…' he trailed off, implying it indeed was a trail mix of papers.

I finished the plane as I talked. 'I can't believe Earle didn't see this coming. I mean, I know he's stupid and I'm glad you're getting rid of him, but… still. What a piece of work. It was never his company, it was yours!'

Bruce looked at me, surprised. 'You seem quite angry about this.'

'You're forgetting I worked at Wayne Enterprises most of the years you were away.' I threw the plane across the room. It glided through the air and crashed into the window.

Bruce tossed another piece of paper aside. I caught it and started work. 'I'm going to make Fox the new CEO. Where should I put you?'

'I can run Applied Sciences,' I replied absentmindedly.

'You don't want to work with Lucius on the board? I'm sure he'd want you there.'

'If you both agree, then I have no problem with it.' I frowned and began to make the paper more bat shaped.

Bruce nodded. 'We'll have to give you an office above ground, though, or you'll get vitamin D deficiency at the rate you work.'

I threw the improvised bat-shuriken at him in retaliation.

He caught it and studied it.

By the time Alfred came back to check on us he was faced with a very unique cleaning task; clearing away dozens of bat-shaped weapons made out of paper.

I stayed at Wayne Manor again that night, still too tired to drive. The next morning after breakfast I was parcelled into a car by Alfred, who drove Bruce and I into the city.

'What are you two up to?' I asked.

'Just a little demonstration of our gratitude, Dr Pendragon,' Alfred replied, looking at me via the rear-view mirror.

At that moment, the phone rang.

Bruce answered it through the car. 'Bruce Wayne.'

Earle's voice came through the speakers, testily patient. 'What makes you think you can decide who's running Wayne Enterprises?'

I scowled, prepared to give him a piece of my mind.

'The fact that I'm the owner,' said Bruce simply.

I dissolved like salt in warm water into silent chuckles, face growing a little sadistic as I listened to Earle get his come-uppance.

'What are you talking about? The company went public a week ago.'

My grin grew wider, and so did those of Alfred and Bruce.

'And I bought most of the shares,' Bruce said simply, not bothering to stop the smug tone in his voice. 'Through various charitable foundations and trusts and so forth. Look, it's all a bit technical, but the important thing is that my company's future is secure.' Bruce grinned. 'Right, Mr. Fox?'

'Right you are, Mr. Wayne,' came Lucius' voice and Bruce hung up.

We let the triumph sink in before anyone spoke again.

'Where exactly are we going?' I asked again, persistently.

There was no response from either, though I didn't miss the smirk growing across Bruce's face, nor the smile on Alfred's.

We pulled up shortly after in front of a huge new apartment building and I squinted up at the top.

I discarded my initial theory that we were going to see Rachel or someone when their smiles just kept widening, looking more and more pleased with themselves. Their moods were infectious and I, though by that point reasonably unsettled, had a smile on my face.

We got out of the car and immediately people started to notice Bruce Wayne's sudden appearance. I slipped into Alfred's wake to deflect any eyes from me and we went into the foyer, going past the usual lifts to one in the corner of the vast room.

We waited for the lift.

'To thank you for saving my house,' Bruce began, 'and my life, and for helping me to save Gotham…'

The lift doors opened, and Alfred used a key card to unlock access to the top button.

Bruce didn't finish that sentence until the lift doors opened into what I assumed was the penthouse.

I blinked.

'Here's your new house.'

I blinked harder, following them out of the lift.

A gigantic penthouse. Bruce Wayne, the man who doesn't do anything by halves. He proudly put his hands in his pockets, surveying the space.

Alfred chuckled a little at me as I twisted round and around in circles, looking at the high ceiling and trying to map out the whole place in my head.

'Oh, the headlines this is going to make,' I said, before properly seeing the view. I went very quiet and went to the window to get a better look.

Alfred went to the kitchen and Bruce happily watched me for a moment before moving to stand next to me, looking out over Gotham. We were silent for a long time, thoughts of all genres and topics swirling around as our city moved below us.

Eventually I turned around and looked at the house, still in slight awe.

Bruce turned and I met his eyes, smiling and completely speechless, eyes watering a little as I felt the overwhelming truth sinking in, looking around.

I met his eyes again and his smile warmed even further.

He took a hand out of a pocket and rested it on my shoulder, stooping the tiniest bit to look me straight in the eye, expressing his gratitude and happiness.

Somehow, I'd ended up here, in this exact moment.

I lowered my head, smiling.

'There'll be removals coming this afternoon,' Alfred called, reappearing with a tray of juice, 'you'll have everything in here by tonight. You might also find a few things throughout the house intended for Thunder.'

I felt truly accepted by Bruce and Alfred, like I was a significant addition to their lives and one that they treasured.

To Bruce, I was someone he knew would catch him every time he fell, who would have his back and who he could always be Bruce Wayne around.

Alfred was my partner in crime, with the common interest of Bruce's health in mind.

Both of them had become very dear to me. I wished nothing but the best for Bruce, and nothing but peace for Alfred.

With Alfred and Bruce each holding a glass of juice and Gotham all around us, Ra's al Ghul defeated and the city a little safer, I felt the most relaxed I had in a very long time.

'To doctor Evelyn Pendragon,' Alfred said, and raised his glass.

I couldn't stop the small giggle that left me as I, obeying, raised my own glass.