Beyond help
Author: KoriSevenEleven
Summary: The final battle is here, but can Kori fulfill her mission when she sees her old flame up close and personal, or will she have a change of heart?
Chapter 03
I stood outside the theatre at five minutes to 8:00 in my normal morph. I had completely forgone my suit, only wearing my mask to hide my identity from anyone who happened to see me. I wouldn't be morphing in this fight, having resigned myself to using the most powerful martial arts that I knew…maybe even street fighting if it came to that.
Besides, the suit would get destroyed in the explosion…and I didn't want Terry dwelling on finding the scattered bits of it.
I had removed it two hours ago and returned it to the special case in my room at Wayne manor…the room that had once been both Robin's and Bruce's.
The time ticked nearer, leaving only three minutes until the showdown. I was vaguely reminded of the song 'Final Countdown' by Europe as I watched the seconds tick by in my mind's eye.
I heard running footsteps and looked around. I had written an e-mail to my brother telling him of my intentions a mere half-hour before from an Internet Café, but there was no way that he could have read it already…could he?
My worst fears were confirmed as I saw him pull up in his car with Terry in his Batsuit running alongside it. I cursed and moved into the shadows of the alley next to the theatre, knowing it was no good since the mask Terry wore had infrared vision, along with ultraviolet light sensors.
I held my breath, only giving small wafts of air through my nose as I watched them come closer.
How Kevin and Terry had deduced my whereabouts was a mystery since I hadn't told them in either of their e-mails where the fight would be…but I must have missed a tracking device on my mask somewhere.
"You sure she's here, McGinnis? 'Cause if she ain't you'll be in a world of hurt."
I almost snorted. Typical Kevin…overprotective brother…despite the fact that he was younger and I should be the one protecting him.
"Yes, she's here…that letter she left for him specifically said that she'd be here."
I gasped in spite of myself.
'How the hell had they gotten a hold of that letter? They weren't there! They didn't…'
Then it clicked.
Robin had given it to them.
I clenched my fist and grit my teeth. He wanted to avoid a fight with me by giving the letter to the person he knows I'm closest to, knowing that they'd intervene.
Edging backwards toward the back of the alley where I could sneak into the theatre and find a suitable hiding place, I failed to notice the shadow land behind me until I was grabbed from behind.
My mouth was quickly covered with a black gloved hand and a voice whispered softly in my ear.
"Very cliché, choosing this old place as the site of a battle…didn't expect it of you."
I gasped behind the hand and turned my head. I saw the masked face and long black hair that I was familiar with before he nodded toward the back of the building.
He wasn't avoiding a fight after all. He just wanted witnesses.
I followed him willingly after he let me go and just as I reached the back of the alley, I accidentally kicked an empty liquor bottle into the brick wall, causing it to shatter. Robin looked sharply at me as the voices of my brother and Terry got closer.
He quickly pulled me up onto the building's fire escape and we climbed almost silently to the roof.
"Good going, Kori. Just alert them to our presence, why don't you?" he snapped.
"If you hadn't sent the letter to them, then they wouldn't be here to alert!" I retorted sharply.
He growled and pulled me into the hole on the roof. We landed quietly in the lobby and I quickly took off for the auditorium, hoping to get him to chase me (having already armed the bombs at 6:15 to go off in exactly two hours).
As expected, he followed, not knowing that I was leading him to his demise.
I stopped just underneath the vent and turned to look at him. He had stopped as well, probably sensing that something was amiss. To deter him from checking, I threw a punch wildly, knowing he'd dodge.
He did, and for about eight minutes that followed, we fought.
It had started out simple enough; both throwing punches and kicks, each not wanting to really hurt the other. Until I furrowed my brow and started getting more and more vicious eventually landing a sharp kick to his side.
He retaliated by using his staff to knock my legs out from under me, then jumping onto me the second I landed.
I growled and tried to head-butt him, but that's when he did something unexpected.
He took off his mask.
I felt my breath hitch as I looked at him.
Of course, he knew me better than I knew myself (and vice-versa) so it was only natural that he knew my weaknesses…himself being one of them.
"You deliberately called me to this place for some reason known only to you…but I don't care about that…what I want to know is…why?" he asked.
I bit my lip and looked away. He loosened his hold on me by a fraction, but it was enough for me to wriggle out from under him. I stood and looked at him, remembering everything about him that I had loved…still loved.
"This is a place of remembrance…" I said simply.
He looked at me, unsure, so I elaborated.
"Bruce's parents died here at the hands of a murderer in front of his very eyes…but you knew that already of course…
He saw a lot of you in himself…both had exceptional talent early in life…both lost your only family because of a gangster…both saw your parents die…not to mention the physical resemblance…"
He looked at me with a look of comprehension.
"When he took you in, I'll admit, I was jealous at first. You and he were so alike, whereas he and I were completely different, meaning that you both got along better…I didn't want to give up my father to anyone else…even if he wasn't my real father…
But eventually, I accepted the fact that I wasn't the only one who needed him and warmed up to you… a lot, if you remember…"
I closed my eyes as pictures of our first meeting played through my mind.
The look on our faces when we realized that we would be competing for the attention of our father figure…
The way we smiled at each other when I pulled him out into the thunderstorm years later…
The very passionate good-bye that took place on the floor of the Batcave…
The last one brought tears to my eyes. They fell in rivulets as I looked up at Robin's glazed look.
Whether it was because he too was remembering them in vivid detail, or I had accidentally streamed them into his mind, I couldn't tell.
I realized then that, despite all of my counter measures, I had ultimately given in to the few pleasant memories of Robin that I had locked away in the deepest recesses of my mind.
There were only two minutes left on the bombs…
Oh, God…what am I doing?
I felt my heart rate and breathing increase as I processed the time limit.
"You have to get out," I said.
He looked confused and didn't move.
"Why?"
I groaned and said,
"Because I planted seven half-ton bombs in the theatre! You need to leave now!"
His eyes widened a mere fraction before a determined look came over him.
"Not without you," he said.
"This isn't the time to play hero, Dick! You need to get out now!"
He walked toward me with determined steps, though I could see him trembling slightly as he came to a stop in front of me.
"I'm not playing hero," he said as he slipped his mask back onto his face. "I am a hero."
Without so much as a warning, I was pulled against his hard body and held tight. I could feel his slightly elevated heart rate and the trembling that had become more pronounced.
A short beep indicated that the timer was counting down from one minute.
He tilted my face up and said,
"At least now, we'll be going together."
Despite the situation we were in, I smiled. Trust him to even make having your body ripped apart by bombs sound better.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Without hesitation, I leaned up and kissed him…just as the first bomb went off.
Six chain explosions followed that one and I was dimly aware of pain in my body.
But black was all I saw as the dust settled on the scene.
I didn't hear the screams…didn't see the torn up looks on the faces of my friends…
All I saw as I blacked out into the deep unconsciousness of death was a flash of baby blue.
