Secrets Burnt to the Ground

Abby only walked until they were out of an earshot's distance of the men guarding the front door before she stopped.

"I can't leave him," she stated.

All of her friends looked at her confused. Sasha was the first to speak.

"What are you talking about, Abby? You're dad is drunk and if he's telling you to go, then I suggest you go."

"But it seemed to be more than that. I myself don't know what's going on, but something is wrong. I can sense it."

"Well isn't that all the more reason not to go back in?" Heather pointed out.

"No," Abby argued. "It actually encourages me to go back in because my father's in there!"

"Alright, then we'll call the police," said Aaron calmly.

"They won't get here on time! It has to be me."

Abby headed back to the manor, but Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"You can't go, Abby. It could be dangerous."

"I'll be fine, Aaron," she reassured with a smile. "Trust me."

"Look at that truck over there," Aaron pointed in the direction of the manor. "It hasn't left since your dad told everyone to leave."

A black truck that Abby didn't recognize stood outside of the manor.

"I agree with your theory, but I can't let you do this alone."

Abby sighed. "I have to do this alone. He's my father and I don't want anyone getting hurt. Besides I lost him once, I'm not gonna lose him again."

Aaron paused before continuing. "Well…if you think it's the right thing to do, then I'll let you go."

Sasha seemed appalled at the idea. "Are you crazy, Aaron?! She's gonna get herself killed! I mean she's already got a sprained ankle."

"Relax Sasha, I'll be fine," said Abby.

"Okay, on some miracle that you do get inside, what the heck are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna knock the snot out of the guy who tries to hurt my dad."

"But that's—"

"Sasha stop," Abby interrupted. "Let's let Heather, speak out for a bit."

Most of the time they had been arguing, Heather had barely spoken a word.

"Look Abby, I'm worried about you like any other friend would be," Heather said quietly. "But this is your decision not ours. You should go regardless of what we say."

"Okay, you all have just lost your minds!" said Sasha irritably.

"I'll be fine, Sasha," Abby looked at her with reassuring eyes. "Call the police if I don't come out in ten minutes."

Sasha didn't respond this time. Abby turned around once again, to head for Wayne Manor. She only got a few feet away from them when Aaron stopped her.

"Abby, wait!" he called.

She turned around in annoyance as he came up to her.

"I know, I get it, I'll be care—"

Abby never got to finish her sentence. Without suspecting it, Aaron's lips collided with hers. She felt butterflies inside of her stomach as his soft lips rubbed against hers. Abby wrapped her arms around him as she deepened in for the kiss. She never imagined her first kiss being this way. It was always a daydream about being on a date with the guy of her dreams. But she didn't mind this one at all. Her best friend was the guy of her dreams and she didn't see that until now.

They separated, smiling at each other. Abby was too speechless to speak.

"Good luck and be careful," said Aaron. "I know you'll come out of that house in one piece."

"Okay," she nearly stuttered. "I'll see you too."

Abby almost tripped when she spun around. She regained her balance and continued towards the mansion. As much as she tried to focus her attention on how she was going to get inside the manor, her mind couldn't help but wonder back to that kiss. It felt so fulfilling and accomplished. But she couldn't be concerned with that. Ra's al Ghul was doing something with Bruce that didn't seem at all good.

Knowing that the front doors were locked, she headed for the kitchen door. Hopefully those people didn't lock it on the way out. Besides not a lot of people knew the door existed in the first place. She glanced over at the van Aaron had pointed out earlier. It looked exactly like an SWAT vehicle as she got closer to it. There was definitely something going here that was way past her knowledge.

Her hopes came true when she was able to turn the door knob completely around to open the door. Abby crept into the manor, saying low and using any boundary to block her appearance. She headed in the direction where she heard distant voices having their own conversation in the main room. It got quite difficult to hide when she entered the open main room, but the good news was that she found Bruce and he was just fine. Bad news: he was still with Ra's. They moved down the hallway much to Abby's distaste. She was especially careful now that men, assuming to be working for Ra's were surrounding them. But thankfully she was able to sneak into the hallway they stopped in—unnoticed—and hide behind the floor length curtains. She listened carefully to the conversation

"The League of Shadows," Ra's said, "has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years. We sacked Rome. Loaded trade ships with plague rats. Burned London to the ground. Every time a civilization reaches the pinnacle of its defense, we return to restore balance."

Abby didn't like where this conversation was going. And Bruce being involved in this just made it more confusing.

"Gotham isn't beyond saving," Bruce argued.

Ra's didn't respond.

"Give me more time. There are good people here."

What did he mean give him more time? What time had he used to help Gotham whatsoever besides donating to charities? Unless…no it couldn't be. The theory was clearly impossible.

Ra's protested. "You are defending a city so corrupt; you have infiltrated every level of its infrastructure."

She agreed that Gotham was corrupt, but also agreed with Bruce that there were good people in Gotham. You just had to look hard enough.

"When I found you in that jail, you were lost, but I believed in you. I took away your fear, and I showed you a path."

Jail? This story was just plain confusing in Abby's sense. Why would her dad be in jail? If only Bruce had told her what had happened during the years of his absence, she would understand better. But apparently everyone liked to keep secrets from her. Bruce didn't reply to Ra's' comment.

"You were my greatest student," he continued. "It should be you by my side saving the world."

"I'll be standing where I belong," Bruce declared in a low voice. "Between you and the people of Gotham."

Although still confused about what was going on, Abby could have been more proud of her dad. He stood up to what he believed in even though, as she had figured out by now, Ra's was his mentor.

"No one can save Gotham," Ra's spat.

After that statement was made, Abby heard things being thrown down and small flickers of fire. When she heard a liquid being poured, she knew that she was in deep trouble.

"When a forest grows too wild, a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow the world will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself. The movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time."

"You attacked Gotham before?" inquired Bruce.

"Of course. Over the ages our weapons have grown most sophisticated. With Gotham, we tried a new one: Economics. But we underestimated certain of Gotham's citizens—such as your parents."

Abby froze. It wasn't Joe Chill that really killed her grandparents; it was the man in that same room with her father. She couldn't imagine what was going through Bruce's mind at that moment. For some reason the heat suddenly rose in the room. Wait, that liquid must've been gas! They were burning her home. Why? What did Bruce do to deserve this?

"Gunned down by the very people they were trying to help," Ra's continued his speech. "Create enough hunger and everyone becomes criminal. Their deaths scalvenized the city into saving itself and Gotham has limped on ever since."

She held her breath now. The smokes of the flames were getting stronger. Abby wanted to cough, but she couldn't blow her cover.

"We are back to finish the job…and this time no misguided idealists will get in the way. Like your father you lack the courage to do all that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk behind them and stab them in the heart."

Abby couldn't stand it any longer. She had to see what was going on. When her eyes peered out, she found Bruce knock somebody to the ground. As he did this, Ra's pulled out a sword. Before Ra's could do anything else and Abby could do anything to stop it, Bruce turned around and blocked him. As the flames grew bigger, Abby became even more wary. Had ten minutes already past?

"I am going to stop you," Bruce said in rage.

"You never did learn to mind your surroundings!" Ra's pushed him to the ground.

As he fell, a flaming wooden log fell on top of him.

"DAD!"

Abby ran out of her hiding place to rush to Bruce's aid. He was completely out by the time she got there. She tried shaking him to wake up, but it wouldn't work.

"Dad, please wake up," her tears broke out. "I don't wanna lose you again please."

Ra's didn't seem the least bit sympathetic when he spoke again. "Justice is balance. You burned my house and left me for dead. I'll do the same and take your daughter as prisoner. Consider us even."

Without expecting it, Ra's grabbed her arm and began to drag her away.

"NO!" she shouted, struggling. "DAD! PLEASE DON'T DIE! I'M SORRY! I WAS STUPID AND WRONG! I DON'T HATE YOU, I LOVE YOU! PLEASE DON'T GO!"

Abby screamed and struggled with all of her might, but all seemed useless. He couldn't die. She couldn't bear it. Abby cried as she was dragged into the van. She took one last look of Wayne Manor as they drove away. The flames now engulfed the manor and her father. She felt as if a part of her world had died. She didn't want to speak or argue this time; she just wanted to sulk away. Abby didn't even fight back when they were tying her hands together behind her back with rope.

"Why so quiet, Miss Wayne?" asked Ra's.

She only glared at him.

"Is it because your home is burning to the ground? The fact that your father is dead? Or maybe because I'm plotting to destroy your city? Take your pick."

"All of those things," Abby sneered. "And the fact that you just randomly pop into my house and destroy almost everything I love for no particular reason."

He chuckled. "Oh, you are sorely mistaken. As I've said before, your father and I know each other very well. I trained him when he was in Tibet."

"Tibet? Is that where he went?"

"Yes," he looked at her curiously. "You really don't know, do you?"

Abby narrowed her eyes. "Know what?"

"Here I thought you two very close."

He smiled at her very smugly as if he knew something she didn't.

"What gave you that idea?" she asked. "He just came back into my life last week."

"Your father spoke very highly of you. He said that you were one of the best things that happened his life…and that he regrets missing seven years of your life. That necklace, right there," he pointed to her locket, "reminded him why he wanted justice besides the murder of his parents."

"Which you caused," she said coldly. "And now my dad is dead too because of you."

"I did what I had to. Both your grandparents and your father were in my way."

"Of what? Destroying a city that seems unfixable to you?"

"You might not understand it, but you live in a city where the corrupt takes over."

"Oh, I understand it," Abby cornered. "You just don't understand that there are good people in Gotham. Trust me. I've met them and I know them. And those same people will do whatever they can to stop you…including Batman."

Ra's gave a joyless laugh. He was probably unfamiliar with the vigilante and wasn't intimidated by him. Well he should've been. The last person that underestimated him got his butt kicked.

She smiled at him, bitterly. "Sure laugh now, but don't come crying to me if your plan completely backfires."

"You really don't know, do you?" he repeated his question, except this time with much more amusement.

"Apparently not, since you keep asking me that question."

"Did you ever wonder why or how your father was involved with this ordeal?"

Abby slowly nodded. She had no idea what Ra's was about to brainwash her into, but it didn't seem too good.

He continued. "I did not invade your house at random as you've incorrectly pointed out. I invaded and burned your home clearly for revenge. For he had betrayed me by not joining the League of Shadows. I taught him everything and yet he turned on me. But for a few short moments I gave him one last chance, but as he did before he turned away from me."

"Okay, I get how my dad was involved with this, but what does this have to do with Batman?"

"Everything. He wanted justice in Gotham and he did anything he could to provide that. Weren't there any signs or links that would lead to that?"

Abby thought before answering. Obviously the way he acted when Ra's appeared in front of them, how he mysteriously knew martial arts and the blue print that Lucius had of the Tumbler. Those were the only signs that she could think of. Wait, the Tumbler…when Rachel had gone completely unconscious, Batman shouted her name. His voice was different though and familiar at the same time. It sounded exactly like…No, it couldn't be. It was impossible.

She shook her head. "No, you're lying. He can't be…"

"Batman," he finished her sentence. "But he is—or he was."

"You're still lying. He was afraid of bats."

"But I helped him overcome his fear and he used it to build a new fear in the criminals of Gotham."

Abby couldn't argue back this time. There was nothing to argue back about. Ra's was right. Her father, Bruce Wayne, Gotham's billionaire playboy was the mysterious Batman. The way he was always there for her when she got into trouble should've pointed out some red flags, but it didn't. She thought Batman was some sort of guardian angel for her at the time. Great, not only was Bruce dead, but so was Batman.

"Batman, or no Batman," said Abby venomously and slowly, "I will stop you."

"With what?" he said. "Your hands are tied up and your ankle doesn't seem very well."

"Somehow, someway, I will stop you. If not me, someone else will."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Let's make it both."

Ra's glared at her. "Like father like daughter, I'd say."

"Thanks. That's a complement," she said icily.

The van finally stopped. With one nod from Ra's to his men, Abby felt herself being forced out of the van. As soon as she was fully out of the van, she realized they were in the Narrows under the monorail station. Wow, is it just me or have I come here more times this week than I ever have in my life? Abby pondered. There always seemed to be a reason to come to the Narrows these days.

"I can't find my mom," said the voice of a small boy.

Abby looked over at the boy. He seemed so lost and scared. The boy looked up at one of Ra's' men with begging eyes. The man didn't seem to care to about the boy's situation. He shoved the boy away as if he was nothing. Abby wanted to help him, but obviously the forces around her opposed of it.

"Hey!" a voice came that Abby couldn't have been more relieved to hear.

Rachel marched up to the man in rage.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

Abby could see why she was angry at this man. He was wearing a SWAT uniform and nothing made Rachel angrier than the corrupt police officers. Abby's relief was soon swept away by fear as the man pointed a gun at Rachel. Thankfully he put his gun down when Ra's stepped out of the van.

"Gentlemen," said Ra's proudly, "it's time to spread the word."

As his men turned to face the machine that they had pulled out of the van before her, she looked towards Rachel. She had cradled the boy in her arms, protecting him just as she might've done to Abby at that young age. Rachel met her gaze, horrified. Abby didn't say anything, but stared into her eyes silently telling her she would be alright.

"And the word is: panic."

With one simple press of a button, white puffs of smoke spurted out of the sewers. Luckily, as Batman—or Bruce—had told her, she was given the antidote before this chaos happened. Abby was quickly dragged up the upper platform of the station before she could share one more glance with her mother.

Ra's voice crept into her ear when they were finally at the upper platform. "You will now see what chaos can really do to heal a society."

She stared daggers at him. "I don't see anything. All I see is fog blocking the screams of innocent people."

Although he was wearing a breathing mask, she could see in his eyes that he was becoming very irritated with her. Ra's pulled her towards him and looked her fiercely in the eyes.

"You be as ignorant as you are now, but after tonight you will learn to accept the truth."

"This isn't the truth," she argued. "This is a lie. No one can get back on their feet after this."

"Once this is all over, I'll be sure to teach you a few manners to your superiors. Starting with this," Ra's violently shoved her against the railings.

Her back hit the railing very painfully, but luckily no other damage was done. Abby straightened herself up and looked ahead of Ra's. Piercing screams of fear suddenly echoed around them causing everyone to look around. In the distance she saw something glided towards them. As it got closer she could feel a sense of recognition. It looked like…but no it couldn't be. The figure came closer to them, forming into the shape of a bat.

Well there you have it, Abby now knows the truth. It took me awile to figure out how she would find out, but I found the right fit in the end. Plus it wasn't exactly Abby's goal to find out who Batman was. She ironically stumbled upon clues that couldn't led to her discovery, but as ignorant as she is she just igonored them. So anyway as much as it pains me to say this, I think there is only a few more chapters of this until the finale. But don't worry we'll still have the sequel to look forward to.

As always, peace out

~Emyrox567