Redemption

The figure landed right in front of them, glaring at Ra's. Abby couldn't help, but feel a surge of relief. It was Batman! Or Bruce? She was still quite confused about the matter, but either way there was a chance that Gotham would be saved.

Ra's turned around to face Batman. "Well, well, you took my advice about theatricality literally."

"It ends here," declared Batman in his same gruff voice. "Let go of Abby now."

"For you and the police, maybe. But my fight however lies with the rest of Gotham. And your daughter will learn what you didn't."

Ra's grabbed Abby by the arm as Batman responded.

"My daughter has nothing to do with this. Let her stay out of this."

So Bruce really was Batman. There was no doubt about it now.

"I believe that she has as much to do with this as you do. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a city to destroy."

While pulling Abby along with him, he grabbed a cable with one hand and grabbed Abby's waist with another.

"I can't beat two of your pawns?" Bruce sounded surprised at this.

"As you wish."

Two more of Ra's' men dropped to the ground as they zipped up to the train. Abby hoped that Bruce would hurry up. It seemed as if time was running out now.

Once they boarded the monorail, Ra's took Abby to one of the seats and used the rope around her hands to tie her against the railing of the seat. As he did this, Abby looked to the machine that had caused the Narrows' insanity. Batman was going to have some work ahead of him for this.

"You know if you're trying to take me out of the country, this monorail will only take you to downtown Gotham," she sneered at Ra's.

Ra's got up from kneeling and headed for the front of the monorail. "Down town Gotham is exactly where I'm going. Specifically to your father's company."

The monorail slowly came to a crawl. Wait, Wayne Tower was in the center of Gotham. If the train hit that with the microwave inside then the poison would spread to the rest of Gotham.

"You know you're sick, right?" Abby called out to him.

"Be careful of what you say now. It might come back to bit you when we arrive in Tibet."

She snorted. "My dad wouldn't let you take me to Tibet. Not over his dead body he wouldn't."

"That can be easily arranged you know."

Abby didn't say another word. She began to struggle out of the tight knots around her hands as she felt the train gaining speed. If only she had a pocket knife. Right now Abby was scared for her life even more than she was before. This was the fastest she had ever felt the train move and it would most likely not a have a happy ending. But she had to get of the Ra's' custody. It would distract Batman more if she was still caught in a mess like this. Plus maybe she could help him by at least trying to stop the train.

She was able to at least move one hand through the ropes when a shatter came through a window. Before she knew it Batman had come crashing in.

"Dad," she muttered gratefully.

He didn't look at her when she whispered his name. Instead he glared at Ra's in anger.

Ra's turned his head around. "You will never learn."

Ra's took out his swords and lunged towards her father. Batman blocked the lunge. From there Abby ignored the rest of the fight. She concentrated on getting herself out first. Finally one of her hands broke free from the knot.

"Familiar," Ra's shouted. "Do you have anything new?"

"How about this?"

The next thing Abby heard were swords being thrown to the ground. Her eyes grasped the sword sliding towards her. With her free hand she reached for the sword. She was almost there. Just a few more inches and she would be free. Abby's finger touched the tip of the handle. She couldn't go any further it was impossible. The train made yet another bump to the side. Thankfully it was her side. The sword slid right into her hand. She took it and began to saw down the rope.

Once she was completely free, Abby got up from her seat and headed to the control panel just after Batman threw Ra's to the microwave.

"Excuse me, passenger coming through," Abby mumbled, walking into the control room.

She looked to the panel to find that a joy stick had been stuck through it. Great, Ra's made sure the train wouldn't stop. Now they were all going to die. Wayne Tower finally came into view when she looked up. She was really afraid now.

"Uh, Dad, we have a problem here!" she shouted.

"I kinda busy with this one!" he shouted back irritably.

Abby looked back to him. Batman did seem pretty occupied with Ra's. At least he's winning.

Suddenly when victory only seemed an inch away, Ra's knocked Batman down. Abby stormed to them as Ra's punched Bruce in the stomach.

Abby jumped on Ra's' back. "Hey, get away from my dad!"

She punched him many times in the face, but he seemed unaffected. He threw her off before she could continue. Abby hit her head against one of the hard seats when she landed. Rubbing her head, she looked towards them.

Ra's held Bruce to the ground and whispered, "Don't be afraid Bruce. You're just an ordinary man in a cape. That's why you couldn't fight injustice and that's why you can't stop this train."

"Who said anything about stopping it?" he answered in his raspy voice.

So, it was Batman that messed up the control panel! Was he really trying to get everyone killed tonight? Ra's looked up in fear when he realized what he was talking about.

"You never learned to mind your surroundings!"

With his knees Batman threw Ra's to the ground. He held Ra's the same way he held him to the ground except this time pointing a sharp object to him.

"You finally learned what to do what is necessary," said Ra's.

Abby waited for any moment when Bruce would end Ra's' life.

"I won't kill you," Batman threw the sharp object out of the window.

The end of the train snapped off before Abby could realize what was going on.

"But I don't have to save you."

Within an instant, Batman pulled Abby towards him.

"Hold on."

She wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes. The wind had taken care of the rest. Bruce opened his arms and away they went into the sky. Abby opened her eyes again to see the train crash to the parking garage near Wayne Tower. A huge explosion then gave out from the parking garage. Ra's was gone. Her father was still alive. It was all just a memory now. A nightmare seemed more like it, but still a memory.

The wind wisped around them as they glided through the sky. She felt weightless. As if gravity had no effect on her. But gravity soon came upon her as Bruce landed on an empty flat rooftop.

Abby hugged him tightly when she was fully balanced. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for? Ra's was the one who kidnapped you."

Bruce spoke in his normal voice when he asked this.

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about me treating you like dirt when you didn't deserve it."

"Oh that."

"I should've just welcomed you like everyone else did. But I was stupid and—"

Bruce cut her off. "Abigail you are not stupid. If you could figure out that I was Batman, then trust me stupidity is past you. By the way, how did you figure it out?"

"Well, it wasn't that hard. You left a lot of clues. But I gotta admit your voice slipping did the trick."

Abby looked up at Bruce and gave a small smile.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said. "I just didn't want you or your mom to get involved in this."

"Too late for that," she said, before her memories crawled back to her mother. "Wait, what about Mom? Is she okay?"

"She's fine; I put her on a rooftop with a boy away from the rioters."

Abby sighed in relief. "I think tonight's the craziest night I've had in my entire life. The scariest too. I almost lost both of my parents."

"I thought I lost you."

"Touché."

"Look as much as I want to continue this conversation, I think we should get going. Your mother is still worried as it is about you."

"But we are continuing this conversation, right? Because I've still got a few questions."

"Of course, it's just that this isn't the most private place in the world."

She finally let go of him. "Oh I get it. So where do we go from here? I mean our house is burnt down. Where do we stay for the night?"

"I had Alfred reserve a penthouse in the city so we should be okay for the night."

"Alright, just making sure."

Bruce nodded, pulling out his walkie-talkie. "Alfred, could you come down here and pick up Abby for me."

Alfred's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Yes, Sir. Where are you exactly?"

"We're only a couple blocks away from Wayne Tower."

"I'm on my way, Sir."

"Thanks Alfred."

Bruce shut off the walkie-talkie and shoved it in his pocket.

Abby looked at him confused. "Why can't you take me?"

"I've still got some Batman business to deal with. I just thought you could use the time to clean up and calm down your mom."

"Ah, I see."

"C'mon, let's get you down from here so you're ready by the time Alfred gets here."

Bruce held out his hand. She took it and gently pulled her toward his waist. With her arms wrapped around his waist, they jumped off of the building. Thanks to Bruce's gliders, they were able to have a peaceful landing in a dark alleyway.

"Wait outside for Alfred," he whispered into her ear. "I'll be here in case anything goes wrong."

Abby replied in a low voice. "Alright, I guess I'll see you at the penthouse then."

She let go of him and headed for the sidewalk. Police cars had already arrived at the scene of the explosion. The policemen seemed puzzled on how this had happened in the parking garage instead of Wayne Tower. She too was puzzled, but she would have preferred to keep that as a mystery

Abby wrapped her arms around herself when breeze flew by. If only she had brought her jacket. Wait if Wayne Manor was burnt down, then so were the things inside of it. Including all of her belongings! Great, she hated dresses but all she had left was a dress. Hopefully she had extra clothes to spare at her mother's house.

Alfred soon drove up the curb. She turned to wave to Bruce, but he had disappeared from the alleyway. Shrugging, Abby got in the passenger seat of the car. This was just something she would have to get used to.

"Hey Alfred."

"Hello Miss Wayne."

He started the ignition as soon as she closed the door.

Abby didn't waste any time to ask questions. "So how long did you know?"

Alfred smiled to himself. "Miss Wayne, I've known your father since he was in diapers…it would be hard for me not to know since the beginning. How about you?"

"I just found out a few hours ago. Who else knows?"

"Lucius Fox is aware and—"

"I knew it!" she said victoriously. "Sorry, continue."

"—and your mother might be well aware of it by now."

"Knowing my mom, I'm pretty sure she does."

The rest of the car ride was in silence from there.

Alfred soon drove into a parking garage under a large skyscraper building.

"How's your ankle?" he asked.

"A little worse now since I was thrown around by Ra's just moments ago. But I'm still able to walk on it."

"Well, let me know if you need any support while getting up to the penthouse."

"Will do."

Abby followed him out of the car and to a nearby elevator. He entered the pin code into the number pad on wall next to the elevator. Within moments, the elevator doors opened and they entered inside.

She couldn't believe her eyes when the elevator doors opened. The place didn't seem like a penthouse. It was more like a house. Abby stepped out and looked around. It was two stories and a complete thirty-sixty view of Gotham.

"Wow," she said breathlessly.

"It's nice, isn't it?" said Alfred, taking a place right beside her.

"Yeah, but not as nice as the manor. How long are we staying here?"

"Until Wayne Manor is completely repaired and that all depends on time itself."

"I see, well I think I'd better go give my mom a call and tell her I'm okay."

"Very well, Miss Wayne. I'll prepare your room while you are speaking to your mother. The phone is right next to the couch."

"Thanks Alfred."

Alfred walked up the curved stairs as Abby headed to the living room area. She sat on the couch and grabbed the phone sitting next to it. She quickly punched in her mother's cell phone number. Within the first ring, Rachel picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Rachel's urgent voice answered. "Abby is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh thank God! Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. My ankle could do a whole lot better though."

"Your ankle?" she questioned. "Did that man hurt you? Because I swear—!"

Abby stopped her. "Mom, relax! I hurt my ankle on my own account. But he did make it somewhat worse."

"Who was that man, anyway? And what right did he have to take you and try to destroy the city?"

"His name was Ra's al Ghul. All I can really tell you is that he and Dad went way back. You'll have to ask him about it yourself."

"So do you know about the Batman thing?"

"Yeah," said Abby. "I'm still kinda in disbelief though."

"I know. I never thought it would be your father to be hiding behind the mask."

"Me either and I never thought I'd forgive him."

"Wait, let me get this straight…you're not mad at him anymore?"

"No. I understand on why he had to go and I'm glad that he did."

"Really? I'm not buying it," teased Rachel.

"Yes, I did. Ask him yourself if you have to."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure."

"Well then I guess you won't have a problem staying with your father until we get the custody arrangements settled."

"Nope, no problem at all. What happened to you and that boy, by the way, after I left?"

Rachel sighed. "Well at first we were being attacked by Crane (who now goes by Scarecrow), but I scared him off with my taser. Unfortunately I didn't have as much luck with Arkham's patients. But thankfully your father saved us in the nick of time. That's when he told me."

"What about the boy?"

"He's here at the house until the police can find his parents and until we can give him the antidote."

"How's he holding up until then?"

"According to the condition he's in he's alright. He still gets scared at anyone he sees, but it's not as bad as it was before."

"That's good."

"Are you at the manor?" Rachel asked suddenly.

"No…it kinda burnt down."

"Kinda?"

"OK," said Abby, "it burst up in flames. What else do you want from me?"

"Where are you now?"

"In a penthouse that Dad just bought."

"Figures. Look, since it's getting late I'll just get the address from Alfred in the morning to drop off anything left in your closet. Did you happen to leave your phone in there by the way?"

Abby yawned. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure the phone company will give me a replacement."

"We'll talk about it later. It's three AM and you need your sleep."

"Alright, I guess I'll talk to you later then. Bye."

"Bye and goodnight. I love you."

"Love you too."

Abby hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes. It wasn't until now that she felt incredibly exhausted. Every time she seemed to blink, her eye lids would close longer than two seconds.

"Miss Wayne," Alfred's comforting voice came.

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

"You room is ready if you would like to go to bed now."

"Thanks. Where is it exactly?"

He pointed up the curved staircase. "Up the stairs, take a right, go down the hall and it should be the last door on the right. I've prepared a fresh pair of pajamas for you as well."

"Thanks again and goodnight."

"Sleep well, Miss Wayne."

Abby followed Alfred's brief instructions and arrived in her new room. As it was at the manor, the size of her room was bigger than a regular room should be. It included a full-sized bed with black covers in the middle of the room, a wooden desk with a rolling chair, and a flat-screen TV on the wall.

Although the things in her room were nice and big, Abby had her eyes only on her pajamas. She quickly slipped them on and hopped into bed. As much as she wanted to wait for Bruce to get home, she knew it would be dawn by the time he returned. Without even planning on it Abby's head collided with her pillow and she fell into a deep sleep.

The warm bright sunlight woke her the next morning. She slowly opened her eyes to find a tray full of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and biscuits on her nightstand. Following the orders of her hungry stomach, she sat up on her bed grabbing a biscuit.

"I see you're finally up."

She jumped slightly at the voice coming from the doorway.

Bruce slowly came to her bed. "I was beginning to think you were never going to get up."

"What time is it?"

"About noon."

"Wow…I stay up until three AM and I still don't beat my record."

"Oh well, what are you going to do?" Bruce shrugged as he sat at the edge of her bed. "So how are you?"

"Better than last night, that's for sure," said Abby. "You know we still haven't picked up on that conversation yet."

"I know. I meant to last night, but you were already asleep."

"Well, I'm awake now. So can we pick up on it now?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"Basically…where have you been for the past seven years? I mean where did you go after you left the car on that day?"

He sighed. "Before I tell you…know that what your mother said to me that day greatly affected my decisions in life. Especially when she told me why she questioned herself in letting me see you. After I got out of that car I—I began regretting what I had planned to do that day and wondered why I let you be exposed to that sort of thing. So instead of going to Falcone to thank him, I told him not everyone in Gotham is afraid of him. He then told me that I hadn't seen the ugly side of life and that someone like me would have to travel a thousand miles for people to not know who I was. And he was right. So after I was thrown out, I gave a homeless man my money and my coat. After that I just traveled the world from there to see the crime from the criminal's point of view."

"So how does Ra's al Ghul tie into this?"

"He came to me while I was in a prison in Tibet. I was accused of stealing from my own company, but I did nothing to contribute to the theft. I was only merely there experience the life of a criminal. Anyway he told me that he knew who I was and that he could help me find the justice I was looking for. Like an idiot I believed him. And at that time he went by the name: Henri Ducard. After I was released from prison, I followed Ducard's instructions to get to his monastery to join the League of Shadows. Once I arrived there, I spent quite some time learning about martial arts and how to build fear into your victims."

"That explains the karate advice you gave me a few days ago. Ra's—I mean Ducard said that you betrayed him. Why did you do that if he taught you so much?"

"He wanted to me to execute a farmer who had murdered his neighbor for land. I said no. Ducard was obviously bothered by my decision and said that if did execute this man I would lead the League of Shadows into Gotham to attack. I still refused. I then fought the man who posed at Ra's and burnt down the monastery. Ducard, who was knocked unconscious at that time, was thrown out of the building when an explosion occurred. I saved him before he fell down the cliff nearby. I brought him to the nearest village and they took care of him from there. Later that day, I gave Alfred a call. And that's what began my path in becoming Batman."

"Wow," was all Abby could say. "And you did all of that just to avenge your parents."

He calmly nodded. "Yes, and to bring justice back to Gotham. Do have any more questions?"

"Yeah…surprisingly. What about those times when I had encounters with Batman? Where you like stalking me or something?"

"Well…the first time was purely a coincidence. I knew that your mom was set to be murdered by Falcone's men and I was there to stop them. I was surprised to see you there with her. But at the same time I was happy to see you after seven years. You really do look like your mom."

Bruce smiled to himself.

"Mom says I have your eyes though," said Abby, "and your stubborn no good attitude—as quoted by Mom."

"That would explain why you never listened to me."

"Hey, don't feel bad. I don't listen to Mom all that much either."

He gave an amused chuckle.

"So what about the other times you met me?"

"The second time I met you was somewhat stalker-ish. I wanted to see how much you had changed in the long time I was gone. It was then when I saw you jumping out of your window. I decided to follow you in case something happened—and it did. When I had my first conversation with you, really knew how much my little girl had changed. The third time when you were in the Narrows, I knew that you were going there to find Batman. I also found it as a chance to get to know you better since you would barely speak to two words to me."

She blushed in embarrassment. "Oh right…that. Sorry I was being a depressive love song that night."

"It's alright. You needed someone to talk to and it happened to be a masked vigilante."

"Well, there's no need to explain the other times you came to my rescue. I already figured out why. So what happened the night you got sick?"

"I went to investigate the apartment that you mentioned to me in the Narrows," said Bruce. "Crane caught me and he sprayed me with his toxin."

Abby froze at his answer. "So it really was my fault you got sick."

"What do you mean?"

She gave a heavy sigh. "The night you got sprayed with Crane's toxin was the night I snuck out to my boxing match. And when I saw that you literally dying…I thought it was just fate hitting me the stomach and telling me to grow up. As bad as it was for me to go through, it worked."

"You snuck out to your boxing match?" he said with a hint of rage.

Her eyes became wide. "Didn't Alfred tell you?!"

"No, he didn't say anything about you sneaking out."

Dang it, Alfred. The man was old, but he knew people pretty well. Just as he knew Abby would spill the beans in front of Bruce without knowing it.

"So," he smirked, "now we've got sneaking out to your boxing match and going to the Narrows alone countless times. I'm not sure about this, but I'm pretty sure your mother would've wanted me to ground you by now—or ground you longer since you were already grounded."

"But I only went to the Narrows that one time to save Mom. You've gotta give me slack on that one."

"All right. I guess that takes off two weeks of your grounding which leaves you with two weeks of no cell phones, computer or TV."

"That should be easy considering I have none of that now."

"I'll delay your replacements then. But I will give you a phone though, just in case. I'll just exclude texting and restrict your contacts to only me, your mom and Alfred until your grounding is over with."

"Fair enough," she grumbled.

Besides it would be nice to have peace and quiet for once. Maybe she could finally open a book.

"So is everything clear for you now?" Bruce asked.

She smiled. "Crystal."

"Good. Now you can't tell anyone. This has to stay a secret between you, me, Lucius, Alfred and your mom. Not even Aaron could know. If anyone found out I was Batman—"

"Dad, there's no need to stress about it. You saved my life and my mom's life many times. The least I can give you is my loyalty to your secret."

"Thank you."

Abby bent over to hug him. "You're welcome, Dad."

Bruce cradled her in his arms. She couldn't help, but feel safe and secure there. Probably more than she did when she hugged him as Batman.

"Whatever happened to Bruce?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not calling me by my first name anymore. What gives?"

"I dunno. I guess I just kinda missed calling you 'Dad', you know."

"Why did you call me by my first name anyway?"

"I guess I was so mad at you that I felt that you didn't deserve my respect. But what can I say I'm a dumb teenager with a stubborn ego…and raging hormones."

Bruce responded defensively. "Hey, what did I say about stupidity?"

"I didn't say I was stupid. Only dumb."

"But you implied it."

"You didn't say anything about implying it."

"What am I going to do with you, Abby?" he gave a playful chuckle.

"I have no idea. You're gonna have to decide that for yourself."

"I'll do that then. But you know what I've been thinking lately?"

"What?"

"If you have an enough bravery to stand up to a psychopathic psychologist and an evil martial artist set to destroy Gotham, then I'm pretty sure you can stand a few reporters."

She parted from their hug, looking at him with stunned eyes. "Does that mean I get to go back to school?"

"You start tomorrow."

Abby gave him a quick tight hug. "Thank you, thank you!"

"No problem. Just try to stay out trouble, okay?"

She let go of Bruce once again.

"Considering the events that have happened to me this week, I could sure use a break from trouble."

"Good. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. How's the ankle by the way?"

"Better."

"Good. Look before I go, I want to apologize. I expected more than I got when we met for the first time in seven years. I didn't weigh people's emotions enough about my sudden return to get an idea of how certain people would feel. Especially you. I'm not sure if your mom told you this or not, but when I met her at her dinner party I was the one who proposed to have you stay with me anytime you wanted."

"And all of this time I thought it was Mom who thought of this evil plan," she mumbled.

"In some ways she did. I said anytime you wanted. She said until the custody arrangements were set. So it was a two sided deal. Anyway I'm sorry that I had to miss seven years of your life and not taking your emotions into consideration."

"You're forgiven for both…as long you forgive me for treating you like dirt when I should've just welcomed you just like everyone else."

"You're forgiven as well."

"Thanks. You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah and I love you too. Don't forget that," Bruce rose from the bed. "I have to go right now. I need to talk to Alfred about the arrangements of reconstructing Wayne Manor. Your mother dropped by earlier this morning to bring some clothes. Alfred put them in your closet in case you're looking for them."

"Okay, thanks again. I guess I'll see you around then."

"Yeah. I mean I'm not leaving the penthouse anytime soon. And I'll always be around."

"As Bruce or Batman?" teased Abby.

"Very funny," he said sarcastically. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Alright, see ya."

Bruce exited the room as Abby jumped out of bed. She made her way toward her closet. It was then she noticed the large balcony sitting outside. Out of curiosity, she opened the balcony doors. Her breath was nearly taken away by the sight of it. The balcony overlooked the city of Gotham in its beauty. The buildings sparkled to the sunlight as the black streets slithered around them. Abby leaned over at the railing, looking over at Gotham. She smiled. Much too her surprise things did turn out to the better. When Batman came he not only brought her father back, but the wind of change as well. Before Batman came Abby was lost and living in the blind hatred of her father. Now she felt complete closure and she knew exactly who she was. She was Abigail Rachel Wayne, the daughter of Assistant District Attorney, Rachel Dawes and billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne who spent his nights as the notorious Dark Knight of Gotham. For the first time in her life Abby had finally felt that the weight of the world was finally off of her shoulders.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed my Christmas gift to you. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, you can just consider this as a gift. I don't know about you guys, but I am excited to get started on writing the sequel. I already made the cover and everything. Anyway, there's only two chapters left of this. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

~Emyrox567