A/N: And so begins the final chapter of Season 2. This is by far my favorite season of the show, so getting to do so many chapters on it (nearly double Season 1) has been an absolute joy of mine. However, all good things must come to an end, so here's Chapter 32. Hope you enjoy!
Transference
She was being drowned.
Her eyes were closed but she knew the surface was right above her, only a few feet away. There was no sound except the pounding of her heart in her eardrums. Her lungs were revolting against her, demanding breathe, but she couldn't move.
A new noise greeted her in the water, a pair of gunshots, beads bouncing on the ground. A child screamed, a sound familiar yet foreign to her ears.
Then, she was running across a rooftop, a small figure standing on the other side of the gap. It was a young girl with curly chestnut hair and green eyes, dressed in all leather. As Selina ran towards her, the gap became wider and wider. There was no way she could make it across, but she leapt anyways.
She was falling…no…flying. Yet, she knew she'd come up short.
At the last second, the figure morphed into a different, yet familiar, form. He reached out to catch her.
Selina's eyes fluttered open.
She wasn't drowning. She wasn't in the alley. She wasn't jumping across a rooftop.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim lights, she scanned the new room. It was small and cold, the floor and walls made of concrete. Medical instruments and supplies decorating the few tables scattered about the room. There was a single iron door leading out of the space.
If this was hell, she wasn't impressed.
Lucius groaned behind her, slowly sitting up.
"Jim?" Lucius asked.
Selina turned around and, sure enough, there sat Jim Gordon. He was strapped to a chair in the corner of the room. He looked like hell, but at least he was alive.
"Hi," Jim muttered.
"Hi," Selina repeated.
They sat in silence for a moment before Lucius asked the million-dollar-question: "Are we alive?"
"So far, so good," Jim responded in a flat tone.
"Had to be sure," Lucius told him. "I thought we were dead." He slowly climbed to his feet and assisted Selina up onto hers. "Wow…that was unpleasant. How are things going for you?" he asked Gordon. "We've had a hell of a time."
"Same," Jim muttered.
"You okay?" Lucius asked.
Gordon shrugged. "A little groggy. He drugged me. Made me talk."
"About Wayne Enterprises, right?" Selina asked as she and Fox began to try to undo his restraints.
"About everything. Selina…" he started, waiting for her to look him in the eye before continuing, "I never should have made that oath to you."
She blinked twice. "That's not really–"
"I was arrogant and naïve," Jim continued, "and I'm sorry. I tried to do the right thing, but… What a fool I've been."
Selina smirked, working at the shackle on Jim's left wrist. "Yeah? Well that makes two of us."
Fox stared at them. "What kind of drugs did they give you?"
Selina rolled her eyes, continuing to work at Jim's bonds. They weren't budging. She reached for her knife, but found nothing. "Shit…"
"Language," Jim chided.
"For real," another voice chimed in.
Selina's eyes shot towards the door. Her heart stopped.
Bruce Kyle was standing at the threshold of the room, a pair of guards flanking him. She would've been relieved, but then she saw the physical state he was in. His eyes were darker and sunken, his clothes torn and dirty, his hands and face had several new cuts decorating them, and his leg…
Bruce kept his voice as calm as possible, casually asking, "How you doing?"
"Meddling. What's your deal?" she asked, her voice quivering at the end.
He shrugged. "Chillin'."
She stared at him, trying to remain calm.
It didn't work.
She rushed forward, slamming into him at full speed. Even in the state he was in, he somehow managed to catch her, holding her tight as she squeezed her arms around his neck. She felt like yelling for joy and crying at the same time, settling for burying her face in his shoulder.
"Hey, Cat," he murmured, his voice even lower his usual growl. But there was no edge to it like there normally was. Instead, all she heard was weariness.
She pulled back, running her hands all over his face and torso. "Bruce…what happened…what did they do to you?" she stammered.
He cracked a small smile, taking one of her hands and holding still against his cheek. "Long story. Convinced a pyromaniac I know that I'm his man-servant. The usual. But are you okay?"
She shook her head in disbelief. She scanned him up and down. Somehow, he'd managed to make himself look even paler than normal. When had he last eaten? And his right leg… "What happened to that?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Galavan stabbed me, then my friend burned my splint, then I burned it shut and wrapped it with my pant leg."
"When did Galavan stab you?"
He smiled sheepishly. "A couple hours before you found me."
She glared at him. "You mean to tell me that you had that the whole time I was with you and you never once mentioned it, even after I asked you to break into this place?"
He shook his head. "It must've slipped my mind."
She rolled her eyes and led him over to the other chair, undoing the makeshift wrap of his right pant leg. As the cloth fell away, she cringed. The wound was bad, the cut itself stretching several inches up his calf. Cauterizing it must've been absolute hell. "How were you walking just now?" she asked as she began to wrap the wound in clean gauze.
He shrugged, cringing when she pulled the wrap too tight. "I just thought about other stuff, kept my mind off it."
"Like what?" she asked.
"Like what I'm gonna do to Strange when I get my hands on him. He turned my friend into a monster. He's gonna pay."
She shook her head. "So, let me get this straight: In the past forty-eight hours, you've worked with a trained assassin who was sent to kill me, and a guy who's obsessed with fire who also happened to be your friend from the Narrows?"
He shrugged again, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "I'm improvising."
She smiled, finishing off the bandage and helping him to his feet. He stood up a little too quickly, his right leg partially giving out. He threw an arm over her shoulders for support.
He murmured into her ear, "They're gonna blow this dump sky-high, and the whole circus is moving upstate."
"When?" she whispered back.
"Soon. An hour at best," he said, standing up straight.
"Can you escape?" she asked.
"Of course. Firefly thinks I'm his sidekick, so I got trustee status."
"Then please do so. Get out of here and call the police."
He nodded. "Yeah, sure, but not without you."
Selina shook her head. "I led you into this mess, I was self-righteous and arrogant and manipulative. I used you and I'm sorry."
Bruce blinked loudly several times. "Selina, you didn't make me do anything. I chose to come here, I got caught, and I'll find a way out of here, for all of us."
She sighed. "Do you at least have a plan?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "My plans never seem to work, so there's really no point."
"So, what're you gonna do?" she asked.
"Improvise."
"Time's up!" one of the guards called.
Bruce nodded. "Stay here," he told Selina with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes. "Very funny."
He smiled and limped off, the cell door slamming shut behind him.
"What'd he say?" Gordon asked, still strapped to his seat on the other side of the room.
"He'll find us a way out…and there's a bomb."
Bruce was halfway back to Garfield's cell when the alarms started going off. His guards took him by the arms and lead him upstairs through the elevator, throwing him into the inmate's recreational room. Mr. Freeze and Garfield were already there, staring icily at each other.
Bruce looked between them, noting the already high tension in the room.
He had an idea.
Fifteen seconds of tense silence later, Professor Strange himself came running into the room. He ordered to Freeze and Firefly, "Kill the captives. We have to go."
"Whoa, whoa," Bruce drawled. "Where are we going? What's the hurry?"
"Silence!" Strange barked. "Freeze, get it done."
"Jeez. Relax," Bruce told him, turning to Gar. "What's with him?"
"Quiet!" Freeze ordered.
"Quiet yourself," Bruce retorted. "Why do you have to kill them?"
"I knew I shouldn't have spared you," Strange growled. "Freeze. Kill him."
Garfield did exactly what Bruce expected him to do, stepping in between Freeze and Bruce and raising a protest.
"I'm sorry, Firefly," Strange told him. "I told you he was an experiment."
"But he's my friend," Garfield argued, "I need him."
Strange groaned in frustration. "We don't have time for this!"
"Please don't let him hurt me, Firefly," Bruce begged. "Please help me."
Freeze slowly began to raise his ice-gun.
"Don't you dare," Garfield warned.
Freeze pulled his goggles over his eyes, ordering, "Out of the way, Sparky."
Garfield raised his flamethrower. "Make me."
"Firefly…no!" Strange yelled, but it was too late.
Bruce dove out of the way as a battle of ice and fire roared to life. He scrambled to his feet and ran off down the hallway, taking the elevator back down to Indian Hill. He ran through the lab, retracing his steps until he found Gordon's cell.
His leg was on fire, but the cauterization in addition to the new wrap made the pain bearable. He threw the cell door open, leaning up against the doorframe to rest his leg.
Lucius, Selina, and Gordon, who was now freed from his bonds, all looked up at him in surprise.
"What's going on?" Selina asked, the first of the three to step towards him.
Bruce shrugged. "Simple psychology. Been waiting for the right moment. Now come on, we have to go, now."
Bruce led them through the lab and back to the elevator, climbing up to the Asylum. They ran through the hallways to the rec-room. Going through it was the only way Bruce knew how to get out of the Asylum.
Besides, he and Strange had some unfinished business.
When they found the room, the battle was still going strong, a low fog beginning to fill the air as a result of the ice and fire mixing. Strange was hunkered down below a table on the other side, watching the fight unfold.
The alarms began to blare louder and, over the PA systems, a robotic voice announced, "Fifteen minutes to detonation."
For a moment, both of the fighters stopped, listening to the words of warning.
Strange saw his opportunity to escape, running between the opponents as he made a mad scramble for the exit.
He'd soon regret that decision, as both fighters snapped out of their dazes and went right back at it, catching the professor in the crossfire.
After a few seconds of pained groaned and cries for help, a half-melted, half-frozen body collapsed to the floor. Firefly and Freeze lowered their weapons and stopped to stare at the monstrosity of a man.
"Strange!" Jim yelled, standing from their hiding spot and running over to the body. He crouched over him, saying, "Come on, wake up Strange. Strange. Strange!" He sighed. "Oh screw it," he muttered, proceeding to slap Strange across the face. Then again. And then again.
On some level, the sight made Selina's day.
Strange finally grunted awake as Jim landed his fifth slap.
His eyes fluttered open and, although he'd been barbequed and flash-frozen only seconds earlier, he lulled in a snooty, arrogant voice, "Oh, Gordon. I surmise my plan must have gone awry."
"You could say," Jim growled. "I'm gonna stand you up now, and you're gonna give us a tour of your secret lab."
Strange's smug attitude disappeared real quick, desperately objecting to the prospect.
"You don't have a choice," Jim warned, lifting the man to his feet. "It's this way, right?" he asked, nodding to where they'd just come from.
"Jim, we can't go down there," Strange pleaded. "I set a bomb, the lab is going to blow up. We have to get out of here! In ten minutes, everything within a quarter-mile radius will be dust."
"That's madness," Jim muttered.
"If you want to live, which I do, frankly, we had better leave."
"We detected radioactive material down there," Lucius interjected. "You got it out first, right?"
"There wasn't enough time. They forced my hand. But I calculated the chances of a radioactive cloud as fairly low," Strange told them.
"If you're wrong, thousands of people could die," Lucius countered.
"Yes. But paying that price will be better. Releasing what's down there…" Strange visibly shuddered.
"How do we shut it down?" Jim asked.
"The security walls are up, the lab is sealed."
"There must be some way in," Jim stated.
"We have to go! We have to leave now!"
Jim grabbed the man's neck, growling, "You tell me how to get that bomb and shut it off, or I'll batter you to death right here!"
Bruce instinctively stepped forwards, placing himself in between the Gordon and Selina. He'd never seen Gordon get like this, and it scared him. But, then again, if he were in Jim's shoes, he'd probably threaten to do even worse things than simply beat Strange to death.
Yet, Strange didn't seem fazed by the prospect, saying to Gordon, "In which case, young man, I suppose I will just have to die."
"The bomb must use some other kind of radioactive material," Lucius interjected. "I can set the Geiger counter to look for it."
Jim growled in frustration, but let go of Strange with one last parting glare. He turned to Lucius, saying, "Okay. Let's go." He turned to Bruce and Selina, saying, "You two, you've got nine minutes. Get as far away from here as you can."
"No–" Selina started to protest, but Bruce was having none of it. He latched onto her wrist, as he often did when they were running for their lives, and bolted down the hallway, dragging her along with him.
He'd managed to get his hands on a blueprint of the building while working as Firefly's lackey and he knew the fastest way to get out was to go through Cellblock F. The only problem with that: Cellblock F was where the worst of the worst of Arkham were kept under lock and key. Penguin, Barbara Keen, Ed Nygma, and even the late Jerome Valeska had spent time in the notorious block.
But, as long as the cages stayed shut, they'd be fine.
They were halfway to the entrance when the PA system announced, "Security systems deactivated."
Gordon probably had to disable it to get back down into Indian Hill, opening all the doors in Arkham.
As in every door.
Which included the cell doors.
Bruce picked up his pace, hoping the prisoners would be insane and/or dumb enough to not realize their doors were all unlocked.
Yeah…that didn't happen.
Half the doors immediately flew open as insane-looking men and women filled the small hallway. Bruce and Selina came to a screeching halt. The other half of the doors slowly opened as more and more crazy people flooded the space.
Bruce hoped that in the chaos of the situation no one would notice two kids running through the hallways with them.
He really needed to stop hoping for things.
Every pair of eyes turned on the two of them. There were two dozen crazy people in the hallway, yet you could've heard a pen drop.
Bruce reached for his brass knuckles.
Then, everything went to hell.
The first two guys were easy enough to take down. Bruce kicked one in the knee, probably knocking it out of socket, then jumped on the second one and threw him into the crowd behind him. The second wave came, two more guys and an older lady whose fingernails were the probably length of her arms. This time, Bruce split the gap between the two men, ducking as they went to hit him, thereby making them punch each other. Then, when they collapsed, he turned his attention on the lady. And for an old hag, she was pretty damn fast, wrapping her disgusting, gnarled hands around his neck and squeezing down with surprising force. Selina came to the rescue, kicking her hard in the face.
"Thanks," Bruce wheezed. "But why didn't you…" He looked down at her hands. They were empty. "Where's my knife?"
She scrunched up her brow in confusion. "What knife?"
Bruce dodged a clothesline from a bigger dude, punching him hard in the nose. "The knife I gave to you."
Selina hit two guys in the crotch with a single kick. "You mean my knife?"
Bruce slammed a cell door into a man's face. "I let you borrow it, it's still my knife."
Selina dropkicked a woman in the chest, knocking her back into her cell before slamming the cage shut. "And you never asked for it back so it's my knife."
Bruce fought off three guys, kneeing one in the stomach, elbowing another in the face, and judo flipping the third, breaking his arm for good measure. "Whatever, where is it?"
Selina kicked a guy's legs out from under him and then kneed him in the face. "Strange took it."
Bruce snapped a man's wrist in half. "You lost my knife?"
Selina threw a guy head-first into the wall, and then kicked another man in the stomach. "You mean my knife?"
Bruce punched out another two crazies. "I'm the one who stole it, therefore it's my knife."
Selina rushed another two guys, throwing them both against the wall before kneeing them both in their jaws. "Can we talk about this later?!"
One last man stood in their way, easily the largest of the group. They weren't getting around him, and they sure as hell weren't going through him.
"You go over, I'll go under," Bruce told her, already moving before she had a chance to respond. She followed closely behind, jumping as Bruce slid between the monster's legs. She used the back of his head as a launching pad, flying over him to the other side.
They looked up for the next attacker, but found no one.
They turned around and saw the hallway littered with bodies, all either groaning in pain or knocked out cold.
Bruce sighed. "I liked that knife."
He would've admired their handiwork if the voice on the PA systems hadn't announced, "Sixty seconds to detonation."
They ran like two bats out of hell, Bruce leading them through the maze-like hallways of the Asylum.
"Fifty seconds to detonation."
They were so close.
"Forty seconds to detonation."
He could see the exit now.
"Thirty seconds to detonation."
The doors were only a few dozen feet away.
"Twenty seconds to detonation."
They slammed through the exit doors and kept on running.
"Ten seconds to detonation."
Time slowed down as Bruce's mind went into overdrive. They couldn't make it clear in time. There was no way they were covering half a mile in ten seconds. It was impossible. But there had to be a way out of this. An abandoned car wouldn't do them any good as shelter. Nor would another part of the building. If they got caught on the bridge, it'd probably collapse and they'd be crushed by the rubble.
The bridge…bridges ran over rivers…
Bruce changed their trajectory from the bridge to the river running underneath it.
Five…
He dragged Selina into the water with him.
Four…
They broke through the surface of the river.
Three…
They frantically swam downwards.
Two…
Bruce shoved Selina down underneath him.
One…
He shielded Selina's body under his own, keeping his eyes squeezed shut as he prepared for a wave of heat to scorch his back.
Would it kill him? Possibly. Hopefully the water would nullify some of the flames.
But more importantly than that, he hoped the water in addition to his body mass would be enough to protect Selina from the blast.
He didn't want to die, but if he had to go…at least he could save someone else while doing it.
He sighed, proud that he'd chosen to save some else's life before his own, proud that, when all the chips were down, he was who he desired to be.
…
A thought dawned on him: even if time had slowed down, he'd been thinking for a while…
How long had he been down there?
His eyes were closed but he knew the surface was right above him, only a few feet away. There was no sound except the pounding of his heart in his eardrums. His lungs were revolting against him, demanding breathe, but he couldn't move.
A new noise greeted him in the water. It was vague and muffled, but he could just barely make it out.
People were cheering.
He paused, and then counted in his head, 'One-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi…'
He swam up to the surface of the water, Selina right next to him. They broke through, both gasping for air.
People were indeed cheering. The police officers on the bridge were rejoicing.
The bomb hadn't gone off.
They stared at each other.
"It didn't…" he started.
"We didn't…" she agreed.
They stared at each other for a moment longer before she laughed out loud in relief.
It was the best sound he'd ever heard. In a single moment, he knew that nothing else in the whole world could ever top that.
Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his face down to hers.
She kissed him.
And as much as he loved her laugh, nothing would ever compare to that.
What happened after was a total blur.
At some point, the officers fished them out of the river. They were brought over to an ambulance and checked for injuries as they warmed themselves in a towel. Just one though. Selina had declined the second one, choosing to share Bruce's. They were asked to give statements, of which Selina handled for the both of them. Gordon and Lucius eventually emerged from the Asylum, explaining that they'd just used water. Selina said that they'd done the same, tightening her hold on his hand. When they'd started holding hands, Bruce had no idea.
They sat on the hood of Gordon's car for a while.
Then, Alfred pulled up to the Asylum. Selina finally let go of his hand (although he hadn't been complaining) and met him halfway, hugging her butler tightly.
He scanned over her, asking if she was alright and insisting that this was entirely her fault before finally asking, "Why are you wet?"
She smiled, throwing a sideways glance at Bruce and saying, "It's a long story."
Alfred shook his head. "I don't even want to know." He sighed and limped over to where Bruce was sitting. "Mr. Kyle," he greeted with a curt nod.
"Mr. Pennyworth," Bruce responded in the same manner and tone as the butler.
Alfred stared at him, clearly working through some inner turmoil. Finally, his eyes seemed to relent, and he stuck out his hand. "Thank you," he stated as quietly as humanly possible.
Bruce nodded and shook his hand. "You're welcome," he said, his voice making it clear that he was being completely genuine in that moment.
Alfred looked him up and down before commenting, "You're bloody wet, too, aren't ya?"
Bruce grinned and shrugged. "I needed a bath anyway."
"Now that we can agree on," Alfred commented snarkily with a small grin.
He hobbled off to find Gordon.
Bruce turned to Selina with a shocked expression on his face, saying, "I think he's starting to like me."
Selina rolled her eyes. "He's always liked you. He just can't say it."
Bruce scoffed. "Wouldn't bet on it."
She nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, you're right. He doesn't. But I do, so he'll just have to deal."
"Do you have to leave?" Bruce asked for the fiftieth time that morning.
Selina nodded solemnly. "Alfred says that these people are dangerous. I mean, Strange would've rather died than cross them, right?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't research them here," he said.
He knew the argument was hopeless. They were already on the tarmac, after all. But only yesterday had they finally made peace. Granted, it'd been because they almost died together, but the 'how' didn't matter. He just didn't want her to leave him again.
"Bruce…" she started, taking his shoulders in her hands and forcing him to look at her. "I need to do this."
He sighed. "I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."
She shook her head. "No, it doesn't." She sighed, stepping up on her tippy-toes and hugging him around his neck. "I'm gonna miss you, B," she mumbled.
He nodded, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm gonna miss you, too, Cat. Oh. And I have something for you," he told her, letting go and reaching into his jacket pocket. He fished out a small wooden box, hay sticking out from under the lid.
She opened it and found an ornate switchblade. She picked it up out of the box and opened it. The blade was as sleek and beautiful as the handle.
"Now, you officially have your own knife," he told her. "And I didn't steal this one."
She looked up at him with concern. "You bought this?"
He shrugged. "I'm no billionaire, but I'm not hurting, either. Stealing is good money when you don't have to split the profits."
She shook her head, closing the knife and slipping it into her pocket. "Thank you, Bruce," she told him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek for his trouble. She sighed again, saying, "I have to go. And my offer still stands…"
He scoffed. "Thanks, but I need to stay here. Just like you need to go."
She nodded, hugging him one last time. "I'll be back soon," she whispered.
Bruce nodded. "Gotham's not going anywhere." She smiled and started to walk off towards her private jet. "Enjoy Italy!" he called.
"Switzerland," she corrected.
"Italy's better."
She threw one last smile over her shoulder before reaching the stairs leading up to the plane. When she reached the top step, she turned back and waved.
He nodded, waving back.
He watched as she ducked into the plane, watched the plane roll away, watched it accelerate across the tarmac, watched it lift into the sky. He watched the plane grow smaller and smaller on the horizon until he couldn't see it anymore, and even then he stood there, watching.
He finally sighed, turning back and getting a cab to the city.
She'd offered to let him stay in the Manor while they were away, but he declined. There was no way he'd survive in that house alone for six months.
The Manor was nice, but the city was his home. Yet, when he got out of the taxi and looked around, his home suddenly felt different than before.
It felt bigger, emptier.
He walked towards the Gym, following one of his old hunting trails from when he used to work as a full-time pickpocket. He passed a lot of people, all of whom he probably would've robbed a year ago. Hell, he probably would've robbed them two days ago.
But now? It just seemed…boring.
In the past two months alone, he'd ran all over Gotham with Selina Wayne, hunted down two master assassins, broken into an insane asylum, won a prison brawl, barely escaped a bomb threat, and then kissed Selina Wayne.
How could stealing ever compare to that kind of rush?
He sighed in defeat, trying to think of something to alleviate his boredom.
He could go climb the Midtown Bridge?
But, no. He'd done that already. Many times.
He could hang out at the Flea?
Nah, he was sick of that place. And he wasn't in the mood for running across Jack Napier.
Maybe he could reach out to Floyd, see if he had any upcoming jobs?
But what would be the point? Nothing could compare to the adventures he'd had. Even when his life was hanging in the balance, even when he was facing certain death, that's what made it fun.
Six months…
How was he going to survive this?
He kicked a can down an alleyway. He watched it roll and roll and…stop.
Why did it stop?
He looked up from the ground and his blood ran cold.
A massive man was standing in his way. He easily seven feet tall, his eyes were bright blue, and he had massive stegosaurus-like blade sticking out of his arms and chest and back.
Bruce took a step backwards, keeping his eyes locked on the behemoth. How had he not noticed that thing before?
It all happened so fast.
Bruce reacted relatively quickly, just able to dive out of the way as the man charged him. However, what he didn't anticipate was the man being able to stop on a dime and change direction. This time, Bruce dove forwards, trying to go under the man's legs.
It didn't work.
The behemoth caught him, raised him high in the air, and then slammed him down onto a dumpster.
All the air rushed out of Bruce's lungs. What was this thing?
It reached down and grabbed Bruce's head, wrapping all the way around it with a single hand. It started to squeeze down.
Bruce cried out in pain, kicking at the man desperately. The monster didn't even flinch. Instead, it squeezed down harder.
He was hopelessly outmatched. He was going to die here, in this alleyway, his head crushed as easily as a watermelon.
He'd never get to see Selina again.
He started scratching and clawing at the man's arm, but accomplished nothing.
There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop this thing from killing him.
Then, the blade of a sword appeared from out of the monster's abdomen.
The monster roared in pain, letting go of Bruce's head just long enough to swing around desperately at the new attacker.
Bruce's whole head was ringing, and his vision had gone blurry. He caught bits and pieces of the fight that ensued, ending with the monster running away. Whoever had just attacked that thing had saved his life.
His eyes eventually went right and he stared up at the newcomer.
"Jean?" he asked hazily. "The hell are you doing here?"
Jean scoffed. "Saving your ass from the looks of it. Come on, we should go before it comes back with friends." Bruce allowed Jean to help him to his feet and they hobbled off down the alley.
Jean helped him into a nearby abandoned building. There was a tent already pitched, a bum fire was crackling in the corner. There were a pair of beach chairs set up next to the tent, and Jean helped Bruce down onto one.
"You alright?" Jean asked, going over to his tent and pulling out a flask.
Bruce shrugged. "Been worse. This where you've been staying since…"
"I killed Galavan," Jean finished. "Yeah." He nodded to Bruce's leg, asking, "You want me to take a look at that?"
Bruce shrugged again, undoing the bandages.
He almost gagged at the sight of his leg. His calf had turned almost green in color.
"That's not good," Bruce muttered.
Jean nodded. "No, it isn't." He opened the flask and had Bruce hold out his leg straight. "This is gonna hurt like hell," Jean warned, holding the flask over Bruce's injury.
Bruce nodded.
Jean started to pour the liquid onto his leg.
Yeah. He was right about the 'hurt like hell' thing. The pain was probably worse than it'd been when he first got stabbed. He was about to yell for Jean to stop, but Jean stopped on his own, stopping the flow of the liquid.
Through heavy breaths, Bruce demanded, "What was that?"
Jean nodded to his leg as he sealed the flask and went to put it back in his tent. "See for yourself."
He raised his leg up and turned his head so he could see the back of his calf.
There was no mark, no scar, no cut, no nothing. The wound was simply gone, as if it never even happened.
Bruce's eyes shot to the flask. "Where'd you get that?"
Jean smirked, hiding the flask away. "That's classified." Bruce rolled his eyes. "So…" Jean started, taking the chair across from Bruce. "What happened with you and Selina?"
"That's classified," Bruce shot back. Jean scoffed and Bruce continued, "We found Strange, got him arrested, stopped a radioactive cloud from destroying Gotham… You know: the usual."
Jean nodded. "So, where's Selina, then? I wanted to apologize again for, well, you know…"
Bruce sighed. "She's off to Europe for six months. Butler's orders."
"What for?" Jean asked.
He shook his head dismissively, "Something about a super-powerful group that secretly runs Gotham. Selina thinks that they killed her parents."
Jean nodded. "You know, I heard something like that from my uncle. Back before I was trying to kill him."
Bruce chuckled. "You mean back when you were trying to kill me?"
"Yeah, exactly." Jean smirked, asking, "So, what're you gonna do now?"
Bruce shook his head. "I've been asking myself the same question. I can't exactly go back to stealing for Penguin…not until everything settles down. And with those things running around, it's not exactly safe here anymore… I mean, that thing almost killed me."
Bruce sighed. Things were changing. Winter had come and gone, but it wasn't getting any better. If anything, the city was getting worse by the day. If he was gonna survive in Gotham on his own, he had to become stronger, like Jean had done.
"What can you tell me about the League of Assassins?"
"So, I take it your conversation with Mr. Kyle went well?"
"Yes, Ra's al Ghul, it did."
"Well done, Mr. Valley. Continue speaking with Mr. Kyle. Encourage his interest."
"Yes, Ra's al Ghul."
"And, Mr. Valley, will you send in Talia?"
"Yes, Ra's al Ghul." He bustled off, saying, "Ms. al Ghul, your father requests your presence," before closing the door behind him.
Talia sauntered into the chamber, casually laying out on one of the couches in the center of the room. She nodded to the door where Jean had just exited. "He's cute."
"He did a great work for me," Ra's replied stoically. "The murder of one's own flesh and blood is by no means a small task. He shall be rewarded accordingly."
"Why did you have him kill Galavan again?" Talia asked, picking at her fingernails with a knife. "Why let the Court bring him back in the first place?"
Ra's clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You would not yet understand, my daughter. You're still but a child."
"I'm fifteen…" Talia muttered.
Ra's ignored her, continuing, "The Court believes that they have finally matched our Lazarus Pit. Not having to retrain a new Talon every twenty years or so would aid their cause greatly."
"But why let them resurrect Galavan? Why let them make monsters?" Talia asked.
"Because, if Galavan returned, then so could Mr. Valley. And Mr. Valley could bring in Mr. Wayne, and Mr. Wayne will join us to protect the city he loves from these monsters. We'll turn him against the Court, bring him to our side. It seems no matter what I do, that boy will become a warrior. So I will make him my warrior. My heir."
"I'm sitting right here…" Talia muttered.
"And when the Crusader joins us, when he takes the mantle of al Ghul, we will finally exterminate the Owls."
A/N: You know that saying 'Go out with a bang'? Well there you go.
I originally had intended for Chapter 31 to cover all the events of both Episodes 21 and 22, using Chapter 32 (this one) as a denouement/epilogue for Season 2 and using it to lead into the main events and plot points of Season 3. But then I wrote the scene of Selina and Lucius being gassed and it went in a completely different direction than I had originally intended, so I rolled with it and left what happened afterwards as a cliffhanger. It made Chapter 32 longer than I anticipated and 31 shorter than I anticipated, but I like the way it turned out. Besides, I wrote the whole of Chapter 31 in about two days, so being able to publish it on Sunday night was a miracle.
As for this chapter, it is by far my favorite Chapter I've ever written. If I had to show a sample of my work to anyone, this would be it. And as a disclaimer: I will be varying from the show's version of the Court of Owls and the League of Assassins greatly, of which I will delve into more as Season 3 goes on. Be prepared, cause it's gonna be a wild ride.
Oh, and I'd like to point out that the parallel of the end of this chapter with Selina flying away on a plane and 5x11's episode ending with Bruce flying away on a plane was not intentional, since I'd written out that scene over a month and a half ago. I'm just that good ;)
But in all seriousness, thank you for reading this far. You guys are truly amazing and I love you all. It's been an absolute blast writing this series and I can't look forward enough to starting up Season 3. Any feedback would be welcome!
Thanks for reading and ciao for now from Season 2!
And in thanks to you for reading all the way through the Author's Note, as well as to pay homage to the soon-to-premiere Avengers: Endgame, here's a post-credits scene:
Twenty-Four Hours Earlier:
An old lady with a shopping cart walked down the street. Her vision was horrible, not helped by the terribly out-of-date prescription glasses she wore.
She didn't even notice the turned over bus until a man yelled, "Help!" from inside it.
She gasped in surprise, saying, "Oh, those poor souls…" She lumbered towards the back exit of the bus, stammering, "Hello? Hello?" She slowly pushed the latch open.
She gasped again, this time in horror, slowly backing away from the bus.
A very un-human like hand slid out of the door, pushing it open.
She cried out and stumbled backwards as more and more blurry figures poured out of the back of the bus, snarling and hissing, growling and groaning, walking past her and into the abandoned streets.
They all seemed to ignore her, except for one. He looked the most human of all the monsters. In fact, there was absolutely nothing strange about his appearance. Other than his long, matted, greasy hair that cast down to his shoulders, the young man was quite handsome.
He leaned over her, clearly and eloquently saying, "Thank you," before turning and walking off into the night along with the rest of the monsters.
A/N: I'll see you in the Mad City! And I won't take a three month break this time. Just three days (hopefully)
