White Knight-Batman SI - Drkest - Batman (2024)

Chapter 1: Chapter 1-Return of the elusive Bruce Wayne!

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Chapter 1

Bruce Wayne

In an abandoned runway deep into the mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush, a private plane stood parked as a shabbily dressed man walked towards it, his clothes unsuited for the chilly air of the perilous mountains, yet the chill didn't seem to affect the man who smiled as a small set of steps dropped from the door, and a rather old and balding man stepped out of the plane.

The man gave him a smile as he spoke up.

"You look rather nice, Master Wayne," Alfred teased him as Bruce reached the bottom of the staircase. He wore shabby rags, covered by mud and grime from his journey. A journey that had led to the end of the organization of Ra's Al Ghul.

"Apart from the mud, of course," added the man with a raised brow, and he chuckled as he began to walk up the stairs.

"You made rather good time," he added as he entered the place, and the luxury and the safety felt foreign to him. He had spent the last decade chasing after criminals, trying to understand their ways.

He had seen depravity, he had seen hunger, and yet now he found himself sitting in a private jet. His private jet.

"Yes, the new jet is quite an improvement over the last one," he said, raising a brow as he took a seat as Alfred gave instructions to the crew.

"Moreover, Master Thomas sorted out the rest of the affairs rather hastily once we received your message," and Bruce stilled at that as he looked guiltily at the butler, giving him a rather icy stare.

Thomas Wayne, named after their father, was his younger brother. Born prematurely after Joe Hill shot both his parents on that fateful night, the doctors had managed to save the child growing inside the womb of Martha Wayne, and though the babe was forced to spend a year in the hospital and on many nights, it seemed as if the babe would not make it, his brother persevered.

Yet a younger Bruce had hated his brother for surviving, hated him for he had survived while neither his mother nor father had done so. And only now did he recognize how foolish he had been in his rage.

"How is he?" he questioned cautiously, and instead of answering, Alfred simply pushed forward a newspaper towards him.

Thomas Wayne had taken after neither him nor their father. He had taken after their grandfather, at least according to the various news clippings and articles he had read about him in his travel. For there had been many words written about the rising star in the business world, the young man who had expanded the Wayne empire beyond anything the world had imagined.

And there he was again, on the front page. He had grown up and was dressed in a fine suit, wearing black frameless glasses, as his photo was positioned opposite to that of a rather old blonde man, a man he recognized as well.

William Earle was the the current CEO of Wayne enterprises, and from what he could gather after a quick skim of the article his brother aimed to change that.

"Thomas wished to become CEO of Wayne Enterprises," he questioned as he looked up at Alfred who shook his head.

"No, Master Thomas has his own businesses to take care of," and wasn't that a task. Thomas Wayne was one of the biggest rising stars in the tech world, his early investment and backing of various companies, companies that had now become industry giants had seen him become one of the wealthiest individuals in the country. And that was besides the massive Wayne inheritance that remained relatively untouched.

"Master Thomas believes that Mr. Earle is unfit to run Wayne enterprises, and is moving to install one of your father's old friends, Mr. Lucius Fox as CEO," Alfred elaborated. Bruce was not aware of the man, but if Thomas had chosen him then he would trust him.

"Don't we control more than half the shares? Why is the media making it seem like Thomas is having trouble with this," both he and Thomas controlled nearly eighty percent of the company. If Thomas wanted to, he could have had Earle removed within a minute.

"I believe that is your fault, Master Bruce," Alfred said, and he frowned.

"How?" he questioned, perplexed. He hadn't done anything that would hamper Thomas. Even his shares were to go to him if anything were to happen to him.

"Your absence means that Master Thomas only has access to his part of the inheritance, and though that forty percent is significant, it is still eleven percent less than what he needs," Alfred said pointedly, and he nodded until he recalled something important.

"Didn't they try and have me declared dead?" he questioned, he had read the news clipping about his own death nearly a year ago.

"Yes, indeed. Though, Master Thomas had it put down, assuring them that though absent, Bruce Wayne was still alive," Alfred said with a smile as he passed him a folder, a folder containing his documents.

"No matter, the newspaper is wrong. Master Thomas was able to buy out a couple of other investors and has enough control to do whatever he wished even without your shares," Alfred added, and he smirked. Of course, he had. As he had said, Thomas Wayne had taken after their grandfather, and he wouldn't pick a fight he couldn't win.

"He does miss you, you know, Master Bruce," Alfred added suddenly as he saw the mountains vanish under a thick cover of white as they flew out of the mountain range, a pang of sadness passing through him at both the ending of his journey and Alfred's words.

"He doesn't mention you, but despite what others said, he was adamant that you were alive," Alfred spoke up.

"That you would come back," and Bruce looked towards Alfred and answered the hidden question.

"And he was right. It is time for me to return to Gotham," he answered.

Alfred looked at him with a complicated gaze, before he questioned.

"And what is the reason for this change of hearts?" and Bruce sighed as he leaned back in his seat.

Gotham was his home, a city that the Wayne's had lived in for more than a century now. The once prosperous city had become a haven for the crime of the worst sort. Once Bruce had wished to change the world, yet under Ra's he had realized something: how could one change the world if one fails to change his own home.

And so he would change Gotham.

"Change Alfred. Change! It is time the people in Gotham realized that their city didn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt. That there is hope," he answered and saw Alfred's eyes glint with pride before he spoke up.

"You and your brother are more alike than you think," Alfred commented, his words making him frown.

"Why do you say that?" he questioned in a cautious tone. Bruce had trained for years under the tutelage of the best fighters and assassins in the world. Thomas was younger than him, and the circ*mstances of his birth meant that he was often ill. And though things had improved over the years, Bruce would not like it if Thomas was engaged in physical alterations with eh scum of the city.

Alfred seemed to realize the intention behind his question and answered quickly.

"It's nothing of the sort you are imagining. Master Thomas's attempts are not as physical as yours plan to be. His approach is more surgical, I would say," Alfred said.

"It is one of the reasons he is going after Mr Earle. The man planned to cut down all the philanthropic work done by Wayne Enterprises to boost profits so he could take the company public," Alfred pointed out, and Bruce shook his head.

That would have done it.

"And though the city has not improved, though his efforts, it holds on. Gotham and its people aren't as hopeless as they were in the past," Alfred added, and Bruce smiled, pride welling up in his heart at Alfred's words.

Alfred leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"I would recommend a quick wash and a change of clothes, Master Wayne. The journey is quite long," Alfred advised him, and even Bruce could barely stand the stench coming out of his rags.

So, he stood up as he headed towards the shower before he suddenly became curious.

"Does Thomas have a girlfriend yet?" he questions, as he remembers the petite woman by his brother's side in the picture.

Alfred smiled cryptically and didn't even open his eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

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Chapter 2: Chapter 2-You are back!

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Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne stood backstage as a literal flood of people waited for him in the newly constructed auditorium as he thought of his life. Or rather, his new life, a life of opulence and unimaginable power and wealth.

The Wayne's weren't just rich. They were extremely rich, and they owed much of their wealth to the city of Gotham, a city that had become a haven for crime of all kinds. And though he had an inkling that the decadence of this city was not as natural as it seemed when he had first laid eyes on the depraved streets of the city, of his city, he knew that he had to do something.

The city needed a hero, and though one would come, a silent guardian who would prowl the city in the Dark and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful, his symbol would light up in the Dark and instill fear in the hearts of those hollowing out the foundation of this city.

Already, several massive orders for what appeared to be components for his iconic suite, he was also looking into our inventory and other things. In the end, Thomas had decided to help him and asked Fox to give him the 3d printer they had come up with years ago to help him design his suit.

Though for that, they first needed him to make an appearance, which, by the volume of his orders and pace of his workings, was going to be much sooner than later.

And so, it was time for him to move forward as well. His complicated birth had given him a constitution much weaker than the others, and he could not take on these men as his brother. No, he had a different role to play.

And so, he would do his own part, just as many others before him had done so. He had been blessed with wealth and the influence of the Wayne name, and beyond that, he was sharper and smarter than before. With the knowledge he had in his grasp, he knew he could do right by the people's suffering in his city.

"That will be all. Thank you all for coming!"

The announcer's announcement was met with frowns and murmurs as the presentation came to an end, and then the stage lights were turned off. A few among the audience began to stand up and headed towards the doors.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK

He stood up from his seat and began to make his way towards the stage. He headed to the front, and a few of the people frowned and gasped as he stood on the stage. Then, suddenly, the lights were flicked on again to a much enthused and intrigued audience.

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

Thomas smiled and spoke the following words.

"I believe we still have time for one more thing!"

"YEAHHHHHH!" came the roar as the people sat back down.

Those who were at the door also rushed back to their seats, knowing that the whole event had just begun, for despite their efforts, leaks, and rumors of his projects had appeared in the media for some days now, though thankfully, the media had believed most of it to be rubbish.

Yet they could not have been more wrong.

As the crowd settled down somewhat, suddenly the stage shifted as three platforms slowly rose up behind him. Slowly as the screen behind him lit up, the massive LED screen shifted through a number of panels before it settled on a simple black background adorned with their newest logo.

His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to find the all too familiar face of Selina, yet in the end she was not there. And he clicked his tongue as he adjusted his mike and spoke up.

"Let me show you the future!" and with another click of his fingers, the lights turned off, and the screen behind him began to shift as the true presentation began.

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Bruce Wayne

The supper with Rachel had been a surprise, one which he hadn't expected how much he would like. She had apologized to him about her words, though he thought there wasn't anything there to apologize for.

A week had passed since his return, and a plan begun taking form in his head. He had thought about how he would keep the whole Batman thing secret from his brother, yet incidentally, Thomas didn't live in the manor.

"Alfred, why doesn't Thomas live in the manor?" Bruce questioned him as they both sat on the sofa, watching the Wayne expo on the massive screen in front of them. Thomas was on the stage now presenting the new device he had made, the smartphone.

"He says he doesn't like to commute, so he just ends up living in the room in Wayne Tower, though I do insist he visits the manor on weekends," Alfred answered quickly.

"And does he?" he questioned as he looked towards Alfred, who nodded.

"He visits at least once a month; it's usually when he and Miss Rachel get together for a meal," Alfred replied, and Bruce smiled.

"I believe your newfound hobby shall remain hidden as long as you avoid making too much noise during his visits," the man added, anticipating his next question and Bruce nodded. The system of caves they had discovered underneath the manor was perfect for him and delved deep into the city. Shifting his operation elsewhere would have been a hassle.

Thinking of the close relationship between Rachel and Thomas, and Alfred's words from the plane ride, he gulped as he looked toward the aged man and decided to ask him directly

"So, are Rachel and Thomas …" he questioned, and Alfred understood the unsaid question and shook his question.

"Ohh, no. They are not. Miss Rachel thinks of Thomas as a young brother. She is not romantically involved with him," Alfred replied, and for some reason, that soothed his heart.

"Then what about that girlfriend you mentioned?" he questioned again as he sipped his morning coffee. Yesterday had been one long night, working in the cave, finishing up the suit, and sifting through potential allies in the police force.

Surprisingly, he had been able to find some rather good leads. The Police had been a corrupt wreck a year ago, taking bribes from the criminals to look the other way as the city suffered infront of them. Though, some time ago, things had begun to shift, the Police were still corrupt, but someone had decided to cause a disruption, and the good officers, the honest ones who had been long denied their rightful promotions, had begun rising up the ladder.

"Ohh, I am afraid you will have to ask Master Thomas about that yourself," Alfred answered with his cryptic smile, and he shrugged and began to focus on the expo once more. It was a massive affair, and he didn't miss the sheer number of people present there. He had been invited as well, yet in the end, he had decided against turning up, believing that this was Thomas's stage.

And from the way the people in the crowd were gazing at his brother, it was one hell of a night.

Bruce examined the said device in his hand. It was ahead of the rest of the market by at least three to five years. And that was just the hardware, for according to Thomas, their true advantage lay on the software side.

"He seems to like running the business," Bruce commented, and Alfred nodded and smiled. He could tell that Thomas had a knack for running the empire, and it was good, for Bruce didn't have the time to look after his family's legacy. And though, as the eldest son, traditionally it should have been him leading the company, he didn't mind leaving it all to Thomas, who seemed to like the job, unlike him, who wasn't interested in it.

"Yes, he does. And he is very good at it as well, at least according to Mr. Fox," and Bruce recognized the name of their new CEO. He had met the man himself a few days back to procure certain objects.

"Has he delivered the machines?" Bruce questioned, and Alfred nodded.

"He has both the Kevlar suit and the memory cloth. As for your other demands, he wishes to meet you for he has an idea to help you with all your projects," Afred answered.

That was intriguing. The man was smart, and he could tell that he had an inkling of an idea of what Brice was about to undertake, and if a simple meeting could help him, then it was just better. Plus, Bruce also wished to meet the man who had mentored Thomas. So, he gave Alfred the nod.

"Tell him I will meet him," and Alfred nodded.

"I shall convey your message."

He had already mapped out the people who could aid him in his crusade. The city was healing, yet that didn't mean that the criminal element was going to give up without a fight.

And from what he had found out, there was now apparently a hit on his brother's head. A hit worth a million dollars. If someone was offering that kind of money, it meant that there was only some time until someone decided to try their chance," so it was better for Batman to make up his appearance.

"Good. And I believe you told Mr. Fox about not mentioning any of this to Thomas," Bruce said as Alfred nodded.

"The man promised he would not speak a word of it to young Master Thomas unless he asked," Alfred answered, and Bruce shrugged. That was good enough.

The man was fiercely loyal to his brother, and he didn't mind that at all. He seemed to be a good person and seemed to genuinely care for Thomas, something which he appreciated.

The presentation, which his brother had referred to as a 'keynote' ended to thundering applause, and Bruce stood up from the sofa as he cracked his neck and began to make his way out of the manor.

"Where are you going, Master Bruce?" Alfred questioned.

"It seems like my brother has his part handled. It is time I do mine," he said as he began to make his way to the hidden elevator and gave his trusted butler a simple glance.

The criminal element in the city thought of the darkness as their ally thought that darkness gave them power. It was time they learned the darkness wasn't their ally, that when the moon rises, monsters come out hunting. And it was time they became the hunted.

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Night had fallen, and he found himself against a building as he saw a couple of goons with guns eyeing the shelter. From what he had heard, they had been hired to rough up the shelters and burn them down by their bosses.

So, his guess was right. The mob bosses were growing desperate.

And as the three goons rounded the last corner, he landed behind them.

"Come on, hurry up, Greg. We gotta' end this quickly. Otherwise, that freaking cat might show up!" one of them shouted, and he frowned at that.

Cat? He would have to look into this.

And then, before the three could react, he was behind them and hit the man on the back of his head, knocking him out.

"f*ck!" the second one cursed, and just as he turned to face him, Bruce punched the guy in the face, held his extended arm, and dislocated it.

"AHHHHH!" the man fell to his knees, and Bruce kicked him in the face, knocking him out as well.

The third guy had taken out his gun and was looking at him with eyes wide with fear. The man shot again, and the bullets simply rolled off of the Kevlar armor as Bruce walked towards the third man with slow steps.

"Do you know who we work for? Do you know who you are messing with huh," the man said as he backed into the alley.

"Falcone will have your head for this. I am telling you, he will have your head," the man spoke up as his gun ran out of bullets. He continued to back off until he hit the wall off the blind alley.

"Who are you? Tell me, who are you?" the man questioned frantically as he rushed towards him.

Bruce ducked under his punch and hit him the git, making the man vomit as he kicked his leg, making him fall headfirst onto the pavement.

"AHHH!" the man screamed in pain as the fall broke his nose. He tried to crawl away, but Bruce stomped on his leg, and the man glanced back, now shaking with fear.

"What are you?" he questioned as Bruce raised his fist and spoke up.

"I am vengeance!"

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Chapter 7: Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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The night for the caped crusader would end with several such alterations, yet despite his efforts, two shelters would be damaged. Few knew that, without the protection of their new guardian, just how broad the damage would have been.

"Ouch!" Bruce screamed as bright light interrupted his sleep.

"I had a late night, Alfred. Let me sleep," he spoke as he wrested the covers to shield his eyes from the burning Sun.

"I would, but there is someone here to meet you downstairs," Alfred said, making him groan, for if it was not important, Alfred wouldn't have rustled him out of his sleep.

"Who is it?" he questioned as he tore off the blanket and rubbed his eye, politely thanking the butler for the glass of juice he handed him.

"It's Mr. Earle, the previous CEO of Wayne Enterprises."

And Wayne looked at Alfred with a raised brow and questioned.

"What is he doing here? Send him away?" Bruce said, annoyed at why the man had disturbed his sleep.

"I tried, but he is rather insistent and says that he has something he wants to share with you?"

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Carmine Falcone

The city of Gotham was changing. It was always changing. Yet for a long time, as he saw the shifting futures, he didn't see himself in that future, and that infuriated him.

He was Carmine Falcone, son of Vincent Falcone, head of Gotham's biggest criminal syndicate, the man who had owned this city a little over a year ago, walking through its streets as a king. Yet now the winds had shifted, and his own future had become uncertain.

'And it was all because of him!' He had begun this. Thomas Wayne, refusing to take any lessons from his parent's death. Wayne continued to carry out his so-called heroic deeds, throwing away his money to help the so-called needy, trying to save a city that ate out of his hands.

The boy was becoming a nuisance, young and idealistic, a dreamer. One who had refused to pay any heed to the warnings he had sent. Why couldn't he just enjoy his wealth like the rest of them? Why did the boy have to be such a revolutionary?

Yet he would learn. He would, if not directly, then through that pretty little friend at the DA's office. She had been a problem on his side for some time now as well. It was time that all of this was taken care of.

"He is very disappointed in you, Mr. Falcone?" spoke the other piece of sh*t, driving him mad, as he turned to face the psychiatrist from Arkham.

Jonathan Crane, and Falcone didn't miss the madness hidden in that gaze, yet it would take some kind of madness to deal with the people locked up in that hell hole. Yet Falcone wasn't bothered by the pretty little doctor. He could handle the man himself.

NO, what had him worried was the man, or rather the men who were using the man. The Falcone's were an old crime family; their roots ran deep, yet the people behind him seemed even more ancient and dangerous.

Something which the young doctor seemed rather oblivious to. A blessing for the man made a rather useful pawn, especially with his postings and qualifications.

"And why is that, huh? Your boss should appreciate what I have been doing for him, getting his sh*t into the city despite all the hurdles," Falcone snickered, frustrated by this whole nonsense.

"Yes, yet you have only managed to transfer half the stuff, and you failed to deliver on the container we asked you to secure for us from that ship?" Crane spoke, adjusting his glasses, and Falcone's face thinned as he sat down in his chair and looked the man in the eye.

"Now listen to me, and listen carefully. You and I both know that it has been getting hard to move stuff in recent days. Someone's been paying the cops to look at our business, and the movement's slowed down overall," he finished as he opened his drawer and took out a cigar.

The police were still corrupt, yet somehow, some of the more idealistic bastards had managed to rise up the chain and were now causing problems. Problems that had cost him millions.

"And as for that package, I am telling you. It wasn't there. Whatever machine you and your boss were looking for wasn't on that ship, and from what I found out, the package never left the Wayne Tower," he told the man, as he gritted his teeth at the sheer mention of that name.

Falcone had met the older brother, that boy had spunk. His eyes had been fearless, yet he knew that they would change with time. Yet it appeared as though the younger one had inherited the same bravado. Perhaps it was something in their blood.

"I will relay that information to him," said the good doctor with a nod.

"But that doesn't solve our initial conundrum, Mr. Falcone. We need those deliveries into Arkham," the bastard insisted, and Carmine knew that he was on a leash. If his suspicion was right, then he couldn't afford to piss him off.

"Tell him I will have that handled as well; it's time Thomas Wayne realizes that there are consequences for his actions," Falcone remarked as he lit up the cigar and put it to his mouth, and savored the virgin puff.

"Thomas Wayne is too cautious," the man replied, and Falcone shrugged as he gave the man a wild smile.

"He is, but his friend at the attorney's office is not. That should teach him a lesson," he remarked, and he saw Crane's eyes narrow as he probably realized whom he was referring to.

"Miss Rachel Dawes," the mind doctor identified her rather quickly, and his tone spoke of a rather strife relationship.

"Interesting. She is becoming quite a thorn in my side as well," added the young man with a small smile, and Falcone was aware of that. The young assistant DA was an idealist, a pretty one too, and he would have spared the girl if times had been different. But now he needed to send a message to that rich boy, and from what he had learned the boy was rather close to her.

It was time he learned that his actions had consequences.

She had filed several cases against the young doctor, asking for his removal from Arkham, something which had put the young man under quite a bit of spotlight, forcing him to put down his experimentations.

Ohh, he knew some of the things that went on in that hell hole, though that was of little concern to him.

"Speaking of that, I want you to get some of my men into Arkham," he added, remembering about the debacle that had been last night. He had sent out men, to target those blasted shelters Wayne had set up. They had been eating away at his manpower, yet somehow, half of those he had sent had been beaten to a pulp by someone and were now under police custody.

"I cannot," came the retort, annoying him further as the young man continued.

"You and I both know that Miss Dawes is rather heavily interested in me and my rulings in this regard. I believe she will only take this opportunity to further tear into my reputation and position, So, I cannot help you," the man declined.

"Pah! Didn't I tell you to not worry about this? She will soon be taken care of. I need those men, Crane. Idle hands have been getting rather scarce around here, you know," Falcone said as he leaned forward, and looked the man in the eye.

"I will see what I can do. Though the next shipment is rather important for him, I believe it would be best if you were to personally make sure nothing goes wrong with its delivery," said Crane, and Falcone didn't like that the man thought he could send commands through his henchmen, yet he would deal with him later, once he had regained his lost power.

"I will, but what about Thomas Wayne, I don't believe that it was a coincidence that your little gadget was missing from that ship," Falcone added, as the young Doctor simply stood up.

"I will convey your concerns to him and do make sure that there are no further delays. He is running out of patience," Crane said, and Falcone shrugged.

"I will see what I can do, but you need to get me my men first, doctor," Falcone remarked, and the doctor nodded.

"You will have them," and with that, the spectacled monster walked out of his office, leaving him alone.

He stood up and walked towards the massive window that showed the expansive city, facing the massive tower standing tall in the city center. A 'W' inscribed into it as the railway line passed right through it.

"Soon, boy. Soon, you shall learn what it means to pick a fight with me!"

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A figure in the shadow dressed in a black outfit that had him blend into the night itself stood atop a high riser looking down at the city below, a city rotten to the core, a city that they had long condemned.

"I have talked with Falcone. He says Wayne is being a nuisance. He needs to be handled if things are to go smoothly,"

And with that, the man cut off the phone, knowing already what needed to be done.

"Another Wayne, it seems your brother is also very special, huh," uttered the man as he looked up at the building that stood tall in the center of Gotham, the symbol of hop to which this city clung to.

"Thomas Wayne, it seems we must handle you first."

And with that, the man raised his hand, and several figures clad in pitch-black clothing, masking their figures, walked out of the shadows.

"Have the men make preparations. We have a target."

"Hai!" and with that, the men disappeared once again, vanishing into the night as the man looked at the first page of the newspaper he had picked up in the morning.

SHADOWY FIGURE ROUGHS UP GOONS! WHO IS THE CAPED CRUSADER TARGETTING GOTHAM'S CRIMINALS! IS HE EVEN REAL!
by Edward Newgate

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Chapter 8: Chapter 8

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Chapter 8

Rachel Dawes

Rachel Dawes was on a war path as she walked up the steps of the Wayne manor. It had been months since Bruce's return, and things had been going well between them, and both of them had met a number of times.

Yet, for some reason, she could not bring herself to commit to anything, for whenever she was with him it felt as if a massive wall hung between both of them, and despite everything, she couldn't bridge that gap.

"Miss Dawes," Alfred, the ever-dutiful butler, frowned as he saw her striding into the manor so early in the morning, but what could she do? It was the only time she had.

"Where is he?" she asked Alfred, and before he could answer, he walked down the stairs.

"Rachel?" he uttered her name slowly, still dressed in loose pajamas and a nigh robe, as he walked down the stairs with a frown.

"What happened?" he questioned, and she raised the paper she had picked up on the way and pointed at the headline.

"Want to explain this?" she questioned pointedly as she showed him the headline covering the whole front page.

EARLE PIERCE'S NEW ALLY! RIFT BETWEEN BROTHERS! BRUCE WAYNE PLANNING TO REINSTALL EARLE PIERCE AS CEO!

"Ohh," he said as he took the paper from her hand, appearing nonchalant about the whole issue.

"Do you have any idea what this looks like and how this would affect Thomas? He is your brother. How could you do something like this to him!" she shook her head as Bruce simply raised a brow.

"Ra…" but she cut him off.

"Earle Pierce ran your empire in a way absolutely opposite to the vision of your parents! The man was a greedy piece of sh*t who shuttered every welfare project of Wayne Enterprises. Thomas made all that effort to remove him, and now you want to reinstall him. How could you even do this?" she uttered all that in a single sentence.

"What's going on here?" suddenly, she was interrupted by the familiar voice of Thomas from behind and turned to find the younger Wayne brother walking in.

"Thomas!" she spoke up as he walked towards her and Bruce, who still hadn't explained anything.

Thomas walked up to her and, took the paper from her hand and read the headline with a raised brow.

"So, my dear brother wants to oust me from the company," he said with a smirk as he came face to face with Bruce and there was tension in the air until suddenly, Thomas broke out into a chuckle, followed by Bruce, and she was taken aback by the spectacle.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are both of you laughing like idiots?" and she couldn't help at seeing the two of them chuckling.

"Ohh, it's nothing. I am just surprised that you took the Post seriously," Thomas replied, and she turned towards Bruce, knowing she had a better chance of getting a proper explanation from the elder brother.

Bruce stifled his laugh as he moved towards her, his arms gripping her shoulders.

"The whole thing with Earle was a setup. The man wouldn't let me sleep, so I met him. And that was it. He planted the whole article, though this also helps us learn of his plans a bit earlier," he explained.

"Though I wouldn't mind even if it was real," Thomas cut in and then suddenly smirked at Bruce, who narrowed his gaze.

"The competition has become quite dull these days,

"Are you sure you could handle me, Thomas? After all, I am the older brother," Bruce remarked, and she realized it was all for the ruse it was and ground her teeth as she rolled up the newspaper and swung it at Thomas's head.

"You idiots! You had me worried for no reason because of your silly games!" she complained as the newspaper struck Thomas, who winced mockingly as Bruce mimicked his reaction.

"Ouch! Ouch! Why are you hitting me for your mistake," Thomas complained, and she just huffed, seeing through his pretenses.

"I don't care!" she replied indignantly as Thomas just sighed, and Bruce chuckled, making her still as she felt her cheeks heat up and his gaze land on her.

Tomas then turned to Bruce and continued.

"I am telling you, she is just using us to vent her workplace frustrations," he complained, and she sighed as Alfred led them to the sofas.

"Don't even get me started on that! Someone beat up a number of Falcone's goons last night," she then turned towards Thomas.

"Speaking of that, they were vandalizing properties of Wayne Enterprises. Would your company like to pursue charges?" she questioned, and for a moment, she felt that the atmosphere in the room was rather tense as Thomas stared at Bruce with a complicated gaze while sipping his freshly made coffee.

"Yeah, why not. I will have the lawyers contact the DA office," he replied, and she was thankful for that. Though the case was not very strong, it helped them put more of Falcone's men behind bars.

Many in the city were too afraid of the Italian mob boss to move against him, yet things were beginning to change. Slowly, yet at least now, there was a semblance of hope.

And it all began with one person's efforts. Thomas.

And she felt proud of the young man she considered a younger brother.

"Do you have the new phone on you?" he suddenly asked, and she frowned as she reached into her bag pocket and took out the phone he had given her. It was a marvelous piece of technology, and she could understand why people were going crazy over it.

Several people in her own office had asked her whether she could help them get it before the early knowing of her relationship with Thomas, the man who had helped build the thing.

Thomas began to fiddle with her phone as Bruce finally spoke up.

"Speaking of that, I wanted to ask why doesn't your office go after Falcone himself," he questioned her as Alfred handed them both their own drinks.

And she shook her head, having grown frustrated by that damn question.

"The man is extremely well connected. Half the city fears him while he owns the other half, judges, policemen, and detectives. He has them all in his pocket," she complained as she sipped the smooth hot chocolate, having a sprinkle of cinnamon, just the way she liked it.

"Thank you, Alfred," she spoke to the aged butler, who gave her a warm smile.

"It was nothing, Miss Dawes," came the answer as always as she turned to face Bruce.

"Though, things are changing. The man himself probably orchestrated the attack on the shelters, I am going to push the men we arrested to confess to the fact so I could bring him in for questioning, though given he has the Judge in his pocket, it will not be easy," she added.

Bruce nodded.

"Interesting," he said as his eyes narrowed, and she frowned as she saw his expression, failing to realize what was going on in his head.

"Here," Thomas handed her back her phone as she frowned.

"What did you do?" she questioned as she examined it, yet found nothing different.

"I was just activating the SOS system," he said as he pointed toward the small power button.

"Now, whenever you feel that you are in danger, you just need to press it four times, and the phone will automatically send your location to the relevant authorities." She raised a brow, impressed by the functionality.

"Nice, that seems rather helpful," she remarked and clicked on the power button, and the screen lit up, the time highlighted right there, making her still.

"sh*t!" she cursed, as she jumped to her feet as she saw that she was now late for office.

"I have to go. I am running late," she said as she hastily packed her bag.

"Let me drive you," Bruce offered, but she shook her head.

"No, I will manage. I did bring my own car," she replied as she rushed out of the manor after a brief farewell, hopping into her car as she raced away.

In her hurry, she decided to take a shortcut through the narrows, a destitute part of the city often avoided by the people because of the prevalence of crime, and as she was racing down the road right across the railway lines, she was suddenly forced to push hard on the brake paddle as a few people stepped right in her path.

SCREEEEEECH!

Her head hit the steering wheel, making her wince in pain, though thankfully she was wearing her seatbelt and she avoided anything worse.

"Ouch!" she screamed as she reached for her forehead, and realized that she had cut her skin as she felt her hand become wet.

"This must be our lucky day! This is the pretty little DA the boss asked us to handle" she heard one of the goons questions in a gruff tone, and she realized that these people were no simple beggars.

No, they were Falcone's goons. And her heart thumped as she quickly locked the car doors and reached into her bag, reaching for her phone and the taser gun.

She shakily pressed the button three times as the goons surrounded her car and began to force open the door.

"Bring me the crowbar!" one of the goons, trying to open her door, shouted as someone threw him a crowbar.

He aimed it at her window and gave her a toothy grin, showing her his crooked teeth as he swung it at her window.

THUNK!

The window cracked from the force of his attack yet didn't break. The man frowned as he pulled it back and swung it once more.

THUNK!

The cracks expanded, and she turned around and saw that the men had surrounded her car.

THUNK!

The window was struck again, and she could tell that it was on the verge of breaking, seemingly the man recognized this as well and smiled cruelly as he pulled it back and swung it once more with all his might.

CRACK!

The window broke, spraying her with shards that stung her skin, as she instinctively closed her eyes as the crowbar inched towards her.

Yet the pain never came and she slowly opened her eyes and found a massive shadowy figure standing by her side, holding the crowbar, which was inches away from her face.

She saw the man's face turn ashen white as he glanced at the towering figure and spoke up with a shaky voice.

"You!"

THUNK!

THUNK!

THUNK!

And then she watched in awe as the shadowy figure made quick work of the nearly half a dozen men, and in a second, all of them were down on the ground writhing in pain, as the shadowy figure finally turned towards her.

A mask covered half his face, and his gaze was sharp and chilling enough that she felt a shiver run down her spine as the man finally spoke up.

"Falcone has called a hit on you!" he uttered, his voice grazy and mechanical.

Her eyes widened as she heard those words. And though there was animosity between her and Falcone, this was excessive.

"You have rattled his empire! Keep rattling!" the man continued, and she realized that this was the man who had beat up all those henchmen some nights ago.

"Who are you?" she questioned, and the man halted for a second before he answered.

"Someone just like you. Someone who will rattle the cages!"

And then, the whole area became covered with smoke, and the only thing she heard was the sound of men falling and screaming.

0000

Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

BRUCE WAYNE

The attack on Rachel had been a surprise for him, and it worried him that a man like Falcone had placed a bounty on her head. However, whether it was because of her role as an assistant DA or because of her closeness with Thomas, who had been targeting the man with his business ventures, was still unclear.

Though, the bigger surprise had been the SOS alert he had received on his phone when Rachel had used the SOS function on her phone, and the way Thomas's eyes had glinted towards him when he had explained it to Rachel had unsettled him.

Did he know already? And if so, what could Bruce to do?

The two brothers hadn't had the chance to talk ever since, and now, as the next day rose, Bruce found himself walking through the gates of his family's company, Wayne Enterprises.

The massive Wayne Tower, iconic to the city of Gotham stood in the center, with its high-speed rail passing right through it. The lobby seemed somewhat busy. He could see people in suits walking in and out of the building, a massive structure stood tall in the center of the lobby, it was a round screen, with a foundation around it that rose through the floors, displaying the various products of their company, including his brother's latest venture into the mobile computing industry.

The technology seemed rather interesting, but he could not let himself get distracted, and he walked towards the reception, as a rather petite brunette with her hair tied in a pony tail, chewed gum, while lazily tapping away at her keyboard.

"AKHM!" he coughed, trying to get her attention, yet the woman didn't even bother to look up as she spoke up.

"Uhuh! Yes, how may I help you," said Susan, in a disinterested tone. Her name was written on the nameplate pinned to her suit jacket.

"I believe I have an appointment," he began with a smile and leaned forward yet the young lady still didn't glance up.

"May I have your name?" she asked, again eyes focused on the computer screen.

"Bruce Wayne," he replied a bit cheekily, and the young woman stilled as soon as she heard that name, and glanced up finally, her face pale as a sheet.

"Mr. Wayn…." She said, as she rushed to stand up, though he watched as her eyes moved beyond him, as a third person cut into his fun.

"I believe I will take it from here, Miss Susan," came the thick and unhurried voice of an aged man, a rather familiar one at that. And he glanced back, and found himself staring at the man who was now the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox.

The man had a smile on his face as they shook hands, he was dressed rather casually for a CEO, though it didn't matter for even in a horde of company excecs one wouldn't miss the man. He just had that kind of presence as the man looked him over with a piercing gaze.

"Mr. Fox, it is good to finally put a face to the voice," he said, and the man nodded.

"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Wayne. Come let us take this to my office," and then the man led him to what seemed to be a private elevator, and as they entered the closed space Bruce cut in.

"How about instead of your office we take it to the department that has piqued my mind," he began and saw the man turn to face him.

"Applied Physics?" he questioned, and Bruce nodded, not surprised that the man knew of it.

He had been scrubbing through Wayne Enterprises files, searching for technology that could help him, and in that sense, he had found what he needed in Applied Physics. This interesting department had once been headed by the Lucius himself.

"Why not?" he said as he hit what appeared to be a level below the basem*nt, and the doors to the elevator closed.

They descended quietly, only the soft hum of the elevator to keep them company until they reached the said floor, and the doors opened to reveal a massive basem*nt filled with crates and other objects wrapped in sheets.

"Ahh! This brings back memories!" said the man as they walked in, and the lights began to turn on automatically, lighting up the whole space as both of them began to walk through the rows and rows of projects.

"I am not surprised that this department caught your eye," the man began as he gave him a pointed stare and continued.

"….especially given your unique needs," he said with a smile that told Bruce that the man had not bought his excuses.

Well, who would when you would ask for a Kevlar plated suit and military grade memory cloth for spelunking and base jumping. Though, if the man was suspicious and had a problem with this.

"Akhm, if you have a problem with thi…." And the man was quick to cut him off.

"Not at all, Mr. Wayne, all this is yours and you are free to do whatever you please with this. Though I would like it if you do not treat me like a fool," he said, and then stared at him with an ominous gaze as he said in a soft tone.

"What you do with your days…." The man began and Bruce felt himself halt, as the man continued with an intone,"…or nights is none of my concern." and Bruce stilled at that.

The man knew. Both of them stared into each other's eyes, and the man could have blackmailed him, or threatened him to use the knowledge of his secret identity. Yet he hadn't.

Bruce had researched the man of course, he was one of his father's companions, a genius, according to many, and he had mentored Thomas when he had stepped into the company. The man had little to no greed and had an integrity that few could boast of in the country.

"Duly noted," he replied after a moment of silence, and the man smiled as they reached an unsaid agreement of not making undue excuses.

Fox nodded as they reached what appeared to be a relatively new addition to the space, this object appeared as though it had been recently reeled in.

"Aha, here it is," said Mr. Fox as he moved closer to it, and began to fiddle around what was a small screen on it.

"Is this the machine you wished to show me?" he questioned, already having an idea of what it was.

"Yes," came the reply as Fox turned to face him.

"This is the perfect solution for you. The latest technology in 3-D printing, this machine helps you build and construct anything from the size of a nail to full body armor, and this time you could machine ten in a simple basem*nt rather than order ten thousand pieces," Mr. Fox said as he gave him another small smile. He raised a brow. The man was somehow aware of the failed order from Singapore.

Just how much did the man know? He examined the machine and reached what appeared to be the control screen.

"Who designed this?" he questioned as he began to fiddle with the controls.

"Your brother did," and the answer surprised him, as he pressed the wrong button, making the machine halt as alarm sounds began to ring.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

He looked towards Fox, who stopped the noise with a push of a button.

"I do believe it comes with a manual," he replied while he still reeled from the shock of his earlier words.

"Thomas built this," he questioned, and Fox nodded.

"Indeed, your brother has varied interests. He came up with the idea weeks before your return. He had a prototype built. A rather simpler version of this is right now in use by him for his next project," the man told him, and that sent all kinds of mixed signals.

From how Rachel's location had appeared on his phone, and now this. Did Thomas already know? And if so, why hadn't he said anything?

"About the things I initially commissioned out of this, did you tell Thomas about them?" he questioned again.

The man shook his head as he replied to him.

"As I said before, I will not tell Thomas of what you are doing here Mr. Wayne. However, I will not lie to him about it if he were to ask me as well," and that had been what Alfred had told him as well.

And it was reasonable enough.

"Though, I must caution you," the man began cryptically as he stared into his eyes.

"There is little in Gotham that Thomas remains oblivious to. Your brother is a very well-informed person, so don't insult his intelligence," he warned him, and those words raised his suspicion that Thomas was already aware of his nightly crusades.

Yet why hadn't he said anything? Perhaps it was time both of them had a chat of their own?

"What is that?" he questioned, as he pointed towards the other package lying beside the printer, it appeared as if something had been dismantled and broken down deliberately.

"Let me see," said Mr. Fox, as he read the label.

"Ah! This is a microwave emitter. It was invented during the Cold War, and it could be used to vaporize an enemy's water supply. A weapon which your father refused to sell despite considerable pressure," replied Mr. Fox.

"What's it doing here?" he questioned.

"I don't know, but I will try and find out," came the reply as the man turned to face him again.

"Now that you have your printer, is there anything else you might need?" Bruce thought for a second before he answered.

"Do you have any vehicle that I could use?" he questioned and saw the man's mind race before he replied with a grin.

"I believe I have just the thing." The man then led him to an empty section of the place, where a single large vehicle stood imperiously, with its gigantic wheels and what seemed to be guns at the side.

It was as if he was looking at an unholy fusion between a tank and a sports car.

"This shall serve your adventurous needs quite well."

"What even is this?" he questioned as he looked around the gigantic vehicle.

"This was conceived as a bridging vehicle, though we could never get them to work as that, but otherwise," the man continued as he looked at the thing with with twinkling eyes.

"This is a masterpiece in itself. Let's take it out for a spin," said the man as he pressed a button, and the doors began to open, revealing the elaborate interior that seemed as if it belonged to a fighter jet rather than a car.

"Why not?" he said as he jumped in.

And minutes after driving the damn thing, Bruce only had a single question.

"Does it come in Black?"

0000

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

SELINA KYLE

Seline Kyle found herself sitting on a beach, relaxing as the soft wind caressed her skin. The Sun illuminated her, as the rhythmic sound of waves crashing on the shore soothed her ears.

The beach was empty, or at least it was for her. For her attention was focused on the person sitting by her side, wearing simple white shorts with an unbuttoned safari shirt, his hair wet as water dribbled down his face, his blue eyes focused on her, hungering after her.

His mouth moved, yet no sound reached her.

Until a distant shout, of someone calling her name disturbed her.

"Selina!!"

She frowned as she failed to hear what he was saying, as his lips moved again.

"Selinaa!"

Someone called her name again, and she frowned getting frustrated.

"SELINAA!"

And as she turned angrily, to see who was calling her name, the world went dark.

"AGHHH!" she screamed in pain as she felt her head hit the floor.

"Gods! Are you fine? Should I call someone!" suddenly, she heard footsteps hurry towards her as a pair of arms helped her sit up. Her vision cleared up, and she watched as Helena looked at her worriedly.

"No! I will be fine. Just get me some ice," she replied quickly as her vision cleared up. And as Helena rushed to the fridge to get her some Ice, she forced herself and sat down on her bed once again.

And as she looked around, she sighed as she found no trace of the clear ocean, the beach, or the person sitting beside her, as she found herself back in her apartment. A two-bedroom apartment in one of Gotham's rather safe corners, or at least it had become after Wayne Enterprises had built their shelter and rehab center here.

And though crime and drugs still lingered on, in the darkness of the night, people were less driven towards a life of crime when they had a way of making an honest living. However, she did have to break a few bones to get those who had been rather unwelcoming of the change that had begun to brew in this city.

Helena entered the room once again, ice and water in hand. She took the icepack from her hand and placed it against the bruise on her forehead. The cool ice numbed the pain as she took a sip of the water.

"Are you sure you are fine Selina? I could call an ambulance or…." At this she gave him a rather scandalous stare, making her frown.

"What?" she questioned, as Helena wiggled her brows.

"Nothing but from the way you were sleeping and calling out a certain name, you know maybe I could call Thom…." That was all the liberty she would allow her, that little rascal as she replied quickly and emphatically.

"No!" she said, and as she saw that devilish smile on her face, she narrowed her gaze as she threatened her.

"And if you ever mention anything of the sort to him, I will throw you out of this house!" she threatened, but the little rascal just rolled her eyes as she huffed haughtily.

"Then I will just have Thomas take me in, after all, that's the least he could do for his future sister-in-law," Helena teased her, and Selina narrowed her eyes at her, and the teenager finally buckled under her gaze as she stood up, defeated.

"Ok. Ok. I will not say anything," said Helena with another roll of her eyes as she plopped herself down on the chair, beside her table.

"Honestly, I still cannot realize why both of you aren't together yet. It's obvious both of you like each other," Helena said, and she felt her cheeks heat up and her heart flutter. Yet she pushed down on that momentary elation, as she removed the Ice and walked into the bathroom, hoping to freshen up.

"It's complicated. You are too young to understand," she replied, and Helena looked at her with a tired expression.

"I am not a child anymore, you know. I am in high school. High school!" she shouted back as she opened the tap, and any of the leftover sleepiness left her very soul as the chilly water hit her face.

She could see that the Sun had long set, and night had fallen, and it was time for her to leave the house and finish the little crusade she had begun over a week ago.

She wiped off her face and walked out of the bathroom, and Helena was now in the kitchen, heating up something in the oven. For all her efforts, Selina couldn't cook to save herself, and so it had been decided early on in their time together that it was better she stay away from the stove lest she burn down the whole House.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Helena opened the oven, and took out a small dish, and placed it infront of her, it was lasagnia, not her favourite, but her times without any meals had made her thankful for any meal, especially for one without mould and smell.

"Thanks," she said to Helena, who gave her a smile as she began to fiddle with her phone, the one that Thomas had recently launched. She herself used a similar one, though unlike Helena, she couldn't appreciate what was so special about a phone like this.

"So, you leaving for work again?" Helena questioned her as she ate the heated Italian dish. She nodded, and though Helena was not privy to the true nature of her job, Selina knew that the young blonde knew enough that it was not as simple as she made it out to be.

On paper, she was a simple secretary, working as many others in the city for the prestigious Wayne enterprises, though that was just a cover one she had established so she could take legal custody of Helena.

"Yeah," she said as she took a sip of the water and asked a question of her own.

"Everything fine at school?" she questioned. And Helena had been admitted to Gotham High, a private school, and she knew first hand how those snobby idiots at school could behave.

"Yes, though most of my friends have been bugging me about how I got this phone so early," Helena replied with a smug smile, and Selina smiled as she saw the innocence of her sister, and it was to protect that very innocence she had agreed to taking that position on paper.

Even in moving to this apartment, one which was located in one of the safer areas of, the only reason Thomas had been able to convince her of doing so had been because of Helena.

Thomas's motto in life was simple.

'Problems that can be solved by money aren't problems at all' though if one were to be born with the wealth of the Wayne empire at his back, they would probably have a similar motto.

Yet it wasn't said condescendingly or boastfully. It was just how he tackled his life, and right now, his efforts were working. The shift in Gotham, however small it may be, was because Thomas was using his personal wealth to tackle the city's problems, to give hope to the destitute. And it was working.

Yet some people, people who had thrived in the dark, were not happy. There were grumblings against him in the underbelly of Gotham. Plots were hatched and abandoned as the criminal element of the city faced what seemed to be an existential threat to their dark enterprise.

She was aware of the usual culprits. Knew which arms to break to know of their plans, yet things had begun to shift. Someone new and much more dangerous had taken root in the city. And now, after weeks of hard work, she finally had a name for them.

Ra's al Ghul. A name she didn't recognize, yet it sounded ominous, and dangerous. And she had promised herself that she would never let anything happen to Thomas.

Both she and Helena had a small talk. This was routine was no longer a surprise for them. And so, after washing the dishes she walked out of the building, and after a simple glance to the sides, she frowned.

She could feel someone looking at her, observing her. After another look she walked into the street, walking towards the corner, and silently vanished into the blind alley.

She threw off her long coat, revealing the black suit she wore underneath, as she placed it at her usual hiding place. Picking up her mask, she placed it on her face, and then, after a small stretch she kicked off the ground.

Small claws extended out of her gloves, a gift from Thomas, and helped her grip into the wall, as she jumped off again, eventually reaching the terrace. She stepped on the roof. The soft wind blew away he hair as she looked around the city.

Gotham was a city didn't sleep. Even now, deep into the night the city was alive, with cars moving around the city, as the heinous element of the city came out with the setting of the Sun, with the cover of night providing refuge for all those who had made a deal with the devil itself.

Yet even that had begun to change, especially over the last few weeks. There were rumors of another man prowling the city at night, silent as a snake, clad in a black costume.

Batman, he was called by those who had met him.

She had yet to see him, though held a favorable view of him, for he had protected the shelters from Falcone's goons. Yet the jury was still out on that as her eyes narrowed onto the docks in the distance.

From her reports, she had come to know that this Ra's al Ghul had an important shipment coming today. This man, or organization, or whatever it was, was using Falcone's men for his business. A smart move, given the man, was perhaps the biggest of the cronies ruling Gotham's underbelly.

Yet, this also gave him an opportunity to find out who this new threat was. As for Falcone, his time will come as well.

Soon. Very soon.

And with that she broke out into a soft stride, as she jumped from one rooftop to another, heading straight for the docks.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The first thing that reached her ears as she reached near the docks was the sound of gunfire, and she frowned as she slowed down, and began to climb up the massive crane hoping to find out what was going on. The climb was pretty quick, and as she stood on the arm of the massive crane, she could watch a shadowy figure dismantling Falcone's crew singlehandedly.

He moved with purpose and intent, no hesitation or hear in his stride even as Falcone's men fired upon him. The bullets bounced off him, much to her surprise for there were few materials that could take bullets like that.

She watched, Falcone trying to get away, even as the man shot something towards his driver and the car, stopping the man's escape. And even though she was tempted to go down there and deal with the scum like Falcone herself she stopped herself, reminding herself of her true purpose.

A man like Falcone didn't deserve her attention, and it seemed he had finally met his match.

"Interesting isn't it," suddenly someone spoke from behind and she turned quickly and found herself staring at a man, as her mind raced.

How had he gotten behind her so quietly? He was dressed in rather loose clothing, something that one would often find people wearing in a dojo or in cosplays. Yet the way the man moved over the arm of the crane told of years of training.

"Who are you?" she questioned as she began to move back, growing apprehensive about the man's intentions.

"I believe you already know the answer to that," he began as she frowned moving forward.

"Afterall, you have been looking for me for some time now, Miss Kyle?" he said and she stilled.

He knew her name, her real name. Alarm bells rang in her head as she narrowed her eyes, taking the first name that came to mind.

"You are Ra's al Ghul?" she guessed, and the man smiled, yet that did little to ease her, for the man gave a dangerous aura.

"Yes," he agreed, and she gulped down and reached for her gauntlets and twisted them, and saw a small light flicker for a moment as she prayed to God above hoping that, he would hear this.

"What do you want from me?" she questioned.

And the man's expression shifted as disgust appeared on his face.

"From a criminal like you, nothing." He said in a disgusted tone as he glared at her.

She had now reached the end of the crane arm and had no more space to back up. So, she stopped as the man continued to walk towards her.

"Then why are you here?" she questioned as she glanced at the ocean below, her mind racing.

"I believe you also know the answer to that, I want nothing from you. But rather from Thomas Wayne," he added, and her fear materialized as the man continued.

"After all, the man does care quite a bit about you and that sister of you!"

And her heart twisted at the mention of Helena. And she remembered the ominous presence she had felt when she had left her home, and she growled at the man.

"Leave her out of this. She is a child!" she screamed.

"Child she may be, but even she is complicit in the rot that has taken root in this city. Yet do not worry, no harm will come to her, as long as you agree to do as I say," he said, and she gritted her teeth. Her heart raced as she worried for Helena.

She knew she had to buy time. Time, for even though there had been no signal, she knew that he would be listening. She had to trust him.

And so she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and then questioned once more.

"What do you want from Thomas?" she questioned.

"I believe you don't deserve to know that. And though I find your attempt to reform yourself, it is futile. A criminal is a criminal, and must face punishment for his actions," the man said, his voice zealous and filled with conviction.

"My sister is innocent," she argued.

And the man nodded.

"And no harm will come to her as long as you come with us," added the man, and she frowned.

"Us?" she questioned and watched as three more people literally stepped out of the man's shadow, clad in body suits with masks covering their faces. Their movements numbed and measured as they surrounded her.

She raised her hand and reached for her hair seemingly to tie them up, as she brought the gauntlet near her ear.

"Jump"

She heard, through the small speaker, and as did the four men, who immediately pounced at her.

Yet she was faster, as she took a step back and jumped down, cutting through the air, and she smirked as the crane arm blew up seconds later, as the gauntlet she had attached to the rods blew up, as her feet hit the cold water of the sea river.

SPLASH!

0000

Chapter 11: Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne rode down the elevator at Wayne Enterprises after a very busy day. While he enjoyed being the head of the company's technology and innovation sector, the work was rather tiring.

The launch of the new phones and laptops had gone as expected, their stores were packed, and they had basically run out of stock for the next half year. Right now, he was working on their next big project, and it was quite a hassle.

Apart from that, he was also dealing with constant threats to his life and a missing friend who hadn't called on him for two weeks now. The attack on Rachel had been an eye-opener and just the tip of the iceberg; it seemed that Falcone was becoming desperate and was planning something big, for he had now put out a price for both their heads.

Thomas could handle that, yet the issue was with Rachel. So, that is why he had leaked Falcone's plans for the port today to Batman by sending GPS coordinates to his phone.

He was quite sure that Bruce was suspicious of him knowing of his dual life, and though Thomas had initially thought of not associating himself with this, that notion was now long out of mind. He was now involved and planned to confront Brue in a week or so about his parallel life, plus someone needed to advise him to set up a mirage as well, for with his current reclusive lifestyle, it wouldn't be long before people began to connect the dots.

And as his private elevator came to a halt, he stepped out of it and onto the company ground floor, which was now empty apart from his security detail, though suddenly he felt his phone vibrate, and when he took it out, he stilled as he saw just why had it done so.

This was a distress call from Selina, something which had never happened before. He rushed out of the building rushing to his car, and connected the cameras in her mask to the screen, and realized why she was calling him.

She was trapped.

"What do you want from Thomas?" she questioned, and he knew she was buying him time.

"I believe you don't deserve to know that. And though I find your attempt to reform yourself is futile. A criminal is a criminal and must face punishment for his actions," and Thomas had an inkling just who this man was.

"My sister is innocent." She spoke rather loudly, and he stilled as it all clicked together, and he pulled on the average-looking radio knob in his car, twisting it quickly as his heart thumped in his chest.

"Protocol Charlie activate! I repeat, activate Protocol Charlie. The primary objective is rescue and evacuation. I repeat, the primary Objective is rescue and evacuation!" He ordered into the coms.

"Copy!" came the answer, easing his heart slightly.

Thomas didn't particularly like violence, yet he was never going to let that stand in the way of his ambitions. So before taking on the criminal enterprise of this city, he had set up a private security firm, one kept off the books, filled with ex-military men whom Arthur himself had vetted.

Their purpose was to provide security for people he held dear. A small squad was also stationed near Selina's home just to deal with a scenario like that.

He could feel Selina's heart racing as he put his hands on the steering wheel of the car, his foot flooring the gas pedal, as the tires screeched on the concrete road, and he saw her raise her gauntlet to her ears.

"Jump!" he told her, assuring her that he would rescue her sister. And then his car was racing through the streets, running past lights as he raced towards the Selina's apartment, hoping that he would make it in time, for though Thomas may not beat up criminals like his elder brother, that didn't mean he was completely defenseless for though Alfred may have vetted those men, it had been Thomas who had trained with them for years now.

0000

HELENA KYLE

Helena Kyle sat on her bed scrolling through the internet on her new phone, awed by the sheer advancement this little piece of metal held in itself. Though it was expected, after all, Thomas was the one who had developed it.

Thomas Wayne, the boy wonder of Gotham, and she still couldn't believe it that she had the infamous billionaire on speed dial.

From eating nothing but scraps and living on the streets, she now lived in one of Gotam's affluent areas, in an apartment of their own, with Selina. And it was all because of him, or more precisely because of her sister whom he loved, but yeah, it was all related to him.

She had met him nearly a decade ago now when he had saved her life by paying for her hospital bills and helping her sister get a legitimate job at his company. He was not much older than her, yet he was smarter. Smarter than anyone she had ever met, this new phone in her hand was the perfect example of his brilliance, though while he was a genius in some aspects, he could also be so dumb in others.

Like wooing her sister. Gods were both of them stupid. Even a blind idiot could tell that both of them loved each other, yet both of them were blind to this simple fact. Sometimes she wondered if they were as dumb as they behaved or was it all just a ruse.

Suddenly she frowned as she felt the door to her room screech, as her breath halted. She checked the time, and it had barely been an hour since Selina had left.

Had she come back early.

"Selinaa…" she was about to get up when suddenly the window to her room broke with a boom.

CRINCH!

"AGHH!" she heard someone scream and looked up and saw that instead of Selina, it had been someone else inside her house, someone who had just been shot.

Yet he was not alone.

"AGHHH! She screamed in shock, and ducked down as she heard shots being fired from outside targeting the fully dressed men.

"Someone else is here1 Get back!" she heard someone scream as they closed the door and rushed back.

Her hands shook, and she barely managed to reach for her phone. just as she was about to dial Selina's number, she received a call from someone else.

It was Thomas.

"Thomas! Help me! There are men here…"

"I know," his voice came from the other side, serious, with none of his usual cheer present.

"Those men in black clothes are there to kidnap you. Some of my men are also there, so you need to be strong and do exactly as I say," he instructed her, and she nodded as sounds of gunfire and fighting spread throughout their apartment.

"Ok….," she said with a shaky voice as he began to add from his side.

"Where are you at the moment," he questioned.

"In my room, on the bed. People are firing through the windows," she told him huffing, as the sounds of fighting intensified.

"Ok, on my signal, slide underneath the bed, and wait for me, I will be there in a second," he told her, and her heart eased slightly after that assurance.

"Ok," she said as she waited for his reply, and then it happened.

"NOW!" he told her, and she jumped off the bed and slid below it.

"I am there," she replied.

"Good, now don't move. Don't make a sound. And wait for my signal. I am coming up right now," he said and then she heard the sound of the door to her room opening once more, and she stilled.

She placed a hand on her mouth to stomp the sound of her labored breathing as she saw a pair of feet move around her room, the soles of his shoes crushing the glass of her windows. He was in front of her; if he were to sit down, he would see her.

Her heartbeat hammered in her chest, and then it broke as she felt a pair of hands clasp onto her ankles and pull her back.

"AH!" she screamed as she tried to wiggle them out of his grip, as her body slid out of underneath the bed, and bits and pieces of glass embedded into her skin, making blood drip out.

"HELP! HELP!" she screamed as she was pulled up, as the second man rushed to gag her mouth.

"Tell boss we hav…."

THUNK! THINK! THUNK!
And then she heard three shots being fired.

"AGHHH!" and the man holding her dropped her as he screamed in pain. Her head hit the floor, making her vision blur for a second, and she glanced towards the door, where a single person stood, clad in a suit, gun aimed towards the two men who were now clutching their shoulders, screaming in pain.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

"ARGH!" they screamed in pain at the next pair of shots, this time aimed at their legs, as the man walked into the room, and as her vision cleared up, she saw just who it was.

"Thomas!" she cried in relief and agony as he pulled her up, his gaze still locked towards the two men screaming in pain on the floor, as he pulled her into his side, wrapping his other arm around her.

"I am here now! I am here. You are safe now. You are safe." He whispered in her ears, as he soothed her, as she found her head spinning and vision darkening with the last thing reaching her ears was the sound of an ambulance's siren as Thomas called out her name.

"Helena! Helena!"

And she blacked out, as darkness took over her vision as Thomas carried her out of the apartment. Had she been conscious, she would have seen how the apartment was littered with bodies and bodies of men, men clad in clothing similar to the ones who had held her earlier.

The injuries on their bodies were still fresh, hinting towards the one responsible.

0000

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

ALFRED PENNYWORTH

Alfred Pennyworth watched Thomas pace up and down the hospital floor. He was still dressed in his suit, and for the first time, he was thankful that he had buckled to his demand of learning self-defense all those years ago.

In his youth, despite his health struggles, Thomas had always wished to learn self-defense, which would have been fine had it not been for his frail nature; however, after the young master's constant persuasion, he had buckled and had agreed to his demand.

That had been also marked the beginning of the True Securities, a private security firm, registered under his name, consisting of ex-military men, all of whom had been employed by Thomas to protect the people he cared about.

It had seemed excessively cautious at first, yet he had chalked it up to a reaction to what had happened to his parents, yet he was thankful that Master Thomas had been as careful as he had.

The men who had attacked young Miss Kyle were professional from what he had learned, and without the men Thomas had arranged for her, it was highly likely that they would have succeeded in their nefarious aims.

Though he would have been more calm had Master Thomas not rushed in himself, his shirt still had blood on it, along with the bandages on his hands. Though his injuries were very minor, seeing him injured still unnerved him from all the time he had spent in the hospital already.

A doctor came out of the room, and Master Thomas rushed towards him.

"How is she?" he questioned, and it warmed his heart to see him caring for young Miss Kyle; he had always treated her like a younger sister, somewhat doing her what Miss Rachel had done for her. Plus, the young master was in love with her older sister.

"She is fine now. Whatever happened has shaken her deeply. Otherwise, her injuries were minor. The cuts and bruises will heal within a week or two, though after such an ordeal, it would be better for her to see a therapist," the doctor said, and Master Thomas nodded as the doctor's eyes went over the young master's form.

He was actually the young master's personal physician and frowned as he saw the state of young Master Thomas.

"You need to take care of yourself, Thomas. Change your clothes and get out of these," the man said.

"She is awake now. You can go and see her…" and as master Thomas was about to move in, he stopped him.

"Only after you change into something more appropriate…." He added pointedly, and then, with a nod to him, he walked off.

He stepped in and spoke in a soft voice.

"I brought a change of clothes with me. It's in the bag," he said as he handed him a small bag, and with a sigh young master Thomas walked off, and just as he was about to turn the corner, he stopped as he heard the sound of someone coming there.

"Helena! Helena!" and he recognized that sound. After all he had been hearing for it several years now, and in all these years he had ever heard it as distressed only once before.

He watched as Miss Selina ran up the floor, her hair wet for some reason and her face pale with worry as she looked around.

Master Thomas had rushed to her side, as Miss Kyle ran towards him.

"Where is she! Is she fine! Tell me!" and she was shaking as she questioned Master Thomas, who nodded.

"Yes, she is fine, a bit shaken up, but I was able to reach her before those men could take her. She is inside, you can go and see her," he said as he pointed towards her room, he saw Miss Kyle cry out in relief as she began to cry.

"Thank God! Thank God!" she prayed, only then looked down and saw the blood and bandages around the young Master.

"What happened to you? Whose blood is this!" he questioned again, prodding around Master Thomas's shirt. Who calmed her down.

"It's not mine. And I am fine, nothing but a few scratches," he replied, and he watched as after multiple assurances from young master Miss Kyle went inside her sister's room, as Master Thomas went ahead and got changed.

He waited outside the room and answered the call from Master Bruce.

"Is Thomas fine?" came the question as soon as he attended the call.

"Yes," he answered, and he could feel relief even through the phone.

"Good! I will be there in a few minutes," came the quick answer, and the call was cut.

"Who was that?" came the question from the young master, who had now changed into something cleaner and simpler and looked somewhat relieved.

"Master Bruce. He was asking about you," he told him, and he nodded.

"He will be here in a few minutes," he added as the door to young Miss Kyle's room opened, and Miss Selina walked out, flushed and crying, as she rushed towards young Master.

"How…." He was about to speak up when she simply pushed him against the wall, took his head in her hands, and kissed him right there.

Alfred looked away with a hidden smirk as the two lost themselves in each other.

"Thank you. I don't know what would have happened without you," came the voice of Miss Selina sometime later, as Master Thomas stood up.

"With things as they stand, I believe it would be better if you moved to the manor for some days. I will have some. The doctor said we could take her home in a couple of hours, I will have my men gather what they can from your place," he said as she tried to cut in.

"No, there is no nee…"

"There is. Just let me handle this," he said and walked away with his phone, leaving him alone with Miss Kyle, who perhaps for the first time noticed that there had been someone here, besides young Master Thomas.

"Hi, Alfred," she said rather awkwardly, her cheeks flushed as she seemed rather embarrassed.

There was the sound of footsteps as young Master talked with his men on the phone. Master Bruce had arrived, and from his face, he could tell that he was buried. as he came up, he saw Thomas busy on his phone, so he walked towards him.

"Alfred," he greeted her and then turned to face Miss Kyle, and just as he was about to introduce her, he himself spoke up.

"Miss Kyle, I am sorry about your sister. I hope she is doing well," he greeted her, and for a moment, he saw Miss Kyle's eyes narrow as they shook hands.

"Thank you,"

"I am…," but she cut in.

"Bruce Wayne, Thomas's brother. I am aware of you," she replied, and Master Bruce nodded.

"Bruce," Master Thomas joined them as the two brothers shook hands.

"Are you fine?" Master Bruce questioned young Master Thomas.

"This is…."

"Don't worry, we have been introduced," Master Bruce cut in, and Master Thomas nodded.

The two brothers then walked to the side and began to talk to each other.

"She will be moving to the manor with her sister for some days," and just as Master Bruce was about to say something, Master Thomas continued.

"As for your work," the way Master Thomas said 'work,' he was sure that he wished to say something else.

"I will make sure that you are not disturbed," Master Thomas assured him, and he saw Master Bruce's eyes narrow as he leaned forward and added in a hushed tone.

"Yes, speaking of that. I believe it is time you and me have a little chat," Master Bruce said pointedly.

"Yes, I believe so as well."

0000

Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

THOMAS WAYNE

They reached the Wayne manor late into the night, only after the doctors had given Helena all the required treatment. The little blonde was not quite fond of hospitals, much like himself so he could sympathize with her and had taken her to Wayne manor.

The attack on Helena and Selina had caught him off guard. To be more exact it wasn't the attack that had caught him off guard, no it was the person who had attacked her. Yet he was thankful that he had taken all those precautions, and though he could tell that Selina wished to confront him about them, yet she was too preoccupied with Helena to do that at the moment.

Though one person wasn't too tired for that. And as he descended down the stairs and watched Bruce sitting down in the dining Hall waiting for him. He was tired, his body ached from the exhaustion, yet he knew that they could not push this off anymore.

Their eyes met as he entered the dining room and sat down on the chair opposite Bruce, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Their was complete silence in the room, which was only broken when Bruce began.

"So, you know," he began and he smirked and nodded, knowing that there was no use in pretending any more.

"I do," he replied and saw Bruce lean forward.

"How?" he questioned, and Thomas shrugged.

"I could give you a dozen reasons. The company financials at first, your orders for your suit were easy to spot," and they were, and he had to plug those gaping holes with his personal funds to smoothen it all out.

"Then there is the timing of Batman's appearance, your lack of a social life, and on and on. It was quite obvious, honestly," he said as he pointed out all the mistakes.

"No one else has managed to figure it out," he challenged and he leaned forward as he warned.

"They will if you keep going like this. Just give them time," he told him and saw Bruce's lips thin, for he also knew that he was right,

"Want to hear my thoughts about that?" he offered, and Bruce nodded.

"Make Bruce Wayne's life very public, go out, have fun. Make a splash on the news. Be just as loud as Batman isn't," he advised as he took a sip of water and saw that Bruce was conflicted at that before he replied.

"I have been offered similar advice," he said as he glanced towards Arthur, who seemed a little smug having someone else endorsing his own advice.

"Then why haven't you followed it? Afterall we are doing something rather similar with Earle right," he said as his own mind raced. And then suddenly it all clicked together as a smile appeared on his face, and he saw Bruce neasly groan as he saw his expression.

"It's because of Rachel!" he nearly shouted, and the way Bruce stiffened he knew that he was right. And saw that Alfred had been oblivious to this as well.

"Ahh, that makes sense. But have you ever thought that perhaps you could trust her with this secret," he offered, and Bruce shook his head.

"No, I will not involve her in this," he said sharply, and he raised his hand.

"I am not asking you to announce it to the world but just something between you two, and as much as you may hate it, she is already involved with us. The whole of Gotham knows about her relationship with me. Some of them even think we are dating each other," he replied, just as Bruce's eyes narrowed.

"We are not, obviously!" he quickly clarified as he saw Bruce's expression falter.

"It doesn't feel right, but I will think about it." He said, and it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he glanced towards him.

"And you are fine with all this? With me being him?" he questioned, and though it should have been obvious, he still replied with a shrug.

"It's your life. I won't object to how you choose to live it. I can tell that we both want what's best for this city and act towards it in the way we see fit," he replied, and then Bruce cut in a tone much colder than before.

"By buying the police and judges!" he said, referring to his actions. And Thomas raised a brow as he simply retorted.

"As I said, we do things in our own ways," he replied as Bruce stood up and began to walk towards him.

"And those men that were guarding that house, the same men who keep an eye on Rachel as well," and it surprised him that he had been able to spot them.

Well, they had come very close to intervening when Falcone's men had surrounded her, though before they could do so, Batman had shown up, saving him from another explanation.

"They are there for protection, for assurance that my actions would not land them in any danger," he replied.

"And what if you decide that protection is not enough, that you need to be more active," came the question.

And he felt the air crack with tension at that. He knew what he wanted to hear, yet he couldn't say that for that would be a blatant lie.

"Then that is what they will do," he said as he stood up and stood face to face with Bruce, looking him in the eye.

"Let me make one thing clear, Bruce. I don't like violence. I find it to be primitive. Yet I can understand its necessity, especially in a city as rotten as Gotham where a life is cheaper than a damn meal. Those who have pulled this city into this mess aren't afraid of using violence to maintain the status quo, and though I avoid lowering myself to their level, I am very sure about one thing," he said as he saw Brice's eyes narrow.

"When it comes to people I care about. Nothing off the table. And I mean nothing!"

And with that, he walked out of the room. Maybe Bruce won't agree with him over this, yet he would have to live with it.

"Thomas!" Bruce called out just as he was about to walk out of the room, making him stop.

"The men that attacked the girl. They are dangerous, very dangerous, and were from an ancient order called Ra…"

"I know who they were, or more precisely, about whom they represent." he cut in and saw Bruce's eyes widen as his head snapped towards him.

"How?"

"Well, let me just say that this isn't the first time Ra's al Ghul has appeared in Gotham," he replied, and Bruce was surprised by his answer.

"We can talk more about this in the morning. I am too tired for this," and with that, he walked out of the room, as he quickly climbed the stairs, reached the upper floor, and moved to his room.

Ra's al Ghul was after him, and he could reason out why rather easily. It was the same reason they had gone after their father, for he was going against their so-called order and was trying to reform this hell hole of a city.

He had been content on leaving them to Bruce, yet now they had made it personal. So they were going to get the personal treatment. Had they attacked him, he would have been fine, but they had gone after a child. A literal child, and though he didn't like doing this kind of stuff, he was not going to let this stand.

But he couldn't be careless. He knew that he had to plan, for taking on Ra was not going to be easy. Yet he could do that with a fresh mind in the morning.

And as he opened the doors to his room, he stopped. Even before he had turned on the lights, he could tell that he was not alone in the room. He slowly reached for the switchboard and flipped on the lights, and his heart calmed down as he saw just who it was inside his room.

"Selina!" he spoke out as he closed the door behind him and frowned as he questioned.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned as he unclasped his watch and began to empty out his pockets, his face turned down at the dresser.

"If you are here to talk about those me…." And then, before he could continue, he felt her hand on his shoulder as she forced him to face her, and he finally noticed that the only thing between them was only the robe around her as she reached for his face.

"No, I am here to do what I should have done years ago," she replied as she looked him in the eyes; his own hands wrapped themselves around her, pulling her into him as their lips met.

And then her hands reached for his shirt, pushing it off him, as the robe around her fell to the floor as well. His bandages opened up, causing his wounds to bleed, yet as both of them lost themselves in each other, the pain failed to register at all.

0000

Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

BRUCE WAYNE

Thomas's words still rang in his head as he watched his brother climb up the stairs of the manor. It seemed that his brother wasn't as simple as he had thought, and truthfully, Bruce didn't know what to make of that.

He could understand the reason behind his actions, yet he held fear as well, for he knew firsthand how intoxicating power like that could be. Thomas's power was checked as he literally bought his way into the city's rotten system, trying to reform it.

He didn't know if anyone could be trusted with so much power, yet he could also not deny the positive effect he was having, nor how, if it wasn't him, the rotten elite of this city would be using the same tactics to save themselves from justice.

So, with a long sigh, he plopped down on the chair and looked at Alfred.

"You never told me of this side of Thomas," he nearly complained as their trusted butler simply raised a brow.

"Your brother has many sides just as you, Master Bruce," he tacitly replied, and he nodded and replied as he picked up the water bottle and put it to his mouth.

"And one of them aims to control this very city," he retorted to Alfred.

"Not control, improve," Alfred cut in.

"And isn't that what you are trying to do as well, but in a different way? Your brother is just trying to help this city in his own way," Alfred cut in, and he shook his head.

"I have lines that I have vowed never to cross, but from the way he just talked, I am beginning to think he doesn't. And for someone with as much power as him, that is dangerous," he replied, looking straight at his butler.

"Very dangerous."

He had vowed never to take a life, to aid in bringing justice to this city, to not become the judge, jury, and executioner all at once. Batman was to be a symbol, one to spread fear amongst the criminal element infesting this city, to do what ordinary men couldn't do, to stand up where ordinary men could not.

"Your brother has limits, and though it may seem to you that they do not exist but that is exactly what he wants everyone to presume," Alfred cut in, his tone a bit sad as he glanced at him, making him frown.

"There are people in this city, people who live only because of your brother's restraint. Their crimes are numerous, some of them targeted at Master Thomas himself, and though as retaliation, he had them exposed and had them prosecuted as per law, he never went beyond that," Alfred replied, and he knew that there was more to this.

"Then what of those men, the ones who were at this apartment and those that can be found near Rachel," he argued, for that all seemed like a private militia to him. All these men were well-trained and armed with the latest weapons.

Their skill had been enough to push back against the League's enforcers, which was not a small feat at all. And though they had sustained injuries, they had ultimately succeeded in their task.

And that was one more thing that worried him. The League of Shadows.

He had hoped that he had brought an end to the organization when he had burned their monastery to the ground. Yet somehow, it had survived, and now they were back, and their target was none other than his own city.

And most importantly, Thomas was somehow aware of them. How?

"When the criminal element in the city realized that they could not go after Master Thomas, they tried to target others around him. His friends, most specifically Miss Rachel," Alfred replied, and he perked up at that.

"It caused Master Thomas quite some distress, and their demands were simple they wished for him to stop his reforms, to stop helping the poor and the needy. Yet he couldn't do that, that is why those men were guarding Miss Rachel, and that is also why your brother takes that boundary-less posture, for he knows the importance of his work, knows how much this city needs him, and so while he may not respond to an attack on himself, but if one were to target those he cares about," he added as he stood up.

"He is not afraid of pushing his boundary a bit forward, just to send a message," Alfred clarified, and he didn't know what to make of this all.

Yet what could he do? Thomas had known of his secret and had not judged him for it. Instead, he had helped him, put his trust in him. There was no denying that the city was rotten to the core and that if Thomas was to give up his power, someone else, someone much eviler and more sinister, would take his place.

"I can see that, and what I fear is that maybe in the future, he won't know when to stop," he said, looking at his own reflection in the table glass.

"Then you should tell him," Alfred's voice cut in, bringing with it a sense of clarity as his head snapped toward the aged butler.

"After all, it is an elder brother's job to guide the younger one, isn't it," he said, and he smiled, a sense of ease overtaking him.

"Thank you, Alfred," he said, and he was genuinely thankful. It seems his time with the League and as Batman had robbed him of some basic reasoning, for the truth was that though he may not feel comfortable with Thomas's powers, it was also true that that same power could end up in the hands of someone much more sinister.

"No need, Master Bruce. And I believe you must show some trust in Master Thomas just as he has done for you. From someone who has seen him grow up all these years, I can proudly say…" said Alfre with glinting eyes.

"….there is no man in Gotham more trustworthy with all that power apart from young Master Thomas," he said, his voice unwavering and confident, as Bruce nodded.

"Thank you," he said as he stood up, his mind now moving on to the other thing Thomas had mentioned about making a splash.

If it was found out that he was indeed Batman, it could be very bad. Perhaps he should take his advice.

"Didn't the prima ballerina have a show tonight?" he asked Alfred, remembering receiving an invite to the show some days ago, and Alfred nodded.

"Indeed, Master Bruce," came the reply, and he made up his mind as he stood up and buttoned up his suit.

"Brilliant!" he said as he leapt out of the chair and began to walk out the door, walking towards the literal row of car keys hanging by the door.

"Which one of our cars is the most recognizable, Alfred?" he questioned the butler behind him.

"I would say that would be Master Thomas's Audi. The Times even did a piece on it," Alfred replied.

"Though I would recommend against using that one," the aged butler quickly added just as he was about to pick up those Audi keys.

"Master Thomas will not like that," he finished, and Bruce's lips turned up.

"Well, you can tell him that is what he gets for hiding his little girlfriend from me," he said and saw Alfred's lips turn up as the old butler simply shrugged.

"It's your funeral, Master Bruce," before he added in a somber tone.

"And what of Miss Rachel? What will you tell her?" he questioned again, making him still on the steps of Wayne manor.

"For now," he replied after some thought.

"Nothing."

And with that, he walked up to the white Audi parked in the driveway, got in, pushed in his key, and sped out of the manor.

And if our young master Thomas wasn't engaged in certain activities, they would have been able to listen to the notification on their phone signaling that their car had been hijacked and later crashed into the infamous Gotham opera house by an allegedly drunk Bruce Wayne, who would later drive away in the same car yet this time with the ballerina herself.

0000

Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne lay in his bed, the pain from his now opened and soiled bandages, yet he lay there bare, watching the beauty beside her lying beside him, remembering how she had hungered after him.

"Have you done enough ogling," her lips moved and teased him. Yet he smirked and shook his head and pulled her into his chest as he gave her nose a small peck.

"Not nearly enough," he replied, truthfully, for he could lay there and stare at her for much longer than this.

Her face scrunched up, yet she didn't pull back and only wrapped herself around him a bit tighter as she opened her eyes and looked at him, a storm of emotions and questions hidden behind that gaze as she continued to look at him, before she finally opened her mouth.

"So, last night…" she began and before she could continue, he cut in.

"…was rather spectacular, I would say," he began and saw her roll her eyes.

"What! Say what you will, dear, but all those bite marks on my shoulder endorse my statement!" he joked and saw her face flush as her eyes danced towards his reddened shoulders. For indeed, she had a rather unique habit. Though he should have expected that, after all, she did choose a cat as her symbol.

"I did not mean it like that," she said, as those specks of uncertainty reappeared in those eyes.

"But I meant, where do we go from here?" she questioned nervously, and he pushed back a strand of hair from her face, gently caressing her skin as he replied.

"Where we should have gone all those years ago," he replied, having already made up his mind and felt her still in his arms as she hesitated.

"But what about my past…," and before she could continue, he pushed her lips onto hers, taking away the words from her mouth as he kissed her deeply, and felt her body heat up, yet just as she was about to melt away in his arms, she bit his lip and pushed back.

"Thomas! Please, just listen to me. You cannot date someone like…." She began as she pushed him back, and he shook his head and pulled her back, a little bit more forcefully this time.

"Why not! I am the Prince of Gotham. I can date whomever I choose!" he said as his eyes narrowed, and he gave her a small kiss as he continued.

"And I choose you," he said after separating from her.

"B…"

"No more buts, Selina. No more. I won't take no for an answer this time. Just give this give a chance," he said as he held her hand and kissed it gently as he looked up at her

"Stop running away and give this a chance! I don't care what the world says or thinks. I like you, and that is all that matters," he said and saw her insecurities fight on, yet in the end, the small nod from her indicated their loss as she replied in a small voice.

"Ok," she whispered, and he felt his heart blossom as she kissed deeply and then stopped suddenly as she looked down.

"What happened to the sheets!" she questioned as she looked down and stilled.

"Gods!" she gasped as she saw the wound on his side had opened up.

"Why didn't you say anything, you moron!" she said as she pushed away the sheet and looked at the soaked bandages with a horrified expression.

"Why are you blaming me? From what I recall, someone was not interested in talking at all last night," he said as he gave her a look. Her cheeks flushed as she pinched his arm.

"Ouch! Violence, maybe I should reconsider my choices," he joked as she shook her head, yet she seemed rather concerned about his injury.

"Let me call the ambulance," and he held her wrist and shook his head.

"There is no need. I can redress it myself," he replied, and before she could retort, there was a knock on the door.

"Master Thomas," it was Alfred's voice, and he saw Selina still for a moment.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"I just thought to inform you that Miss Helena has woken up," he informed her, and he saw Selina still at those words.

"I will be down there," he replied as Selina jumped off him, just as Alfred continued.

"And I will be leaving a change of clothes at the door for Miss Kyle," the butler added, and he saw Selina flush at those words as she looked back at him.

"He knows about last night!" she uttered, embarrassment making her flush, and he shrugged as he got off the bed and headed towards the door.

"So, what, soon the whole world will know," he said as he picked up the clean set of clothes left by Alfred and handed it to her.

And he could tell that she was still coming to terms with this new dynamic as he took the clothes and began to dress up.

"Where is the first aid kit?" she questioned, and he waved her off.

"Don't worry about me. You go and see Helena, I will manage by myself," he said. She finished changing and gave him a small peck before rushing out of the room as he entered the bathroom, wincing in pain as the cold water hit his skin, wiping off the dried blood.

.

.

.

.

.

And then, minutes after a small shower, just as he entered the kitchen, a rather familiar voice assaulted him straight away.

"Are you and Selina finally together?" he looked to the side and found the glinting eyes of Helena lasered at him, as Selina beside her groaned and put her head in her hands.

He walked to the end of the take where they sat, as Alfred brought his breakfast.

"Yes. We are," he said as he strode behind Selina and gave her a kiss in front of Helena, whose eyes had gone wild as saucers as she wailed excitedly.

"Finally!" she said as she hugged her sister excitedly.

"I am so happy," she said as she bugged her sister as Alfred came near and put his breakfast in front of him.

"It seems he has finally managed to ensnare you, Miss Kyle," he said to Selina as he put down a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Unfortunately," she replied as the butler smirked, and he chuckled before his eyes suddenly landed on the paper placed beside his breakfast.

"What the hell! That's my car!" he gasped as he saw his infamous Audi on the first page, yet the person inside it wasn't him.

No, it was his brother Bruce, with none other than the Prime Bellerina by his side, both of them smiling wildly as the headline above read.

GOTHAM'S PRINCE RIDES AWAY WITH THE PRINCESS!!!
by Jon Connington

"I did warn him not to take it," Alfred replied, and he looked up at the butler, who gave him a smile and continued.

"..but he was rather taken by your advice from last night," he said, and it all clicked together, for the next headline had a very different reading.

THE CAR CRASH THAT MAYBE MORE THAN A CAR CRASH! THE WAYNE BROTHERS FESUDE!
by Jessica Pearson

"Ohh! I am gonna get him for that!" Thomas replied, for two could play at that game, he said as he put down the newspaper.

"What's this about?" Selina questioned from the side, sounding a bit worried.

"It's nothing. Just a little bit of fun between brothers," he replied, for that was what it was. They had breakfast as Helena quizzed them over their newfound relationship, and he was happy to indulge the little midget, who seemed in rather good spirits despite everything that had happened last night.

Though, he could understand why. Both Selina and Helena had had a rather troubled childhood, and that made them rather resilient, yet despite her insistence to the contrary, he did arrange a for her a visit to a psychiatrist just in case.

Yet, over all this, he hadn't forgotten about something rather important.

The League was on the move.

He was aware of their condemnation of Gotham City, though he had hoped that his actions and the slow transformation of the city towards a better future would have stayed their hand.

Yet it seems that was wishful thinking on his part. Thankfully, he wasn't one for wishful thinking and had already destroyed one part of their plan. Yet that didn't mean they would easily give up. Too bad for them, neither would he. Plus, he hadn't forgotten about the debt he owed them, a debt from all those years ago.

So, after breakfast, he found himself alone. He picked up his phone and brought it to his ear.

"What do you need, bossman?" came the voice from the other side.

"I want you to accompany me somewhere," he replied.

"Where, if I may ask?"

"Arkham! And come prepared. I need to get some answers."

"This about what went down last night?"

"Maybe I will have the money wired in an hour."

"There is no need! You have done enough for me already."

And with that, the call was cut off.

0000

Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

CARMINE FALCONE

The head of the Falcone crime family found himself inside one of Gotham's prison cells, something which would have been neigh impossible to imagine just a few years ago. Yet it was an indication of just how far he had fallen.

He could feel the cops gaze at him, from beyond the bars, their eyes posing certain questions. Was this it. Was this it for him.

No. He thought through gritted teeth, not by a long shot. He was Carmine Falcone. He owned this city. He had already contacted his lawyer, and asked him to contact Crane.

The cops may have substantiative evidence against him, yet it would all be meaningless if his mental state came into question. Crane could not deny him that, not after all the things he had done for his bosses. They would help him, of they knew what was good for them.

He heard the sound of footsteps, and his hope filled his heart as two guards began to unlock the door.

"You are coming with us Mr. Falcone," they said as they opened the cell door and led him out.

"Why?" he questioned.

"You have a visitor," came the answer from the guard as he led him to the visitation room.

Had the doctor arrived already? But the court proceedings were yet to even start, he thought as he let them lead him toward the small room.

In the end, they opened the doors and pushed him in, closing it behind them as his eyes fell on the person who had come to meet him.

And it wasn't Crane, nor was it someone from his family.

No, this was a person he had only ever seen pictures of. The very person behind his headaches, and his downfall.

Thomas Wayne.

The young Prince of Gotham sat there in a chair, looking at him with those piercing gaze of his.

"You!" he uttered through gritted teeth.

"What are you doing here?" he said angrily as he began to knock on the door.

"I have nothing to say to you!" he said, and just as he was about to bang in the door, the prick opened his mouth.

"That door won't open. Not until I say so," the boy said, and he glanced out and saw no guards standing there outside as the prick continued.

"Plus I just want to talk," he added with a shrug and Falcone anger flared up as he turned towards the young Prince of Gotham.

"I have nothing to talk with you, boy," he said, and the boy shook his head and reached into his coat and took out his phone, and after some swiping and slashing, turned it towards him.

"What about now?" he said, and Falcone stilled as he saw just exactly what was on that screen.

It was his family, all of them, his wife, his children, even his secret mistress. All of them going on about their life oblivious to the red dot hovering over their head.

"You wouldn't," he bluffed, knowing about the boy's civilities.

And the boy's eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't kill them per se, of course," the boy replied, making him smirk.

BANG!

And then a shot was fired, and he watched as his mistress began to scream as she was shot in the leg.

"Yeah. It's taking too long, old man. Why don't you just listen to what my friend has to say," came a very recognizable voice from the phone.

And it all clicked together. Thomas Wayne had several bounties over his head, for the boy had done a well enough job of getting on the nerves of all of Gotham's criminal elite.

Yet, to this day, few mercenaries had ever even attempted a hit on the guy, and none would even dare take up a hit on his loved ones. And now he knew why. It was all because of the one man, one of the most feared mercenaries, one who had suddenly vanished overnight half a decade ago, yet Falcone could bet it was now the same man on the opposite end of that phone.

Deathshot.

"Yo! I see you still standing. Maybe I should send your little boy to the hospital next!" came the voice, and he grit his teeth as he looked into the eyes of Gotham's so-called hero.

"I just want to talk," the boy said as he pointed towards the empty chair opposite to him.

Falcone huffed in rage, though a certain part of him was impressed by the boy in question. He had some bit to him, and so he moved on and sat himself down in that accursed chair.

"You are not that different from me, huh, hiring mercenaries, bribing the police…." Yet the boy cut him off.

"We are very different, Mr. Falcone. Very," the boy stressed as he leaned back in his chair.

"I try and help people with what I do, try to scrub off the rot that plagues this city. And with you and your ilk, behind bars," he said as he looked around the cell.

"…soon I won't have to do all this at all," the boy smirked, and he shook his head.

"And that is where you are wrong boy," he replied, as he leaned forward and looked the boy in the eye.

"Soon you will end up becoming the very thing you wish to eradicate," he replied, and the boy didn't falter, his gaze remained steady as he sighed rather boredly and spoke up.

"Well, we are not here to talk about me," he said as he leaned forward.

"No, we are here to talk about you,…" the boy began and for the first time in the meeting he saw those eyes glint as the boy said the next words.

"…and the secret friend you have been helping for the last month."

And the room's atmosphere shifted with those words, as Falcone felt a cold pit grow in his stomach at that.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he said as he leaned back, his mind racing as he tried to reason how he had learned of them.

"I know of the League already, Mr. Falcone," and he gulped at that. The boy indeed knew of them, and from the way he sat in this cell, he seemed to have a suspicion about their intentions as well.

"What I want to know from you is what they are planning," the boy questioned, and Carmine shook his head.

"You have no idea what you are dealing with, boy. And if you were smart you would pack your bags and leave the city while you still could," and he saw the boys eyes narrow as he questioned once more.

"What are they planning?" he questioned and Carmine was about to shake his head.

BANG!

"AHHHHH!" he shook as he saw a bullet his son in the leg, as he crouched down and began to scream.

"What are you doing?" he questioned, knowing that his whole damn business, everything he had built now lay on his son's shoulders, on his family's shoulders. And if they all found themselves injured the Falcone empire would be over.

Yet if he were to speak up about what he knew, about the League then it would all be over.

He grit his teeth as he glared at the guy, as that scathing voice from the phone cut in.

"Tik. Tok. Tik. Tok."

"What are they planning?" the boy questioned again, and as he stared into those eyes, he knew that this one was different.

Though with how much trouble the boy was causing, he should have realized that sooner. It seems that they had created a monster.

A controlled monster. Yet a monster, nonetheless.

"You have no idea what you are messing with, boy."

BANG!

And he winced as he watched his right-hand man fall to the ground. His leg shot just like the others. And with each shot, he could feel his empire crumble further.

"All I know is that he had me bring in some stuff and steal a dozen or so planes," he caved in, knowing that he had no other choice.

"Planes?" the boy questioned and he huffed.

"That's all you going to get boy," he said as he stood up, and then he got up and walked up to the door and began to bang on it violently.

"Heyy! HEYYYYY!" he shouted, yet it didn't open until the boy had gotten up himself, and just as the guards were about to take him away the boy spoke up.

"Ahh that reminds me," he began getting his attention.

"I wouldn't count too much on that doctor friend of yours," the boy said, making him halt for a second.

"You see, he might have gotten himself into a bit of trouble. So,…" he whispered as he moved past him.

"Do make yourself comfortable in the prison, Mr. Falcone, for you are going to be in there for a long, long time."

.

.

.

.

Night had fallen now, and the station was rather empty as Falcone sat there in his cell, angry at that prick of a boy. A year ago, no one in this city would have had the audacity to even talk to him with a raised voice. Yet now, a young bloke had the audacity to barge in and threaten him like that.

"The nerve!" he shouted as he kicked the food tray hard. It hit the wall and made a loud noise.

BANGG!

"That prick! That entitled bastard! I will get him!" he roared, vowing to himself to get revenge over the humiliation he had had to endure today.

"Hahaha!" suddenly, the man in the cell opposite to him began to laugh out loud; that f*cking laugh got on his nerves.

"Shut up f*cker!" he shouted at the man. He couldn't see his face because of the darkness, yet the man didn't stop and continued to laugh as he stepped out of the shadow.

His face was white, covered in pain, his lips scarred at the edges, and were covered in red lipstick.

"HAHahaa!" the man continued to laugh as he stared at him with that maniacal gaze.

"What you looking at, heh! You want me to come over there and knock some sense into you, or you going to shut that mouth of yours, eh!" he shouted again, getting frustrated as the man hiccupped, and he finally noticed how the man seemed to be dressed up like a clown of sorts.

And the prison lights began to flicker as the man's laughter died down as he hiccupped.

"Huhhh! Haahhhhh," the man lowered himself as he stopped himself from laughing before he turned towards him and spoke in a chilling and shiver-inducing tone.

"Why so serious?"

00000

Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

RACHEL DAWES

The last few days had been nothing but a roller coaster for the assistant DA of Gotham City. First, there was the attack on her by Falcone's mob. It had truly shaken, and just as she had felt hope lost, he had appeared.

Gotham's rumored guardian. She had thought it to be a legend, a myth, folklore drummed up by the gangs of the city. Yet he was real. Batman was real.

For any other person, such action would have been enough, then within days of that ordeal, the Police would find Falcone and his men, beat up and chained by the ports, literally loaded with drugs.

And then there was the attack on Thomas's girlfriend. Yes, and she was calling her that no matter how much the two of them deny it. Thomas was a rather introverted person, and though he socialized and went out quite a bit, it was rare for him to get attached to someone. Selina Kyle was the first person she had seen him glance at with literal stars in his eyes.

Sometimes, she felt a similar gaze land in herself, this time from a very different person.

She had planned to visit them at the manor today, yet those plans had been spoiled as she found herself in a car with her boss as they moved towards the Narrow, one of Gotham City's most dangerous areas.

"Now, can I know where we are going?" she questioned, getting frustrated by all this secrecy, and the DA smiled like an idiot.

"Just be a little more patient. We are almost there," he said as he took a turn to the right. She frowned as she saw a number of Police cars lined up outside a building, a yellow tape border erected around it.

"It couldn't be," she gasped as she recognized just where they were and got out of the car in a daze.

"Yeah, that is one of your greatest dreams come to life. We were able to obtain warrants for Crane's arrest," he informed her, and she couldn't believe it. Doctor Jonathan Crane had been the biggest thorn in her side for years. The man was basically a get-out-of-jail-free card for the criminal fraternity of the city.

She had repeatedly tried to get warrants to contest the man's role as Arkham's leading psychologist yet failed at every turn.

"How did you do this?" she questioned, knowing that she had not seen such a filing from their office.

"He didn't," a voice cut in from behind, and she turned and found another assistant DA standing there, one from the West side.

"I did," he answered rather co*ckily, his white teeth shining through his parted smile as he offered his hand up.

"Harvey Dent," he replied, and she recognized that name. There had been some buzz about the new rising star in the West side, and it seems it wasn't all for naught.

"Rachel Dawes," she introduced herself as she shook his hand, and the man nodded.

"Yeah, I have heard about you; I like to keep tabs on the competition," he said with a smile, making her frown.

"Competition," she said, looking towards her boss, who shrugged.

"I am not too young anymore. I want to live a little. Plus, I think I will be content in leaving all this in either of your hands," he replied, making his intentions of retiring clear.

She rolled her eyes at him before she looked her competition in the eye.

"Crane's a crony, a slippery one. But a crony nonetheless, I will be prosecuting Falcone," she said as she smirked and turned away from him.

"Get someone like that, and then I will consider your competition," she said as she began to move towards the building, picking up a pair of gloves on the way.

"Damn! I can see why they all fear you so much," he said as he joined her side as they reached the entrance of the building.

And then a cop stepped out, dressed in rather simple clothing, his eyes tired and frustrated as he looked at both of them.

"I didn't know you made deputy commissioner Gordon," the blonde prick from the side added. Well, he wasn't a prick. But he was rather co*cky.

The older man gave a grim smile as he shook their hands. Unlike her counterpart from the West, she was quite well acquainted with the man.

"I did, and let's just say my wife wishes I hadn't," he said with a chuckle as he wiped his eyes.

"Still, come in," he said as he led them inside the building, which was teeming with federal agents, policemen, and forensic experts. She could see that several of the documents and other furniture in the building seemed to have been burned.

"What happened here?" she questioned.

"What always happens," came the frustrated answer.

"Someone tattled, and our little doctor made a quick getaway. Thankfully, it seems our good doctor didn't have enough time to do things properly. Forensics tells me that they should be able to recover quite a bit of the burnt files," he said, pointing towards the stack of documents that were half burnt.

"How could it get out? I made sure everything regarding this was done discreetly," muttered Dent, and Gordon shrugged.

"It happens. There is no need to wallow over this. We have made good progress today. The stuff in here was pretty incriminating, so I don't think he will be returning as Arkham's primary physician any time soon," he uttered, making her heart skip a beat.

"How did you even get this warrant?" she suddenly felt curious and questioned her West side counterpart, who shrugged.

"Well, my office has been tracking several of his past patients, and one of our leads finally turned up, the man gave some rather damning information about our little doctor friend, add to that his rather suspicious banking history, and I got my warrant," he said proudly, and she smirked. That was good work. She had tried something similar yet had failed to turn up anything.

"Nice job," she muttered as she turned towards Gordon, who, for some reason, kept looking between the two of them.

"So, who is the head of Arkham now," she questioned, hoping that Doctor this time was not someone corrupt.

"That would be….AHHHH!" her head snapped toward the side, and she found a rather well-dressed woman on her back. Her glasses fell to the side, as she winced in pain.

"Are you fine?" she asked as she rushed to help her up, as Dent handed the blonde woman her glasses.

"Yeah, it was just a little slip," she said, seeming rather embarrassed about this slip-up as she put on her glasses and smiled at her.

"I am just a bit clumsy," she apologized as she shook her head. She would take clumsy over criminal any time of the day.

"Dawes, Dent. Meet the new head Head of Arkham. Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel," Gordon interrupted as they shook her hand, and honestly, she didn't know what to feel about her. She seemed rather timid for someone who would be dealing with the criminally insane.

"A woman," Dent intoned, making her frown.

"Is that a problem for you," she questioned, and Dent raised his hand.

"No, of course not. I actually prefer working with women," he said as he gave the woman a roguish smile, making her blush.

She rolled her eyes. The sense of doubt still lingered on in her heart.

"She is one of the best psychologists in the country. No one has a better understanding of the criminal mind than her," Gordon added, seeing through her, and she nodded. It seems she had his seal of approval. That had to mean something.

"Gordon. We have a problem," a voice called out from one of the rooms, and Gordon moved towards the man. Daniel Craig, the head of forensics.

"What is it?" Gordon questioned as she made to follow him. Behind her, the two blondes seemed engaged in rather lively chat, evident by their frequent chuckles.

"Look there," he said as he pointed towards what seemed to be a hidden mini fridge.

AN empty hidden fridge.

"Whatever was inside there has been taken away," he said as he pointed towards the empty fridge.

"What could it be?" Gordon questioned, and the Forensic expert shrugged.

"I don't know, but it sure is suspicious," he said, and Gordon nodded.

"Still, I will have samples taken from it, though I wouldn't expect much," the man added, and Gordon nodded.

"Ok, maybe we will find out something in all the documents," he said, and the man nodded as they moved back, and the two blondes were still engaged in a rather elated conversation.

"So, that will be all, Gordon," said Dent, and the man nodded.

"Yeah, that will be all," said the older man as Dent turned towards her.

"Now, I am planning on taking Dr. Harley here out for lunch, as a prescriptive apology for all the future troubles I am gonna cause her," and she was surprised by the man's quick moves.

"I was hoping you would join us," he offered, and she thought about the offer. And she knew that after this, she was gonna be stacked with work for days, so perhaps she could indulge a bit and scope out her competition.

"Sure, why not! Let me get my bag," she said as she moved past him, heading towards Fink's car to get her bag.

0000

The same morning, in Wayne Tower, a redhead walked into the building, coffee in hand, dark circles around her eyes as she rushed past the staff and into the elevator. She came out on the fourth floor and moved into a specially built lab. A lab that only had one employee.

Her.

She put down her bag, and just as she was about to tie up her hair in a bin, she stopped when she saw a package lying on the table with a single sticky note attached to it.

~Need antidote. Fast. Keep Secret~
Bossman

And she rolled her eyes at this, knowing that only one person in this whole building had the audacity and the temperament to leave a message like that.

She opened up the package and frowned as she saw that it came with an NDA. A surprise yet something which was not unheard of, yet she didn't hesitate to sign it, for she knew that the person behind this had no hidden agenda.

And then she began to work, for it was rare for her to get some actual work. Though that was to be expected, for Wayne Enterprises didn't really deal with a lot of plants and toxicology, and that was exactly her whole memo.

Head of Botanical Research and Toxins.

Dr. Palmella Isley.

0000

Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

JONATHAN CRANE-Scarecrow

Doctor Jonathan Crane was panicking as he felt his body being dragged across by some men.

He had been on his way to the office, annoyed at the news of Carmine Falcone's arrest, knowing that he would not be pleased by this proceeding. And then, just as he was about to enter his car, he was approached by two men, men who served him.

"Where are you taking me!" he shouted, his face covered by a mask, something that was quite ironic.

"I had nothing to do with Falcone's abduction! I asked where are you taking me!" he shouted and shoved, yet the men remained unmoved as they dragged him to a chair and then plopped him down.

"Let me talk to him!" he shouted when suddenly the mask was torn off of him. The bright lights of the building blinded him for a second as his vision adjusted, his heart still hammering in his chest.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I am afraid there was no other choice," came his voice. The man who had begun it all, his eyes focused on him, his hair slicked back as he sat there surrounded by nearly a dozen men clad in black body suits and masks that covered half their faces.

"Why did you have your men drag me like this? You could have contacted me through our regular channels," he nearly shouted, annoyed by this whole ordeal, as the man shook his head.

"I am afraid that was not really a choice," the man began as he walked up to him and threw towards him newspaper.

He frowned as he picked up the paper, yet realized the meaning behind those words as soon as he saw the headline.

ARKHAM'S LEAD PSYCHOLOGIST MISSING! FOUND IMPLICIT IN FRAUD AND ILLEGAL EXPERIMENTS!

And right below that headline was the picture of none other than that accursed assistant DA, Rachel Dawes, making him grit his teeth.

"That B…." he cursed angrily as he crumpled up the newspaper.

"I am afraid our little assistant DA was successful in her attempts to oust you from your office. The Police are on the lookout for you, and you are now a fugitive of the law," the man began, and he finally looked around to try and make a sense of where he was.

"Then why have you brought me here? And where even are we?" he questioned as he looked around. The man. Ducard beckoned him and replied.

"Join me," he said as he led him out of the room, and he followed cautiously, knowing that he had just lost his utility to the man and his group and could be in a pickle.

"As you know me, and my organization have a vision of cleansing this world of evil, of trying to eradicate the rot that plagues mankind to give it a new beginning, a better beginning," the man began as he led him out of the room and his eyes widened as he saw the scene in front.

For they were in a hanger, an airplane hanger filled with at least two dozen small planes.

"And now we have set our eyes on Gotham," the man's voice cut in, making him turn to face him.

"What do you intend to do?" he questioned, and the man turned to face him, his eyes resolute and determined as he replied.

"A cleansing!" his words echoed through the hanger.

"And your marvelous little mind toxin shall be the instrument of Gotham's rebirth," the man answered, and he realized just why he had been brought here.

"But how?" he questioned, from his words it was visible that the man wished to spread it throughout the city, and he knew of no way in which that would be possible.

"Through them," he said pointing towards the plan and he frowned as he saw just what kind of planes they were.

"Seeders," he murmured, and the man nodded.

"Indeed, seeders. These planes shall seed the clouds over Gotham with your toxin, and then as it pours over the city, Gotham shall erupt, ending its long-lasting decadence," the man's voice rose with each sentence.

"And then, with the dawn of the next day, it shall be revived, a new beginning, and new hope, rid of all the rot that once plagued it." The man finished, and Jonathan was both scared and excited as well.

The effects of such large-scale disruption of his toxin excited him, yet he also feared what it would cause.

Though he knew that it would cement his name into history.

"Rejoice, Dr. Crane, for few in this world have the opportunity to reshape history," the man said as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

And his fists balled up as his excitement overtook his earlier worries. As he turned towards the man and asked.

"I will help you in all this. But in return, I wish to ask one thing of you," he asked, recalling the humiliation and how one damned person had destroyed his whole life's work.

And the man's eyes narrowed as he questioned.

"And what may that be, Jonathan?"

"Revenge!"

0000

BRUCE WAYNE

The two Wayne brothers found themselves sitting opposite one another once more, and it was time to continue their discussion from two nights ago, and it was he who asked the first question.

"So, how do you know of the League?" he questioned Thomas, and his brother took a diary out of his suit and handed it to him.

"You are not the first Wayne to come into contact with this organization," he said, and Bruce frowned as he opened it up and scampered through the diary before stopping on the marked page, noting how it belonged to their grandfather.

"Grandfather wrote of being approached by some men on behalf of an organization, one which sought to change the world, the League of Shadows, though he was skeptical of their behavior and decided not to engage them, yet that got me looking into them, more out of intrigue and the more I tried, the more curious I got. That was until I found their trace once more," continued Thomas, this time his lips thinned as his fists balled up.

Bruce put down the diary, planning to go through it later as he faced his brother, a small pit of dread pooling in his gut as he questioned.

"When?" he questioned, and the air was thick with tension. Thomas's words startled him.

"Around the same time of my own birth," he replied, looking at him, and those words stilled him as Thomas continued.

"…around the time of our parents…"

"…murder." He finished in a daze, his mind spinning as he began to breathe heavily, his own fists balling up in rage as the implication became clearer.

"I have little proof of this, but I have reason to suspect that it was the League behind our parents' death," Thomas continued, and Bruce shook his head.

"But what of Chill. It was him who shot our parents," he nearly shouted, and even recalling the name of that bastard still roused his anger.

"I believe Chill was simply an instrument, a tool used by them. For why a junkie would shoot over two people over a simple damned necklace when he could have made away with thousands of dollars," Thomas replied, and he stilled as he recalled that fated night.

Recalled how his father had handed him his wallet. And indeed, that wallet in it had enough money to last any junkie for months. Yet the man had shot them regardless.

"But why?" he questioned as he looked at Thomas, who shrugged.

"I cannot say, but I believe it was because they were like a symbol of hope for this city. During that time of crisis, it was our father's charities and welfare programs that helped this city cling to life; without them, this city would have eaten itself," he reasoned before passing him his phone.

Bruce frowned as he took it and saw that on the screen was a blurry picture of a man. And not just any man, a man who had no place being here at all.

A man whose life he had saved once. A man whom he had once called a mentor. A friend.

"Ducard!" he whispered, too silently, too startled that maybe Thomas didn't hear it.

"This is the man who ordered the capture of Selina's sister and the man whom I believe now leads this so-called League of Shadows," Thomas replied, and it took all his control to not just erupt in rage as he looked up at Thomas.

"Are you one hundred percent certain that this is that man?" he questioned.

And Thomas nodded.

"I am. That picture was taken by cameras on Selina's goggles. He is the man who confronted her and ordered the hit on Helena," he confirmed, and then Bruce returned him his phone as he asked the most important question.

"Can you find him?"

"I can try."

0000

Chapter 19: CHapter 19

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

BRUCE WAYNE

Life had been very exhausting and complicated for Bruce over the last few weeks. Leading a double life was not all it was made out to be, and it was beginning to take a toll on him.

He had spent his night scouring through the city' searching for Ducard and any remnant of his men, yet had found nothing. Thomas tried his own hand at trying to locate the man, yet he failed to bring up anything.

It was as if they had vanished into thin air, yet he could feel the invisible tension build up, and felt that something big was about to happen. Something very big. And Thomas agreed with him.

So, after a whole night of trying to find a trace of the League, he found himself awake at noon, with the Sun already past its peak in the sky. And then, as he walked down the stairs towards the stairs, he stilled as he heard the all too familiar voice of Rachel Dawes.

"I cannot believe you hid it from me for all this time," he heard her speaking rather animatedly as she sat beside Thomas's girlfriend. A topic they had yet to discuss.

Yet it didn't matter to him at the moment, for he suddenly recalled just what Today was the day he was supposed to go out with her, and as his eyes raced to the clock on the wall, he realized that he had messed up.

And then he watched her turn too, and the smile on her face dimmed as he entered the kitchen, trying to smile.

"Hello, there," he said as he greeted her, and even with her response, he could tell that it was different; instead of the usual warmth-filled and caring greeting, what he received was a distant smile.

And his heart thumped in his chest as he saw that before he turned to face Selina Kyle.

"So, I believe you have met Thomas's girlfriend," he tried to lighten the mood, yet he didn't miss how Rachel continued to look at him with a complicated gaze. She seemed rather dressed up, and he knew that he had messed up.

"Yes, I have, and she is even more lovely than Thomas made her out to be," she said as she squeezed the brunette's hand.

Selina and his eyes met, and the brunette evaded his gaze as she smiled at Rachel.

"Indeed, she is. Now, what brings you to the manor today?" he questioned despite knowing exactly why she was there, and then he saw her lips thin before she turned to face the girl by her side as she told her.

"Could you give us a minute, please, Selina?" she requested, and the brunette looked over at them as she stood up and left with a simple.

"Of course," and with that, she walked out of the kitchen, leaving him alone with Rachel, who turned to face him with a complicated expression.

And he finally noticed the today's paper placed in front of her, with his own picture splattered on the front.

"Bruce," she began, and her voice was sad rather than angry, and it hurt him more; he would have preferred it if she had been angry.

"What is going on with you?" she questioned rather hesitantly as she slid forward the paper, and he gulped down as he sat down beside her.

"What do you mean?" he tried to wave it away, yet he knew exactly what she was talking about.

She saw through him as she cut in rather sharply.

"Don't play with me, Bruce. You and I both know what I am talking about," she said as she slid forward the paper.

And he glanced at the headline.

BILLIONAIRE BRUCE WAYNE BUYS A WHOLE HOTEL FOR HIS EUROPEAN FLINGS!
by Marco Phenex

And besides, it was a picture of him with two European models in his arms, and he gulped down as he spoke up, not knowing what to say.

"Say something, Bruce…." Rachel's voice cut in and he looked up to find her staring at him.

"….anything!" she finished, and he nodded as he began.

"You know, it's just a play. A fugazi, a persona that I have adopted… for the um. Company, you see," he tried to reason out, evading the real reason.

"Is it?" she cut in, as her eyes narrowed.

"Of course it is," he said as she held her hands, yet she pulled them back, breaking his heart as she continued.

"Because it feels to me more and more that instead of that, this whole thing is a lie," she added, and he didn't know what to say as Rachel looked him in the eye.

"Of course it is not," he cut in.

"Then where were you, Bruce? Where were you while I waited for you in that hotel for hours?" she cut in, and he could feel the hurt, anger, and frustration in her tone.

"I…" he was about to lie yet knew that it wouldn't work. Not with her, not now.

"It escaped my mind," he answered as he glanced down.

"But I will make it up to y…."

"There is no need for that," she said as she wiped the water from her eyes and stood up, pushing back the stool.

"Rachel!" he tried to stop her, but she evaded his hand.

"I cannot take this any further, Bruce. Not like this," she said as she sniffed, and it took all his willpower not to just spill his secret to her, to unburden himself in front of her.

"Rachel, please. Just give me a chance. One chance," he pleaded as her face flushed.

"Then tell me the real reason you are doing this," she said as she pointed towards the paper.

"I told you it's for the company…."

And she shook her head as she stepped back, halting him mid-sentence.

"A lie again," she cut in, and he looked down, not knowing what to do.

"I had thought there was always something more between us," she began as she her eyes watered up, and she gave him a broken smile.

"But now I think it was just my delusion," she said, and his heart broke as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Have a good day, Bruce."

And with that, she was gone, leaving him all alone, in the kitchen.

"You could have told her, you know," a voice cut in, and he frowned as he looked up and found Thomas's girlfriend standing there leaning against the wall, biting on an apple.

"Told her about what?" he questioned with a sharp tone.

And she looked at him, like he as some idiot.

"Told her about your little night crusading activities," she cut in, and he perked up at those words.

"How do you know?" he questioned, not believing that Thomas would have told her his secret.

"I can recognize Thomas's work from a mile away, and that suit of yours was an easy tell, though there were a hundred other things besides that as well," she cut in, and he narrowed his gaze.

"And is Thomas aware of your own late-night strolls, Miss Kyle?" he questioned threateningly.

"Of course he is," she replied, and he was surprised by the answer.

"Thomas knows everything about me; he even designed my own suit," she replied, and he frowned.

"Though we are not dealing with me, we are talking about you and your obvious infatuation with our assistant DA," she said as she took another bite of the apple, and he shook his head.

"This all is too dangerous, and too many people know already. I cannot involve her in this," he argued, his own heart breaking at those words.

"And even if I tell her, she will not take all this lightly. For no matter what one may say, what I am doing is not right,….

".. But it is necessary..." she cut in before adding on, "…and as you said, too many people know already. What's one more?" she argued, and he gritted his teeth as she picked up something from the table, and he recognized it for what it was.

Rachel's phone.

"Go after her and tell her."

She said once again, and he thought of her words as his mind and heart clashed inside him.

"Don't take such a decision for both of yourselves. Let her decide for her own," she argued, and he sighed as he picked up the phone, his mind made up.

"Thank you," he said to the Brunette as he rushed out of the kitchen, yet he found no trace of Rachel's car outside.

He was still in his trousers and would need to change.

"Alfred!" he called out, surprised that the butler was missing.

"Alfred's not here," Kyle's voice cut in from the side.

"He is gone to pick up Helena from her school," she told him, and he nodded as he rushed up the stairs heading for his room.

Yet, despite his haste, he would be too late.

Maybe too late.

0000

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne sat in his office, tired and lethargic from all the work he had on his plate. The actions of the League of Shadow, targeting Helena, had been somewhat of a surprise to him, and Selina had highlighted that he had underestimated them and their drive and that changes needed to be made.

He was always aware of the dangers posed by this world, even if all these years later, he could recall a few of them. So, he had made several plans over the years, yet now they were being hosted up, and hence his exhaustion as he sat in his office trying to find the League's hideout in Gotham City.

The Wayne phone had launched recently and wasn't still widespread, yet even still, the data he was harvesting from those devices was substantial, yet for some odd reason, there was little to no trace of them in Gotham. And this bugged him quite a lot.

They were planning something. Something big. The vanishing of Crane a few days ago was just one more sign that Ducard hadn't given up on his plans to reform this city.

And he had to stop it at all costs.

And the person standing opposite to him was the key to that. Her red hair was tied in a simple bun, a white coat draped over her red sweater, and the head and sole member of Wayne Enterprises Botanical and Toxicology division sat in front of him, staring at him with wide eyes.

"You want me to do what?" she questioned in a perplexed tone as he rubbed his eyes, feeling the exhaustion catching up as he repeated.

"I want you to work out a plan for mass dissemination of the antidote you have produced," he replied and saw her eyes narrow as she looked at him in a queasy manner. She looked him over, her eyes examining his disheveled state.

"Are you fine, Thomas? And why would you want me to work out a plan like that?" she questioned worriedly and cautiously.

He sighed as he thought of what to say and then decided to be honest about it.

"Because I suspect someone is planning on using that poison on our city," he replied, his eyes still lingering on the screens to his side, showing various surveillance feeds showing movements across the entire city as he tried to root out Ducard and his men.

"What!" she nearly shrieked at his words.

"Who! We need to tell the authorities! And how do you even know that!" she questioned in a single breath, panicking, and he turned to face her, as he replied.

"I cannot answer the who part, and as for the authorities, I have conveyed my concern to them, but we both are well aware of the incompetence of our government, so I would feel much comfortable if we were prepared," he told her and she nodded gulping down nervously.

"Yeah, me too," and he nodded.

"So, any ideas how we can do this?" he questioned, trying to pick her mind, for much like him, Ducard was now in need of a method of dispensation of this poison after he had destroyed the microwave emitter, and maybe bouncing ideas off of her would given him an insight.

She seemed to think for a moment or so, before she began.

"We could have it distributed through medics, and I could make a spray out of it. We could dump it into the water supply as a last resort…" and on and on she went listing out plans and plans, for say what you will about the future poison Ivy, she was quite smart.

Yet he had thought of them all until she finished.

"… or we could simply seed the clouds with it, the weather is appropriate enough for it."

And he perked up at that, his mind racing as an idea clicked inside his head.

"Cloud seeding!" he said as he leaned forward and began to reprogram the search parameters.

Seeding. And then he recalled Falcone's words. Planes.

It all clicked together, and he cursed himself for not seeing it earlier, and there it was on his screen, a heatmap of all the public and private runways in and around the city.

And just as he was running over them, a call came for him.

A call from Bruce.

He picked it up.

"They have Rachel! Thomas, They have Rachel!" he stilled at those words, and he could tell Bruce was affected as well.

His eyes went over the runways and other structures, and he noticed the large number of small planes parked outside one.

"I might have an idea where she may," he said as he sent the coordination to his brother, and just as he did, a bright light from the side interrupted him as Palmella shrieked.

"THOMASS!"

BOOOM!

0000

A very special bike raced down the streets of Gotham, the caped crusader rushing towards the location he had received, as a massive explosion rocks the very foundation of Gotham City. He looked up and found the Wayne Tower lit in flames as an emergency was announced.

'A plane has struck Wayne Tower'

0000

Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

RACHEL DAWES

The assistant DA felt her vision return to her, and the glare from the strong lights made her pinch her eyes and tried to cover her eyes with her hands.

Yet she found herself unable to do so, and looked down and saw that she was bound to a table, her arms and legs strapped to the side. And she finally recalled the circ*mstances in which she had lost consciousness.

After she had left the Wayne manor, just as she had entered her car, she saw someone else sitting inside it, a stranger, and that was the last thing she recalled.

"Oh! It seems you are finally awake!" a shrill, jaunty voice cut in and made her look up, and she stilled as she saw just exactly who it was.

It was none other than Dr. Jonathan Crane.

He looked thinner, and it was the first time she was seeing him outside of the court or for his job. And the hairs on her arm stood straight as their eyes met. For as long as she could remember, she had often sensed madness, a sinking darkness within the Arham's psychiatrist. Yet in public, it would be hidden rather well, yet now this was different.

This was the real Dr. Crane, with all his madness and darkness on display.

"Where am I Crane? Let me go!" she demanded as her heart hammered. She tried to wiggle out of her binds, but her efforts were futile, and the criminal psychiatrist smiled wildly as he prowled to her side.

"Oh, and why would I do that? Especially after everything you have done! After you have ruined my life!" he shouted, and she was taken aback by the aggression and rage in his tone as she looked around and found herself trapped inside a rather small room.

"Help! Help!" she shouted, hoping that someone would hear her voice, yet as a smile appeared on Crane's face, she realized that it might not be possible.

"You can shout as much as you want, but it will be futile. There is no one here to save you, Miss Dawes," he said as he pointed towards the window, and she stilled as she saw the scenes outside.

There were a number of planes stationed outside. Small planes and a whole crew of people were loading something into those planes.

And she had an inkling that it was for a sinister.

"You were always rather nosy about what went on at Arkham under my watch," he began as he fiddled with some stuff at the counter by her side.

"Now you shall learn it firsthand as the whole city shakes and suffers under my might," he began, and she stilled at those words as he picked up a vial and showed it to her.

"What is that?" she asked, her voice shaky and apprehensive as he smiled.

"Ohh, this is my little miracle. Did you know that the first emotion a child feels is fear, fear of asphyxiation? All through history, this very emotion has helped derive change and revolution, bringing humanity to its current state," he began, and she could feel her skin become cold as he deliberately walked to her side.

"It has always fascinated me, and this right here is the product of my extensive research, a toxin to heighten the sense of fear. I was content in pushing the boundaries of the human mind in Arkham, yet you had to show up and ruin EVERYTHING!" he shouted at the end as he stepped to her side and pushed down her arm.

"What are you doing?" she shouted as she tried to wriggle himself free from his arm, yet it was futile as Crane smiled.

"Let me go! Have you lost your mind, Dr Crane!" she shouted, trying to reason with him, yet it was useless.

"I have not. No, this is the first time I have ever had real clarity, clarity about the importance of my work. Work that will help transform Gotham once and for all!" he said as he raised a syringe and pushed it into her arm.

"NO! NOO!!" she struggled as she tried to pry away her arm from his grip.

And then, after a short stabbing pain, she felt a liquid enter her veins, as her heartbeat increased and the world around her shifted, as Crane's face shifted.

Replaced by a mangled, demonic structure that made her shriek.

"AHAHAHAHAH!"

"HA!" she screamed in fear as she felt her mind contort; despite all her efforts, her mind refused to rationalize it all as a voice cut in.

"And I wouldn't count much on your little Wayne friend to rescue you." A shrill voice cut through the air as she hyperventilated.

"Thomas Wayne should be long dead by now!"

Her heart nearly gave out at those words as she barely managed to speak out.

"No, Thomas!"

And then a sharp noise interrupted them as the lights of the massive hangar went out.

0000

DUCARD-Ra's Al Ghul

The leader of the League of Shadows stepped into the burning office of Thomas Wayne as he unhooked the zipline and stepped inside the now destroyed office.

Nearly half a dozen members of the League stood by his side as he walked through the rubble. Broken glass and rubble littered the ground as fires burnt all around.

And there, in the corner of the office, sat the man, one of the two people that stood in his way. The second son of the Wayne family, who, much like his namesake, had refused to step away.

"You!" he barked angrily as blood dripped from his side. He lay there propped up against the wall, holding his side as blood dripped down his side, and he glared at him.

"You are Ducard," he snarled, and he raised a brow as he walked infront of him.

"Indeed, and I have come to learn that you have been searching for me," he reiterated as he put out his arms.

"And now I am here!" he replied, and Bruce's brother gritted his teeth as he continued.

"Why are you doing this? Why?" he questioned, and Ducard looked at the man.

"I am afraid you already know the answer to that," he answered honestly.

"This city has become infested with crime and injustice. The streets are rife with criminals who prey on the weak and the destitute openly with no fear of retribution."

"You are wrong," he cut in as he hissed in pain, as he looked him in the eye.

"Yes, Gotham was troubled and strangled by the criminal faculty, yet the city heals now. People have hope, hope of a better future. Things are changing," he reiterated, and he shook his head.

"I am afraid you are wrong, Mr. Wayne. The city is not healing. Moreso, with your actions. You have not changed this city; you have simply replaced the criminal faculty of this city, for make no mistake, Mr. Wayne," he began as he took out his sword and walked up to the young man.

"You are not the solution. No, you are the very problem that plagues this city. You hold an innumerable amount of power, and we all know what power does to a man," he said as he stopped right in front of him.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power absolutely corrupts," he finished.

"I am not corrupt. I have done all I can to help this city. Help these people," Thomas Wayne snarled.

"And what is to stop you from doing the opposite of that," he questioned as he gripped the blade and raised it.

"You, Mr. Wayne, are a reminder of what is wrong with this city and shall be the first to be culled as I raze this city and bring about true change!" and with that, he swung his blade at the man's head to grant him a swift and painless death.

THUNK!

Yet his eyes widened as the blade simply passed through his neck and struck the rock beside him. A smile appeared on Thomas Wayne's face before his whole body flickered, making him widen his eyes.

It was a hologram. A highly realistic hologram.

"Surprise!"

"WHA….."

THUNK! THUNK!

Then his head snapped towards the side, and he watched as two of his men fell to the ground, grunting in pain as their legs were impaled by some sort of claws, and then two men on the other side fell to the ground as well, grunting and screaming in pain as the sound of mechanical steps rippled through the room and he looked up and found an armored man step out of the smoke.

It was silver, and shimmered in the fire, and covered his whole body. And from the back of the armor extended four claws-like things which had impaled his men.

"It seems people have a misconception that just because I dislike violence, I am not good at it!"

"ARGH!" his men screamed as the claws impaling them retracted, leaving them bleeding on the ground.

"They couldn't be more wrong!"

"ATTACK!" he screamed, and his men shot at the armor, yet the bullets simply bounced off of him as he continued to step forward, unbothered by the bullets which bounced off of his armor.

"This just proves my point. No man should ever be allowed to wield such power," he snarled as he reached for his belt.

"Coming from you, that's ironic. Given up, Ducard, call off your attack, and I will spare you and your pathetic little group of zealots. Otherwise, my men and forces are right now dismantling all of the League's operations around the globe," he snarled, and he stilled at those words.

And with that, the sheer severity of the situation dawned on him.

"You and your group will end tonight," Thomas Wayne snarled as the last of the men were sent flying towards the wall, and as they hit it, they fell to the ground with a grunt, losing their consciousness.

"No, this night shall be the re-emergence of the League. Gotham's reckoning is inevitable. Soon, this city shall tear itself apart, and there is nothing you can do about that," he said as he looked around the room before his eyes landed on just what he needed.

"For that, you will have to go through me first," came the retort.

"We will see about that!"

And then he threw the smoke bombs on the floor, basking the whole area in thick smoke as he rushed towards the other side of the room.

.

.

.

"ARGH!" he heard her shriek and struggled as he dragged her to the gaping hole and held her in his arms as the smoke cleared up.

"What are you doing, Ducard? Let her go," came the voice of Thomas Wayne as the mask around him opened up, and he caught a glimpse of Bruce's younger brother.

They were alike in their appearance.

"Of course," and with that, he swung her across the hole and watched as Thomas's eyes widened as he rushed towards him.

"ARGH!" the redhead screamed as she was pushed off the top floor of Wayne Tower, and Thomas Wayne made to follow her, hence giving him the opportunity to escape.

As he was about to climb up the rope, he stopped and screamed in pain as a bullet cut through the rope, brushing off the side of his hand.

"AH!" he screamed in pain, turned back, and found himself face to face with a rather familiar face.

"You!" He snarled in rage as he recognized that outfit resembling a cat-themed mask.

"Yeah, me, and it is time for payback!"

0000

Chapter 21: Chater 21

Chapter Text

Chapter 21

PALMELA ISLEY

"Let her go," Thomas spoke worriedly as the mask covering his face receded showing his worried face. The man holding her smiled wickedly as she felt his grip on her tighten as she felt him push her gently, and her eyes widened as she realized just what was going on as she felt the floor vanish from beneath her feet.

"Of course," and with that, she was in free fall. The pain from the various cuts and scrapes vanished as the adrenaline kicked in, as she began to scream and try to wave away fanatically, despite a part of her knowing that all her efforts would be futile.

She felt her life flash before her, as she closed her eyes preparing herself for the impending pain. The impending end, until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and she as the sound of glass shattering filled her ears.

She felt herself slow down, and opened her eyes, and through her unshed tears saw the face of Thomas Wayne holding her in his arms, tightly as the claws from his suit held onto the foundation of Wayne Tower.

"Just hold tight," he shouted at her, his face pale and serious as one of the claws detached from the wall, slightly unsettling them before it struck the glass windows of the office.

CRACK.

The glass shattered, making an opening for them. Thomas swung into the now-opened office, and they rolled onto the floor. She could finally breathe again as she felt the floor beath her once more, as she lay there on top of the armored form of her young boss.

"Are you fine?" he questioned, and she nodded in a daze. The pain from her various injuries was gone as she tried to stand up, yet her legs felt weak, and she was only able to do so after Thomas helped her.

"How? Who? Wha…." She tried to question, but he cut in before she could finish.

"I know you have many questions, but there is no time for them at the moment; I need you to do something," he began, and for some odd reason, she found herself nodding as their eyes met.

"The antidote I had you prepare, I need you to make plans for its mass dissemination. Use anything you need. I don't care. Just get it done. Have it all ready for mass distribution at a moment's notice from me," he added, and she nodded, and with that, she saw him turn away from her as he made to move towards the gaping hole in the wall, yet he stopped after a step as he grunted in pain.

"Thomas!" she uttered as she rushed towards him, trying to support him as he fell to his knee, holding his side as he winced in pain.

"Are you fine?" she questioned, yet her eyes stilled as she noticed just how pale he was, and how he had jumped over when the plane had crashed into his office. The armor around his torso retracted, and she stilled as she saw how his clothes were dyed scarlet, even the metal of his armor was colored red now from the clotted blood.

"You are bleeding, we need to get you to a hospital," she said as he shook his head, and struggled back to his feet.

"Not yet, I have to stop Ducard first, he cannot be allowed to get away. Not after what he has done," and with that the mask covering his face covered his face once more, obscuring his face with only a two slits glowing in an ominous blue light.

"Just get the antidote ready. You will know when to distribute it all," and with that, she watched him rush out of the office, through the hole in the wall, using his claws to scale up the wall.

A thousand questions filled her mind. Yet at the moment she pushed them all down as she looked around and found the door and rushed towards it. Opening it, she ran through the halls, her heels now long abandoned as she ran barefoot toward her office to accomplish the task which she had been entrusted with.

She reached her office and swung open the door, and stilled as she saw that someone else was inside.

Someone she was not expecting.

"Mr. Fox!" she shrieked as she recognized the intruder, who didn't seem surprised to see her there.

The aged chief Executive officer of Wayne Enterprises looked up at her and nodded.

"Thomas did mention that you would be coming. I am here to help you," he said as he held up the vial of the antidote.

"I believe this is the antidote he had you concort for the fear toxin," he questioned, and she nodded as she simply pushed down a hundred more questions. After the initial thousand, what was another hundred?

"Yeah, but he wishes for us to make a plan for mass dissemination on immediate notice. I don't have any such plans that could work in the given timeframe," she said as her heart hammered in her chest.

"I do," the old man answered, making her head snap towards him.

"How?" she questioned.

"We could use the rail network if you can convert this into aerosol form. That way, we could distribute it through a major portion of the city relatively quickly," he said as he turned to face.

"Would that be possible?" he questioned, and she nodded as her mind raced.

"Yes."

"Good, then I will make the other preparations."

0000

SELINA KYLE

Her heart thumped in her chest as she stood face to face with the leader of the league of Shadows. From what little Thomas had told her the man was one of the most dangerous people in the world.

When she had watched a plane crash into the Wayne Tower, she had been devastated and had felt her whole life end at that moment as the Wayne Tower's topmost floor lit up in massive fire.

She had tried to contact Thomas, tried to talk to him yet there had been no answer for some time, the explosion had disturbed the transmission making it impossible to contact him as she had rushed towards the building on her boke, at breakneck speed.

She had jumped through the various building and had climbed up the side of the building, fear gripping her heart until she had heard his voice.

"What are you doing, Ducard? Let her go," and then she had glanced up and watched the very man who had confronted her on the docks weeks ago holding a redheaded woman on the edge, holding onto her as she tried to wiggle out of her grip.

"Of course," the man had answered as dread pooled in her heart as he flung the woman out the gaping hole in the building. And as she had slid past her, she had watched a silver blur race past her as well, their eyes meeting for a second only as she had watched him hold onto the girl, before the claw-like tentacles coming out of him, stopped their descent and when he glanced up their eyes met as relief filled her insides.

"I will stop him," she shouted at Thomas as he gave her a subtle nod, while he broke one of the windows as she scaled up the wall once more in her rage, aiming to stop the man who had dared touch her family.

She slid into his office, and as he was about to climb up a rope, she reached into her belt and took out the gun strapped into it, and fired a shot at the rope.

"AGHH!" he grunted in pain, and turned to face her.

"You!" he snarled, and she nodded as she pocketed the gun.

"Yeah, me. And it's time for payback!" she said as she rushed towards him, and tried to punch him, yet he ducked as he tried to counter but she was much more agile than his expectations as she slid under his punch and aimed a kick at his ankle which he avoided by jumping as he took out his sword and swung it as his eyes narrowed.

She herself rolled back and snapped her fingers in a jerk-like motion, forcing small claws to protrude from her gloves.

Both of them rushed towards each other, each attack more vicious and deadlier than the last; his blade cut through her suit, making her bleed from the various cuts she received as he expertly evaded each of her blows, much to her frustration.

"You will need a hundred more years of training before you could think of landing a hit on me," he said as he suddenly kicked a rock towards her, making her shut her eyes.

"AGHH!" she grunted as she jumped back, yet she was too late as his foot hit her in the gut, making her back hit the floor.

"GUGH!" she coughed up blood as he stood above her sword in hand, his own face marred by cuts and scrapes as he raised his sword.

"Now face your retribution!" and with that, he brought it down at her chest, all her attempts at trying to wriggle away futile, and she felt her life flash before her eyes.

CLING!

Yet the pain she had expected would never come, as the sound of metal clashing against metal would fill the room.

And she watched as a metallic hand gripped the sword, as it was literally inches away from her face.

And then she looked to the side and found the armored form of Thomas staring at her.

"You!" Ducard grunted in rage as he evaded a blow from Thomas and jumped back even as Thomas wrung away his sword from his grip and crushed it in between his hands as he climbed into the office with the use of his tentacles.

Selina had always known that Thomas was intelligent, very intelligent. Yet the suit of armor he wore just highlighted the sheer level of his intellect. The mask around his face slid away as his face appeared pale and bruised, with blood flowing down his lip as he stared worriedly at her.

"Are you fine?" he questioned, and she nodded as she helped her up.

"Ye…" but her words were cut short as sirens began to blast out loudly from the city around them, and she looked back and watched as the skies began to rumble. In the distance, she could spot a dozen or so small planes moving across the skies, leaving off a trail of smoke behind them.

She didn't know what it was, but Thomas's reaction told her this was bad.

"sh*t!" he cursed as he turned to face the leader of the League of Shadows, who was smiling triumphantly at them.

"It seems I win in the end, Wayne," he said, and she didn't miss how Thomas's face scrunched up in pain as he stepped forward.

"No, you don't. Gotham shall survive whatever you throw at it. It is a damn resilient city and shall rise up with the morning Sun tomorrow stronger and better than it was as the Sun set today," he said, and the man smiled.

"I shall do everything in my power to see it so!" Thomas announced as he stepped up to face the leader of the League of Shadows, who shook his head as he stood straighter, his shoulders relaxing as he replied.

"You believe you could drag this city out of its decadent state. And maybe you could…" he began, and she saw him bring out on his arms from his back, her eyes widening as she saw just what it was in his hand.

A grenade, and she didn't miss how the pin had been removed.

"…and that makes you a part of the plague that plagues this city. A plague that must be cleansed,"

And she saw Thomas still as well, yet the man didn't throw it towards him; no she saw his eyes move as they landed on her as he threw the grade towards her.

Her heart thumped in her chest as she saw it flying towards her, seconds away from blowing up. She lacked even the awareness to jump away and had resigned herself to her fate when suddenly she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her, as her body was tackled rather violently.

BOOOM!

BOOOOM!

000

Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Chapter Text

Chapter 22

PALMELLA ISLEY

"I am done," she said to the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, who nodded, and just as he was about to speak up, another massive explosion rocked the whole building.

She ducked down nervously as much of the lab equipment fell and crashed onto the floor.

Her heart, on the other hand, sunk as she realized just where the explosion had come from.

"Thomas," she gasped out worriedly as she looked towards Mr. Fox, who seemed rather worried as well.

"To execute the plan, I need the master key to override the whole rail network," he began, and she questioned.

"Who has that key?" she questioned.

"Thomas, Thomas Wayne," he answered, and she bit her lip.

"One more person may have the spare, and I have called for it…"

"I will go and get it," she cut in before he could finish, and he nodded as he handed her a pager.

"The signals are disturbed. Once you have the key, contact me over that. I will have everything else set up in the meantime," he said as he began to walk away. She made her way to follow him, and when they reached the stairs and were about to separate, he suddenly called out to her.

"And Miss Isley," she turned to face him.

"Do keep an eye on Mr. Wayne for me," he said, and she nodded as she began to climb up the stairs in haste, all her injuries and nervousness long gone as she rushed past floor after floor until she finally reached the topmost floor.

The whole floor was a mess, and there was broken concrete everywhere. The roof had fallen apart in many places, and lights were flickering as she made her way toward Thomas's office, her heart sinking further and further with each passing step.

The office was completely destroyed. From what she could tell, the second blast had completely destroyed everything, and a dust cloud covered everything.

"Thomas! Thomas! Anyone!" she shouted, as she began to cough up, her heart filled with nothing but dread until a voice erupted from one corner of the room.

"HELPPP!" "HELPPP!"

0000

RACHEL DAWES

Rachel Dawes felt her heartbeat quicken as the lights in the room died down, and the sound of glass shattering filled the room.

"ARGH!" she screamed as a shadowy creature jumped in through the window; his eyes glowed an ominous red as he kicked Crane in the torso, sending his body flying into the wall of the room.

"AGHH!" The Crane grunted in pain as the shadowy figure rounded up on him, and then suddenly, as he was about to pick up the man once more, a thick mist erupted from Crane's arm.

SHHHH!

It sprayed over his face, forcing him to drop Crane as he stumbled back.

"Hahaha," Crane laughed, his laugh sending shivers down her spine as he walked closer to the stumbling form of the redeyes monster.

"So, you are the infamous Batman, the night prowler," he said as he woke up to him, picking up what seemed to be a wreck from one of the tables.

"How do you feel now? Do you feel fear coursing through your veins? Do you feel your heartbeat quickening," he said as his voice began to grow hollower, as she felt her vision shift as the lights began to glare, and his face began to morph.

"It's a little concoction I brewed up years ago to stimulate the fear centers of our brain. Do you feel it, the fear overpowering you," he said as the shadowy monster grunted back before suddenly the man swung his arm as he shouted.

"And now I shall finally see just who hinds behind that mask of yours," and he swung wildly at the man's face, yet stopped it with his hand as the shadowy figure stood up, his eyes red and eery as his black face contorted in the lights making her scream.

"Impossible," she heard Crane's voice gasp as a shudder ran through her spine.

"You are not the only one who knows a little bit of biology," and with that, the monster twisted the arm, breaking it and making the other man scream as he kicked him and hit him on the head.

"ARGH!" she screamed as he turned towards her, his face scary and shaped like a bat's as he came close to her. She saw him take out a needle, and she tried to writhe away as he held down her arm forcefully.

"STOP! STOP!" she shouted, yet her protests were futile as she saw him inject literal fire into her body, and then suddenly, her vision began to settle down; the glare vanished as the man's face shifted from the red-eyed monstrosity into a masked figure of a human.

A masked figure she had seen once before.

"You," she gasped out, her throat raspy as the man untied her, and she saw that she was still inside the little cabin Crane had trapped her in.

"You were poisoned by Crane, some sort of fear toxin. I gave you the antidote, but that was the last shot that I had," Batman told her as she sat up and looked around the cabin, her arms and legs still stung as she felt her vision clear up.

"He plans to spread it all over the city, and if he succeeds, it will cause complete havoc in the city," he said as he turned to face her.

"We should try and stop them?" she said as she looked out the window and saw a literal army loading some crates into the planes.

"I will, but you need to do something more important," he said as he turned towards her and handed her a card.

"You need to warn the police and the other officials about this, warn them about the attack, and get this card to a man called Lucius Fox. He will be waiting for you at Wayne Tower," he said as he handed her a black card.

"What is that?" she questioned as he led her out of the cramped room.

"Something he needs to save the city," he said as he led them out of the hangar, and she stilled as she saw a few of the planes taking off of the runway, taking to the skies.

"But how will I get there," she questioned as he looked around until he turned to face her, and she heard a click sound before an engine's roar made her turn back.

And right there behind her was the monstrosity of a car.

"Go!" he said as he turned away from her, as he was about to run away, and as she was about to enter the car, she stopped as she shouted.

"Who are you?" she questioned and saw him still as he turned to face her. Their eyes met, and even through the mask, she found them eerily familiar.

Yet no answer came as he walked away, leaving her all alone without an answer. The car's obscure door closed off, locking her inside, and she looked around as she tried to make sense of what was what.

In the end, she managed to drive away, and as she was racing away towards the city, she picked up the card he had handed and began to twist it around to look for any sign of just what it was until she spotted it.

Right in the corner, inscribed in small italics, was a name. A name she was all too familiar with.

"Thomas Wayne!" she read, yet it was impossible.

0000

BRUCE WAYNE

Bruce watched Rachel race away as he clicked on the microphone and whispered.

"Tell Fox that Rachel is coming to him with the master key," he informed Alfred on the other side.

"I will, Master Bruce," came the answer as he looked around and thought of a plan to stop more of these planes from taking off, and it all clicked together.

"Alfred, any news from Thomas?" he questioned as he clicked a button on his arm and threw a small speaker-like device into the hangar with the planes, which began to emit a loud and sharp shrill sound.

"Not yet," came the worried answer, and he watched as the men in the hangar became alert.

"Someone's here," they shouted as they tried to gather up, until suddenly, the sound of flapping wings erupted throughout the hangar as bats began to coalesce around the hangar.

"What's going on? What's happening!" they shouted as bats began to terrorize them all as Bruce reached into his pocket and flung batarangs at the plane that was about to take off.

THING! BOOM!

The engine burst into flames after a second, before the whole plane exploded.

BOOOM!

"Get away!" the men shouted as three other planes exploded, as he rushed into the crowd of men, unseen until he was right behind them.

One of them saw him finally, but it was too late as he hit him in the back of his head, and he dropped down like dead meat. Others tried to attack him as well, yet he made quick work of them all, constantly destroying more and more of planes as he cleared up the hangar.

Suddenly, he saw a few of them brandish their guns, forcing him to jump behind one of the planes as they fired at him. He ducked down as the bullets hit the plane. He looked around and saw a massive forklift right above them. He threw a Batarang at the arm of the forklift, and it broke down and fell on them.

"ARGH!" they screamed as the massive arm fell down and crushed them all. He looked around and saw the men rushing out of the hangar, which was nothing more than a pile of burning metal at his point.

With his mission here accomplished he turned to get out of the hangar when suddenly he came face to face with a man he had thought he would never see again.

"You!" he gasped out as he saw the face of the man he had once looked up to. A man whose life he had saved at great peril to himself.

"Indeed, me!" Ducard replied as he looked him in the eye. He was beaten up, his arm lay limp by his side, his face full of cuts and scrapes.

"Why did you do this, Ducard? Why?" he questioned angrily, and the man simply smiled.

"It was what needed to be done. This city had long lost its soul and needed a fresh start. It is what this order has done so for centuries. When a society reaches the peak of decadence, we come and cleanse it, so humanity can get a new start," he intoned grandly.

"Gotham wasn't beyond saving. My brother had done much to help this city. The city was healing, recovering slowly, but things were changing," he implored, but the man shook his head.

"Your brother was part of the problem. A symbol of the rot that plagued this city and hence needed to be eliminated for the true transformation of this city," he finished, and Bruce stilled at those words as he felt the ground vanish from beneath his feet.

"You can't mean," he gasped out as he stepped forward, and Ducard simply nodded.

"Indeed, it was I who was behind the plane that crashed into Wayne Tower. Though I must say, I was surprised by your brother's resilience. No matter, he shall no longer be a hindrance," he finished, and Bruce's heart raced in his chest.

"You!" he huffed out as rage flushed through him.

"You killed him," he snarled in rage.

"I did what was necessary. Something which you could never understand!"

0000

Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Chapter Text

Chapter 23

JAMES GORDON-Assistant Commissioner

Gotham had never been a peaceful city. The city was a chaotic mess, nearly every second of the day with hustle and bustle in each of its corners, yet despite that, today was becoming rather historic.

And it had all begun from right here, as he stood outside the burning building of Wayne Tower. Two hours ago, he had received a warning from an unknown source from Wayne Enterprises of an impending biological attack on the city and, per protocol, had been forced to investigate it, that was until a damned plane had crashed into the building, limiting his very access to the building.

And now, somehow a city-wide warning was being announced for the people to stay inside as sirens rang out all over the city, yet they had little to no answers about what was going on.

"Can we enter the building now?" he questioned the first responder standing by the side and he shook his head.

"We are still not sure about the level of structural damage the building has taken, just give us a little more time," the burly bald man told him making him grit his teeth.

"Do we have any idea about just how many people are still inside," he questioned and the man shook his head.

"Not yet, though according to our estimates, most of the staff evacuated rather quickly, and the only people that we believe are still inside are Mr. Thomas Wayne himself and maybe one or more other people," he announced, and that was the biggest problem.

Thomas Wayne, had more fame than damned celebrity, and when the news of a plane crashing into the Wayne Tower had been received a whole throne of people ahd gathered outside the building to catch a glimpse of the man, many even volunteering to go inside, yet all of them had been pushed back for their own safety.

Suddenly he watched as the commander of the firefighter unit received a message on his walkie, and then turned to face him.

"They have found someone and are bringing them down," he said and he perked up at that. Hopefully it was Thomas Wayne himself.

Yet he watched as a rather familiar face was helped out of the building gate, coughing and watching yet what was most surprising was how the First responders behind him were bringing out several large crates.

"Who's in charge? I want to talk with the one who is in charge here?" the CEO of Wayne Enterprises asked as he looked around and stepped forward.

"I am incharge," he said as he walked forward through the first responders circling him.

The man looked at him and instantly spoke up,

"I need you to listen to me, Gotham is about to be attacked with a toxin," he began repeating the earlier warning they had received.

"How do you know that? Who is the one attacking the city, and most importantly, how many more people are inside the building?" he questioned rapidly, and Lucius Fox answered.

"I cannot answer the 'who' part, but I have reason to believe it Is the same organization that attacked this building," and he had guessed as much.

"When will the attack happen?" he moved on, and the man looked up at the sky, and he stilled as the clouds thundered loudly, indicating an imminent downpour.

And his heart stilled as he realized the implication, for there had been a massive uproar about some unknown planes taking flight in the skies above Gotham.

"From the sound of that, any second now," the words simply confirmed his suspicion.

"Jesus Christ!" he cursed as he pushed back his hair and faced the man once more.

"What can we do?" he questioned, hoping that the man would also have an answer.

"Thankfully, we were able to make an antidote using some samples provided to us by a concerned party," he said as he pointed towards the massive crates the first responders were still bringing out.

"Right there, we have enough of it to inoculate the whole city," the man announced.

"You did that all alone," he questioned, and the man shook his head.

"No, this was done by one of our department heads," came the answer.

"And where are they?" he questioned.

"They are still inside, along with Thomas Wayne," came the answer.

"sh*t!" he cursed, as the captain of the first responders immediately moved away and began to issue instructions.

"Now, I have a plan of mass distribution…."

"No! No," he cut in before the man could continue.

"You will need authorization for this, we cannot trust the word…" but the man face shifted as if he was looking at an idiot as he took out his phone and showed him, what seemed to be a signed document by the governor himself.

"That enough for you!" the man said, and he nodded.

"What do you need," he questioned.

"Firstly,…" but they were interrupted by massive shouts of someone.

"LET ME THROUGH! LET ME THROUGH!" and he looked back and saw the police trying to stop a rather familiar face from coming through.

"I am the assistant DA! LET ME THROUGH!" she shouted, and it was indeed Rachel Dawes, the assistant DA of Gotham.

"Let her through," he shouted at his men, who acquiesced and let through the disheveled DA, whose face was rather pale as she rushed towards him and the CEO of Wayne Enterprises.

Yet she moved past him and, with huffed breaths, pointed at the man standing beside him.

"You! You are Mr. Fox, right? Lucius Fox?" she questioned, and the man nodded.

"Indeed, and I believe you have something for me," the man said, and the woman nodded as she took out what seemed to be a key card and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Miss Dawes," the man took it from her hands as she frowned and spoke up.

"Do you know who gave it to me?" she questioned, rather cryptically, and the man didn't answer at once before finally opening his mouth.

"I do," and both of them looked at each other, for a second before she nodded and questioned once more.

"Where is Thomas?" she questioned, and then, before he could answer, they were interrupted by massive shouts from behind. His head snapped towards the source, and he saw the captain of the First responders rushing towards the gate as medics made their way to the gate as well, with stretchers and supplies, as an ambulance rounded up and stopped at the steps of the building.

He saw the assistant's DA's face turn ashen as the whole area was drowned by sounds and shouts as the men rushed out the main entrance holding a stretcher, shouting as the body of Thomas Wayne lay atop, unmoving, unconscious and covered in blood.

"NO!" Dawes gasped as she collapsed on the floor, her hand covering her mouth, and her eyes teared up. He saw Fox's lips thin as well at the scene.

"Gods!" he prayed as he saw them rush him to the ambulance before they dragged out two more people, one of them again lying on a stretcher, this one a female, with black hair and a black suit with, as a redhead woman with a white coat followed them, and rushed towards Fox.

"Here, I found it!"

0000

BRUCE WAYNE

Bruce felt his world burn at Ducard' words, the very ground slipped from under his feat as his mind took a moment to rationalize what was being said.

"No," he gasped out as he stood face to face with the man who claimed to have killed his brother, as his anger burned.

"NO!" he screamed in denial, which soon transformed into rage as he saw the face of the man who had killed his brother. A man who only stood there because of his own actions.

"You," he said through gritted teeth as he began to move forward.

"I will kill you!" he shouted in rage as he rushed towards Ducard.

He swung his fist at Ducard, who dodged quickly, and stepped back before retaliating with a punch of his own, which hit him in the gut, yet his armor didn't budge, as he rounded up and kicked him in the gut.

"ARGHH!" the man was pushed to the ground as he coughed up as Bruce was quick to follow along, yet Ducard was quick to react as he took out a knife from his pocket and slashed wildly at his face. He pulled back, yet the knife cut through his mask, cracking it up making a chunk of it fall down, as he kicked him and sat down on top of his chest.

"How does it feel now, Bruce? To be alone, to be the reason of the demise of your whole family," the man taunted as Bruce gritted his teeth, and swung his fist.

THUNK!THUNK!

THUNK!THUNK!

Again and again and again.

After a long time, when nearly half the compound had burnt to the ground, he stopped and watched the bloody face of Ducard smiling at him.

"Do it! Do it and have your revenge," he said, and Bruce stopped his words hammering through his head as he huffed.

He was considering it until a voice from the comm finally got through.

"Master Wayne! Master Wayne! I have news!" it was Alfred.

"It's about Master Thomas!"

0000

Deep in the cells of Arkham, the alarms rang out aloud as the Prisoners rushed out of the cells, many flooding to the streets, which were in absolute havoc, yet unlike everyone else, there was little to no movement in one of the cells. This cell belonged to none other than the city's infamous crime boss.

Carmine Falcone.

The man who had once ruled over Gotham lay dead on the floor, his blood drenching the cell's floor as a man sat atop his dead body, face covered in white and red makeup, his hair a disheveled green mess as he studied several photographs in his hand.

Photographs of a certain black-haired female. A female standing by the side of Thomas Wayne.

"Hehehehe. Hahahaha!"

"Interesting!"

0000

Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Chapter Text

Chapter 24

ONE MONTH LATER

BRUCE WAYNE

Today marked a month since the calamity now known as the 'Toxic Rain' struck Gotham, devolving the city and causing havoc and mayhem all over. Despite the heroic actions of the leaders of Wayne Enterprises, the city did not come out unscathed.

The rain had begun before the antidote could be distributed widely and had caused a massive amount of destruction all over. The League had broken out all the prisoners, flushing the streets once more with all crime.

It seemed as if all the work done by his brother had been undone in that single accursed night. The City needed a leader more than ever as it came out of the disaster, they needed someone they could look to in these difficult times, yet the Gods had decided to test Gotham's resolve as they robbed the city of its foremost pillar of strength and leadership in these difficult times.

For even after a month. Thomas Wayne had yet to wake up.

He stood outside an extremely private and specialized unit of the Gotham General, looking through the window at the person lying on the bed inside, his body still covered by bandages, as various machines were hooked to him, keeping him alive.

His injuries were too extensive, though according to the First Responders, it was a miracle that he was still alive given the state he was found in, his body crushed under a collapsed roof. His spine had multiple fractures, along with numerous life-threatening injuries, the aftereffects of all of which even the doctors hesitated to comment on.

Yet he didn't lie there alone, no for beside him sat someone else. Someone who had been sitting there for months now.

Selina Kyle, his brother's girlfriend. She hadn't left his side since the day she had woken up from her own injuries, and had refused to leave her side. Her eyes were heavily swollen as she sat there beside him, holding his hand while reading to him the latest happening in the world around them.

"She cares a lot for him," a rather familiar voice cut in from the side, and he looked to the side and found himself face to face with a rather familiar face of Rachel Dawes.

He hadn't seen her in the month, the city in its hour of need had needed him both as Batman and Bruce Wayne. Then there was also the fact that, for some reason, she had been voiding him for the last month, and this was the first time they were meeting face to face.

"She does," he said as she walked to his side and looked him over with a complicated gaze before she continued.

"How have you been?" she questioned, and his lips thinned as he answered.

"As fine as I could be," he answered cryptically and she seemed to nod as she turned away from him. It had been a month since he had seen her and he couldn't help as his gaze lingered on her, much more than he would have liked his heart beating nervously as he saw her so close to him once more.

In the end, he decided to ask away.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Rachel?" he questioned and saw her raise a brow. She didn't answer immediately, and silence lingered on between them.

"I think you already know the answer to that," she uttered after a minute of silence as she put forward her hand. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized just what she held in her hands.

It was a card. One of two master cards created by Thomas to override any systems in Wayne Tower.

A card Batman had thrust in her hands.

"Where did you get that?" he questioned nervously as his heart thumped in his chest, and she seemed disappointed by his answer as she cut in.

"Don't play games with me, Bruce. You and I both know you were the one who handed it to me that night," she cut in, and he felt himself still at those words, her accusations true as she looked at him with a narrowed gaze.

There was no point in lying anymore, she knew.

"When did you figure it out?" he asked as he pocketed the card.

"Initially, I suspected that it was Thomas behind that mask," she began as she turned away from him.

"But then, when I thought a bit more about it, I realized the truth: I wasn't Thomas. No," she continued as she side-glanced at him.

"It was you behind that mask, that you were the caped crusader," she said as she looked at him and continued.

"And that whole ruse about that very public life, it all began to click together, all of it except one single thing," she began in a somber tone.

"Why?" she questioned, and he gulped down and waited before he finally began.

"Because this city needed it. Thomas was having an effect in the city, yet it was too slow, and I knew that the city was running out of time, that if I wished to change Gotham, I would need to become a symbol of fear and resistance for the deep-rooted criminal entity of this city, and so I donned the mask," he answered and saw her nod.

"Who knows of this?" she questioned next.

"Thomas does, as do Alfred and his girlfriend, and one more person apart from that," he answered and saw her eyes narrow.

"She knows," she questioned, pointing towards Kyle, and he nodded.

"Yes, Thomas told her. Plus, she herself isn't as simple as she may seem," he replied cryptically and saw her lips thin as her voice shook as she continued.

"Yet you lied to me," and her words quivered making him turn towards her as he tried to hold her, yet she pushed him away as he pleaded.

"I was going to tell you," he pleaded.

"When?" she questioned.

"That day. The day of our date, after you left, I realized that I didn't wish to lose you, that I wished to be with you, so after you left, I rushed back for you, yet by then you were already gone, and then when I drove to your office I realized that you weren't there either, that you had gone missing," he began, telling her and saw her frown as her eyes watered up.

"Why couldn't it ever be simple between us?" she complained, and he bit his lip as he shook his head.

"I do not know," he said as he looked her in the eye.

"But now that you know of it all, what's your answer," he questioned, hope bubbling in his chest as her lips thinned.

"I do not know, I nee…."

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" they were interrupted by the shouts from inside the room. His feet moved before he could think as he opened the door and rushed in.

"What happened?" he questioned the crying and wide-eyed form of Selina Kyle.

"He moved! His hand it moved!" she shouted as doctors began to flood the room.

0000

SELINA KYLE

Selina Kyle found herself staring at the face of the person lying in front of her once more, her eyes refusing to look away as she looked for any sign of movement, any small flutter of his lids, as she sat beside him, holding his hand.

Yet even as a month passed, there was no sign. The doctors had given her multiple latitudes, yet she saw them all for what they were.

Lies.

She had had enough of them. And as she sat there beside him, she blamed herself for putting him on that bed, blamed herself for the state that he was in.

Yet she could do little for him, despite everything he had done for her over all the years, and all she could do was pray. Pray and sit by his side, waiting for him to wake up.

She felt her eyes water up, as she wiped away the tears and kissed his hand gently, whispering quietly into his ear.

"Please, Thomas. Please, wake up…." She pleaded in a broken voice.

"… Please, I cannot take it anymore," she pleaded, yet there was no movement, and she had never thought she would ever miss his co*cky smile so much as she leaned back and prayed in her heart again for him, as she had done many times now.

She had not been to the outside world and knew that the whole city was praying for him. They would often be visited by their butler, his brother, and some other close friends.

She had known most of them except a black man with a weird contraption attached to his eye. He introduced himself as Floyd Lawson and apologized rather profusely to her. Since that day, she could feel an eerie presence around the hospital, keeping an eye on them all the time.

She had an inkling just who that man might be, yet she didn't have the courage to go out and investigate, yet it hadn't been only well wishers who had wished to see him.

Thomas, by virtue of his actions over the years, had made many enemies, enemies who thought of his comatose state as an opportunity to take him out permanently, yet their efforts had been futile.

Thomas's men were on security round the clock, and not just around the room but all around the hospital. And until today, they had thwarted over a dozen or so attacks, themselves with many others having been taken care of by some unknown people.

And then, as she was lost in thought, she saw it happen. And she stilled, as her heart skipped a beat.

His lid moved.

"Thomas!" she screamed as she squeezed his hand, hoping against hope.

And it happened again.

His lid moved as she felt his fingers try and squeeze her hand, and relief filled her as she cried out in a hitched voice.

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" she screamed as she flipped the emergency button and rushed out of the room to look for the doctor.

Outside, she found two people waiting there, ashen and looking at her with complex expressions.

"What happened?" his brother questioned, and she managed to eke out.

"He moved! He moved!"

0000

Outside the hospital, on a building far awaited, a man sat on the roof with a pair of rather special binoculars examining a particular hospital's surroundings and watched as an inconspicuous man, wearing a simple hat, tried to move inside the hospital; he wore a heavy jacket.

Just as he was about to enter the building, he fell to the ground, screaming in pain, gripping his leg, making his eyes narrow.

"Interesting!" he whispered as the police surrounded the man.

"It seems you aren't quite the saint you present yourself as, Mr. Wayne," he began as his focus then shifted to another room at the top, a room where none other than Thomas Wayne was admitted.

Yet his eyes didn't seek out the young Wayne heir, no they were focused on another figure, one who sat beside the Wayne heir, as a smile erupted on his face.

0000

Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Chapter Text

Chapter 25

THOMAS WAYNE

"It is good to see you, Dr. Isley," he said as he lay there on the hospital bed; the redhead woman stood beside him, a bouquet of flowers in her hands, a small basket of what seemed to be fruits dangling from the other one as she smiled nervously.

"It's the least I could do," she said as Selina walked forward and took the bouquet from her, motioning for her to sit down.

"No. No, it's fine. You should have a seat, Miss Kyle," and that last word made him raise a brow.

"Miss Kyle!" he teased as Selina rolled her eyes before turning towards Palmella.

"You can just call me Selina as you did before," she said, and the red-haired woman frowned.

"But aren't you," she then hesitantly pointed at them, and Selina nodded.

"Yes, but that doesn't have to change things between us," she smiled as she moved a bit and placed the bouquet on the table before sliding on the bed by his side as Palmella took the seat.

The week since he had woken up had been hectic, to say the least; his injuries were too extensive, and even after a month and a half, he was still bedridden, his spine broken in several places, the extent of the damage yet unknown.

And then there was Gotham. They had been a little late in the distribution of the antitoxin, and that had caused major havoc in the city, a city which he had helped clean up, yet now the streets were once more littered with crime and injustice, with only Gotham's caped crusader left to scare the criminal element of the city.

He was about to get a new ally, if the news were right, for Gotham City had just elected a new DA.

Harvey Dent.

Interesting.

Selina saw his eyes resting on the TV screen as she snuggled into his side as she snarked.

"Tch. It seems they have all forgotten about you and your heroics and have picked a new favorite," she said, and he raised a brow.

"I was never their favorite," he replied as he turned to face the redhead.

"I am sorry; I believe you must be thinking why I called for you, Dr Isley," he asked, and he didn't miss how the redhead's eyes were lingering at someone beside him.

"Yeah," she said quickly as she turned to face him as he continued.

"You must find it rather surprising that our lawyers have kept the city's police and other departments from questioning you regarding the events of that night a month ago," he began, and she nodded.

"Yes, but I don't know why?" she questioned as her eyes narrowed.

"First of all, I want to thank you for saving mine and Selina's life on that day; she tells me that you were the first person to find us," he began, and she shook her head rapidly.

"There is no need for thanks. Plus, it is I who should be thanking you after all," she said, not continuing as he waved her gratitude away.

"You don't have to thank me for anything, though I believe there could be a little favor you could do me," he began and saw her nod.

"Anything," she said enthusiastically.

He thought of his words for a second before he finally began.

"The reason that my lawyers have been preventing you from giving a statement about the events of that night is because of what you saw in my office, especially in regarding to what you didn't see," he began and she frowned for a second as she tried to reason what he was trying to say.

But before she could, Selina cut in from the side.

"He doesn't want anyone to find out about what he was wearing on that night," she cut in, and he frowned as she shrugged.

"What! Just get one with it," she waved away, as Palmella's mouth opened wide as she uttered.

"Ooh!" the redhead gasped before she turned to face him.

"You don't have to worry about that, of course. I will keep my mouth shut. I won't mention anything about that," she assured him, and he believed her sincerity as he nodded.

"Thank you for this. If there is anything you need, you can reach out to me," he thanked her, and she shook her head.

"No, no, thank you for the offer, Mr. Wayne," she turned him down before glancing at the clock and getting up.

"Well, then, I will be on my way," she said as she got up.

"Please, stay," he offered, but she refused his offer, and soon she was out of his room, leaving him alone with Selina once more, who, for some reason, was eyeing him rather maliciously.

"What?" he asked as she raised a brow.

"Mr. Wayne?" she teased, and he rolled his eyes.

"Is my cat getting jealous?" he retorted, and her eyes narrowed, and that was answer enough.

"Ooo, you are," he joked, and she shook her head in denial.

"I am not, though I would love to see her try," she challenged, and he chuckled as he slid back one of her hands, pushing it behind her ear as he continued.

"You don't have to worry about her, though," he began, surprising her as he continued.

"It is I who should worry in this case, for what you missed is that her eyes weren't quite lingering on me but on yours truly," he told her, and she frowned before her eyes widened as her lips parted.

"Oh!" she gasped as her head snapped towards the door once more.

"You mean?" and he nodded.

"Yeah, she swings the other way," he told her the redhead's secret, something which he had learned when he had the redhead test the prototype of his phone.

"That's interesting," she muttered.

"Why! Should I be worried?" he asked, and she raised a brow as she replied smugly.

"Maybe?" she told him, and both of them chuckled, and life seemed to have eased out all the worries vanishing for a second before they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is there?" he questioned with a frown, for he was to have no more guests for today.

"Sir, it's the DA," came the voice as the door to his room was opened, and none other than Harvey Dent walked in.

"I am sorry for barging in," he apologized, yet Thomas was instantly on edge as Selina pulled away, a frown on her face as well.

Yet, despite his apprehension, he smiled as he spoke up.

"Your visit is a surprise, but what brings the newly appointed DA to my office?" he questioned, and the man smiled.

"I know. I am sorry for the surprise, but actually, I am not here for you," he began, and he frowned.

"Why, you're finally giving up," he asked, and the man chuckled.

"Kind of. I don't think I have much to gain for going after you. Your office seems hesitant about making a statement about the events of that night, suspicious, but I don't think any judge in this city will grant us a subpoena against you," he challenged, and Thomas shrugged.

"That's a problem, but you don't have to worry about that anymore, you can contact my office, they will be able to help you now," he said, and the man was surprised.

"Thanks, but that case is done. I am here for a different reason," he said as he turned to face Selina, and he frowned as he questioned once more, this time his tone much more forceful.

"And what is that?" he asked.

"I am here to talk to Miss Kyle, more specifically about her family," he began, and he saw his words send alarm bells in her mind as she put up her guard and asked out.

"What family?" she questioned back in rage.

He saw Dent frown as he took an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Your father," and the very air in the room stilled at his words as Selina's eyes narrowed at his words before she snarled.

"I have no father!" and he saw Dent nod as his lips thinned.

"You may feel that way, but it is my duty to inform you that Carmina Falcone died a month or so ago in his holding cell," he finished, and he saw Selina's eyes widen at his words.

"He is dead?" she gasped out, and he nodded.

"Yes, he was murdered by another inmate, we are still trying to locate the culprit," he said and he gripped her hand.

He knew of Selina's resentment for her father and his enterprise. Yet this death robbed her of any closure she may have sought, yet he thought of it a blessing. Carmine Falcone was cancer, cancer that plagued this city, and with him dead, Gotham's underbelly would be in chaos for some time, yet their hold would weaken.

In the end, it was a net gain for the city.

"The man included you in his will, and left to you a small sum…"

"I don't want it!" her voice cut across the room as she got up and squeezed his hand.

"Donate it. Burn it. I don't care, I have no ties with the man, you speak of. And I would like for you to leave me and my sister in peace," she barked out, and Dent nodded as he raised his hand.

"As you wish, Miss Kyle," he said as he pocketed the envelope and looked towards him.

"Hope you get well soon, Mr. Wayne," and with that, the man was gone again, leaving the room much more somber than when he had walked in as a storm raged on side Selina as she grits her teeth, her nails dug into his hands, as her eyes watered up.

"Why!" she gasped out her breathing rough as she turned to face him.

"WHY!" she nearly screamed as she lay her head on his chest and let herself let loose, as tears slipped down her eyes.

She wasn't crying for Falcone. No, these tears for the family she never had.

For the father she never had.

For the love she never received.

For the revenge she never got.

0000

Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

THOMAS WAYNE

It had been a week since he had woken up, and though he had yet to complete his recovery, Thomas was getting frustrated because he didn't like hospitals and so after a week of oversight, he had finally managed to convince the doctors that he could sufficiently finish his recovery at Wayne manor.

"I still believe you should stay in the hospital for a bit longer," Rahcel's voice cut in from behind as Alfred helped him settle down in a motorized wheelchair, and he rolled his eyes.

This was the second time Rachel was visiting him, and had volunteered to chaperone his trip back home and he hadn't missed how the assistant DA had been avoiding visiting the hospital, especially when Bruce would be there.

"And I still believe you would make a much better mayor than that 'Anthony' guy over there," he said, pointing towards the TV screen, making Alfred chuckle as she frowned.

"What do you have against the guy? He is pretty popular in our office," she said as she picked up the remote and raised the volume as the new Mayor of the city ranted on and on against him.

"Yeah, and that's the whole problem. The dude's replacing me at your office," he said in a mocking, devastated tone, gripped his heart, and wiped away fake tears.

"And one of the first things I plan to do is launch an investigation into rich and powerful corporations like Wayne Enterprises and crack down on their illegal chokehold on city resources!" the man on the screen declared before ending the press conference.

"That idiot," Rachel whispered as she turned off the TV, before turning towards him.

"But why is he so against you?" she questioned.

"I do not know, I even donated to the man's campaign, but for some reason, he has been positioning himself against Wayne Enterprises for some damn time," he said as he pushed the controls on the arm of the chair and began to move out of the room slowly.

"Well, it won't matter, Wayne Enterprises, and you are rather popular at the moment; if he goes against you, he will simply kill himself off in the next election cycle," she suggested, and he nodded.

"Yeah, hopefully, the guy learns his lesson," he said, and he hoped he did. The man was an okayish person with little to no involvement in any kind of scandals, but his recent tirade against Wayne Enterprises had been a surprise.

Either he had always held a grudge against the company for some odd reason, or there was something much more fishy going on here.

But he would deal with that later. Right now, he had a much more personal matter to deal with.

And he turned up to look at Rachel walking by his side as he whispered.

"So, you have been rather stingy in your visits," he finally decided to confront her about it and saw her slow down as she looked down, before replying to him.

"I have just had a lot on my mind," she answered, and he was aware of just what it was.

She had figured out who Batman was and hadn't reacted well to the news.

"I know, Bruce told me," He said and saw her eyes shift towards him as she uttered.

"And what do you think of all that?" she questioned, and he shrugged.

"What's there to think," he began, making her frown as he continued.

"He is family, and you stand behind your family for as long as you can. You may disagree with them and worry for them, yet in the end, you must be behind them," and he looked towards her.

"And to him, you are even more than family, have no doubt about that," he said. Honestly, he could understand her conflicted thoughts, but she was being too stubborn, denying her heart like this.

And so, as the good brother he was, it was his duty to help patch things up.

"So, you are fine with what he does?" she questioned, and he shrugged.

"This city was a hellhole before I began to act against the mobs, and it was only after spending billions that I was able to make a dent in the mob's chokehold on the city. He is a symbol of hope for the city, a symbol that there is hope, that even if all else fails, he will be there to face off against evil when all else fails," he began.

The last month or so had seen a rise in crime after the mass breakouts from Prisons during the attack on the city, and in these dark times, Bruce had managed to turn Batman into what he had envisioned it to be.

A symbol of hope. Hope against tyranny, fear, and corruption.

"You are a symbol. What he does is...."

"Dangerous," he cut in.

"Very dangerous; he puts his life at risk every day in the hope of seeing this city turn a new side. He has abandoned much for what he does, given up quite a lot, his life, a part of his humanity, he gave it all up without a question," he said, and his tone softened as he turned to face her, as they wheeled out of the hospital and towards the half a dozen cars waiting for them.

The media was there as well, but he had little wish to make a statement at the moment so he gave them a wave as he continued.

"Yet he couldn't give you up because he cared for you. A lot, so please give him a chance," he said and saw her eyes soften as she nodded her head.

"Thank you. I will think about it," she said with a smile, and he returned the smile.

"That's all I can ask. And as far as his publicity stunts are confirmed, you can blame me for that; it was my advice that he does those things, not exactly those things, though, but still, it was to protect him," he said, and her eyes narrowed.

"I know that...." and suddenly, they were surrounded by his men, as they formed a protective cocoon around them.

"Master Wayne!" Alfred's voice cut in, as both of him and Rachel were pulled back by his men who had them surrounded.

"What's happening!" she shrieked as they were all showered with pamphlets, even as the guards pushed them down and covered them with bulletproof shields from all sides.

"I don't know," he said as he was pushed back into the hospital under the cover of his men.

"What was that?" he questioned the captain of the guards as they eased up, and the man handed him one of the pamphlets held with a piece of cloth.

"We are still confirming, but from initial reports, it seems like someone dropped off these papers from the sky," the man said. Thomas picked it up, and on the paper was a picture of him alongside Selina with a joker face drawn on their faces and two arrows pointing towards her face.

"Who is she!"

0000

At the same time, under the light of the shining Sun, the three Kings of Gotham's underworld met each other, their refuge of darkness now long destroyed by the caped crusader that now ruled over the streets.

"It seems we have the same problem," the Chechen began with his long hair and greasy fingers, his accent having hints of a Russian tint to it.

"The Batman," snarled Gambol, the leader of the city's most ferocious gangs, and there was some commotion upon the mention of the boogeymen that had been eating away at them.

"It's not just him, though, is it," came a much smoother voice of the most powerful man amongst the three. Despite their various losses, the Falcones were still the biggest and the worst of them all but had undergone a change in administration.

"This has been going on for much longer than this Batman showed up. All of this began with him," said the man who had now taken over the Falcone empire, Salvator Maroni.

"We don't talk about him. He is too powerful, we have all tried going after him, yet have always failed. What do you think will happen this time," the Chechen asked as he leaned back in his chair, as Maroni added.

"We went for him on our own. But what if we were to go after him as one, together with all our might...."

But before he could finish, a laugh stopped him, as they were invaded by an uninvited party.

"Hahaha! You can try, but you will still lose!"

And then, from the door erupted an uninvited man. Clad in a purple suit, white and red makeup covering his face. No hint of anxiety or fear, even as a dozen guns were aimed at him, as he bowed like a performer and said in a cheery tone.

"Tadaaa!"

00000

Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Chapter Text

Chapter 27

BRUCE WAYNE

After nearly two months, Wayne Manor was alive once more as he strutted through the garden, inching closer towards the empty seat in front of Thomas, who, while still confined to a wheelchair, seemed to be looking quite well.

"So, how does it feel to be home?" he questioned as he plopped down on the chair. As Thomas looked up, the frown on his temple vanished.

"Good, quite good. I was getting tired of being stuck up in the Hospital," he replied as he closed the newspaper and pushed it on the table.

"You have been rather busy," he said as he pointed towards the headline, which once more as much during these two months was taken up by none other than Batman.

The mass breakouts from the prisons had filled the city with criminals once more, and the police were more or less ineffective in dealing with all the gangs and such. So, it was up to him to deal with these people.

He just stuck up a brow.

"What can I say? Someone had to step up in the absence of Gotham's White Knight," he teased, and Thomas shrugged.

"From the way, things are going, and our new Mayor seems to be behaving, that title will soon be taken from me," he said, and he was right,

The newly elected Mayor, Anthony Gonzales, was, for some odd reason, very vocal in his opinion about Thomas Wayne and how much he disliked the billionaire despite the whole city hailing him as a hero after what he and his company had done for the city at great peril to himself.

"Do you think he was behind it?" Bruce questioned about the incident that had taken place at the hospital when Thomas and his entourage had been rained down with pamphlets smearing not just his name but putting in the spotlight his relationship with Selina Kyle.

Somehow, the newspapers had gotten wind of her connection with the Falcone, and now half the tabloids were using this to smear Thomas's and hers's name.

"No," Thomas answered, his tone dark and serious, as he took something out of his pocket and swung it towards him.

"That was someone else," he said as Bruce caught what Thomas had flung into the air. It was a card. A card from Poker, the Joker.

Something which he wasn't seeing for the first time.

"You need my help with this," he asked, and Thomas didn't answer.

"I will tell you when I do," he said as Thomas leaned back in his chair.

"Speaking of that, I had a talk with Rachel about you," Thomas suddenly cut in, surprising him for Rachel had yet to give him an answer, something which was eating away at him.

This was a positive development.

"What did she say?" he asked.

"She seemed conflicted about everything; she seems to be struggling to come to terms with what you do," he told her, and he had reasoned out that much.

"I know," he replied, even as his lips thinned.

"Fox wants to talk to you as well. He wanted to visit you at the Hospital but was too busy at the company," he replied as Thomas nodded.

"Speaking of that, how's the reconstruction of the Tower going? I didn't have time to check on that," he questioned.

"It finished a week ago, thankfully the damage wasn't severe enough to damage the structural integrity of the Tower," and indeed, for while the Waynes were rich, reconstructing the whole Wayne Tower wouldn't have been easy for them.

"Good, then I might visit the company tomorrow; I have been away for too long already," Thomas said, and his eyes shifted towards the wheelchair as he concernedly asked.

"Will you be fine?"

"Yeah, I will be," came the answer and if Bruce saw Thomas's fists ball up, and the skin around his eyes crinkle he didn't contest on that as he twisted the joker card in his fingers.

Just who was this guy.

0000

SALVATORE MARONI

The atmosphere became extremely tense as the door flung open and the intruder entered the Hall, dressed in a purple suit and his green hair, white paint caked on his face with lips drawn on with red pain, that covered what seemed to be scars on his cheeks.

This meeting had been called together for they had realised that this was the best and only time for them to act, the upheaval that had occurred during the attack on Gotham had given them all a new life, yet they all saw it for what it was.

Temporary. For Thomas Wayne still lived, and as long as he lived it was impossible for them to regain the control they had lost. Attempts had been made at his life, yet they had all been thwarted.

And so this parley had been called, the first of its kind for they knew that their survival lay in unity. Otherwise, the two knights of Gotham would eat them alive.

"Tada!" the man joked as he spread his arms wide, and Maroni didn't miss how the lining of his jacket had bombs sewn into it and raised a hand, stopping his men from gunning down the man.

"Who are you?" Gambol was quick to ask, and his eyes narrowed at the man.

"Mee! I am just a helpful clown looking for entertainment," the man answered with a sing-song voice.

"You are the clown," Igor cut in, and the purple-suited man nodded.

"Yes, indeed it seems some of you have heard of me, though i prefer to go by Joker," he continued.

And he had as well, though through only whispers. He was an upcoming criminal, a crazy one who went after anyone and everyone. An anomaly with no name and history.

"Why shouldn't I blow off your head right here you clown," Gambol screeched and the clown waved his finger.

"You could," he said as if he wasn't talking about his own life.

"But then, who would tell you that none of your plans would work," he continued, ridiculing them all.

Gambol was enraged at the insult. The man had always had a short temper, yet Igor seemed interested as he leaned back.

"And you think you have a better plan to deal with him," Igor questioned, and the clown nodded comically, his movements animated and exaggerated.

"Yes, I do," he replied.

"And what is it?" Maroni questioned, finally deciding to listen to what the clown had to say.

He saw his face turn towards him, a small shift in his expression as his smile widened.

"It is interesting that it is you asking that question," he continued, making him frown.

"But you see, I have a policy I don't help criminals for free," and now it began to clear up.

The clown was after money.

"How much?" he asked.

"Half of everything," the man said.

"Have you gone mad," Gambol shouted as he got up.

"No, I believe it was a fair offer considering that you wish to take down the city's richest and most powerful man," the joker continued.

"Batman is not your problem. No, he is dangerous, alright, but he is a myth, a legend. He may incite fear in you, but Thomas Wayne-Ohhh, he is different. He has removed your fear from the people, he has eroded away at your power, decimating your image throughout the underworld, slowly, and has reduced you all to...."

He came to a halt as he leaned forward and looked them all in the eye.

"...crying little babies!" and he could see Gambol getting flushed at those words.

"He is beating you all at your own game, and you are all here twiddling your thumbs,"

"Enough!" Gambol stood up and struck the table.

BANG!

"Not so fast! Not so fast, you see," the clown said as he backed off and tilted his jacket, showing off the bombs strapped to the inside.

"I will leave my calling card here, so you can contact me when you ultimately decide to hire me. You will see a sample of my work in the news tomorrow," and with that the man ran off towards the centre.

"And you better decide quickly because you don't have much time," and with that, he walked off, giving them all a short bow.

"After him!" Gambol shouted as him and Igor motioned for their med to do the same, yet a part of him felt that this was not going to be fruitful if the man had invade this space, eh would have prepared an escape plan as well.

"What did he mean by that?" Gambol asked, the question which was on all of their minds until Igor called off.

"You girl, get me something to eat," he said to a waitress standing behind him.

"Yes, of course, sir," and he watched as she moved away, accepting his command.

And had he noticed, he would have realized that this was not a regular waitress. No, her name was Talia, as displayed on her badge.

Yet what was more important was that the second name was left unwritten.

A day later, deep in the underground of Gotham City, in the darkness, a man sat infront of an old TV watching a clip of Thomas Wayne stepping out of his hospital as he was showered with pamphlets.

One of which eh held in his own hands, as he looked at the face of the girl highlighted.

"Interesting!" he eked out, his voice a husky murmur, for his face was covered by a mask, a mask which kept him alive.

0000

Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Chapter Text

Chapter 28

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas was once more outside the Wayne Tower, the building and its surroundings had changed somewhat over the months, new security systems had been installed and it seemed the number of security personnel had been increased as well.

The periphery was once more filled with a throng of journalists heckling him for a quote. He would ignore them most of the time, yet the recent attacks on him and his family by the mayor had prompted him to give a small statement yesterday, something which went against his usual norms as he had his sources dig into why the man had turned on him like this.

Thomas had donated to the man's campaign, and though he wasn't the ideal person to lead Gotham, he was astute enough that he would do. Or so he had thought.

But he would deal with him when the time comes, as he pushed up the control stick and ascended the ramp to the gates, which were swung open as the man around them greeted him warmly.

"It is good to see you back, Master Wayne," and Thomas nodded, a smile appearing on his lips as he took in the all too familiar smell of the Wayne tower.

"It is good to be back," he said and could see the staff smiling and greeting him as he moved past them, though unlike most of them, he didn't miss how the person he was waiting for didn't have such a festive expression on their face.

"You don't look happy to see me. Should I fear for my future in this company," he joked, and the man's lips turned up, yet the tightness in his eyes didn't vanish.

"I am elated to see you, though I believe you owe me some answers," the man began, and Thomas nodded as he let the man lead him to the private elevator, and as the doors closed, he put in his own keycard.

"I had always known that you were smart when you walked into the board room as a mere teenager. Your eyes had held a certain glint of knowledge and maturity that I have seen in few men in my lifetime," the black man began as the elevator began to descend slowly.

"And then I was proven right when you formed the new division and made the leaps and bounds you made, transforming the very landscape of several industries," he said as he finally turned to face him.

"Yet even I didn't know that you were holding back this much, Master Wayne," he said, and Thomas smiled as the doors of the elevator swung open to reveal the hidden basem*nt underneath the Applied Physics inventory, only accessible right now to two individuals in the entire world.

"If you knew about it, it wouldn't have been called holding back," Thomas replied as he moved out of the chair, the cybernetic exoskeleton spread over his legs and back, supporting his weight as he stepped up beside Fox, as they walked towards the massive case erupting out of the ground housing none other than his suit of armor.

"A motorized exoskeleton, machined with a special bulletproof, fire-proof ally, the cybernetics, the machining, and most importantly, the power source," the man began to list off as he looked at the shining piece of beauty.

"This is decades ahead of anything I have ever seen," the man began, and Thomas nodded.

"It is," he confirmed.

"I must ask you, why did you build such a thing?" Fox asked, and Thomas sighed as he looked the man in the eye.

"The short answer is because I could because the lives of people I care about were at stake, and I decided that enough was enough, that we needed a deterrent in the

face of such threats, one which would help me face enemies of scale you cannot even imagine," he answered.

"Enemies like the League of Shadows?" he followed on, surprising him with that name.

His curiosity and surprise must have shown as he raised a brow.

"Once doesn't live as long as I and not know a thing or two about such thing," he said, and Thomas nodded, yet still, the man was being naive if he thought the league was the end of things.

"May the Gods prove me wrong, but if my fears were to come through, these threats would make the League look like simpletons," he replied as he looked at the shining logo of the white knight, as fears he had long buried erupted in his heart.

This world was dangerous, he had always known that, yet he had tampered with his expectations about the extent of this danger, yet the incident with the league had opened his eyes. He had been caught unaware.

While his actions in the transformation of Gotham were good and virtuous, he had forgotten about just the nature of this world and what threats it could eventually pose.

There was silence as Fox thought over his words.

"I believe you," he replied, surprising him, as he frowned, for he was surprised. He had thought the man would ask for more, maybe even resign, not that he would let him.

"I have watched you grow up over the years, Master Wayne, and while I may not agree with you over certain things, but I have not known you to lie," he began as he took off his glasses and rubbed his temple.

"So, if you say such threats do exist, then I believe you," he began, and Thomas was relieved by the man's trust as he nodded.

"And yes, I had the software division patch up the vulnerability you used to remove all data related to the sighting of your precious suit," he said with a raised brow.

It was one of the most important things, any information about the sighting of his suit had been scrubbed off, most of it had been digital and all it had taken was a simple software to delete it all.

"And I still can not believe you left such a vulnerability on purpose," he sighed, and Thomas's lips turned up, making him stop as his eyes narrowed.

"That wasn't the only one, was it?" he questioned, and Thomas shrugged.

"What can I say?"

"Master Thomas, if such a thing is found out, the press and the government...." but before he could say more, Thoams cut in.

"Will do nothing," he replied, making the man frown.

"Every government, every competitor does the same. However, while they use the data for nefarious purposes, I only use it for the betterment of society, and if you are still at odds with this, have the software team look through the code and begin repairing it. They will catch up to me in..." and he pretended to look at a watch as he said.

"...decades perhaps," he challenged.

"I hope you know wh...." but his words were cut off once more as his cell phone began to ring, making him frown as he put it to his ear.

"What is it, Miss Heather?" he questioned.

"Sir, there are some people here demanding to see Master Wayne?" she remarked.

"Do they have an appointment?" he asked as Thoams frowned.

"Sir, they are from the Police, and they are saying they are here to arrest Mr. Wayne," her words made him still momentarily, and he could tell that Lucius was surprised as well as he asked forward.

"On what charges may I ask?" he questioned.

"For the murder of Carmine Falcone!"

0000

Back in Wayne Tower, a groggy Selina Kyle sat in the kitchen eating a healthy breakfast for the first time in months as suddenly a breaking news began airing on the TV, and she heard a voice she had thought she would never hear again.

"My name is Carmine Falcone, and if you are hearing this, I am probably dead..." the spoon halted in her hands as her head snapped towards the TV screen where the face of Gotham's mob boss was on the TV screen.

"...and the person responsible for my death was none other than Thomas Wayne!"

0000

Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Chapter Text

Chapter 29

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne found himself sitting inside a Gotham holding cell. A small white light illuminated the cell, as the seat opposite to him sat empty.

Yet he was aware that he wasn't as alone as it may seem, for a horde of people would be scrutinizing his every move from the other side of the two-sided mirror. His stay would be short-lived, no matter the evidence or the nature of the allegations against him, the Wayne lawyers were probably on their way here, while motions and appeals were being filed this instant on his behalf to secure his release.

The door to the room opened, and the all too familiar face of Gotham's newest DA appeared as Harvey Dent walked into the room.

"I didn't think I would be seeing you again so early, Mr Dent," he remarked as he leaned back in the chair, and the blonde shrugged.

"Me neither," he replied as he sat down in the chair opposite to him and slid forward a folder.

Thomas glanced at it, it was fortification of his right to have a lawyer present.

"Why would I ever sign that?" he said as he slid it back.

He raised his brow as he took a sip of water.

"I don't know, maybe to prove your innocence," he said, and Thomas smiled as he pushed it back.

"I am not an idiot, Mr. Dent. I am innocent, but I am also aware of my rights," he said and the blonde's lips thinned, and there was a momentary narrowing of his eyes as he closed the file and pocketed the pen.

"So, be it then, let us have a talk...."

"I am not saying anything until my layers are here, and by then, I can assure you I will be leaving this place, cutting short this rather lovely reunion," Thomas barked, and he could tell that he had foiled the man's plans as his brows twitched lightly, as Dent leaned back.

"I am surprised. I thought you would be more open, more willing to prove your innocence," he said to Thomas.

"As I said, I am innocent, and that will be proven in due time," he said, and Dent knew that he wasn't going to get a response.

"Still, you do know who Carmine Falcone was?" he questioned, and though the question was innocuous, Thomas knew that in the next series of questions, one wouldn't be.

So, he stayed quiet, smiling, as he waved at the mirror, knowing that a person on the other side would be listening to this whole farce.

0000

RACHEL DAWES

Rachel Dawes was pissed. She was livid, much more than she could ever recall herself being. She strode into the office and watched as her workers backed off until she walked towards the special interrogation room, having already learned where Thomas was being held.

The guards outside tried to stop her, but she gave them a pointed glare as she emphatically mouthed.

"Get out of my way!" They looked at each other, and maybe she realized the threat implied in her tone. She stepped out of her way as she entered the room.

And in there stood the cause of her anger, her boss.

"You!" she snarled as she pointed towards him, as he looked towards her surprised for a second.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing?" she questioned, as her eyes glanced at the rather calm and composed form of Thomas sitting on the opposite side of that two-way mirror.

"Yes, I do, and your reaction tells me that I was right to keep you out of it," and she made that connection about why she had been given a day off.

"Keep me out of it! Out of what this farce! You have arrested Thomas Wayne. Wayne, which judge even signed off on this warrant on the basis of nothing but a video," she shouted.

"A forensically authenticated video, and that was not the only thing," he said as he handed her a file, a file filled with evidence, planted, of course, she thought, for she knew that Thomas was innocent.

"This must be planted, of course," she said, and even then, this is all circ*mstantial at best," she argued as she handed him back the folder.

"I understand that he is your friend, but your friend is not as innocent as he may seem," he said, and she frowned.

Thomas was guilty of things, many things, yet murder he would never do. He was a businessman, and even as a teenager, she knew that he was of the more ruthless variety of businessmen, playing on the edge, yet she knew that the boy who had grown up with her would never do anything to harm anyone.

"Half the city is in his pocket, and all of us pretend as if he is some saint, but he is not. He is just as dirty as the mob. e all don't know it yet," he said, and she was surprised by the vitriol in his tone.

"Do you even hear yourself? You are comparing him to the Mob! Like the literal f*cking Mob!" she balked, yet Dent shrugged.

"I am. Now let me have a crack at him before his team of lawyers show up," and with that, he left off and entered the room as she sighed loudly, gritting her teeth, her eyes darting towards Thomas, who seemed unbothered as he sat there impassively, his eyes darting towards the mirror as if he could look through it.

Dent sat down and began talking to him, and she could hear Thomas refusing to sign on and cooperate any further. She knew that this wasn't the first time he was being called in for questioning, though otherwise, it had been mostly for matters related to Wayne enterprises.

Dent was getting frustrated he had underestimated Thomas; many did because of his age, yet they forgot that Thomas was not a simple person for people his age would barely be out of university while he was leading one of the country's biggest Enterprises and changing the world.

She saw his lips turn up as he continued to frustrate Dent while he gave her a wave, making her smirk when suddenly the doors beside her opened.

She looked to the side and saw a team of lawyers walk in. Some of them had worked with a couple in the past, she recognized.

"It is good to see you, Miss Dawes," said Katherine Spencer, a very, very famous lawyer she had no idea worked for Thomas.

"You are Katherine Spencer," she said to the woman at the front, who seemed impressed.

"You recognize me?" she said as the other lawyers moved past her into the interrogation room.

"Of course, I would. I didn't know that you worked for Wayne Enterprises," she said, and the lady answered.

"I don't, at least not in the traditional sense. But Thomas is an investor in my firm, and I owe him a lot for that. So, if it is for him, I will be there," she replied.

Katherine Spencer was a big name who went after the Mob as a federal prosecutor, but a couple of years ago, she left her job disappointed and opened up a private firm to go after the big shots. Her office wouldn't let her prosecute. And now it made sense.

"Thomas talked quite a bit about you. He looks up to you quite a bit," she remarked, making Rachel blush as the doors opened behind her.

"Rachel!" Thomas's voice cut in, making her glance back, a nervous tension in her body as she didn't know how to face him.

"Thomas..." she tried to begin but was cut off as he spoke up.

"You still on for the dinner on Sunday? Alfred will kill me if you aren't there," he said as if he hadn't just stepped out of an interrogation office.

She smiled as she nodded, realizing that it was his way of telling her that things hadn't changed between them.

"Yeah, tell him I will be there," she said, agreeing to his offer.

"So, it takes me going into a holding cell to get you out of DC," he said as he looked toward Spencer, who rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a baby. You were barely in there for an hour," Katherine scoffed as Thomas's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, an hour, and for that, I am going to waste one of yours. Tomorrow is Sunday. You will be joining us for lunch and no protests. Now I have to get back to my company," and with that, he was off, though just as he was about to leave the room, another voice cut in from behind.

"Don't get too comfortable, Mr.Wayne," cut in Dent as he stepped out, a glint in his eyes as he stared at Thomas.

Thomas stopped, his eyes narrowing as he glanced back, and that gaze sent a chill down her spine as she heard him mouth in an icy tone, one which she had never heard him use before.

"We will see about that?"

0000

Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Chapter Text

Chapter 30

ALFRED PENNYWORTH

The Wayne family had been under much turmoil since the return of Master Bruce, though he didn't believe him to be the cause of it all. It was just circ*mstances.

He had thought it all ended after Master Thomas had woken up in the hospital. The time he had been in the coma had been tumultuous, for a while it didn't feel as such, but only in his absence did it become clear how Master Thomas was at the center of nearly everything.

Even now, as the garden of Wayne manor entertained a small gathering, it wasn't much only old friends and families, and some new ones, he thought as he glanced towards Miss Katherine Spencer.

An accomplished lawyer he had heard and a not-so-simple person he had guessed as she sat alongside Miss Dawes as both ladies whispered conspiratorially to each other. From what he had managed to glean, the older woman was somewhat of a role model for Miss Dawes, not that she herself was any less impressive.

Miss Kyle Senior, for her little sister, had found the gathering too boring and had already left to go to a friend's house. She sat alongside Master Thomas as the lovebirds remained attached at the hip, with Master Bruce still yet to arrive.

It was a small affair, unlike what the manor would host when the young Masters were yet to grace the world, but still a rather lovely one and a much-needed improvement on the dreariness that had overtaken the home when the young Master was in the Hospital.

He approached the young Master, handing him his glass as Miss Kyle slid away from his lap.

"You seem rather spry for someone who has just been to jail," he added. The young Master smirked as he took his drink from him, a simple negroni, his drink of choice on special occasions.

"Ahh, I am, and it's all thanks to my dear friend here," he answered as he pointed towards Miss Spencer, who rolled her eyes.

"He was there for less than an hour, don't make him into a hero for this," she said and he saw Miss Rachel shift nervously a bit at that.

"And it was a second too long," Miss Kyle suddenly added from the side as she wrapped her arm around Master Thomas.

"He is innocent, and yet they had the audacity to arrest him over a damned video," she snarled in rage, and Miss Spencer nodded.

"Indeed, the attorney was being heavy-handed. The video needs to undergo a forensic to verify its voracity. He made a mistake when he overreached, and he will suffer for it if he decided to take this to trial," she added and Miss Dawes cut in.

"I might resign if he does," she added, and Miss Spencer cut rather quickly as she shook her head at Miss Dawes.

"Why should you? Just recluse yourself, and that will be enough."

"Yeah, she is right. There is no need to jeopardize your career over this. It will all blow over soon," added Master Thomas.

"But what of the media? They will make a scandal out of this. The whole city knows about us..." Miss Dawes said, sounding worried, but her words were cut short as Master Thomas chimed in.

"I will handle the media, as I have done so for all these years. There is no need to worry," he waved away her concern as he sipped his drink, as Miss Dawes smiled.

"A month ago, this city sang praises of him and called him an angel for what he had done to save them. And now they arrest him, and for what..." began Miss Kyle as they looked towards young Master.

"Even if he didn't kill Falcone, they should be thankful to whomever d..."

"Selina!" Master Thomas cut in, stopping her from finishing the sentence. He saw her grip her hand as the mood of the atmosphere turned sour. Thankfully, Master Bruce's arrival provided a much-needed break.

"I am sorry for being late," Master Bruce began as he walked in dressed in a fine suit.

"I had just heard that my brother had been arrested," he said with a smirk towards Master Thomas, who rolled his eyes as Miss Spencer and Miss Dawes laughed at the small joke.

He saw his eyes locked with Miss Rachel as the two of them hugged each other before he was introduced to Miss Spencer.

"I believe I have you to thank for getting him out of the prison," he said, and the woman smirked.

"It's a mistake I may come to rue," and with that, he joined them, and the garden became lively, and Alfred smiled at the simplicity of it all.

It was beautiful and intimate if the constant lapse of gazes between Master Bruce and Miss Dawes was anything to go by, and he wasn't the only one who had noticed that as Miss Spence's gaze continued to shift between the two.

"Ohh, speaking of that. For some reason, our little Master Thomas has some rather interesting slew of admirers," suddenly Miss Spencer cut in.

"Ohh, anyone I should be worried about," questioned Miss Kyle as she tightened her arms around Master Thomas's neck..

Miss Spencer seemed to stew on it for a second before she shook her head.

"Not that I can think of, though there was this one person." She suddenly began as everyone leaned in at those words.

"She was a rather interesting character; she somehow knew a bit about his investment in my firm. An ex army-woman, Diana Prince, I believe her name was, she could be a little challenge," she said with a smirk towards Miss Kyle, whom she was somehow already aware of. Alfred could guess why, though.

Miss Kyle's troublesome past was known to him, and he was also aware that Master Thomas had all that cleared away so that it would not trouble her anymore. He believed that he had employed Miss Spencer's services in that regard.

"I would like to see her try," spoke Miss Kyle as she made a face at that, and everyone chuckled except Master Thomas, who seemed to be in a daze.

"Are you sure that her name was..." but Master Thomas's words were cut short as his phone rang, and he wasn't the only one as the sound of various ringtones erupted across the table as everyone turned towards the phone. As for Alfred himself, he was still not used to carrying a phone with him, though he did have one, and even he felt it vibrate in his breast pocket.

However, he didn't need to reach for it as the sound of a cackle of a voice erupted through the ceiling as Master Thomas's phone began to play a video.

"Hello there, Gotham. It's your very own source of entertainment here, and today I am here to tell you about the two biggest frauds of this city." He moved a bit and found himself staring at the face of the same man who had brought Miss Spencer to them.

His face was covered with white makeup, his hair green though he couldn't tell through the black and white quality of the video. This was the man in the video that had aired a day ago, accusing Master Thomas.

This was the infamous Joker.

"I showed you one of them when we met previously as I showed you the true nature of the benevolent overlord Thomas Wayne and what a face it was. A murderer," he began to laugh as pictures of Falcone flashed on the screen.

"And you will be surprised to know that despite everything, your overlord runs free even today despite everything. The police, the criminal justice system, hopeless to prosecute him as they would do to you and me for stealing a loaf of bread," he continued, and he watched Master Thomas's lips thin.

All of them had their eyes glued to the screen now, faces tense as they heard him continue.

"And as for the second fraud, it is none other than the overlord of the night. The protector of the weak, the guardian of the poor. And what does he call himself," he frowned as he tapped his head comically.

"The Batman!" he finished his tone severe and cold and he watched Master Bruce's lips thin at those words.

"Ohhh! He is a hero, he catches criminals, protects the weak. I say lies! Lies! ALL OF THEM LIES!" the joker shouted, the video shook violently as he continued.

"He will go after the small-time crooks and criminals. The ones he can afford to go after, yet when it comes to true criminals, the overlords, and the rich bastards like Thomas Wayne, he will stand by and let them rape this city! He is no hero! What he is complicit!" the Joker announced, and he sounded ominous.

"Or he could prove otherwise, bring to justice the criminal mastermind that is Thomas Wayne, and show the city how he truly stands for justice," he continued rather nonchalantly.

"And just for motivation, every day that the criminal named Thomas Wayne walks free, I will unalive a random employee from his criminal enterprise. Hahahaha," and then he began to laugh as Master Thomas's expression turned grim.

"That will be all! Tadaa!" and with that, the screen turned gray as silence hung in the air. Everyone's face was ashen, and he watched as the eyes of the two brothers met before suddenly Master Thomas turned away and forced himself out of the chair.

"Thomas!" Miss Dawes spoke worriedly, for he was yet to heal completely, and even he was worried, much like everyone else who reached forward to help him but was forced back by Master Thomas's gesture as he stood up and picked up the cane from the side.

"I am fine," he said as he began to walk away.

"I need to make a call!"

And Alfred prayed to the Gods that they may take mercy on the Wayne family for hadn't they suffered enough.

And that was not the only call that would happen as the assistant commissioner of Gotham, J. Gordon, would receive a call from the DA's office.

"We need to talk!"

000

Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Chapter Text

Chapter 31

JIM GORDON

Gotham was a strange city, a resilient city. He had spent nearly all his life in the city and had watched it wade through tough times with his own eyes. He had seen the streets fill with crime and hopelessness, seen the very people sworn to protect the innocents become the very monsters they were supposed to shield the populace from.

Yet the city was resilient, surviving through it all until the times had eventually gotten better. And loathe as he was to admit it, it was change driven by none other than the richest person in the city.

Thomas Wayne had done what he and the law enforcement agencies were supposed to, he had systemically hit the underworld that ruled the city by giving the people a path away from them to make an honest living, and he was sure that the man had done much more, to lessen the influence of the crime syndicates on everything.

And it had worked, people were fired, right people were promoted including him, and the bad guys were prosecuted. Thomas Wayne was no saint, yet to many in Gotham, the man was a hero.

He had misgivings about the man's intentions, yet to this day, he had yet to find evidence about his nefarious intentions, so he would give him the benefit of the doubt, for the man who had changed this city deserved it.

"You have to arrest him," spoke Gotham's DA. The young man, Harvey Dent, had seemed like a ray of light in the darkness, yet as he saw him sit opposite him, Jim doubted that maybe he had been too quick in passing judgment.

"I cannot. There is nothing to arrest him on," he replied, as he had to several others after the infamous video of the Joker began circulating everywhere. Sometimes he felt himself out of touch with everything that went on in the city. It seemed to be getting crazier and crazier.

"How can you say that? The allegations against him are an open secret, and yet you say that there is no evidence to arrest him," Harvey Dent lashed out. It was surprising to see this side of the shining knight of Gotham. However, he believed the men of his department had right of it when they gave him that other nickname.

Two Faced.

"And yet that is all they amount to—allegations. According to the law, there is nothing for me to arrest him for, and the reason you are here is because neither do you," he replied, not losing his cool as they sat in his office, surrounded by piles and piles of files.

"Bull sh*t!" the blonde cursed, and his eyes narrowed, yet the man continued.

"What about we frame it as protected custody?" came the question, and he chuckled.

"I can assure you, Mr. Dent, his guards have arms more costly than our yearly salaries; he is well protected," he replied, and the man was clearly frustrated. Jim didn't understand him, he was affected as well, and his whole units were now looking for this so called joker.

The truth was that he had reached out to the Waynes through a common friend and had been assured that they were looking into it personally as well. While he was proud of his force and men, he was also aware that the Waynes could devote ten times the resources of the city to this cause, and according to Rachel, they already had.

"I understand your frustration, but the city cannot appear to be buckling to a madman, and that is what this 'Joker' is. Thomas Wayne is a citizen and shall enjoy the rights and freedoms afforded to him by law," he replied, and the man smirked.

"Do not sugarcoat it. Just say that you are in his pocket as well," Dent taunted, and Jim's eyes narrowed.

"Be careful of how you speak, Dent," he warned.

"So, what I do not lie, the man prances around as if he is a hero, yet he is a crook. A smart crook but a crook nonetheless, and he may be innocent of the crime the 'Joker' may accuse him of, but I am sure there are plenty that he is guilty of," Dent answered, and Jim sensed that some part of that vitriol seemed personal, a shame for he had pegged Dent to be a better man.

"Then you may find them and arrest him for that, but until then, he will be a free man," he replied as the two of them stared into each other's eyes.

"That will be all," he finished, for the pile of files was not going to lessen by itself, and his wife and Barabra would be wroth with him if he was late again today, something which was seeming more and more probable by the second.

"So, you won't do anything about him," Dent asked, and he shrugged.

"Bring me a legitimate warrant, and I will give you my men," he answered.

"So, be it then. But I want to meet him,"

"Who?" he asked with a frown.

"Your friend in the Dark! Batman!"

0000

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne stood infront of the whole staff of his company. A few cameras were locked onto his face to broadcast the message to the other places as well, where he could not be present at the moment.

"I know all of you must have seen the video circulating everywhere by now, so I will not waste your time by focusing on that but will move on to the reason for which I have gathered you all today," he began, his voice booming across the Hall as Lucius hung behind him.

"Wayne Enterprises has prized itself as the backbone of this city; through tough times and hardships, we have not wavered as a family or a company and have stood tall and proud as the symbol of hope and strength for everyone. And we shall continue to do so for years to come. Some of you may be scared, some of you distraught, but I wish to assure you that we have taken measures to ensure the safety of you and your families," he assured them. He was spreading his men thin, yet he would not buckle down to Joker's level.

"Yet I understand that these are unprecedented times, and I shall do right by the people that are Wayne Enterprises. So I make you all an offer. If any one of you finds the times too tough, any of you who may wish to leave the company will be offered generous terms," and with that, he stepped back.

"Now, back to work," and with that, the people dispersed as whispers broke out in the Hall.

"This could cost us a lot of money," Lucius added from the side.

"We can always make more money. Plus, with the economy as it is, few could even risk leaving a job at Wayne Enterprises. No, we will have little to no departures," he replied. Wayne Enterprises was truly a monstrous company; the hiring process was tough for all in Gotham. We knew that once you were hired by us, your life would be made as long as you were willing to work hard.

There were no mass layoffs, no pleasing the investors, for the Waynes, decided how the company ran, and the Waynes were royalty to the people of Gotham.

"Any leads on this 'Joker' fellow?" Lucius questioned as they began to make their way towards the elevator.

"Not yet, but soon. I have run a sweep over half the city. I will find him, and then I am going to end this little game of his," Thomas snarled in rage, for truly he was getting tired of all this.

He had made a mistake in allowing all these problems to fester, yet that was over. This was not a game; this was reality, a reality where people's lives were at stake, and he would live it out now with his own rules—not Joker's or Batman's, but his own.

And they regarded Joker as an existential threat.

Suddenly, just as they were about to enter the private elevator, they were interrupted by one of the staff.

"Mr. Wayne. Mr.Fox, please wait," and he stopped and looked up and found a secretary rushing towards them both.

"What is it, Barabra?" he questioned.

"Sir, a board meeting has been called!"

And he frowned at those words.

"A board meeting, but how?" Fox questioned. For one, it would need substantial holdings in their company to call a meeting, and few had the guts to do so when they knew that all their motions would be denied, for Wayne Enterprises was owned by him and Bruce.

"Sir, it's an emergency session, and the government is somehow involved!"

0000

BRUCE WAYNE

Batman found himself once more in the underbelly of the city, at the base of one of Gotham's biggest crime syndicates headed by Gambol. His men lay around him groaning in pain and agony, for he had little time for patience today, as less than twelve hours now remained in this 'Jokers' warning, and he had to find his location before the man carried out his revenge.

Gambol, the man who controlled a major chunk of the gangs, backed away as he stepped towards him, his eyes bulging with fear as Batman stepped towards him, the broken glass crunching under his feet.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice quivering as he didn't answer immediately. The man picked up the gun from the ground and began to fire at him. The bullets yet bounced off of his suit like nothing.

And then Bruce kicked at his hand, breaking it as the man groaned in pain, and tried to kick punch him, but he ducked under it and hit him in the gut, making the brass-knuckled roll off his hand and fall to the ground with a thud as he held him by the lapels of his now ruined suit and pushed him against the wall.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" he asked in fear, and his eyes narrowed.

"The idiot you guys let loose. Where is he?" he asked again, his voice thick as he punched the man once more.

"Him! That bastard, I will tell you, just let me go!" and with that, he told him an address, and then Bruce hit him once more, knocking him out, and yet, just as he finished, the lights in the room suddenly went out.

"I am afraid you will not be making it out of this place, Bruce Wayne," a mechanical voice cut across the room. The very presence troubled him as he activated the night vision on his mask.

'How the hell did he know that name?'

He thought as his eyes landed on the hulking figure of a man. A mask covered much of his face, and he wore a sleeveless vest that seemed to weigh tons as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Or shall I call you by your chosen name," he continued.

"Batman." He finished with a flourish as he put out his arms, and alarm bells rang out in his head.

"Who are you?" he questioned.

"I am Gotham's reckoning!"

0000

In another corner of the city, Seline Kyle found herself sitting in a place she had never thought she would visit again. She sat opposite the man who had replaced her father, her uncle, as the Italian mob boss.

"So, I am here. Now tell me where I can find this 'Joker'?" she questioned with an angry snarl. Being in this place tore up her insides, yet she was also aware of just how much Wayne Enterprises meant to Thomas, and so if, for him, she had to come back to the place that haunted her, she would do it.

"I did not ask for you?" the man suddenly answered, making her frown, but before she could say anything, a shot was fired, and the whole table was painted red with his blood as his body fell away.

"You did not. But I did!"

0000

Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Chapter Text

Chapter 32

BRUCE WAYNE

"I am Gotham's reckoning!" came the answer, ringing alarm bells. He could already tell that they were being surrounded as he spoke, their movements all too familiar to him after years of training in similar manoeuvres.

"The League?" he realized as the man.

"Indeed, at least what is left of it after your brother decided to hunt us down," came the answer, his voice thick and grizzly as the giant of a man stepped forward.

"But no matter, we shall soon have our revenge and finish what we began in Gotham," came the answer. Bruce reached for his mask to alert Thomas of what was coming his way when suddenly, a massive boom ricked the room.

BOOM!

"AGH!" he grunted in pain as electric shock from his helmet rippled through him, and he felt his vision darken once more as his night vision went out.

"There is no need to tell your brother, and he shall soon learn of it himself," the grizzly voice rang out as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Look at you," suddenly the voice seemed angrier as he felt a punch rip past his face before he blocked a kick, though not before another hit his gut; even through the Kevlar, it hit him, making him grunt.

"You have forgotten that Darkness is your ally and have lost your way," he shouted even as they engaged in a fist fight. Bruce hit him as well, yet the giant man was unmoved, and his attacks did not seem to have any effect on him.

"You have grown weak, and now your weakness shall cost you!" he was kicked in the gut and sent railing back into the wall, his back cracking as he fell down.

"AGHH!" he tried to get back up, yet he was injured rather badly. He reached into his belt and took out two grenades, a flashbang and one with sleeping gas.

He opened them both and flung them across the room.

BOOM! The flashbang went off, and he tried to race away, yet he suddenly had to scream out in pain as a massive steel rod was impaled down onto his leg.

"ARGH!" he screamed in pain as the grizzly man stepped forward and picked up teh sleeping gas grenade, walked towards him, and crushed the filter in his mask as he put it below his nose.

Bruce held his breath as he looked the man in the eye, yet he knew that it was futile. He would have to breathe.

"Who are you?" he asked again as blood dripped down his face, and he felt his vision blur as the answer came far too late.

"I am Bane!"

0000

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas Wayne walked towards the Board meeting room with a fury in his steps as he moved through the Halls, his mind racing as he tried to think up just what was going on.

All of this reminded him of the whole thing with the League and the whole disaster that had been. He had vowed to himself that he would not let such a thing happen again.

And as he pushed open The doors to the meeting room even as the secretary rushed to stop him.

"Mr. Wayne," but her voice faded into the background as he stepped into the room filled with the Wayne Enterprises board of directors and an all too familiar intruder.

"You!" he snarled in rage, as his eyes landed on Pierce as he stood at the head of the table with smug grin on his face, the blonde bastard smiled as he spoke up.

"Hello there, Thom..."

"Shut it!" Thomas cut him off as the man flushed as his eyes landed on the inhouse Council sitting at the side.

"What the hell is this?" he questioned as Ramesh spluttered.

"Sir, the government..."

"They think you are a threat to an essential community asset," Pierce's voice cut in, making his face twist.

"And who are they to think they can even do anything like this with a private enterprise!" he questioned.

"The government of Gotham," Pierce replied as he was handed a legal document, one which mentioned how, under special circ*mstances, the government of Gotham was stepping in to protect an essential community asset.

Half the sh*t was something he had never heard, nor would have half the damned lawyers in this city. Yet essentially, it was that 'Thomas Wayne is too controversial and dangerous to run a company this size.'

"This piece of jargon won't stand for a day in any court! I knew Mr. Mayor was dumb, but this is insanity. I have taken this company to heights not even imaginable, and they think they can oust me from it," he said with a chuckle as he looked Pierce in the eye and tore the whole paper into bits and pieces and threw it to the side.

"You think you are the right person to run this company. You were a buffoon who earned his wealth by riding on the coattails of men better than you," Thomas insulted him as Pierce grit his teeth, his face flushed in as the Board room was filled with silence.

"No!" Pierce managed to eek out and Thomas chuckled.

"Then who do they think they can replace me with," he questioned, and suddenly teh doors behind him were opened once more as the clack of heels rang out into the room.

"That will be me," came the voice of a woman, and he glanced back and stilled. She was a black-haired beauty, taller than the average woman, dressed in a fine Black dress. Her green eyes stared straight at him, and the striking resemblances to another face weren't quite lost to him as he gasped out.

"You...." his mind raced as he realized that this whole thing was much bigger than he had first thought.

She walked to the seat opposite him, beside Pierce, and looked him in the eye as the whole room hung in silence.

"I am..."

"I know exactly who you are," Thomas said. He saw her eyes widen for a second, surprised at his words, yet she didn't shift as she smiled sweetly.

"That is good then. You must know that while not a genius like you, I have quite some experience running a business, and I would appreciate it if you would make this transition peaceful. This whole arrangement will only last until the charges against you have been investigated. So, I am hopin..."

"Leave us!" his voice rang out across the room as he glanced down at his watch at the message he had just received from Lucius.

'It's done'

"What..." a few members questioned, as he looked up and spoke up a bit more emphatically as he pointed his thumb at the doors.

"I said, leave us!" he spoke again, and the people in the room shifted as they began to file out one by one, leaving him alone with the woman who sat opposite him, who was now looking at him with curious eyes.

The men left the room one by one until it was empty. Apart from them, of course.

And immediately, her demeanour shifted. Gone was the ambitious and polite CEO, and then appeared the second in command of the League of Shadows, the girl who had survived through hell.

"It seems there is no use pretending with you," she said as she placed her legs on the table.

The angel of death. Talia Al Ghul, her real name: Talia Ducard.

"I had heard that you were quite uncanny in just how much you know. It seems they were right," she said, and he grit his teeth.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"If you know my name, then you must know that as well," she replied, and he indeed did.

"I shall do to you what you did to me. I will take everything from you, just as you took it all from me," she said scathingly.

"I did nothing of the sort. Your father was a victim of his own hubris; your anger and rage is misguided," he replied.

"So, let me give you the same offer I gave him. Stop and go back to whichever hole you crawled out of. Otherwise, I will go to war, and I can assure you will not like that," he threatened because he was done playing this whole game with a glove.

The tension in the room was palpable as she looked him in the eye.

"You truly are interesting, but I am not afraid of you, so war it is, Mr. Wayne," she said, and Thomas stood up, his watch ringing with another message, and he smirked.

"Then war it is. And I am afraid your services are no longer required," he replied, making her frown as he took out his phone and, after opening a recently received document, flung it across the table towards her.

"Whatever sh*t 'jargon' you used to get here was just thrown out in the Court," he said as he saw her eyes skim over the document.

And with that, he stood up and reached for the door.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," and as he twisted the handles, the door didn't budge as he felt it locked.

His head snapped back, and he saw her smirking at him.

"You weren't the only one who came here with surprises," she began as she walked out of the chair. Both of them walked toward each other, and the screens inside the room lit up.

His eyes widened as he saw the faces of the two people on the screen—Bruce and Selina.

"Where are they?" he asked in a snarl, his mind already racing as he tried to think of a solution.

"They are alive," she replied.

"For now?"

And with that, the room was suddenly filled with half a dozen men, who dropped down from the roof from nowhere, surrounding him as she put forward a piece of paper and a pen.

"But that could change really quickly."

He backed off, slowly his back to the great glass walls of the floor as he pretended to read the proposal, it was an admission of guilt for the murder of Carmine Falcone, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.

"An interesting little ploy," he commented, for it was indeed clever.

The admission basically pinned all these murders on him and donated all his holdings and assets to an unknown charity, which he suspected was a front for the League.

"But I am afraid I am not playing," he replied as the window behind him broke and the league's assassin fired at him. A few bullets hit his bulletproof hit, making him wince in pain as he jumped down.

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