The Batmobile stopped silently two blocks from Wayne Enterprises. The engine shut off without a sound. Gotham was colder than usual. Clouds blanketed the sky, erasing any trace of stars.
Batman stepped out and adjusted the cowl. The wind sliced through the fabric clinging to his body. He didn't look around. He didn't need to.
He crossed the empty street and scaled the ledge of a neighboring building. The claws of his gauntlets dug into the icy concrete. Each pull demanded strength and focus. His shoulder still ached from the last fight. So did the cracked rib.
He climbed to the 39th floor of the adjacent tower. Paused for a second, observing the glass facade of Wayne Enterprises. The windows reflected only darkness. He knew Red Hood was inside. Knew Lucius was too.
'No hesitation. No repeat.'
The grapple hooked onto the metal framework at the top. He launched forward. Wind in his face. Arms positioned. Impact calculated.
But before that…
Lucius breathed with difficulty. The plastic zip tie cut into his wrist. His shoulder bled, but the pain was now a constant backdrop.
Red Hood paced, tampering with cables and silent detonators. The city lights illuminated his masked profile.
Lucius closed his eyes for a moment.
'He's not just a fanatic. Not just a mercenary. He knows what he's doing. Knows where he is.'
He scanned the room.
'Bruce designed this place to be functional, discreet, symbolic. But now it's a box of mirrors. Where everything we built… could collapse with a click.'
Blood dripped down his arm. Lucius forced his mind to work.
'If he wanted me dead, he'd have done it already. He wants an audience. Wants impact. Maybe… if I find the right word. The right phrase. I can turn this.'
'Not for me. But for Bruce. For the city.'
Red Hood checked the timer on the wall.
"Five minutes. Then it's just a show."
Lucius propped himself against the desk with effort.
"You think this changes anything?"
Red Hood stopped. Turned slowly.
"It changes everything."
"You'll blow up a building. Kill people. Make headlines for a week. Then… just another name on the list of those who tried. And failed."
"I don't want to make headlines. I want to be a memory."
Lucius coughed, wiping blood from his chin with his shoulder.
"And this will be your legacy? A cowardly attack?"
"You talk like someone who had a choice. I never did."
Lucius kept his tone steady.
"You're talking to someone who built the empire of a man who didn't have a choice either. But he chose not to be a monster."
Red Hood stepped closer.
"You know Bruce Wayne?"
"I do."
"Then you know what he hides. How much he plays with the truth."
Lucius met his gaze. His voice firm, unwavering.
"I know he still believes he can save this city."
"He didn't save it from me."
"But he'll try."
Red Hood laughed. Low. Humorless.
"He'll die trying."
Lucius clenched his bound fists.
"Then why are you still here? Waiting? If you want to end it all, press the button."
"No. Not yet. He needs to see. Needs to feel. Needs to understand he failed."
Lucius held his gaze.
"Maybe you need that too."
Red Hood froze for a second. His gaze wavered. Slight. Almost imperceptible.
"Maybe."
He walked to the window. Looked at the city.
"But if it's going to fall… let it be beautiful."
KRR-SSHH!
The glass shattered like broken ice. The sound sliced through the room's silence with violence. Shards flew in all directions. One hit the wall and ricocheted.
Batman's body burst through the hole and landed with precision.
Red Hood drew his gun in the same instant. Aimed.
But Batman was already moving.
The kick's impact hit Red Hood's wrist, sending the gun flying backward.
Lucius rolled to the corner of the room, shielding his head.
Batman followed with a second attack, aiming for the abdomen. Red Hood dodged, spun, and drew a short blade from his thigh.
"Come to bury me or save me?"
"Come to stop you."
The first slash cut the air. Batman stepped back, analyzing the stance. Red Hood struck again. Fast. Fierce.
Batman blocked with his forearm, spun, and drove his elbow into the enemy's shoulder.
Red Hood grunted and staggered back.
Lucius tried to shift with his bound legs. Breathing was hard.
"Deactivate the explosives!"
Red Hood twirled the blade in his hand. His voice dripped with scorn.
"You still believe this can be solved without blood?"
Batman didn't answer.
He spun, blocking the slash. His cape wrapped around the enemy's arm. A yank. The blade fell. The next punch landed square on Red Hood's jaw, sending him crashing to the floor, gasping.
Lucius dragged himself to the room's control panel. Typed the code with a trembling hand.
The display responded with a sharp sound: MAIN SYSTEM – DEACTIVATED.
He slumped back, panting.
"Disarmed. Nothing's going to blow."
Batman approached Red Hood, still on the floor. Reinforced cuffs snapped on. The vigilante's eyes remained fixed, cold.
Lucius rose with difficulty, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"You lost."
Red Hood laughed. The sound scraped his throat.
"No… Bruce lost."
The tension snapped back in an instant. The tone, the name, the smile. All wrong.
Batman stepped closer. His eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Red Hood raised his face.
Between his teeth… something metallic glinted.
Lucius saw it first.
"No!"
Red Hood bit down. The click was sharp.
Batman lunged.
But it was too late.
The body began to convulse. Veins darkened in seconds. A potent poison. Irreversible reaction. Foam formed at his mouth. His neck locked.
"You… failed… again."
His heart stopped.
And then…
BEEP.
A signal sounded from the watch on Red Hood's wrist. A red light flared on a secondary panel, previously dark.
Lucius whipped his head toward the wall's display.
"No…"
On the screen:
SECONDARY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
DETONATION IN: 00:10
Their breathing froze.
Batman's gaze darted. He counted mentally. Time didn't stop.
Nine seconds.
He ran to Lucius. Sliced the zip ties with a quick blade.
"Can you walk?"
"Not… not fast enough!"
Eight seconds.
Batman hoisted him with one arm. Lucius cried out in pain but clung to his shoulder.
Seven seconds.
Batman crossed the room.
Six.
At the shattered window, nothing but night and wind.
Five.
He activated the grapple.
Four.
The cable hooked onto the signal antenna of the neighboring tower.
Three.
Batman leapt with Lucius in his arms.
Two.
They fell into open air. The wind stung, their eyes barely able to focus.
One.
KRAA-BOOOOM
The explosion devoured the building's top. Orange flames tore the sky, followed by waves of heat and debris. The sound swallowed everything. It echoed across blocks. Alarms blared. Windows shattered in surrounding buildings.
Batman's grapple held firm. The cable strained under their weight. Lucius screamed in pain. The explosion's heat licked their feet by millimeters. A chunk of metal whizzed past Bruce's shoulder, slicing a shallow cut through the cape.
The anchor yanked them violently toward the neighboring building. They hit the parapet, rolled across the concrete, and stopped meters away. Lucius gasped, blood pooling from his shoulder.
Wayne Enterprises continued to crumble. Secondary explosions pounded like drumbeats. One after another. Lower floors collapsed. Support columns failed. A section of the facade fell in a solid mass, dragging glass and beams.
Bruce knelt, struggling. His left arm throbbed. Lucius coughed, lying on his side.
"You hear me?"
Lucius nodded, gasping.
"He triggered it all. Planned to die there."
Bruce stared at the destruction without blinking.
"No. He planned to leave me alive to watch."
The collapsing roar was deafening. As if Gotham itself screamed.
The building partially sank. A side tower buckled, crashing into the adjacent structure. Dust and sparks cloaked the streets below. Sirens wailed in the distance.
Bruce stood slowly. His suit was scorched. The cape tattered. His eyes fixed on the smoldering ruin.
"The symbol… fell."
Lucius tried to brace against the wall, his face streaked with soot.
"And you?"
Bruce didn't answer.
He just stood there, the city burning before him.
Smoke rose.
And Gotham… began to react.
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