Date: Tue, 6 Jun 1995 16:32:49 -600 Reply-To: "Jason R. Tippitt" Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Jason R. Tippitt" Subject: "Gothic" ("In The End..." Pt.2) Ch.12 ****************************************************************************** " I N T H E E N D . . . " ****************************************************************************** A Highlander/Batman Tale of the Future Jason R. Tippitt, 1994-95 http://www.utm.edu/~jtippitt/j.shtml Warning: Violence and Profanities Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism, questions, back-chapter requests to JTippitt@Utm.Edu (Asbestos is my life...don't bother flaming me.) Book 2: "Gothic" Chapter 12 ******* Kenny walked as slowly as possible toward the VTOL jet that awaited him and the others. He wanted to stay here as long as possible; Gotham was not the safest place in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but it was better than the unknown he would embrace as soon as he stepped on board this plane to Washington. "We're going to fight Ra's al Ghul," Bruce commented. "This is no place for a child." "The child is over a thousand years old," Shiva replied. "If he cannot take care of himself...well, that is not my concern." "Funny...to think, I used to love you," Bruce murmured. "What?" "Nothing, Shiva. Nothing at all." They reached the outside of the jet. "Say goodbye to the girl, Kenny," Shiva said coldly. "I'm not going." "You must." "'Must,' my ass. I'm not going." She grabbed his collar. "I could kill you and drag you on board, child. It would be laughably easy." Kenny pulled away. "And I could bail out at thirty thousand feet. The locks on the doors are easy to pick even when they're safety-sealed; I had to do it before. It takes about three days to come back from it, but I've been through worse. And don't even think about shackling me or tying me up, either, because when you're this small it's 'laughably easy' to slip out of things." Shiva shot a fist out toward the boy's nose, a blow that would have driven bone into his brain and killed him instantly if it had connected. Bruce's foot slammed into the side of her arm at the last second, blocking the blow. "Let him stay." Shiva lunged at Bruce. Kenny was still in shock from the near-death experience, and so stood watching for a few moments. "Come on, Kenny," Carrie said, grabbing hold of his jacket sleeve and pulling. "While they're fighting, we can run for it." Off they went, toward the tunnels. ******* Jason was talking in his sleep again. Sounded like Greek to Vic, and in truth it actually was. Bill the Ominous had just gone through a tirade about the reelection of the over-100 Strom Thurmond to the Senate, likening it to pulling Reagan out of cryo-freeze to run for a third term as president. He was now playing three in a row of Lou Reed. Vic thought that if he was going to die, at least he'd die with good music going through his head. That had to count for something. "Wake up," he said, as they pulled up in front of the Capitol and he started to feel the Buzz. "Whu...?" Jason sat up straight as thunder boomed. At least the rain had slowed a bit. "We're here." "Oh. The fun continues." Vic thought about it for a minute, then slapped Jason silly. "I know you lost Michelle. It was bound to happen. There can be only one, Jason. Not two, not a group of buddies who swear off fighting, but one. You knew that." "I..." "Don't defile the time you had together by letting this loss kill you. She would have wanted you to move on. Just like you would've wanted her to, if things had gone differently." "I wanna die..." "Fine! Then get yourself killed in battle! But stop your fucking whining or I'll cut your tongue out! God, what kind of man did Bruce raise you to be?" Jason grabbed Vic's coat. "Don't say that again or you're in for a fight." Vic stared at him from behind his expressionless mask. "Then don't make me say it. You've had a lot better luck in your life than most. So quit bitching and get out of the car." ******* Shiva bested Bruce within ten minutes. She threw him on his back and dropped down onto his chest, a knife at his throat. "The boy goes," she said, almost out of breath. Ollie drew back an arrow. "You cut the man, I put an arrow through your head and Kenny takes your Quickening. Then you both stay. Looks like you're shit outta luck on this one, Shiva." Bruce looked behind Ollie and saw that Carrie had taken the time he'd given her and spirited Kenny away. He smiled. "Didn't I see something like this in a movie once?" "Why are you smiling?" "Kenny's staying." As Shiva turned to look for the boy, Bruce rammed his head into hers, knocking her backward. He slammed a boot into her stomach and held Shiva's sword to her throat. "Bruce...don't...my powers will be lost..." Bruce had learned, from talking to Kenny and Jason and Duncan, that an Immortal's greatest fear was of being beheaded with no other Immortals around to receive the Quickening. He'd suspected that even Shiva would behave herself under that threat; he was glad to see he was right. "Bruce...you're not a killer," Ollie said. "I covered for you, Ollie...and I had the intent to kill the last few times I fought the Joker. Harvey Dent's dead because of me. It would be so easy to cross that line now...and it's so tempting..." Shiva's eyes were the size of two houses. "Bruce, please...if you ever loved me..." "Get up." Bruce stepped back from her and bowed. "You fought with much courage, Shiva. Your loss was no dishonor." Ollie kept an arrow pointed at Shiva. "Bruce can do anything Kenny could have, anyway." "I suppose." She stepped into the plane, Bruce on her heels. "Take care of the children, Ollie," Bruce said as the engines started to hum to life. "Hell, Bruce...I'm not a Goddam babysitter." "See you when I get back." "I hope," Ollie said, walking away. "I hope." ******* to be continued... ========================================================================