Date: Wed, 7 Jun 1995 16:18:38 -600 Reply-To: "Jason R. Tippitt" Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Jason R. Tippitt" Subject: "Gothic" ("In The End..." Pt.2) Ch.13 This is the last chapter of "Gothic." This will be followed in a day or so by Interlude Two, then later by part 3 of "In the End...". --Jason ****************************************************************************** " 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 13 ******* Jason walked into Grayson's office, past Slade without so much as a word, over to the Senator, and punched him. "Thanks for inviting me to the funeral, Dick," was all he said, then he poured himself a shot of whiskey. The bad thing was, he felt a lot better for having done it. ******* Shiva didn't say a word to Bruce for most of the flight to DC. She handed him a backpack about thirty minutes before landing, gestured him to the back of the plane, and nothing more. He walked back to the back and opened the package. The first thing he saw was a black bat stitched across a grey background. "I'll be damned," he whispered as he set the bag on a crate and began to strip. Two minutes later, he walked back out in costume. It was a bit different from his normal one--a Kevlar lining protected his torso and back in this costume, and the elbows and knees were slightly padded, but still...to be Batman again... "Thank you, Shiva." "Don't think me. Thank Grayson." "What?" Before she could answer, an explosion rocked the airplane, and it started to spiral out of control. ******* Those assembled in the room felt the Buzz at once and turned to the door to see who was approaching. Deadshot looked over at Nemesis, who was reading yesterday's newspaper, and remarked, "You know, Tresser, they kinda look like seals waiting for the zookeeper to throw in fishies when they do that." Another Dick Grayson ran into the room. "Senator, a missile's just nailed Shiva's jet. Took out one of the engines." "What?" Deadshot looked at the Grayson doppleganger. "Ah, send a fake out to meet them. Makes sense, Senator, if the kid's warm reception was any indication..." Carl laughed at the remark, despite himself. Grayson looked at his impersonator. "Is there any way of finding out who did it?" The impersonator scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know, Senator. The other guy took off after them, said he had it covered." "Well, that's *one* good thing. I hope they can still land with one engine gone..." ******* Batman and Shiva ran to the front of the jet to check on its status. "What the hell's going on?" she asked. "A missle winged us," the pilot remarked, eyes intent on the controls. "One engine's down...that's not fatal in and of itself, but we can't make a vertical landing and we're leaking fuel." "Is there a chance of explosion?" Batman asked. "Yeah, it could pop at any time." "You two get out," Shiva ordered, stepping forward. "There's parachutes back there." "We gotta land this thing, lady..." "I'll take care of that," she said, pulling the pilot up and taking his seat. "Go on...you've done your country a great service." "Okay..." the pilot turned, saw who else was in the plane, stepped back. "Holy shit...you're supposed to be dead." "I heard that," Bruce remarked. "Come on." They bailed out near the Capitol. The plane coasted down towards the lake in front of the Washington Monument and exploded. "Shiva..." Bruce whispered. ******* Batman's fears for Shiva's safety were replaced by anger when he hit the ground and found the pilot dead. His skin had an odd coloration to it; his shoulder, where she had grabbed him to pull him out of his seat, was swollen and red around what looked like an injection site. Poisoned to hide Batman's existence. Batman hoped in the back of his mind that she'd been decapitated in the explosion...the lightning and thunder would have masked it well. If she was still alive, she had a lot to answer for. But for now, he supposed he'd better get to the Capital...much as he dreaded what would surely come when he got there. ******* The phone rang on Grayson's desk. He ran over to pick it up. "Hello? Yes. I...see. Thanks." He hung up the phone. "The chopper's warming up on the roof to take you to your jet." Slade walked over to him. They had a brief exchange so quietly whispered that no one could hear. Slade walked to the door. "Nemesis, I need you to go find the others outside and send them along to the chopper. Everyone else, follow me." "Wait a minute...am I not going?" Nemesis asked. Slade pointed at the Grayson impersonator, who stood to one side smoking a cigarette. "He's doing the stealth and subterfuge thing. He's an Immortal, and you're not." "Damn it, man, my country needs me--" "Serve it by finding the other guys, then. And who knows? You may have to replace Senator Robinson before it's all said and done." ******* Bruce climbed a nearby building to get a better view of the Capital. On the roof he saw a small helicoptor and people filing into it. A couple of them were wearing trenchcoats; always a good sign if one was looking for Immortals. The jump looked a bit too far for him in this wind. Suddenly, he felt a tap on the shoulder. He looked over to see a young man with a thick black beard and long black hair floating in the air next to him. "Need a lift?" "Whu--?" "The master detective, speechless? I'm shocked. I'll tell you what--I'll give you a lift over there, if you don't tell anyone I can fly. Never know when a Suicide Squad member may be working for the enemy, you know?" "True." The man grabbed hold of Batman and flew across to the Capitol. Batman had never gotten used to that feeling of weightlessness; it always scared him just a bit. "So, who are you?" "Just call me Frank." "Is that your real name?" "Of course not." "Just checking." ******* "Is this chopper going to be able to lift off in this weather?" Carl asked the pilot. "She goes anywhere I want her to." "What're you scared of, Senator?" Deadshot asked. "Seems you could walk away from just about anything. Well, at least so long as you remembered to duck on the way out." "Where is he?" Grayson (the real one) complained. "He ought to be here by now." "Who's that, Senator?" Vic asked. "Frank," Slade responded. "Frank who?" "Frank nobody...Just Frank." "Well, Slade, can I quote you on that?" "For what?" "The book I'm going to write when we get back." Deadshot laughed as he lit another cigarette. "Hell, if you all make it out of this alive, I'll buy twenty copies myself." Frank walked slowly into sight. "Did you find the shooter?" Grayson asked. "It's taken care of." "Any survivors?" "One," Batman said, walking into sight. "Hello there, Senator. I see you're not above dealing with 'thugs in tights' when the chips come down." Grayson jumped out of the helicoptor. "Bruce..." Batman stepped back. "Don't even pretend, Senator. And just call me by my working name." He followed Frank into the chopper, Senator Grayson bringing up the rear. Batman scanned the faces. Senator Robinson, the Question, Deathstroke, Deadshot, a Grayson impersonator, Frank...and Jason in the back. Eyes wide open, seeing nothing. [Time for talk and apologies later.] He took a seat next to Senator Robinson and buckled up as the helicoptor began to rise. "Okay, folks," Dick said, holding out a map. "Here's the situation." ******* To be continued... END OF PART TWO =========================================================================