Batman: Knight of Vengeance - The Final Chapter

Part XIII - The End of Thomas Wayne

"NO!" Rose screams as she watches Thomas drop to the ground, instantly running over to him.

She rips off her cape and starts to pad away at the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as she looks around for something, anything, that could help her out right now. Cole and Harper stand up and slowly walk over to her as they both exchange glances, knowing that what's happening can't be stopped.

Fury watches as Rose starts to try and give Thomas care and she can't help but actually feel...guilt. She's worked that hard because she thought that Batman was a heartless and cold bastard, but seeing this, this family, she almost regrets having to do what she just did.

"Rose, Rose stop..." Thomas says as he grabs a hold of her hand.

"No, I'm not going to. There's got to be something around here that can..."

"That's an order, Rose. Stop." He looks up at her with a weak sort of smile. "There's nothing you can do. I always knew my end was going to come in battle sooner or later."

"Permission to ignore that bullshit order..." Rose replies as she starts to fight off some tears.

"Permission denied, soldier. Look at me. I said look at me." Thomas pulls his cowl off and puts it up to Rose's chest, putting her hand on top of it before grabbing onto her shoulder. "You've helped me through the toughest times, and have grown into someone much better than I could have ever imagined. Protect Gotham, keep her safe for me."

"Thomas...I..."

"I want you to be happy, something I only was way too late in my life. You have Harper, you have your friends. Use them. They are your superpower. No gadget in the world could replace that. I want you to always remember that."

"No, no no no....Dad no..." She says suddenly, choking up as she tried to go back to tending the wound.

Thomas pulls her away again before looking her right in the eyes. "Be better. Gotham needs better. Gotham needs you." He slowly starts to close his eyes as he drifts off into the endless abyss, his body going limp as he lets go of Rose's hand, his body starting to go pale.

Rose falls silent and just takes the moment to cry as Cole, Harper, Superman, and Diana all stand behind her, before she looks up and turns her attention to Fury, her face going from sadness to pure rage within seconds. She stands up and starts to beat the living hell out of Fury, all while the Amazonian just takes every punch, not even attempting to fight back.

"You. Fucking. Bitch!" She repeated over and over again as she kept whamming away at Fury's head before pulling her gun out, pointing it right at her head.

Superman dashes over and grabs the gun, pulling it away as Rose just keeps her eyes locked on her target. "MOVE!" She screams, wanting to finish the job she just started.

"Look at her Rose, really look at her. The guilt that's already starting to settle in is more than enough punishment for what she did."

She watches Fury, beaten and bloodied in front of her as she just looks ready to die if Rose so wishes it, before the woman tosses the gun away and just starts to walk back towards Thomas, setting his cowl back down on his chest, deciding to leave it with him as she starts to walk away.

Harper runs up and joins her, hugging her from behind as she tries to console her to the best of her ability, swaying back and forth as they both watch the sunrise come up, a sort of calm washing over them despite all that just happened.

"H-Harper...is everything really going to be okay?" Rose asks, looking forward at the city as light starts to touch it again, taking the place of the dark that it was stuck in for what felt like forever.

"He wouldn't have left us if he knew it wasn't. We're going to be just fine."

The two girls keep an eye on the sunrise as Superman and Diana pick Batman's lifeless body up, carrying him on a plank of wood from the very home that he started his career in, now being able to end it all in the same place.

Thomas Wayne is dead. But the legacy of the Batman will forever live on.