Batman: Dark Hours

Chapter 12

    Jonathan was clinging on his mother's arms as they rode the Gotham rail. They were at the foremost carriage and could see the train and the track before it. Usually, like any three year old, John loved watching the tracks disappear as the train moved forward. But today, he was almost asleep. His head was lying on his mother's bosom, as his eyes drooped. The rain outside was lashing at the side of the carriage. Every time thunder struck, John's head jerked. His mom gently patted him on the back.

They were reaching the Wayne tower, the destination they had to get down at. There were several passengers on board, a lot of them sleeping. Wayne tower was the centre of the city and those who worked out of town or to the city's outskirts travelled back to Gotham via the rail.

The rail rounded a corner and the Wayne tower loomed ahead, lit up with lights like a huge, narrow Christmas tree. The driver was whistling under his breath as he picked up speed.

It was at least a minute before everyone spotted it.

Several hundred meters away, a monstrous metallic object stood in the path of the railway. Its legs perched on the rail and its hands in the air. It emitted a greenish glow from the heart. The driver tried slowing down, but it was too short a distance to avoid collision. The Gotham rail kept advancing. Straight towards the metallic man.

The Robot motioned with its hands. A mechanical voice echoed towards them. "Metallo wishes you a happy journey!" With that, Metallo slammed down on to the rail with a green glow emanating from the spot where he made impact.

The railway disintegrated.

Men, women and children screamed as the Gotham Rail began shuddering at the impact. The driver tried to pull all sorts of buttons to stop the rail, but couldn't.

John jerked wide awake and watched all the commotion around him. The green robot in front, the train shuddering, his mom holding him so tight he couldn't breathe. "Ma" he muttered to her chest.

"John, it's okay." She muttered to him. "It's okay sweetie. We'll be..aaaaaaaaaahh"

With a jerk that made a lot of people lose balance, the rail edged over and began nose-diving towards the earth below..

Screams and shrieks filled the air along with John's cries.

They were falling to their death.