No Heroes

Friends of the City

Bruce: A Few Hours Later

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Harvey was an open book, and it was clear that he was nervous, to put mildly. Selina would probably say that he was one step away from completely losing his shit, and Bruce wouldn't be inclined to disagree.

"If we work out the kinks, it definitely could work," Lucius assured.

But no one took comfort in his words. If Bruce was being honest, he felt a lot like Harvey, he wasn't sure of himself or the plan at all. But he had to keep his cool, pretend like he had all of the cards, just like Alfred always said. If he didn't believe in himself, then no one would, and everything that they had been working for would've been for nothing.

"Let's go over it again," Jim suggested, filling the eerie silence that had filled the room, "Barbara has sent out word that she wants to make a deal with Jeremiah. The only thing that Jeremiah wants," everyone turned to look at him, "is Bruce. Now, we don't want him just killing her and taking Bruce-"

"-How kind of you," Barbara interrupted. She was picking at her nails like she would rather be anywhere but where she was, rolling her eyes along with the snarky sarcasm.

"-so we will have Alfred there as her hostage."

This, Bruce had a problem with. I don't want Alfred getting hurt. He's already gotten stabbed. Twice, actually. The only reason that Alfred has to be the bait is because he is my family. The only reason why Alfred is even here, risking his life every day, is because of me. I'm going to get him killed. But Alfred had already agreed, and Bruce couldn't jeopardize anyone else because of his feelings. That never ended well.

He looked at Selina, who had a spark of danger in her eye. She was ready for the fight. Ready for revenge. The revenge that she only wanted because Jeremiah hurt her. Because she was with me. Because she means something to me. Do I only hurt the people I love?  Will I- stop thinking and start listening, he scolded himself. But he was too late.

"Alright, everyone get some sleep. We don't know if Jeremiah will respond or even receive Barbara's message, but if he does, we need to be ready," Jim announced, although he knew that no one would be able to sleep while awaiting Jeremiah's reply.

Tabitha was the first to leave. Jim and Barbara ran after her, Jim to stop her from immediately ripping Penguin to shreds and Barbara to partake in the fun. The rest of the crew, including Bruce, Alfred, Selina, Lucius and Harvey, drew closer to talk about it.

"I, for one, am ready for her to tear that piece of crap limb from limb," Harvey whispered.

"He was trying to get revenge for his mother. She killed her a couple years back. You have to hand it to him, that is one patient son of a bitch," Alfred noted.

"I'm not the biggest fan of the guy, but I don't think that anyone deserves the kind of pain that that woman is about to inflict on him," Lucius added.

"Penguin has done horrible things and he will eventually get what's coming to him, but for now, he's one of Gotham's necessary evils, and to kill him might interrupt the balance. Someone even worse could take his place," Bruce was a firm believer that death didn't always have to be the answer. It had been in Gotham, and that is why they were in their current predicament. Destruction and Murder have been friends of the city for far too long. Maybe that's why Gotham finally crumbled. It couldn't handle the burden any longer. Maybe when things go back to normal, that can change.